The Hobbit, on the cheap thread (alternatives for Bolg)

[Belgian]

Hi, I always have been a fan of the Lord of the Rings skirmish game when I was introduced to it by the Deagostini magazine series which also learned me some tricks about scratchbuilding! It's one of the games I play the most although much with unpainted miniatures. With the release of the hobbit I was looking forward at the starterset but just could not pay that amount of my money. So with that in mind I started on a quest with the final goal of playing all the amzing skirmishes and battles of the hobbit at a low cost compared with the newly released miniatures from Games Workshop!

I have written some posts already on my blog so here's a small introduction.

http://wargameterrain.blogspot.be/2012/12/the-hobbit-on-cheap-start.html

The quest for a cheap goblin town

http://wargameterrain.blogspot.be/2013/03/the-hobbit-on-cheap-goblin-town.html

More progress and pictures of my quest will be posted here!

Cheers

[CptJake]

Nice write up!

What are you going to use for figures?

Jake

[fastolfrus]

Figures are on the start thread

[Doomsdave]

My FLGS marked all the Hobbit stuff down about 25%.  3 weeks after the movie came out.     Apparently he hadn't sold any of his Hobbit stock.  Looking forward to seeing your alternatives.

[Belgian]

That's a crazy discount but with the prizes in mind they are still not sufficient!  

@Jake: I will use miniatures from my existing collection such as the gandalf from Moria, Moria goblins, more miniatures will be sourced on the cheap but the initial post gives a list of what I need. So if you have some plastic dwarf rangers you don't use, you know who needs them for Thorin's companion!

Here's another post about some cheaper alternatives for the fierce Orc Leader Bolg.

http://wargameterrain.blogspot.be/2013/03/the-hobbit-on-cheap-in-search-of-bolg.html

Cheers!

[Doomhippie]

I still don't know why Bolg should be a giant. He's a tough orc alright so an Uruk would altogether be acceptable even if I think he isn't even that. Just a strong orc leader. So any orc with a little more detail and a strong pose should work just fine.

[Mr.J]

I have to agree was really unimpressed with the whole Bolg story/design in the film. Any standard orc would do in my eyes.

[Momotaro]

I've just finished painting the Reaper Bones ogre chieftain mini in Belgian's blog post, and it's both a really nice figure and very cheap.

I think the Bolg thing may be another "justification" that's sneaked out from all those books by Tolkien's son on the history of Middle-Earth, where there's a note in Tolkien's writing to the effect that some of the mightiest and cruellest orc leaders are actually junior Maiar in the service of the Enemy, so we can justify monstrously powerful orc characters.

Trouble is, there's a lot there that never made it into the final books - IIRC, elven chariots are mentioned, the possibility that orcs as hatchlings from vast underground hives, or speculation that they are just mindless creations of evil.  The Book of Lost Tales mentions that the "dragons" that attacked Gondolin were actually great war machines fashioned in the shape of beasts.

But these are jottings that were never fully developed into published material during Tolkien's lifetime.  I recognise the scholarly importance of publishing his notebooks, but very little of that material fits into my idea of Middle-Earth - the grim world of the Old North fading back into myth and legend, the story of personal sacrifice and virtuous defiance beyond hope of victory.  

My love of LotR comes from a time when I had five books - LotR, The Hobbit, Tom Shippey's Road to Middle-Earth and (less enthusiastically) The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.  Otherworldly elves, stubborn dwarves, noble men and stout English yeoman hobbits against snarling hordes of goblin-folk and the subtle temptations of the Enemy, with the occasional glimpse of a relic from an ancient and half-forgotten past.

See also the corrosive effects of revisionism and "canon" on: Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien and/or Predator, Highlander, Terminator, Robocop and any of my other childhood favourites.

Or maybe Bolg is just a cool character created to sell tons of monster toys.  Rant over  

[Vermis]

I still don't know why Bolg should be a giant. He's a tough orc alright so an Uruk would altogether be acceptable even if I think he isn't even that. Just a strong orc leader. So any orc with a little more detail and a strong pose should work just fine.

I have to agree was really unimpressed with the whole Bolg story/design in the film. Any standard orc would do in my eyes.

I keep telling people that Peter Jackson is not good to Middle-Earth, but they never listen...

Can't understand at all why people blame Chris Tolkien for what nonsense turns up in the movies, though! (Momotaro's reply is the second accusation I've seen, recently)  AFAIK he wasn't at all fond of PJ's film trilogy.

Before I forget: interesting project, Belgian.  I'll be keeping an eye on it.

[Momotaro]

To be clear Vermis, I'm not blaming Christopher Tolkien at all.  I think the Histories are important for what they are - a scholarly examination of the thoughts and writings that led to the development of Middle-Earth as it is.

My complaint is with those who would use any scrap they find there to justify anything they like in Middle-Earth- so yes, PJ.  The Middle-Earth that made it to publication is not simply the sum of these writings; Tolkien took geat care to maintain tone and philosophical consistency.  And no shield-surfing

Thinking about it, my final moan about "canon" is pretty unfair to Christopher Tolkien in this context.  Nobody could accuse him of selling out or re-imagining his father's legacy.

And back on topic - looking forward to see how this develops Belgian!

[Vermis]

To be clear Vermis, I'm not blaming Christopher Tolkien at all.  I think the Histories are important for what they are - a scholarly examination of the thoughts and writings that led to the development of Middle-Earth as it is.

My complaint is with those who would use any scrap they find there to justify anything they like in Middle-Earth

Splutter cheerfully withdrawn.

[Momotaro]

Splutter cheerfully withdrawn.

Likewise - I'll be turning into a right old fart if I'm not careful

[Belgian]

Caused quite an issue here!  Glad this thread sparked some more interest in lord of the rings wargaming and looking forward in more of your comments!

Cheers!

[Momotaro]

Not at all - keep the "on the cheap" articles coming!  Do you want contributions from the rest of us?

[Gibby]

Likewise - I'll be turning into a right old fart if I'm not careful

Just as I was about to show you my LotR/Star Wars crossover novel. I've found a letter from Tolkien that definitely points towards Sauron thinking up a 'Death Star' to put on his tower instead of a big shiny red eye that was definitely what it was meant to be. The films can't be wrong!