Middle-Earth Campaign: Ithilien 2901

[Doomhippie]

This time we re going to have a look at some bad guys. After doing some more research I realized I screwed up on the historical side. 2901 saw the invasion of Uruks from Mordor, 2885 the defeat of a Haradric invasion (beaten back with the help of Rohan albeit at the cost of Rohan's King's sons) and a little earlier the invasion of Easterlings from the north. Anyway, I'll mix them all together for some fun and will treat this campaign as a kind of melting pot of these three invasions.

So here the first baddies. Rather than using the plastic Easterlings I decided to buy some Variags of Khand. I have never ben too happy with the heavily armored Easterlings from the movies. The few close ups of the faces reminded me more of some Indian, maybe Persian kind of people while I have always depicted the Easterlings as more Mongolian people, swift to hit the enemy but not carrying a lot of armor (which fits better with the idea of the Huns and Mongol invasions into Europe in the late antic and medieval times, both of which IMHO sound so much more like the destructive wave of Easterling invasions Tolkien wrote about). Unfortunately those models are more expensive and have less variety to them. But I like their style better, so here we go.

The first picture shows a batch of them together. Hm, that's about half of them, must have accidentely erased the picture with the whole group. Anyway, I decided to paint them in brighter colors than the GW black with grey highlights. Black is really hard to paint well. If you look at the Gondorians above, you'll see that I ended up having almost blue uniforms And those are endless layers and washes and blendings. I just wasn't really willing to go that way with these models. And I like the brighter colors better as I think the wild Easterlings have better things to do than dye their clothes all black.



Seeing these pics I realised I have forgotten to paint a few details: First of all the beards should be black or dark brown (I did put some brown ink on the moustaches but didn't really do anything else - must have been happy to have them finished and forgot about that). And obviously all these guys are blind as I din't paint any pupils in their eyes. Gives them a creepy look (like the superheroes from the comics). Hm, maybe I'll leave them that way (but don't tell Karsten or he'll be very - put off). Lazy me.

Next a few archers of the same group, more details to see more shame in having overlooked some...



Next is the leader of the gang. I haven't come up with a cool Mongolian or Hunnish sounding name (and I don't mean Fritz... ). Actually I thought he turned out quite nicely but the highlights on the red (especially on his banner) look rather extreme and uncool in this photo. It's way better in real life (or so I hope).



Next is his lieutenant who doubles as the standart bearer. The Variag models don't have a real command group, as far as I know, as they are just used as auxiliaries and mercenaries in the GW game. I will hopefully convert one of the models in the future (well buy new ones that is and then convert one), so the lieutenant will have to do for now. He looks almost exactly like the warchif but with a simpler design on the banner. Oooooops, same model. Hm, anyway, the lieutenant looks basically the same but as I said with the simple banner design the rank and file troops carry.



Right, the banner: I was originally thinking of some cool design like a falcon or axe and bow but realising I would have to paint it on each model twice I quickly decided to keep it simple. It looks like the Japanese flag but when I painted it I wasn't actually thinking about that. I had in mind to have some simple motif with a strong color. And in my mind the Easterlings often wear red (don't ask me why) so I decided to have that color appear on the banner. So forgive me, Japan, I was not trying to picture you as the bad guys here...

Anyway, that's it with my painted models so far. Okay, I haven't taken pics of the Gondor rank and file troops nor of the Rohan troops, as they are not newly painted. You'll get pictures of them once the battles start. The next models to be painted are Variag cavalry (which will take some time, so it might be a few days before I can actually post any pictures of them). And of course the captain of the Gondorian cavalry is on the to do list. So stay tuned for some more Middle-Earth, as dark clouds slowly begin to gather over fair Ithilien....

[Mr.J]

Wow! Some of the nicest LOTR figures I've seen in a long time. I have a stack of these just sitting unpainted, this thread is great inspiration.

[Red Orc]

Yes indeed. I can see that the Finecast figures have been a real problem, but the painting you've done on them looks really good. And the the Variags look like they're coming along nicely. It is indeed inspiring for those of us with piles of unpainted LotR lead-and-plastic to see what can be done with these.

[Doomhippie]

Thanks for your comments. It's always nice to have a little feedback.

