The Warriors of Arnor

Here are the core of my LotR Battle Companies force, four Warriors of Arnor with spear and shield...

They have been painted in the same manner as their Captain. I was put off building a larger force for a while because there are only three poses available, but I didn't realize they have separate right arms until recently. Each arm is in a different position so by simply mixing the arms you get nine different models. By varying the angle of these you can create even more variation. Finally you can substitute arms from the plastic Warriors of Gondor or Rohirrim as well with a little effort. I am now intent on collecting enough models to field two full squads (12 models each) for the 'normal' LotR Battle Game, but I'm going to do that slowly. I may see what I can find on e-bay before dropping $15 for three models, but with the way GW seems to be dropping the range I might go ahead and make the investment before they are gone. Luckily I own all of the old metal characters (the King, the Seer, and the Standard Bearer) that are no longer available from GW.

The paints are all Games Workshop. The green is Caliban Green, highlighted with a layer of Warpstone and sharp points of Moot Green. The yellow is a base of Averland Sunset with a wash of Casandora Yellow and a single highlight of Yriel Yellow.

On to the Rangers of Arnor!

Captain Marko Steelknife

When starting a new project I normally dive in with the rank and file, but heroes are the focus of LotR Battle Companies so I thought I'd start with my Captain of Arnor, Marko Steelknife.

I used Citadel paints and shades - I'll post a full list if anyone is interested when I put up the warriors. The mud on the cloak and boots was done with Doc O'Brien's Weathering Powders, first Dirty Brown and then Gritty Yellow. I've found these powders are easier to control than dry brushing these effects with paint. I sprayed the model with matte varnish to seal in the powders and finally touched up all of the metal with gloss varnish.

Next up... Warriors of Arnor!

The Ruin of Arnor

I have hundreds of Games Workshop Lord of the Rings models and really have never painted very many beyond the Fellowship and a handful of Uruk-Hai and Nazgul. I'm not really interested in playing games with the characters from the movie, but I think Middle Earth has awesome gaming possibilities outside of the trilogy events. It's a shame the Games Workshop seems to have dropped support for these games (even the new Hobbit range for the Desolation of Smaug got little in the way of support beyond ads for a handful of new models). Most of the core armies are still available, but many packs of models are no longer available outside of e-bay.

Sifting through the mountain of lead and plastic, I stumbled on two packs of Warriors of Arnor. I have always loved the background of this lost realm and the thought of the Witch King leading the army of Angmar. The out of print Ruins of Arnor details both armies (the lists appeared in modified versions in later publications, Kingdoms of Men and Moria & Angmar, but I like the first version better).

Now I'm not really looking at painting hundreds of models for this game. In fact to start out I'm only going to build some forces for the Lord of the Rings Battle Company rules. These are true skirmish games with six to twelve models per side where you are expected to name each model and track their experience. There are no 'official' rules for Arnor and Angmar and the fan-made lists I've found online aren't really any better than I can do myself. As this will be a purely solo project for the time being, I'm not too worried about following a list.

That said, I think the Gondor Battle Company will work as a basis for Arnor. The starting force consists of two warriors with spear and shield, three warriors with sword and shield, and two warriors with bows. I replaced two swordsmen with more spearmen because the list in Ruins of Arnor lists spears as the only option for rank and file warriors. The point costs are identical so I don't think that's unreasonable. The third swordsman is my captain (I have a cool Arnor Captain model with sword and shield). I replaced the two archers with Rangers of the North - again the point costs are the same so this should work ok for me. The models I'm using are actually Faramir's Rangers (because that's what I have), but there is no appreciable difference with the models as far as I'm concerned. As the force gains reinforcements and advancements, I may make substitutions more appropriate to the north.

My starting Angmar force will simply use the Mordor list consisting of two orcs with bows, three orcs with two-handed weapons, four orcs with hand weapons and shields, and two orcs with spears. I swapped a spear for and extra hand weapon because I only had two orcs with spears. One of the orcs armed with a hand weapon and shield will be my captain for this force. I might swap some Warriors of Dunland for the orcs with two-handed weapons (The army of Angmar was made up of evil men as well as orcs and sources describe them as similar to Dunlendings). I might need to juggle the points a bit. Again, reinforcements might vary from the Mordor list, but I'll probably make these up as I go along...

Now, for some reason Games Workshop (and just about everyone else who have painted Warriors of Arnor) decided to paint the tunics, banners, and shields green. While there is little information on Arnor, I'm pretty sure there is mention of the flag being black. Even the artwork in The Ruin of Arnor depicts this...

