Wolf Riders

I've been a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and his books since I was a teenager. Some of my earliest miniatures were creatures of Middle Earth. And my idea of what goblins, trolls, elves and dwarves should look like comes from those days of reading LOTR and the Hobbit.

As much as I enjoy the Peter Jackson movies, I've never liked the way that his creatures looked. Way too much plate armor and way too many ninja fighting moves. So when I decided to start painting fantasy miniatures again, I've stayed away from the figures based on the movies and any that looked similar.

One of my favorite lines of fantasy miniatures is from Splintered Light. Without being specifically LOTR miniatures, most of their sculpts catch the spirit of the books. I just finished some of their wolf riders; here's the whole crew:




Splintered Light Wolf Riders

 

And a close up of the leader:



These are great figures, with lots of character and detail. And no plate armor to be found!

III/70ab. Georgian. 1008AD-1120AD

This DBA army represents the medieval kingdom of Georgia, from the rise of Bagrat III until late in the reign of David IV. During this period the army was primarily composed of native Georgian troops. This changed circa 1120AD with the settlement of large numbers of Kipchaks within the Georgian kingdom.

The general's element (3Kn or 3Cv, see below). The flag bearer is a modified Thistle and Rose figure, the general and wind sock bearer are Essex. The lion windsock is sculpted out of Sculpee.

The aznauri, noble warriors armed with bow and lance. Early during this period they are purported to have favored the charge and are graded in DBA as 3Kn. Later they are changed to 3Cv to represent their new found preference for the bow. These are all Essex figures, modified to give a more dynamic appearance.

Georgian horse archers (2LH). Essex figures.

Kipchak horse archers (2LH). Essex figures with a couple of mods for variety.

Georgian spearmen (4Sp). Essex figures, some modified to add long beards.

Georgian foot archers (3Bw). Essex figures.

Georgian foot archers (2Ps). Essex figures.