AHWPC - Nostalgia Bonus Round - Gandalf

My second entry for the painting challenge was for the Nostalgia Bonus theme round - I decided to paint up Gandalf...

When I get nostalgic about my gaming, and think back to those early days and where it all began, there is always one character that shines out above the rest... and that character, is Gandalf.

I think it was back in 1982, when I was 12, that I first read the Hobbit... and that book, not surprisingly fired my imagination and set my feet firmly on the road to eventually becoming a gamer...Gandalf was there in that story, and remained with me as I subsequently read my way through the Lord of the Rings... and those inspirations eventually lead inexorably to the world of D&D and starting to collect and paint miniatures... and back then in the 80's GW brought out an LOTR range long before the movies were ever made... and I started collecting and playing with those figures... found memories, even though those figures are long since sold off, largely due to the recent movie matching range that GW subsequently produced.

And now I find it quite comforting in a way to have come along the gaming road some 30 years later and I am still as enamored of this character as I was back then... the Movies from PJ, and the casting of Sir Ian McKellan could not have personified a Gandalf better that matched the figure my mind had imagined.

I still recall tearing up as I saw Gandalf ride his cart into Hobbiton that first time... and again when he fell from the bridge at Khazad Dum, even though I already knew he didnt actually die then!

I guess I have remained affectionately bound to the character of Gandalf, as these years and still remain so now, and still enjoy watching Sir Ian's portrayal of the character every time I re-watch the movies...

For me there is no better definition of Nostalgia, as Gandalf.

The figure I present is the mounted pose, from the recent range of LOTR figures from GW, matching the movie characters. This pose is relatively rare, and now sadly long OOP. So getting your hands on one is not an easy task, and they still command quite high 2nd hand values subsequently.

I was very fortunate in acquiring this figure last year in way of a trade online, with none other than Tim Kulinski - he of authorship fame of the Legends of the High Seas rules - a wonderful pirate skirmish set, based on the Core LOTR SBG game.

Due to GW's strange business practices... the withdrawal of Warhammer Historical, loss of the product range, and subsequent poor treatment, and lack of any apparent real support to the LOTR/Hobbit games system, Tim had understandably decided to wash his hands of GW, and no longer play LOTR, and thus sell off his collection... and subsequently he offered me his Gandalf, as part of a large bundle of figure trades... and consequently two parcels winged their corresponding ways across the Pacific... and so, there I had in my hands, finally, a mounted Gandalf the Grey.

But with a typical backlog of figures I was working through, Gandalf found his place in the lead pile and patiently waited his turn...

And thus in summary, now I am pleased to have finally finished him and the Nostalgia round was the perfect excuse to get him painted up and finished!

A relatively simple paint job as matches the grab colours the character is named for! Getting the face right was a little tricky under the brim of his large hat, and sadly doesn't show well in the pictures due to the angle of the pose. But its there I assure you! ;-)

I do look forward to giving him a try out in the game, a mounted wizard gives the character better mobility, raised line of sight for spell casting and a bit of a buff to his meager combat prowess, gaining the bonus of a cavalry charge... the 10pts spent on the horse are well worth it!

And though he may have taken what seems an age to grace my game table, I guess I can sum this by quoting the character himself;
"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins!..Nor is he early... He arrives precisely when he means too!" ;-)

I am still working away with several models, but my folks are visiting with us at the mo', so hobby time has come to a halt until they leave next weekend. I'll hopefully get back in to the swing of things after that...

Pursuit in to the Wild - LOTR/Hobbit AAR

The next game in our Fellowship of the Ring campaign, game seven, is the Pursuit into the Wild.

This game sees four Ringwraiths, go up against Gandalf and six Dunedain rangers...

Gandalf has decided to flee the ruins of Amon Sûl, and head north, hoping to draw off the wraiths, distracting them away from Aragorn and the hobbits... Four of the wraiths give chase, but soon a group of Dunedain are encountered and join with Gandalf to ambush the wraiths... the hunters becoming the hunted!

