This time, I’m not just showing off my painted miniatures from the Kings of Middle-earth expansion. I’ll also go into more detail about each figure because there’s much more to this work than just paint.
Shadow of Mirkwood
This is the most controversial character in the expansion since there’s no direct mention of them in Tolkien’s books. However, that allows for some creative freedom. I dry-brushed the "wings" in pure black to create a shadowy effect, as if they partially absorb light. Otherwise, this creature looks like a pale Australian aborigine.
For the base, I wanted to depict the corruption of the land, and the best idea I could come up with was glowing green lightning cracks and fallen leaves (made from birch buds), Warcraft-style.
The Black Serpent
This guy is an Easterling noble and their supreme commander, who fell at the hands of Théoden. There’s little description of him in the lore aside from his shield, so I painted him like a gypsy baron—flashy, gold-trimmed, and with a bold red-eyed horse.
For the base, I went with clay soil and dry bushes. He’s not from the southern deserts, as one might think.
Uglúk
Saruman’s chief henchman. Covered in blackened metal and sporting yellowed fangs.
His base depicts scorched earth with bits of burned wheat (or grass, which I used for the Rohirrim—after all, that’s where he spent most of his time).
Brand
I painted all the kings in two versions: neutral (Saurn-corrupted) and awakened. That’s why the neutral figures have an unpainted base edge, as they need to fit into a black stand.
I couldn’t make the neutral versions overtly sinister, so I just darkened their colors while keeping the shades representative of their people.
The neutral Brand is standing in his castle, where I assumed the floor would be wooden. So I first coated the entire base with green stuff and then carved out wood grain patterns.
Awakened Brand, on the other hand, is brighter, livelier, and fighting in the fields with his riverfolk. Since they are river folk, I decorated his base with coarse river sand rather than fine desert sand.
Dáin
I debated for a long time about what color to paint Dáin’s beard. In The Hobbit, it was bronze, but by the time of The Lord of the Rings, he was already old and might have gone gray. In the end, I decided to keep him a redhead—it’s just more badass. There are already enough white-bearded dwarves. His axe, according to the lore, is red.
For neutral Dáin, I made a stone tile base with golden ornaments—he is a damn king, after all.
Awakened Dáin, naturally, stands among rocks like a true dwarf.
Denethor
A unique feature of Denethor’s two versions is the color of the palantír in the Steward’s hands.
In the neutral version, it’s red—he’s clearly seen some shit, namely Sauron’s armies. But in the awakened version, the palantír glows blue, hinting at a sliver of hope.
Neutral Denethor stands somewhere in the dark palace chambers (that’s a red carpet under his feet, by the way—not enemy guts). Awakened Denethor, however, is outside with his people on the walls of Minas Tirith.
Théoden
Awakened Théoden turned out incredibly bright and beautiful, even matching his card art. He stands among the fields of Rohan, ready to lay waste to orcs and Black Serpents alike.
The neutral version is in his chambers, on a base meant to look like polished wood. I wasn’t sure how to make the floor look rich, so let’s just say it’s made from a very rare and expensive Ent.
Thranduil
Painting dandy elves is always a challenge. After all, I’m just a mere mortal and can’t quite capture the armor of superior beings the way it should be.
Still, I gave Thranduil less metal overall, and what little he has shimmers in colors unusual for armor. The same effect applies to his sword.
Neutral Thranduil stands on some kind of wooden platform, surrounded by the strange jungles of Mirkwood. Awakened Thranduil… is still surrounded by the same jungle, but now without the platform. Instead, his antlers are decorated with golden patterns.