1955: Tolkien publishes The Return of the King, and does not specify Gothmog's fate
2003: Jackson releases The Return of the King, which also doesn't show Gothmog's end
2004: Jackson releases The Return of the King Extended Edition*, which includes the blink-and-you'll-miss-it Death of Gothmog:
2008: GW releases a vignette 'The Death of Gothmog'. I like to think this is a Perry.
2023: I paint said vignette.
The death of Gothmog
I got this off eBay, partially painted and broken. I had thoughts of making this into a piece with sabots for the figures, like my Sauron piece, but ultimately decided against it. I've got plenty of Éowyns and recently a plastic Gothmog. I stripped the pieces and reassembled it. I decided to place it on a nice oval MDF base from Knights of Dice. I bulked out a little bit of the groundwork with Milliput so that Éowyn and Gothmog are on solid ground.
Stripped and ready to go
Test fit on MDF base. Note the narrower metal base before bulking it out with Milliput
I'd thought of doing the miniatures separately, but during a test fitting they got stuck in place so I painted them all together. It wasn't too hard. I started from black and then drybrushed browns and creams in the grisaille fashion, which the French call Le Slapchop.
My favourite part was painting the cloaks. The rohirrim cloaks are built up from Vallejo Russian Uniform, and the elven ones are built up from German Feldgrau.
The reverse of the scene
Gimli dual-wielding and has a two-handed axe strapped to his back
Dying orc #738 is really dynamic with his helmet flying off and sword leaping from open grasp.
Aragorn and Andúril
Gothmog
Éowyn desperately grasps for a sword from her dead comrade
I was slightly disappointed with it, but then I flocked it. I used some pretty dry colours to match the film- the Pelennor fields have been somewhat abused by hordes of orcs and stampeding mûmakil- and it really came to life. I haven't varnished it and am somewhat afraid to.
Heroes from the 'Spreading War' expansion for Journeys in Middle-earth. I used a fair amount of Contrast on these. I tried painting the eyes but it is far from my best effort there. The LEDs are quite unflattering!
Dwalin
Fréahild, Rohan Shieldmaiden
Calaminth Took, hobbit
Boromir
Beorn and The Great Bear
Rénërien, daughter of Círdan the shipwright
Spreading War
The Great Bear is an underwhelming sculpt. I can't explain how Fréahild became a Shieldmaiden of the forgoil, but I do think she could have got a bigger sword. It's not a miscast; there's a tiny scabbard on her left hip.
The matte varnish is still drying in these photos, with a greyish residue in the crevices.
Last week's abhuman squatters were resin 3D printed Tactical Space Dwarfs from a recent Kickstarter. This was from Capritor Miniatures in Canada. They printed pretty well, and I used Contrast paint without highlights to get them to the tabletop very quickly.
My sole quibble is the identical mohawks. In the age of digital sculpting, alternative heads can easily provide a lot of variety. The tattoos were quite a fun way to reduce that sameness. The orange shoulder flashes and turquoise sights add a splash of colour.
Gallius Marbec feels good. He feels confident. At the end of their last firefight, his crew had found some armour and plenty of credits. The rival threats had withdrawn. Gallius is able to pay off the entire debt on his ship. It is time to leave the relative safety of Necromunda, and scout for opportunities in an outer sector.
The crew pilot the Innominate to Hydresar X, a pioneer world on the fringe. The trip is uneventful. After planetfall, Lady Heldycryn is able to find a possible patron- a private gas mining interest. They are troubled by abhumans squatting on one of their asset locations, and will pay the crew to force them off the site.
"Chugger! Stay in cover, you big oaf!"
The squatting abhumans fire first
Fire erupts from the ruins
Chugger goes down!
Lady Heldycryn is also hit!
Julio can't get the drop either!
Konrad flanks the Squats but they shrug off his autopistol fire
The Squats return fire and wound Konrad and Marbec!
The sole unwounded, Roma is able to get her companions back to safety. She withdraws to the Squats' jeers and taunts. The last of Gallius' credits goes to chirurgeons to keep the more seriously wounded alive, but they will still need some time to recover in the sickbay. In pain and distressed, Chugger punches a hole in the ship and hurts himself further in his confusion. The crew are off to a very rocky start on a new world...
