One of the many things we love about the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game is being able to recreate famous scences from the books and films - from the fight in Balin's Tomb, to the walls of Helm's Deep, to the great Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Another is having the ability to recreate armies which we love or find the most interesting from the films. These of course have now become more prominent thanks to the creation of Legendary Legions - specific lists that allow you to create famous armies from the books and the films - from Lurtz's Scouts to the Riders of Theoden, even the Defenders of the Shire.
Themed armies have always been popular, and are more widely encouraged thanks to the Legendary Legions, specific army bonuses and the various rules for taking allies. And there are many ways of encorporating the theme of an army on the tabletop, including using specific models, or a particular paint scheme.
Today, we'll take a look at one of the easiest ways you can incorporate theme into your MESBG armies - basing!
A good base really helps finish off a model. But what if you want that base to tell a story? I thought I'd share with everyone a few things that I've tried out to help add theme to the bases of my armies.
Making the base look like a specific location
If an army comes from a particular place in Middle-Earth, having the right kind of base helps emphasise the theme. For example, I used Agrellan Earth and Armageddon Dust to give my Mauhud a cracked, desert base, to best represent the dry, arid conditions of Far Harad:
(Quick painters tip - apply a layer of PVA glue to your base and let it dry before using Agrellan Earth - you'll get much more prominent cracks when it dries!)
Alternatively, I used some model flowers to add to the theme of my slowly growing Shire force - after all, Hobbits do share a love of things that grow!
You don't necessarily need to use textured paint, flock or scatter for your bases - you can also use modeled bases for your forces, such as the ones I used for my Nazgul of Dol Guldur:
These particular basis were designed to represent the ruined fortress of Dol Guldur, really tying the theme of the army together.
Matching Bases
Another simple technique is making all the bases in your army match - particularly for allied armies, or Legendary Legions formed of multiple factions (such as the Elves and Rohirrim in The Defenders of Helm's Deep, or the various tribes of Harad in Grand Army of the South).
For example, for my Defenders of Helm's Deep, I tried to recreate the rocky terrain around the fortress:
As you can see, the models are completely different in colour scheme, but having the same base really ties them together as a single army.
It can even work for multiple factions - here I've based an Iron Hills Dwarf, Mirkwood Elf and Laketown Militia in the same way, to represent the battleground in front of the Lonely Mountain:
This scheme works particularly well even if the models are grouped in their respecitve armies - this way you can field three separate forces, but still tie them together if you're re-enacting The Battle of Five Armies.
Matching with your enemies?
Yes, you can base your good and evil armies in the same way - this works particularly well if you're going to a Good vs Evil tournament (well, back when we could all go to tournaments!)
Basing your armies in the same way helps tie the overall theme together perfectly - in the pictures below, I based my Uruk Hai Scouts and the Fellowship in the same way to represent the woods around Amon Hen:
On their own the bases look great, but when the two armies are combined, it really ties the overall theme together.
I based my Gundabad Orcs in the same way as my Elves, Dwarves and Men for the Battle of Five Armies:
Again, something very simple helps tie all the armies together. And the bases don't look out of place when the armies are off fighting on their own.
So there you have it! Several simple techniques to help your themed armies look even better on the tabletop!
Until next time, happy painting and gaming!
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