If you’re keeping score, things were back to things being difficult for much of this week and I suspect this upcoming week will be more of the same. It is fortunate that Christmas break is coming soon because I can certainly use it and I suspect many of you feel the same way. One thing that kept me going this week was working on Grunthal. I continued to work on his skin and then the last couple of days were spent smoothing that out where I can. I also decided to change directions a bit on his scars which I didn’t like how they looked. I found a reference photo (for how to do a fake scar using makeup no less) and I liked the look of it, so I’m going for it. It is still a bit of work in progress and so is the skin. But more on that in a second.
This week I decided to try and use my standard photo background and I think it makes a difference as per usual in the the photo quality. The contrast is better the miniature looks a lot closer to what I see while painting it. The scars need some tweaking and so does the skin still but its looking better and better. I asked a friend who is a better painter than I and he gave me a pretty good idea to try so expect to see further changes in the near future. I’m eager to get the skin done because I feel like if I work on the beard or the horns, the bust will really start to come together.
In other news, I made the decision to close down my comic book website after nearly a year or writing. I enjoyed writing for it and am proud of the content there but ultimately, the changes that WordPress made to their free account essentially doomed it to irrelevance. I mention all this because if the urge takes me, I might talk about comic books again on here from time-to-time. If I do, it will be like before, a quick section towards the end because miniatures and gaming are the focus here and always will be.
Lastly, I thought I’d mention that the Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim has released and I’m curious what the LOTR fans think of it, if they have any thoughts at all. I have to admit that it really wasn’t on my radar and once I learned more about what it is, I wasn’t terribly interested or excited. For those who don’t know, it is an anime movie that covers Lord of the Rings history many years before The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. It just came out in the US but so far, it hasn’t performed well at the box office internationally and I suspect it will probably not do well in the US either. I’ve noticed with Marvel and Star Wars under Disney’s guidance that there are some things being made that don’t pass muster at the conceptual level. What I mean by this is there is an idea that even at a high-level before you attach a director and actors, doesn’t sound likely to be successful because it doesn’t appeal to the established fanbase.
For example, Star Wars is going to have a movie about Rey after the previous trilogy ended. This is a very flawed idea because a large part of the Star Wars fanbase is going to be antagonistic to the idea. To be blunt, I’m referring to the “culture warriors”, specifically. I think there is also a segment of the fanbase that doesn’t want more content or stories based on those characters because of how poor the trilogy ended up being. So you’re left asking the question, who is the Rey movie for and how is it going to make money and be successful?
War of the Rohirrim delves into very obscure parts of Lord of the Rings and is made by an anime studio (some people love anime and some people won’t watch it) so you’ve got a similar concept that is lacking in appeal. Whether its right or wrong, I think most people associate Lord of the Rings with the vision that Peter Jackson gave us and so departing heavily from that provides War of the Rohirrim with an extra hurdle to leap over to be successful as well.
I say all this, not because this is a pop culture blog but because Games Workshop is surprisingly making new miniatures for War of the Rohirrim and a new starter set too. It is a curious decision because many people hoped and expected them to do this for the Rings of Power and they elected not to. The style of these new minis is interesting because to me anyway, they look a bit cartoonish compared to what’s come before. What do you think of these sculpts and if you play MESBG, would you consider buying any of these?
And here are some older Rohan sculpts to compare to the new ones.
To me, the newer sculpts have noticeably better detail to them but also look a bit cartoonish, staying true to their source material. For me personally, I’d like to see the improved details but with a more realistic style to them. Regardless of my taste, I think its good to see they’re still supporting what is a very cool game and I hope MESBG is around for many years to come. I know MESBG fans feel like the red-headed step child of Games Workshop’s various games and so any releases are likely to be appreciated within that group of people as well.
With a busy week ahead and Christmas looming, I’m not sure when I’ll update again but rest assured, I will do my best to ensure the next update is up to the usual standard before we move into 2025. If I don’t manage an update before Christmas, I hope you all have an excellent holiday and that Santa is kind to you too!
