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 

Side Quest

 & Goblins Done

Managed to finish off the last couple of goblins for the goblin unit. Which brings them up to twenty and this completes the ones I had sitting on the paint bench. The last two were one of the classic hobgoblins from Oakbound and a repaint of the Citadel 80's Giak from their Lone wolf range. 

I then went onto a bit of a side project. Which is to start map out the entire book of the City of Thieves from Fighting Fantasy. To be honest I have tried to do this a couple of times already (most notably during lockdown in the UK) but I have never managed to finish it*

*Now up to 166 out of 400.  

Yep, this is the battered and well read original from 1984

This is the book that really kick started my fantasy hobby journey. I had already read the Hobbit by this stage but this is the true starting point my collecting of Citadel minis back in 1984 (?). After a mate at school showed me a copy and I was hooked. 

I played this book obsessively trying to defeat Zanbar Bone until I finally realised I had taken the wrong turn whilst in the City of Thieves and missed getting one of the vital ingredients to defeat him. After that many other gamebooks followed and just a few Citadel minis... 

So I suppose the question, why do this now? Well one of the challenges (a much younger me) had when I was playing these gamebooks is that is was easy to miss a vital choice because you can't see it all mapped out and I thought it would be good finally see it all in one go. And as I have already found, Ian Livingstone did not make easy even if they were supposed to be for kids!

Rob 

Axes of the Dwarves

And a Goblin Banner

It started with needing to make a goblin banner and then moving on to make a few more dwarves. I decided to move away from paper banners, so have been collecting various foils from around the house.  Which sort of led to making a few capes for a couple of dwarves who then of course needed the green stuff adding. 

The dwarves are sort of a slow burn project, to be done when I feel like a change. 

I am experimenting what small changes I can make to give them a bit of variety. Like some quick armour panels. 

This guy has a bit of dragon scale or troll skin armour? 

And a quick group shot. 

Rob 

Armies of Evil

Finished the Necromancer & Started on Some Goblins

So, I managed to get some sessions in this week and finished off Vonatar the necromancer, evil villain and poster boy of the second Lone Wolf gamebook - Fire on the Water. After deciding to paint him up using the  paint scheme in Gary Chalk's drawing, I decided he would need a base to match. i.e. wooden decking of a death hulk. This proved to be a bit more complicated than I was planning because he is mounted on a solid base and I had to shave down the planks to fit around him and sit nicely around his robes. However, once started you got finish. Now I still need to make a 40mm base for him but since the 20mm is the deck of a ship then 40mm one will have to be the same...

Anyway, attention for the moment has turned to finishing a group of 20 goblins for my Midgard armies project. Now, these minis are mix of Oldhammer C13 goblins, Oakbound ones from the 2024 calendar and a few other randoms. 

Since I enjoyed the first pack, I bought some more for a Friday nights entertainment.

Rob 

Advent 25 - Day 14 : Watch Out, Watch Out there are Goblins About

Thieving Gits

Geoff says ‘Long shadows stretch across the path, like claws reaching out to grab you. They seem to lengthen as you approach. Suddenly there is a wild jabbering from the trees around you. Dark shapes flit from branch to branch above your head.’

Watch out there are thieving goblins about.

Brenda is assaulted on all sides as the goblins look to steal some loot. But she is used to dealing with her sisters and knows how to keep the thieving paws of the goblins at bay. 

She manages to keep all of her stuff and carries on. 

A really fun little mini, but each goblin is very tiny so I didn't even attempt to paint in the eyes. 

Rob 

Itzcoatl and Raiders of the Lost Tomb

Pre-Battle

After recovering from the shock of the unexpected underground melee, Itzcoatl had retired back to the relative safety of the camp. The goblins had not pursued the Slann past the entrance or ventured out the following night. But Itzcoatl needed the instructions on the wall of the temple in order to find the lost artifact his master had commanded he recover. 

So, he had decided to muster nearly all of his company to venture forth back into the temple complex. The marsh tribe Slann had found another deserted entrance and through this would go the majority of the force, led by the reliable Bull Slann commander Potzalcol.  Whilst he, Lyta and escort an attempted to return to the inscription in the pond chamber. 

Objectives & Rules

Lyta must reach the inscription and every turn, if not in combat may attempt to decipher it. In order to secure the temple, the four entrances must be sealed. When either of these two objectives is reached then the game is over. 

