This blog started initially as a way for me to track and share a 10mm Middle-earth project I began a few years ago, but has since developed into something completely different. That being said, with a new film on the horizon, my interest in Middle-earth will likely return; and you can expect to see more on that theme here in the coming year or two.
Enjoy the trailer!
Comments Off on THE HOBBIT, First Official Trailer
Posted in film, Middle-earth
click on the image to be taken to the auction
The BoFA elven cavalry are now listed for sale over at eBay. You can view the listing here.
Comments Off on BoFA Elven Cavalry, now on sale
Posted in 10mm fantasy, 10mm Middle-earth, Battle of Five Armies, Games Workshop, Middle-earth, Warmaster
Blister box of GW's elven cavarly for the BoFA game system
Games Workshop upset a lot of people when they pulled the expansion packs of metal models from their Battle of Five Armies range. Here we are, five years out from their initial release, and in various corners of the net one can still read expressions of discontent about this decision. Among the metal models are Smaug, a giant, dwarven crossbowmen, spiders of Mirkwood, bats, trolls, and the ever evasive elven cavalry.
Yesterday, during my nostalgia tour of game stores in the SF Bay Area, I was shocked to discover on a rack a mint copy of the elven cavalry. On the off chance there are still people looking for these models, I’ve decided to make them available on eBay beginning sometime early next week. All proceeds from the sale will go towards a humble venture into the miniatures industry, but I’ll save that tale for another day.
(My apologies for the poor photo and image quality. I’m currently traveling as part of an international move back to the United States, and don’t have my regular camera with me.)
Comments Off on Battle of Five Armies, elven cavalry
Posted in 10mm fantasy, 10mm Middle-earth, Battle of Five Armies, Middle-earth, Warmaster
I’ll post updates for these projects once they’re closer to completion.
10mm inn (fantasy)
10mm inn with textured faces and future windows
Parts for railroad tracks for my armored Soviet train and optional terrain piece for Blitzkrieg Commander (1/72 WWII)
Future hedge pieces for the modular terrain I'm building for Blitzkrieg Commander games
My solution for modular terrain basing, medium density fiberboard
Dragonette (front)
Dragonette (back)
Modifying Reaper’s forthcoming dragonette model to serve as a fell beast for 10mm Middle-earth gaming would be simple. Smooth out the scales with some green stuff, cut off the head and sculpt a longer one (or leave as-is), and add a rider. I’m getting nine.
Reaper Saprolings for Ents (also see here), and now this. I wonder if they’ll ever make something I can use for trolls.
Comments Off on Reaper’s New Dragonette = 10mm Fell Beast
Posted in 10mm fantasy, 10mm Middle-earth, 28-32mm fantasy, Middle-earth, Reaper
Molemen models available from Wyrd Miniatures
Wyrd has been around as a miniatures company and forum host for enthusiasts since 2005, but they’ve come to the fore in the last few months with the release of their highly anticipated and popular rules set, Malifaux. Leading up to and following the GenCon premier of the game, Wyrd started cranking out starter sets, blister packs, accessories, and loads of new characters.
I’ve bought into the game. I picked up a Witch Hunters crew, Mortimer (gravedigger), Nicodem (undertaker), the Malifaux core rulebook, a burgundy fate deck, and the coloring book. I would have purchased more, but due to the timing of my order (right after GenCon) they were out of many things that I wanted. Fortunately, between then and now they’ve refilled their stock, and I have a full cart again.
While keeping myself up to date on information about new releases from Wyrd, I recently came across this picture of the molemen. Another fine release from Wyrd, yes; but my initial reaction had me thinking of possibilities for these models that have nothing to do with the Malifaux universe.
What I see here are potential proxies for cave trolls for 10mm Middle-earth. The hands are way too large, however; they will need to be amputated and new ones sculpted in their place. But that’s a minor issue considering these are the closest matches to Weta’s interpretation of cave trolls at this size that I’ve ever seen. (I know about the plastic pieces for Risk and WotR, but dismissed them for being too large or lacking the kind if detail I require.) The models will also need chains and a weapon or two, and I’ll have to shorten the teeth with a Dremel, but that’s also easy to do. I’ve got some in my cart, and hope to have them in hand soon. I’ll be sure to post pictures when I do.
