In today's Around the Community blog, the Middle-earth team’s Dan Entwisle assembles a selection of the most legendary heroes and infamous villains from across the lands of Middle-earth, for your viewing pleasure.
Dan: This time on Around the Community, we’ve quested far and wide in search of the most inspirational Middle-earth heroes that have been painted by you, the community. Any model in the Hero of Legend Heroic Tier was eligible for this article, and we had a vast array of fantastically painted submissions. So, without further ado, let's dive in.
First up we have the stoic King of Khazad-dûm, Durin, painted by Andy Hamblin. Andy chose a very regal colour pallet for his Durin, and the deep purple of the cloak stands out well next to the complementary gold that has been used for the crown and armour details. He also focused his efforts into creating some freehand runic symbols around the bottom of Durin's cloak, to add to the air of nobility surrounding the Dwarven King.
Next up, we have the cunning Wizard Saruman the White, painted by Charles Lin. Charles used tiny brush strokes when highlighting the raised areas of Saruman’s robes to give some additional texture to the cloth. This works particularly well with the other textures of the fabric, such as the embroidered elements around the sleeves, as it adds further contrast to the various fabric across the miniature. Charles also staged his photo to perfection – it looks as though Saruman is leading his Uruk-hai in the burning of the Westfold himself rather than hiding away in his tower.
Dan Collister produced this lovely Dáin Ironfoot, mounted on his faithful boar. Dan has carefully chosen his colours to make sure his Lord of the Iron Hills looks very similar to the one we see in The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies™ movie. The metallic elements across both Dáin’s armour and that of his boar are particularly striking – the bright highlights make the silver really shine, especially alongside the reds and oranges of Dáin’s beard and helmet plume.
Dave Fredricks pulled out all the stops on his awesome Treebeard conversion. The mighty Ent has been reposed to represent the heartbreaking moment when Treebeard discovers the ruin of Fangorn Forest and the treason of Isengard. Dave was also very careful to pick out all of the characterful details on the model, such as the small snail climbing up the beard, the various clumps of luminous yellow fungus and emerald green moss and vines dotted around the model.
This particularly gross-looking Goblin King was painted by Ixmil Lalilulelo. The glossy finish to the various welts and warts across the body gives a really grim and, frankly, disgusting look – in a good way, of course! Ixmil also painted on lots of small cuts and grazes over the knuckles of the Goblin King, showing how he often uses his arm to help support the bulk of his grotesque form, and further adding to the weight and heft of the Goblin King.
Kalman Steels-Wright brings us our second Dáin of the article, but this model shows him in his twilight years, during his reign as King Under the Mountain. Kalman did a marvelous job on the snow-white beard and hair, highlighting Dáin’s grand age during the War of the Ring. As well as his beard, the bright red of Dáin’s battleaxe, Barazantathûl, is very striking alongside the rest of the Dwarven king’s armour and clothing – this draws your eye to two very distinct and characterful elements of the miniature.
Next up, we have a second appearance for the treacherous Wizard Saruman. Instead of riding into battle with his armies, this time he plots the doom of Middle-earth from within the tower of Orthanc. Stuart Mack achieved a wonderful contrast between Saruman’s bright robes and the dark, polished stone floor of the base. The high contrast gives this model a very sinister feel, especially featured alongside the Palantír, onto which Stuart has carefully freehanded the eye of the Dark Lord.
Lastly, we have Paweł Wilk’s stunning Balin the Dwarf, King of Moria. Paweł achieved an amazing colour shift effect on the cloak, starting with a deep purple before blending seamlessly into a sunset red and bright orange. Paweł also achieved a vibrant non-metallic metal effect* on Durin’s axe and the other steel details, as well as the gold on the crown and other jewelry.
Thanks for sharing these incredible paint jobs with us, Dan. Believe it or not, this was just a glimpse of the treasure horde of miniatures – all painted by you talented lot out there – that the Middle-earth team have seen in recent months. They’ll be back with another Around the Community showcase in the future, so make sure you keep sharing your wonderful works on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
* This is an advanced painting technique that uses clever blends of grey-white and brown-yellow to replicate the way light reflects off silver and gold surfaces respectively, but without actually using metallic paint. If you’re interested in learning more about this technique, check out the ’Eavy Metal Masterclass on non-metallic metals in White Dwarf 463.