So along the same lines of the last push to keep one of our favorite games prevlant in our FLGS I am suggesting an army painting challange.
Rules of the army painting challenge........
No rules, Paint as much or as little as you like. The goal is to build and paint SOMETHING every month, even if it is a single character or goblin. Their will be significant prizes awarded each month for this in the form of bragging rights only, online and irl. For the first month, January(we will see if this can go on), you can make your pledge here on this thread and I will update the first post to include the pledges everyone has made. The more participants the more fun this will be. This thread will be the place to post your WIP pictures as well as your completed minis for showcase. At the end of the month we can take a vote of the community for players choice and for that month you can tell your parents you won something. Our goal is steady progress on building and painting forces. If we have enough completed pledges we can vote for players choice. Any point from now until the end of january you can make your pledge and post your wip and completed work. Bonus for having pics of your newly painted minis getting in some action........
Guidelines(more like suggestions) Start the month with bare or primed only minis, please. At any point during the month you may add to your pledge but once you make the pledge its a sacred online oath that means almost nothing(i wont take down old pledges, unless you ask really really nicely or not). If i miss a pledge please PM me Post prepainting pictures and WIP as much as you can(we want to see the work you are doing) When posting several pics or large pictures please try to use spoiler tags. I/we love to see the work but thread pages that become a mile long due to lots and lots of good pics.
Pledges FOR FEBUARY
Paradigm-In February, I will paint: 6 Rohan Outriders 5 Osgiliath Veterans 24 Morannon Orcs 10 Corsairs of Umbar
Namiel- 8urukhai and isengard troll
Beafraid-Get one unit (36 figures) of my Hithaeglir Goblins (Thunderbolt Mountain Miniatures) that I started last fall finished, including basing... For February.
And get at least two more of the Lesser Goblins sculpts finished
Phatonic- Joining along for feb 6 rohan royal guard, erkenbrand, 8 riders of rohan and 12 warriors of rohan.
Eldercaveman-February pledge will be 10 Uruk Hai and maybe Saruman or Lurtz
Da Boss- This month I am pledging 8 Warriors of Rohan as a minimum. If that goes well I will try to do a further 8 until all 24 are done!
tikhunt-I can get behind this. I shall pledge Gandalf on Cart by the end of February and maybe a Treebeard maybe, possibly, probably not. Gandalf on Cart definitely though.
envy89-But this month im gonna sit down and paint up at LEAST.
2x Uruk hai zerkers 2x Uruk hai banners 2x Uruk hai pikemen 6x Uruk hai with sword and shield 1x Vrasku
That will be my starting point. If i can finish more I will but this will get me started.
Swastakowey-Aim to paint the other 32 goblins over the next week or so.
Wolf-It was 20 Mordor orcs and my Burhdur
JANUARY PLEDGE STATUS Namiel - isengard saruman and 12 urkhai Paradigm - 10 Easterlings, a Captain and a Banner ...COMPLETED!!!! Nathand298 - 12 Uruk Hai Scouts, Grima Wormtongue and the Isengard Command Squad (Captain, Shaman, Drummer and Banner) Da boss - 10 urk-hai...COMPLETED!!!! ckig -10 uruk-hai and their captain, otherwise, maybe a cave troll! Captain Galenus - 6 Galadhrim warriors and old Thranduil Eldercaveman - 5 Uruk Hai Redeaston - Unarmoured Haldier and 6 wood elves with bows 2 mounted and one foot ringwraith 2 Barrow wights 5 wild wargs 8 Uruk scouts with bows.
I think the best way to do it would be to have participants pledge a set amount (anywhere from a Warband+hero to a whole army) and then update with their progress. That way, people can commit to add much or little as they feel comfortable doing and no one is left out. I guess it depends on whether you want it to be an actual scored competition or just a motivation/progress thread.
I like the idea of keeping it ongoing, so there's no pressure to rush to a deadline and people can afford to take time out (real life does happen) without feeling they're failing or letting themselves down. I guess something like this could be pretty much permanent like the Community Showcase and 'Show off your...' Threads in the Infinity and Mantic forums.
Paradigm wrote: I think the best way to do it would be to have participants pledge a set amount (anywhere from a Warband+hero to a whole army) and then update with their progress. That way, people can commit to add much or little as they feel comfortable doing and no one is left out. I guess it depends on whether you want it to be an actual scored competition or just a motivation/progress thread.
I like the idea of keeping it ongoing, so there's no pressure to rush to a deadline and people can afford to take time out (real life does happen) without feeling they're failing or letting themselves down. I guess something like this could be pretty much permanent like the Community Showcase and 'Show off your...' Threads in the Infinity and Mantic forums.
I like the idea of the monthly pledge allowing people to pledge whatever it is they think they can do. My ultimate goal would for people to be working steadily towards a good sized playable army, maybe 2 to teach a newcomer.
I like the idea of a monthly pledge too. It will help to get people motivated.
I will definitely pledge something, even if it's just to base and touch up my Moria and Mordor armies and repair damage to them.
I have been inspired by the discussions here to go and pick up at least a box of each of the Fallen Realms plastics, because let's face it they are awesome. So I might switch and do them instead.
This sounds like it could be fun!! For January I'll pledge the few bits I picked up a couple of weeks back (but still haven't gotten around to painting) - 12 Uruk Hai Scouts, Grima Wormtongue and the Isengard Command Squad (Captain, Shaman, Drummer and Banner)
Okay! To make up for my shame in the challenge last time I have got some Uruk Hai that I'm going to paint in the next few days to kick start this challenge.
10x Uruk Hai
Not sure what I'll do for January, but I am tempted by Corsairs or Easterlings. I want to do all the plastics...
Seems like fun! I'll be joining in, and will aim to strip and paint 6 oop metal Galadhrim with swords, and possibly an old Thranduil... Again will see what fruits Christmas brings and will finalise on that.
I look forward to seeing WIP photos to inspire me!
Regarding painting Uruk-Hai. How man white hands would you guys say is enough?