Kuribo's Painting 
Grunthal is looking really good! Those scars look nasty, great job on them. I think you could do with toning down the pale lines just a notch with some glazing but they look bang on otherwise. Photo-wise I agree using the backdrop seems to make for better shots.
War of the Rohirrim is an interesting one, I didn’t really have anime lord of the rings movie on my wish list. I’ll probably go see it but haven’t been extra excited about it or anything. Gaming-wise as you know I’m a big MESBG fan, and the new release hasn’t really gripped me model-wise (as you said the models look slightly cartoony which is unfortunate when the range is so “realistic” otherwise). I haven’t gone through a review of the rules yet to see what has changed, which is the side that interests me most.
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Thanks, Nic! I appreciate your feedback. I’ve been trying to get just a hint of pink to show on the scars which I think has improved them. I’ve made other changes to the skin tone and will be curious to see what you think of it next time I show Grunthal. My hope is that the balance is better on everything so it looks more natural.
Anime and LOTR are not two things I’d put together either. I would be interested in seeing it if it was getting a better critical reception but I’m seeing reviews that say its around a 6 out of 10 which is hardly must see territory.
I admit that I know nothing about the potentially new MESBG rules since I haven’t played in a few years and am no longer connected to MESBG fans through Facebook but hopefully that will continue to be a strongpoint of the game. I wish the character designs were a bit more interesting too. Many of the new sculpts are totally fine but not very exciting. I’m not sure we’ll ever know but it kind of feels like these new minis may not end up being all that commercially successful for all the reasons we’ve discussed. I hope not for the sake of the game though!
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The game is still one of my favourites out of the GW range and I really liked the updates they did in the previous edition. I’m not too sure what’s changed between them now but the team that’s handling the game has done some really good stuff so I’m hopeful!
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Totally agreed! It is a very stable system that has a great core set of rules. The fact that they generally don’t upset the fanbase when they do make changes is the mark of a great ruleset too.
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I like the dead skin look on the side of the scars. You definitely are on the right track.
I plan to go see the movie on Tuesday so will withhold judgement until then.
The new hero models might fit the look of the new movie but don’t fit my view of Middle Earth. Granted, Peter Jackson skewed that vision for good or bad.
I do like the new Rohan warrior set and might buy them, but I still have a backlog from the original movies to get through.
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Thank you! I’d be curious to hear what you think of it and whether its worth seeing or not, if you’re inclined to share your thoughts.
I’m glad to hear it isn’t just me on the new sculpts. I’m afraid they’re going to visually stand out on the battlefield a little too much and the fact that the characters come from a completely different era takes you out of the setting a little bit too but since I don’t play MESBG any longer, I suppose I have nothing complain about!
I’m glad you mentioned the new troops. I just took a peek and both Rohirrim and Dunlendings are excellent! Crisp detail without having too much to paint. GW needs to release more stuff like that as most of the troops for LOTR-era armies are getting old and outdated now.
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My only concern about the new Rohan figures is that while being more detailed results in more parts to put together. For instance, the face being separate from the helmet. The days of just clipping the whole figure off the sprue and playing with right away is long gone. The GW character figures are represented as they are in the film, with the exception of some of the faces which were anime style in the film.
I haven’t watched much anime (with the exception of Princess Monokee which i have multiple times) so I can’t address how well that aspect of the movie is. I didn’t find it a distraction from the story or my enjoyment of the movie.
They list Peter Jackson as an Executive Producer but I swear that there was one scene he had a hand in as it was a bit over the top.
The movie had some Howard Shore music bits in it which was nice and the main scenery was true to the PJ LOTR movies so it fits into that universe.
Can always quibble about aspects of the story but overall I found it entertaining and enjoyable.
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I haven’t seen the sprues for the new minis but I can see where you’re coming from. Unfortunately, I think GW’s innovations and improvements in sculpt quality pretty much require more elaborate builds. Basically, they’re making people like me (painting snobs) happy at the expense of gamers, potentially.
I’ve watched 3-4 anime so not a ton here either. I know some people can be really critical about animation quality but I don’t know enough to judge that sort of thing.