The wraiths, realizing the diversionary tactic of the forces of good, must survive the ambush and head back south.

Victory Conditions
For the Ringwraiths to win, they must either, kill Gandalf, or get 3 wraiths past the Dunedain and off the southern board edge.
For Good to win, Gandalf must get back over the southern board edge, or they must stop the wraiths escaping south in numbers by killing at least two of them.
Gandalf also has the option to escape from the north, east or west board edges if need be. If he does this, he will not count as a casualty.

Special conditions
Gandalf is in a weakened state after his encounter at Amon Sûl, and only begins the game with 1 Might, 2 Will, and 1 Fate.

Key
Red tokens number the Ringwraiths to track their Will points
Green tokens number the the Dunedain to track their Might, Will and Fate.

Deployment:
Gandalf is placed on the northern board edge, then the Dunedain on the Southern Board edge. Finally the wraiths are placed in a box in the centre of board.

This makes for a very interesting game as it can be won in several ways, so each player has to decide before hand what their plan is going to be...

Will the wraiths turn back south, or will they get their revenge on the wizard, in his weakened state?

Gandalf and the Dunedain spring their ambush and move towards the wraiths, Gandalf using his staff to cast Terrifying Aura upon himself... but the Dunedain are still a long way off, and Gandalf suddenly feels a little exposed... this feeling is reinforced as he is assaulted by dark energies as Black Darts assail him!

Not to be deterred, Gandalf pushes on, buoyed up by his previous success against these foul creatures... the Dunedain getting closer, trying to come to his aid... but more Black Darts find their mark and the wizard weakens...

Realizing his error in trying to contest the wraiths in his weakened state, he tries to flee once more to the north... but the wraiths follow and lash him once again with their foul energies... the Grey Pilgrim slumps to the ground and is motionless...

... far away, Galadriel senses a great loss... a lament for Gandalf will sung this night...

-----o0o-----

This game was over in the blink of 'The Eye'! Three consecutive turns of being slammed by Black Darts and Gandalf crumpled in his weakened state...

We played the game three times more...

Gandalf tried to skirt the edge of the playing area, keeping away from the wraiths, but this time they Compelled him forward towards them, making him charge them so they could surround him and he was cut down.

Again Gandalf tried to sneak down the side but was blasted by Black Darts once more.

Finally the wraiths tried to see if they could escape south instead... this they achieved but it was very close, one wraith was killed as were 3 Rangers, the last wraith escaping off the board at the last possible moment, and I had remembered Cry of the Nazgûl this time!

I think for the good side to win this game, Gandalf needs to taunt the wraiths northwards for one maybe two turns making them waste Will casting spells at him, to weaken them. Then he flees the board edge, and the wraiths then have to head south past the Dunedain who will be close by this point...

-----o0o----

Oh, it was my birthday this last weekend..., at the end of our game I was presented with a humble cake baked by my good wife, with a Hobbit green door motif! How delightful!

Happy birthday to me! :-)

I had blown out the candles, but they were those sneaky ones that sometimes relight...

Scott, Chris and Becky

Till next time, and back to Weathertop!

The Grey Pilgrim and the Black Riders - LOTR/Hobbit AAR

Onward to game 6 of our Fellowship of the Ring campaign... The Grey Pilgrim and the Black Riders.

This is another of those scenarios inspired more from the book than the film, and sees Gandalf trying to catch up with the hobbits, and deal with the Ringwraiths, in part, if he can.

Gandalf finds himself surrounded and assaulted by the wraiths at the ancient ruin of Amon Sûl, upon the hill known as Weathertop , just before Aragorn leads the hobbits there. The book tells of them seeing flashes of light from that direction, on the night before they get there...

Amon Sûl, ancient tower harking back to the glory days of the northern Kingdom of Arnor...

The tower of Amon Sûl, long since destroyed in battle with forces led then by the Witch King of Angmar... Interesting then to see him return to this place once more...

