Anyone have any info on wider availability of metal (prototypes?) of Riders of Rohan and warriors of Rohan? Or were the plastic ones the only sets released?

I've heard rumours about metal test shots for ages. If I remember correctly, someone on here claimed to have metal High Elves from the Last Alliance set, but I don't know if he ever provided evidence.

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Gondor: 2339pts
Rohan: 1318pts
Dwarves: 2482pts
Elves: 1091pts
Mordor: 2305pts
Isengard: 1762pts
Moria: 1463pts
Evil Men: 381pts

Yes, there have been metal prototypes of a.o. RoR and WoR (but also Orcs, WoMT, Uruk-Hai, High Elves and Numenoreans).

Look closely at the shields:


Now compare to the shield of a metal Captain of Minas Tirith and to the plastic WoMT below. The shield is clearly the same as for the metal Captain.


There are other examples, and you can indeed find pictures of the unpainted metal miniatures. There is a topic on this site about rare miniatures here:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=22177&hilit=unreleased+rare&start=540
I'm quite sure there were some pictures, but I can't find them now.


Short answer: yes, there certainly were metal prototypes! I know of the metal High Elves, Numenoreans, RoR, WoR, Uruk-Hai, Mordor Orcs, WoMT. It seems after this they stopped doing this.