Get 20% OFF + Free Shipping @Manscaped with code ZORP at → mnscpd.com/Zorpazorp #teammanscaped What system got you started in the hobby and what year did you start wargaming?
North or south? Central Otago and the east of the south island is the best. Auckland is just another city. Alexandra has the blossom festival every year, it's beautiful dude
@@Zorpazorp Is there any chance you could do an introductory series for the Middle Earth game? I heard only praise for the rules and while there is plenty of information on the lore, there is hardly any content on the game on TH-cam for beginners interested in getting into the game. Like all the available factions and how their playstyle differs from each other. Which units and heroes are actually available for a certain faction. These are things I would love to know before I spend any money. I am very interested in the elves of Rivendell, Lothlorien or Mirkwood for instance, but a comparison for someone new to the hobby is nowhere to be found. I am sure that lack of information is a reason for many people to give up on the game before they even started. YT is the first choice for many players to get first information. And the game is competing here with other systems that got plenty of introductory videos helping to get into the game and choosing factions and units. It is probably more difficult to find a game with less beginner friendly videos available. :-) But even in written form it is very difficult to find good introductory explanations online. A video I enjoyed a lot and so far provided the most information for people unfamiliar with the game is the 50 min long Unboxing of the Pelennor Fields by OnTableTop they did 3 years ago. Shadow Wraith did 2 videos on the armies in LotR (good and evil) the ones in the Hobbit were not included. Though all heroes available for a faction weren’t covered it does go in the right direction. A year ago Conquest Creations did a 25 min video that included all factions, but with that many factions he only had time to talk about each for a minute, hardly mentioning any troops. It’s great to have but it is more like a ranking of their competitiveness. And by the way he explains it you realize that he is usually focusing on competitive play. These 4 videos are pretty much it on TH-cam for beginners.
Got into this in about 2001, my Dad bought me a box of Grey Hunters and the Space Wolves supplement and so started my love of miniatures. I remember looking in my local GW window as the LOTR stuff dropped, they had a Fellbeast and I thought "Man, that looks awesome". Got into LOTR SBG in 2016 after major 40k burnout, and it quickly became my favourite system. Haven't looked back.
I have such a deep love for the Strategy Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazine. I 100% would not be where I am working in this industry without it. Those films, and that magazine completely changed the course of my life and what I wanted to do. Excited to see more Middle Earth content on the horizon!
Those terrain tutorials at the end of each issue were a real treat for me. When I got the second edition of Wargaming Terrain (the blue book) it felt like a refresher course because I'd learned so much from... what, 5 or so pages at the very end of the magazine?
In the long term, you could probably establish some kind of museum in New Zealand with all that lord of the rings terrain. As long as you are in a central enough location, you should receive a lot of attention and visits from tourists and locals alike. But I feel that such a thing might already be on your mind :)
I remember it fondly, I was but a young lad, living in England at the time, I went to the corner store to buy kind of weird British candy no doubt, I was a massive fan of the films and had just started reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. I looks down and a magazine rack and there it was, issue one of the Battle Games in Middle Earth with those 12 Goblins, 4 glorious paints and a single dice, for the low price of 2 pounds (About 6 NZD at the time.....6 NZD for 12 Goblins.....its now 83NZD for 24, ouch) and from that day I was hooked, for awhile anyway, about 3 years later I gave it up because I was a silly teenager who thought playing with toy soldiers was uncool, but the call would eventual come back when it got rebooted to Middle Earth SBG
I feel so old when I see people who discovered Warhammer/table top gaming through LOTR. I always see battle games of middle Earth as a new thing but it’s nearly 20 years ago 😮
Wow I literally just read that and thought of myself. I was only thinking about it all a couple of hours ago as I've just got back into Warhammer. So as I was building some Space Marine Infiltrators I thought of my journey from being in year 5 of primary school and being bought that magazine, I thought I'd be the cool guy on Monday morning but turns out all the boys had got the issue! From then on that was it we were all hooked and all my pocket money went to Games Workshop. Until my first year of high school and as you say it didn't seem cool anymore so I stopped. Then I got my first proper girlfriend at 18 and one day I had them out admiring them and when she came round the face she gave me when she asked what I was doing was like wow you geek so not long after that it all went in the bin 😭 But I'm back now at 30 years old!
I started in 2005. My mum brought me to an LGS on my 11th birthday and I remember staring in awe at their Helm's Deep diorama for like a solid 20 minutes. I went home with a starter set of the LotR SBG that day and went on to collect, paint, and play the game for about 5 or 6 years. Your channel has single-handedly rekindled my interest in the game. I'm amazed that so many other people have had a similar experience to myself here!
My first experience of Wargaming was when someone showed me their GorkaMorka Box set (cant remember what year) loved the models and and card fortress that you could build and the love for the hobby grew from there! Now its pretty much all about Middle Earth thanks to your channel and Battle Streams of Middle Earth - so thanks Lachie!! :):) I wish you luck on the impending move and also the projects that you still have to finish off before you go - please do let me know if you need anything else from me and i'll be happy to help where I can! :):)
Sorry to hear the Horus Heresy series hasn’t been as popular as hoped. I’m definitely more into the Lord of the Rings universe but have really enjoyed watching your Horus Heresy games, the effort you’re putting in really shows in the quality of the videos and has been highly entertaining. Please keep it going as long as you’re able, but also rest assured people will keep watching your fantastic videos wherever you take the channel!
I think Horus Heresy hasn't been nearly as fruitful for many people, GW included. GW hyped it to the moon then let it fall straight on its face by dragging out the release window for each kit pertaining to it and keeping most of it on Forgeworld. Silly business on their end.
I got into it when the battle games magazines came out and spend thousands of pounds to build a huge collection. A few years later my ex gf persuaded to put it all on ebay and sold the lot for less than £300. Then last year i got back into it and have probably thousands more rebuilding my old collection and getting more newer stuff i never had before
I always loved looking at the models my dad painted when i was younger. I think i first got my own when i was seven and he bought me some Tyranids which are still my favourite faction. Over the last 3 or so years i've started properly painting my own models and i've been rapidly completing projects ever since. Just about to finish a Necromunda board over the next two days!
Started in 2017, my friends and I in law school were starting a DnD campaign and I needed an elf miniature. Somehow came upon an eBay listing of some Warriors of the Last Alliance. From there I looked into MESBG more and ever since I’ve been hooked.
Hey Zorp! You guessed right: I am from Italy and I started wargaming with the DeAgostini Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazines. I was at high school... Was it 2002? I moved from Italy to Japan last march and had to leave all behind, but your channel is responsible for making me dig out my old magazines and miniatures, having them sent here, and buying the Battle in the Pelennor Fields to start all over again after all these years with my son! Btw, I don't mind you diving in the Horus Heresy. It's such a cool setting and I've loved your videos all the same!