The model I made some years ago, following the guide in the FotR Journey book, with a few extra embellishments of my own. The central floor area gives a 12" diameter circle playing area, as required for this scenario...

The scenario sees Gandalf facing off against all nine Nazgûl, but luckily for Gandlaf they don't all arrive at once, but enter the game slowly over the course of the game...

... if they all jumped him at once, Gandalf would be history! This scenario is set up such that Gandalf has time to deal with the threat as it develops...

Gandalf starts in the centre of the floor area, with two Ringwraiths about to enter.

Special rules for this scenario:
Gandalf starts with Terrifying Aura, and Blinding Light already in effect, and still has full stats and his staff at the ready.
Gandalf will auto-pass any any courage tests, and is immune to Sap Will.
The wraiths must pass a courage test each move they start within the playing area and flee if they fail this roll.
At the end of each evil move phase another wraith enters the game on a roll of 5+.
The ruined playing area counts as difficult ground so all movement is halved.
If the Wraiths lose a fight against Gandalf they are repelled d6"

Victory:
For Gandalf to win he must slay/banish/repel 4 wraiths.
For the wraiths to win they must kill Gandalf.

Key:
Red dots number each of the wraiths, to track their Will points.
Yellow dots indicate Transfix/Immobilize

Gandalf has prepared himself for the onslaught of the wraiths, knowing this confrontation will test him sorely... Raising himself to his full wrath, he lets forth a blazing light, the power of the Valar filling this ancient ruin...

The wraiths are not detered, and enter the ruined circle, loosing their own dark magic at the threatened wizard...

Another wraith enters the fray... but Gandalf Commands one out of this sacred place...

The other two close in...

...but Gandalf manages to cut one down...

More energies leap from the wizards staff, Immobilizing the last wraith, but Gandalf cannot yet strike this vile creature down...

It circles away from the dominant Istari, waiting for more of its kind to arrive, when greater numbers may deal with to the wizard...

The cat and mouse game continues...

... until, Gandalf Commands this wraith away as well...

... though not a moment too soon as another wraith descends into the dell...

... and another...

The two wraiths now close in on Gandalf, hoping to deal with him once and for all...

Not to be overwhelmed, Gandalf strikes down one more wraith. With four wraiths dispatched, the Witch King calls off their attack. They will regroup and catch Gandalf at another time and place when he is less prepared and more vulnerable...

The exhausted Wizard catches his breath, slumping to the ground briefly, resting to recover his strength, in time for the next confrontation...

The four stricken wraiths - the Witch King is not pleased!

 Now, where is Strider and the Hobbits?....

-----o0o-----

We played this scenario several times as it was quick to play and there were a few tactics either side could attempt...

Our initial game saw Gandalf whacked by two Black Darts in quick succession... Chris fluffed all the fate rolls and suddenly Gandalf had lost all his fate AND two wounds, with only one remaining and not a wraith yet dispatched... things looked grim... but then a chance re-read of Gandalfs stats, we noted a couple of things we had forgotten; Gandalfs Ring Narya, allows him to re-roll his fate points and Glamdring increases his Str to 5...

We decided to reset the game and start again, and that's the game above...

I didn't get as lucky again with Black Darts or getting wraiths on quickly, and Chris was rampant with Gandalf, using Commands to simply push the wraiths out of the circle, out of the playing area and thus out of the game...

We played twice more, and rather than openly attacking Gandalf from the start I tried waiting for more wraiths to appear and then be able to overwhelm Gandlaf, but it just didn't happen, wraiths were ejected from the circle or even failed courage checks and fled, or were struck down in combat once immobilized and a Might point or two was added to the wound roll.

Gandalf would not go down...

But again, that's as it should be if the game is to match the events of the story...

Its a tough game for evil to win, and a fair bit of luck would be needed to overwhelm Gandalf in this set up. Perhaps if I had thought of bringing the Witch King on sooner it may have made a difference? We'll have to try it again sometime...

