The Building of the Westfold

I know I've been focusing my attentions on Frodo's progress in the Quest of the Ringbearer, but I haven't given up hope of eventually playing through the War in Rohan campaign.

The major stumbling block, however, has been the first scenario, which required me to paint something in the region of fifty miniatures and no less than seven buildings.

With the miniatures and five of the buildings done last year during lockdown, the stumbling block has now finally been overcome.

With the addition of the Rohan house, watchtower and (completely unnecessary) pigsty, I now have everything I need to kindle the flames of war in the Westfold.

What's also nice is that the house and watchtower add some more specifically Rohan themed elements to what had been previously a very generic village, which featured two resin houses from Adrian's Walls (picked up second hand via Wargames Emporium), two cheap plastic shacks from Renedra (proof that you get what you pay for), and a scratch-built blacksmith's forge built around the contents of a Mantic Terrain Crate.

The Rohan house is a really nice and versatile plastic kit from Games Workshop, released at the same time as the War in Rohan book and its first scenario which tells you to get seven of them.

In the box there's a basic house design (which is the one I've used), but the panels can be put together in a whole variety of ways - there's actually a nice section in the War in Rohan book detailing some ways you can use the kit.

Another nice element is that the panels are reversible with options for leaded windows or arrow slots to add more variation to your buildings - top tip: if you want to get these painted quickly choose the arrow slit option.

I actually made a mistake with assembling mine and put the arrow slit in the roof section rather than the really nice sunburst design that I'd intended to use which would have added more colour to the model.

In terms of painting, I went for a base of Baneblade Brown, a wash of Agrax Earthshade and a drybrush of Administratum Grey followed by the detailing of metallics and glass (just more grey with nuln oil over it) and Loren Green for the doors. The thatch was done with a black base followed by two drybrushes of Balor Brown and Ushabti Bone.

I can be quite scathing about Games Workshop at times, but this kit is versatile and detailed enough to pribably be worth the the £20-25 you'll pay for it. However, I was never going to get seven of them for use in a grand total of just two scenarios.

Enter the Blotz Dark Age Watchtower (which just happens to have horse heads on it - how coincidental!). Proof that targetted Facebook advertising does actually work, at least on me.

Made of mdf and retailing at the very attractive price of just £7.50 (I even got an extra 10% off due to a promotion), this was just what I was after.

Games Workshop do actually do a watchtower, but it's in their palisade walls kit which is £45 and so thry might end up being scratch built for the one scenario they're needed in.

The kit is really easy to assemble, but a bit fiddly to paint afterwards. If there's a criticism, it's that the legs are a bit bland to look at. I went for patchy drybrushing to disguise that, but I'm sure there are better ways to improve them (I suspect adding some shields to draw the eye elsewhere might be a good choice).

I've foolishly taken photos that don't show you the ladder on the side of the tower, but along with the removable roof (I did have to shave the pegs for this after painting to make it fit) this becomes a very playable piece of scenery.

The element I found most daunting was the thatch. The kit comes with a piece of teddy bear fur, which allows you to make your tower look like Donald Trump.

There are plenty of tutorials online for making fur look good, but they all seemed to stress the need to have the fur brushed in line with the grain/nap/direction of the fur and the shape of the roof didn't seem like it would work with this.

Therefore, a bit more research threw up the idea of using a piece of terry towelling. This presented the awkward concept of trying to work out which towel I could steal and hack up without it ending in divorce.

Fortunately for my marriage we had an old brown towel under the sink (probably because it was brown). A slit cut in a square of towel allowed it to slot straight on to the roof where it fitted neatly in place once corners and edges were clipped. After gluing it down, I doused it in watered-down PVA.

Once dry, I painted the thatch in the same way that I did the Rohan house (having a brown towel as a base really helped here) and, I have to say, I prefer the towel to the expensive plastic roof of the GW kit. I also prefer it to the scouring pad thatch I did on my forge.

There's still plenty of the brown towel left, so this is likely to be my preferred method of roofing buildings from this point forward - even if a building shouldn't be thatched.