Anyway, the Variag horsemen will take some more time, I'm not really good at painting horses and am not particualrly fast painting them. In the meantime here are some pics of the Corsairs of Umbar. I painted them last year when I first thought about a scenario in which a few Gondorians had to repell a raid on a lighthouse. Of course I was too lazy to construct a lighthouse but at least I managed to finish the raiders. This group here was then the basis of the idea to expand into the Ithilien campaign.

As you can probably see, I painted them quite quickly so they might be a little below my standart. On the other hand I believe they are good enough for a tabletop battle. I didn't paint them in one go but split the unit up into smaller groups to paint. I'd really go crazy if I painted 24 minis at the same time. To give them a more rag-tag appearance I used the old GW method: use a small number of basic colors but use them on different parts of the mini. So here we have brown, blue and purple as the basic colors. One group recieved blue shirts, the next blue pants etc. This way they still look like they form one unit but are still a mixed bunch of individuals.



Note that there is no leader nor any banner carriers here. Well, for a group of cutthroats out for plunder a banner doesn't really seem too important. It looks cool on the tabletop though so maybe I will add a banner at some time. The lack of a prober leader is not really a problem, I'll just nominate one of the miniatures as the leader. Eventually I might buy some individual models for the corsairs but I have already spent quite a bit of money on the models and so that will have to wait.

Next up are three pictures of the differnet weapon groups that are included in this unit.



Bows are good, crossbows suck. At least for me on Middle-Earth. Crossbows are too modern for my taste, so I am happy that the corsairs have some archer models. I don't see the corsairs as great archers, more in the way of surpressing fire. My guess is they get in close and dirty (as in the good old swash-buckling movies - how many people with guns do you see on your average pirate ship?). So I'm quite happy about the sword fighters. And I do like the scimitar-style swords.



When I first read the books (back in... 1980) I pictured the corsairs the corsairs more like Gondorian noblemen as Umbar was of course a Numenorean harbor (actually the Numenorean harbor). And at various stages Gondor has occupied the city and those Gondoreans who rebelled against their king in the kin-strife eventually settled in Umbar and became the corsairs. However, the kin-strife is 1500 years over so it's safe to assume that things have become really different. So I haven't had any problems with PJ interpretation of the corsairs in his movies.

This last group fits better on deck of a ship but I like their hooked spears to present a wider variety of weapons on the battlefield. And long spears make armies look so much more powerful. So I'm quite happy to have them.



Overall I quite like the corsair models. Of course they have their limits, as have most of the Middle-Earth plastic models as most are cast in one piece. They'd be better if they were cast in parts like the warhammer troops (or the Mordheim gangs), but overall I have no problem with them.

Alright, I'm off to tackle the Variag horses one more time...  

[FramFramson]

Looking good!

[Mason]

Very nice!
 

A quick job, you say.
Well, it looks pretty damn effective and a lovely combination, too!


I am with you that it is much more important that they have a good enough paint job for the table, that being the most important thing- Getting them into use.

[Doomhippie]

As promised I have been busy painting up cavalry figures.

First we see here a model falsly called Faramir. Those familiar with the Lord of the Rings movies will see right away that this is actually Boromir. Never mind that, both weren't born at that time. I will most likely use this miniature as a hero leading the knights of Gondor. Depending on my mood I might actually use it as the stewart's oldest son (as he carries the oxen horn of Gondor, a hereditary item of Gondor's stewarts). The model is quite nice but I'm not quite happy with the casting, the face does look like he just got out of a bar brawl. But it nonetheless is a great model for a hero/leader of Gondor.





Next up are the wild riders of the Easterlings. Once again I chose the Variag models. I'm afraid I did not remember the exact color I mixed together for the coats, so the riders' coat has aslightly more whitish color than the foot soldiers. Again, I'm quite happy with the models, I think they look very much the way I pictured the Easterlings - fast, aggressive and wild (unlike the disciplined armies featured in the movies). I bought the leader model in addition to the box of the riders. That gives me the option of having a cavalry attack and use the infantry models should the horses be killed or feature them both together as a mixed attack force.



I painted the leader's horse black (actually bluish-black). Ignorant as I am concerning horses I always thoughht pure black or oure white horses would somehow be a sign of quality (ok, my wife cured me of that idea but still in any fantasy setting the heroes' horses seem to be either white or black if you are talking about the antagonist).



