LotR releases for Desolation of Smaug

[Admiral Alder]

Whilst watching the film I couldn't work out if GW or a video game had been bourn in mind, what with all the added skirmish and chase sequences, I thought: "wow there certainly are more fights in this than I remember", then I saw Smaug and thought- "How can GW make that" and then if they make it, "How many houses will have to be mortgaged to pay for each finecast fingernail?"

This release, more like this dribble is such a disappointment. 

[nic-e]

Whilst watching the film I couldn't work out if GW or a video game had been bourn in mind, what with all the added skirmish and chase sequences, I thought: "wow there certainly are more fights in this than I remember", then I saw Smaug and thought- "How can GW make that" and then if they make it, "How many houses will have to be mortgaged to pay for each finecast fingernail?"

This release, more like this dribble is such a disappointment. 

Maybe they're saving it all for the battle of five armies so they can break the world record for number of bankrupted wargamers?

It does strike me as odd that there is no official model yet for beorn as a bear or for the new orcs.(or to a lesser extent for the new amazing version of sauron,but i suppose it's hard to sculpt a disembodied presence )

[guitarheroandy]

I would imagine with the Battle of 5 Armies that the inevitable sourcebook will contain scenarios based on segments of the battle, a bit like the Dimrill Dale scenarios in the DoS sourcebook... Still scope for spending too much money though as there'll no doubt be lots of new Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, etc...

[Momotaro]

Maybe they're saving it all for the battle of five armies so they can break the world record for number of bankrupted wargamers?

First the final film was supposed to be due out this Christmas, then next summer, now it's going to be next Christmas.  I believe a lot of the merchandisers were caught on the hop.  GW has already released Thrain, who was in Dol Guldur in the expanded story, but not in the film.  And the visuals for Bolg have been changed completely since last year.  So in this instance, I think GW have, for once, been given the shaft by an even bigger corporate entity.  I also believe the price of the toy licences was astronomical compared to the LotR films.

So I imagine they have a kickass Battle of Five Armies boxed game sitting on hold for another year.  If there's any justice in the world, both the final film and the GW models will be epic.

Tempted by both a Mirkwood elf force and a hunter orc/warg force...

[flags_of_war]

Enjoyed the movie and first thing i did when i came home was think of buying some figures for it. I then opened the site and liked the figures....i then seen the price and closed it again. Shame

[LordOdo]

Which is why i think theyll make him as a head/claws/tails with no body, like the watcher in the water model.

There's a full model now of the watcher in the water

[Gibby]

Enjoyed the movie and first thing i did when i came home was think of buying some figures for it. I then opened the site and liked the figures....i then seen the price and closed it again. Shame

This is ultimately what will kill the game. If it doesn't do well, GW will blame everything except the prices. I will no doubt spend some of the film (when I see it) thinking of what forces to buy to wargame Middle Earth once more, but then I will remember the utter piss-take prices and be put off again!

[ErikB]

I really liked the film.  Took my wife to see it last night (my 2nd time). 

I kept thinking that Tauriel is my daughter when she's a little older.  She's 6 now, Tauriel is 600.  I'll give her time...

The elf king was magnificent, Legolas looked very different, somehow, but did a great job, and I loved Tauriel, even though she is non-cannon.

Bejorn was great and I loved what he represented.  I did not like his makeup, though.  I thought that detracted from an otherwise perfect character.

I didn't understand the Elves' goofy helmets nor the humans' goofy pointy helmets.  Those looked silly. 

Similarly, some of the orcs and their armor/clothes looked a little silly or overplayed.  That's forgivable since they did a magnificent job, otherwise.

It really looked like the GW designers were involved in the movie, or vice-a-versa.  Bree looked very Empire, and the different kinds of soldiers, props, and animals looked somehow very GW.  Not that that's a bad thing.

I wanted to get that Tauriel mini for my daughter and paint it up but at $40 GW can go f*** themselves.  So, I got a Tiriel from Hasslefree, 40mm tall, dressed as a knight with a long sword.  My girl will be at least as happy and, while pricey, I don't feel insulted by the nice people at HF.

I haven't purchased a new GW mini for years, since the Black Templars got their updates.  Since then, GW's prices per mini have been ridiculous.  The company has become so crass that I just feel insulted by them.

I can find equally cool (or better) minis from Hasslefree, Bob Murch, Copplestone, Artizan, and especially Musketeer Minis, as well as used ones on Ebay or from some of the very nice people on this forum.

[Momotaro]

Heresy's Elf Ranger figure (Shae) would be a good Tauriel, and she costs £4.00:

http://heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_82&products_id=210

I plan to stock up on Thunderbolt Mountain figures when I'm next in the States.

[flags_of_war]

This is ultimately what will kill the game. If it doesn't do well, GW will blame everything except the prices. I will no doubt spend some of the film (when I see it) thinking of what forces to buy to wargame Middle Earth once more, but then I will remember the utter piss-take prices and be put off again!

It's ok all they kids parents must keep them afloat ha

[ErikB]

Heresy's Elf Ranger figure (Shae) would be a good Tauriel, and she costs £4.00:

http://heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_82&products_id=210

I plan to stock up on Thunderbolt Mountain figures when I'm next in the States.

Great idea!!!!

[Belgian]

Great idea!!!!

Free PDF with the stats and point values for all models including heroes and soldiers (good and bad) on the gw website! Saved mine before they decide this wasn't a good idea regarding their printed book sales. 

[Momotaro]

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?catId=cat970001a&categoryId=8000001a&section=&aId=29900002a

Contains all the stats from last year's Hobbit rulebook.  Nothing for Desolation of Smaug yet.

All those old LotR stat PDFs are still there, you just have to know what the name of the file contains.  Do a search on Google using:

site:www.games-workshop.com pdf <keywords>

and fill your boots!

Of course, the LotR stats are not the final versions in the 5 latest army books (if you care about that kind of thing), but the vast majority are fine.