Hi all, i usually play 40k but i am a big fan of lotr and the hobbit.
Used to have a fair amount of lotr sbg stuff when I was a younger, back in like 2005 ish, I also remember getting the Mines of moria set however I have no clue where it has gone.
However, since the beginning of the new hobbit trilogy I have been toying with the idea of starting again, and with the conclusion to the trilogy coming soon I'd like to get started.
However, I have no idea how or where to get started.
I would essentially like to re-enact various scenes from the films and books, but also be able to play regular games utilising the warbands system.
Currently all I own is the EFGT set, and the start of an Arnor force.

To my understanding the journey books contain all the necessary rules and scenarios required to play scenes from the films. Is this true, and do the books make it clear what figures and how many you need to play the scenarios quickly?
I am also finding it difficult to track down these books as it appears GW have stopped selling them, and I'm getting nothing from ebay searches.
If anybody has information on where I could possibly find these books for a reasonable price, I am begging you to tell me!
The same goes for the various army sourcebooks, GW only seem to sell three of them, and to my understanding there should be five?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated as I want to jump into the hobby before anything else happens which would make it more difficult to get started!

Currently everything you would be looking for in The Hobbit is in production.
The rules and scenarios are all there for you to reenact.

If you want to want to run LOTR SBG, that is a different story.
Models are going out of production, hard to obtain, or are costly.
Depending where you live, source books might be becoming scarce.
There are many different factions to consider, so you might be spread thin.

The Hobbit is currently the most accessible game to run.
I think the models look great as well.

My collection is all LOTR SBG. I prefer this trilogy's look and story.
The game, to me, is more suited to create different non-cannon battles.

The Hobbit is great, and I would love to invest in it.
The scenarios lend themselves to reenactment in my mind.
And I could see my kiddos getting interested, when they are older.
I would actually prefer these scenarios, opposed to the ones in the original LOTR movie's rule books.

_________________
Trading Post: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=26745&p=339385#p339385

Thank you for the quick reply!
Unfortunately for me it is the LOTR SBG I am mainly interested in, as whilst I enjoy the hobbit, I will always love LOTR more.
I guess I will just have to start looking for deals on ebay etc!

The best way to get started is exactly like you say: look for good deals on ebay!
Enough people who sell their whole collections for reseonable prices!