Hi All,

I have never been into miniature gaming but have recently started painted the minis from my boardgames and believe I want to take the plunge. Is this the best to go with or should I just to 40K. I really like this theme, (like have almost placed an order for the Mine of Moria), and will probably go with it.

Realistically though what do I need. What is a good start. I have paints and brushes but other than that this would all be brand new to me. Also a good place to recommend ordering (I'm in the US).

Thanks so much. I really hope to start with this seemingly amazing hobby!

(edit:) The super beginner is because I have never done any of this and hope I am not getting in to much over my head) Any and all advice is Welcome!

Hi and welcome to this site and the Hobby!
When I started collecting (and occasionally playing) LOTR in 2007, I bought the Return of the King box set on a whim. I had a gift card for Border's and I saw it there, so I jumped in. I have always enjoyed miniatures and LOTR books (then movies). I now play the game with my daughter and continue to collect and paint.
It's really is up to you how deep you get into the hobby. You don't need much to get started and I know you can get lots of advice on this site.
If you like LOTR and enjoy painting the minis, I think you will enjoy what this hobby offers.
As for buying stuff, I have been using eBay more and more to try to get deals (usually succesfully) but when I want something I can't get on the bay, I use The War Store. They have great friendly service, 20% discount on all GW products and flat shipping charge (about $6 last check) regardless of amount spent.
I suggest you hang around here to get a feel for the game. If you like what you hear from the others, than go for it.
Good luck GoR.

I started out with a starter paint set. The current "LotR Themed" starter paint set contains 12 Moria Goblins, some 6ml paints, a starter paint brush, and an introduction into painting miniatures. In addition, there is the Mines of Moria boxed game, which you already know about. The Fellowship are useful and versitile characters in any force, and the Moria Goblins in that set are also a perfect way to quickstart an army, but to be honest, I can't help you much in the way of gaming.

But what specifically do you need? To paint the miniatures, you will need, of course, the miniatures, various paints, super glue and/or plastic glue, tacky/white/pva glue, brushes, and flock/modelling sand/static grass for your bases. To actually play a game, you will also need a playing area, some terrain, and the appropriate core rules and stats specific to your models. What I personally recommend is starting with the Mines of Moria Paint Set, then purchasing the Mines of Moria Boxed Game Hobby Set. After that, it will be obvious about what you should do next.

To order, I recommend Maelstrom Games (super deals, ecspecially after the conversion of dollars to pounds, and free shipping), Wayland Games, or MiniWargaming.com. Also, sometimes the deals you will find on other sites will be a bust after the shipping, due to the fact that GW's own shipping is free after $15.

One question I have is will I need the special cutter in order to cut them from the plastic. I assume the glue and the others. Also are there detailed assembly instructions in the box. Also I assume the glue can be had at any hardware store. Thanks so much for the general advice. May have an order in by the end of the week, but would still like to hear what others have to say?

I'm not terribly resourceful, so I end up mostly using GW's products. You don't need a special cutter, but I can say the GW clippers work great on both metal and plastic. I've been on a cleaning/prep binge lately, and they've cut through over 100 plastic models and over 50 metals and they're still sharp. I did about the same amount last year with the same clippers, so I highly recommend it.

For the plastic models you'll want GW's plastic glue. You could use superglue, but the plastic glue actually melts the plastic a bit to make a better bond. For metals, or plastic to metal gluing, you'll need superglue. Opinions differ on whether to get GW's superglue or some other brand. Some people also use epoxy to make the bond super strong.

Most models don't come with assembly instructions, the pieces are pretty obvious. The larger models, like the dragon or mumak, do come with instructions, as they're more complicated.

You may not need it, but one thing that really helped me was GW's How to Paint Miniatures book. Lots of great information for a newbie. Also, if you are working on an army for a particular region, the sourcebook for that region usually has good painting and terrain tips.