Here are a few pics of the riders in more detail. Notice the wonderfully dynamic poses these models were sculpted in. It's things like this that make the LotR range one of the best models GW produces today. I can really feel the wind, see the coats flap and hear the thunder of the hooves. Great models.



The horse's tail of the left rider in the picture below broke off. So I had to make one with green stuff. This, ladies and gentlemen, is my first attempt in life to actually sculpt something without anybody telling me how to do it. It turned out okay, though thinking about it I would now make the tail slimmer and take more time for a few details. But at least I learned a little more about the hobby during this project.



That's it for today. What's next? Well, I have a batch of Gondorian foot soldiers in the making. And then there is the Variag chariot waiting to be assembled and painted. I'm looking forward to that one. So stay tuned.

[Mason]

A great update!

Those Variags look like they are really flying!
 

[CyberAlien312]

Those are some nicely painted forces, well done!

[Doomhippie]

So we're back again with my latest update.
I found a shop selling off some GW Lotro miniatures and purchased some soldiers of Gondor. As I have presented the command crew before I have now some rank and file troops freshly painted. Again the black turned out to be a lot more bluish than anticipated but overall I don't mind. Notice that I decided adding a little scenery to the minatures to beef up the pictures. More about that a little later.



Now these models aren't anything fancy, but as I wanted to let you see the project coming along I have decided to include anything new in this thread. Here another picture of the group.



Next up some scenery. A few years ago I stumbled across a playstation 2 game called "The third age". It's a lovely game and I instantly loved the way nature and old ruins was brought to life there. This pond with an old statue took a lot of inspiration from that game.



Coming back (briefly) to the climate debate: I decided to keep Ithilien more Middle-European and less mediterranean. However, my skills in making trees is not really up to the task. So I will have to use a wild mixtue of bought and self-made trees to come up with the feeling of decideous forest (vocab correct here?). Anyway, I had these roots lying around for quite some time and at first thought to make them into some kind of "dead wood" for the Morgul Vale (they would have looked cool) but decided to flock them to be able to put a larger forest on the tabletop. So here a quick picture of the new part of the Ithilien woodland.



Now here's a little extra. On page 2 of this thread I showed you the corsairs of Umbar and I admit I felt shabby for not giving them a ship. Then just a little later I stumbled across a thread here of somebody building a sailing ship of polestyrol and cardboard. unfortunately I can't find the thread anymore so I had to work from memory. Now this is the first ship/boat I have ever attempted to build and my rather lazy attitude of not being too accurate of course is a mayor drawback for this. Of course the question arose, why bother you guys with shoddy work? The answer is simple - I assume that we have lots of people here on the forum who are not too much into spending hours drawing construction plans and slowly build a masterpiece worth everybody's praise. I kind of thought "what the heck - let's see how it turns out in the end" and started building the ship. Of course it's not finished but I'll keep on adding details and pieces whenever I need some colors on models to dry.





So far I plan on usinf a lateen rigging. We'll see how that works out. At least now I am giving the corsairs there little extra. I might even construct a makeshift balista on the boat. Not sure yet. But one thing is clear: if there's a ship there needs to be a bigger river to sail on - that forces me to start thinking about constructing a new gaming table. I love it how in this project one thing leads to the other - without me having a master plan and just going along with it.

That's it for now, there'll be more to come.

[Mason]

 

Wow!
Thats quite an update, sir!

Well worth the wait.

Love the Gondorian reinforcements and the ship-in-progress, but I must say a big 'Thank you!' for posting your scenery.
It has given me great inspiration for how I want to approach my impending forest pieces for Strange Aeons.
I have some of those LotR ruined statues around somewhere that will work perfectly too.

So- 'Thank you very much' for the inspiration!
Much appreciated!

 

[Dr.Falkenhayn]

excellent Stuff 
out of curiosity:whos the Guy in your Avatar Pic?Is that the young (Hawkwind) Lemmy?

[FramFramson]

Even young Lemmy is pretty ugly, that fellow in the avatar seems a lot more dashing! 

[Dr. The Viking]

Wow!!!

Wonderful stuff Lars!

I never thought you were into LOTR. I have loads of the stuff myself but unfortunately I know no one in the vicinity with whom to play. 

[killshot]

Great thread!  Very inspirational work.  

Might I suggest Perry Miniatures' Korean line to add to the Variag forces?  They fit very well with the LotR scale:

http://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php?cPath=23_39