Mirkwood Rangers

I just finished up the Mirkwood Rangers. I really like these models. GW has set the bar high for plastic kits with this release. They are highly detailed, each with a different pose. All very animated and dynamic. I know some have said they are more 40k like than LOTR like, but I think they are fantastic. They capture the "feel" of the movie Desolation of Smaug, and how they are portrayed.

All that aside, here they are.

Now that I've got a playable Mirkwood Force done, I need an enmey. I don't have any Orcs!

From the ROTK box set, I have 24 unpainted Orcs. They are in the process of being based and primed. I'm a nut about the bases. I weight each one with Lead fishing weights and then cover the top with Medium Gel. I then add small rocks to some of the bases. For the elves I added a few logs. Once all that is done, I prime and start painting.

So 24 Orcs are on the painting table, it never stops...

Cheers,  Xin

Tauriel

Despite going on a spending spree at my local game store and throwing a bunch of new figures on the paint table, I managed to finish Tauriel, to join Thranduil in my fledgling Wood Elf Army of Mirkwood.

This is a really well done sculpt and high quality plastic kit. Goes together tremendously well with no trouble at all.

Here she is:

    

I was really happy with the way the base and figure came out, except her face and hair. I might put her back on the table and have another go at it. Meanwhile work is almost done on her troops, The Mirkwood Rangers.

Painting as fast as I can, Xin

Hobbit Comparison Photo Shoot

I was reading one of my favorite LOTR gaming sites, The One Ring and someone asked about alternate Hobbits that were cheaper than GW's.

I commented at the time that I had some old Grenadier Halflings, but thought that they were too big to mix with GW's halflings. Someone else commented that they were bigger but did mix ok once on the table.

So I decided to dig them out and have a little photo shoot.  I also included Reaper Bones figures, DandD pre-painted for comparison.

Note: Grenadier is I think now available from Mirlton

 Grenadier, Pippin, Grenadier, GW Hobbit, Frodo

Reaper Halfling, Pippin, Reaper Gnome Wizard, Bilbo, Frodo

All together now, everybody smile! Oops the blue guys is a D&D pre-painted plastic. By far the smallest of the lot.

Reaper bones a little tall, but not bad. And how can you hate $2 a fig.

Pippin, Reaper, Grenadier, Reaper

 I was having fun so I had to dig them all out. 28 Grenadier Hobbits and Frodo and Pippin

These Figures are 20 years old at least. I used them in 4th ed Warhammer. Halflings cost like 3 or 4 points with a BS of 4 and they SKIRMISHED. I showered my opponents with arrows. 

Slingers, Archers and Handweapons mixed. Perfect of a good Scouring

Know I'm getting lots of bad ideas. I sense my current painting queue is about to be disrupted.

So back to the original topic. I do think they can mix well with GW's Hobbits. Yes they are a little meatier then GW's but I think most hobbits tend towards the meaty side of the scale. Even the Reaper will mix in there not too badly. I will have to check out their Halflings and Gnomes.

 I forgot I had so many Grenadier Halflings. I am much closer to a Shire Army than I thought. Now I have to scrounge up some Ruffians and I will be Scouring the Shire in no time.

Xin

Thranduil, King of Woodland Realm

I've had the old GW Thranduil figure kicking around in my, rather full, unpainted bin for a few years. I think the figure is ok and held off on painting it, till I could see what new figure GW would put out, for the new Hobbit movies.

They have released the model and I don't really care for it. It's not terrible, but it just doesn't do it for me. Add in that it's Finecast and that kills it for me.  After a bit of searching in my basement, I dig out the old Thranduil and he gets put to the front of the painting queue. He will lead The Mirkwood Rangers and Tauriel who I have on order.

A few nights later and he is done:

 I snapped pics of him from 8 different angles. I was going to make a GIF image out of him spinning around, but if not done right, the constantly moving picture can be quiet annoying. It didn't look too good, so I scrapped that idea.  Instead here are all 8 shots.

Next up, Tauriel and Mirkwood Rangers.

Xin

Tell me where is Gandalf

I've been slowly working on painting The White Council. I finished Galadriel and Radagast last month. So this month while painting Mirkwood Rangers, I squeezed in Celeborn. Now that both C&G are done, I dug out The Fellowship for a small photo shoot.

"Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him"

Now to get finished with the The White Council

Ciao, Xin

My first Reaper Bones- Werewolf

I missed out on the first Reaper Kickstarter. I didn't realize what a good deal it was. When the 2nd one came around, I was in from the get go.

The other day I was wondering through my local game store, Maplewood Hobby and came across a rack of Reaper Bones figures. I picked up this guy for like two bucks.

I wanted to try painting him and see what it was like. Now Reaper says you don't need to prime them, but I was skeptical, of paint coverage. Turns out we were both right. The paint does go right on, but unless you have very good paint, you will need multiple coats. The white just shows right through. I was using Americana Craft Paints.

After my first attempt I primed him with Army Painter Black. After that, it was just like painting a Plastic or Metal. I didn't go for anything fancy, was just a test run and I wanted to get it done.

Here's the finished product:

I mounted him on a 40mm GW base. Covered up the integral base with Gel Medium and added some rocks, static grass, and grass tufts. Very easy. I look forward to getting my Reaper Bones II

Xin