While I think we've moved into an age of "content" where great adaptations aren't going to come from big name companies anymore, there's still going to be a lot of appreciation for the actual books and the three incredible films (which seem a little more miraculous every year we move farther from them), and GW would be wise to keep supporting their most affordable and best designed battle game.
I can still picture the first time i encountered lotr sbg. I was in primary school at the time, and my mum used to let me get one thing from the local newsagent as my reward for helping her with grocery shopping. Usually i just got a booster pack of magic the gathering cards, but that day i saw the first issue of the magazine, and i fell in love. I've left the hobby several times over the years, but i always inevitably return to it. Discovering this awesome channel is actually the most recent reason i picked up the game again. Watching the entire back catalogue of videos during lockdown and being inspired to start painting again was one of the few things that kept me sane, and I'll always be thankful to the great zorpazorp for that
I remember collecting the magazine series back in the early 2000's. It got me into war gaming as a 12 y/o. Me and my buddy went splitsies on the big Two Towers set with like twenty Uruk-Hai and a bunch of Rohirrim, he had the Uruks and I got the Riders. Man, those were the days...........
First wargame experience: Warzone, from Target Games, circa 1994, in the south-west of France, in a small game shop on my way to rugby training... Probably not the most popular gateway into the hobby!
Lord of the Rings was my intro into wargaming back in 2001. They used to release a magazine with paints and miniatures which was the perfect intro to miniatures.
It was 2010 I believe. I just started the primary school and there was a bunch of guys who were playing with minis. I didn't have any clue about what were they. I didn't even know Lotr at that time XD But as I got more into it, watched the films, read the books I also enjoyed the minis more and more. When I left the primary school I dropped the hobby, cause I had no one to play with. Then, in 2018 I discovered a small YT channel with a massive Osgiliath build. I was hit with nostalgia so hard I decided to get back into the hobby and here I am now. Great vid Lachy! I do enjoy the essay format, although I cannot wait to see some MT again :P
i think it was 2009 when my uncle got me the LOTR mordor troll (still own it to this day), went into my LGW to have a painting lesson and ive been fixed ever since. such a good way to enter the world of miniture wargaming.
I started gaming back in mid 1987 (I was 18 - there was no younger adolescent school-age gaming for me - I was a chemistry nerd), with "modern period" (WW2) in HO scale - helped out some friends run a demo at a con. There I found Battletech, which was the first miniatures game I collected, painted models for and played. Warhammer 40,000:Rogue Trader followed but that was only the start of the downward spiral.
2001, Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. I was 8 years old and our local toyshop (that's right, TOY shop, not games shop) stocked the first line of Fellowship box sets: Attack At Weathertop, The Fellowship of the Ring and the huge Last Alliance vs Goblins 2 player starter. It blew my mind. This was my idea of 'big kids toy'. And this was in New Zealand so the excitement over LOTR was everywhere. The fellowshop and weathertop box sets were about 20 NZD. adjusted for inflation that's about 32 NZD or 20 USD today
The problem with the middle earth game is the lack of customisation. Basic troops should have an option for bows, swords and spears/pikes. I shouldn't have to buy multiple boxes to have a contingent of bowmen or swords
Started tabletop wargaming in 1988 with Warhammer Fantasy Battles, brought my roleplaying games friends from school into it. Became fed up with GW marketing and sales shenanigans as well as clunky rules after coming back to the hobby as an adult after a break of over 20 years, and I'm very, very happy with Star Wars Legion now, which is a setting I knew and loved well before I knew anything from GW. Being a special effects movie geek since my childhood, the LotR movie's production design is very dear to me, and I love the terrain you guys have built. Scratch-building filming model-accurate scale models of Star Wars ships, vehicles and terrain myself, I know what amount of effort and love goes into something like this!
I remember seeing the ad on TV for the Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazine, I must have been 8 years old or so. Immediately went to buy the first 3 issues (I believe they came in a bundle, or maybe I was lucky to find the first two when the third was already out). From then, my grandma started buying it for me and I used to find the latest issues when I went visiting her. I have really fond memories of those times. Also, I was shocked to learn just recently that the magazine was published worldwide by De Agostini, whose main headquarter in Italy is really close to where I live!
Good to hear Middle-Earth alive and well at Zorpazorp. I look forward to your arrival on our fair shores and hope we get the chance to meet! Hope the move goes smoothly!
I was introduced to miniature war gaming in early 1993 at a convention. I had overslept, and arrived late to the convention hall, missing the RPG that I was scheduled to run. As I aimlessly wandered around the gaming hall, someone tapped me on the shoulder, and asked, "Hey, would you like to play Warhammer 40,000?" What transpired after that was the beginning of a nearly 30-year odyssey and addiction to war games that persists to this day.
Alright, here’s a throwback. Got started with miniatures in 1986, and the first game system I played was Wargames Research Group’s Ancients rule set. Gauls vs early Roman Empire was my very first game (I played Gauls :D)
I started wargaming back in the 1970's and my first tabletop game was probably 4th or 5th Edition War Games Rules from War Games Research Group; playing a Phil Barker's flat. The Strategy Battle Games seems like GW's best rule set this side of Space Hulk.
I'm very likely outside your usual viewership base, and because of that, my start into miniature gaming requires me to reach back prior to the dawn of Games Workshop, Warhammer, and of course, Middle Earth SBG. My first miniatures game was historical, the American Revolution to be exact, which started in 1978. Around the same time, I started painting characters for D&D, mostly using Grenadier figures, but also some historical knights because fantasy figures were pretty rare at that time. I first became aware of the Lord of the Rings SBG in 2001 when one of the old GW "Outriders" ran a demo at the small (200 attendees) convention that I helped organize. I didn't have much interest at that time because I was heavy into Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB), and didn't see the need to pursue two fantasy games simultaneously, as much as I loved Middle Earth. My gaming situation changed in 2012 when two things happened around the same time: I was growing tired of the edition changes, and a friend suggested that we try out SBG. As it happened, WFB was going to be dead within 3 years, so I was lucky to have a jump on getting several armies painted for SBG prior to that happening. I've painted up many factions now by this point, organized seven tournaments at my local shop since 2018, have attended a number of tournaments run by others in that time, and have this past year started a weekly game night at my FLGS as well. I won't be stopping any time soon!
I started playing wargames back at around 2004 or 2005, I cant recall fully. There used to be a GW at a mall semi-near to my house, so my brother and I would ask for excuses for our parents to go there just to look at the display cases and paint the free Space Marines at their little table. Then a few years later, my brother and I had saved up to buy the Moria/Balin's Tomb starter set, and we've been playing ever since. I've now got over 2k points of Mordor, all painted at various times and talents. Thank you, for being the best and biggest mesbg channel on the platform, you really have done so much to keep this game and hobby alive for so many of us.
