Alternative Classic 80s Lord of the Rings Miniatures

It is Dangerous (& Expensive) to Think About this for Too Long...

Now, as I was thinking about the range of classic Lord of the Rings miniatures from Citadel in the 1980s and it occurs to me that there are some notable gaps such as Galadriel, Arwen, the company of Thorin, and the goblin king. And this then leads me think are there some alternatives from the 1980s that could be used to fill some of these gaps? 

Galadriel 

This is a bit of tricky one to start as there are no elven magic users from the mid-1980s as Citadel had already transitioned to a wargames focus in the C08 Elven range but they had not yet started to create a range of army characters such as wizards. However, Tom Meier comes to the rescue with Syndil Starsynne who was still available through Citadel in the mid-1980s. Now I had a look on eBay and there are a few about but as part of bigger sets so a likely candidate if I can get hold of one at a reasonable price. 

Goblin King

This is an easy one, there were plenty of interesting goblins in the C12 goblins range including a range of characters that were produced in 1987. So, if I am willing to stretch my rules to this time point then I could include quite a few characters. Citadel lost the rights to Lord of the Rings by 1986? So, I will have to choose a cut off point if I want to keep it 'legal'. Plenty of choice on eBay, so it just about waiting for the ‘right’ one. 

Arwen

Arwen is another tricky one as there aren’t many obvious choices on first inspection. There was a range of pre-slotta warrior maidens from 1983, some of which might fit the bill but by 1985, the only female fighter in the C01 Fighter range definitely does not say Arwen to me!

Not very LotR!

Some of the barbarians from 1986 might have some potential but still look a wild for Arwen. So, may require a bit of greenstuff and chopping. Another option would be the low-level AD&D female fighter. Who actually looks pretty good but is quite niche and is probably quite difficult to get hold of at a reasonable price. One to look out for in future. 

The Company of Thorin Oakenshield

Another easy one to finish off with, while there is an official Thorin mini (Which I already have two of!), none of the rest of the company had a mini. However, there are plenty of useful dwarves in Citadel range at this point. 

And I plan to repair the second excellent Talisman dwarf mini as Balin. 

And Some Final Thoughts

There are still some other obvious gaps such as Bert, Bill and Tom but I can already use some of my favourites from the C20 troll range.  

Tom, Bill & Bert discuss the 'merits' of mutton. 

And Thanks to Stuff of legends & Collecting Citadel Minis wiki for most of the pictures and saving me rooting around the loft for old copies of White Dwarf. 

Rob