A matter of bases

 In my last post regarding the Nazgûl and Arwen minis by GW, I mentioned that I’d realised I’d never actually shown my LoTR figures here before. I’ve had them all painted since they first came out, we’re talking late 2001 to 2003. I didn’t buy much beyond that (well, probably a few bits here and there, but I couldn’t tell you exactly when). I picked up the starter boxes and added a few extras, but I never aimed to build full legions for massive battles.

Back in the day I played quite a bit, but the minis have been sitting in storage for years. That’s why I’ve shown so little of them here: a diorama, a repainted Balrog… but never the core collection, as they were painted long before I even started this blog.

Anyway, what matters now is that the kids have taken an interest in the books, the films… and the minis! So we’ve been playing a few simple games to get them used to the system. I thought about taking some photos and showing you what I’ve got, but there was a small underlying issue: the bases are all “themed”, meaning they’re modelled to match the exact moment that character appears in the film. I’ve got dark Mordor earth, very dark Moria depths, very pale Osgiliath ruins… You get the idea. At the time it seemed like a brilliant way to recreate scenes from the trilogy, but in reality, you always end up playing on a fairly generic grass-and-earth board… where none of those bases quite fit!

This is what I mean!

 Of course there is only a reasonable solution... which is to build proper themed boards for each game and only play with the appropiate minis for each scenario! LOL

But I'm afraid I have to be practical. It was quite easier for me to do exactly what I’d done with the Nazgûl and rework all the bases a bit to unify them, so they’d work better on my gaming boards. We can happily accept the idea of a Moria goblin hunting party venturing up to the surface, or some men of Gondor fighting out in the open. It’ll have to do.

With no particular order in mind, I started with whatever I had closest to hand, in this case, Rohan. And if you look at teh pic below, it’s almost painful: not even within the same army do the minis have any consistency in their bases!

Aye, Theoden always carries a bit of Helm's Deep with him wherever he goes

 

My plan with all this is simply to unify the bases, without touching the paintwork on the figures themselves. Yes, they’re over twenty years old, and they would undoubtedly benefit from a repaint. But I’m prepared to endure the public scrutiny of showing my old minis and submit myself to your judgement.

I’ve only made one exception, and that’s with Rohan. If you look at the picabove, I think we can all agree those cloaks were crying out for a wash of Agrax Earthshade. That’s genuinely the only thing I’ve added or retouched: just giving the Rohirrim cloaks a bit more depth. It felt like a manageable amount of work for very little effort.

So this is what I got with the characters:

I counted little fella Merry into the Rohan host

Can you spot them among all the infantry minis?

Agrax on the cloaks

Now the riding characters:

Riding through the Pelennor Fields

And all of my mounted host:

Deeeeeaaaaath!

You can see roughly what the work involved. I’ve unified the colours, peeled off the radioactive green flock they originally had (cut from those railway grass mats that used to be sold in sheets!) and replaced it with more natural grass and tufts.

As for the latter, I had to remove those old plastic grass tufts that were meant to represent tall vegetation (Remember those? The ones where you had to drill a hole in the base and stick them in). Back then, 25 years ago, they were cutting-edge stuff, the peak of realism! Now I’ve swapped them out for this newer option, and I think the minis are better off for it.

 

Besides the Rohirrim, I also managed to work on the bases of the Moria goblins. No repainting at all here, I’m showing them exactly as I painted them back in… December 2001, was it? The only additional work I’ve done is on the troll. More specifically, on his weapon.

On that model, the weapon arm comes in two parts, with the front part of the spear attaching at the hand. Over the years that piece must have fallen off a hundred times. For the first time, I finally felt confident enough to drill into both the spear and the hand and insert a bit of wire to pin it properly in place. And now, at long last, it’s not going anywhere.

These are goblins. Not that thing we saw at the Hobbit movie

 This is it for now. I have the Uruk-hai on my bench as I post this, so I think you can expect more updates anytime soon! 

The diorama that never was

 I'm going with a kind of an atypical post today, it's a little trip down through memory lane. I've noticed I haven't ever shown most of my Lord of the Rings minis, just a couple of vignettes (and I couldn't blame any of you if no one remember them. Looking through the archive I can see the first one was in 2012! And in fact it was painted even before).