Great update, thanks Lachie! Glad that ME will remain central on the channel, but I also like that you've been branching out and experimenting with different content. Your Horus Heresy videos have been my first introduction to that system.
Yep I remember it well, me and my friend heading to the local corner shop on weekends to pick up our copy of the middle earth magazine, then spending the rest of the day at my dining room table painting and building what ever it was that week before battling. We never knew the rules properly, but we had fun!
I got into MESBG with the release of the Battle Games in ME series. It was a place for me to focus my LOTR obsession, and after many years of being away from the game, I’ve dusted off my old models and am back into it. Thanks for being an inspiration to the community and I hope to see you at some MESBG tourneys in NZ!
A little GW pamphlet that was inside the RotK Extended DVDs back in 2004 advertising SBG and was obsessed with the minis. Was told of a local store that sold them and picked up a Warriors of Minas Tirith starter paint box set. Later found out there was a game for it and have been obsessed with it ever since.
Used to play the lord of the rings tabletop game at a friend's house when we were maybe about 12 years old. Now, more than 15 years later, that friend and a couple other regularly meet up for our Mordheim campaign. So lord of the rings was definitely the gateway drug.
Got into MESBG back in 2004 while in high school, a friend told me about it since I was so obsessed with Lord of the Rings at the time. Got a mixed pack of Warriors of Minas Tirith and Morannon Orcs, before immediately jumping to Sauron himself. My painting is a lot slower nowadays, but I still love the hobby, and have finally started to try making terrain thanks to this channel.
I started in 1998 playing panzerfaust (1/72 scale WW2) but my grandfather bought me the boxed set of the fellowship in 2001 and it's been a mainstay ever since
It was 1996 or 1997 and I was walking into my best mates shed out back and seeing this massive castle that his Dad had built (he is a professional carpenter), and it was Bretonnia Vs Lizardmen vs Chaos; I remember just being absolutely in awe of these models and the whole layout and going home and begging dad for an army.
Started wargaming in 1990 with Rogue Trader. I was just leaving all GW games behind in 2001 and saw the LoTR flop hard locally so assumed it was the same everywhere. The local GW employees I knew confirmed they were selling way less than expected and couldn't see it being a success.
I started with the LoTR game when I saw the Fellowship of the Ring starter set (Moria Goblins vs Men and Elves) at Barnes & Noble of all places. Without that I never would have picked up fantasy and 40k. To this day the LoTR game remains my favorite and Moria remains my main army! I still use those same 24 original goblins in my list every time :)
A friend and I are multi period wargamers, largely historical. A comic shop in a nearby (uk) city allows wargames on the first sunday every month, and so when our schedules meet on such a day we play there instead of at one of our houses. The shop owner and his friends are playing LOTR all the time, so I don't think its dead.
I’ve been playing every version of this since it came out, including the massive War of the Ring game. I know there were some slow years between movies, but I stayed with it. However, I do not like what Amazon is doing with “The Rings of Power” and will never support that series. And I hope the game does not shift in that direction. Tolkien would be furious at the liberties that Amazon is taking with his work and I have no problem calling it an abomination. I’ll stick with the classic game the eras that it covers.
Totally agree. The books and the LotR trilogy by peter jackson are excellent. Wasn't crazy about the hobbit films but the first one was decent. Based on the Amazon trailers it will be an abomination of Tolkiens works. Think i'll just skip it and listen to some reviews of it on youtube. Hope GW doesn't touch that thing with a 100 foot pole.
I agree 100%. They are injecting modern politics(left leaning) into something they have to business doing. The stories and gaming are supposed to be above all of this. Most gamers whatever their politics are moderate and can befriend and play with others from across the political pond. Some want to poison this.
Tolkien would hate Jackson's movies too. And would have despised the liberties that he took. Honestly if you think that Rings of Power is going to be any more divergent from Tolkien than Jackson was that kind of says more about you I think.
@@thomassaxon8254 PJ made changes that he had to make to translate the books into movies, movies which appealed to both tolkien fans and general movie goers alike, and which put the trilogy effectively into the movie hall of fame. You could say tolkien wouldve hated it, but most people, including tolkien fans, would agree PJ captured the spirit and soul of middle earth. It was a labour of love and passion, and it showed as its a timeless depiction of middle earth regardless of how much it deviated from the source material. Look at interviews with Christopher Lee, who was arguably one of the biggest tolkien fans, where he's in tears at how proud and humbled he is with what they accomplished. What did amazon do? They fired their on-site tolkien scholar and replaced him with a diversity student from a university. A corporate driven woke fest is not on par with what PJ and their amazing crew achieved.
1992, and Epic scale Space Marines. So I remember vividly the release of the Games Workshop. Then after 15 years away I came back about two years ago to see, quite gladly, that is was not only still around but was still somewhat active for one of the mid-tier GW games.
The first ever miniatures I ever collected were the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Mithril metal minis in 32mm and 54mm scale, way back in the early 90s.
I started very late in 5th edition warhammer fantasy, and was around when Lord of the Rings was first announced, I actually hadn't read the books yet when I first started seeing minis on the back of White Dwarf magazine and this prompted me to read the books. Initially I wanted an "army" of "those cool black robed ghost guys" only to learn later they're the Nazgul! Still I did end up with five of them from the Weathertop boxed set. My first lotr force was Moria goblins from the starter set, playing against my friends elves & men.
My first experience was 2020 so around the end of 8th Ed for Warhammer 40k. A couple friends took me to a Warhammer store and bought a Dark Imperium box of which they split the armies. I bought an ork start collecting box. After getting annihilated over and over I devoted myself to expanding my army to have a chance of winning. Now I have a Waaagh that takes up half the table against their meager armies. I Krump'd Dem Gitz Good!! Oh and I didn't know LotR was a thing until I saw their boxes in a store. Been debating getting into it or not.
brothers friend got mines of Moria for his Birthday - think that was around 2006 as first white dwarf we got was when plastic easterlings were released and been jumping around the different systems since.
For me it was HH 2.0. I'd been a 40k lore fan for a few years but it really kicked into gear when my Daughter started 1st grade. I started reading more of the books waiting in line to pick her up and started getting the minis to build. I was building a NL and SOH HH army, starting with Armor when 2.0 was announced. Using the box set and new Plastic goodies to finish them up and will be going to play my first game soon. I have a WH store about 10 minutes away and the Manager is a really good dude.
I started in wargaming in the mid 80s with an old ook borrowed from our school library. It was about designing your own wargames and we'd play with little plastic Airfix soldiers. After that, I think it was playing AD&D Battlesystem with cardboard counters, carving out our own kingdoms in Grayhawk. Around 1988, I saw an ad for WFB 3rd edition in Dragon magazine. Took a long time off starting in 2001 due to deployments.
