So I've been buying a bunch of figures, almost randomly, but somewhat based on the twin principles of "These are a force in the Film-Sourcebook scenarios" and "This miniature looks good".

Very few of them are painted at this stage, so with some time off over Easter, I'm thinking I might try to actually get a decent little force painted. What is a typical sized army for small games, using the SBG rules? (not interested in WOTR).

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scipio.au AKA Azazelx.

http://azazelx.wordpress.com/
My miniatures painting blog.

Small, in my experience, is anywhere from 250-500. 85% of the games I play are 500

Well if you like small battles, which in my oppinion are better for SBG, then 50 models should be enough for one army, giving you some ability to pick and choose so that you are not always using the same force. Accumulating an army over time is the best way to do it, as it also means a larger proportion will always be painted. Unfortunately, I am weak so always find myself buying a few hundred at a time (and spending an insane amount of money in the process).

It is nice to have a large number of miniatures handy for the occasional large battle, but you can always substitute men for orcs to help make up numbers. These battles really do take all day, and can get boring if you aren't careful to set it up well (for instance, if the orcs simply cannot get a foothold on the wall). I would recommend trying a few battles at different scales, and seeing what you like.

Edit: I would also like to say that I like your selection method, and must admit I do much the same thing. It is best to collect models you like and think you will enjoy painthing.

Well at this point I have quite a few models for many of the forces already.

Is this the place to ask about sample army lists? Working out Army lists has never been one of my favorite things to do. I'd like to get an initial pair of forces up to workable over my break.

The plan is to make up a bunch of decent-but-fun armies. Themed is fine, but they've got no need to be "tournament-competitive" or anything like that. They'll basically be used by myself, my wife and some friends who come around but don't collect miniatures to have a casual game now and then.


I've got a decent mix of stuff for Isengard - Uruks, scouts, engineers, berserkers, a troll, Grima and Sauruman, Ugluk and Lurtz, 1 shaman, several banner bearers and captains. I also liked them a lot in TTT and have about 20 of them part-painted already. I also have a bunch of Warg Riders.

Similarly, there's the Minas Tirith stuff. I have a lot of their associated characters - probably about 75% at a guess - mostly lacking the odd ones like Fornost(?) the Fat and the others from the feifdoms. Troops wise I have a lot of warriors (about 1 box worth are painted) and will have 12 rangers and a pair of sword-armed Osgilliath Veterans arriving in a few days (Are OV's worth it? I can pick up 2 bow and spear-armed ones from the same guy pretty easily). I don't have any mounted Knights at this stage, so the troops selection is I guess pretty basic.

I don't have any war machines for either yet. Should have some Uruk Battering rams arrive this week but they're more for scenario play later on. (and importantly, they were cheap).

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scipio.au AKA Azazelx.

http://azazelx.wordpress.com/
My miniatures painting blog.

I like your approach scipio.au.
Start with what you like is always a good way to go about collecting.
I collect small size armies so I can play a variety of situations and I enjoy small games that can be decided in a couple of hours. Most battles have about 25 models per side. (My opponents are wife and daughter)
I have no interest in WOTR either and will not game on that scale, ever. SBG is perfect for my style of play!
Also, I probably like collecting/painting as much as playing so the variety of collecting a small group keeps it interesting. I will admit that I get a little bored painting large amounts of troops.
Start with a few small armies and add to them as you go.
This works well with limited time and finances, too

I started out the same way - I had a bunch of models with no real army (although it was loosely based around the theme of Hobbit capturing). Here's the force that came out of it:
Ugluk (or Lurtz, depending on the day )
Grishnakh
Feral UH-3
UH Scout w/ horn
UH Scout w/ shield-12
UH Scout w/ bow-8
Orc w/ spear-16
Orc w/ bow-8
points- 499 (50 models)

LOME legal and everything - it's not terribly competitive, but it's no slouch either.

whoops, darn that refresh button...

I like to play 350-400 point games. In such games no more than 50 models can be used. If I want to play a bigger game I like the 600-700 point level. 75 models can be used. I find these point values best, as they balance the number of troops and cost very well. If you play a 500 point game, elite armies can still field 50 troops, making the game more difficult for horde armies.

I don't think they need to worry about elite 500 point armies.

I have the same problem, I buy a lot of miniatures and very few are painted.

But I have a lack of time due to school.
What I can recommend, and I know it's really hard, only buy miniatures if you really need them and paint them first.

It's Forlong the Fat; Fornost was the capital city of Arnor which was destroyed by the Witchking.

Just thought I'd point that out...

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

Thanks for the thought Imrail, but I've got thousands of figures, and there's not much chance of me painting them before buying more.

http://www.one-ring.co.uk/phpBB2/viewto ... 777#201777

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scipio.au AKA Azazelx.

http://azazelx.wordpress.com/
My miniatures painting blog.

I've got loads of different armies but, other than Rohan, all are rather small - a boxed set of plastics, a few command = 250 points - ish. Most are unpainted as I rarely get the time to paint and even less time to game. At the moment I am really just a collector that paints and plays occasionally. I am hoping that will change soon though. As mentioned in another post, my project for this summer is to get my Rohan army re/painted and ready for action. I'll be totting up points values as I go too.