Frodo's Quest: Mines of Moria Merry

My weekend was crazy, so the final brush stokes on this stout fellow had to be postponed until today.

I still do not dare try painting the eyes on these tiny faces, but I may go back and do them at a later point, when I feel more confident.

Nevertheless, I now have all four Fellowship Hobbits painted up, two from the Fellowship of the Ring set, and two from the Mines of Moria set (and I shall, of course, do both versions of the entire Fellowship in due time, but for now I have to focus on the minis needed for the first installment of Frodo's Quest).

As mentioned earlier, these minis are REALLY tiny, and I find it hard to paint their faces (and it shows in the not-so-accented facial features). Maybe I shall try redoing the faces some day, but for now they will have to do as is.

I am not quite sure about Merry's hair; I think it turned out a bit too orange, but it was the closest I could get to the colour shown on the Fellowship box (which is not quite the 'live' colour from the movies, either, though).

The waistcoat buttons also are a bit different than I think they should be; I used a painted mini as reference, and it had silver buttons, whereas the movie stills show cloth-covered buttons the same colour as the waistcoat itself. So, I dotted in the pale yellow (Warzone Vega Sand) I used for the waistcoat before covering it with Iyanden Yellow, leaving the Chainmail edges visible.

There will be no family portrait this time, not until I have to put painted models in the storage box, as it is stoved away in a larger crate at the moment (I need to keep the storage boxes from spreading all over the ground floor of our home).

I am quite pleased with his cloak and jacket - the trousers are not quite as dark when seen with the naked eye, but I have a little trouble getting the light settings of my camera just right (which is also why the pics are a tiny bit blurred; I have to turn up the Gamma output in GIMP to keep the photos from having too bright unnatural colours).

I am happy to report that I have found all my Middle-Earth Ranger figures (bar one Ranger of Ithillien from the set with Faramir and the Hobbits), including the Grey Company and the Guardians of the Shire, so that is one task to check off!

Old Mini, New Life

Something a bit different today, but I am following all my whims at the time being.

I haven been doing some work on this old fella over time. He was block painted many years ago for a D&D character I was GM'ing for back then (apart form the skin which was patially shaded and highlighted).

He has been given a new base (surprise!), and then a wash with Agrax Earthshade on his clothing and gear (apart from the lantern and the knife).

His hair was a stark yellow colour, so I have repainted it with a more natural hue (I hope).

Finally, I have given him eyes.

I have taken som pics from different angles; I am quite pleased with the effect of the shading.

From the back. Nothing to complain about, here.

I used to be able to arrange up to three small pics aside, but Blogger must have changed something - it seems impossible to line up pics these days.

Frodo's Quest: Aragorn and Pippin Bases Altered

 I lightened up the Moria-themed bases of these two protagonists a bit, I think they look a bit better now.

Frodo's Quest: The Silent Watch, Dúnadan #2

Finished another one of these, Soon, I shall have to get started on another mounted Nazgûl (Black Rider), and some Smials, and then I can stage the first game of Frodo's Quest. I expect to run it as a co-op game between a mate and myself (one controlling Frodo, the other Sam), and doing it as a beer-and-pretzel game 😉

And, of course, the mandatory group shot.

Frodo's Quest: The Silent Watch, Dúnadan #1

The fist scenario of my 'Frodo's Quest' campaign will feature at least two members of the Silent Watch, and I have finally gotten the first one painted and ready for action!

Largely painted with Citadel Contrast Paints (not the weapons, the skin, and the base), it has not been very time consuming. I had to touch some of the 'highlights' up with corresponding 'normal' paints, but all in all I am very happy with the result.

I deliberately avoided making him 'too Ranger of the North' so that I can use him in Ithilien, too; multi-purpose is still very much part of my gaming philosophy (technically, the design is mostly Rangers of Ithilien, but even GW have been calling them 'Rangers of Middle-Earth for quite some years).