-----o0o-----

So Gandalf has defeated the wraiths this time, now he must once again brave the wilds to try and find Strider and the Hobbits... and the wraiths are still out there... and this time, he's tired and wont have the protection of the scared ancient walls of Amon Sûl to protect him...

Bilbo, Gandalf and a Hummel

Well the 20th of March finally rolled around and marked the finale of the Analogue Hobbies 3rd Annual Painting Challenge.

I had a bit of a problem after finishing my Goblin Town models, my detail brushes gave up the ghost entirely.

I often make do with cheap synthetic brushes I get from the post shop, but these although cheap, only seem to last '5 minutes' before the tips curl and or the bristles start splaying out...

I do love the Windsor and Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable range, but I have not found a source of these here in NZ. They are pricey and then there's shipping too, which makes them quite an investment... So I had a look around for other options, and decided on the Army Painter range of brushes, and ordered a set from Warlord Games.

Whilst waiting for these to arrive, I got on with another item that wouldn't need super fine brushes; a 15mm Battlefront Hummel for Flames of War. This I did in my 'usual' style for German three colour camo...

Getting the Ranging Posts done was the only tricky bit, and I swore and cursed as my brushes couldn't manage this! I ended up cutting away most of the bristles left on an old detail brush till there was literally only a few hairs left... it worked but so few bristles can't hold much paint so it was a bit laborious back forth. But I got there in the end.

So this Hummel brings my Heavy Armoured Artillery Battery to 4 Hummels, which in game terms means the battery has a little longevity before it's reduced to 2 models firing with its reduced effectiveness, and at this size they get 2 observers. Of course the downside is the battery is getting rather expensive in points cost!

Finally with 2 days to go, my brushes arrived from Warlord Games...

Yippee. Well package and the bristles were good, and the brushes good to go!

I had already base coated and shade washed Bilbo and Gandalf and now I could finished them off.

In the The Hobbit starter set Bilbo, comes with a choice of two arms, one holding Sting and the other his staff. Whilst the pose with the staff was quaint and more hobbit-like, the game is about fighting and I think a sword would suit Bilbo better in these situations! So it had to be Sting.

Here Bilbo explores Goblin Town and finds a bundle of the dwarves gear...

Next up Gandalf comes to the rescue! Some folks have said they don't like the pose of the model but I rather like it.

I have been using the The Hobbit Visual Companion book, by Jude Fisher, as an aid to getting some of the colours and little details correct on the figures. One thing which I found from the book, was the colour and decoration of the belt for Glamdring, the sword Gandalf finds in the troll cave.

I would never have thought of painting it blue! But blue it is with small star symbols. I couldn't manage stars at this scale so white spots would have to do!

Gandalf catches up with Bilbo in Goblin Town.

So that was my final submission to Curt's painting challenge, and finished just in time, the flock was still drying on Gandalf's base as I took these pictures and got them submitted by email to Curt with 30 minutes to go!

I must admit I fell well short of my target of 600 points, but I knew I would have several things on the go that would score no points - during the challenge I made the Goblin Town board which took 3 weeks, and also I converted the Goblin Throne, again a 'terrain piece', and had my experience with Finecast painting up Groblog, an LOTR model that wouldn't be accepted as a model for the challenge. And then to finish off I made my paint store carousel!

I did fail to get the required Ronin figure in on time, but that is on the painting table now and will be winging its way to Curt ASAP.

Again I have to say special thanks to Curt for running a wonderful competition. He must have been working like a man possessed to get all these submissions up on his blog!

Congratulations to all that took part, the standard of work was a joy to behold.

The final positions have been noted and prizes will be awarded to the winners, but there remain some little extra spot prizes to be had, the challengers voting for their favourite submission, and the blogging public can vote for theirs too! So pop on over the Curt's blog and cast your vote, but making a comment on the blog.

Shameless plug; here's the list of my work on Curt's blog!

Vote away gentle reader...