I have been a busy painter getting a large lot of uruk hai painted which i sadly couldent get pics posted for the game (it was 50+ minis where all i need are white hands)
My thoughts were to paint 1-2 on half my zerkers. 1-2 on captians, sparingly throw some around on the joe warriors so it dosent look overdone and then banners of course.
I just dont want it to look overdone / tacky since i am sort of taking my time painting my uruk hai (ill try to get pics loaded up one of these days).
As for the painting challange itself im not sure if i want to keep pressing my Uruk-Hai up to war of the ring sizes or if i should take a break and speed paint (dip) some gondor up.
Envy89 wrote: Regarding painting Uruk-Hai. How man white hands would you guys say is enough?
I have been a busy painter getting a large lot of uruk hai painted which i sadly couldent get pics posted for the game (it was 50+ minis where all i need are white hands)
My thoughts were to paint 1-2 on half my zerkers. 1-2 on captians, sparingly throw some around on the joe warriors so it dosent look overdone and then banners of course.
I just dont want it to look overdone / tacky since i am sort of taking my time painting my uruk hai (ill try to get pics loaded up one of these days).
I think 1-2 per model at most. Probably one on some of the warriors and leave the rest without. I'd also suggest mixing up where you put them; do some on helmets, some on legs, chestplates, shields ect.
This is awesome guys. I am loving the support for the hobby right now. If i am missing something on the pledges please pm me and ill fix it but as of right now i am pretty sure i have everything correct
10 Uruks completed!
I was at my girlfriends when I decided to join the challenge, so I got some Uruk Hai and a limited number of paints and one detail brush (set me back 40 yo yos) to paint over the holidays.
I'll spoilertag the results, because they're all cameraphone pics and I'm a bit of a crap photographer, so best not to ugly up the thread!
Spoiler:
These are the paints I picked- armour basecoat, flesh basecoat, armour highlight, flesh highlight and a wash to bring out detail. I will need to pick out eyes and teeth and maybe do a white hand here and there when I get back, because I wanted to keep paint duplication down with this so I only got 5 paints.
Here are my Uruk Hai, all assembled and posing next to some brand placement.
Luckily I had some spraypaint in my parents attic, so I was able to spray them black!
Armour was very simple- basecoat of warplock bronze with edges and raised areas picked out in Leadbelcher.
Sorry about the visual artefacts in this one! Doombull brown was the base, and tuskgor fur was the highlight here.
Inked thoroughly with Nuln Oil and left overnight, here are my Uruks this morning!
Here they are finished. Looking at that photo, it's pretty crap! So I will try and get another one. Straps and weapon hafts done in Doombull Brown. Still need to be based, and have some minor detailing done (picking out teeth, perhaps picking the cloth out in a different shade), but I figure that's "done" enough for now, especially given my limited palette of colours!
Talked myself into at least getting some Corsairs done after this. They are awesome miniatures, and pretty versatile too- they could work well as generic brigands in other games.
Paradigm wrote: Good stuff, and congratulations on being the first to finish the January pledge, in December no less!
Lol, good effort mate
I have decided to pledge the 6 Galadhrim warriors and old Thranduil, though no promises that I will be very prolific as I am already filling up next year's diary...
Awesome work already and im excited to see us with as many pledges as we have. Ill be posting up pics soon of my pre painting and maybe some work in progress.
Lots of love for the Urk-Hai. All of this evil is going to make me get back on my wood elves again. Or maybe this.......
if you havent seen battle of 5 armies then you are wrong....
Spoiler:
This single handedly saved dwarves for me. I HATE fantasy dwarves including LOTR, mainly in the sbg.
Billy Connolly is the fething man. Hands down favorite character of all the peter jackson movies on middle earth. I am making the above army, i dont care how crappy and non competitive it will be, nor how much ill have to write rules for.
Gandalf "i have always found throin the more reasonable of the two"
Thought I may as well join in with this as LOTR/Hobbit is going to be my main focus for the next year. I am aiming to try and get everything for the LOTR journey books painted so I can work through the scenarios with my boys. I have most of what’s needed as far as miniatures go I just need to get them painted. I also need to get a decent amount of terrain done. On top of this I plan to paint up random Hobbit miniatures not any particular force but just whatever takes my fancy at the time.
For January I am aiming for the following which will mean I have almost everything painted for the first journey book.
Unarmoured Haldier and 6 wood elves with bows
2 mounted and one foot ringwraith
2 Barrow wights
5 wild wargs
8 Uruk scouts with bows
Awesome, thanks. I prefer simple schemes that produce nice results because I'm a bit lazy when it comes to painting Plus I have all of those paints.
I had an awesome day today- there's a little comic shop in the Japanese district of Dusseldorf that has wargames at the back of it. And I've picked up some great RPG titles that were out of print there before. So I went in today looking at their LOTR stuff, and I was able to get the old, 24 model per box boxes of infantry for Corsairs of Umbar and Rohan for the old prices, as well as old prices for some Riders of Rohan. They also had a cheap metal mounted Aragorn. They've got a few other metal blisters of stuff, and I think I will go and raid them later this week- spending 80 euro in one go was enough for me
I'm actually also sorely tempted by the German rule books they have in there as well. I'm an english native speaker but my german is improving, and really all I'd want are the statlines and so on in the books.
But an awesome haul, and drives home what good value the old boxes were. The corsairs look like they are going to be great fun to paint.
that's a great haul, always worth grabbing the 24-boxes when you see them. The Corsairs are very nice models actually, simple to paint but nicely detailed, and quite conversion-friendly if you want to try for some Reavers or Arbalests.
I'm all for more pictures being posted. I will be setting myself new goals as I achieve the old ones to keep momentum going, so I hope that doesn't break the premise of the thread.
White Council looking nice there! Especially like grimy, dirty Gandalf vs. Pristine Saruman.
This is awesome work guys. Ill be priming my pledge today and getting started. I wanted to wait to begin anything until the calander said january(im stubborn like that). Also I think ill be doing much more then i pledged.