I got the GW minis as they were released back in the day with the movies. I'd love to say something like "it was long time ago, kind of 10 years ago..." but it's been 25 years since the first movie (glups!)

Now that the kids are really into the movies (and even better, quite into the books!! I'm so happy), I've taken the minis out of the cupboard again and have been running a few games. They enjoy the game and I enjoy them getting step by step into the hobby.

The thing is that one of the Nazgûl chipped a little during the games, and I decided to put a little bit of work into them all. Not exactly repainting, but just reworking the highlights on the dull cloaks and adding some tufts to the bases.

Nothing too spectacular, the essential work remains the same

You see the bases resemble a stream or something like that. I'll explain: back in the day I really thought of making a vignette with the Nazgûl, just the scene in the movie when Arwen crosses the ford of Bruinen with Frodo. So I represented the Nine in different stages of crossing the ford.

In my mind, I would build a big stand where I could insert the minis and which would represent the Bruinen:

General composition, more or less

The thing is that such a diorama would have been insanely out of scale, and in the end I never got to do it, but still kept the bases with that scene in mind. What I've done now is just repainting the edge of the bases and adding some more natural tufts, besides a little rework on highlights (only the Nazgûl, no work was added on the horses or on the Arwen mini).

Nin o Chithaeglir lasto beth daer; Rimno nin Bruinen dan in Ulaer!

You can see, there was no way of making such a diorama into the real thing, I would have needed way more space than I had then (and now too!). Anyway, it's been fun to remember my original idea, and I also enjoyed putting some work into these minis.

Well, given that I was doing that on the riding minis, I thought I could do just the same on the standing ones. Slight rework on the highlights of the cloaks and some more work on the bases, that's all: 

Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die

 As told before, now that the kids are deep into LOTR, I'm making the most of the situation, I hope I'll be bringing more stuff of the like anytime soon!

Biker Röknauts

I’m taking these days to dive into smaller projects, the kind that let you see results and keep the momentum going. And among them, I’ve had my eye on the Röknauts bikers from Ontos Games for quite a while now. 2nd Ed. looking not-Squats, a bullet I thought I’d dodge, but which has ended up hitting me... and I’m quite happy about it! I painted a squad some time ago and left it at that, but over time I’ve felt the need to expand the force. Five Squats won’t get me very far! And that’s how I ended up picking up this bike unit.

There's not much to say in fact, as I just followed the very same colour scheme.

Most definitely not White Scars, though I get the misunderstanding

The models are sweet, just out from early 90's Games Workshop, highly enjoyable. Well cast and fitting perfectly. A true pleasure, trust me. As you can see, I used the same markings and insignia I painted on my previous squad:

I could (and maybe should) have been more original with the banner, but it's staying that way

I admit it, he has a slight resemblance to Jagathai Khan

I feared it all was too white, specially on the leader, the Rökthane. It cannot be seen well in the pic above, but the winged helmet was quite a lot. However, I decided to keep it that way.

Vrooom, vrooom

Well, with these my Squats look a little bit more ready to rock the galaxy! This is all I got painted:

The small core of a force

I still have another infantry unit, so this is not the last you've seen of my Squats (Sorry, I guess I should call them Votann?) But in the meantime I guess I can show some other stuff...

Coming soon! 

 

Interlude: Christmas present

 A very quick post today, and with something slightly different from the usual.

These Christmas I got this gift from my sweet Mrs. Suber, who for the first time dared to step through the dark path of the hobby: 

Yay! [Imperial March sounds in the background]

I hadn't assembled a Revell kit of any kind since I was a kid, I believe. I was so excited!

The kit is pretty simple and straightforward:

This is what you get. Used to GW, this looks manageable

In fact, now that I say "used to GW"... Well, used to GW kits, which don’t always fit perfectly (and even when they do, tend to leave ugly gaps), this one feels like heaven. It’s a real piece of engineering; everything just falls into place flawlessly.

