Frodo's Quest: Another Ranger of Ithilien, Rebased and Touched Up

As mentioned, I have been doing some work on this here Ranger, too.

He has been given almost the exact same treatment as his colleague from yeaterday, and now he is ready for the table once more.

Tomorrow is December, and I shall turn my attention to some Winter/Christmas-themed stuff for the next couple of weeks, at least.

Frodo's Quest: Ranger of Ithilien, Rebased and Touched Up

I painted this guy quite a few years ago, and he had suffered some battle damage and also needed a new base.

I did some paint repairs, mainly on the cloak and leather doublet, repainted the bracers and his skin, and also gave him his first set of eyes, ever.

I think he will now do for the table.

As previously mentioned, I have dug out all my Ranger minis, and I am prepping some of them 'on the side' as I want to get more ready for some gaming, also Warlords of Erehwon for which I need at least five (which I actually already have, including the two old Ithilien Rangers and Aragorn).

I have his standing and nearly identical twin on the pain(t) station right now, for the same treatment - if everything goes to plan, I shall have him finished by tomorrow evening.

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!

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).

The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game

When shopping today for some paints to use with our LEGO Elves terrain project, I noticed that the store had 25% off some GW stuff.

I decided to buy the Hobbit limited ed. boxed set, and was then given an offer I could not refuse, for the remaining boxes in the store.

So, I brought home this bunch of stuff, and hope that I shall have the time and motivation to get some of it assembled and painted over the next year or so...

'Magnetizing' some Stuff.

Not exactly adding magnets, but iron to make these models adhere to magnetic sheets.

Two buckets of 'Fire of Isengard', and 3 series of re-roll counters I made for use with the LotR:SBG Battle Companies rules, but can be used for various purposes.

Some of the bases are of the 'slot-less' type, and those were augmented by two 20 mm steel washers instead of the thin iron rod (2.06 mm wire for electric fence).

I was happy to get these off my workspace yesterday evening before leaving for my first night shift/watch in the new job.

Mines of Moria: Aragorn WIP 2

My exam today went really well, so I celebrated by buying some snacks and watching a movie on cable with the kids.

Now they are in bed, and I could turn my attention to the hobby once more.

I added a tiny amount of greenstuff to the right shoulder joint (hard to see in the pic, but you would have noticed if it wasn't there, believe me!).

I'll let it cure until tomorrow, when I'll use my diamond needle file on it, and get the mini primed.

Most of the coarse sand on the base has come off, and I ponder about, whether to glue sand to the base befgore priming, or - as I usually do - wait until I've painted the model. I'm also in doubt if I should use a coarse sand mix or a plain beach sand, but I think I'll go with a mix in between to get a rough, but not broken, texture.

Mines of Moria: Aragorn WIP

I dug out (actually picked from the generic Moria Goblin box) this mini yesterday, removed mold lines, and glued the right arm in place.

The base with coarse sand was already done when I got the mini from a fellow LAF'er with my first purchase of a second-hand batch of LotR minis.

I shall have to add iron beneath the base, and also add a tiny bit of greenstuff to the joint at the shoulder, but otherwise I consider the mini ready for priming.

I'll probably get a bit done tomorrow evening, if I haven't got the shakes about the upcoming exam...

GoB 24 Pts 'Balin's Tomb' Moria Goblins Project

My next project for God of Battles:

A 24 pts Moria Goblins army with a Cave Troll!

I have most of the models painted already, some my own work, others bought as part of various secondhand lots.

One possible configuration is 4 x 12 Goblin Rabble, and 4 x 8 Goblin Pests (archers), and unless I unearth more painted 'rabble',, that's the solution I'm aiming for.

And, yes, there's some Fellowship models in there as well, and I'll paint them up in between getting the Goblin units ready, thus getting my Moria project closer to completion ;o)

The Big Box from Player1 at powerfist.dk, Part 2.

These 2 - with the one I have intact in the box, and another one I got as part of another big lot some time ago - brings my Mûmakil total to 4 (four).

I think I have to start getting them ready somewhen soonish...

The lot also included droves of Warriors of the Last Alliance, Warriors of Minias Tirith, Moria Goblins, Mordor Orcs, and some Uruk-Hai - but with the Christmas month rapidly approaching, I am forced to tidy up the dining table in the living room, so we can have our family meals there, and I have been stoving minis away in small boxes stacked inside large boxes, so no further showing stuff this time around.

Hopefully my cold will allow me to finish the Camp and Baggage bases for GoB28 tomorrow - would be nice to check yet another box on the to-do list for Horisont, with less than 2 weeks left before the event...

Repair done!

I finished repairing this guy (his sword nearly broke off in the mail), and putting iron rod/fencing wire into his base some days ago.

I'm not entirely happy with the way he's based (standing on the edge of the base like that), but he'll have to do for now.

With this guy back in business, I have another 8 Uruk-Hai from that batch that can be used as a Point of Warriors in SAGA, giving the players at Attic Attack I even more possible configurations to play with.

LotR: Mines of Moria, Part 6. Just a little Family Photo

I promised Doomhippie over at the LAF a close-up of my Cave Troll, so I thought I'd better get it done ;o)

More LotR...

There was a sale on in my Friendly Almost Local Game Store (FALGS).

I recently saw some AotD painted as zombies,  rather than ghosts and I like that look (and the notion that they are corporeal instead of ethereal, and thus can be destroyed), and will include some in my PSZ project, that should enter the final phase kind of soonish (am almost done assembling 30 zeds).

LotR: Mines of Moria, Part 5.

Got a big second-hand lot of painted and unpainted lead and plastic (and even a couple of resin) minis today.

The painted stuff (and a single Mordor Uruk with a broken sword - needs a bit of glue):

As you can see, I have finished the boards, and the new Moria Goblins are more than plenty for swelling the ranks I need for this little project.

Next up. 'They have a Cave Troll!!'. Lotsa plastic Uruk-Hai (especially an abundance of engineers), and a based and almost assembled Fellowship form the MoM box. Saves me quite some time on this project!

More plastic, and a few metal bits: Warriors of the Last Alliance, Warriors of Minas Tirith, and some Rohan Riders:

A full set of Haradrim infantry (plus a rider), some Wargs/Warg Riders, and Orcs are back on the menu...

This is everything that needs mending; some broken bows and swords,  two Uruk-Hai with broken pikes, amd a few things that just fell apart. Not bad. Note the resin Saruman (top of staff broken, but present).

And, finally, the jewel of the crown: A whole bunch of metal, mostly characters, notably 2 copies of Aragorn the King Mounted, and a full Fellowship plus a few 'later versions' of some.

Oh, and there's two plastic gobbos in there as well...

Then there's a set with Haradrim Raiders (horsemen, and some sprues with bits and bobs for the Warg Riders.