We shall have peace. We shall have peace, when you answer for the burning of the Westfold, and the children who lie dead there!

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Although my Rohan figures still languish waiting for paint – the terrain is coming along.

Paint Splatter

Two of the Rohan Houses are complete and the basing is just about done. The other five buildings have been primed and basecoated. Now that I’ve figured out the paint scheme, I should be able to get those completed pretty quick. I took inspiration from the fantastic Zorpazorp woodgrain and thatch tutorial and I am happy with the results. I’m trying to not lose sight that these are terrain pieces and do not require my typical, high-detail approach to painting. Status of the buildings is:

• Standard House – Painted, based
• Two-story Blacksmith (Chaos Bunker Inspiration) – Painted, based
• Burnt out House with additional roof timbers (White Dwarf Inspiration) – Primed
• Stable using two combined houses (White Dwarf Inspiration) – Primed
• Standard House with extended side door – Primed

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I’ve painted all three of the stone bases and attached them to the MDF. Around the stone I added two layers of the same Vallejo mud material that I used on the Rohan infantry. I added some additional bits of Army Painter Battlefield Rocks to match the Rohan infantry. I plan to add additional Vallejo mud to fill any gaps between the house and the base. Once the basing has been painted, I’ll add additional bits of scenery like fences, barrels, weapons, etc. All of those extra bits will bring the terrain to life.

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Army Listing

With the terrain progressing, I’ve started to do some army listing for my Rohan force. Because I am sucker for theme, I am leaning all the way in on the Legendary Legions. They remind me of Theater Selectors in Bolt Action and offer both a guide and inspiration for collecting and playing MESBG. My goal early on was to create a Defense of Helm’s Deep Legendary Legion and my current 700pt list is made up for five Warbands:

Warband 1:
Theoden, King of Rohan
x3 Warriors of Rohan with Bows
x4 Warrior of Rohan with Shields and Throwing Spears
x5 Warriors of Rohan with Shields

Warband 2:
Gamling, Captain of Rohan
x3 Royal Guard with Throwing Spears
x3 Royal Guard

Warband 3:
Haldir
Galadhrim Warrior with Banner
x4 Galadhrim Warriors with Elf Bow
x3 Galadhrim Warriors

Warband 4:
Gimli

Warband 5:
Legolas

Is this a good army list? I have not idea! I’ve never played a game of MESBG. This project kicked off six months ago and I’m still yet to play a game. I don’t think I’ve ever worked this much on a game I’ve never played. There is a high probability that my first game will be on the table that I’m building! Hopefully I’m not making some level of fundamental mistakes…

The Goal

Although I didn’t get a ton completed this month, I am happy with the two buildings I finished and I’ll be able to finish the rest of them quickly. Once those are done, maybe it’s back to the figures themselves or maybe I’ll start another part of the table (rocks, trees and the Killing Fields mat).

No adjustments to the goal this month. Plan remains:

• Fully painted Defense of Helm’s Deep Legendary Legion.
  • Add additional Rohan Models as I go.
• Fully painted Rohan themed table.
  • Rohan Houses are built and primed. Two are completed.
• Stretch Goal – Expand this MESBG force into an army for use with Oathmark. Oh man, North Star previewed the Humman Cavalry models last week and…wow.

Progress Report

The Lord of the Rings Progress

Book	Chapter	Overall
The Two Towers	Book IV – Ch. I – The Taming of Sméagol	44%

Not gonna lie, the way The Two Towers is split into two books has sapped my energy. I was riding high and crushing chapter after chapter following The Three Hunters, Gandalf, and Treebeard. But now? There are hundreds of pages ahead of me that are only Frodo and Sam. Oh boy. Progress is slow.

Until next time, Forth Eorlingas!