Yes, OK, there are like, 3 pieces, but even so

 

In fact there's little else to say. This is the complete kit, ready to be painted:

I'd totally have a PC mouse shaped like this

I admit I didn't use the paints provided with the kit. Instead, I simply primed it grey and applied a very watered down layer of Nuln Shade:

Oh, and primed the stand in black, obviously

 I couldn't resist to take a couple of pics on my X-Wing space mat:

More atmospherical, I hope

Now you are making noises in your head too, admit it

 I feel a sudden urge to play Star Wars Armada or something like that. For now this little beauty goes to the shelf. I'm so happy with it!

In a few days I hope I'll resume normal activity! See you soon!

New year of Twilight

 Hello everybody! We're now a week into the year, but since it's my first post in 2026, belated happy new year! I hope everyone's doing well and safely back into routine!

Today I’m bringing you what I’ve been working on over the Christmas break. I’ve been squeezing in hobby time here and there and finally finished off what I had left from the Rivers of Anyaral Kickstarter by World of Twilight. As always, they’re wonderfully original minis, and I’ve tried to push myself beyond my usual comfort zone and give them as much colour as possible. In this case, they nicely complement the ones from my previous post on the same theme.

Here they are, grouped together with no particular order. These are Lord Delison and a Riverfolk coracle:

Well, I guess that boat doesn't fit on land...

Shame I don't have a water mat or anything. This is the best I can provide:

Oh, what an untimely encounter...

These are (sorry, I'm just transcripting the labels) Atoran Burh and Koheb Pallirnai:

Right, a scuba diver and... Prince Valiant

More people of the riverside, fishermen (fisherlizards...?)

 

A riverfolk urchin and two identical minis of riverfolk Khalai (with fishing nets ands tiny pets)

These are a pair of mercenaries, going by the names of Dravu and Chey:

Missed opportunity to paint them as Bert and Ernie. I’m only realising this right now. Dammit

Next one an Alora handler, which is my second iteration of the set (I already painted one some time ago):

Dog walker of Twilight

Then a couple of critters labeled as Opahr pets and three Sprogs:

Furry and cute

Finally, juice thieves, I love so much these ones, they are telling a story by themselves:

They all running with stolen bottles

This is it, with these I declare the KS finished. I hope my pal likes them! I know I say this every time I talk about them, but these minis are just so original, a real breath of fresh air among other, more “serious” or darker projects.

In any case, I hereby declare 2026 officially underway: we’re off and running, no turning back now! Here’s hoping the year brings nothing but the best for all of us!

Cheers!! 

A Nativity Scene

Given the dates I think it's appropiate to show my progress on my very own sci-fi Neapolitan Presepio, as there are a few new things that can be seen.

I'll start with an idea which eventually ended up turning in some kind of obsession. I wanted a Tatooine feeling into the board, and that meant round hollow spaces in the ground, in the style of Luke's home at the moist farm. Of course you are already familiar with the spaceport and the bazaar, but I really wanted a third kind of space, this time a residential one.

Of course there's no room for a whole dwelling in the style of the moist farm, but there's still one single piece I can fit in and make work within those 15 cm of depth...

I don't know what you were thinking of, but I'm talking about an old DVD can

 Sooo, what's this new silly plan? A kind of small patio, a relaxing space for the upper class, maybe part of the Governor's residence. Let me explain. On this Emperor forsaken corner of the Eastern Fringe, where life is a constant struggle and life conditions look hard and miserable, this tiny recreational space is a true luxury, a privilege of the rich (most likely outworlders that dominate the economy of the sector). Though I have the Governor's palace in mind, it can be a Rogue Trader residence on the planet or any other thing, this is still to be determined. The thing is that I wanted a fresh place in the middle of the desert. My most immediate reference are those small Andalusian patios, conceived precisely to that very purpose of refreshing, made of tiles and whitewash and full of plants and flowers. Let's start with the basics...

As usual, just painted paper

An access door, so you get an idea of the dimensions

To add another usual element in these structures, I also built this little fountain:

Yup, that's a Stormcast head

It's a pretty basic piece. Once again the background is just an image downloaded from the first link I browsed and printed on regular paper.

Now let's think of where this patio can (or must) be placed. Being set as a privilege of the upper class rather than a communal space, it cannot be accessible -not even visible! It must be placed on the upper part of the board, where it's users can relax without anyone seeing them.