I hope that helps. And please add a comment if you feel inspired to do the same or have an idea of your own for 10mm cave trolls.
NOTE: Images featured in this post are Copyright © 2005-2009 Wyrd Miniatures LLC.
The Bywater Mill, by MacGothmog
The Buckland Brewery, by TheBucklandBrewer
Both of these are featured as tutorial threads over at The One Ring. You can check them out by clicking on the images above.
Comments Off on More Great Terrain Projects, LotR
Posted in 25mm fantasy, 28-32mm fantasy, hobby, Middle-earth, terrain
If you’re like me, Games Workshop’s Great Battles in Middle-earth: The Battle of Five Armies box set (slight price increase as of late) and its supporting release of metal blisters were just the beginning of your foray into the 10mm Middle-earth hobby. You’ve probably perused the plethora of catalogs of 10mm miniatures available on the Web dozens of times in search of models to use for the armies, monsters, beasts, characters, siege works and even architecture that were never a part of GW’s release plans for the system or have since gone out of production (i.e., Smaug, trolls, elven cavalry, spiders of Mirkwood, dwarf archers, bat swarms, and the storm giant). Not surprisingly, one of the more popular searches is for dragons.
According to The Encyclopedia of Arda, there are two primary divisions and two subdivisions of the dragon race: fire-drakes (urulóki), cold-drakes, flightless fire-drakes (urulóki, fire-drakes of the north), and long-worms. In the works of Tolkien, all of these types of dragon appear at least once as named characters: Glaurung the Golden (flightless fire-drake, urulokë), Ancalagon the Black (fire-drake, urulokë), Scatha the Worm (cold-drake or long-worm), and Smaug the Golden (fire-drake, urulokë). As the names suggest, the colors of dragon include, but are probably not limited to, gold, black, and red-gold (Smaug).
There’s a vast array of models from various manufacturers from which to choose proxies for named or generic Middle-earth dragons. Reaper, for example, has a number of great dragons that would potentially work for 10mm gaming. Some of my favorites include Shadow Dragon, Dragon of Fire, Silver Dragon, Narthalyssk, Guardian Dragon, Wy’zern, Young Fire Dragon, and Young Ice Dragon. But if you like the look of GW’s metal Smaug model for BoFA, then it’s probably a good idea to keep aesthetic consistency in mind when looking for more dragon models. In my opinion, the range of dragons with the closest match to the BoFA Smaug is Dark Swords’ Dennis Mize Dragons from their Visions in Fantasy line.
The Dark Sword dragons match the GW Smaug in terms of both size and aesthetics. Lithesome, perhaps, is the best adjective to describe the lot. There is enough variety among the DS dragons to choose proxies for all of the Middle-earth dragon types. Personally, I think either of the chromatics would work great for Ancalagon and Glaurung (although this would require some minor modeling with Green Stuff, since you wouldn’t need the wings for the latter); and for Scatha, either the green or blue dragon, because they are the longest of the bunch.
NOTE: Painted samples of Dark Sword’s dragons featured in this post are Copyright © Dark Sword Miniatures
REFERENCES:
“Dragons,” Encyclopedia of Arda.
“Dragon (Middle-earth),” Wikipedia.
Asylum Online Store, Reaper.
“Dennis Mize Dragons and Beasties,” Visions in Fantasy, Dark Sword.
Specialist Games, Games Workshop.
Comments Off on Beyond Smaug: Fielding the Other Dragons for 10mm Middle-earth
Posted in 10mm fantasy, 10mm Middle-earth, Battle of Five Armies, Dark Sword, Games Workshop, Middle-earth
Anthony McCartney, writing for the AP, reports that the long-standing feud between New Line and the Tolkien estate is finally over:
The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and a movie studio that produced the blockbuster “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy have settled a lawsuit over the films’ profits, it was announced Tuesday.
Comments Off on Settlement, Finally…Hobbit’s a Go
Posted in film, Middle-earth, Misc, news