The local shop has a monthly painting comp and this months catagory is an HQ+command/squad/etc(the person who won only deals in 40k) but this can be fantasy or lotr included. I have saruman+20 urk hai+1 troll set with a mini display board. I will post pics of my progress
Paradigm wrote: Sounds like quite an undertaking, and the start of a nice force too.
I did say my Easterlings would be next, but other distractions have happened. Nine of them, in fact... Pics probably tomorrow.
are they of the twilight persuasion? That combined with your white council would make a STELLAR display.
The board should only be about 30cmx30cm and maybe 25cm high. Nothing big with a VERY simple paint scheme. Once i get started on that it will take me about 2-3 hours to build and 1 to paint. No one does a display board for this painting comp, i dont even know if its allowed because its all about the minis but im going to be an ass about it. It is a complete popularity competition below will show you an example of what i mean. So i want to make something that will be silly if it doesnt win.
Spoiler:
Guess which one won..........
its all about the 40k...........this was a no question IMO and to the other painters there but the children love 40k
Well, they're a bunch of suitably Middle-Earthy pre-Warhammer metals that I dug out of my bits box, and painted/slightly converted to exactly that, the Nine as they appear at Dol Guldur. A display board may or may not be coming, and I'm on the edge of repainting my Sauron or another large mini in his firey form from the same scene.
Best of luck with the comp, it can be a pain when 40k trumps anything but at the end of the day, if it's motivating for you and if your fellow gamers appreciate it then I say mission accomplished.
The shop manager said "ill believe it when i see it" i never compete simply because of that reason. The combination of this comp and the catagory sparked this
Automatically Appended Next Post: So a pre painting photo. The tubs represent the small section of orthanc I'm going to make with a 12x12" board. Troops start
Firstly, some Spectral Nazgul, in the form they take to fight The White Council at Dol Guldur. Now, GW aren't likely to do these as models, but it turns out they already have, sort of... Digging through a box of pre-Warhammer Citadel metals, I came across a bunch of minis that do the job admirably. The paintjob is simple, just a black base and green-blue drybrush, but it works.
Spoiler:
Rather an eclectic bunch, but the Wraiths as they appear in the film are quite varied as well, so I'm not overly bothered. For a bunch of minis that took only an hour to paint up, I'm happy. There are some nice similarities with actual LotR minis there as well; I'm thinking the bearded axeman could well be Forlong the Fat's great x120 grandfather The eigth one is notably Numerorean with the feathered helm and borrowed shield, and I get an Arnor vibe from the spear-wielder.
At some point soon, I'll be refighting the scene on the tabletop, I just need to decide which are the best versions of each Council member to use and how good I want the Wraiths to be.
Here are the rest of my pledge for the January challlenge, the second rank of Easterlings, pikemen with a banner.
Spoiler:
The lighting has messed up the golds on these, they're not that bad in real life, but I think I may need to hit them with another wash, especailly on the shields. Still, they pass the 3-foot test.
And finally, another repurposed old mini. Dain Ironfoot, the angriest Dwarf in Middle Earth, coming to Thorin's aid with 500 armed Dwarves and Moderate Bad Language.
Spoiler:
So, for my next pledge:
5 Haradrim Archers
5 Haradrim Spearmen
Haradrim Captain
Haradrim Banner
(Are we tracking completed and current pledges in the OP, or just current ones?)
Firstly, some Spectral Nazgul, in the form they take to fight The White Council at Dol Guldur. Now, GW aren't likely to do these as models, but it turns out they already have, sort of... Digging through a box of pre-Warhammer Citadel metals, I came across a bunch of minis that do the job admirably. The paintjob is simple, just a black base and green-blue drybrush, but it works.
Rather an eclectic bunch, but the Wraiths as they appear in the film are quite varied as well, so I'm not overly bothered. For a bunch of minis that took only an hour to paint up, I'm happy. There are some nice similarities with actual LotR minis there as well; I'm thinking the bearded axeman could well be Forlong the Fat's great x120 grandfather The eigth one is notably Numerorean with the feathered helm and borrowed shield, and I get an Arnor vibe from the spear-wielder.
At some point soon, I'll be refighting the scene on the tabletop, I just need to decide which are the best versions of each Council member to use and how good I want the Wraiths to be.
Here are the rest of my pledge for the January challlenge, the second rank of Easterlings, pikemen with a banner.
The lighting has messed up the golds on these, they're not that bad in real life, but I think I may need to hit them with another wash, especailly on the shields. Still, they pass the 3-foot test.
And finally, another repurposed old mini. Dain Ironfoot, the angriest Dwarf in Middle Earth, coming to Thorin's aid with 500 armed Dwarves and Moderate Bad Language.
So, for my next pledge:
5 Haradrim Archers
5 Haradrim Spearmen
Haradrim Captain
Haradrim Banner
(Are we tracking completed and current pledges in the OP, or just current ones?)
I think that repeated pledges for the month might be a little difficult to keep up with at your pace but i will do my best. Ill update the first post
Paradigm wrote: In that case, I'll save the Haradrim pledge for next month and just do some non-pledge stuff between now and then. Saves complicating things.
Feel free just if I miss anything keep me honest with a PM
Just went back and picked up Golfimbul and Gandalf on Shadowfax from the wee comic shop.
Only stuff in there I might want now is the Seer and the last King of Arnor in metal, or the Ringwraiths in metal.
I was thinking of getting some Morghul Knights and converting them into mounted ringwraiths, since they're a lot cheaper than buying all the individuals.
But in the last couple of days I've assembled 24 Corsairs, 6 Riders of Rohan, 24 Warriors of Rohan, Aragorn on horseback and Gandalf on Shadowfax, as well as Golfimbul! Time to get to painting some of this...
So its wed right now, monday night i go to start painting, ive primed up all of my minis and i open my pot of black, to cover the lightly primed spots and make the mini uniform, and all i find are about 3 drops of paint. Im all set to get base coating and black is principal IMO when painting these uruk-hai and the local gw is CLOSED till wed. Today comes around and im stuck at work with no truck as its broken. So my painting has been at a stand still and it sucks. I have 23 days including today to paint saruman, 20 uruks, a troll, and make a 1'x1' display board.