I suppose the reason for the change is that the powers that be wanted the Warriors of Arnor to stand out from the Warriors of Gondor. It probably also makes for a better spectacle on the table, especially when fighting against the minions of the Witch King who are also likely garbed in black. I've decided to follow the green paint scheme for the reasons I just outlined and to make them instantly recognizable to other LotR gamers.

I will post WIP pics as I finish models. IF I actually get through both forces I will think about expanding to small (500 point?) armies. I have most of the models I need for Angmar, but I'd have to buy a few more models for Arnor. Shifting forward in time (after the fall of Arnor and the departure of the Witch King) gives me the opportunity to field a young Aragorn when he was still kicking around as a ranger. We'll see how it goes...

Donnybrook Available to Pre-order!

Donnybrook has finally gone up for pre order today. Shipping should be before 31 January. The following text appears with the special offer price (£24.50) in the shop.

Donnybrook is a fast and fun skirmish game which is easy to pick up and full of period flavour. The book is 110 pages of rich colour with 186 beautiful photographs, maps, original artwork, seven scenarios, example game in comic strip format, period primer for numerous conflicts, faction guides/force builder, points system and comes with a satin finish full colour A4 QRS. In is soft cover and perfect bound. The book also contains a force roster sheet template.

The book will revert to its normal price of £27.00 ex postage when it goes on general release at the end of January 2014 so this is a chance to be first in the queue and get a discount too!

The book will not be available at shows until February earliest. Trade orders will go out after the pre orders.

Those placing advanced orders with Le Roi Soliel will receive the books when Bob gets his delivery which will be as soon as we can ship 'em!

Happy New Year!

Whew! 2013 was a busy year. One of the cool things about maintaining a blog for your hobby is the ability to look back and see what you accomplished in the year...

The year stated strong adding King William, the Duke of Schomberg, one battalion of Dutch foot, three squadrons of Danish horse, and some Dutch Grenadiers to my 1690 project in the first two months!

In March I was lured away by Warhammer 40k, both adding models to my Red Scorpions and painting a few Rogue Trader era Ultramarines. March also saw the release of the Quindia Studios flags for the GNW Russians.

April and May were all over the place, but work was going on behind the scenes...

My painting slowed to a crawl in June as we revealed the finished cover for Donnybrook and the launch of the new League of Augsburg blog. These projects took up much of my free time during the second half of the year. Donnybrook is off to the printer and the LoA blog has grown like gangbusters so both were well worth the time.

In July and August I only managed to paint the Duke of Wurttemberg and one Huguenot regiment.

September saw the release of more GNW flags, this time for the Swedes, some artillery for my Williamites, a squadron of Huguenot horse, and a few models painted in greyscale for a vague 1920's project I have rattling around in my brain.

The rest of the year was spent hard at work on finishing Donnybrook and I only managed a handful of models including my first Jacobite unit of Irish dragoons.

In some ways a disappointing year for painting. In 2012, I painted TWO 2,000+ point armies for Warhammer 40k (A Tale of One Gamer) AND eight battalions of foot and two squadrons for my 1690 project.

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So bravely on to 2014! Donnybrook will be available in a few weeks (with a pre-order deal going up any day now).  My projects going forward will likely to continue to be a mess of periods and genres, but I WILL finish the last two Huguenot foot regiments to round out my Williamite army. The models are selected and on the painting table. The Jacobites WILL be started in a serious way very shortly. Barry and I are planning on going to Historicon this year to run some BLB and Donnybrook games if we can manage it. I have it in mind to paint some Warhammer Fantasy stuff too... I don't like the current rules, but there are rumors of another release and a major overhaul this year. Similar to my goal with A Tale of One Gamer in 2012, I have piles of unpainted Empire (remember this post from 2011?) and Goblin models tucked away. There will be another book later this year, though we are undecided as to exactly what is next... there might even be TWO books as we have one well over half finished. There will be more flags available from Quindia Studios, including some sheets designed for the factions of Donnybrook. The LoA blog should continue to roll along nicely and I will try to maintain a more regular schedule here as well.

I am sure that regardless of my plans, something strange will spark my interest and I will toddle off in another direction... say... where did I put those 10mm Copplestones?

Happy New Year!

Digital Books

For those who don't know, Wargames Illustrated has gone digital (actually started last month, but I've had precious little free time of late)! I certainly have nothing against paper and I still enjoy flipping through my old magazines, but I currently have ZERO subscriptions of hard copy mags (now if I could only get my wife into the digital age of magazines). I am seriously running out of space to continue to add books and magazines to my shelves.

