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I think most are aware that I am doing some miniatures for a "not-really-Lord-of-the-Rings" miniature line (wink-wink).

I have the six Warrior base-meshes finished (four shown here); the Six Archer base-meshes finished (again, four shown here); and six Command figure base-meshes finished (none rendered yet, as I have not yet rendered them, due to not having assigned any materials to the base-meshes for the command figures).

The six Command figures (with an additional, optional two command figures, not yet done) are actually two command groups of three to four figures (one or two musicians, a standard bearer, and a commander figure.).

I have only a little more work to do on the four Goblin warriors with 2-handed weapons (Goblin warrior4 is actually holding a 2-handed axe, which is being used one-handed). Hopefully I will have some finished work, as well as the 2-handed weapon wielding Warriors next month.

A few points about these:

1) The weapons and shields will be cast separately (I have a selection of eight different weapons, and eight different shields... Except for the Bows for the Archers, which will be cast in their hands), so the hands are intended to be open-handed (but I need to re-pose the middle-two warriors, so that their hands are completely open - a gap between the fingers and thumbs). The figures are also sculpted so that any of the Thunderbolt Mountain weapons (three Axes, three swords, Three maces/clubs, and three spears - in fact, I may not do any spears of my own, and just buy his to go with the figures) will fit in their hands as well... giving a total of 17 weapons

This is so the fingers and thumb can be bent back around to grip any weapons that are then glued in, to provide a sturdier grip (The Thunderbolt Mountain Great-Goblins are like this, and they have a very strong attachment point for the weapons when the fist is squeezed shut on the weapons).

2) Again, no surface details have been sculpted in any of the figures, save for Goblin warriors 3 & 4. Goblin warrior 3 has minimal detail, and Goblin warrior 4 is a high density mesh that has most of the anatomical detailing sculpted in (I just need to go over it to give it the Tom Meier angularity from the tools he uses - my details on the arms and legs are too rounded). But remember that Tom's work, which this is intended to compliment and complement, tends to be very severe.

3) The Goblins will also have some hair. I have yet to decide how long or messy.

4) Only Goblin warriors 1 & 2 have their clothing and armor completed, with Goblin warrior 4 almost completed. Goblin warrior 3 is either going to have on a chain mail shirt, or a leather tunic studded with round plates about three inches across (and roughly the same spacing between).

I would prefer to go with chain mail, as it looks good, but chain mail is difficult to do in the software I am using (I need ZBrush).

5) Oh! Helmets.... I have a selection of 12 Helmets (which will be mixed-matched among the 24 different figures.

6) Eventually, I will be doing Unarmored/Light Armored versions of all of these (including the Command Group, to give an option for a crappy commander Orc), bringing the total number of Goblins to around 44

7) I did some quick and not very good test renders of Command Group # 1...

MB

And, without further delay, here they are:

And, what the hell... I have some crappy Renders of a few of the Command figures....

Hi

Great models

What material you will use? Metal , resin or plastic ?

I exited to se the trolls (and urukai , black numureans , esterling , haradrim...)

saluti

saluti

The basic foot troops will all be metal.

Some of the larger models will be Resin (Trolls will still be metal), such as the eventual Fell-beasts.

Even though I will likely never be able to produce licensed Middle-earth miniatures, for all intents and purposes (for all your tents and porpoises - sorry.... couldn't help myself ), these miniatures are intended for Middle-earth.

Eventually.... I will need to do Mordor Orcs, and some Early Third Age Orcs for Angmar/Carn Dûm. The basic form would be similar, but facial features, and minor proportions would change.... Such as slightly longer legs for the Late-3rd Age Mordor Uruks, and more varieties of the smaller Snaga Orcs. And perhaps faces that are a bit longer for Mordor Orcs, with slightly different noses.

Oh... And let us not forget the eventual Uruk-Hai themselves. They will be noticeably different from both the Hithaeglir and Mordor Orcs, with even longer legs (but still shorter than humans), and slightly more upright posture.

As for Easterlings, Haradrim, etc.... I have not got so far as the Later 3rd Age people's, only the Mid-3rd Age (from 1800 - 2000 Third Age, during the period of the Wars of the Wainriders with Gondor).

So all of my "Easterlings" are just the Wainriders, with a few Rhûnnic Cavalry, and native Eastern Rhovanion traitors. And the Haradrim all I have are a few shield designs.

I do have a plethora of sketches for the Gondorian forces of this period though.

You will see some echoes of Weta's design elements in a few of them, but overall, they are a significant departure from the film, being armored in Chainmail, with almost no plate at all (The Chivalry of Gondor will have some arm and leg armor that is plate). And the Fiefs will provide mostly unarmored Spearmen or Skirmishers (save for the SE fiefs, which seem to be relatively wealthy).

But.....

Unless I wind up with something insane in a kickstarter like the Conan one with $3m, it will likely be next year before I can get the work done on the non-Orc peoples.

MB