Ah, that's a spanner in the works. Do you not have an art/craft shop or anything like that nearby if the GW isn't open (at least over here, their opening times are very odd)? But yeah, I can't see painting Uruks being easy at all without black.
Paradigm wrote: Ah, that's a spanner in the works. Do you not have an art/craft shop or anything like that nearby if the GW isn't open (at least over here, their opening times are very odd)? But yeah, I can't see painting Uruks being easy at all without black.
We have a gw independant a few miles from my house but i am weary of buying paint from them as it seems they have no product moving through there at all. I am willing to bet those paints are a few years old. They have some of the paints from the previous system.
I have got the 5 wild wargs and the 2 barrow weights done. The rest of the stuff in my list is base coated and washed so I just need to do the highlights to complete them.
Paradigm wrote: Very nice! The armour is clearly defined and the skin tones are great. I'd add a White Hand mark or two if you're up to it, but that's it.
I'm going to wait fir the very end to do those. Going to pratjce a few on paper first
My first two Uruk-Hai's done.. I needed at least one painted for my first ever game of LOTR on Monday, but I figured if I'm doing one I might as well do 2 and use them both as Captains..
What do you guys think?
Also anyone have any good ways of converting captains etc from the plastic kits?
Good stuff! For Captains, anything to distinguish the model will do. This could be as simple as standing him on a large rock or as complex as sculpting new detail. The point being, so long as you can point to him and say 'the guy with/on/holding X is a Captain'.
Well, I have done a lot of assembly and base coating, but the only things I've managed to paint are some willow forests for my game board. And they're not even particularly willowy looking!
I won't promise anything, but at least I got those Uruks finished for January so I am not a complete failure. Working sucks!
Haha I will definitely make Sure i have my camera on hand when I paint my next evil force ! Ive painted everything I got for Christmas almost but no photo proof
Well i've done a grand total of sweet F.A.! Only hobby time I've had I devoted to progressing my M3 Grant WWII tank, which still has a lot to be done on it... Don't expect much from this corner in the coming weeks I'm afraid...
Well I think I will make the first February pledge, I shall get my 20 mordor Orcs and troll painted, and I will take photographic evidence this time so people believe me
WEll, if we're starting to make January pledges, I'll go with the goal of adding to each of my main armies: Gondor, Rohan, Mordor, Fallen Realms. So, here goes:
In February, I will paint:
6 Rohan Outriders
5 Osgiliath Veterans
24 Morannon Orcs
10 Corsairs of Umbar
That's a fair bit, but I think I can get it done, if I don't get side-tracked...
Get one unit (36 figures) of my Hithaeglir Goblins (Thunderbolt Mountain Miniatures) that I started last fall finished, including basing... For February.
And get at least two more of the Lesser Goblins sculpts finished.
Here's my first WIP for February, my Morannon Orc Command group. I am taking a bit more time than usual as they will be my entry into the One Ring February painting contest as well. I have no chance of winning (there are some great LotR painters over there), but want to give the best showing I can:
I can get behind this. I shall pledge Gandalf on Cart by the end of February and maybe a Treebeard maybe, possibly, probably not. Gandalf on Cart definitely though.
Yes. Sorry i havent gotten around to updating the orginal post but i will do so asap. Probably tomorrow when i get my pledge back from the hobby shop(i entered it into a painting competition)
My Gandalf on Cart will be here by next friday and will be painted by saturday.
I may pick up Radagast on Sleigh to accompany him and put him as a pledge aswell.
Some more WIPs of my Morannons. Sadly, lack of primer has stopped me from getting on with the rest of my stuff, so it'll be a pretty close thing as to whether or not I can get all the stuff I pledged done before the month is up...
Spoiler:
The finished Captain:
The finished banner bearer:
And another Captain, who I've converted a little to resemble Easterling styles and colours. Maybe it's my 40k side talking, but even in LotR I like Orcs having 'looted' stuff, so throughout my Mordor army are weapons and shields ect nicked from just about anyone else.
Wolf wrote: Oh nice use of the Easterling head there ! I'll post an update of my stuff in the next hour or so too
Automatically Appended Next Post: OK so Orcs update !
Spoiler:
Did you scrape down the shield faces on these?
Because it looks like you scraped down the shield faces on these.
I have been thinking about doing that, and re-adding bindings that are not two to four inches thick (in scale).
But flat faces look good, too.
My other thought was to completely remove all their shields, and replace them with shields I have done myself that are slight more uniform, but still tatty (basic round shields, with various bindings).
Because it looks like you scraped down the shield faces on these.
I have been thinking about doing that, and re-adding bindings that are not two to four inches thick (in scale).
But flat faces look good, too.
My other thought was to completely remove all their shields, and replace them with shields I have done myself that are slight more uniform, but still tatty (basic round shields, with various bindings).
MB
On the square shields I did yes, they were originally Easterling shields that I cut down and scraped the front details off, the end result which is what I was hoping for, was a batter metal shield
Had to resort to crappy GW black base for primer, but it's better than nothing, and I have got my first Warband of Morannons done up (last few are awaiting wash and basing, should get that done tonight). Pics tomorrow, should lighting permit.
So long as I keep mixing it up, I should be able to get my full pledge done in time. Tomorrow, I'll probably tackle some Corsairs.
Finished up my last Orc for the competition, a second banner. I'm thinking I may just enter the EasterOrc and this banner, but I'll see as and when I get around to final photos.
And back to the good ol' quick and dirty method for the bulk of the Warband, 5 sword and board and five... erm, spear and board?
I've been distracted by making some scenery for my games (whenever I can convince my girlfriend to play with me). got three trees and two clumps of undergrowth made now from grape stems, cork and cardboard. Actually pretty chuffed with how they look!
Started on my pledge for this month tonight, just getting the base coats down right now. Probably post pictures of the scenery and the models tomorrow!