OK. First of all, to get to that place, I need to build the access to my previous part of the board:

Seriously, at this stage of the project I hate building stairs

You can see the entrance to an inner corridor of some kind. I honestly couldn't be bothered with placing more doors or tiles: everything you see in there is just painted. Don't worry, at tabletop distance it works.

 

Of course it has its own light

Making that vaulted corridor was tricky and time consuming. Seriously, these last couple of pics took an insane number of hours, both in terms of planning and building; but in the end I think it works, and that's what matters. I want to represent a place dug in the rock, so I plan to add rough texture later.

But in the meantime, let's get back to where I think the Andalusian patio belongs...

 

I mean, up there

 That's part of its concept, to be unreachable. So it had to go as high and isolated as I could make it. At this time I had to face some structural issues, mainly regarding the weight of the plastic can and how to place it. I mean, as you can see I'm putting the cart before the horse, I'm starting the structure from the upside and it will condition all the building beneath. Yeah, yeah, I know, typical me.

I tried to find solutions, as I needed to meet two conditions, basically volume and sturdiness, but combined with the less weight possible. The structure of the patio is exactly the whole depth of the board. I cannot make a light structure on the upside and a monumental, larger building beneath it, there's simply no room for it. On the contrary, I'll need to have some hollow space on the lower part so I can move miniatures and stuff.

I had this other idea. Instead of building the whole structure with foamboard, I simply used this card box:

 

A lot of volume, reasonable sturdiness and essentially no weight

Now the patio can rest on that structure and I can keep on working downwards, knowing the measures for sure and not depending on hypothetical calculations. Of course I could have started this building in the regular way, like normal people, from the floor and upwards, but after the experience with the previous platforms, this method somehow looked easier. Yes, as you may have gathered, I'm not an architect. I'm a simple man of Law, and it shows in the chaotic way I face these projects. Nevertheless I'm confident that this will eventually turn into something playable.

 

A better view of this mess

 I had to cut out that corner as it will be the place where a new stair will be, downwards to the right. The good thing about cardboard is that I could cut those windows on the front. I cannot do that on foamboard, so I took my chances here to make those three windows really close.

Let's go now on the lower space:

These tiles are becoming quite a hallmark here

 

The structure wants to recreate the idea of corridors within the mountain

A closer look, just  to see what's this about

I simply painted those tiles on the floor

I think I've talked about this before, but planning ahead about the lights is a pain in... well, a pain in everywhere!

But it's the only way to ensure it will work and that light will reach the correct places

 My plan is to make this the entrance of a cave:

 

Room enough for my hand to fit in!

 Again, a miscalculation. As I had to make the entrance wider than originally planned, the eye sees what wasn't designed to be seen!

 

Ooops!

 Don't worry, I made another wall and...

I mean.. yes, yes, this was planned from the beginning. Yes, all the time

So this is what you see from the outside:
 

Oh, do you recognise that sign?

Don't you??

What about now? XD

Right, it's The Place that Sends you Mad, from The Twelve Tasks of Asterix. I'm afraid that this belongs to my childhood in a way difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't shared this experience. Anyway, a crazy layout of an impossible maze of a building. I feel it really fits in :D

So this is what I got:

Oh, it looks ugly. Let me just a sec

A sec later...
 

Rock, stairs (and lights behind thse windows!)

Well, now everything begins to fit. The patio is in place and I have connected the left part of the module with this area. In future installments I'll have another set of stairs going down from there towards the right part, as said before.

But I believe you will see all of this better with some more colour:

Better, I hope. A few decorations too, but I guess I should ad more details

 

Oh, and the lights, of course

But all this madness started with a mockery of an Andalusian patio, so I think we can go back and see how it ended...

This is luxury

 I added some water to the fountain (just some white glue; once dry it makes the trick) and some mould. The rest was just a matter of adding pots of flowers and a table (coming from a pizza! I finally got to use a pizza table!!)). I printed a tablecloth and used a couple of resin bottles. I didn't add any chairs just to make the patio playable:

I had trouble to take this pic with the phone!

 I'll leave it here. I have a general idea of what to build next, so I hope I'll be putting some work on it in the next few days.

For now I can only wish you a very merry Christmas and send you my best wishes for 2026!

All the best. Cheers!!