"Orctober in November !! " ( 1) Mithril M178 "Uglúk White-Hand Orc"

 ... I've tried to paint some orcs for the "Orctober" Challenge but didn't finish to paint them in time. 

Now, it's done ! 

Some other fellows are coming soon ! 

(and I hope to have something to show for "Northvember" and maybe for "Dwarfember" ... )

Let's go for the first one : MITHRIL M178 : " Ugluk White-Hand Orc" - Isengard Saruman's Orcs)

 

ROHIRRIMS !!!! [Alliance – 72051 – Steppes Warriors. Set 1 (1/72) ]

 Hi gents ! 

I've had difficulties to finish to paint those 6 riders of Rohan... 

They are supposed to be "Steppes Warriors" but it's easy to see the inspiration of this (nice) set. Good figures, especially the horses. Minor conversions for the warriors with spears and I've added flags to be more "rohirrish". 

I don't know exactly what I will do in my future but I'm not sure to paint many 1/72 any more. I'm out real inspiration and motivation for what I've in stock....and I don't see new figures which make me enthusiast . I've some unfinished sets or figures so maybe I will paint them but no new project yet. 

I've also a big project with about 70 figures all painted but I'm too lazy for doing the scenery ! 

Only one thing is sure : in next posts, you will see Mithril figures, maybe it's easier (for me!)  to paint them than the 1/72 figures ? 

Well, stop blabla and now some pictures :

MITHRIL LR22 "BILBO FAREWELL'S SPEECH"

 I know that it's a very long one but I can't resist to quote the famous Bilbo Farewell's Speech ... 

(with some pictures maybe ?? )

"Mes Chers Amis,
Mes chers Sacquet et Bophin, et mes chers Touque et Brandebouc, Fouille, Boulot, Fouine, Sonnecor, Bolger, Sanglebac, Bravet, Trougrisard et Fierpied. Et aussi mes bons Sacquet de Besace, dont le retour enfin à Cul-de-Sac est le bienvenu. Ce jour est celui de mon cent onzième anniversaire: j'ai undécante-un ans aujourd'hui! 
J'espère que vous vous amusez tous autant que moi. Je ne serai pas long,  je vous ai tous rassemblés pour une certaine raison.
Pour trois raisons, en vérité ! Tout d'abord, pour vous dire que je vous aime tous immensément et qu'undécante-un ans sont un temps trop court à vivre parmi de si excellents et si admirables Hobbits.
Je ne connais pas la moitié d'entre vous à moitié autant que je le voudrais; et j'aime moins que la moitié d'entre vous à moitié aussi bien que vous le méritez. En second lieu, pour célébrer mon anniversaire.  Je devrais dire: NOTRE anniversaire. Car c'est aussi, bien sûr, celui de mon héritier et neveu, Frodon. Il entre aujourd'hui dans sa majorité et dans son héritage. 
Ensemble, nous comptons cent quarante-quatre ans. Votre nombre a été choisi pour concorder avec ce total remarquable: une Grosse, si vous me permettez cette expression.  C'est aussi, s'il m'est permis de me rapporter à l'histoire ancienne, l'anniversaire de mon arrivée par tonneau à Esgaroth sur le Long Lac; bien que le fait que ce fût mon anniversaire me fût sorti de la mémoire en cette occasion. Je n'avais alors que cinquante et un ans, et les jours de naissance ne paraissaient pas aussi importants. Le banquet fut splendide, toutefois, encore que je fusse affligé d'un fort rhume à ce moment, je m'en souviens, et je pouvais seulement dire " Berci beaucoup ". Je le répète à présent plus correctement: Merci beaucoup d'être venus à ma petite réception. 
Troisièmement et pour finir, dit-il, je voudrais vous faire une ANNONCE. J'ai le regret de vous annoncer quoique, je vous l'ai dit, undécante-un ans soit un temps bien insuffisant à passer parmi vous - que ceci est la FIN. Je m'en vais. Je pars MAINTENANT. ADIEU ! "

 

My dear People; My dear Bagginses and Boffins, and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks, and Grubbs, and Chubbs, and Burrowses, and Hornblowers, and Bolgers, Bracegirdles, Goodbodies, Brockhouses, and Proudfoots. Also my good Sackville-Bagginses that I welcome back at last to Bag End. Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday: I am eleventy-one today! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as I am. I have called you all together for a Purpose. Indeed, for Three Purposes! First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. Secondly, to celebrate my birthday. I should say: OUR birthday. For it is, of course, also the birthday of my heir and nephew Frodo. He comes of age and into his inheritance today. Together we score one hundred and forty-four. Your numbers were chosen to fit this remarkable total: One Gross, if I may use the expression. It is also, if I may be allowed to refer to ancient history, the anniversary of my arrival by barrel at Esgaroth on the Long Lake; though the fact that it was my birthday slipped my memory on that occasion. I was only fifty-one then, and birthdays did not seem so important. The banquet was very splendid, however, though I had a bad cold at the time, I remember, and could only say ‘thag you very buch’. I now repeat it more correctly: Thank you very much for coming to my little party. Thirdly and finally, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. I regret to announce that- though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you- this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!

