Fenrir's Middle Earth Labour of Love

[Fenrir]

@LeadAsbestos: I'm tempted to wait until Forged in Battle release their excellent 15mm Dark Ages stuff before I go full-in on DB, but I have plenty to keep me occupied until then!

@Commander Carnage: A small AAR is to follow- unfortunately the photos I took were pretty bad (even for me!), but I'll chuck a few in anyway...

@DivisMal: Many thanks for the kind words- I hope you enjoy what I have planned for the future!

[Fenrir]

Battle on the North Downs, TA 1973

In this year the Witch-King assembled a great horde of orcs, evil men, wargs and fell spirits upon the North.
Though reinforcements from Gondor arrived too late to aid Arthedain, King Arvedui gathered his army upon the North Downs- a force so strong that Angmar had no choice but to try and counter the threat.


A small scouting band of Halflings were the first to fall before the orcish hordes- however, their valiant last stand surprised the foul creatures and they retreated in disarray.

Arvedui advanced bravely to the fore, and his Royal Guard cut down many orcs. In their fury they pressed too far forwards and were set upon by barbarians from Carn Dum. Seeing their brave lord harried and isolated, the men of Arthedain sprang forwards with a great shout and cut down the evil men, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with their king. All across the field, the forces of Angmar recoiled in confusion...

A cry of dismay suddenly arose from the men of the North as the Witch-King arrived on the field in person and his minions redoubled their efforts- a pack of great wargs burst from the trees and pulled down several of the king's guard, who died bravely defending their lord and sent the wicked beasts to flight from where they were chased down by bold knights from Fornost- though not before the cunning creatures pulled several brave men from their saddles!

Yet before the fell power of the Lord of the Nazgul, there could be no victory. Many brave warriors were slain by the black dart, or else succumbed to the shroud of despair projected by the Witch-King, and the Arthedainian line wavered, buckled and then crumbled before the renewed attacks of the servants of the Shadow. The last to perish was Arvedui himself, standing alone before his enemy in proud defiance before the shadows closed in around him...

[/Conclusion: This battle swung back-and-forth several times, but in the end it followed 'history' quite closely with the destruction of the army of Arthedain at great cost to the forces of Angmar. The one difference was the death of the king in combat with the Witch-King and his fell spirits- a more 'heroic' end than drowning at sea... All-in-all, a cracking game!i]

[Paboook]

Enjoying your view on Middle-Earth. Great combination of miniatures. Your Arnor army looks ace particularly.

[Fenrir]

Just to prove that I've not been lost over the edge of the Wild (though it was a close-run thing a few times!), here are a few pictures of my Rohan and Isengard forces (that I actually finished back in the Spring!) for a Fords of Isen scenario. Here we see Theodred and his men defending a farm somewhere in the Westfold from Dunlendings, Uruks and Orcs, while Erkenbrand and Elfhelm lead a relief force of Riders to the aid of the King's son...

[Fenrir]

...And a few more! This includes my new Oathmark heavy Dwarf infantry, but on reflection I think I will go with hammer-wielding Dwarves from Conqueror as (though I do love the Oathmark stuff) these guys look a little too 'high fantasy' for this project (could just be my painting...). These Dwarves will find a new home in SAGA: AOM or regular Dragon Rampant!

[Swordisdrawn]

Wonderful

[Commander Carnage]

 I'm glad to see you're posting again. Great pics as usual.

[Hobgoblin]

Superb stuff! I love the Isengarders in particular - that's a great take on the White Hand!

[Grumpy Gnome]

I love your work, it has been a great inspiration for me. Thank you for sharing your vision!

[Codsticker]

I love your choice of figures for, and the painting of, the Rohirrim and Dunlendings. I thought that Victrix vikings might also do for Dunlendings .

[Spooktalker]

Inspiring. 

[gibby64]

Love the world you have created here.

[Sunjester]

Superb stuff there.
I think the Oathmark Dwarves capture the feel of the First Age (such as the host of Belegost) brilliantly, but agree they may be a little too much for the Third Age. I'm using the old Vendal Dwarves and I'm thinking getting a few Conquest models to fill in the gaps, as they are all Patten sculpts they match well in style.

[Fenrir]

Thank you very much, everybody! I still lurk around on here when I have the time...

@Hobgoblin: thanks for the advice you gave me on the Uruk-Hai!

@Codsticker: Cheers! These were painted before the Victrix Vikings came out- though to be honest I always saw the Dunlendings as being 'Celtic' types, with their struggles against the Rohirrim having parallels with the relationship between the Britons and Saxons...

@Sunjester: That is a good point- especially with the 'war-masks'! I admit that beyond the Third Age my Middle Earth knowledge is hazy... I really do love those Conqueror Dwarves though- I was looking at their unarmoured 'Dwarf Fyrd' models as a basis for Thorin's Company!


The next part of this project will be the Battle of Dale during the War of the Ring, using Fireforge Mongols for Easterlings and GB Rus (Pagans and Princes!) for the Men of Dale. Although I have been a little side-tracked by Mirkwood Spiders, a Mumakil for forthcoming Haradrim and thinking of models to use for the Fiefdoms of Gondor... 

[Bodvoc]

Splendid stuff as always Fenrir!