Hmm. First miniatures game, not counting role playing games, was in 1983. Was slightly “busy” in Nov/Dec 2001 being in the Air Force at the time, so missed out on the original release of the FOTR movie and the SBG. I didn’t start playing SBG until Christmas of 2004. I thoroughly enjoy your SBG content and look forward to more-Amazon or no Amazon.
Thanks for the shout out man! Lord of the Rings warhammer will never die with people like you making ace content! I think GW may already have the licence for the Amazon stuff... BUT WE'LL SEE!!
Great format. I started in 2001 because my best pal was playing lotr, but when we got to the store we saw space marines, and as they say, the rest is history.
Battle Games in Middle Earth was my introduction, 20+ years later I'm still here! Good to see you're sticking with Middle Earth too - I WILL get some Minis Tirith stuff done for you when my collarbone heals 😂
I didn’t realise tabletop war gaming was a thing until my Grandmother bought me BGIME when they first came out, which I think was when Two Towers was released. I was pretty much obsessed with it through most of my childhood. Like a lot of people, I stopped in my late teens and sold my ME and WFB collection and didn’t interact with the hobby for about 10 years. I didn’t even realise WFB was canned until a friend told me a few years after the fact. Again like many people I know, I got back into it through the Pelennor Fields box when a LGS opened up in my town. It’s nice to see the game has been revitalised since then and there are rumours of a new edition at the end of the year with a new starter set. Hopefully the futures bright as it is along with Mordhiem the best system GW has ever created.
2004 and the Return of the King starter set was the start of my hobby journey that continues to this day mainly with 40K now but been a veteran with all 3 of GW’s main systems for more than half my life
I unfortunately didn’t start wargaming when the LoTR movies came out, or start wargaming with LoTR Warhammer, or even play LoTR Warhammer, I can’t deny I wanted to play it. LoTR is my favorite movie series and I will play the game eventually, but I’m balls deep into the Horus Heresy and life is about to become busy again, so I don’t think I can get into the game. Also I started wargaming in 2018 with Star Wars Legion.
I started in 2007 when I was 14 with the "Balin's Tomb" starter set (or whatever it was called). Currently I'm mostly playing Age of Sigmar but I am planning on giving my Mordor Orcs an overhaul when I'm done with my Bachelor thesis
So LOTR got me into war gaming in 2005 but I never played it. The Mt Gravatt Games Workshop was right by where my mum went to the chiro. When I was going on 10 years old my mum would let me wander around as I was bored waiting during her appointment. The building used to have art from Battle for Macragge on the windows but I had no idea what I was looking at. Still, I was curious about what was inside and went in. It was so cool, and I recognised the LOTR models as I had watched the movie on DVD with my parents that year (after mum made me and my brother sit through 36 hours of behind the scenes so we knew the blood and violence wasn't real - and it was cool seeing the movie magic). My first kit was a pack of 12 Moria goblins with a paintbrush and tiny pots of paint. I got some Easterlings next as they were so cool, then I saved my pocket money for the starter set. Now I wanted to get into Warhammer Fantasy as I love fantasy settings andI didn't see many people playing LOTR when I went in but heaps of people played WFB and 40k. My parents wanted me to go LOTR and didn't like WFB due to the magic and demons and stuff (good conservative Christian parents there). If only I realised Bretonnia was a thing that faction was screaming my name, but I digress. So, in the end got the Battle for Macragge, and have had heaps of fun, but I wish I had gotten into LOTR and WFB back then too.
2022. MESBG drew me in and the content your channel has produced. Always been into serious board games (zombicide, star wars imperial assault, tainted grail etc) but never touched War gaming before
LOTR got me into this hobby back in 2001. I will never forget turning up at my cousin's house and playing with the Fellowship starter set, I was hooked. I now play 40k and AOS but have LOTR to thank for everything. Unfortunately where I live no-one plays LOTR unfortunately and even my local GW store doesn't have any LOTR products in it. I was actually really disappointed when I went to Warhammer World to not find a lot of LOTR displays, just a small corner really. All that being said, I absolutely love watching your videos, battle reports for LOTR and will always continue to watch them. Ohhhh and btw... Your Horus Heresy videos are absolutely amazing! By far the best on the internet! Thanks for all your hard work, they are a pleasure to watch! Good luck with the move to New Zealand! Go hunt some ORC!
my miniature wargaming start was in 2015 I got my first blood angels tactical squad and Chaplain Lemartes love 40k ever since DAWN OF WAR. I would have to say that you and this channel got me into the middle earth miniature game because of the all the epic builds and keen to see more osgiliath.
Great video. Super envious of where you're moving to but doing something similar (on a much smaller scale) with my family right now. Best of luck on the move. I was really enjoying the Dol Guldor build and look forward to seeing that closer to completion. Also looking forward to Edoras. That will be awesome.
People need to give games other than 40k a chance. Not every wargame has to be about space marines and more space marines. I wish more people would step out of the GW bubble.
2002, found LOTR MESBG kits being sold by a monthly magazine company, got way into it. Just making my return to mesbg as a game this summer with the purchase of my first home. Ive played warhammer, 40k, bunch o other wargames and still i keep loving the depth of play and simplicity of the rules that lotr mesbg gives me
I still remember when the game came out, I was totally hyped. I was a teenager/young adult and loved the books and movies. The few miniatures there where at the time looked so great on the handcrafted, grassy boards with hills, trees, etc... It felt right as a high fantasy skirmisher with great terrain and very cool licence. Back these days the LotR miniature boxes were quite cheap, so you could start so cheap... The rules were great these days, if you did not play too big games - like still today-
first war-game was Donald Featherstone wargame rules from library, first fantasy war-game rule set was reaper by Richard halliwell and rick priestly and sci fi set was striker by gdw. 1981
I started 2002 with the Strategy Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazines after the game was shown at a fair for games here in germany. Brought me right into tabletop, till date. My favorit system till than.
I started gaming in 1980 with TSR's Chainmail... I started playing 1st Ed Warhammer Fantasy Battles in the mid-80's (Australia) and LoTR from day one and still playing it.
Loved the update, Lachy, and sorry yo hear the huge amount of work you put into the heresy stuff isn’t getting the reception you hoped for. While my first ever minis game was the WEG Star Wars one in 1993 or 1994, my first minis were mithril Middle-earth figures. I was overjoyed to happen upon their factory on a family trip to Europe in 1995, and even more excited (as a fellow massive Tolkien fan) when I saw the fellowship box set (at an old games / comic store in Brissie). It definitely got me into minis properly after a few years playing CCGs. Having visited a lot of the LotR sites in 2003 (and since), I even have a few bits of set lying around from that time along with many happy memories. I really do have to get my fragment of the seat of Amon hen mounted in a frame… anyway, really looking forward to seeing more middle earth content and hoping for a lot more sweet Noldor figures whether from the Amazon series or not!