I may go back and decorate the quiver at some point, but for now, the plain Space Wolves Grey will have to do.

I expect to have his companion ready tomorrow, and then I shall have to turn my attention to a Black Rider and some Smials!

Frodo's Quest: Mines of Moria Pippin

Another one of those diminutive plastic minis; I had to take a lot of breaks from painting this (working on other bits and bobs), as it was really putting a straikn onm my ageing eyes.

I did not take a pic of him with Aragorn, as I want to redo the ranger's base, first, there'll propably be a group shot when I finish Merry (somewhen next week, he is just as fiddly as this one).

Frodo's Quest: Mines of Moria - Aragorn

This mini gave me several headaches because of its tininess, but I think I have got it down, now.

I wanted an almost black coat, like it is in the movie, and I think I almost got it right. All in all this version of Aragorn is much more muted than the painted examples shown on boxes and in rulebooks by GW's painter, but I like that look, and it fits with the way I have painted other LotR minis.

I think the dark grey basecoat on the base is a bit too dark, I shall have to try a slightly lighter shade on the next MoM character I do (which will be Merry or Pippin, just primed them both today).

Frodo's Quest: Black Rider

Some days ago, I finished painting up this mounted Nazgûl, and I used it as my second entry for the Modern Fantasy Painting Party at LAF.

After finishing the base, I realized that I can relatively easy bevel the edges of the upper layer (MDF pill-shaped base from Sarissa Precision) for a less obtrusive base edge, and I shall be doing that from now on (this was my first attempt at this kind of base, And as usual, I learn on the go).

Next up for Frodo's Quest are som members of the Silent Watch, and then I shall have to finish painting some 3D-printed Smials.

Frodo's Quest: Frodo Baggins

Yesterday, I finished painting Frodo, and I used him as my first entry for the Modern Fantasy Painting Party at the LAF.

I am already painting my next entry, and as this particular Painting Club runs for 200 entries, I think I should be able to get another couple of minis done before it closes.

He is part of my 'Contrast Paints Trial', and only the skin and metal (and base) were painted using traditional paints.

I now just have to finish one Black Rider, and paint some 3D-printed Smials, and I shall be ready to test run my planned first scenario of Frodo's Quest (I kinda forgot what rules I was going to use, but I remember the general outlines and shall cook something up).

Frodo's Quest: Samwise Gamgee

I have not given up on my 'little' side project, it was just on pause like everything else from last summer until recently.

Sam is now ready to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Rivendell - and beyond!

This mini was painted primarily with Citadel Contrast Paints, although some details were done with normal layering (metal, skin, and the backpack, mainly).

He was varnished, first with Citadel 'Ardcoat, then Humbrol Matt Acrylic Varnish, both brush-on.

As mentioned in my first post about this project, I think that Contast Paints are best suited for plastic minis, but as I started Frodo and Sam this way, I am also going to finish them. Later metal additions to the project will be painted the conventional way, leaving the Contrast Paints for the plastics.

 And here a shot of both the finished minis so far:

Next week I shall probably start finishing in-the-flesh Frodo (I start my five nights work period tomorrow, so I shall not be able to spend much time at the pain(t) station before then).

Frodo's Quest: First Mini 'Finished'

Not much painting to do on this one, but I thought I would show it, anyway.

I expect to have one or two additional finished models (Frodo and Sam in corporeal form) ready within the next week or so (I have a lot to do on the job front the rest of this week, and we are going to Horsens Medieval Festival Friday to Sunday).

I have not yet decided on a rule set to use for the Frodo's Quest campaign, but I think I shall try to design the scenarios in a way that they can be played with whatever ruleset I like - even solo and/or with a GM managing the bad guys.

The first scenario will feature Frodo and Sam trying to sneak away from Hobbiton, while a Black Rider tries to intercept them, and a couple of members of the Silent Watch may interfere. I have it all in my head, I just need to get the minis ready for the table, and some terrain painted up, before I write down the details.