So I have decided to get into LotR/The Hobbit SBGs, something I should have done a LONG time ago. I do have tons of questions, but the one that has been wracking my brain for a couple of days now is:

Am I told late to pick this game up?

Seems other than Ebay there really isn't anywhere to pick up the LotR minis/books. The GW site has a good bit of Hobbit stuff still for sale. I guess what I am getting at is have I missed the boat on this game?

Thanks in advance!

Although official GW support for the game is likely to be coming to an end The Lord of the Rings / Hobbit community is very much alive with a dedicated following and tournament calendar organised in the UK by the Great British Hobbit league. There is an active facebook group for this organisation and also a trade page where you can usually find models that you're after at much more reasonable prices that the over inflated prices on ebay.

It depends on what you want to do with the game, if you're keen to collect a single army that you liked from the books or films you can easily start now, but if you wish to collect every mini the range it may be a bit late and also incredibly expensive, some of the later metal miniatures made just before finecast was introduced seem to have only had short production runs and can be 5-10 times more expensive than they were at release.

Have you got an army in mind to collect or anything like that? You'd need the Hobbit rulebook and the requisite sourcebook for the army you wish to collect. 2/5 sourcebooks you can still get from GW the others can be found second hand quite reasonably.

Thanks for the reply...

Well I would like to collect as much as I possibly could. My 8yr old son has been getting into war gaming and he wanted to play LotR/Hobbit game. I explained to him what I knew of it and GBHL's youtube vids sold him on wanting to play. I have been war gaming for quite sometime and I was never a fan of GW which is why I unfortunately stayed away from the game. I am a huge fan of the books and movies.

I was planning on getting the Mines of Moria and Escape from Goblintown starters to make sure my son was truly into it. But I am kind of thinking ahead in that since I am starting with it I mine as well begin playing & collecting.

I did find all the source books except The Free Peoples which I feel is an important one to have as it has most of the stats for the FotR. I know getting the Goblintown starter will net me the rule book, but the source books are just important. Ebay, even though the prices can be inflated, have a reasonable gathering of minis.

To answer your question on the armies I was going to play the orcs/goblins and my son was wanting to play "the good guys". My brother in law war games and I know he'll probably get in on this as well, which is where having all the source books will come in handy.

The trade page you mentioned, is it linked to the FB page?

There is a link to the trade page in the GBHL group description but most people fail to find it so I have attached it below.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/623575357711575/

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Mid Sussex Wargamers

The starter sets are a good thing to pick up to begin with. Most of the older basic troop plastic figures are easy enough to find and often cheaper on ebay than in GW. The problem you'll find is getting the metal elites for each faction of which many are now out of production - hence their high prices on the second hand market. You are also wise to pick up all the source books, as without the profiles it is impossible to build a force at all. If you have the books, you can play the game at home using proxies until you manage to bag the original figures. As one of several members of this site who own every single mini, I'm just grateful to have been into it from the beginning. I wish you good luck tracking them all down

There is a helpful collecters guide here that miniman keeps updated that can help you identify different minis.
http://www.miniman.hu/pdf/unofficial_lotr_collectors_guide_6.2.pdf

There is also a list of all the minis that are out of production on the GW UK site.
http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26609

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

Thanks for the links they are awesome! I have been able to find all but 2 of the source books. You mentioned the metal elites? What are you referring to? I hoping to avoid proxy minis, but that will be last resort.

Anyone know if an Army Builder? I found a Excel format of one but it kind of confusing on how to use it.

Welcome to the game! I think you will find that both the rules and the community are first rate.


I would say, no. While there's no denying that the game has passed it's peak, its still a great game and there is generally plenty of stuff (minis, books, etc.) available to play.


Its true there is a lot of OOP produicts in the line, but there is still a lot of stuff available direct from GW (as long as you don't mind FineCast). The main problems are the missing army books and a lot of the named characters. These are generally still available on eBay if you search, although sometimes at quite a premium. The characters are easy enough to convert or just proxie so if you just find the army books you are missing, you should be set.


Orcs and goblins should be no problem at all. Most of the Mordor and Isenguard troops are still available from GW and since they were so popular finding the few missing figures on eBay is generally no problem. The only excerptions are some of the less common Moria goblin characters (Warg Marauders, Ashrak the Spiderkin, etc.) who sometimes go for $60-100US each.

For "good guys" the Galladrim, Rohan and Gondor forces are all still easy to collect so I'd suggest he pick one of them. The dwarfs are a little harder/more expensive but not out of reach if he has his heart set on them. The Last Alliance Elves and Men are generally pretty easy to find as they were in the first box game, but their lists are a bit limited.


I'm note sure there are really that many OOP elites in any of the more popular armies. True, some of them have been converted to FineCast which not everyone likes, but they are available. The only things I can think of off hand that are totally OOP are the Dol Amroth foot knights, and the Corsair Arbalestors (crossbowmen). There may be one or two others but I don't think there are many. Do be aware that things do go OOP withouth warning, though.


There was a LOTR file for the Lone Wolf Army Builder programe, although I'm not sure how complete it ever was, or if they ever added the Hobbit army lists.

Hope that helps!

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Mike

“The Ring has awoken, it’s heard its masters call.”
– Gandalf

Thanks mdauben! I have to say this is the best game community I have EVER been part of. I applaud you all!!!! Great work!!!

I was also a bit late to the game, at least books wise and I found these guys very helpful.

http://www.dchobbitleague.com/

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Cheers,

P

I can't remember where but the sourcebooks are actually online in PDF somewhere. I found them and then simply downloaded them and printed out the profiles sections of each and put them in a ringbinder - saved £100. However, my all my local GWs in South London are actually still selling the sourcebooks at £17 a piece - some of the others may be as well?

Games Workshop has a lot of models still available online from both LOTR and Hobbit and you should check there because often on ebay things listed as OOP - either incorrectly or because the metalcast is OOP but finecast is available on GW - go for a lot more than new from GW direct.

DCHL has been extremely helpful. I plan on checking the closest GW store and see if they are still carrying anything, but there are quite a drive away.

Just received my MoM starter game a week ago. Going to be busy assembly and painting here in the near future.

Thanks all for the info/help!!!!