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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The City...of Osgiliath... has been reclaimed... for Gondor!

Boromir, Captain of the White Tower , and bearer of the Banner of Minas Tirith!

Boromir was the mightiest warrior of Gondor at the time of the events leading up to the War of the Ring.

There is a lengthy document about him at LOTR wiki:  http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Boromir . Well worth a read for those interested...





This is the model version of Boromir bearing the banner of Minas Tirith, which is inspired by scenes from the Extended Edition of the Two Towers, a wonderfully inspiring scene, that shows Boromir's valorous past.


It contrasts with the option to field him in the game without the banner, that I painted a little while ago...http://scottswargaming.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/boromir-captain-of-white-tower.html


The model now appears to be unavailable from GW, but does still show up on ebay and other tradegroups on the web.

I sourced the model this way, thanks to a great deal from Tom Candlin - Many thanks Tom!

I must admit, whilst I wanted the model for my collection, and for gaming purposes, I was dreading painting it, due to the banner. I have found I can paint most things in terms of miniatures, but free hand artwork, especially at this scale for banner and shields etc., is not my strong suit! Most concerning was the fine black waving lines at the end of the banner tips...

The banner of Minas Tirith

Quite some time ago, a mate of mine Chris, had a go at painting the model and struck on the idea of using a Fine tip technical ink pen. He got it all done, looking good, then applied varnish, and the ink instantly smeared across the banner! In frustration he stripped the model and started again, and I think tried a different varnish or method of applying, but the same thing happened again... a which point I believe he gave up!

So memories of that were in my mind.

But I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off those waving lines free hand with a brush... so a technical pen seemed the only option...

So I put out some queries to the various painting forums on facebook and google+... I was recommended a Zig Millenium 0.2mm black ink pen. I ordered one of these from Amazon.

The figure from Tom was stripped and painting commenced, following the style of the previous Boromir on foot model. Then work on the banner commenced. I tried to copy the painted example from GW as best as I could, and would say I have managed a reasonable representation of the tree and the icons down the side of the flag, adjacent the pole. Then out came the pen for the black wiggly line pattern. It felt a bit like cheating not using a brush, but what the heck, sometimes needs must.

Again it's not a perfect copy, but it gives a recognisable representation, I hope you'll agree!

And of course the banner has two sides so  I had to repeat my efforts on the other side too.

Finally came the time to varnish. I normally varnish my metal models with a DIY Polyurethane Gloss varnish first, then use a brush on Vallejo Matt Acrylic over that. I decided I'd grab an old spare model  and draw two test lines on it and test the two varnishes on that first. The Vallejo acrylic matt immediately dissolved the ink leaving a black smear to be wiped off. Whereas the polyurethane gloss, went straight on with no problem! For some reason I expected the result to be the opposite way around but I am glad it matched my normal procedure.

So varnishing turned out to be no issue thankfully...



The great man once again... For Gondor!


In the game, The Banner counts as a banner normally, giving troops within 3" a reroll to melee combat but also increases their Fight skill by +1, so for WoMT from 3 to 4, and Boromir's from 6 to 7. Nor does he suffer the combat penalty due to the encumberance of the banner. But he may not benefit from a shield, nor a lance if mounted while he carries the banner.

It could well provide a focal point of power in the Gondor line, but at an additional 50pts this has to be considered, as its worth 5 regular Warriors of Minas Tirith...

23 comments:

  1. Great looking figure, Scott. The banner is very impressively done too - comparing it to the photo still. The icons next to the banner pole are very cool.

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  2. Cracking job mate - that banner is spot on!

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  3. Very nice work indeed. I have been looking at your past posts and truly love the work you are doing with the LOTR stuff. I am a huge Tolkien fan myself and have always regretted not not more of the GW LOTR before it was replaced with The Hobbit. Looking forward to seeing more of your work. :)

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    1. Thanks very much and nice to have you along as my newest follower :)

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  4. Looks excellent. Good experiment with the pen paid off. Cheers

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  5. It's a crying shame that so many of these old and frankly beautiful models have gone out of production but you've done an incredible job and made me very jealous!

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    1. Agreed - The LOTR range is wonderfully done indeed.

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  6. Very nice and thanks for the tips about the pen and the varnishing. I think I have this model in the lead mountain, but I am sure I have at least one banner that I have been dreading.

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    1. Thanks, and no worries... the next banner I am dreading is the Rohan Royal Standard! That ones going to give me nightmares! Plus I still have to now do Boromir, Mounted, with the banner too!

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  7. I've just clicked on one of the pictures to look at it in zoom mode and I have to say that this figure is outstanding! It's one of the very best (and that's saying something) you've ever painted. the detail on the flag is stunning!

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  8. Great work Scott, the flag is excellent. I have some of these fine tipped pens which I have never used (just not got round to it! (bought them to add writing on banners etc following advice on line)) but had no idea about the smudge-ability effect. So thanks for the warning!

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  9. Old school varnish does the trick... also some fixer spray as well i have used..
    looks damn fine,great job

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  10. He is really splendid, as well as the baneer!

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  11. Enhorabuena por la mini Scott, te ha quedado muy bien! ;)

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  12. Very nice paint job. Banner looks impressive :)

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  13. that's a wonderful figure and an amazing banner !
    great! congrats for this excellent work !

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  14. Fantastic Work Scott. You've done a tremendous job on him!

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  15. Very nice freehand. Looks very much like the original and, as someone else already mentioned, I, too, love the icons. Definitely an eyecatcher and havin it as part of your force will not only make the dice roll better, but also distract your opponent, admiring the paintjob. Double win!

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  16. Excellent work on him, Scotty.
    The freehand turned out stunningly.

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