It’s time once more to visit the Middle-earth community and see what fantastic hobby goodness has been gracing their tabletops. This time we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King™, so let’s have a look at some of the stunning miniatures you’ve painted from this movie!
We kick things off with the titular character – this wonderful rendition of Aragorn, King Elessar by Kamil Kozyra. Kamil has painted Andúril and Aragorn’s armour with the non-metallic metals technique, giving the impression of metal glinting in the sunlight. The black cloth has been meticulously highlighted, and Kamil has expertly freehand painted the White Tree of Gondor onto the horse’s caparison.
Here we have another great showcase of the technique, this time by Jonathan Pfund, who has painted Éomer, Marshall of the Riddermark on foot. The non-metallic effect on Éomer’s scale mail is complemented by the distinct, deep reds of Éomer’s leather armour. Jonathan has also done an exquisite job on the skin tones, flawlessly blending different shades together to give the final result.
Amy Snuggs has turned her skills to Gothmog, mounted atop his fearsome Warg. Amy has gone to great lengths to realistically shade the various fur tones, going from light, sandy colours all the way up to the dark browns on the highest points of the Warg’s mane. Gothmog himself looks especially realistic, and Amy has captured the gruesome pallid, fleshy skin tones especially well.
Clayton White has painted this exceptional Witch-king of Angmar. Painting a predominantly black miniature can be tricky, yet Clayton has done an expert job at making each aspect of the miniature stand out through the use of sharp highlights on the most raised edges of the model. Clayton has also mounted him on a wonderfully detailed scenic base, depicting the Witch-king marshalling his forces into battle from on high.
From the Lord of the Nazgûl to his slayer, and this excellent version of Éowyn and Merry painted by Julian Hammond. Éowyn is clad in the armour and colours of the Rohirrim in her guise as Dernhelm, and Julian has taken great care in replicating these on the miniature. He has also gone to painstaking detail on the horse’s markings, expertly painting the skin tones and fur colours of the horse.
Hauke Jacobsen has painted perhaps the most important characters of all – Frodo, Sam, and the nefarious Gollum. These models depict the characters in the last, desperate struggle within Mount Doom, and Hauke has brilliantly captured the details of these final scenes, right down to the blotches of dirt and soot subtly dotted across the clothes and skin of the two Hobbits.
Rather than focusing on characters, Louis Vanhecke has instead painted a full warband of Citadel Guard, led by Irolas and Beregond. He has done a wonderful job of contrasting the black cloaks and gambesons of the Citadel Guard with their bright, shining armour and the white trim on the edges of their cloth, helping to break up the dark colours with slashes of light.
Fabio Fonseca has combined the plastic Faramir and the mounted Elrond miniatures to create this excellent conversion of a mounted Faramir in his ranger armour. The painting is exquisite, with the blending of different shades of green on the cloak, and the fur texture on the horse being particular highlights to this model. To top it all off, Fabio has given his Faramir a highly detailed scenic base, depicting the ruins of Osgiliath.
Doug Waters has submitted this exceptional version of Gandalf the White riding Shadowfax, and has done a brilliant job of ensuring that the various shades of white are all distinct from each other – which is a tricky task to accomplish. The facial detail is simply excellent, and the model looks like it has jumped straight out of the film!
Finally, we have this simply stunning version of Pippin by Sam Gallagher. The detail is incredible, with every aspect of the model expertly blended and finished with crisp highlights. The facial details are especially good, with Sam brilliantly capturing Pippin’s likeness. To truly set his Pippin apart, Sam has mounted the piece on an amazing custom plinth, showing the plucky Hobbit within the city of Minas Tirith.
An excellent selection of models from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King™ from the wider Middle-earth community. If you have been inspired to paint some of these iconic characters, then why not pick up your favourite models and give it a go?