I have been distracted myself these last few days with some Space Marines. The Rohan Outriders are done to a thoroughly mediocre standard, and some extra Haradrim, but I still need to get through 10 more Morannons, 5 Osgiliath Veterans and 5 Corsair spearmen this month. Doable, I just need to sit down and get into a flow of it.
I've just got to detail my Warriors of Rohan now, but I'm happy with how the colours came out.
I just coated the entire model in Earthshade this morning, and that stuff really does do a lot to add depth to the models and bring out the shallow detail. I think I should go and Earthshade the majority of my painted LOTR stuff!
We'll see how it goes with regard to getting any more done. Once I have a scheme worked out I can usually go pretty fast, so I expect I'll get these done and at least another 8. I'd like to get the full 24 done, but work might get in the way as usual!
Finished up my last Orc for the competition, a second banner. I'm thinking I may just enter the EasterOrc and this banner, but I'll see as and when I get around to final photos.
And back to the good ol' quick and dirty method for the bulk of the Warband, 5 sword and board and five... erm, spear and board?
Excellent!
I saw these while browsing the gallery last night.
I have always thought it ironic that GW calls these "Morannon Orcs," when they are listed in the movie Art Books as being Morgul Orcs, from Minas Morgul (the first place they show up is in the assault on Osgiliath in the second movie, and later in the Battle for Pelennor Fields they make up the majority of the Orcs - mixed in with the "Mordor Uruks").
Again, in the movie art books, the Modor Uruks are listed as "Lugbúrz Orcs" (which makes them Mordor Uruks, but then so would the Mogul Orcs). But the art books pointed out that they were supposed to be a part of a force from inner-Mordor fighting with the Morgul Orcs).
But.... They are the same Orcs that show up at the Morannon... In the movie...
Spoilered to save your eyes from my crappy camera skills, but there's my pledge plus the trees and undergrowth I have been making all month. Going to get started on the warriors with swords and axes now.
Very pleased with how they've come out even if they are just pretty basic and following the movie colour scheme.
Spoilered to save your eyes from my crappy camera skills, but there's my pledge plus the trees and undergrowth I have been making all month. Going to get started on the warriors with swords and axes now.
Very pleased with how they've come out even if they are just pretty basic and following the movie colour scheme.
Minis are looking good. How did you make that undergrowth? It looks awesome
Spoilered to save your eyes from my crappy camera skills, but there's my pledge plus the trees and undergrowth I have been making all month. Going to get started on the warriors with swords and axes now.
Very pleased with how they've come out even if they are just pretty basic and following the movie colour scheme.
Minis are looking good. How did you make that undergrowth? It looks awesome
The undergrowth is made from pieces of dried out grape stems with Woodland Scenics Undergrowth glued onto it with PVA glue. You could also use lichen, like I used for the trees, which would give you a much leafier look to the bushes. I might do that next time because the Woodland Scenics stuff was a bit crumbly and a pain to work with.
It's really easy to do and quite satisfying, and the results are quite sturdy and look nice!
Thanks for the kind words on the painting guys, this thread is excellent for motivation.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Sat up late and got another 8 base coated. Drybrushing and washing tomorrow, and then detailing! Should have the full 16 done by lunch time.
Da Boss wrote: Nice! I like the basing particularly, the different lengths of grass really sell it.
I prefer my goblins with more variation in their skin tone, though!
Just after that batch I started learning highlights and mixing etc. So next batch ( I have double the amount pictured) will have more variation like in the movies.
They look great! A proper horde as well, if you have even more to come!
I finished up my Corsair Warband today, barring a few touchups I noticed needed doing while taking pictures, so I just have the Vets and Morannons part 2 to get done next week.
Can I play too? I've avoided joining in since I'm unlikely to start with unpainted or primed figures at the start of any given month, since it can (and typically does) take me literally months to finish a unit. Because Painting ADHD.
Still, it'd be nice to show off my LotR stuff as I get it finished. Or if you prefer, I could make my own LotR-thread in this subforum instead?
The more the merrier Azazelx. I'd happily look at and comment on either thread. The community here seems to be gaining some momentum!
In that spirit:
Spoiler:
Second eight Rohan Warriors done. The white on the shields really gave me a headache! Still undecided whether to wash it Earthshade like the rest of the model or leave it contrasting and white.
@Az: Of course! Even if you don't pledge formally, feel free to sho off your stuff in this thread! And if you don't fancy pledging whole units, just add a little of everything.
@Da Boss: They look great! The shields gave me a similar problem, in the end I washed them Agrax and it does tie them in better, I feel.
For Gondor, it's these OSgiliath Veterans, converted with the odd sash/rag and some hand-me-down weapons:
From Harad, these Corsairs of Umbar
And these Archers (apologies for the blurry pics, I'll retake when I have the next lot done)
From Rohan, these Outriders
And from Mordor, Orcs. More Morannons:
And the final, absolutely final, honestly, hand on heart last pictures of their Command group (I think this is the third or fourth time I've posted them here, but they're done now!)
And just for the hel of it, I got out all my Orcs having finished that lot. Here they are, hording it up!
Looking really good there, mate! The orcs look appropriately nasty. You must have a ton of models done by now. If you want some help working them into starter armies for KoW just let me know.
Cheers! By my reckoning, I'm at close to 200 or more LotR minis since about last September when I started taking them seriously. Next month will see me bring my Gondor force up to 1000 points, add a few hundred points to my Fallen Men and possibly do something with my few plastic LotR-era Dwarves to make them fit with my Iron Hills army, and then I'm dangerously close to clearing my LotR backlog! Not that that'll stop me, I have great plans for more armies. Laketown post-Smaug, Dol Guldur/Gundabad Orcs, converted Mirkwood when I can get some Galadrhim cheap... the list goes on, with Moria being the only faction I don't really have plans for.
As for KoW, here's my very premilinaty thinking:
Spoiler:
KoM/Gondor:
2x12 WoMT as basic infantry regiments
12x Osgiliath Vets as some kind of Elite regiment
A few Troops of archers, both Rangers (will use Elf profiles with tweaks) and WoMT archers
6x KoMT as Cav regiment
6x SKODA as elite cav if there are any.