Lastly, there are three basic things you need to do to prep your models for painting:

1. Before you start cutting, wash the plastic sprue and/or metal pieces in hot soapy water. I use a plastic scouring brush with long softer bristles. You want to be careful not to bend any small pieces, so don't press too hard.
2. Trim the model. This involves cutting off and filing down the mold lines, and smoothing the area where you made the cut. For trimming I use a simple box cutter with blades that snap off when they get dull. A set of small files is also essential.
3. Base coat the models. You'll want to use a good primer. GW makes a black primer and white primer. Choice of primer will affect how you proceed with the paint job. I believe most people use black, but white has it's uses.

Hope that helps, and welcome to the hobby!

Hi ErnieFrance4 and welcome to the One Ring.

We're naturally biased towards the Lord of the Rings range, as you've probably already guessed. But given that you've already invested in the Mines of Moria, then I'd strongly suggest you stick with it at least until you get a reasonably decent collection.

40K and most other minis are 28mm scale, while LOTR figures are 25mm. This means that the minis are (supposed to be) approximately 25mm (1 inch) from the base of their shoes to their eyes. This puts them at about 28mm tall, while 40K minis are about 30mm tall.

While that's not a huge difference in most regards, it means that 40K figures are a bit larger and often have more detailed features etc. Some people find this scale a bit easier to paint.

But the LOTR range are amongst the most detailed and natural-looking miniature figures on the planet, being sculpted by some of the most talented sculptors at GW - including the Perry twins, Brian Nelson, Gary Morely and others. And the terrain and architecture of Middle-earth is so well designed that it seems like it really exists somewhere.

So, yep, I'd recommend LOTR as a great way to start the hobby, and then when you're comfortable, start looking around to see what else there is that you're interested in.

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Dagster

Welcome here!

Just wanted to give you one last starting advice!

Start buying the unimportant models before buying the heroes/commands/mosters!

well atleast IMO

One of the first things i did was to buy a Balrog (and i got the fellowship..) i never get around to repaint them nowadays... and as i was an absoultely newbie... their paint job is.... "special"

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Eru was the one who on Arda is called Ilúvatar

-The silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkien, first line-

I think whafrog answered most of this, but I'll add some as well. I actually have purchased some super glues that did not work, and as a result, wasted money. I would recommend either Zap-A-Gap or GW's own Citadel SuperGlue.

I started out cutting my miniatures out of the sprues with kitchen scissors. It'll get the job down, but you will eventually want GW's Plastic Cutters, or something similar (and obviously cheaper). I personally find them to be indespensible, and I use them for a lot more than just cutting plastic.

I found a good pair of clippers at Sears Hardware. Craftsman brand.
They weren't too expensive if my memory is correct. They are spring loaded to easy operation.
I never used to use the clipprs, I always cut the plastic off the sprue with a hobby knife, but it is easier to snip them off with the tool. If you're short on funds, get a good exacto knife and extra blades.

When I first started out, I had a hobby knife and I used for everything.
Now, I have a nice set of hobby files and sand paper to clean the mold lines, tweezers, variety of hand/power tools for more than just hobby work.
Many of these tools will last a life time, if properly used and taken care of, so don't be shy about getting some tools in the beginning.

For gluing plastic, get plastic model glue (or actual name: cement). I like the kind in the tube. I use Testors brand and you should be able to find it in any hobby store. I also use this glue to adhere to bases to the metal models. I works fine. I use 5 min epoxy on metal models and I rarely use super glue (but it's on the work bench...)

Testors glue works good on plastic miniatures? I see that every time I go into Michaels or AC Moore and have never bothered to try it.

Yep, I use testors from Michaels and it works fine.

Sweetness, I'm gonna have to give it a try!

My collection started out one christmas when I got a box of warriors of the last alliance and a box of riders of Rohan for painting, I just got the begginer starting paint set which served me well (my last paint-pot in that set is still going and that's 3 years ago).

