The Thread of Middle-Earth by Hammers

[tikitang]

Beautiful work and photography!

[Pattus Magnus]

I like those a lot! Great choice of palette, and those older high elf figures are brilliant!

[Argonor]

Highly inspirational stuff, as always! 

[Mason]

Lovely, especially the banner!
Those sculpts certainly catch the feel of Middle Earth to me*.
 


*Although you must have been in kindergarten when you first painted them, young man.
 

[Malamute]

Lovely work on those shields and banner Hammers

[Hammers]

Nice of you to say., folks.

Part of the inspiration for completeing these come from Graham Green of Wargames in Middle Earth. He has done fantastic work on the elves and men of the First Age as described in the Silmarillion.

[James Morris]

Just found this thread…

Those eagles are stunning!

[plessiez]

Lovely thread, those halflings on the previous page really pop. I have to ask as well, what are you using as your grass mat/backdrop for these pictures? The photos are great and the grass itself looks really good. is it something you made yourself?

[Hammers]

Lovely thread, those halflings on the previous page really pop. I have to ask as well, what are you using as your grass mat/backdrop for these pictures? The photos are great and the grass itself looks really good. is it something you made yourself?

It's from Wish, sheds like a bastard, so it needs prepping.

[Hammers]

Everything sort of started with this rather attractive miniature for GW's MESBG Rohan range, titled "The Kings Huntsman"...




I don't recall any mentioning in the Middle Earth canon about such a character but it seems appropriate there should be one. GW has given him some special characterisitscs for the game, anyway.

Well, as I am working on a Rohan setlement (see other builds in this thread) I thought this chap needs somewhere to go about his royal charter.

And so it started...

[Malamute]

Nice figure

[Hammers]

The lodge of the King's Huntsman is based of the GW's Rohan house kit (which I have talked about and praised before).

I have added several little mods, embelishments and altercations to it to make it look like a game wardens den and unique to other buildings made from the same kit.

For example I made stag horns which I afixed to the top of the gables insted of the ubiquitous horse heads.




Also I made my own door posts from paper lace to create unique carved portalwith a saxon/norse flair to the abode.





By lucky coincidence the top carving turned out to, sort of, look like a row of wild boar running.

After my usual silver grey/green door/golden thatch reatment the lodge tured out like this...





Several more details were added, like the result of a fowling expedition (pheasant, grouse, mallards) and a tusked boar head trophy above the door.





On another wall I sculpted a couple of hides as if they were nailed there after tanning.




I also found a bear trap in my bit box.




It really is a lot of fun to add little stories to my builds.

[Hammers]

My thoughts always meander as I do terrain and in my take on Rohan the King's Huntsman is in charge of the training of the yeoman archers of Horse-mark. For this reason I wanted to make a couple of archery butts to place by the Huntsmans lodge,

I found some suitable 2mm cotton steak string which I wet with Modge Podge...





...and then pulled it through som golden yellow static grass, trying to achieve the look of twined straw used in classic butts.




I superglued the end of the string to a tootpick and carefully spun it in a tight spiral, about 20mm in diameter.



When the butts where dry, I painted them in straw colors with a red center and glued them to stands made from tooth picks. I have a pretty good idea what they are supposed to look as we have a very active medieval archery guild where I live.




Below are a couple of bowmen in training, one with an arrow in his Rohan ass.



[Calymore Casting]

Finally, an action shot with the King's Huntsman exercicing a new batch of greenhorns (Larry, Moe and Shemp) which is turning in to a bit of a vaudeville act as they (Larry, Moe) have gotten confused about on which butt they are supposed to shoot (not Shemps).

[Hammers]

A few of you know me by now and perhaps recognice that I have a tendency to go bananas with details. I suppose this project is not an exception.

The King's huntsman must of course be the one who bleeds, skins, cuts and matures the game meats for the table of Theoden King.
Obviously this had to be representet somehow near the lodge.

I took a GW skelettal horse, got rid of the legs and with the help of wire and green stuff clad it in muscle and fat. I found a few other plastic bitz, like a small plastic deer and a couple of loins on hooks (I am guessing from some GW Warhammer ogre kit) which I hung on a rack made from brass wire soldered together and textured with liquid GS.



I made a boar spear to, while I was at it.

I also prepared a table, like a butchers block, on which to place knives and cuts. In my bitz box I found stag horns from a plastic wood elf kit which I glued to a plastic horse skull.

The GW Rohan hose kit comes with a plastic barrel, which I cut in two to make a couple of tubs. I mean, all the blood and offal needs to go somewhere right?  I knew those guts from a zombie kit would come usefull one day...



And here is the butchers rack painted...




...and the table.  A brace of coneys from Mirliton to the left. The knives are from various kits. I have plenty, the difficulty was to restrain myself...



...but I could not resist painting the boar spear, eventhough I do not know where to put it.

[Hammers]

Obvioulsy, there need to be hounds for the royal hunt. I had stag or wolf hounds in mind, painting these.



Looking at them now I wish I made a kennel for them. And some stout mastif-like boar hounds. And a miniature to represent the Master of Hounds.

Oh well, maybe later.