The pigsty is also from Blotz and was just a couple of quid, so I threw it in the basket when getting the watchtower. There's nothing special to say about it, except that the straw is some leftovers from way back when I cut up a door mat for my wheatfields.

No pigs at the moment, but I'm sure that somewhere I've got some from a Pass the Pigs game I painted years ago. They are too big and have massive ears, but they'd work well enough.

The sty will see use in all sorts of genres and helps make boards a bit more characterful.

And so I now have everything I need to start War in Rohan. I just need to convince someone to play. The first scenario would actually work quite well as a multilayer game, so I might try that angle of attack.

In terms of numbers, they may be bigger items but they "still only count as one" model each. There are two bits of fence that go with the house, which I forgot to photograph, but I'm not counting them as separate as they took zero effort.

Acquired: 119

Painted: 147

A Ruined and Terrible Form of Life

Do you know how the Orcs came into being?

They arrived in a bundle of second hand Uruk-Hai I bought off eBay. 

You must have noticed that I'm on a bit of a Tolkein kick at the moment and I'm genuinely nearing the end of what I still have unpainted. However, I was in the right mood and so out came the Orcs which have sat just undercoated for a few years.

These 11 Mordor Orcs have taken a long time for me to get to for a number of reasons: they weren't necessary for anything I was working on; I'm never that keen on batch painting; and, to be frank, I wasn't overly keen on the sculpts.

They are plastic and about 20 years old, so, like much of the older plastic elements of the range, they show their age.

Having said that, I have warmed to them as I've painted them, and they are actually much better than I gave them credit for - although there are still some details that are a bit fugly.

In terms of painting, I kept things simple by deciding to keep all the cloth elements black and so began with a grey drybrush over the black undercoat.

I then kept consistent colours for the wood and the metal, but varied the skin colours and hit everything with a wash of Agrax Earthshade.

After that, I picked out the leather elements in Mournfang Brown and hit that with a wash of Nuln Oil, then I did any pieces of fur in Rhinox Hide and drybrushed it with Ushabti Bone. 

Finally I highlighted the faces, picking out eyes (which I did yellow) and teeth (I have noticed from these pictures that I missed the teeth on the one with the two-handed axe), and did the eye of Sauron on the blank shield - my freehand work is never that neat, but as this was painted by an Orc, it doesn't matter.

I think they work well enough, with the different poses and skin colours offering enough variation. If I was to do more, as well as doing some weapon swaps, I'd probably start with a different base colour before largely repeating the process.

In game terms this bunch are most likely to see action first as dismounts for my Isengard Warg Riders, or as Grishnakh's mob in War in Rohan, as Mordor Orcs don't show up in the Quest of the Ringbearer until very near the end.

However, that's 11 more models out of the lead pile, counteracting the four I've bought in preparation for the coming battle in Bree.

Acquired: 119

Painted: 144

All Wight on the Night

Having needed to be rescued the overactive flora of the Old Forest, the Quest of the Ringbearer continues with redoubtable hobbits now braving the dangers that lurk in the Fog on the Barrow Downs.

In this scenario, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin (played by me) would have to cross the Barrow Downs whilst the fearsome Barrow Wights (controlled by that chief lieutenant of Sauron, Matt) stalked through the fog in an attempt to capture and drag the hobbits into their barrows to be sacrifices.

Fortunately, there was a very good chance that Tom Bombadil (and even Goldberry) would come to their aud if they called for his help.

Although this seemed a straightforward scenario, it did turn out to have a number of small issues. Not only the fact that the dearth of scenery makes for some quite dull photos, but also every time I think of the scenario name, Fog on the Barrow Downs, the chorus of Fog on the Tyne by Lindisfarne and Gazza comes into my head.

Come on!

The hobbits began the scenario as far forward as they could, and in the middle of the board, my aim being to stay as far away from the barrows as possible. This would hopefully give Tom Bombadil time to rescue any hobbits before they could be dragged into the barrows.

Drawn by the life force of the hobbits, the fearsome spectres of long dead kings emerged from their ancient tombs.