Started playing 1998, played a GorkaMorka demo game, came back the next day to play a 40k mega battle, which then inspired me to buy the second edition 40k starter set
I started wargaming in 2017. I was always interested in MESBG from a young age but didn’t know where to play it. In 2017 I got a 40k painting starter sets to learn to paint so that I could get into Star Wars legion with a friend, that kinda fell through but I got hooked into 40k and then convinced people I met playing that to play Mesbg and now it’s one of our main games and I couldn’t be happier.
I started in 2017. My Grandma gave me a box of Men of Minas Tirith and Orcs, so my love for the game started! I now have 300 models and 5 years under my belt. Love this video! Thanks!
For me it was 1998, Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Dark Elves specifically. It's interesting to see how LOTR game has held on, as where i'm at in the US it seems to have only a niche player base, it's far from a "staple" game. Wish it would have been bigger here, would have been fun to play.
I have no idea what year this got started. My dad brought me to the only GW store in norway as far as i know now at least. And he bought the moria set. I was honestly not really instantly interested but some years later i found the models in the garage. Some uruk-hai. And that really invested me.
Always had been familiar with 40K, but hadn't quite actually gotten into. I had been thinking about trying miniature wargames after talking with a buddy about his 40K collection. That was when I noticed that GW had made a LOTR game. And since LOTR is one of my favorite all time series (movies and books)... So two years later, I've painted hundreds of miniatures and now I'm contemplating moving to 40K, but I love my massive armies of Orcs and Men (as far as "complete" armies go, my project over the last year was collecting and painting every miniature necessary for the Pelennor Fields module. I'm nearly finished).
Super excited for some new Middle Earth content! I’ve gotta say, I am blown away by how you’ve managed to get all of these amazing projects underway while in the midst of a big move. I understand the utter chaos of moving, so, keep up the good work!
Funnily enough I started around 2000, before the Lord of the rings strategy battle game came out with Warhammer 40k, there was a vibrant community in Toulouse back then. I never had a defeat leading space marines in the... three games I played until Lord of rings came out and I knew that's what I wanted to play. The first games workshop piece I ever owned was Grombrindal from White Dwarf 100 bought on holidays, it's also the only age of sigmar figurine I have. I did not buy so many figurines from the Fellowship edition, only the fellowship and goblins because those metal orcs were so damn expensive. But when the two towers came out I got about 60 uruk-hai and 20 riders of rohan. When the return of the king came out I was starting an army of elves but received the 120 euros "forces of the dark lord" box instead of the 25 euros warriors of the last alliance I ordered so I stayed with the dark lord for a bit. Which was perfect because my brother was starting to collect a minas tirith army. I think that's about when the serial magazine came out in France and we subscribed because the figurines were incredibly cheap and the painting guides were really nice to improve our techiques. Nowadays I can field 1000 points of most Lord of the Rings armies. Or about 500 points in War of Rings, which is the reason I bought so many base troops.
first wargaming was WW2, using 1:72 stuff and a book from the library.. in the mid 1980's had LotR:SBG about a decade ago with the Mines of Moria set, only had a few games but its recently taken off at local club, Pelenor Fields is a good set. currently into a Battle Company campaign, after one of the others saw your channel
A couple of guys in my year 8 class spent most of their days reading White Dwarf under their desks - one played Catachan and the other Orks apparently. I was playing Magic at the time too and the place I got cards for also stocked GW. But it was Fantasy which took me: first units were a couple boxes of Night Goblins in 6th edition.
I started 40k in 2000. Between then and now I dabbled in WHFB and played BFG and Mordheim. Started Aeronautica late last year. 2022 I got my first MESBG minis. I absolutely love painting these and the rules look good. Hoping to have my first game in a month or so.
Started in 2001. My parents bought my brothers and me the Fellowship of the Ring 2 Player starter. Battle Game in Middle Earth never came to the US. Seeing people post about them on the Last Alliance and One Ring, I was always jealous.
My little brother introduced me to GW through the old Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 which he learned about from a room mate. However, my first 'miniatures battle game' was actually using miniatures in my old AD&D games to bring more tactical play into D&D games. I did pick up both The Mines of Moria and the Hobbit boxed starter sets but mostly for the goblins and Fellowship characters for use in fantasy RPG games.
'97 40k but i did get a few of the magazines in my teens and have a unpainted wood elf army somewhere from when i worked at GW. It was my favorite game to play at the time
I actually started with the Warhammer Fantasy collection you could buy from the press kiosk (I don't know if that's the name tbh) back in the late 90s. But the first game I played a bunch was LoTR again by buying the weekly collection. Way easier to play with friends when you only need like 20 models each for a decent game.
Although the magazine was definitely my first foray into games workshop myself, my older brother had collected an all metal ulthwe force of eldar which I inherited once he dropped the hobby, that served as my gateway into 40k which I'm still doing today I since sold the eldar to a friend years ago but I do still have all my middle earth minis, and I'm glad I still have them, it's very nostalgic to crack them out once in a while and look at the quality of my painting 20 years ago, abysmal as it was Although my mum did help me painting riders of rohan, the horses themselves still look very nice Edit: looking forward to your content in the future, I love the work, care and attention you put into your terrain builds
I started wargaming with the Battle in Middle Earth magazine issue 29 when I was 12 years old, and never strayed far from it since then. With the metal Theoden from Helms Deep that came with this issue I started my now nearly a 1000 figures large collection of LOTR wargaming miniatures. And I still love it to the core.
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What system got you started in the hobby and what year did you start wargaming?
North or south? Central Otago and the east of the south island is the best. Auckland is just another city.
Alexandra has the blossom festival every year, it's beautiful dude
@@markus_glevera Video coming soon!
@@Zorpazorp Is there any chance you could do an introductory series for the Middle Earth game? I heard only praise for the rules and while there is plenty of information on the lore, there is hardly any content on the game on TH-cam for beginners interested in getting into the game. Like all the available factions and how their playstyle differs from each other. Which units and heroes are actually available for a certain faction. These are things I would love to know before I spend any money. I am very interested in the elves of Rivendell, Lothlorien or Mirkwood for instance, but a comparison for someone new to the hobby is nowhere to be found. I am sure that lack of information is a reason for many people to give up on the game before they even started. YT is the first choice for many players to get first information. And the game is competing here with other systems that got plenty of introductory videos helping to get into the game and choosing factions and units. It is probably more difficult to find a game with less beginner friendly videos available. :-) But even in written form it is very difficult to find good introductory explanations online.
A video I enjoyed a lot and so far provided the most information for people unfamiliar with the game is the 50 min long Unboxing of the Pelennor Fields by OnTableTop they did 3 years ago. Shadow Wraith did 2 videos on the armies in LotR (good and evil) the ones in the Hobbit were not included. Though all heroes available for a faction weren’t covered it does go in the right direction. A year ago Conquest Creations did a 25 min video that included all factions, but with that many factions he only had time to talk about each for a minute, hardly mentioning any troops. It’s great to have but it is more like a ranking of their competitiveness. And by the way he explains it you realize that he is usually focusing on competitive play. These 4 videos are pretty much it on TH-cam for beginners.
