Quest of the Ringbearer: Model Collection Update, Part VII

Good morning gamers - and happy Thanksgiving for those of you in the States!

We're back in our discussion of what models I need for Quest of the Ringbearer (Fantasy Fellowships especially) and before we dive into the Gondor at War missions, I have an update from Part IV. Back in April, we visited Frodo/Sam's journey through Emyn Muil to Cirith Ungol and at the time, I had three Haradrim painted up (showing off two of the four color schemes I intend to use for my Haradrim in the Ambush in Ithilien scenario). Today, the update shows off the 12 melee guys, which includes five converted archers into dagger-wielding guys (in the scenario, they'll have spears):

Clan Fire - also, Haradrim are described as having "crimson blades" and "crimson armor" in the Return of the King, so a fitting start, I think . . .

These were fun models to paint - lots of flowing cloth everywhere and represent the "fire" clan. Their brothers from "air" clan got a painting update (as I didn't like how strong gold was as a primary color and chose to make it an accent color only, like Fire clan):

I also got a Fell Beast, which was fun to paint and I've been thrilled to test him out on the tabletop (with some really mixed results - oh, and he's actually going to show up in next week's formations article):

The Witch-King gets the side shot - playing around again with flame effects . . .

Front shot with the generic Ringwraith - there's a 2mm x 1mm magnet on the bottoms of each wraith and on the saddle, pretty pleased with how strong those mini magnets are!

Okay, that's all the updates for now, let's dig into Gondor at War!

Part VII: Fantasy Fellowship Missions from Gondor at War

There are four Gondor-based scenarios in Fantasy Fellowships:

• Atop the Walls
• Charge of the Rohirrim
• Denethor's Madness
• The Docks of Harlond

In these four scenarios, we actually don't need a lot of new models (just 10 purchases - and we're going to cheat with some conversions), but most of them I don't own yet. Thankfully, I (might) have quite a bit of time before I play these scenarios, so let's see what we need to pick up!

Purchase #61: Irolas and Denethor

I purchased Denethor second hand when the new edition came out and I LOVE running him (see my In Defense Of post on him for why he's so great). While the ForgeWorld model would have given me a cool object-source-lighting project, I don't feel the need to pay over $30 for two Minas Tirith models (one of which I own). As a result, I've taken one of my Warriors of Numenor, given him a different head, and painted him up to be Irolas. I also trimmed away the shield-hole on this guy.

Purchase #62: Beregond and Cirion

Cirion isn't needed for the scenarios, but we do need Beregond for several of them. Thanks to a Captain of Numenor conversion I did a while back, I had not one but TWO headless Warriors of Numenor, and since both Irolas and Beregond are part of the Citadel Guard, it was pretty easy to say, "Yeah, I'll convert these two guys into what I need." So here's a bow-armed conversion for Beregond from the other Warrior of Numenor.

Purchase #63: Zagdush and Goroth

I don't have these guys, but do plan to get them (or convert them - not sure yet) - they're really good heroes. In the meantime, I can use other Orc heroes to stand in for them as needed, but they are definitely worth adding to your collection.

Purchase #64: Deorwine F&M and Elfhelm F&M 

I mentioned this last time, but I don't have these guys and plan to use two Rohan Royal Guards as proxies until I muster the money to get the ForgeWorld sculpts (they be pricey).

Purchase #65: Gothmog

My opinion of Gothmog as ebbed and flowed over the years - Master of Battle (not dependent on a die roll) is really good, but Gothmog's profile isn't (especially for his cost). Tactical benefits are definitely there, but I always feel like I can do better than him with other models. Still, I need him, and since he's in the new box set that's coming out and I happen to have a double-catapult-Army-of-Gothmog list that I have been wanting to try out some more, I might as well get this guy. :)

Purchase #66: Gothmog's Enforcer and Guritz

Guritz is probably more of a priority than Zagdush and Goroth, but Gothmog's Enforcer is definitely NOT a higher priority. Honestly, if I come up with a clever conversion idea to take two ordinary Morannon Orcs and convert them into these guys, I will probably do that - but absent that, I definitely should get this blister (but entirely because of Guritz).

Purchase #67: 4 Citadel Guard

I would need to get 2 blisters of Citadel Guard to technically have the Citadel Guard that I need, but honestly, I'm just going to get a blister of Fountain Court Guard - they would actually be used in matched play, they're cooler models, and I don't have any yet (and probably should have some). Of course, four probably won't be enough, so I will probably end up getting 8 of them - or I'll start converting Warriors of Numenor like I did for Beregond and Irolas. :)

Purchase #68: The King of the Dead

When I bought my Battle for Pelennor Fields box from someone second hand, it didn't have the scenario booklet that comes with it, but it DID have not one but TWO King of the Dead models in it . . . so that was a plus. Here he is - the old sculpt that isn't very cool, but was practically free to me, so he's great. :)

Purchase #69: 20 Warriors of the Dead

I have some of the models I need (I split the Warriors that came in my last Pelennor Fields box with my son) and will have the rest whenever I get around to getting another box of warriors (hopefully next year). TECHNICALLY, you need 20 Warriors of the Dead with no additional gear for the Docks of Harlond . . . so unless you plan to blue-tack those shields in place and never run spears/banners, no one will ever have the right models for this scenario. I, in the interest of Matched Play over Scenario Play, will be saying, "Ignore the shields, spears, and banner."

Purchase #70: 6 Riders of the Dead

I also need these guys - but since the actual Riders of the Dead are so expensive, I plan to get 6 Morgul Knights and do top-half swaps with 6 Warriors of the Dead (probably magnetizing them, we'll see).

Conclusion

And with that, that's it! That's all the models I'll need . . . all very many of them. :) Here's how the standings look:

• Current Model count: 
• Part I: 42/42 (100%)
• Part II: 43/55 (~78%)
• Part III: 27/27 (100%)
• Part IV: 127/162 (~78%)
• Part V: 81/115 (~70%)
• Part VI: 83/126 (~66%)
• Part VII: 14/44 (~33%)
• TOTAL: 420/527 (~78%)
• Estimated cost remaining: ~$500

I'm excited to announce that after over a year of walking through these, we're going to be releasing our first Fantasy Fellowship post in January - yes, we're finally doing it! With terrain well on its way and fellowships made (and some games under our belts), we'll be on-and-off reporting out how these games went as we walk through (and what we think of the scenarios and our choices for models in them). Until next time, happy hobbying!