Hi,

I'm new to all this, I'm not sure where to start?

I'm a massive LOTRs film fan, I just discovered miniatures last week- I was killing time and saw LOTRs signs in a shop, went in and a man working there said it was for gaming very exciting, I didn't know it existed! he let me paint a Merry (he seemed v surprised i chose a hobbit?) Anyway I had to go meet a friend, so didn't get to ask him much else.

I'd like to know where do I start please? Do I just buy the characters I like and start painting?

Also (total girly question) but are there any of the female characters? I didn't notice any but I didn't have time for a proper look.

Thanks if you got this far

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I can't spell

Hi and welcome to the One Ring first of all. You picked the perfect time to discover the hobby, right on the brink of the release of a whole brand new range of miniatures to collect and paint.

I'll leave the gaming side of the hobby for one of our gamers here to answer as they will give you better advice as to where to start if you plan on gaming. Being predominantly a painter I started by picking the models I like the look of and painting them. Arwen is available as a foot model and on horseback both are really nice models. Eowyn, Galadriel and if you are familiar with the books Goldberry is also available.

Welcome again and enjoy your stay here.

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Commission Availability : BOOKED SOLID (again lol)

More of my work at

www.ShadowandFlame.co.uk

Totally start by buying the characters you like and paint them. I still haven't played a proper game really! Arwen is a really fun model to paint, and I love how she turned out when I did her.

It's awesome to see another girl in the hobby btw. Please stay

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Namarie

Hey Florien, welcome to the one ring!


Yup
If you are looking to go into the gaming side of things too then it might be a good idea to wait and get The Hobbit starter set which (we presume) will contain a rules booklet and other starter stuff .



and dont forget Lobelia Sackville-Baggins

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

Welcome to our community! It is always a thrill knowing new people.

If you are interested in the gaming aspect of the hobby I would advise waiting a bit since we are on the brick of the new releases for The Hobbit movie and with them possibly a new edition of the rules.

If you like painting an making terrain pieces (yes the hobby includes making terrain if you want,) then I suggest buying the miniatures you find visually attractive and painting them. It is so rewarding looking at the painted miniatures after toiling on them.

Btw if you like hobbits they have a female character as well, Lobellia Shackville Baggins

Does that mean we can put our male & female miniatures together and make kissy noises?! are their many female's on here out of interest?

Thank you everyone, I found you via google.

Thanks for the advice, that's a great help.

What's a terrain constantine? I think eventually I would like to get in to gaming, once I build up confidence, it'd be really nice to have a good hobby

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I can't spell

Ooh another girl on the site. At least Shieldmaiden has some company now lol. Welcome and please have a look around the site. Work in progress is always cool as well as the campaigns and scenarios.

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You would of had me crawling on all fours like a BEAST!

Welcome to the One Ring!

I echo everyone else's statement, best thing for you to do is just leap in with both feet, pick up some of your favourite characters and some soldiers from your favourite faction and away you go~

As for the gaming side of it, I find that army building is nice and simple - choose your faction, a hero/character, a selection of warriors and throw in a few specialists. Of course it can become more complex - do you go for a themed army, a competitive army, a mix of both, etc etc, but the beauty of this game is it only really reaches that complex stage when you want it to.

Hope you enjoy your stay around here don't hesitate to ask any questions, you'll find all the help you need and we don't bite. Well, the majority don't

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Soon the Dark Lord Knighty shall have all he needs to cover the lands in an eevee-related darkness...

A very warm welcome from all of us here at onering - its a fun forum, and so friendly you wouldn't believe it. Thats now three girls I know that are into LotR! You, Shieldmaiden and my better half who has an unhealthy obsession with Haldir and his wood elves.

In answer to your question, Terrain is the bits of scenery on the table that turn it into a miniature tabletop world. Things like trees and buildings. We got some pillars, Balins tomb and a doorway with Mines of Moria - now that The Hobbit is due to replace it I would expect some trees or something fun in the box set.

Great time to discover the hobby, The Hobbit release will bring an ideal starter set for anybody looking to get into gaming, its bound to include Gandalf and the Dwarves as well as a few bad guys. Alternatively, alot of us here do just love to pick up a good looking model and .. well, paint it!

So, go ahead, dive in and grab whatever models you like - paint away, relax and enjoy! But do let us know what you get up to as we're all interested in each other's evil exploits.

Big hints to round of: Other than gaming and painting, there is some great backstory in some of the extra sourcebooks Games Workshop sell, and the "tomes of wisdom" right here on the site have a ton of awesome articles to check out.

Also, never buy your models from Games Workshop! Almost everyone on here buys from independent stockists like myself as its usually about 25% cheaper and helps out the friendly local gaming stores (FLGS), and GW staff have (rather sadly) turned from hobby enthusiasts to sales driven monsters in a large number of stores.

If you're keen to know more, wait until later this week and pick up a copy of White Dwarf magazine from somewhere, it is bound to be packed with info on the new Hobbit release as well as a neat little insight into what else Games Workshop produces.

Hope that helps!

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My Wargaming Store: http://www.greendragongames.co.uk
10-25% off LOTR.

- Model Painting Service also available.

Welcome! I discovered this hobby by accident too although it was 9 years ago. I loved the little characters that I had seen in the films and started to collect them. I have thousands of them now which has cost me several thousand pounds over the years, so be prepared to be constantly skint as games workshop suck you in like a tractor beam and relieve you of any spare cash you may have!

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You don't have to be great to start. But you do have to start to be great.

Lol Greendragon you should watch out for this.

That's all great thank you, i'm just waiting for payday and then I will get going

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I can't spell

Hey there, welcome to the hobby.

Looks like other people have pretty much answered your questions but in answer to your opening: Where do you start?

Wherever you want to.

Some people love the ability to paint and detail their models others enjoy the war game aspect of re-fighting the battles of middle earth and even more enjoy both. My advice would be, have a go at both and see where it takes you.

In terms of what to buy first, go with your favourite faction or heroes and expand from there. If you need any advice, this forum is the right place.