Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIII Submission #6 - Some Lord of the Rings Bits and Bobs

 For this submission I decided to work on clearing away a lot of loose ends to make room on my desk for some large projects that are coming down the pipe. What we have today is a mix of Uruk-hai Berserkers, Mordor Uruk-hai, some Dwarf Heroes, a trio of Trolls, and a collection of Mines of Moria terrain and dead.

The three Uruk-hai Berserkers are metal figures from Games Workshop that were mixed in with the secondhand Uruk-hai Scout that I was given. The paint job left much to be desired, so they got stripped back down to raw metal and then were primed black with a rattle can. Vallejo acrylics were used for most of the colors - Cavalry Brown for the skin areas, Leather Brown for the loincloth, sandals, and gloves, and Gun Metal for the helmet and sword. They were then given a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade.

 

  The three Mordor Uruk-hai were from another blister of metal figures from Games Workshop that I picked up years ago, and they have been sitting in the pending box ever since they got mounted on their bases and primed black. Again, I used primarily Vallejo acrylics, but also some craft store acrylics that I still have in my paint box. I used a colour called Hippo Grey for the skin areas, and Charcoal for the cloaks. The leather pieces got painted a mix of Leather Brown, Chocolate Brown, and Flat Earth, while helmets, greaves, gauntlets, and weapons were painted with Gun Metal. Finally I gave them a coat of Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

 

 

 

 Next up are four Dwarven Heroes consisting of a Shieldbearer, a King's Champion, and two Heralds.These are resin figures from Games Workshop that were available at one time as metal miniatures. Like the Dwarves I painted for last week's submission, these were mounted on their bases, some sand glued down to the base with PVA glue, and then primed black with an airbrush. I used mostly Vallejo acrylics, but also some Partha paints for the True Blue and Bronze Metallic.

King's Champion and Heralds

 

Side view to show off the banners

Showing off the shield design

A Shieldbearer is a Minor Hero bodyguard

 

 The three trolls are a mix of two Games Workshop Cave Trolls, one in metal and the other in plastic, and a Reaper Miniatures Mountain Troll that I am going to use as a Mordor Troll. The metal Cave Troll I purchased years ago, and like the Mordor Uruk-hai, it was prepped and then gathered dust. The plastic Cave Troll is the one that comes with the Mines of Moria starter box. Somebody bought it, but was only interested in the Moria Goblins and the Fellowship figures, so I ended up with the Cave Troll and the terrain. The Reaper Mountain Troll is a massive metal figure that has since been replaced with a plastic version of the sculpt. Again, Vallejo acrylics were used, followed by a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade. I had used Medium Flesh on the Mountain Troll as a base colour, and with the Earthshade wash, it came out looking a bit more orange than I expected, but it still looks pretty menacing. These all stand 55-60mm tall.

 

Reaper Mountain Troll, plastic Cave Troll, and metal Cave Troll

 

The backside of the trio of trolls

 

 Lastly I have two sets of terrain pieces from the Mines of Moria starter box. I got one set from someone who only wanted the Fellowship figures and the Moria Goblins, and the other from someone who just wanted all the figures, including the Cave Troll. So I ended up being given a total of 8 pillars, 4 trapdoors, 2 chests, 2 wells, 2 sarcophagi, and 6 assorted skeleton/skull pieces. These were all primed black using a rattle can, and then dry brushed with progressively lighter shades of grey. I used Iraqi Sand on the skeletons and skulls, Stone Grey on all the pages, Chocolate Brown on the chests and book covers, with Bronze Metallic and Gun Metal painted on various other bits. I then used a fine tipped Sharpie to put lines of dots and dashes on the pages to look like writing. Finally everything got a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

Two sets of Mines of Moria terrain

 

An elevated view

 

A closeup showing the dead and skeletons and the detail on the pages

 Thanks for stopping by.

Warmaster - Trolls!

Trolls! Metal castings from GW's long-OOP "Warmaster" range.

As I continue to play "catch up" on the blog posting, it is time to share another diversion from 30k stuff - trolls! Not online trolling, but instead the trolls of GW's Old World! Yes, here we are back into GW's old "Warmaster" game, with a unit of trolls for my orc & goblin army. These are old OOP metal castings from GW. 

Brilliant old metal sculpts from GW.

The orc & goblin army is home to a wide assortment of creatures large and small - these fellows definitely land in the "large" side! They won't be following orders that carefully, but once stuck into a fight, a unit of trolls will be hard to overcome, particularly as they can regenerate wounds! While not the most disciplined marching companions, once the battle actually comes they would be useful in everything from absorbing the charge or enemy cavalry to beating up enemy units in protracted scraps. 

Nice assortment of stone clubs, club made with the teeth of some terrible monster, and one fellow just carrying a plain old rock!

Ready to wreck some sh*t in the Old World!

Each time I have had the opportunity to crack open one of these classic blister packs, savour the sweet 1990s air, and work on classic old metal Warmaster figures has been a real treat. I know exciting things are happening these days with digital design and 3D printing etc, but GW's metal Warmaster figure range was a real triumph, and I will always wish I could have hoarded away more of the stuff (what I wouldn't give for a metal Araby army!!). It is a great treat to work on these old metal figures, and I like to proceed at a sort of stately painting pace while working on them, keeping the nostalgia flashbacks coming at a decent pace.

At best, my brush can only approximately capture the stunning details on these old metal castings.

Onward into the Old World!

Any good raid out of the mountains and into the more settled (and delicious!) areas of the Warhammer Old World will be that much more fun with these fellows along for the trip! That's all for now - thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more! Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIII looms - certainly some more Warmaster projects are likely to figure in my efforts there, and I know other Conscripts are preparing their own projects as well. Hope to see you here again soon.