Arwen Undómiel, the Evenstar. A beautiful name that rolls off the tongue. I always try to emulate the breathy way Hugo Weaving says "Ahhhhr-when".
Arwen
Dís is a character named in Tolkien's legendarium. She's the sister of Thorin Oakenshield and the mother of Fíli and Kíli. I don't really like her sculpt; it doesn't fit my vision of Middle-earth. I still don't know how to pronounce her name- I think it rhymes with 'geese', but I suspect it may rhyme with 'this'.
Dís
Eleanor is a made-up character; a Gondorian noble.
Eleanor
Balin is the famous Balin from The Hobbit and the ill-fated expedition to reconquer Moria. I think he's my favourite of this bunch. He has his iconic red hood and white beard, and is accompanied by a raven. I painted this dark blue (like Arwen's hair) as I think blue looks better than shades of dark grey.
I dusted off The Battle of Five Armies after a six year gap. This is a boardgame from Ares Games about the climactic battle of The Hobbit. The Shadow forces are sweeping down onto an alliance of Men, Elves, and Dwarves at the foot of the Lonely Mountain. There are a number of key areas to be controlled, but they are too far apart to support each other. If the Free Peoples can hold on, more help will arrive. Bolg, the leader of the Shadow force, must press the attack in a battle of attrition...
Read on, and click to embiggen! The vantage point is from over the Eastern Spur looking south across the valley, as the Shadow (played by yours truly) sets its eyes on the Front Gate to the west...
The Shadow vanguard pours towards the Running River from the broken lands.
Warg riders sweep towards the lightly-held fords.
The Lakemen are pushed back towards the ruins of Dale.
Dale is captured but a force including Dain counterattacks.
The counterattack is successful but costly as Dain falls.
Dale falls to the orc vanguard a second time.
\
Gandalf and Thranduil attack from the south and retake Dale.
The next orc wave threatens Bard's position on the Eastern Spur.
Can Gandalf's blast of magic save Bard and Bilbo?
Bard dies at his post after inflicting heavy casualties. Bilbo escapes using his Ring.
The Free people regroup at the Camp, and Dale is threatened again.
The ruins of Dale fall to the Shadow a third time.
Gandalf and Thranduil sally forth to save Dale again.
A desperate new wave of orcs approach.
Bolg himself attacks Dale as a splinter group take the Lower Slopes.
The southernmost orcs take Ravenhill.
The strong elf counterattack is temporarily repulsed.
Bold manoeuvers on the Eastern Spur as Gandalf retakes the position and the Camp is threatened. Dale has fallen to the Shadow a fourth time!
Thranduil dies but saves the Camp.
Gandalf retakes Dale as the last orc assault runs out of steam. The Shadow loses!
Having not played this for many years, I was impressed with how much fun we had. The clashes are many and mostly predictable with enough room for chance, while cards and action dice add thematic events and uncertainty as to your opponent's options. Combined arms attacks and choice of terrain give you a slight advantage. Meanwhile, reinforcing an area or pressing an attack leaves other areas denuded and inviting for counterattacks. The ruins of Dale exchanged hands so many times!
As the Shadow player, I was hoping to get goblins pouring out of hidden mountain passes in a bold flanking manoeuvre, but this never eventuated. I was keenly aware that if I dilly-dallied, powerful allies like the Lord of the Eagles, Beorn and Thorin Oakenshield would absolutely ruin my day. This meant that I had to press the attack rather than build up my forces. The outcome was never certain, and we both thought the other would prevail at different times in this desperate battle.
The Shadow's brief high-water mark was at 12 Victory Points after the taking of Ravenhill, but this was reduced to 4VPs at game's end. Holding 10VPs at the end of a turn will win the Shadow the game.
I hope you can appreciate what a fun story this refight told!
Postscript:
My opponent, Amnese, has published a 20 minute comparison of Battle of Five Armies and War of the Ring on his YouTube channel:
