The germ of a project: unconventional Middle-earth armies (a switch to 15mm!)

[Hobgoblin]

Just thinking out loud here, but a project I'm toying with for this year is putting together some Middle-earth armies that don't conform to the various visual conventions that have sprung up over the years - those drawn on the works of Angus McBride, Alan Lee, John Howe and Peter Jackson, among others.

Essentially, I much prefer new takes on Tolkien than the same old stuff. When I heard that the forthcoming Amazon series would be based on the New Line films, my heart sank somewhat. I'm no great fan of the films, and while they have some great designs, I kind of lament the fact that they've become a received version of Middle Earth (rather than just one take on the subject). If Amazon had been doing a brand-new adaptation of LotR, I'd have been much more interested. I suppose it's the same mild disapproval I feel when I see a film-branded edition of a classic novel.

Anyway, I really like some of the older and wilder Middle-earth illustrations out there - like those of Tove Janssen,  Ingahild Grathmer, Antonio Quadros and various Russian illustrators - this kind of thing:



















So, as a kind of challenge for the year, I'm thinking about assembling a brace of forces (probably for HotT and in 28mm) that would allow me to fight either the Battle of the Pelennor Fields or, less ambitiously, the Battle of the Five Armies.

These are the three "Dogme rules" that I plan to apply to this project:

1. Everything must fit the descriptions in the source work (either The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit).
2. What's outwith the particular source work doesn't matter. So, for example, the orcs at the Battle of the Five Armies wouldn't have to be smaller than humans because nothing in The Hobbit indicates that. But it's a different matter at the Pelennor because LotR's text makes the size difference clear. In essence, the project is an illustration of the book in question, not of Tolkien's wider 'universe'.
3. Where possible, 'received' visual conventions are to be disregarded. Gandalf must have a beard, but he needn't have a moustache; the Rohirrim must wear mail but they needn't follow the Anglo-Saxon/Norman template. If trolls are shown with the bearlike snouts of those Russian illustrations, so much the better!

The plan is to add a HotT element every now and then, painting them up at my leisure. A couple of bases a month should give me two playable armies. And I could doubtless use those elements with our 1/72 HotT stuff along the way.

The dilemma is whether to take the easy route (the Five Armies) or the more ambitious path (the Pelennor).

For the Five Armies, I reckon I could get away with the standard 24AP: baddies - two warbands (Bolg and bodyguard); two flyers (bats); four beasts (wargs and warg-riders); and eight hordes (Orcs); goodies - one magician (Gandalf); two shooters (Elves); two blades (dwarves); two spears or warbands (Men); one dragon (Eagles) and one god (Beorn).

For the Pelennor, I don't think the 24AP works, so 36AP sides would be the minimum - the baddies alone need Uruks (hordes), Mumakil (behemoths), the Witch King (aerial hero), trolls (warbands), Haradrim cavalry (riders or possibly knights or both), Haradrim foot (spears or warbands) and Easterlings and Variags (blades or warbands).

Decisions, decisions ...

Anyway, I'm going to be thinking a bit about which miniatures would fit into an unconventional Middle-earth. Any off-the-wall suggestions much appreciated!

(While having a rummage in the leadpile at lunchtime, I came across some 15mm Tin Soldier orcs and realised that they would be great in a Middle-earth army alongside and in opposition to some of the charming and 'naive' TS historicals. But that's another story ....)

[Patrice]

 

I quite like the "old" stuff, but these illustrations are superb too.  Thanks for posting.

[Byrthnoth]

I really like this idea. I think you have a better grasp than almost anyone of what is in the texts of LotR and the Hobbit and what comes from elsewhere — either closely related sources the Silmarillion or Tolkien's letters, or derived stuff like the films or MERP game art. It's been a while since I've read any Tolkien so I can't think of specific passages that are open to unusual interpretations or suggest unexpected miniature choices.

Maybe this project is a good fit for your peg people? It would let you get wild with the designs and match the feel of the illustrations. The trick might be representing things like cavalry and eagles.

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

You're crazy, but great idea>  I will look forward to seeing how this goes.

But that troll looks like someone I have seen before.........

[jetengine]

Crazy idea, BUT hear me out.

Late Romans for Rohan.

Iirc Tolkien only really mentions them wearing Scale/Chainmail. Well Late Romans have Chainmail in spades! They've got horsemen, they've got shields and afaik they've got beards at that point because they're full of germanic types.

Alternatively there's Ostrogoths

*Pictured, Rohirrem warriors charging at the Pellenor*

[Hobgoblin]

Maybe this project is a good fit for your peg people? It would let you get wild with the designs and match the feel of the illustrations. The trick might be representing things like cavalry and eagles.

Yes, they fit well onto HotT bases, and my kids now have an abundance of Posca pens, which would make painting them a lot faster. As you say, though, it's cavalry that are the tricky bit. But it's a very good idea - thanks!

But that troll looks like someone I have seen before.........

I'm pretty sure that that's Gollum! 

Crazy idea, BUT hear me out.

Late Romans for Rohan.

Iirc Tolkien only really mentions them wearing Scale/Chainmail. Well Late Romans have Chainmail in spades! They've got horsemen, they've got shields and afaik they've got beards at that point because they're full of germanic types.