Assorted heroes/support ect
Napkin maths suggests I should be able to hit around 1000 points with that, no idea if it's any good though.
For Mordor, I was actually thinking of going Undead. Orcs as either skellies or zombies, Morannons as Revenants, Ringwraiths as Necromancers/Vampires. I think that might fit the 'mindless horde and fell sorcery' style better than the actual Orc list (which I'll probably use for Uruks).
This may undergo heavy changes or never happen at all, but I am planning to try it out. Free rules=nothing to lose!
Well im a few hours late getting the pics up but I was done painting a few days ago.
I am not entirely happy with how varsku turned out. my brush started to split when painting him. Picked up some new ones after i had already painted him. Trying an odd way of highlighting with my uruks. It is different but i do like how it looks in massed units.
Spoiler:
Too me i call where they are at done. I apply army painter dark tone + testors dullcoat to most of minis to get an added layer of protection for the paint.
I do not paint the base before i dip and dullcoat them because i dont want to mess the base up, and i dont dip untill i have 2 or 3 trays of minis to make it worth while (dipping only a handfull of minis stinks)
Here is an almost full tray
Spoiler:
With what i have painted i have the start of the siege lords of isengard WOTR formation.
3x berserker formations a full formation of Varskus talons the crew for 2 ballistas and a small number of regular warriors with command units to lead them.
to add to that i plan on taking sharkus raiders + some pikemen and trolls.
Not sure if i can pledge much LOTR for March. most of my paint time will be dedicated to getting my blood bowl team painted for the Adepticon tourney.
Those are great, and an impressinve amount of minis there. All Isengard is emptied, and I have to admire the dedication of anyone who collects 3 whole companies of Beserkers!
So for February, the following people completed their pledges:
Da Boss
Wolf
Paradigm
Envy89
Good work guys!
So I guess we start taking March pledges now! My own shall be various Men of Middle Earth, but I'll have to have a dig through the backlog to work out exactly what!
Having had a good dig through the boxes, I've put together my March pledge:
For the Forces of Good:
10 Warriors of Minas Tirith
7 Minas Tirith Archers
4 Knights of Minas Tirith
10 Rangers of Gondor
6 Swan Knights of Dol Amroth
For the Forces of Evil:
5 Haradrim Raiders
6 Haradrim Spearmen, Captain and Banner
8 Easterling Archers
A bit less than last month, but some of these will take a lot longer (the cavalry will be a slog, although the KOMT horses are already done).
I may also work on some Half Trolls if I can find suitable models (have 3-4 that could work, but shan't bother unless I can get 6 or so), and I have an unofficial Dain on the way as well, but I'm keeping my pledge strictly Human this month, April will then see me tie up the loose ends of Isengard and Mordor, then it's back to The Iron Hills (converted), Laketown and Gundabad (WGF minis, converted).
EDIT: Went back and added some stuff, turns out this is more than last month! Oh well, the MT stuff should be a breeze and I'm not that lacking for time, so it should be doable.
Also went and added up what this month will bring my Gondor army to model-wise, it's a tad on the large side now! Shan't need any more for a while.
Spoiler:
Boromir
Faramir
Madril
Cirion
Denethor
Aragorn
Gandalf (Grey or White)
30 Warriors/Archers of MT 12 Osgiliath Vets
20 Rangers of Gondor
6 KoMT
6 SKoDA
3 GotFC (probably the only thing I might need a couple more of)
It easily hits 1k points in SBG, and should be able to push 1500 for KoW without too much trouble.
Impressed with myself- managed to block in the colours on my 8 spearmen tonight. Hopefully I maintain momentum and get the highlighting done tomorrow. Could have the whole lot finished by thursday if I'm lucky!
Looking at all the KoW/LOTR stuff I think I will pick up another box so I have 12 of each weapon type for regiments, and another box or two of Riders so I can have multiple regiments.
Tre Manor's Brigand models would make decent rabble, too.
Edit: Aaaand 1 day later, despite being knackered, I have highlighted and washed the lucky eight.
Once the wash dries, I'll do the detailing. Parents evening is tomorrow though. So we'll see how that goes.
Nice progress! I have got 5 WoMT done today, will knock out their fellows tomorrow.
For the KoW conversion, have you found a profile to use for Riders of Rohan? Looking at the Kingdoms of Men list you get Mounted Sergeants (fit pretty well, but can't shoot) or Mounted Scouts (can only be taken in Troops, crap in CC), but I can't find anything that is both competent on the charge and can shoot. I could just split the archers from the rest, but I'd like them to all be able to play 'properly'. I'm having similar problems finding a profile for Khandish and Warg Riders.
I started 10 WoMT archers yesterday. I guess they can be part of the challenge for me. Plan is to get everything done bar the leather and the highlighting of the black cloth parts done by the time I go back to work on Tuesday (long weekend this week) and then I can do the soul-destroying highlighting during my lunch breaks at work - which oddly enough is actually relaxing at work.
Also started on 4 Moria Goblins today to finish a unit, and should have gotten them done (along with finishing 5 undead cavalry), but I was too distracted by Dragon Age: Inquisition for most of the day...
Finished part one of my pledge - got the 8 spearmen done. 6 Riders coming up. I'm actually looking forward to these quite a lot. I like painting horses.
I've also been making some movement trays pretty much inspired by the Rings of War discussion here. Excited to have stuff in a playable state again for the first time since my move to germany!
Went into town and got an Ent too, and another box of Riders. The stock in the local GW is getting low though- I want 1 more box of Riders so I can have 1 unit with spears (Kingdoms of Men Knights), 1 unit with swords (Mounted Sergeants ) and 2 small units with bows (mounted scouts). I also want one more box of Warriors of Rohan to fill my units out to 12 each, but the shop is completely empty of all Rohan kits now. They've also reduced their wall space for LOTR/Hobbit, and both the indy stores have stopped stocking it. Sigh.