The hobbits pushed forwards, hoping to cross the downs before trouble could strike. However, Pippin immediately himself lost in the fog and went in completely the wrong direction. Sam went after him so that no hobbit faced the horrors lurking in the fog alone.

The wights closed in on the divided hobbits, but their attempts to paralyse the frightened but courageous Frodo failed.

Spectral forms rushed at the ringbearer, but their ethereal blades failed to hit home. However, Sam found himself paralysed by fear of what stalked towards him and could not be roused by Pippin.

As the wights closed in on Sam, Pippin ran towards the treeline sing the song Tom Bombadil had taught them to summon his aid.

Suddenly, joyful singing could be heard, the fog began to clear and the familiar form of Tom Bombadil, complete with blue coat and yellow boots, came striding out of the forest.

Bombadil arrived just in time, as Pippin, who had returned to help Sam, also succumbed to paralysis as the wights closed in whilst Frodo and Merry rushed to their aid.

It was at this point in proceedings that a couple of things occurred to us:

1. The Blades of the Dead special rule actually makes the hobbits harder to wound (Sam had taken no wounds so far) than they would normally be. Matt began to redirect his efforts towards Courage 4 Merry and Pippin rather than Courage 6 Frodo and Sam.
2. The hobbits actually have a good chance of charging and beating a wight in combat, especially if they gang up and trap them. Much better than their chances against Ringwraiths, at any rate.

In a "Get to the chopper!" moment, I decided to let Bombadil focus on saving Pippin, whilst the other hobbits (Sam having finally shaken off his paralysis) made a break to escape.

Their task was made easier as Tom managed to banish one of the wights pursuing them, allowing the hobbits to gang up on and actually wound the other one. Sam struck the telling blow.

Meanwhile, Tom started a process of charging the wights trying to drag Pippin to his doom, causing them to drop the prone hobbit.

However, Bombadil's store of 15 Will started to run low  after a series of failed attempts to cast Banishment over several turns. The dilemma of whether to risk failure on a single dice, or deplete resources for more certainty began to take hold.

Suffice to say, I made the wrong decision several times before learning my lesson.

With only a wounded wight left to pursue three hobbits, Matt made the decision to return to charging Frodo or Sam, figuring that Merry was the one most likely to fail charges.

I agreed with this assessment, but as Merry was also the most vulnerable to harm, I took the opportunity to have him run for the board edge whilst Ftodo and Sam held up the wight. I trusted that their high Courage, Wounds and Fate would keep them safe enough from the single Attack of the evil spirit.

Despite the repeated charges, Tom's failure to banish either of the wights trying to abscond with Pippin allowed them to slowly slip away with their prey.

Meanwhile, Merry made his escape as Frodo and Sam showed what the Shirefolk were made of as they repeatedly beat the wight in combat.

Things looked bleak for Peregrin Took...

...however, in a sudden turnaround of fortunes totally fitting for the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring, Pippin shook of his paralysis, the good side won priority, Tom charged the wight to prevent pursuit, and the plucky halfling made his escape.

The final nail in the coffin (should that be 'stone in the barrow'?) of the wights came when we suddenly remembered that I should have been rolling for Goldberry since Tom arrived.

Having painted Galadriel specifically for this game, I now rolled four times to see if she arrived. I got a six, but placed her some distance from the action in the spirit of at least a little bit of fairness.

Frodo and Sam were now close to escape. However, a second wight had joined the pursuit...

...and they found their way blocked. 

Unable to gang up, the fights were now even and the hobbits, especially Sam, were in danger of succumbing.

But help was at hand.

The arrival of Goldberry to aid Pippin now allowed Bombadil to turn his attentions to the ringbearer. Learning his lesson, Tom used two of his last three Will to banish one of the wights. 

Sam, with a cry of "for the Shire!" managed to inflict the final wound on the last wight that had plagued him all game. Leaving the route off the Barrow Downs free.