@@severintw Check out Conquest Creations, they have some guides for beginners
Got into this in about 2001, my Dad bought me a box of Grey Hunters and the Space Wolves supplement and so started my love of miniatures. I remember looking in my local GW window as the LOTR stuff dropped, they had a Fellbeast and I thought "Man, that looks awesome". Got into LOTR SBG in 2016 after major 40k burnout, and it quickly became my favourite system. Haven't looked back.
Space Wolves Rule! Haven't played 40k since 5th Edition, but have absolutely loved the current edition of Middle Earth (been playing since 2010).
I have such a deep love for the Strategy Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazine. I 100% would not be where I am working in this industry without it. Those films, and that magazine completely changed the course of my life and what I wanted to do.
Excited to see more Middle Earth content on the horizon!
Those terrain tutorials at the end of each issue were a real treat for me. When I got the second edition of Wargaming Terrain (the blue book) it felt like a refresher course because I'd learned so much from... what, 5 or so pages at the very end of the magazine?
In the long term, you could probably establish some kind of museum in New Zealand with all that lord of the rings terrain. As long as you are in a central enough location, you should receive a lot of attention and visits from tourists and locals alike. But I feel that such a thing might already be on your mind :)
Maybe it is Jonas ;)
@@Zorpazorp Do it! It would be epic!
@@Zorpazorp Gonna visit it for sure!
I remember it fondly, I was but a young lad, living in England at the time, I went to the corner store to buy kind of weird British candy no doubt, I was a massive fan of the films and had just started reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. I looks down and a magazine rack and there it was, issue one of the Battle Games in Middle Earth with those 12 Goblins, 4 glorious paints and a single dice, for the low price of 2 pounds (About 6 NZD at the time.....6 NZD for 12 Goblins.....its now 83NZD for 24, ouch) and from that day I was hooked, for awhile anyway, about 3 years later I gave it up because I was a silly teenager who thought playing with toy soldiers was uncool, but the call would eventual come back when it got rebooted to Middle Earth SBG
Exact same here hah. Miss those magazines and the nostalgia of it!
I feel so old when I see people who discovered Warhammer/table top gaming through LOTR. I always see battle games of middle Earth as a new thing but it’s nearly 20 years ago 😮
Wow I literally just read that and thought of myself. I was only thinking about it all a couple of hours ago as I've just got back into Warhammer. So as I was building some Space Marine Infiltrators I thought of my journey from being in year 5 of primary school and being bought that magazine, I thought I'd be the cool guy on Monday morning but turns out all the boys had got the issue! From then on that was it we were all hooked and all my pocket money went to Games Workshop. Until my first year of high school and as you say it didn't seem cool anymore so I stopped. Then I got my first proper girlfriend at 18 and one day I had them out admiring them and when she came round the face she gave me when she asked what I was doing was like wow you geek so not long after that it all went in the bin 😭 But I'm back now at 30 years old!
I started in 2005. My mum brought me to an LGS on my 11th birthday and I remember staring in awe at their Helm's Deep diorama for like a solid 20 minutes. I went home with a starter set of the LotR SBG that day and went on to collect, paint, and play the game for about 5 or 6 years.
Your channel has single-handedly rekindled my interest in the game. I'm amazed that so many other people have had a similar experience to myself here!
My first experience of Wargaming was when someone showed me their GorkaMorka Box set (cant remember what year) loved the models and and card fortress that you could build and the love for the hobby grew from there!
Now its pretty much all about Middle Earth thanks to your channel and Battle Streams of Middle Earth - so thanks Lachie!! :):)
I wish you luck on the impending move and also the projects that you still have to finish off before you go - please do let me know if you need anything else from me and i'll be happy to help where I can! :):)
Sorry to hear the Horus Heresy series hasn’t been as popular as hoped. I’m definitely more into the Lord of the Rings universe but have really enjoyed watching your Horus Heresy games, the effort you’re putting in really shows in the quality of the videos and has been highly entertaining. Please keep it going as long as you’re able, but also rest assured people will keep watching your fantastic videos wherever you take the channel!
I think Horus Heresy hasn't been nearly as fruitful for many people, GW included. GW hyped it to the moon then let it fall straight on its face by dragging out the release window for each kit pertaining to it and keeping most of it on Forgeworld. Silly business on their end.
I got into it when the battle games magazines came out and spend thousands of pounds to build a huge collection. A few years later my ex gf persuaded to put it all on ebay and sold the lot for less than £300. Then last year i got back into it and have probably thousands more rebuilding my old collection and getting more newer stuff i never had before
I always loved looking at the models my dad painted when i was younger. I think i first got my own when i was seven and he bought me some Tyranids which are still my favourite faction. Over the last 3 or so years i've started properly painting my own models and i've been rapidly completing projects ever since. Just about to finish a Necromunda board over the next two days!
Started in 2017, my friends and I in law school were starting a DnD campaign and I needed an elf miniature. Somehow came upon an eBay listing of some Warriors of the Last Alliance. From there I looked into MESBG more and ever since I’ve been hooked.
Hey Zorp! You guessed right: I am from Italy and I started wargaming with the DeAgostini Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazines. I was at high school... Was it 2002? I moved from Italy to Japan last march and had to leave all behind, but your channel is responsible for making me dig out my old magazines and miniatures, having them sent here, and buying the Battle in the Pelennor Fields to start all over again after all these years with my son! Btw, I don't mind you diving in the Horus Heresy. It's such a cool setting and I've loved your videos all the same!
While I think we've moved into an age of "content" where great adaptations aren't going to come from big name companies anymore, there's still going to be a lot of appreciation for the actual books and the three incredible films (which seem a little more miraculous every year we move farther from them), and GW would be wise to keep supporting their most affordable and best designed battle game.
I think big name streaming companies have the ability to allow for great adaptations, though how often is a flip of the coin.
I can still picture the first time i encountered lotr sbg. I was in primary school at the time, and my mum used to let me get one thing from the local newsagent as my reward for helping her with grocery shopping. Usually i just got a booster pack of magic the gathering cards, but that day i saw the first issue of the magazine, and i fell in love. I've left the hobby several times over the years, but i always inevitably return to it. Discovering this awesome channel is actually the most recent reason i picked up the game again. Watching the entire back catalogue of videos during lockdown and being inspired to start painting again was one of the few things that kept me sane, and I'll always be thankful to the great zorpazorp for that
I remember collecting the magazine series back in the early 2000's. It got me into war gaming as a 12 y/o. Me and my buddy went splitsies on the big Two Towers set with like twenty Uruk-Hai and a bunch of Rohirrim, he had the Uruks and I got the Riders. Man, those were the days...........
