Ringbearer

I've been re-reading The Lord of the Rings yet again! It always astounds me that, although I've already read it nine times, there is always more layers to uncover, more depth to the narrative than I had remembered. This time around (I'm at Cirith Ungol), I am struck by the centrality of the Ring's journey into Mordor, and especially Frodo's courage and responsibility throughout Book IV- he is truly 'one who shall find a way'. 

This particular Frodo is supposed to be from somewhere between Rivendell and Lothlorien- he has Sting, but no Elven cloak or brooch. While I took the basic color scheme from the Jackson films, I added some details, and changed around colors to suit my taste. I tried to capture some of the 'Elvish air' mentioned in the book about his face with sharper and lighter skin tones.

Here you can see the two largest changes I made to him. First, his coat is a tweed material- this was surprisingly easy to paint, I simply shaded it as normal, and then added very small lines in a lighter color. Sting has also been changed, with a golden hilt and blue detailing on the blade. This reflects Sting's glow whenever Orcs are near, as they will be in most wargames.

The cloak is a simple, faded green, travel worn like my Dunedain's cloaks. I'm really pleased that the sculptor included packs on all the GW Fellowship Hobbits- it adds a great deal more realism to the sculpts.

Uton Herian Holbytlan!

Ghash!

One of the most frightening and memorable sequences in the Lord of the Rings is the Mines of Moria. Tolkien did a great job of building up the tension towards the climatic fight in the Chamber of Records, and the well-written excerpts from the Book of Mazarbul  make the approaching threat come alive. In painting Games Workshop's Moria goblins, I decided to try for a creepier, more troglodyte look than is seen in the movies, to better reflect the sense I have of them in the book- I think I succeeded!

Most people, including me, think of goblins as green. While this works great for most goblins, what about those who dwell in caves, never venturing out under sun or moon? It would make sense that, as they became more adapted to an underground environment, they would begin losing the now useless pigmentation, as seen in cave fish. Unlike cave fish, of course, these goblins still have eyes that have become accustomed to the dark, like Dungeons and Dragons darkvision.

Also, in an environment such as Moria, certain materials like leather or wood are very hard to come by. Because of this, the goblins' bows are made of metal- some kind of lightweight alloy of the Dwarves, perhaps. The straps and other items usually made of leather are painted a dull green- maybe troll skin?

I'm really happy with how the armor turned out. I wanted it a good bit darker than, say, that of an elf, so I drybrushed Army Painter gunmetal over the very dark Vallejo paint of the same name. 

This still left the problem of weathering- no self-respecting orc would ever wear shiny new armor. This was solved by more drybrushing, this time using various shades of brown- a technique similar to what I used on my Uruk Hai, but it worked much better here.

So, these are albino cave goblins, who don't even need the light of torches to see by. But what happens when they do encounter torches? Especially, what happens when a fiery Balrog starts stirring in the depths they call home?

The answer lies in the red stripes present on the goblins armor and clothing. As seen throughout history, indigenous cultures are quick to adapt such cataclysmic events as religious ceremonies or cults- and the goblins are no different.

A cult of fire has sprung up among this tribe, present on these models primarily as caste markings. The more warpaint (red pigment is a valuable commodity among goblins) on a goblin, the higher up on the totem pole it is. All of these miniatures are lower ranking warriors, with only a small amount of pigment available for decoration.

When I paint warleaders for this growing band, I may also add a small number of charred mutilations- most likely as a sign of extreme bravery or religious devotion, as goblins are not known for their high pain tolerance.

It's in the Cards

While most of what I post involves tabletop games, I also enjoy playing a variety of board and card games. One of these is Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror LCG. Something I like about the game is its high-quality card art- I make a point of checking out all the art as I play, although I never anticipated that I would recognize one of the locations...

Since I was a child, my family has vacationed in the North Georgia mountains, mostly around Helen GA, and Unicoi State Park. This continues a tradition that has been ongoing since my mother was a child. When we go, we always make sure to visit the Old Sautee Store, an old country store in the small town of Sautee. The store is known for its troll statue, which currently resides on the store's counter. Somewhere I even have a picture of myself, at the tender age of nine months, with the troll.

About six months ago, I was playing the Blood on the Altar mythos pack, and noticed, on the Osborn's General Store card, a very familiar troll! I was intrigued, and decided to find out more about the artist, one Mark Molnar. He is a self-described illustrator and concept artist based out of Budapest, and does excellent work in both fields. I emailed him to find out if the troll was an intentional reference, and received a prompt response-

"Yes, it was absolutely intentional.
I used the Old Sautee store as my main reference for that illustration, as I felt it resembles perfectly, what a place like this should look like - or looked like in the '20s. (...) When I got the assignment for this card, I started to do a research, this is what I do before starting any illustration. During my research I just stumbled into one photo about the store on Pinterest I think and I instantly felt that this is what I am looking for. After that I specifically searched more references about this actual store and used them as an inspiration / general direction to paint the picture for the card."

