"What have you proxied for GW LotR figures?" Topic

After a friend prompted me to get back into LotR with the big battle War of the Ring rules (I might prefer modified Comitatus, but I'm going easy with this one), I started looking for figures to substitute for the insanely-expensive GW metals and other figures I didn't care for. I'm concentrating on Gondorians at the moment, and their core plastic sets (warriors, archers, knight, rangers) are fine and cover most options, but here's what else I've hit upon.

What have other people proxied in for various lines?

Dol Amroth Men-at-arms: Perry Agincourt MAA
Dol Amroth Foot Knights: Perry WotR MAA
Dol Amroth Mounted Knights: Perry WotR MAA

Axemen of Lossarnach: Gripping Beast Huscarls in chainmail with 2H axe, primarily the Anglo-Danes but also others.

Avenger Bolt Thrower: Gripping Beast Late Roman Scorpion
Battlecry Trebuchet: Gripping Beast Late Roman Ballista

For dwarves you might want to check out denizen miniatures
denizenminiatures.co.uk

They are quite nice and looks very similar to the style of the GW LOTR dwarves.

zeveda also once had a plastic siege set with cheap trebuchets… if was in a set with some undead legionaris in 25mm

That's some Old School goodness there – the Dwarves are nice. I haven't started them yet, but I always had my eye on the old Vendel (now Molon Labe) Dwarves, however I think mixing them with GW Dwarves would be problematic.

sgmm.biz/dwarves.html

Perry are making tooling for WOTR Mounted MAA. The Perry plastic WOTR infantry would also give you billmen and archers.

I have used Artizan Carolingians and Vikings and also Crusader Vikings to bulk out my Rohan troops. For Rohan, you could use Conquest plastic Norman Knights and Gripping Beast plastic Saxons.

The Zvezda siege machines are available seperately. They also have a nice plastic Trebuchet.

Mick

The Zvezda trebuchet does look nice – is it noticeably undersize being 1/72?

If not for the movies and the subsequent GW figures, I always imagined Gondorians as looking more Late Roman, and the Rohirrim as some sort of Saxon take on a more Gothic cavalry theme.

Red Box Games and Hasslefree dwarves are compatible with GW LOTR dwarves.

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Ebob has stuff I use:

Clansmen of Lamedon:

Khand(incase you work on enemies of Gondor):

They mix well.

Dwarves…various manufacturers
Trebuchet…RAFM
Spiders…Reaper, GW WFB
Balrog…Mithril
Wild Men…Old Glory Picts and Welsh
Some orcs are from Wargames Factory or even some converted D&D CMG
Easterling Cavalry…GB Sassanids
Harad…Artizan Moors & BTD Arabs
Men of Dale…GB Late Romans

Rohan and Gondor*
Gondor…Artizan Carolingians
Rohan…mostly GB Normans

*Currently I use the GW figures, but plan to replace them.

Dwarves – Mostly Mithril
Gondor – Byzantines from Crusader
Rohan – Old Glory Goths and Arthurian Cav. Mix of infantry
Dunlanders – Old Glory Celts
Arthedain – Normans (Old Glory and Gripping Beast)

Now I am mostly doing 15mm though.

Those are great recommendations – now it looks like I'll have to do a Dwarf army!

I had also been stuck on the Clansmen figures and didn't know about Ebob, so thanks for that.

GWs LOTR Dwarves are probably the best figures that they have done. But Vendel's (Now Sgt. Major's) Dwarves are really nice but a bit big.

For Gondor, I would use Crusader Miniatures Byzantines and then use the Varangian guards for Men of Lossarnach.

Maybe 1st crusades minis for the swan knights of Dol Amroth.

Essex has great miniatures for Easterners and for Rohirrim, with foot and mounted examples of each model. You could probably find something for Gondorians and definitely for Dunlendings in their ancients line as well. They are acceptably detailed and very affordable. You might want to check them out. I cast my own dwarves from Prince August molds; several poses; gain, acceptably detailed, and insanely cheap. Their Vikings mold also makes great Rohan soldiers, though not mounted.

I've purchased dozens of party favor spiders to use for Necromancer games. They only a few cents a piece and actually look better than the cheesy GW sculpts. Plus they are prepainted!

Regarding the zveda trebuchet, yes there is a pack in 1:72 , but the one I was refering to, was actually for 28mm and was part of the fantacy range called "ring of rule" and included in the pack "artillery of the cursed legion" hence the undead legionaries.
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And for dragons…. I have opted for the excelent McFarlane dragons, which are beautiful, prePainted and can be found cheap
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I'm using Arthurians and Goths for Rohan, specifically Foundry but Newline have some useful looking stuff AND a sale.
I'm using Foundry Germans for Dunlanders mainly because I've got them but I think Black Tree Germans would be really good as they have more clothes and furs on. I fact I'm using BTD Germans for Prussian tribesmen (and indeed more Duns). I've also got a load of Old Glory Eastern peasants and Lithuanian infantry which are spot on if a little small. In fact a lot of OG Eastern type are useful.
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I remember Vendel did a Dunland range which they suggested could be used as Germans.
I also use Byzantines as Gondor and Nevski Russians too.
As for orcs well it's a no brainer -Perry Carlists…

WOW!

I am going to order some of those OG "Easterling" types. Especially good for Khandirim.

