Conversion Corner - Good Edition

Recently I brought you the Evil half of a conversion showcase in the hopes of inspiring some of you readers to try out some of your own conversions. Naturally that means that a Good half has exist somewhere to balance things out. You can find the Evil edition here.

So here we go.

Dwarf Shield Bearer

When I wanted to add a Shield Bearer to act as chief bodyguard to my Dwarf King I decided that I wanted him to look similar to his other guards, the Khazad Guard. So I took a Khazad Guard model and carefully turned his two handed axe into a single handed axe and attached a shield taken from another model into his other hand.

Rivendell Swordsman

At one point I managed to amass far more plastic Rivendell elves than I would ever need for a game of SBG (the joy of eBay job lots) so I decided to convert one to be a captain. This was a simple conversion done by reposing the arms of a swordsman to make him stand out from the rest of the monopose elves.

Rangers

When I was building up my Rangers for an old Grey Company force I wanted to make it look as if they were prepared to live in the wilds for weeks at a time so I added some additional packs, rolled blankets and an extra hunting knife. These were mostly done with some fairly simple green stuff sculpting.

Blankets are nice and easy, roll out a rectangle of green stuff, carefully roll it up, squash it slightly where the straps will be and add a few creases with the edge of a sculpting tool to make it look like the straps are holding it in place. The straps are simple thin flattened sausages of green stuff.

Dwarven Banner

This banner bearer was converted from a plastic Dwarf Warrior with two handed axe. The axe was replaced with a spear taken from another model and a piece of plastic rod (probably from another spear shaft) added as a crosspiece. The banner itself was cut from the foil on the top of a coffee jar and glued in place.

Ranger with horse

I've already featured this model on my blog before (see here for the full story behind this model) but as she's my favourite model I felt that she deserved another showing. Based on a scene from the fan-film Born of Hope she was built upon an Eowyn model with some of the armour and the helmet disguised with green stuff and a bow and quiver added from a Rivendell elf. The horse was from Warlord Games and packs, a blanket and extra weapons were added.

IHL Interviews: Paddy McCormick

(Rob) Up next in my series of interviews with IHL members is former Champion and all round nice guy, Paddy.

Welcome firstly to Over the Edge of the Wild. Could you first please introduce yourself to the readers?

(Paddy) Hi Rob, thanks for interviewing me. My name is Paddy McCormick, a project manager from the glens of Antrim.

Can you give us a little background about how you started in the hobby and some of your hobby highlights since?

Like many players returning to the game, I started for the with the fortnightly magazines “Battle Games in Middle-Earth”. I collected and painted the models for just under a year and fell out of the game. I returned in 2016, with yourself sending me the first welcoming message into the Irish Hobbit League. Since then I’ve been very eager in the hobby, playing in many local tournaments, travelling over to tournaments in the UK and representing my country at the ETC. Biggest hobby highlight for myself would be winning the IHL league back in 2018; winning a few tournaments is always a bonus whilst having fun with your Irish comrades.

You became well known in the Irish Hobbit community for painting some very well painted armies in some incredibly quick times. Any tips for some of the slower painters (such as myself) on getting projects finished in a timely manner?

Yeah, I do paint very quick! It’s just a skill that needs loads of practice and a very steady hand! Usually I would batch paint 5-10 models at a time, I could never sit and paint one warrior! Just make sure you have a fair idea of colour schemes and set up a production line on your table so that once one paint is drying, you’re already onto the next few models using the same colour.

What projects are currently on your painting table?

I’m currently doing a commission job for a close friend during these troubled times. I’ve got around 25 Marvel Crisis Protocol figures painted over a week which have been a blessing to keep me busy whilst not working. I’ve a few hero models started myself to add to a few of my collections. My next project is Gamling with the banner; gonna try my best at some free-hand horses, I’ve got plenty of time!

Are there any armies that you are particularly enjoying playing at the moment and if there is, what makes them enjoyable?

I’ve been taking a few legendary legions to tournaments lately, purely to play more relaxed and have fun with the special rules! I’ve always enjoyed playing with my dwarves from the Hobbit! Dain on War Boar and Thorin, King under the Mountain make an excellent killing combo. Those two with a wall of Iron Hills Warriors make a tough force which is hard to break through, and can easily hurt you back with the S4/F4 backing! I’ve started to collect a Rohan force, with basically every hero option purchased and a number of Riders of Rohan. I did however order some Royal Guard on Horse but was caught with GW not delivering at the moment (sad times). Once we are all safe and able to resume playing, I’ll be using my Riders of Théoden legendary legion to see what all the fuss is about with Gamling/Dernhelm combo!

And finally, what's the one piece of advice you would give to a new player thinking about starting out in the hobby?