I'll actually do something similar with my miniatures- a lot of my inspiration comes from other sources. For example, my sig figure-

-is inspired by Tom Baker's outfit as the Fourth Doctor Who!

Later, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I had the opportunity to take the card to the Old Sautee Store itself. I showed it to the owner and his son. They were very interested in the card, and were able, at a glance, to identify other features of the store in the many details of the illustrations. Oddly enough, the son's daughter had just written a school report on Lovecraft's poetry. I sent the above picture to Mark Molnar, who replied-

"Oh wow, that's great to hear and awesome image with the troll!
Please let them know I am an absolute fan of their shop and I find the atmosphere they created really inspiring and unique."

It's been fascinating getting to see just how much goes into a single card- and I have hundreds! I wonder how many more stories like this there are, waiting to be told...

What news from the north, Riders of Rohan?

Despite my masses of infantry, I have never painted a single cavalry miniature! I recently decided to fix the gaping hole in my forces, and what better way to do this than with one of the Horse Lords of Rohan.

I opted to paint the horse somewhat like a Welsh pony- largely because of the imagery of the Rohirrim, and the example of Shadowfax in the book. Despite its apparent simplicity, the horse was a very difficult paint-job. It took quite a while to bring out the depth and smoothness of the muscles, especially in a difficult to paint color like white.

The rider, on the other hand, was straightforward. I wanted a simpler, less ornamented look than is seen in the movies, with plenty of earthy tones. On future miniatures I may replace the shields, as the raised detail is a bit high for my taste. I did not glue down the rider, as I wanted him to be able to dismount from his horse.

I have heard that GW is revitalizing their LotR line, from which this model comes, with a new set of rules, including a campaign system that sounds similar to Frostgrave. This is very interesting news, and I look forward to seeing what they do with it.

Greatest and Chieftest of all Calamities

There's been something missing for a while in my miniature collection, something no self-respecting fantasy nut can do without- that greatest of all legendary beasts, the dragon!

Perhaps my first proper introduction to this king of the bestiaries was, of course, in The Hobbit. I had the advantage to first read it in a Michael Hague illustrated edition, and the image of his Smaug, sitting atop a mountain of treasure, inspired this dragon's color scheme. The miniature is a Reaper Bones model by Julie Guthrie, called Narthrax.

I may do something a little more interesting with the plain base, but, for now, he's perched atop some lonely mountain peak, making a snack of any burglars who pass by.

He's a big beast, almost too big for this photo set-up! This is definitely the largest, most involved miniature I've ever painted, and not just due to the size. Each scale had to be individually painted in four different reds, followed by an over all dry-brushing of metallic gold- and that's not even counting the wings or horns.

Unlike his inspiration, he lacks a diamond-studded waistcoat- or any gaps in his armor- on a shelf full of meddlesome heroes, survivability trumps style.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon,

The Dwarves they heard the tramp of doom...

Merry Christmas

I wish all of you a very peaceful and joyous holiday season- regardless of your beliefs, I hope you can appreciate what is, to me, a season of rebirth and renewal.

Merry Christmas!

Giant Scaly Attack Chicken!

The holiday season has, of course, been busy for me, but not so busy that I haven't had a chance to do some painting- even if all of the miniatures I have finished in the last few days are from the limbo of my to-be-completed pile.

First is a Nolzur's Marvelous Miniature, from a relatively new line by Wizards of the Coast. The line is sold pre-primed,which is a interesting concept, and is much more anatomically accurate than is usual for fantasy (especially female) miniatures. The color scheme I chose is much like my Una McDonnel miniature.

I am very happy with the wizard's book, which I modeled after some 14th-century tomes. Sharp eyed readers may notice a white Graveworm on the left-hand page. That is a representation of a custom sculpt of mine, which I need to get posted sometime.

This is an Etsy-listing for when I finally get my shop revived. Be expecting more like it in the future!

This is a  Reaper miniature, from Monte Cook's RPG setting Numenera. This particular model, I believe, is called an Ithsyn, but it looks more like a giant scaly attack chicken to me. I went for a slightly twisted, prehistoric look to the beastie, especially on the head, with its true double chin. As you can tell on the tongue, I have started using gloss varnish to add some effects to my miniatures. It can really make the eyes (or giant purple tongues) pop out at you.

This is actually a Christmas present for my girlfriend, who loves dinosaurs. When I got the miniature, it was bent at an angle (the one problem with Reaper's Bones line), as you can still see. I decided to keep it how it was, as it makes the whole miniature look more dynamic.

Speaking of scaly beasts...

Suffice it to say that Malakili is very happy.