Alternatively there's Ostrogoths

*Pictured, Rohirrem warriors charging at the Pellenor*

That's a great idea! The distinctive Roman helmets (in contrast to the conventional conical ones) would deliver exactly that "correct but unexpected" look.

[Little Odo]

Great idea - I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Those pictures are fantastic - they are far more atmospheric than the more modern works. But, both are good in their own ways and have their places.

[LordOdo]

Great idea - I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

I second this!

I really love this take on the Witchking! I'll see if I can help think of suitable miniatures for that character (underwhile nudging you towards the Pelenor rather than the battle of the five armies )

[tikitang]

I'm no great fan of the films, and while they have some great designs, I kind of lament the fact that they've become a received version of Middle Earth (rather than just one take on the subject). If Amazon had been doing a brand-new adaptation of LotR, I'd have been much more interested. I suppose it's the same mild disapproval I feel when I see a film-branded edition of a classic novel.

Apart from the fact that I do enjoy the films for what they are, I totally agree with these sentiments (particularly the part in bold). That said, I must admit, neither am I fond of those black and white illustrations.

Myself, I have quite a liking for the Brothers Hildebrandt LOTR artwork. I wish Peter Jackson had used those as the basis for the film design!

[jetengine]

Apart from the fact that I do enjoy the films for what they are, I totally agree with these sentiments (particularly the part in bold).

Iirc one of the Barry Trotter books (a rather adult satire on the Potter franchise) makes this a major point, the singular visual control of a franchise. Like I can barely NOT imagine Aragorn as Viggo unlike the Bakshi Native American looking version.

[Hobgoblin]

The Hildebrands seem to be the ur-source of D&D's pig-faced orcs.

My favourite Tolkien illustrations are those by Ian Miller and John Blanche in the Tolkien Bestiary. But more than anything, I like seeing fresh takes on the books - just as I'd love to seem some fresh film versions. I suppose we will, at some point.

I think it's got to be the Pelennor for this project; the Battle of the Five Armies is sort of "tennis with the net down" (Auden's phrase to describe unrhymed and unmetred poetry) because the descriptions are so scant. The Pelennor poses much more interesting challenges because we do get a lot of descriptions in LotR, though they're often scattered far and wide.

(The idea of 15mm Tin Soldier armies is growing on me , but that could be a separate side project - I'm imagining a quite primitive, bright style for those figures. I need to renew my 15mm HotT forces anyway, so I might as well do that too. I'll put together a few bases from the figures I've got and see how I get on.)

I really like jetengine's suggestion for the Rohirrim. For the orcs, I've got a couple of ideas, heavily reliant on kitbashing. I was painting up a few stray EM4 orcs, and I noticed that they've got rather good proportions for Tolkien's Uruks - squat and broad and well below human height. So a fresh bag of those would give some conversion fodder for weapon and head swaps/remodelling. And then there are the new Mantic goblins, of which I have many. Again, I'd probably change the heads (though for what?) and many of the weapons, but they're roughly the same stature as the EM4 plastics, so should provide a good basis.

It might be time to sculpt and press-mould some suitably horrid goblin faces!

One strong argument for doing the Pelennor is that the variety provides plenty of scope to avoid boredom - especially in a Hordes of the Things format in which a whole troop type might be represented by just a couple of bases. So the Easterlings, for example, might be just six figures in total.

Obviously, the orcs are the exception - I imagine I'll need six to ten horde bases of Uruks to provide the bulk of the army. So that's 30-50 figures. But I like converting and painting orcs, so that's not an obstacle. And 28mm orc hordes will work as double blades or 'brutes' for our 1/72 games; we sometimes rope in old 28mm elements as ogres and the like when staging really big 1/72 games.

I find myself wondering whether Grond might work as - somehow - a sneaker element in HotT (to assail the defender's stronghold). But that might be a stretch! With its mumaks and trolls, it might work as a behemoth, though.

[Severian]

This is an excellent idea. I wholly agree about the unfortunate influence on (I almost said contamination of) the Tolkien visual aesthetic by the Jackson films.

My first off-the-wall suggestion: how about using Polish winged hussars for the swan knights of Dol Amroth?

For HotT you'd probably only need two or three. Foundry have some (eg https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/16th-17th-century-renaissance-polish/products/pol008-winged-hussars-2-wings) as do TAG (https://theassaultgroup.co.uk/product/polish-hussars-lancer-levelled/), though the TAG pictures don't have the wings attached. You'd need to remove pistol holsters from the TAG saddles, I suppose.

Anyway, just a thought.

[Hobgoblin]

My first off-the-wall suggestion: how about using Polish winged hussars for the swan knights of Dol Amroth?

Ooh! That's an excellent idea! And very easy to get the 'swan knight' idea across. Thanks! I'll almost certainly go with that, even if 'shining vambraces' have to be added!

[jetengine]

Another bizzare thought, but Ghouls for Orcs? I'm thinking the whole "debased humanoid" thing.Obviously given weapons/armour thiugh. Not just naked monsters running around.

[Major_Gilbear]

My first off-the-wall suggestion: how about using Polish winged hussars for the swan knights of Dol Amroth?

Pretty good idea! I was thinking they'd be well represented by Norman knights, whose appearance would seem like a good fit with the general descriptions of armour and weaponry throughout the books.

Gondorians as Byzantines, with Minas Tirith loosely modelled on Constantinople, would also be in keeping.