Lyta may finish her translation on a roll of 5+, the entrances are sealed by a Slann reaching entrance point and not being in combat. They effectively block the entrance with debris surrounding the entrance. 

The goblin reinforcements will be randomly generated at each of the entry points (D6-3)per turn. 

The Battle

The sortie started with Itzcoatl sending in his most expendable troops – the giant frogs and slaves into the temple.

With two goblin entry points near to the Slann starting point, Itzcoatl’s group had a battle right from the start and the slaves struggled to make any progress entering the temple. And Itzcoatl had ‘forgotten’ to use any of his spells, so it wasn’t until that Potzalcol led a party from the other side that any real progress was made. As for every one goblin taken out of the fight, another appeared.

At the other entrance the Slann had better luck, the goblins started further away and didn’t manage to roll as many reinforcements. Giving the Slann a chance to advance and block the goblin's exit from the ladder room. 

With the goblins from the ladder room blocked, the Slann were able to enter deeper into the temple and block the farthest entrance point and then come round to attack the goblins nearest Itzcoatl from the rear. 

ii-Phon and Potzalcol  were then able to use their superior fighting skills to push the goblins back to the second entrance point and block that from use. Lyta then saw a moment (by using Might) to block the third entry point before the goblins could reinforce it.  The remaining goblins retreated to the ladder room and battle was called to a halt. 

Obviously didn't end up at my starting objectives but the game had reached it natural conclusion with three of the four entry points blocked. And no real way for the goblins or Slann to finish the game without a very slow fight to get to the ladder room. 

After the Battle

Tol-Tec continued to have a great game and took down a further two goblins and as a result gained poisoned blades on the hero chart as well a point of Fate. While Potzalcol gains a point of Defence, ii-Phon gains Steady Aim and Lyta gains a point to her Attack. 

Rob 

Itzcoatl's First Mission

Tactical Withdrawal

The Story So Far

Itzcoatl, apprentice of the mighty Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl pondered the Vorlon pictograms whilst his rune-scribe worked on the translation. After what seemed to be a long while of watching the Amazon standing silently in in front of the wall, he finally got bored and asked?

‘Have you worked out what it says yet??’

The Amazon looked up at the mage and with a puzzled expression.

‘Well, it either says – We are all Kosh? or directions to the temple, or both or possibly neither…’

The Slann stared at the human in that uncomfortable way, that the amphibian did with increasing frequency when dealing with humans. When suddenly a bark of alert echoed from one of the side passageways. The marsh hunters who had been sent to investigate whilst the rune wall was deciphered, burst back out of the side passageway followed by misshapen pale shades.

The Campaign

I am going to run the mini-campaign using MESBG (For now) using the campaign rules I used for the Shire campaign. I do need to work out some stats for the combatants but this will mainly consist of using existing profiles. 

As Izcoatl is the most important member of the expedition, the campaign is lost he if he is killed. 

The Setup

The Slann have been surprised  while inspected a small underground temple complex. Their only objective is to escape. Izcoatl is too surprised during this game to use any of his magic. 

The goblins were rolling 3 dice at the beginning of a turn and on a roll of 5+ (turns 1-3) and 4+ (turns 4+) received one goblin for each successful roll. 

The Battle

The goblins burst forth from the side corridors but for the only time in the game, the Slann won the initiative and were able to block some of the Goblin advances. This proved crucial in containing the goblins and several melees broke out as the marsh Slann attempted to hold back the goblins. 

ii-Phon the Marsh Slann leader holds back a goblin

While a pair of Marsh Slann hold back the others.

Meanwhile realising the importance of his mission above the rest of the team, Itzcoatl bravely rushes for the exit whilst the others hold off the goblins.

However, before reaching the exit more goblins arrive from a hidden entrance and block their escape. So, Lyta rushes to Izcoatl 's aid. Both slaves go into ChemFrenzy and take down their opponents but then succumb to the chemicals and are removed form play. 

Itzcoatl calls the retreat and the marsh Slann fall back, when everyone is in  range, Lyta makes a Heroic  Move and the Slann flee the scene. Tol-Tec (The red Slann) is taken out just as the others are ready to leave. 

The Aftermath

Neither Lyta or Itzcoatl recovered their lost Might or Fate. But Tol-Tec survived the battle unscathed. With could not be said of the two slaves who succumbed to their chem induced comas.

Rob