Its good to hear that you liked it overall. There’s very little chance I’ll be able to catch it in theaters but I’ll try and track it down when I have more time. I still need to catch up on Rings of Power: Season 2 and about 100 movies so the battle never ends!
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Fantastic progress on the Swarf bust Jeff, the skin work is looking fantastic, not sure on the pale lines on the scars, if a scar is fresh as in has sealed the colour tends to be a mix of purple with the base fleshtone, if the scar is old, 2 or more years, it tends to be paler than the colour of the skin ( yes I’m talking from personal experience, as my body is a road map of scars ! LOL)
Hope you and the family have a very Merry Christmas, and life goes easy on you sooner rather than later.
The War for Rohirrim, is returning to the original format for Lord of the Rings, as the very first movie adaptation was a cartoon that was never truly finished, will wait and see what it’s like, as I don’t mind cartoons.
As for GW taking on models from this and not the rings of power, that will be a licencing issue, and Amazon may have been asking too much, the cartoony style fits GW’s normal style more.
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Thanks for the feedback, Dave! The scars look a bit more pink now after I worked on it yesterday so we’ll see if they look any better to you next time I show Grunthal. Its surprisingly hard to find decent scar photos online and most of the ones I do find aren’t anything like these which were caused by a weapon, presumably.
Thank you and I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas too!
That is true about Tolkien’s work being animated first. I have seen The Hobbit and I think the Lord of the Rings though it was so long ago, I don’t have distinct memories of them any longer. I’m not sure if there is an appetite for animated LOTR content still or not. Its amazing how much that market has changed and how few animated movies get made in the US nowadays. As somebody who likes to draw, its a bit of a shame that digital technology has killed that off though I understand why.
I think you’re right that Rings of Power must have gotten skipped over because of licensing. I don’t know if that is the worst thing in the world because some people are so upset with the show but then again, I’m not sure War of the Rohirrim is going to be a huge success for GW either. These are definitely interesting times for the license!
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Good progress on Grunthal – he looks really good! 🙂
I quite like those new GW figures but, then again, I think all GW figures are similar in style compared to historical miniatures but it makes them distinctive and I like them even though I don’t collect and paint them.
I thought your comments about anime were interesting. I tend to take things as I find them. The biggest difference I’ve seen when comparing anime characters to live actors was in the portrayal of Annakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars compared to him in the first three Star Wars film episodes – I found the anime representation a much better character that I could more easily believe would morph into Darth Vader. But that’s just my opinion!
Hope you have a good Christmas, Jeff! 🙂
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Thank you, John! Its good to know he’s looking better and better. There’s plenty more to come as well!
The Lord of the Rings miniatures are the only 28mm scale miniatures that GW makes so I would think that aspect of them would be appealing to historical wargamers.
Personally, I’m neither warm nor cold to anime so I can relate to what you’re saying. I don’t watch a lot of it and I don’t read a lot of manga but there are a few I’ve read that I absolutely love. If you haven’t read Lone Wolf and Cub, John, I think you really should give it a go. Its samurai (ronin era) perfection! I’ve probably recommended it before but its only because I suspect it is something you’d really like.
One of the challenges with anime is that it has a group of diehard fans here in the US. And I think people outside of that group might be like you and I. There is also a large group of people that may not ever consider checking out anime because they don’t think they’d enjoy it or they find others’ high level of enthusiasm for it to be a turn off. That is why I cast doubt on whether War of the Rohirrim will be able to find a big audience, especially in this country. I don’t view it as a negative that its anime personally, but I do think there are people who do and will not go see it as a result. Its a shame but that is the world we live in or at least that’s the world according to me anyway! 🙂
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas, John! I hope Santa brings something nice to your dogs as well! 😀
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Top work there on Grunthal. The scars are very cool but they look almost ‘hyper real’ in that they almost seem like lightning or like it’s meant to be magic leaking out. Was that a deliberate choice or are they still in progress?
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Cheers, mate! I want the scars to look relatively fresh though I think they were just a bit too white looking so I went back and made some adjustments. You’ll have to let me know what you think of them in the next post I made as I think I got them looking a bit more natural.
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