Awesome progress! As for grabbing some minis, try Element Game, last I checked they had a fair bit of LotR in stock and at a decent price too (still nothing like the 'Good ol' Days', of course, but better than GW)
I myself have been lax on my pledge, only 5 Gondor Spearmen done. I've been distracted by writing a new ruleset, painting the minis to go with it, and I should have some more sci-fi stuff arriving too... it'll require a concerted effort at somepoint to get back on track....
Work has been mental this last couple of weeks so I am a bit impressed with myself for getting them done to be honest!
Thanks for the Element Games heads up. I was pretty close to pulling the trigger on some stuff from them recently, it's good to get a recommendation from a trustworthy source!
So I kinda failed miserably at my Jan pledge lol. Well I tried but then I didn't like how my metallic paints turned out after I painted the armour on my uruks. So I stopped and that killed my momentum . Anyway, excuses.
This month though I will do something easy and achievable! I'm going to try get Gandalf and Saruman painted. The two wizards! I got this
Finished the 10 WoMT archers 2 days ago. Also finished the 4 goblins with spears as well - along with an additional 8 with swords. (just needing varnish).
Now working on 16 goblin archers, 3 captains, and 3 Prowlers, with a few more of each in the wings in case i manage to finish the initial batch...
Even though I did not finish my February Pledge, it did get me a lot closer to finishing it had it been otherwise.
I am pretty sure that I can get that unit of 36 Goblins/Orcs finished by the end of March.
I only have bits and pieces at this point to finish (Individual weapons on a few, skin touch-ups, shields on 11 of them), get the standard finished (for which I need to do a test, to see if a trick I learned when I was younger for doing cloth textures on models still works), and then basing them.
That will only leave 96 Greater-Goblins, 124 Lesser Goblins, 16 Wolf/Warg-Riders, and 8 Trolls (Plus 20 Command Figures)...
I found another box of Riders of Rohan in the Stuttgart GW, but their LOTR stock is also suspiciously low. Very similar miniatures left there as to the Dusseldorf GW - Dwarf Warriors, an Ent, a Balrog, a Ringwraith on Fell Beast, some Warriors of Minas Tirith, some elves and some Army of the Dead.
What are GW up to I wonder? Selling down the last of the LOTR range?
Yeah, I think the in-store LotR range is going to continually dwindle over the next few months. The (pretty credible) rumours about HH plastics mentioned that the new 30k range would be replacing the LotR/Hobbit range on the shelves, while the latter go Direct Only. Not so bad for LotR as Ebay is still flooded with it, but it's probably a good idea to grab any Hobbit stuff you want before it vanishes.
As for the challenge, I guess I'm going to have to call this month a pretty catastrophic failure, having completed only 5 LotR minis this month. Distractions in 80s Fantasy minis and new Eldar Harlequins have left little time for LotR, so I think I'm just going to carry my to-do pile over to next month, when I'll hopefully be able to blast through a few more.
Man, so GW's best range is going to get cleared out for Moar Marines? Lame.
I hate using Ebay, but I suppose I can order stuff online from some places - maybe even GW themselves. Still a massive disappointment that they can't even keep the basic plastic kits in stock.
I can get LotR stuff for around ½ price (or less).
But I think that I own all the LotR stuff I am ever going to need.
And I will eventually be replacing most of it with my own Sculpts (Or the few Tom Meier Sculpts from Thunderbolt Mountain - just Elves at this point).
The GWLotR dwarves, though, are probably some of the best of the line. At least the older ones... I am not so sure about The Hobbit lines. They seem "off" somehow.
Azazelx wrote: Finished the 10 WoMT archers 2 days ago. Also finished the 4 goblins with spears as well - along with an additional 8 with swords. (just needing varnish).
Now working on 16 goblin archers, 3 captains, and 3 Prowlers, with a few more of each in the wings in case i manage to finish the initial batch...
Got my varnish. The 8 Moria Goblin swords are now done, and they've been incorporated into their unit base. (with a few left over). 8 of the Goblin Archers are about 70-80% done, with the other 8 needing significantly more work still. 3 Metal Goblin captains almost done.
Also started 7 Gondor war machine crew on Sunday. They're about 80% done, with all the pain in the arse highlighting of black cloth finished today at work. Just flesh, hilts, hair and belts to go.
Hopefully I'll get all 26 of these finished by the end of the weekend. Here's to hoping!
Those prowlers look pretty good- better than mine, which I intend on repainting this year some time.
Good job on the heavy goblins BeAfraid.
I'm still too wiped from work to make any progress on my Riders of Rohan, but I have cleared some time on Sunday to finish them off before I go home to Ireland for a while.
Da Boss wrote: Those prowlers look pretty good- better than mine, which I intend on repainting this year some time.
Good job on the heavy goblins BeAfraid.
I'm still too wiped from work to make any progress on my Riders of Rohan, but I have cleared some time on Sunday to finish them off before I go home to Ireland for a while.
Thanks.
I have been meaning to get another WIP shot of them just before I start working on basing them, but I still haven't got the shields and Army Standard painted yet (I have been busy trying to figure out the general's name, and the runes for it, as well as some brag for his standard, as well as what kind of Vulture to use on his standard - it is just going to be a simplified white abstract of a vulture, but you would be surprised at the variations in vultures that exist).
And... I have Riders of Rohan I am struggling to get finished as well.
I have most of one unit of 18 finished (but I have three units of 18), and I have almost all of the models cleaned and primed. But collectively, the army has six units total, three of the regular riders, one of Royal Guard, One of Light Horse Archers, and one of Non-Éored organized riders (you would need to read the short-story in Unfinished Tales to get the organization of the Army - Éoherë - of Rohan).
The Rohirrim are my favorite miniatures from the LotR line.
Da Boss wrote: Those prowlers look pretty good- better than mine, which I intend on repainting this year some time.
You can't really see much on them in that shot, and even in hand they're pretty dark and unexciting. I've got another blister of them, so I'll probably paint those as well before taking any pics of the first batch.