I have been trying to finish a 3D CAD image for a Heavy Khand Chariot, and for an Easterling Chariot (that would go with the GW Easterlings) that I hope to have printed (3D), but I need to get another copy of AutoCAD.

I've been wanting to get my roommate to convert some of the Perry Miniatures (put new helmets on the Normans, and sculpt new shields for them, for Gondorians) for Middle Earth miniatures.

If Tom Meier did some mounted humans along the lines of those Byzantines he did, then I'd go with those (and try to get my roommate to convert those with new Helmets and Shields). Those are some beautiful miniatures

The GW Rohirrim are probably perfect for Rohan (although, I am anxious to see what using converted Goths with more lamellar armor could produce).

But I haven't found anything that I really like for Dunlanders yet. The GW figures aren't bad, but they are too… Hmm?

They just don't fit. Dunlanders seem more like Celts or Germans to me. Or maybe Early Franks.

For Dunlanders, you could use Crusader Dark Ages Irish and possibly also Crusader Dark Ages Scots as better quality troops.

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They also have ancient Germans.
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Mick

How about these for Gondor?
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Or these for -I don't know -Corsairs of Umbar?
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I always thought of Dark Ages/Medieval Spanish/Iberians as being more Arnor (especially after the breakup) than Gondor.

The Byzantines seem more fit for Gondor (but would need new shields and helmets). But the Tom Meier Byzantines are the ones that I would tend to gravitate toward (save for the fact that they are only ONE troop type).

Those Crusader Irish do seem to look very much the role of Dunlanders.

Does anyone have any suggestions for Variags?

Variag is a Slavic word derived from Norse Varingar "mercenary people" (vár "contract"). The Norse root indicates that perhaps Tolkien intended Variag to be a "translated" Northern Mannish word.

Also, the meaning suggests that the Variags of Khand were not an ethnic group but a kind of elite mercenaries or corps in service of Mordor.

So perhaps a mix of whatever near/middle eastern soldiers you think looks cool?

Yes, I am aware of all of that.

I do have one of the most annoyingly verbose Middle-Earth scholars I have ever encountered living in the other room.

We've been discussing it, and he said to look into something like Old Glory Mongols, or Bulgars/Magyars/Slavs:

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But the Variags were supposed to be bearded (like Dwarves) and use Axes, weren't they?

He (the roommate) also suggested the Essex Khitan Liao, as they have big axes and ride fully barded horses as Cataphracts (two different styles as well):

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But, frankly, they look HORRID compared to the GW and Old Glory Stuff (and the Old Glory stuff has its own problems, like spindly bows that break too easily).

I wish that Mithril Miniatures would do a complete line of Variags based upon the Variag Commander they released last year.

And they wouldn't be making a mistake to create more poses of the Variags and Easterlings:

I guess they make those more for Role Players than they do for Armies.

What a pity.

Here's an interesting variant on the question: What do you use LOTR minis for beside their intended use? I'm a huge fan of the plastic models, and put them to good use: The rangers of Gondor always struck me more as bandit-types, so I painted them up as just that, using the Defias Brotherhood (from World of Warcraft for the color scheme. With their exotic appearence, The Easterling plastic set are the personal bodygaurd of Dorn-Ammon, last of the sorcerer-kings (or so he thinks!)

I don't think I know of anything that I'm interested enough in to use them for something else.

I guess that the Dunlendings that GW makes might be useful for Hyboria/Conan stuff. Same with the Haradrim stuff from GW. They might be useable for something Hyborian, but I wouldn't know what.

Hyboria is really the only other fantasy world that I care for.

I think I will use a large amount of lotr with perry medievals as a conversion basis for my new song of ice and fire project. Gondorians with head swops as most of the noble houses, the rangers as a basis for the nights watch etc etc!!!
Anyone got a list of other fantasy that fits with the "true" 28mm of the GW stuff?
FFF

I don't know why people are so into the who George RR Martin thing.

I thought the book (and, I only tried to read one), was pretty bland and unimaginative.

His who schtick consists of just killing of characters at regular intervals.

I prefer more romantic Fantasy, where if there is a death it is heroic and meaningful.

Not so harsh and meaningless death that accomplishes nothing.

I've been trying to figure out how to convert the Perry Medievals to Middle-Earth troops. But it requires more work than I can convince my Roommate to do (He keeps trying to teach me, but I'm only good at doing minor surface details, and he's busy trying to convert other stuff). I suppose just chopping their heads off and putting the Heads from the regular Gondorian Spearmen and Swordsmen on them would be a start.

Wotr stuff looks to advanced for Tolkein ive always felt. I know what you mean about Martin though, deffinately lost control of his own story and really, deep down, Westeros is just England around 1480 with a bit of magic thrown in.

For Gondor, I think any company that produces Byzantine troops should do the trick. One of the few things I didnt like about Jacksons version was all the plate armour. He got Rohan kind of right, mounted Anglo Saxons. Goblins looked alright too.

Gripping beast have some good figs. The Perry crusaders range has lots of troops you can use for Dol Amroth, easterlings, Rohan and Gondor.

This is a great list. I still have enough GW figures to be painting, but plan to look to other manufacturers in the future.

Trying to collect Dol Amroth or Clansmen of Lamedon would just kill me without the Perry's or ebob being able to help me out!