Sukhe's Armies of Middle Earth

[sukhe_bator]

I feel the same way about Salute.... I haven't been for a number of years. I'm not good with crowds at the best of times. Although I will always regard Armies of Arcana very fondly as getting me back into Fantasy Wargaming after years in the doldrums, I'm considering going down the same route exploring using Dragon Rampant, especially after comparing notes with Dilettante Gamer and others.
I was always rubbish with casualty calcs and morale, so the refreshingly straightforward DR approach suits this 'bear of little brain' down to the ground.

[Vermis]

Those buildings are beautiful, and I don't say that lightly. That there is why I was drawn to wargaming in the first place.

Inspired by the descriptions in the Two Towers (book) of the destruction wrought on the fields and farms of the Pelennor (not the barren expanse depicted in the films), I tried my hand at a ruined barn...

Images in my head of a table set up like 1940's France, but with orcs and haradrim running around!

I haven't been for a number of years. I'm not good with crowds at the best of times.

You and me both! But this kind of thing would pull me back, better than wild wargs.

[sukhe_bator]

I hear you Vermis, I hear you!

[roadskare63]

MAN!!...what an amazing thread... 

[spud]

Wow! Thanks for this! great stuff

[Hobgoblin]

Amazing stuff! I love the Haradrim in particular, and the scenery is exquisite.

I think you're bang on using oliphaunts to pull Grond; my son and I have been reading the book as a bedtime story (a very long project ...), and when we came to the Pelennor Fields, it struck me that, in context, "great beasts" almost certainly means mumakil (which, if I recall, have been described as exactly that earlier). But those rhino conversions look great too.

Interested to see the Fords of the Isen stuff: do you have any plans for axe-wielding, mail-clad half-orcs to launch at Theodred?

[djbii]

Fantastic work on the terrain :-)

[PhilB]

Ooooh! Just discovered this thread.

Amazing architecture and battle damage!

Impressive armies! What massive hordes of figures! And the Oliphants!!!!!
There just aren't enough exclamation points on my keyboard to do this justice.

Keep us posted on locations for possible demo games.

[Dilettante Gamer]

my son and I have been reading the book as a bedtime story (a very long project ...),

My son and I have just embarked on the same.  We haven't reached Weathertop yet. He tends to zonk out after a few pages, so it's slow going. But I'm loving it!

[Shaved Dwarf]

This is one of the most amazing terrain building threads I've ever seen! 

[Brandlin]

Mordor

I was particularly taken by Nick Lund's Chronicle orcs when he first started up and have made that my main collection. I liked the thickset, brutish look, that was at odds with the more comical goblin-like take other fantasy figure sculptors adopted as the accepted look for 'orcs'. I continued to collect his figures when he moved to Citadel and Grenadier and have amassed a respectable horde, including over 40 wolf riders.
 

I missed this thread. Just catching up.

I couldn't agree more with your choice of nick lands sculpts. I wondered if you'd seen my collection?

http://brandlin.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/FW%20Orc

Love to see what you do with yours...

[sukhe_bator]

For the benefit of Brandlin and the sake of completeness, with apologies for those who may have seen these pics before...
Orcs of the Red Eye
I've been collecting Nick Lund's Chronicle and later Grenadier orcs for some considerable time now since I was in my teens. I liked the brute thuggish workmanlike look of his sculpts, so refreshingly different from the disney-like goblinesque versions being produced by Citadel and later GW. I have been adding to my collection intermittently over the years...
These pics were taken some years ago before I opted to collect GW Saruman orcs as a separate army, so you'll see a number of banners inspired by the PJ films amongst the horde that have yet to be converted...



As the Grenadier sculpts got larger (and uglier), my original Chronicle leaders have been relegated to henchmen and guards...
I am most proud of my Warg riders - nearly 50 at last count



The years have not been kind to some and I have made repairs to some and have a 'hospital company' that is still w.i.p.

[djbii]

I've always wanted to make a mostly mtd goblin army and play them in Warhammer using Mongol tactics.

Would most likely get slaughtered, but I would still like to try it one day :-)

Maybe Kings of War would be the better rules to try this in...

[Reed]

I had the idea of using Dark Alliance Wargs with em4 plastic orcs to get a strong bulk of cavalry (wolvalry?), but the DA wargs being in 20mm scale I don't know how well they would combine.

[sukhe_bator]

Reed,
Nice idea but the Em4 orcs are due to their vintage and scale creep large, more like 28/30mm. The Dark Alliance 1:72nd figs seem to be 22mm from reviews I've seen. I doubt very much whether they would be compatible... since an Em4 Orc looks gargantuan put next to even a 25mm GW Warg. You could probably get away with using GW Moria goblins  , but nothing really larger than that as riders since the scale is too different...