For a new player it is very exciting times to be in the hobby compared to 4-5 years ago. A lot new releases in terms of miniatures and supplements means the game is constantly changing. My advice would be to simply have fun; it can be a competitive game but to simply tell them to play with a force they maybe like from the movies/books or to collect certain models because they simply look cool. The communities across the IHL/GBHL are very welcoming, and there’s always help coming from someone if anyone is having an issue about where to begin!

Thank you Paddy for taking the time to answer these questions and providing some photos of your beautiful armies and best of luck for when the IHL and international tournaments resume. 

Quest of the Ringbearer - Predictions

Recently Games Workshop announced that the next book to be released for ME:SBG was going to be The Quest of the Ringbearer and that it would contain 6 new Legendary Legions. This news has sparked a lot of speculation regarding what those new Legions will be and I was reading an article about this speculation over on the excellent Drawn Combat blog (https://drawncombat.blogspot.com/2020/04/quest-of-ringbearer-legendary-legion.html?m=1) and started to speculate myself on what could be coming. Firstly let's take a look at what the guys at Drawn Combat thought and give my own thoughts before offering my own speculation.

The Battle in Balin's Tomb

I like the look of this one, a horde of Goblins, drums in the deep and a buffed up Cave Troll feels very iconic from the Fellowship of the Ring. I'm less certain if the Blackshields will be included purely because they are a Games Workshop invention that wasn't seen in the film.

Lurtz's Scouts

Another Legion that I can see being included in the new book and I like the special rules suggested in that post. However, Mauhur shouldn't be a part of this Legion as he only joined up with the Scouts after the death of Lurtz.

Defenders of Osgiliath

Much and all as I like this idea I don't think we'll see a Legion like this in the new book simply because it's too similar to the Rangers of Ithilien legion in Gondor at War. At most I can see that legion getting an update to include Anborn and Mablung. Cool idea though.

The Black Riders

If the Black Riders don't get a Legendary Legion in this book then I'll be very disappointed, it's just so iconic of the Fellowship of the Ring. The rules suggested by Drawn Combat do fit the theme of the army very, although I think that Cry of the Nazgul will see a return from the old Fellowship of the Ring Journey Book which is similar to one of the rules suggested here. I also don't think that horses will be mandatory, the Ring Wraiths most iconic scene (Weathertop) sees them being on foot.

PS. I also think and hope that we'll see a plastic Ring Wraith foot and mounted kit as part of the model releases for this supplement. Possibly with the option to make either a generic Wraith or the Witchking.

So onto my speculations.

Cirith Ungol

Shagrat
Gorbag
Mordor Orc Captain
Mordor Uruk Hai Captain
Shelob
Gollum
Mordor Orcs
Mordor Uruk Hai

Additional rules

This Legion must include Shagrat and Gorbag, one of which must be the Leader.
Mordor Orcs and Uruk Hai can only be taken in warbands led by their respective heroes.
Gollum does not have the One Ring when taken as part of this Legendary Legion.

Special Rules
"The scum tried to knife me."

Keep a track of the kill tallies of Shagrat and Gorbag. If Shagrat has more kills then all Orcs get +1 to wound. If Gorbag has more kill then all Uruk Hai get +1 to wound.

Her Sneak

Shelob and Gollum can be taken in a single Warband with Shelob as the Warband leader. Also if Gollum is engaged in a combat within 3 inches of Shelob then she may call a Heroic Combat without expending Might. If the Heroic Combat is successful then Shelob must use the following movement to join Gollum's combat or move as close to Gollum as possible if that is not possible.

This suggested Legion is aims to show the rivalry between the two groups stationed in Cirith Ungol with the "The scum tried to knife me" special rule giving bonuses to the opposite side of whichever leader is doing better. I also wanted to add something to Shelob to replicate the agreement she had with Gollum where he had promised to bring her food, hence the free Heroic Combats to allow her to hunt down more prey.

As for new models, on top of the two new Ranger Anborn and Mablung already announced and the plastic Ring Wraiths mentioned above I think we might see:

Plastic Fellowship Hobbits

Orophin

There's 4 more named Orcs or Uruks that Frodo and Sam encounter in Cirith Ungol; Lagduf, Muzgash, Radbug and Snaga (yes, a different one to one in Rohan at War). If these are created I'd expect them to be added to a Cirith Ungol legion, I just didn't want to give away any spoilers above.

And for the ones more in hope than expectation; Barliman Butterbur, Albert Dreary, Harry Goatleaf and Bree Militia as part of a new Bree army list.

So those are my thoughts on what could be on the way, what do think we'll see?

And a special thanks to the guys at Drawn Combat for giving me permission to write a reply to their article and for creating great content in general.