Happy Thorsday

It's Thursday - the day of the week named after the Norse god, Thor. Famed for his magical hammer, Mjolnir, and also associated with thunder, lightning, strength and fertility. I have also read various claims that he was believed by vikings to offer protection from the seas, hence the wearing of Thor hammer pendants. Not a bad guy to kick off my year's painting then!

This is a figure from the Blood Rage game, one of the Norse gods. I painted it using the Army Painter undead paint set - I will post a fuller review on this set when I have tried it out a few more times, but as you can see it gives some nice natural tones. All the paints used on this model are from the set, including the slightly strange pale green on the base which I will probably paint over, but I just wanted to try out as many of the included paints as I possibly could.

Five fascinating Thor factoids!

He rides a chariot pulled by two goats, named Tanngrisnir (teeth-barer, snarler) and Tanngnjostr (teeth-grinder). Not only do these fearsome beasts pull his heavy wooden chariot across the skies, they provide him with food. Thor cooks the goats for his supper, then uses his magical hammer Mjolnir to resurrect them the next day.

Thor owns three magical items, the most famous being the hammer Mjolnir. In order to wield the power of the hammer, he has a pair of iron gloves, Jarngreipr, and the belt, Megingjord, which doubles his already mighty strength.

Thor was very adept at killing giants with his hammer Mjolnir. These giants were not the oversized men blundering around the Warhammer world, but more like titans or even gods. Most are human shaped, though some are beastly - such as Fenrir the World's End wolf and the Midgard Serpent. Some are hideous while others are beautiful. The Norse gods and giants are often at war. In one tale, giants hide Thor's hammer under the earth and will only return it if the beautiful Norse goddess Freyja will marry Thrym, king of the frost giants. Thor is disguised as Freyja and goes to the wedding feast, tricks the giants into returning the hammer, then slays them all.

As well as a day of the week, Thor has a chemical element named after him - Thorium. There's even a Thor's hero shrew, the only mammal known to have interlocking vertebrae.

Thor will die at Ragnarok, the end/renewal of the world. Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, will come out of the sea and poison the sky. Thor will battle the giant creature and ultimately kill the beast, but then will walk just nine paces before dying from the venom sustained in their epic conflict. A hero's end, worthy of a place in Valhalla.