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"War does not determine who is right, only who is left."
- Bertrand Russel

If you are serous about gaming and you have an army in mind, then it is debatable whether oyu should buy Mines of Moria unless your starting army is Moria Goblins. This is because the Fellowship aren't useable as one generally in battles and with the hefty price tag attacthed to Mines of Moria you could get a couple of boxes and blisters of whatever army you decide to collect. Then you can generally find a cheap rulebook on Ebay as there is small one that comes with Mines odf Moria tha tlots of people generally sell off.
However if you are looking for an introduction to the hobby then buy Mines of Moria as it contains everything you need to get started, especially if money is not too much of a problem.

I've been playing LOTR 7 years but I've recently taken the plunge into 40k, as 40k seems to be the system that recieves the most support of Games Workshop (although the whole place hads gone Warhammer mad at the moment).

You also need to take into account whether you want to start the skirmish game (strategy battle game) which is barely supported anymore but is the most commonly played system around here. Or WOTR (war of the Ring) which is a much newer game which recieves quite a bit more support but is focused on large armies and units, it is easier to enact very large battles with WOTR. Whereas the Strategy Battle game is focused on indivduals and has alot more scenarios and storytelling involved with it but it is still possible to do large battle, but the time taken is much longer.


Whichever system you choose, just don't expect the money in your wallet to stay there for long...

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Sun is by sea-men always hoped for,
when they fare away over the fishes' bath,
until the brine-stallion they bring to land.
OERP

I did not think about that. Starting with my army and building up from there, I cannot see myself playing goblins as I chose to go for the good guys. But I think just to be able to try it out and see if I like it then build up from there may be the best option.

What I really need to do is find a group that plays and then so watch! So still deciding and will keep listening in. Right now I am trying to find the mines of Moria activity set with the few paints and 12 goblins for like 18 bucks to see if I would even like painting them, and then i will go from there.

Thanks for all the good ideas so far.

It I did want to look at Army make ups is there any where to go for that or is it all in the rules? Did not find any of ebay. Let me know if you know of any available.

The rules give you point costs, but pretty poor sample army lists. Check the army lists forum here for some good ideas.

i agree with whatfroh ohyes welcome to the site ^^.i started when with the main rulebook i bought Haldir before last month i boughts then the white council i bought 4 boxes of galahdrims and 4 boxes of knights now i will buy and an elven stormcaller and Rumil.

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Once men and elves were dying side by side today we are here to honor this alliance.-Haldir

There's tube glue and liquid glue. Tube glue isn't ther best Here is a guide to various types of glues that you can use.

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op= ... 207&page=1

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http://napoleonicstrategybattlegame.yolasite.com/

One of the most fun ways of playing the SBG is in scenario play, specifically some of the ones out of the various "Journey" books for the three LotR books/films. For these you will need all the Fellowship, and several scenarios from the FotR require the goblins. So if you want to play out such key events with a friend or two then the MoM set is good.

Plus some of your stronger lists will likely have at least one or two of the Fellowship. Gimli is great in most Dwarf lists as Legolas is for Elf lists, and Aragorn or Boromir are some of the strongest leaders of various armies of Men. And Gandalf can find himself in almost any list. Although the plastic Fellowship aren't as great looking as some of the other versions this really is a cheap way to get five major Hero models that can be used in many ways as your force grows.

And the MoM rule books has got to be one of the most convenient and durable paper-bound rule sets I have ever had (not since the original black Traveler game books tbh).

It may not always be the best decision but I think the MoM set is usually the best way to get started in the hobby.

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Wait ye the finish! The fight is not yours.
Beowulf

http://TacticsInMiniature.com

Now you guys have me torn. I still think I may get the MOM but I can see myself developing another army but I am hoping maybe I can get my brother in on this and he may want to be the goblins so that would give him a start. Time for some more thinking. I will say I still think I am going to try and get a MOM Activity set this weekend just to get a chance to see how I like painting the minis.

Keep the advice coming. Thanks for the glue links!!