PiliPili Miniatures - New Release

[Guy]

*SP-06 * NORSE KING * Vendel era (550-799)
Scale: 200mm resin*
Sculpted by Le-van Quang

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The fall of the Roman empire saw the rise of Germanic kingdoms in Western
Europe and in Scandinavia.
In Sweden, Uppland was the religious and political centre of a powerful
kingdom with troops of mounted elite warriors. Numerous royal mounds and
graves of mounted warriors with costly and elaborate armour of gilded bronze
have been found in Vendel and Valsgärde.

The Vendel people developed their own specific artistic and cultural style
and were the forerunners of the Vikings. They were the source of inspiration
for numerous Nordic and Germanic sagas like Beowulf and in more recent
times, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

PiliPili Miniatures web-site
click here

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[Normo]

Hi Guy
This looks a real cracker!
My christmas list gets longer and longer...........!!

Thanks for posting

Cheers

John

 

[Tommi]

Stunning, this is one I will be picking up at Euro for sure.
Cheers
Tommi

 

[housecarl]

Excellent, love it.
Carl.

 

[ghamilt1]

That'll be my first stop at the vendors area at Euro! Great bust Mr.Quang, and thanks for posting Guy.

 

[Johan]

That is a great bust ! I like that older face, and the helmet looks great too. Indeed this bust "breathes" the mysterious atmosphere of the Beowulf saga, and of Nordic warriors dressed like this in a landscape with mysterious dark forests, mountains and wooden houses, I'm even thinking of the wonderful saga of the Nibelungs and Siegfried when I look at this bust ... and it also makes me think a little of the movie "the 13th warrior" and the book upon which that movie is based ("eaters of the dead" by Michael Crichton). It's very, very interesting to learn where the Vikings come from, of course they also came from some civilisation or culture that existed before them ... and again, Quang has proven that he is able to successfully tackle any subject - be it an Indian or a Cowboy or a Pirate or an ancient warrior, he has a great empathy and the ability to fully "understand" the subject and transform it into a superb miniature ... at times like these I feel proud to be Belgian, like PiLiPiLi !

Congratulations Quang, you have done another excellent bust of a very interesting subject there. And now I will organise a petition among the Planet Figure members to request that you also do a 120mm full figure like that !

 

[Johan]

Oh and by the way Quang, I'm going to order one !

 

[frank h]

Hi
what a great bust lots of character

will pick this one up at Euro

good to see the face guard..... with the option of leaving it off

Fine work Quang

Frank

 

[carl reid]

This is a great piece Quang!

The detail is fantastic!

I hope you have plenty cast for Euro, I reckon it will sell like the proverbial hot cake.

Well done Quang!!

Carl

 

[Bluesking]

REALLY nice - enough to make me change era

 

[megroot]

Great Bust Quang.
I really like this one.

Marc

 

[DEL]

Looks like a Euro sell out/
Derek

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Some information of the history of the subject and era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsg%C3%A4rde

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohthere

Cheers
Janne Nilsson

 

[Centaur]

Yes , indeed excellent job to catch the ghost of North.This is like a dream,
I take my hut off -like always )

 

[quang]

Thanks for the links, Janne. They will no doubt be very useful to the modellers not familiar with the subject. And also thank you for helping me finding a proper name for this bust.

To my utter shame, I have to confess that I originally set out to do a "cool" heroic-fantasy, 120% barbaric Viking complete with horned helmet (my secret obsession), braided hair, animal fur and ... an eyepatch .

While researching the web for inspiration, I stumbled upon an article about the reconstruction of a Vendel helmet. I was hooked! I knew nothing about the Vendel era but soon found out that the reality was way more fascinating than my fantasy Ragnar.

Here are two more links about the Vendel warriors in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGlSAtb-SDw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfw4wgCBdL4

They are excerpts from the Danish picture film 'Beowulf and Grendel'. Excellent reconstruction of the Vendel period (NO Angelina Jolie!) down to the small Islandic poneys of the mounted warriors. The entire movie was filmed in Iceland in adverse conditions but it does help to recreate the misty, dark atmosphere mentioned by Johan in his post.

Thank y'all for your kind words.

Cheers,
Quang

 

[custer760]

I mentioned this bust on a posting about Kulmbach because I bought this excellent bust at the Kulmbach show.I can thoroughly recommend this perfectly sculpted and beautifully cast bust.A big thank you to Quang and by the way I also have the DVD Beowolf and Grendel and must agree with you...it is an excellent film !!!
Pete

 

[quang]

Pete,

You may be the very first modeller to get hold of this bust. Glad you like it.

Indeed, the new bust was scheduled to be released for the Kulmbach show but the labels weren't ready in time. So we shipped a small number in plain boxes.

Since there was no label, I don't know if the kit parts are explicit enough. A nasal guard AND a complete face guard are included. You have the choice of using one or the other.

Some modellers wrote to me about the resemblance with the Sutton Hoo helmet. Indeed according to some historians, there was a connection between the Sutton Hoo (England) and the Vendel (Sweden) finds.

 

[custer760]

yes indeed Quang I am quite sure that I was the first.My buddy Michael Volquarts and myself saw the bust as the trader from Italy was unpacking his kits and it had only a black and white picture on front which got me intrigued.Upon opening the box we decided it was a must have and as you say the choice of face-mask or nasal guard is included and pretty much self explainad by the nature of the figure.As mentioned before sculpture and casting is top notch....Highly recommended and this will be very popular.
Regards
Pete

 

[quang]

it had only a black and white picture on front which got me intrigued./QUOTE]

if you go to Euro next month, you'll see it in colour and in 3D . I can also bring you a regular label now that it's ready. Just let me know.

Cheers,
Quang