First wargame experience: Warzone, from Target Games, circa 1994, in the south-west of France, in a small game shop on my way to rugby training... Probably not the most popular gateway into the hobby!
Lord of the Rings was my intro into wargaming back in 2001. They used to release a magazine with paints and miniatures which was the perfect intro to miniatures.
It was 2010 I believe. I just started the primary school and there was a bunch of guys who were playing with minis. I didn't have any clue about what were they. I didn't even know Lotr at that time XD
But as I got more into it, watched the films, read the books I also enjoyed the minis more and more. When I left the primary school I dropped the hobby, cause I had no one to play with.
Then, in 2018 I discovered a small YT channel with a massive Osgiliath build. I was hit with nostalgia so hard I decided to get back into the hobby and here I am now.
Great vid Lachy! I do enjoy the essay format, although I cannot wait to see some MT again :P
i think it was 2009 when my uncle got me the LOTR mordor troll (still own it to this day), went into my LGW to have a painting lesson and ive been fixed ever since. such a good way to enter the world of miniture wargaming.
I started gaming back in mid 1987 (I was 18 - there was no younger adolescent school-age gaming for me - I was a chemistry nerd), with "modern period" (WW2) in HO scale - helped out some friends run a demo at a con. There I found Battletech, which was the first miniatures game I collected, painted models for and played. Warhammer 40,000:Rogue Trader followed but that was only the start of the downward spiral.
2001, Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. I was 8 years old and our local toyshop (that's right, TOY shop, not games shop) stocked the first line of Fellowship box sets: Attack At Weathertop, The Fellowship of the Ring and the huge Last Alliance vs Goblins 2 player starter. It blew my mind. This was my idea of 'big kids toy'. And this was in New Zealand so the excitement over LOTR was everywhere.
The fellowshop and weathertop box sets were about 20 NZD. adjusted for inflation that's about 32 NZD or 20 USD today
The problem with the middle earth game is the lack of customisation.
Basic troops should have an option for bows, swords and spears/pikes.
I shouldn't have to buy multiple boxes to have a contingent of bowmen or swords
That's quite a dang lot of effort and specific skillset for a decent outcome when it could so easily be tweaked. @@Skullman989
Started tabletop wargaming in 1988 with Warhammer Fantasy Battles, brought my roleplaying games friends from school into it. Became fed up with GW marketing and sales shenanigans as well as clunky rules after coming back to the hobby as an adult after a break of over 20 years, and I'm very, very happy with Star Wars Legion now, which is a setting I knew and loved well before I knew anything from GW. Being a special effects movie geek since my childhood, the LotR movie's production design is very dear to me, and I love the terrain you guys have built. Scratch-building filming model-accurate scale models of Star Wars ships, vehicles and terrain myself, I know what amount of effort and love goes into something like this!
I remember seeing the ad on TV for the Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazine, I must have been 8 years old or so. Immediately went to buy the first 3 issues (I believe they came in a bundle, or maybe I was lucky to find the first two when the third was already out). From then, my grandma started buying it for me and I used to find the latest issues when I went visiting her. I have really fond memories of those times.
Also, I was shocked to learn just recently that the magazine was published worldwide by De Agostini, whose main headquarter in Italy is really close to where I live!
Good to hear Middle-Earth alive and well at Zorpazorp.
I look forward to your arrival on our fair shores and hope we get the chance to meet! Hope the move goes smoothly!
I was introduced to miniature war gaming in early 1993 at a convention. I had overslept, and arrived late to the convention hall, missing the RPG that I was scheduled to run.
As I aimlessly wandered around the gaming hall, someone tapped me on the shoulder, and asked, "Hey, would you like to play Warhammer 40,000?" What transpired after that was the beginning of a nearly 30-year odyssey and addiction to war games that persists to this day.
Alright, here’s a throwback. Got started with miniatures in 1986, and the first game system I played was Wargames Research Group’s Ancients rule set. Gauls vs early Roman Empire was my very first game (I played Gauls :D)
I started wargaming back in the 1970's and my first tabletop game was probably 4th or 5th Edition War Games Rules from War Games Research Group; playing a Phil Barker's flat.
The Strategy Battle Games seems like GW's best rule set this side of Space Hulk.
I'm very likely outside your usual viewership base, and because of that, my start into miniature gaming requires me to reach back prior to the dawn of Games Workshop, Warhammer, and of course, Middle Earth SBG. My first miniatures game was historical, the American Revolution to be exact, which started in 1978. Around the same time, I started painting characters for D&D, mostly using Grenadier figures, but also some historical knights because fantasy figures were pretty rare at that time.
I first became aware of the Lord of the Rings SBG in 2001 when one of the old GW "Outriders" ran a demo at the small (200 attendees) convention that I helped organize. I didn't have much interest at that time because I was heavy into Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB), and didn't see the need to pursue two fantasy games simultaneously, as much as I loved Middle Earth.
My gaming situation changed in 2012 when two things happened around the same time: I was growing tired of the edition changes, and a friend suggested that we try out SBG. As it happened, WFB was going to be dead within 3 years, so I was lucky to have a jump on getting several armies painted for SBG prior to that happening.
I've painted up many factions now by this point, organized seven tournaments at my local shop since 2018, have attended a number of tournaments run by others in that time, and have this past year started a weekly game night at my FLGS as well. I won't be stopping any time soon!
I started playing wargames back at around 2004 or 2005, I cant recall fully. There used to be a GW at a mall semi-near to my house, so my brother and I would ask for excuses for our parents to go there just to look at the display cases and paint the free Space Marines at their little table. Then a few years later, my brother and I had saved up to buy the Moria/Balin's Tomb starter set, and we've been playing ever since. I've now got over 2k points of Mordor, all painted at various times and talents.
Thank you, for being the best and biggest mesbg channel on the platform, you really have done so much to keep this game and hobby alive for so many of us.
Great update, thanks Lachie! Glad that ME will remain central on the channel, but I also like that you've been branching out and experimenting with different content. Your Horus Heresy videos have been my first introduction to that system.
Thanks Tyler, glad you're enjoying it across the board mate!
Yep I remember it well, me and my friend heading to the local corner shop on weekends to pick up our copy of the middle earth magazine, then spending the rest of the day at my dining room table painting and building what ever it was that week before battling. We never knew the rules properly, but we had fun!
I got into MESBG with the release of the Battle Games in ME series. It was a place for me to focus my LOTR obsession, and after many years of being away from the game, I’ve dusted off my old models and am back into it. Thanks for being an inspiration to the community and I hope to see you at some MESBG tourneys in NZ!
Hell yeah Casey!! You are most welcome, I'll be at the Christchurch league final this november!