As Goldberry closed in on the wight still trying to subdue Pippin, it was clear that the forces of good had won. I actually cheated here and cast Banishment with her, when she only has the Refreshing Song spell, but it really wouldn't have changed the outcome. Not only would three hobbits escape (the victory condition), but her ability to revive Pippin and prevent the wight from moving by charging it meant it had almost no chance of success and so it returned to its tomb.

What had appeared on paper a tough scenario for the hobbits, actually turned out to be extremely challenging for the wights. The hobbits, especially Frodo and Sam, are really hard for them to wound enough to drag off and are also resistant to their spells. Also, with any hobbit that has seen a wight able to call for Tom Bombadil, he is bound to show up too quickly for the wights to be able to get a hobbit back to a barrow. The ability to shake off paralysis further complicated matters.

In terms of the campaign, the hobbits are now at a rest point, and so get their Might, Will, Fate and Wounds restored. It doesn't matter, but the 'Fool of a Took' was obviously Pippin, for whom things went wrong from the first turn. The bravest companion was definitely Sam for managing to inflict two wounding hits on a wight and tanking a lot of attacks, allowing Merry to escape.

The next official scenario sees us trying to escape Bree before four mounted Ringwraiths can get their grubby mits on Frodo. This requires a chunk of painting: buildings, Ringwraiths and two more characters, and so it may be a little while.

In the meantime, we might take a diversion into to pages of an old White Dwarf to discover why Gandalf did not return to the Shire as promised.

That's Not Barry White

Yes. They are not Barry White (no, I'm not dropping this joke, and I shall be returning to it), or even Barrow Wights. They are (mainly) Army of the Dead miniatures which I shall be using as Barrow Wights in the Quest of the Ringbearer campaign.

This decision was driven by three factors. First, they are dead, just like Barrow Wights. Last, they don't appear in the films and there is only a very limited description of their appearance in the book, so I'm free to interpret them as I choose. Everything, these seven miniatures were significantly cheaper than four of the GW models (of which there are only two sculpts), and for a single scenario, that matters.

I got these from the same seller as Tom Bombadil and Gollum, and they are the old metal sculpts rather than the newer plastic models. I suspect the plastic Army of the Dead being widely available, thanks to being in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields starter box, probably affected the price I paid (which was about a pound per model).

You see, the trouble with me is I'm a bit cheap. Therefore, that sort of price makes me very tolerant of having duplicate sculpts. I may do a couple of weapon swaps or add shields to address this in time.

These two models arrived with broken swords and I initially thought, "what am gonna do with you?" However, that was a easy thing to fix, and slightly damaged weapons is not a massive issue on long dead corpses.

Some of them needed a bath in Dettol to remove some paint as they'd only partially been stripped, and there there was a surprising amount flash to clean up on models that had been painted.

In terms of painting, I followed a very straightforward guide from the GBHL Podcast (video here), which starts with a white (I used Grey Seer) undercoat. Then there is simply a coat of Nihilakh Oxide technical paint, a wash of Biel-Tan Green and then a drybrush of Ulthuan Grey (I used Administratum Grey, as that's what I had). Easy to do and makes them look a bit minty.

I kept the basing simple. I've seen lots of people add a misty effect with cotton wool or cushion stuffing. This can look brilliant, but can also sometimes look like they're all riding on clouds or molesting sheep. Given that they are really only going to be used on the Barrow Downs or Pelennor Fields, I opted for just grass.

Some people also pick out the weapons and armour, but I'm lazy and like them just the way they are.

The final miniature is neither Army of the Dead or a Barrow Wight, it's a Twilight Ringwraith. It is one of three sculpts which reflect the Ringwraiths as they appear to Frodo on Weathertop when he puts the Ring on.

It always struck me as an odd choice of a miniature to make, as I can actually see a gaming opportunity for them in their intended roles. Even on Weathertop there are five Ringwraiths but only three twilight sculpts.

For me, he will be a more than suitable Barrow Wight, and possibly in time the King of the Dead. If asked about his lack of beard and less decayed look, I shall simply say it's the King when he was younger.

Another seven miniatures done, and I now have everything I need for the next scenario: Fog on the Barrow Downs. Hopefully I'll be playing my game, baby, and a game report will be forthcoming soon.

