The Lord of the Rings: Armies of Middle Earth: July 2009

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Galadhrim Warriors

I continue single-handely to regenerate the economy of Nottingham

One thing I do not need at present is any more Lord of the Rings figures. I have hundreds to paint! However I couldn't resist this latest box set from GW of Galadhrim Warriors.

I love the scene in The Two Towers where Haldir brings his elves to the relief of Helm's Deep but up until now you have had to fork out a fortune (well £7.85 for three figures) to build this force. So the £20 for 24 figures is a bargain (by Games Workshop reckoning).

It's still pretty steep for plastic figures given that Victrix sell 60 Napoleonic French for the same price.

Interestingly, if you look at the scenes from The Two Towers (very much my favourite of the trilogy) quite a few of Haldir's Elves are women (see far left in the picture above). This is probably not reflected in the plastic models! GW no longer call them Haldir's Elves but just "Elves with bows" or "swords".

I might take them on holiday with me to paint but will try and ensure that they don't look too bright but more Peter Jackson (or Weta) muted. Guy is keen that I build a Helm's Deep model but all those curved walls may be beyond my capabilities!

GW do captains and a banner bearer (at an eye watering £5.85) to make a War of the Ring unit. I suppose it's less than half the price of a Martini at the Langham Hotel down the road. I have a GW exactly 170 paces from where I work and it's a good thing I took this new job last year with its threefold salary increase or I'd be stuffed!

Wargaming Middle Earth

I confess that I had never been a fan of The Lord of the Rings until Peter Jackson's monumental films came out. I had never read the books and had, years before, given up on The Hobbit half way through. Now I have read most of them (I am still struggling to finish the Return of the King) and whilst acknowledging their influence and scope still don't think they are particularly readable.

No, for me , it was the fantastic images created by the film that inspired me. Oddly, when Games Workshop came out with their Fellowship of the Ring boxed set I didn't buy it as I couldn't see how you could turn a film featuring largely invincible heroes into a satisfactory game.

It wasn't until D'Agostini came out with their Battlegames in Middle Earth part-work that I got interested, at the prompting of my little boy, Guy, and subsequently subscribed to the magazine; eventually collecting every issue.

I painted the 12 goblins included in the first issue in a day and my little boy and I immediately played a game using these and the cardboard Aragorn included as well.

Since then I must have acquired hundreds of figures, although very few are painted. Most are designed by the Perry brothers and are, as a result, completely gorgeous. Some of them are truly remarkable portraits, in 25mm, of the actors who played the parts in the films.

Occasionally, LotR games are played at Guildford but the main driver for me in getting more figures done is Guy, who loves playing the game.

So over the next year or so I will see how many more of these splendid figures I can get onto the gaming table and even have a go at making some scenic items.