THE LORD OF THE RINGS MUMAKIL

'Grey as a mouse,

Big as a house,

Nose like a snake,

I make the earth shake...'

(J.R.R. Tolkien)

These were amazing to paint...hard work but well worth it. I'm so glad that I have arranged to deliver these myself as the thought of sending them in the post gives me nightmares! (I'm sure it would be fine?)

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

"...a host had issued from Minas Morgul and was already drawing nigh to Osgiliath; and it had been joined by regiments from the South, Haradrim, cruel and tall." (J.R.R. Tolkien)

These are the mounted Haradrim, and there were plenty of them to be painted. As a host they look impressive so I couldn't resist photographing them all together rather than just a select few.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Some more images of the figures from the Lord of the Rings commission...is just goes to show there is more to an 'evil' army than plain old Orcs. (Honestly I'm not bitter, I will get to paint some soon!)

Above are mounted Serpent Raiders, and below the Serpent Guard, their dismounted counterparts.

Now I did add a bit more colour to these Serpent Guards as I wanted to reflect their 'elite' status a bit more. These figures are full of detail. Very handsome fellows and then look whats coming below...

A couple of ugly Half-Trolls you could smell a mile off. These are not as big as the normal Cave or Mordor Trolls but they are still mean looking!

THE LORD OF THE RINGS

"The Board is set, the pieces are moving..." (J.R.R.Tolkien)

The Lord of the Rings commission is completed and I can finally put the pictures up...

Above and below are Games Workshop's Haradrim spearmen. In fact all of the figures are by Games Workshop, and though they are expensive to buy new I have to say they are beautiful figures. As you can see they are not on the plastic slot bases that come with the figures. The customer wanted them based on round 2p size bases instead, except for the cavalry.

This being an 'evil' army I went for darker colours. The artwork on the Games Workshop boxes has them in fairly bright colours. I think this is to make them look attractive to sell better, but I decided on black and deep reds. The only brightness comes from the armour and purple waist sashes. I have even painted some of the spear shafts black, just to add to the evilness.
Supporting the spearmen are the Haradrim archers...



These nasty boys should be able to make a pincushion out of the Fellowship. The photographs show a small sample of what is in the commission, there were 100+ spearmen and 100+ archers. Of course this horde of nasty fellows needs a leader...

 

More pictures to follow of Serpent Guards, mounted Haradrim, Half Trolls and Mumaks.



Here are some more 28mm French Indian War figures by Galloping Major, from a commission I finished painting in May (it seems ages ago now but time flys when busy plus the kids are off school for the summer holiays...). These are Roger's Rangers and were a joy to paint. Its not a period I had considered doing before but am now very tempted...at the moment I am finishing off a Games Workshop Lord of the Rings 'Evil' army (though not an Orc in sight lol). I will be posting some pics of these very soon...

After finally finishing and enjoying reading Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' (yes I really am that bad, though in my defence its the third attempt at it) I felt inspired to paint Front Rank's 28mm figure of Tsar Alexander. I wonder how popular it would be to paint some of the other characters from the book...obviously there is Kutuzov etc, Prince Andrew. Pierre would have to be a conversion I'm guessing.

15mm Spartan DBA Army

At the moment I am selling Spartan DBA armies on Ebay using 15mm Xyston Miniatures.

Spartan armies always look good, a bit like the Romans do I think. They always look distinctive with their uniform appearance compared with other Greek armies...though the other Greek armies look good as well (he says contradicting himself, which I often do). Enough waffle here is the army, which as I say is listed on Ebay at the moment, though I can paint one direct without going through Ebay, just drop me an email at p414hart@btinternet.com for a quote.

Above are the Spartans arrayed for battle (yes terrible deployment but I'm a hopeless tabletop commander, though I'm pretty sure the Spartan Hoplites will save some embarrasment.

An impressive shield wall to strike fear into other Greeks...

I enjoyed painting these figures from Xyston Miniatures, as you may be aware they are bigger than most 15mm figures but they have great detail and look impressive when painted up. They can be hard work and take time to prep for painting, having to have the hands drilled through to fit the spear on. But they are well worth it.

Well thats the 15mm Spartans....I might have to do the Athenians next, or the Thebans, or Thessalians... and maybe the later Persian...somebody has to get trashed by the Spartans, the most renowned and feared fighting men in the Greek world. Unless they are commanded on the tabletop by me, in which case they just come to a grinding halt...