Brilliant, all of it, just brilliant.

Even good paint jobs this time around.

BOOB is epic, can't wait to paint them

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Harfoots-The first of the Hobbit people to cross over the Misty Mountains and enter Eriador.

Yeah, they're really fun. I wish they were plastic though. Honestly, as someone else mentioned previously, I don't actually think the price is too bad. I just struggle to buy fine cast.

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Ha, I didn't even notice that yet. Weird...

Strage how Mirkwood Rangers are 100% bow, I'm curious how GW is going to solve that. I hope they aren't too weak in close combat, since the nerf of shooting.

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MEMM I: 4th (Mordor+Harad) MEMM II: 4th (Galadhrim) MEMM III: 2nd (Thorin's Company)

Beautiful...all of it.
I honestly can't really see where peopel have a reason to complain when it comes down to sculpt quality, these surpass most of the LOTR range and are at the same level if not better than the men of dale.
Obviously people will complain about price, but you won't get an equivalent of these elsewhere, I'm seriously much more impressed by these than I was by the releases this time last year.

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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

Legolas really does look constipated, as others have said. Tauriel looks a bit more like Felicia Day than Evangeline Lilly, but I'll probably still buy her. The Barrels out of Bond models look nice from a collector's perspective, but I can't really justify getting them. I really like the plastic Elves and Beorn. The spiders are too flat for my interest, they need to be more dynamic and varied poses.

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See my WIP thread here. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=25624

This is almost my worst fear realized... The new hobbit range seems to be disturbingly akin to generic fantasy. There are far too many cheesy poses and daggers/knives with holes in being held in odd ways.




^^ The middle one there is most certainly waltzing through a grassy field singing.

Also, Legolas looks really constipated.


That stuff aside, there are a few things I like about this release...
The palace guards are really quite neat, as is Thrain, Thranduil and the Barrels out of Bond set (have you seen Ori's expression and pose?? He's like 'Yo guys, wazzup?'... such swag.)

The quality does look over all, very good, though I will reserve judgement until I see for myself.

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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

They all look pretty good. The barrels out of bond set really appeals to me though, will most likely pick that one up first.

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Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone!

I completely agree. There is more than a hint of Warhammer Fantasy in these models.

This is more of a snipe at the producers of the films than Games Workshop, but why, oh why do we need sexy female Elf warriors? I'm sure Tolkien is turning in his grave.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

I've never really got this to be honest, cavalry models come in 6s, Fighting Uruks come in tens, Goblin Town goblins come in 18s. The reality is that you're quite unlikely to play a game where you max out all your warbands, most warbands have 8-12 warriors. If you only have the cash to buy 1 box of warriors and 1 leader and you buy Legolas and a box of Wood Elves, if the elves are 11 points per model you'll only fit in 10 in a 200 point army. Most people play to points limits rather than maxed out warbands so the extra 2 models will be left on the shelf.

I think you should be looking at the amount and quality of plastic you get rather than the number of in-game models. If you look at the (IMO fantastic) Warriors of Dale sprue there isn't enough room for two more models due to the size/dynamism of the cloaks. I'd rather have 10 of these Wood Elves than 12 of the old ones.



Oh for sure, there's no way you'll be able to mix warbands but I think there will be enough advantages with the new equipment to make people think twice. I guess you'll essentially be weighing up Rumil, Stormcallers, Wood Elf spears and armoured archers against Tauriel, 50% bow limit and the potential for Thranduil to have a new special rule (like he needs it!) Im certainly going to be getting a couple of boxes of the elves and the three named heroes to lead them. I've been wanting to build a hobbit themed elf army all year and there won't be any allied in Rumils or Stormcallers for me!

I've got £75 of GW vouchers from a recent Birthday and will be first in line next saturday to buy the shinies!

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Finished 2nd in the 2014 GBHL. My Wife's so proud

Free SBG fanzine: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29569

An overview including prices:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/po ... 65388.page

I dig the look of Mirkwood but I can't take another price increase.