Before I had a tablet, I didn't know what I would use it for. Now my iPad is my near constant companion. At any given time I have hundreds of books and magazines at my finger tips and millions within reach of a quick download. Between Kindle and Nook Apps, the iPad Newsstand and PDFs stored on iBooks, I currently have the following:

Complete collections of Dan Abnett's Inquisitor and Gaunt's Ghost books, Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom series, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe and Uhtred books, Fritz Leiber's Swords series, and the complete works of Robert E Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Michael Moorcock, and J.R.R. Tolkien. There are also The Art of War, a dozen Osprey titles, and Michael McNally's The Battle of Aughrim 1691.  More and more titles become available for these formats every month.

I have tons of RPG books in PDF - every 1e AD&D book, module, and supplement, all of the ancient TSR box games like Boot Hill, Gamma World, Top Secret, Star Frontiers, and Marvel Super Heroes, other games like Call of Cthulhu, Villains and Vigilantes, Paranoia, and Universe, and few modern ones like The One Ring and Numenera. There are also a few wargames like Beneath the Lily Banners and Donnybrook that haven't been circulated as PDFs yet (we are looking into it - the files are ready to go)!

For magazines, I have issues 1-100 of The Dragon, 1-3 of Gygax (the new... err... old school RPG mag), the full collection White Dwarf since they went digital (maybe 13 or 14 issues), a few Battlegames PDFs, and two dozen old Wargames Illustrated PDF's that I most often find myself searching for through the stacks (there are some articles I read over and over). I have digital subscriptions to Bass Player, ImagineFX, Miniature Wargames, White Dwarf, and most recently Wargames Illustrated.

And that brings me back to Wargames Illustrated. Issue 315 has a six-page feature on Donnybrook written by Barry and me. There is a fairly detailed run through of the basics of the rules, the reason behind some of them, and a general overview of what else is included in the book. It is actually the first time I have been published in WI as an author, though I've had lots of photos published over the last few years. I got my digital copy this morning, but I will be buying TWO paper copies for my collection to go on the shelf...

Lord Clare's Dragoons

I finally had a chance to take a photo of a unit I finished a few weeks ago, the first unit of my Jacobite army, Lord Clare's Dragoons...

Of course, these are Warfare Miniatures models. There is some controversy about the uniform of this regiment. Most Irish horse and dragoons were clothed in red before 1690. French supplies for the Jacobite army in 1690 eventually saw most units clothes in gris-mesle, a cloth flecked with blue threads that varied in color from white to pale grey. The default color of turn backs in the French army was red unless the colonel of the regiment paid to replace them. The Battle of the Boyne falls in the middle of the transition. Lord Boisseleau's regiment was at the docks when the supplies arrived (they helped unload them) and he outfitted his troops straight away. It is unclear which other units received new uniforms before the Battle of the Boyne. While a case can be made for either coat, I chose to paint Lord Clare's Draoons in their old uniforms because there are a lot of white and grey among the other units I have planned. They would have likely been in a sorry state, but for table top presentation I have chosen to keep them uniform with the addition of a few different hat colors. Lord's Clare's Dragoons are sometimes named as the 'Yellow Dragoons' so it seems safe that their cuffs were yellow.

These models are based in a similar manner to my Dutch Grenadiers. I will be able to use these both for games of Beneath the Lily Banners and Donnybrook. The mounted dragoons are currently being sculpted and as soon as I can get my hands on some I will paint mounted versions of the regiment and include a horse holder vignette.

Speaking of the Dutch and the Williamites, that army is not quite finished - I am very close with only two foot regiments left, but the dragoons were calling to me! I am far more productive painting when inspiration strikes than following a set schedule so the Jacobites jumped the queue! The next unit on the table is Lord Dongan's Dragoons which will be handled in a similar matter. Then maybe I can get back to the army of King Billy!

Donnybrook

Clarence Harrison - Donnybrook will be sent to the printer in a few days and will be available for pre-order very soon (watch this space). It has taken a year of work that I have thoroughly enjoyed (and putting on the finishing touches is one of the reasons my lack of posting recently). There is a full feature next month in Wargames Illustrated, but our loyal readers get a sneak peek here!

Donnybrook is a fast paced skirmish game designed to cover conflicts across the globe from 1660 to 1760. The basic game of requires a force of 12-48 models, depending on their quality, and one character who represents the player on the table top. Games are played on a 4x4' table. You can add additional units and additional characters as you like, as long as both sides use the same conventions, though you'll need a larger table as you increase the numbers! Donnybrook uses a card driven turn system that creates exciting, unpredictable play. Besides leading government troops into battle, you can choose mobs of armed peasants, murderous brigands, religious fanatics, sinister cultists, ferocious highlanders, or tribal natives. The book includes the rules, faction lists, weapons primer, random events, seven scenarios, a thrilling battle report, a period and theater guide, and a double sided playsheet. The finished book is 112 pages and contains more than 150 awesome photographs by Mr Hilton!

Table of Contents

We'll announce the launch of pre-orders very soon so stay tuned!