Lord of the Rings Dunedain

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is by far my favorite novel, and Games Workshop's Dunedain, looking like something out of an Alan Lee painting, were too good to resist.

I started with Halbarad, the kinsman of Aragorn, and his banner bearer at the battle of Minas Tirith. This character was cut from the Jackson films, in the book he headed a small group of thirty rangers, in addition to the sons of Elrond, who came south to ride alongside Aragorn as he rode the Paths of the Dead at Dunharrow.

I was pleased with the sculpt, although there were a few problems with other Dunedain sculpts, which I'll talk about later. The banner is accurate to that made by Arwen, and the crown on it and the pole head are based on an illustration by Tolkien.The brooch, featured on all the Dunedain, is also book-accurate. I tried to convey in my painting work rough, weathered outdoorsmen, "hard and stern".

The other Dunedain are similar, with a tanned skintone, and weathered gear. I had a few difficulties with the sculpts, some areas, most clearly seen on the miniature at the side, seemed almost unfinished, or at least not smoothed out right, the bottom of the cloak in particular. The face on that one, as well, was not well defined.

I tried to vary the colors used on the clothes, except for the cloak, no two miniatures are alike.

There are plenty of play possibilities with the centuries long wanderings and protection of the Shire. The battle of Sarn Ford, a delaying action fought against the Ringwraiths, would be great fun to play out on the table top. And, in the War of the Ring, their presence at Pelargir and Minas Tirith means they have a wide range of opponents...

...incuding the Uruk-Hai of Isengard. These are painted, and sculpted, from the Jackson trilogy. These got a good bit of weathering on their gear, ranging from dirt on their sandals to rust on their armor, and the white hand of Isengard on their shields.

I have a few more of each to paint, but this project is shaping up nicely, and has been a lot of fun for me, I've really enjoyed translating my favorite novel to the tabletop, and look forward to testing their mettle against the dice soon!


Interested in your own miniatures from the Lord of the Rings? Check out my Etsy shop for custom commissions.