I have been meaning to get another WIP shot of them just before I start working on basing them, but I still haven't got the shields and Army Standard painted yet (I have been busy trying to figure out the general's name, and the runes for it, as well as some brag for his standard, as well as what kind of Vulture to use on his standard - it is just going to be a simplified white abstract of a vulture, but you would be surprised at the variations in vultures that exist).
Just take a shot and get it up. It's not supposed to be perfect - that's what WIP is for. Feedback, encouragement and motivation.
I've got 8 of the archers finished today, as well as those three prowlers. Bolt Thrower is almost done now as well, and have done some more work on the second batch of 8 archers. Hopefully tomorrow they'll all be done as well...
The other 8 Goblin archers done, Bolt Thrower done, 7 Gondor WM crew done. Just the three captains to go and it's onto the next stuff. Found more half-painted goblins, so probably going to do those to the point where I can field 2x12 of each of the three goblin types (Blade/Spear/Bow). I'll have to paint something else though in between once I finish the three captains. I need a reward after powering through all of those figures.
I've got a nice C23 Ogre and a Troll Slayer close to finished. Not LotR of course, but a nice break from the trash mobs I've been painting.
...aaaaand done!
I don't have the stamina left to power through the next batch of goblins right now. Though I have just started assembling the Avenger Bolt Thrower, so I'll see if I can get that done before the month ends.
Paradigm wrote: Damn, Az, all this progress is making me jealous! I've been in a complete rut paint-wise for the last week or so!
Pah! You somehow get done in a week what it takes me three months to get through!
Good news is that it now looks like that Avenger Bolt Thrower will get finished tomorrow. Waiting on the sand to dry now (will leave it overnight, since it's 11:43pm) and will hit it with the black ink first thing when I get up. Once that's done, I can glue the bolt thrower down, finish the steel, ink the steel, paint the "bowstring" (more like a rope, but anyway), ink that, and then spray varnish the lot. Then glue some tufts to it at the end of the day.
Will I get the basing done on my Goblins by Tuesday???
That is pretty much all that remains to do on them (well, and glue some aberrant shields onto the miniatures).
They would be done if I have not got side-tracked with working on filling in the base-colors on the entire Greater-Goblin component of the army, and organizing the Lesser-Goblins into proper units.
Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock- . . .
The hardest part of finishing will be waiting for the styrene putty on the bases to dry before painting it.
But once it's dries sufficiently to hold paint, it is only nine bases to paint, and then stick flocking and grass clumps to.
Just knuckle down. No internets before the putty is applied. or when some part of it is doable.
Got my Avenger Bolt Thrower finished today, as a "bonus" figure for the month. Since I only started it yesterday, I'm happy I managed to finish it so quickly.
The one shown in the pic above that got finished earlier is an old GW one from 3rd-ed era, originally sold with both Dwarves and Orcs, and generic enough to be used by most anyone, so for the time being it'll be used when the Moria Goblins march (scuttle?) to (Ko)War.
Going out tomorrow (taking my Mum to the Zoo) so I won't be doing anything LotR-related at all.
So for April, I'll start my challenge with the 24 additional Moria Goblins that I need to completely repaint (they are half-painted eBay fodder) and 5 Metal Moria Goblins that shall be used as Unit Leaders/Captains. Add to that 2 each of the Blackroot Vale Banners and Musician models that will complete two units I'm using as Rangers of Ithilien.
That's 33 for the month - more than enough to start with, and I actually have a chance of pulling them off. (so to speak!) I'll also work on some stuff that's more fun, since those gobboes get more than a mite tedious.
After the last one of these helped motivate me to finish a whole lot of (mostly tedious) stuff done in a reasonably fast (for me) timeframe, I've decided to go again.
This week's end/weekend project - See if I can finish off these figures by Sunday night:
Posting here since this is the place that spawned this type of successful challenge for me, and because they're almost all LotR models. 8 Moria Goblin Archers that I got half-painted and am ending up giving a full repaint to (already did the bases), and 7 metals that will act as Captains or at the very least, KoW unit leaders. For pleasure, there's a Dwarven Slayer and C23 Ogre that were both started 10+ years ago that I've started doing some work on again lately. So only 17 in this batch to try and get done in the next 3 1/2 days. Do Old-school Citadel Ogres work as any kind of troop type in LotR/SBG? They kinda seem like they should. Less-PJ-ish Trolls, maybe...
If I manage to get these done in time, I've got 2 units of cavalry I want to get rid of, since they're taking up valuable space by being half-painted in one of my cabinets. But that's my next self-challenge.
So, yeah. I spent the weekend chilling out and playing Pillars of Eternity and Dungeons and Dragons, so I never got my Riders of Rohan painted for this month. I got my 8 Warriors of Rohan with Spears done, though, so I'm not a total failure.
I did put together some Conquest Games Norman Warriors as Warriors of Minas Tirith to go with my RBG Aenglish though, so I am giving myself some points for that
I also made an Ent, who was surprisingly annoying to make and surprisingly tall when finished!
But then I got a plane to Ireland and I've been bumming around Dublin since then, so no painting. Checked the Dublin GW and they also have a similar selection of stuff to the Dusseldorf GW and Stuttgart GW, so I reckon that must be just what they are keeping in stock. Would be too much of a coincidence for them all to have similar stock, right?
Azazelx: Ogres would probably work fine as Cave Trolls - smaller than Mordor Trolls but still big and strong and running around on a 40mm base.
Still sounds like a decent number of figures done for the month. I'd love to see some pics of them. Also, hanging around Dublin sounds like a well worthwhile option over painting. After all, you can paint almost any time!
I've gotten the 8 Goblin Archers done so far, as well as 5 of the Metals/Captains. 2 more of those to go, so hopefully later today. Not sure if I'll get the Ogre and Dwarf done, though - especially since they're more "important" models as opposed to "horde" models like the Moria Goblins, and as such will need me to take my time a little/lot more. Still, if I manage to finish at least one of them, I'l be happy.
6 rohan royal guard, erkenbrand, 8 riders of rohan and 12 warriors of rohan.
Do Old-school Citadel Ogres work as any kind of troop type in