LORD OF THE RINGS MODELING ARTICLES.
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Introduction.....
Do you have a Helm’s Deep,
Mighty Fortress or any other castle model for that matter.
Would you like to have some models representing the hard pressed Warriors
of Rohan defending the Gate of Helm’s Deep in your games.
I have used 4 plastic
Warrior of Rohan models, 3 of which have had simple modifications made to them,
so that they attempting to Barr the Gate at Helm’s Deep.
You will need the following
items:-
4 Warrior models from the Warriors of Rohan plastic box set. I used a warrior holding spear, two with swords and a warrior with axe, (please see the 1st picture for the exact models that I have used for this article).
Craft Knife....Model Snippers....Files or Fine Grit Wet & Dry Paper....M.E.K. (Methyl Ethyl Keytone), Liquid Poly or any suitable Polystyrene Cement....Superglue. PVA....A cavalry base or similar size base to mount the models onto....Plastic card approximately 2 mm thick cut into 10mm x 10mm squares for constructing flag stones for the base....Plastic card approximately 50 mm x 5 mm for the wooden spar that the warriors will hold.....Thin length of brass rod, thin wire or a Staple....Static Grass....Purity Seal varnish.
Paints used for the base and wooden spar:-
Chaos Black, Skull White,
Codex Grey, Fortress Grey, Vermin brown, Scorched brown, Golden Yellow.
Introduction…
I had originally intended
this article to be part conversion guide and part painting guide, however there
is already a perfectly good painting guide article for WOR by Mr Mikey P in the
Miniatures section of the TLA.
I had used part of Mr Mikey
Ps article to paint the WOR, used in this article. Although I have painted my
WOR models differently to his painting guide, I did use the article as a basis
from which to start. I do not think it right and proper to use, re-work or
re-word any of that article and present it here as my own work. So please use Mr
Mikey Ps painting guide to paint your WOR models for this conversion.
I have used plastic card,
(approx 2mm thick), for the flag stones and wooden spar, please note that Balsa
Wood or thick card will do the same job if you do not have any plastic card
available.
Stage 1…
Remove the four WOR models from the sprue, either with the model snippers or your craft knife.
Using your craft knife and a
file or fine grit wet & dry paper, clean up any mould lines or flash from
the figures.
Click to enlarge
Stage 2…
You now need to remove the
Weapons and Shield Boss, (the blob of plastic you attach the shield onto the
model with), from three of the models, the Slotta Base Rail also needs removing
from each model by cutting it off with your craft knife.
When you have removed the
parts that you do not need, clean up the hands, cloak and feet etc on each model
by gently filing the points where they were connected to the model.
Click to enlarge
Stage 3…
Now take the Warrior holding
his axe aloft, you need to cut off the right arm just above the elbow, (the arm
which was previously holding the axe), and slightly reposition it so it is now
facing down, (please refer to picture), and leave to dry for a few hours.
Click to enlarge
Stage 4…
Cut up the Plastic Card,
Card or Balsa Wood in to 10mm x 10mm squares, now glue these into place on the
cavalry base. I let the plastic
card overhang the edges of the base, when it was thoroughly dry, I trimmed off
the excess with my craft knife. Now
go round the entire base with your file or fine grit wet & dry paper to
smooth off all of the edges.
Click to enlarge
Stage 5…
Drill out one hole in each
of the models feet with a very small drill bit or Pin Vice, this pin will be
used to attach the models to the base after you have painted them.
You will only need to drill out one hole into each model, then superglue
a small length of brass rod or thin wire, into the hole in the foot, the length
of the rod or wire you use only needs need to be about 10mm or so.
If you do not have any brass rod to hand, a Staple or similar thickness
piece of wire will suffice for this job
Decide where the figures are
going to stand on the cavalry base, and drill out corresponding holes for the
pins in the models feet, so that you can attach the models when the painting of
the models is complete.
Stage 6…
Paint your 4 WOR models by
using your own painting scheme, GW guide or the article by MR Mikey P on the
TLA.
Stage 7…
Painting the base and wooden
spar.
The cavalry base was undercoated dark grey, by mixing together 60% Codex Grey and 40% Chaos Black.
A small amount of Fortress
Grey was added into the mix and the base was dry brushed again.
Then add a small amount of Skull White to your mix and dry brush the
base. Keep adding small amounts of Skull White into the mix and dry brush the
base repeatedly until you are happy with the final colour.
The wooden spar was
undercoated with Scorched Brown, the paint was applied quite thickly so that
brush strokes were visible, having the brush strokes visible is quite
deliberate. Now make a 50/50% mix of Scorched Brown and Vermin Brown, and again
apply the paint quite thickly, so that you can clearly see the brush strokes.
Make sure that you apply the paint with long sweeping strokes along the
length of the spar.
The spar will need to have
several dry brushings to achieve the desired wood effect.
Take care, with the dry brushing at this stage, as you only need to dry
brush the spar very lightly.
Add a little Golden yellow
to the brown mix, then dry brush very lightly onto the spar.
Add a small amount of Skull White to the mix and very lightly dry brush
again, you will need to do this a few times, slightly lightning the colour for
each application. You should begin
to see a wood grain effect appearing on the spar, the more you dry brush with
the lighter mix, the more apparent the effect will become.
Note…If you cannot see the wood grain effect, you have either not applied the undercoat thickly enough, or you have applied too much paint as you are dry brushing.
Stage 8…
Using Superglue, attach the
3 WOR models that will hold the wooden spar onto the base, making sure they are
glued in the correct positions. When
the models are completely dry, glue the wooden brace to the models. Now glue the remaining Warrior to the rear of the base.
Finally add tiny amounts of
static grass in between the gaps in the flag stones, and give the whole model a
coat of Purity Seal varnish.
Click to enlarge
And there you have one group of brave Warriors or Rohan attempting to brace the Gates and defend the Fortress against the vile enemy.