 

MITHRIL M72 : "Silvan Tracker" (Elf)

I wanted to paint the three elves of the range "The Halls of the Elvenking" 
M70 Silvan Bowman
M71 Silvan Swordsman 
M72 Silvan Tracker  

I've painted (and redone a little) M70 & M71, and now I show the third one.
I've taken also pictures of both M70 M71 with or without M72 

What about those "Silvan Elves" ? 
"The Silvan Elves (Tawarwaith), or the Wood-elves, was a name used to refer to the reclusive, forest-dwelling Elves of Middle-earth. In the late Third Age, the Silvan Elves mostly belonged either to the Galadhrim or to the Elves of Mirkwood" ( more here : Tolkien Gateway - Silvan Elves )

 (Famous Silvan Elves : King Thranduil, father of Legolas)  

And with M70 and M71 :

More to come ... soon !  

MITHRIL ~ M377 Faramir (as Ranger of the Ithilien ) ...

I continue the range of "Rangers of the Ithilien" with Faramir, captain of the Company.
On the Mithril web-store , not a lot of information :
 "Faramir was the younger son of Denethor, the ruling steward of Gondor during the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age."
 
But more informations on "Tolkien's Gateway" :

The Rangers of Ithilien were a Gondorian special operations force, selected from the descendants of the people who had dwelt in Ithilien before it fell from Gondor's control. Dressed in camouflaging green and brown, they crossed the Anduin in secret to harass the forces of the Enemy in Gondor's old domain and used several secret retreats in the region.

History

It is likely that the Rangers of Ithilien were established at the same time that Henneth Annûn was built, in T.A. 2901 when most of the remaining inhabitants of the region departed due to Uruk attacks from Mordor. The Rangers' main task was to harry Sauron's forces whenever they entered Ithilien.
At the time of the War of the Ring,  the leader of these Rangers was Faramir, son of the Ruling Steward Denethor.
 Other Rangers at that time were Damrod, Mablung and Anborn
On 7 March 3019, Frodo and Sam witnessed a harassing attack by the Rangers of Ithilien upon a regiment of Southrons  marching north. The two hobbits were captured by Faramir and other Rangers and brought to Henneth Annûn.  Faramir learned of the One Ring carried by Frodo and captured Gollum, but on 8 March, he let the three go to seek entry into Mordor.
Faramir and the Rangers of Ithilien left Henneth Annûn on 9 March. The Rangers fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.  When the Army of the West marched through Ithilien on its way to the Morannon, a powerful force of Orcs and Easterlings tried to ambush its leading companies, but the Rangers of Ithilien, led by Mablung (since Faramir was recovering in the Houses of Healing) trapped the ambushers and destroyed them.
After the defeat of Sauron it may be that the Rangers of Ithilien became the White Company, the guard of Faramir, who became the Prince of Ithilien at the command of King Elessar."

I love this figure, Faramir is very expressive and the pose is perfect.
He seems to look down ... it gives me some idea ...
Let's see with pictures ...

MITHRIL M192 : HUNDIN, Bandit Chief (with his Lady M194 : Female Bandit.)

I've just finished some figures started a few weeks ago ! 

I begin with a bandit :

 

M192: Hundin, Bandit Chief... perfect to go with his "Lady"  

 

M194: Female Bandit  painted some time ago !

 

They are both ex-Gondorians, converted as Bandits in Tir Limlight *.(MERP Creation )

Logically, I could paint both other bandits from M193 ... later maybe ? 

Note that the Band is supposed to count 7 outlaws ... I'm sure it's possible to find 3 other figures to complete the " bandits fellowship of Tir Limlight  *"...  

* Tir Limlight is a fictive castle in the South of the Fangorn Forest, near the river of the same name (which really exist in the Tolkien's universe). Perfectly placed on the road from North to South and the great River Anduin. Merchants, travellers, etc... but also orcs, give  sufficient potential victims for the Bandits ! Hundin is using an Orc scimitar, wear a bag from Laketown, the Lady has a northman style bow and a Sagath style quiver and dagger ) 

Ready for pictures ? 

let's go !

Coming soon... stay tuned ! :

 

M377 Faramir (as Ranger of the Ithilien ) 

LR22: Bilbo Farewell's Speech 

M403: Woodman Girl with Bow

M72: Silvan Tracker

MITHRIL : Rangers of Ithilien M378 and m379

Two others Mithril figures :

M378 : Mablung Firing Bow

M379: Ranger loading arrow 

(Mablung is one of the faithful Ranger of  Faramir when he "hunt" against Southern Warriors in the Ithilien, in the boarders of the Gondor's Kingsdom.
in the Mithril shop, we can read :
 "The Rangers of Ithilien, also known as the Rangers of the South and Rangers of Gondor, were an elite group of the Southern Dúnedain warriors who scouted in and guarded the land of Ithilien.
During the War of the Ring, the Rangers of Ithilien were led by Captain Faramir, and some of its members included Anborn, Damrod, and Mablung."
Both in book and movie, that's  the place where they captured Frodo and Sam and later, Gollum... you know what happened next ...)

For the anecdote, I've glued the Mablung's arm wrong . the bow is supposed to be horizontal !
Maybe it's why it was not easy to do ...

Some more Rangers will follow in the next weeks :
M377: Faramir 
M386 : Ranger Swordsman 
and if find it :
M380: Damrod running 

This afternoon, I've modified my small Mithril / LoTR Showcase and:
1- I don't have a lot of free places yet for the new ones which are coming (!)
2- I've painted about 60 Hobbits, 45 other races, 5 ponies ... (+ some GW LoTR ...)

After the Hobbits, the Dwarves , a Wizard and the Humans , of course, next ones will be Elves !