Acquired: 115

Painted: 133

My Precious!

No prizes for guessing who I've painted today...

Whilst I was searching ebay, the same seller that I bought Tom Bombadil and my 'Barrow Wights' (more on that later), had a dirt cheap second hand Gollum.

My immediate thought was that I wants it, I needs it, I must have it!

And so I did.

The model is in an odd but interesting pose, with officially the largest tactical rock I've seen on anything outside of Knight Models.

It's clearly taken from the scene in The Two Towers where Gollum is sneaking (yes, SNEAKING!) down the cliff face towards the apparently sleeping Frodo and Sam.

Most of the Gollum sculpts have some sort of tactical rock, which is clearly because his limbs are so thin that more regular poses just aren't viable.

The rock has also caused me to alter my usual basing style for Lord of the Rings, but this isn't a bad thing as it allowed me to try something out that I might use for Moria Goblins and the Balrog when I get to them.

In terms of painting, I actually used my zombie recipe for Gollum: basecoat Kislev Flesh; wash Biel-Tan Green; drybrush Ushabti Bone; wash Agrax Earthshade. I did another soft highlight of Kislev Flesh to help him stand out against the rock.

It will be a while before he gets used in the Quest of the Ringbearer campaign, but it's good to finally own this most crucial of characters after so many years.

Acquired: 115

Painted: 127

"Some still live who remember it..."

The next part of the Quest of the Ringbearer presented me with the slight issue of buying and painting some miniatures which I just cannot imagine being used outside of this scenario.

And so I present, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, the river daughter...

I know what you're thinking.

That's not Goldberry. That's Galadriel.

And you'd be right, although let's call her 'Galadberry', or 'Goldriel'.

Getting my hands on a cheap Tom Bombadil (just two quid) was no issue, but Goldberry is harder to find and more expensive (I'm also not keen on the sculpt), and also very unlikely to even show up in the game.

Just take a look at the title if this blog and you'll understand why this was an issue for me.

Initially, I went looking for a proxy in other ranges, until it occurred to me that Goldberry is described as looking like an elf. Given that in this campaign, and War in Rohan, I'd eventually be collecting a number of Lothlorien miniatures, which made Galadriel a suitable, more useful and much more affordable alternative.

The model itself is taken from. The scene where the Fellowship leave Lothlorien. It's not a dynamic pose, buy it nicely captures the concept in Tolkein's work that power isn't just about fighting.

Overly dynamic poses are actually something that I don't like about the newer MESBG miniatures (especially the Mirkwood Elves) compared to the grounded nature of the original range. They are good, but just too Games Workshop for me (altgough don't get me started on the stupidly muscular Easterlings or Dunlendings).

In terms of painting, she was ridiculously easy to do. Apothecary White contrast paint over a white base with a white drybrush, and the then usual approach to skin and blonde hair.

The silver was a little tricky given the fine nature of the details, but I've reached a level that I'm happy with.

I probably now need to sort out a mirror for her.

Tom Bombadil is a problematic character, as he seems to jar with the rest of the world Tolkien created. His quotes are also a nightmare for autocorrect, "Ring dong a dillo."

I will admit to skipping his chapter when I was younger, but I've mellowed with age and now see Bombadil as a last vestige of the fairy tale style Tolkein used in The Hobbit. He fits much better with the talking animals, comedic dwarfs and playful elves of the first novel and he's also used as a deus ex machina in the same way as Gandalf is in early chapters of The Hobbit. In fact, the hobbits' discomfort leaving his house symbolises the narrative stepping into a more grounded, dangerous and epic tone and style.

Again the painting is my usual simple approach with base coats and washes. I took a bit more care with highlighting the blue coat and yellow boots to make them stand out as the endless poetry Bombadil spouts keeps drawing attention to these elements.

So now that the good guys are done for the next scenario, attention turns to the baddies...the Barrow Wights.

Yes...there will be puns.

Although that's two more painted, needless to say, I had to buy them first, along with a few others for upcoming scenarios (some more distant than others).

Acquired: 115

Painted: 126