This year marks the 20th Anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers™. To coincide with this momentous occasion, there has been a frenzy of Middle-earth activity in the community and even from our staff. There are many iconic scenes across the trilogy, and today we picked out two works that really convey the scope and scale of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers™.
First, Michael Patterson brings us a clash of legends – Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog.
Michael Patterson: I often see dioramas depicting Gandalf defying the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, but I haven’t come across anything depicting the later stages of that battle, when the two Maiar clash at Durin’s Tower, so I built it as a unique project.
The diorama features a full mountainside, including the tower and converted models of Gandalf and the Balrog, with LEDs that make Gandalf’s sword gleam white and engulf the Balrog in shadow and flame.
Cheers, Michael! Some brave souls even recreate entire strongholds from the film, such as Elliot Prowse and his take on Helm’s Deep.
Elliot: When The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers™ was released two decades ago, I was inspired by the movie, and a Helm’s Deep board in White Dwarf, to start my own terrain-making journey – with the ultimate goal of building the Hornburg itself.
When the War In Rohan™ supplement was released, Helm’s Deep featured in many scenarios, so I felt I had to do the epic battle justice by building the full fortress.
The walls and brickwork were hand-sculpted from extruded polystyrene foam, and I made the gates from balsa wood, card, and pins. I used a foam cutter and a rotary tool to carve the cliffs.
At 48" wide, 68" long, and 50" tall, the table has a modular setup of 13 pieces, including replaceable battle-damaged sections for the gates and culvert. The stairs were magnetised in key places to accommodate magnetic bases, and the gates open and close – also using magnets.
The project took approximately 300 hours, from planning to finishing. So far, the forces of Evil are yet to conquer the Hornburg – I may have to paint up 10,000 Uruk-hai now to storm the keep!
Want to celebrate the 20th anniversary yourself? The new Middle-earth starter box, The Lord of the Rings: Battle of Osgiliath, has everything you need to recreate the Men of Gondors’ war against the Orc hordes.
Share your own Middle-earth projects over on the Warhammer Community Twitter and Facebook pages.