End of Year Hobby Round-Up: Christmas 2024 Middle-earth Project Update


2024 was a chaotic year, real life and other hobby projects pulled me away from Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game (MESBG) painting more than I’d planned. One major change was moving from a cramped office into a much larger “war room". Although right now it looks more like a war zone than a hobby zone!

But just before Christmas, here's where my MESBG painting and modelling progress stood:

Hobby Progress Snapshot – December 2024

Painted Middle-earth miniatures for War of the Ring (MESBG) in 2024, including Games Workshop and third-party models from various factions such as Orcs, Goblins, Haradrim, and Elves
War of the Ring MESBG – Painted Minis Progress 2024

 

Painted or In-Progress Miniatures:

  • 25 Mordor Orcs (Rabble)

  • 20 Far Harad Warriors (awaiting basing completion)

  • 18 Goblin Town Goblins

  • 10 Last Alliance Elves (partially painted)

  • 8 Moria Goblins

  • 6 Easterling Riders

  • A few scenery bits (scatter terrain add-ons)

  • 2 "Grey" Eagles from the plastic mountains (unpainted!)

What's Next for My Middle-earth Project: 

Since then, I’ve built around 100 more models, all queued up and ready for undercoating. Unfortunately, terrible winter weather (storms, snow, and the general gloom) hasn’t made outdoor priming easy.

When I get back into painting, I have some easy wins lined up for batch painting before tackling the more fun (or intimidating!) stuff, like heroes and large centrepiece models.

 

Hobby Challenges: Model Counts & Basing

One of the biggest time sinks lately? My Model count obsession & basing woes.

I’ve been caught in the trap of trying to build perfect unit sizes for various games. I find my self focused on it and torn between games where unit size matter greatly and vary such as; 

  • Oathmark, which prefers uniform unit sizes (5, 10, 20)

  • War of the Ring, which often calls for 8 infantry or 2 cavalry per unit

  • Or just trying to squeeze the right combination of weapon options out of a GW sprue!

That has meant a lot of time hunting for individual models on the second-hand market, or agonising over whether I really need find a 10th spearmen versus just painting the 9 I already own.

One workaround I started using last year is to use spare bases with scenic fillers, adding skulls, rocks, or flocking to fill gaps and reduce pressure to find the perfect number of minis. It’s not ideal, but it helps. Similar to Warhammer Fantasy battle unit fillers, but just small individual bases and nothing elaborate. 

Honestly, I'm tempted to simplify and lean into Midgard or other systems that focus more on unit frontage than exact model count. Most 28mm wargamers seem to run 8-strong units anyway, and I still prefer keeping my minis individually based for flexibility across game systems (skirmish, mass battle, or narrative play).


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