Legolas, Tauriel (oke, they do have a log on their base...) and Beorn at €20 a piece ?... no thanks. Also 10 warriors for €35? AUJ warriors are €30 for twelve, thats an(other) increase of 27%.

To end on a high note, €20 for two Mirkwood Captains isn't too bad

Oh well, I got enough backlog to keep me busy until they show up on eBay.
Sorry for the bashing by the way

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Operation future in full swing.

Yes! I’m glad I’m not the only one. That may be one of the worst poses I have ever seen in the LOTR range.

Other than that, everything else looks fantastic!

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“There's a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.”

I can happily imagine a tolkien elf waltzing around singing...

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WIP thread: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=25860

That is the only thing in the range that appeals to me. But they are fine cast. I will pack them in nitrogin and keep them in the refrigerator if I can get a set cast with all of the heads. I am going to risk it.



I do think these figures are cartoonish. But there was no generic fantasy before The Hobbit. Almost the first if not the first scenario for WHFB in White Dwarf was A LOTR scenario! I think there is more of a hint of Middle Earth in Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
The elves do look like they are dancing and singing like in the book.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

My only problem with 10/18 man boxes is that I'm massively ocd about having equipment sets in groups of 8. A hangover from the LotR days. 8 bows, 8 shields, 8 spears, etc. I can work around that though by converting spare models into banners, captains, musicians and the like.

Without wishing to turn this in to a bashing GW thread, your assertion is entirely reliant on the acceptance of their attempt to sell you a single sprue at a newly inflated price. They can't squeeze more models on the same sprue, certainly (although the choice of the size of sprue and associated packaging is theirs alone). Back in the day you got 2 sprues per box, and not 1. (not to mention various extras which, I am happy to do without, given the current quality of plastics. Their continual rises in margin are one thing. Nobody likes rising prices, and especially not if there's no perceived rise in costs. However, at least we're getting a rise in the quality of product too.

I just don't defend their attempts to give you less for more. At the same time though, you are quite right, they are excellent figures.

I'd rather have 10 of them than 12 of the old ones, but I'd also rather have 12 of them than 10 of them.

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Strategy Battle Game...

Let's not forget the model is holding a dagger...

I'm only poking fun, but I still think that model is horribly out of place

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“There's a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.”

Well, uploading my initial opinions on the look of the leaked pictures onto the GBHL channel now

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Some of us actually play more than one game so "Points" or number in a GW warband are not considerations. Most of my group select figures by cost per figure and scale compatibility.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Well, the Elves I like...ish. No, that's not true, I very much like them. They do have lots of elements of other fantasy miniatures - I am reminded of the GW WHFB Wood Elves, Reaper's Elves and even a little of Tom Meier's Elves.

I suspect the poses are to do with how the Elves are portrayed in the upcoming film. What we see of them in the trailers involve a lot of leaping about and graceful shooting. I'll probably make a small army of them (everything from the Hobbit range will involve small armies :p) for my eventual "War in the North" collection.

The palace guards, I can take or leave, and by that, I mean leave. I was looking at stills of the armoured elves online and didn't much like them. I like them even less in miniature form.

All in all, I rather prefer the old LOTR designs for things than the more cartoonish designs for The Hobbit. I understand the reasoning, but hey, I don't have to buy the figures

I do wonder how one would make a 500pt warband with them, though. The rest though? Highly unsure. I have an odd relationship with the new films and the new figures.

Gavin

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Dreaming of getting back to painting...any month now.

You genuinely believe that the old wood elves are better? .....

Summary of thoughts: love the new rangers and elven heroes. Not too keen on the Palace Guard due to the head/masks, but some I may try my hand at converting some. My only other concern is that, as Dr Grant pointed out, unless Mirkwood armies are changed to 50% bow limit then you'd have to buy two boxes of palace guards for every one ranger box.

Barrels in bonds looks like a nice display set. But unless it's a limited release I can't see myself buying it on day one, instead I'll probably add that to the Christmas list

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