Asgard Troll with Hammer

Asgard Troll with Hammer- although I have enlisted him as an orc as he is a bit too small for a troll. I think this one must be by Nick Bibby. Probably familiar to many as the basis of one of John Blanche’s famous conversions in the Ratspike book. The shield is in the spirit of the designs from this book, Heroes for Wargames, and ‘Eavy Metal of the 80s. I am fond of selectively using matt and gloss varnish to create textural contrast, and find it lends itself to a vintage miniature look in the vein of John Blanche, but it has dawned on me now that I have been taking a lot of photos for Instagram, that although it can look really good in person the gloss makes photography much more difficult

 

C36 Hobgoblins

C36 Hobgoblins. Most of the orcs in the army I’ve mustered are made up of Aly Morrison hobgoblins. Their furs, and eclectic arms and armor with a vaguely “oriental”influence have a lost civilisation vibe. There is a suggestion of a coherent culture, although a brutal, mean, militaristic one. While I do have a soft spot for the Kev Adam’s style gorilla orc, Aly Morrison’s vision more closely represents the old school Tolkien vibe I’m going for. 

Orc General on War Wyvern

Orc General mounted on Wyvern. I put this chap together to stand in as King F’yar for the “Blood Bath at Orc’s Drift” Warhammer Scenario- the archetypal Warhammer Orc war boss riding on a big monster. The Orc is Kev Adam’s Orc General on Boar. The wyvern is a Grenadier “Dragon Lords” Wyvern Dragon, a really nice model. An older figure, the humble scale and details of this beast appeal to me in comparison to the overly “epic” style of many other available creatures. The lack of a scorpion sting (essential for a Wyvern in my opinion) disappointed me enough to cut up an old marauder giant scorpion to add one. I was able to tweak the pose by bending the body, wings, and neck to improve the sense of movement. Paint wise I was trying to achieve the look of an exotic venemous fish crossed with a WW2 fighter bomber.

 

An Homage to The Back Cover of White Dwarf 139

An homage to one of my favourite photos from White Dwarf, the back cover of issue 139.
 

Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin

Frodo and Sam.

One of the interesting things about the Citadel Lord of the Rings range is the variety of different depictions of each character- as if each sculptor had a go. These are definitely my favourite version of Sam and Frodo- hiking across Middle Earth with their trusty walking sticks, burdened with their packs, Frodo with a slightly haunted look, Sam faithfully by his side. I love to see miniatures doing anything other than brandishing a weapon above their head, anyone else prefer “at ease” poses?

Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck.

That is the four Hobbits of the fellowship complete.

Keep getting these two mixed up! I think Pippin is the one with blonde hair, Merry is in blue. 

 

Middle Imperial Roman Vexillation so far…

I’m just heading off to my local games club to play some Infamy, Infamy and thought I’d post this shot of my Roman vexillation so far. It represents an army stationed in the eastern provinces around the time of the Emperor Aurelian- about 270AD, but I am trying to keep things reasonably generic for versatility and to maximise potential opponents and time periods (say 150AD to 350AD or there abouts at a stretch). The aim is to include a fair bit of eastern flavour and incorporate a lot of Palmyran auxiliaries such as archers, light horse, and maybe even cataphracts, which as the army grows could be split off and also used as an opponent in a Zenobian revolt campaign or the like.

The army is has been based to be able to be used for both Infamy, Infamy as well as Warhammer Ancient Battles.

Farmer Maggot and his Hounds

Whatever you do, do not get between Farmer Maggot’s hounds and a sausage sandwich!

Completed these figures and terrain items with the MESBG Quest of the Ring Bearer scenarios in mind. 

The dogs Grip, Fang, and  Wolf, are two Marauder Miniatures war hounds (sculpted by Trish Carden) and a Mordheim Witch Hunter hound. I searched everywhere for the third Marauder hound, would have liked to have used the trio, but to no avail, this one is ok though I think, adds some variety. Farmer Maggot is a Citadel C Series Halfling, “Bargol”.

The Hobbit hole is an aquarium decoration that I blinged out a bit, and turned out quite alright for the inexpensive pieces they were.