A little GW pamphlet that was inside the RotK Extended DVDs back in 2004 advertising SBG and was obsessed with the minis. Was told of a local store that sold them and picked up a Warriors of Minas Tirith starter paint box set. Later found out there was a game for it and have been obsessed with it ever since.
Used to play the lord of the rings tabletop game at a friend's house when we were maybe about 12 years old. Now, more than 15 years later, that friend and a couple other regularly meet up for our Mordheim campaign. So lord of the rings was definitely the gateway drug.
I started 40K and Fantasy in 1999 but as soon as LOTR’s table top came out I jumped into that as well.
Got into MESBG back in 2004 while in high school, a friend told me about it since I was so obsessed with Lord of the Rings at the time. Got a mixed pack of Warriors of Minas Tirith and Morannon Orcs, before immediately jumping to Sauron himself. My painting is a lot slower nowadays, but I still love the hobby, and have finally started to try making terrain thanks to this channel.
I started in 1998 playing panzerfaust (1/72 scale WW2) but my grandfather bought me the boxed set of the fellowship in 2001 and it's been a mainstay ever since
It was 1996 or 1997 and I was walking into my best mates shed out back and seeing this massive castle that his Dad had built (he is a professional carpenter), and it was Bretonnia Vs Lizardmen vs Chaos; I remember just being absolutely in awe of these models and the whole layout and going home and begging dad for an army.
Started wargaming in 1990 with Rogue Trader.
I was just leaving all GW games behind in 2001 and saw the LoTR flop hard locally so assumed it was the same everywhere. The local GW employees I knew confirmed they were selling way less than expected and couldn't see it being a success.
I started with the LoTR game when I saw the Fellowship of the Ring starter set (Moria Goblins vs Men and Elves) at Barnes & Noble of all places. Without that I never would have picked up fantasy and 40k. To this day the LoTR game remains my favorite and Moria remains my main army! I still use those same 24 original goblins in my list every time :)
A friend and I are multi period wargamers, largely historical. A comic shop in a nearby (uk) city allows wargames on the first sunday every month, and so when our schedules meet on such a day we play there instead of at one of our houses. The shop owner and his friends are playing LOTR all the time, so I don't think its dead.
I’ve been playing every version of this since it came out, including the massive War of the Ring game. I know there were some slow years between movies, but I stayed with it. However, I do not like what Amazon is doing with “The Rings of Power” and will never support that series. And I hope the game does not shift in that direction. Tolkien would be furious at the liberties that Amazon is taking with his work and I have no problem calling it an abomination. I’ll stick with the classic game the eras that it covers.
Totally agree. The books and the LotR trilogy by peter jackson are excellent. Wasn't crazy about the hobbit films but the first one was decent. Based on the Amazon trailers it will be an abomination of Tolkiens works. Think i'll just skip it and listen to some reviews of it on youtube. Hope GW doesn't touch that thing with a 100 foot pole.
I agree 100%. They are injecting modern politics(left leaning) into something they have to business doing. The stories and gaming are supposed to be above all of this. Most gamers whatever their politics are moderate and can befriend and play with others from across the political pond. Some want to poison this.
Tolkien would hate Jackson's movies too.
And would have despised the liberties that he took.
Honestly if you think that Rings of Power is going to be any more divergent from Tolkien than Jackson was that kind of says more about you I think.
@@thomassaxon8254 bet you he’d hate Rings of power more.
@@thomassaxon8254 PJ made changes that he had to make to translate the books into movies, movies which appealed to both tolkien fans and general movie goers alike, and which put the trilogy effectively into the movie hall of fame. You could say tolkien wouldve hated it, but most people, including tolkien fans, would agree PJ captured the spirit and soul of middle earth. It was a labour of love and passion, and it showed as its a timeless depiction of middle earth regardless of how much it deviated from the source material. Look at interviews with Christopher Lee, who was arguably one of the biggest tolkien fans, where he's in tears at how proud and humbled he is with what they accomplished.
What did amazon do? They fired their on-site tolkien scholar and replaced him with a diversity student from a university. A corporate driven woke fest is not on par with what PJ and their amazing crew achieved.
1992, and Epic scale Space Marines. So I remember vividly the release of the Games Workshop. Then after 15 years away I came back about two years ago to see, quite gladly, that is was not only still around but was still somewhat active for one of the mid-tier GW games.
The first ever miniatures I ever collected were the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Mithril metal minis in 32mm and 54mm scale, way back in the early 90s.
I remember those. It was my first exposure to wargaming in the LotR setting. All lead minis too!
I started very late in 5th edition warhammer fantasy, and was around when Lord of the Rings was first announced, I actually hadn't read the books yet when I first started seeing minis on the back of White Dwarf magazine and this prompted me to read the books. Initially I wanted an "army" of "those cool black robed ghost guys" only to learn later they're the Nazgul! Still I did end up with five of them from the Weathertop boxed set.
My first lotr force was Moria goblins from the starter set, playing against my friends elves & men.
My first experience was 2020 so around the end of 8th Ed for Warhammer 40k. A couple friends took me to a Warhammer store and bought a Dark Imperium box of which they split the armies. I bought an ork start collecting box. After getting annihilated over and over I devoted myself to expanding my army to have a chance of winning. Now I have a Waaagh that takes up half the table against their meager armies. I Krump'd Dem Gitz Good!! Oh and I didn't know LotR was a thing until I saw their boxes in a store. Been debating getting into it or not.
brothers friend got mines of Moria for his Birthday - think that was around 2006 as first white dwarf we got was when plastic easterlings were released and been jumping around the different systems since.
For me it was HH 2.0. I'd been a 40k lore fan for a few years but it really kicked into gear when my Daughter started 1st grade. I started reading more of the books waiting in line to pick her up and started getting the minis to build. I was building a NL and SOH HH army, starting with Armor when 2.0 was announced. Using the box set and new Plastic goodies to finish them up and will be going to play my first game soon. I have a WH store about 10 minutes away and the Manager is a really good dude.
I started in wargaming in the mid 80s with an old ook borrowed from our school library. It was about designing your own wargames and we'd play with little plastic Airfix soldiers. After that, I think it was playing AD&D Battlesystem with cardboard counters, carving out our own kingdoms in Grayhawk. Around 1988, I saw an ad for WFB 3rd edition in Dragon magazine. Took a long time off starting in 2001 due to deployments.
It was '97 with the 2nd ed. 40k starter box
Hmm. First miniatures game, not counting role playing games, was in 1983. Was slightly “busy” in Nov/Dec 2001 being in the Air Force at the time, so missed out on the original release of the FOTR movie and the SBG. I didn’t start playing SBG until Christmas of 2004. I thoroughly enjoy your SBG content and look forward to more-Amazon or no Amazon.
I got into the hobby when my dad bought me the Warhammer 40k Battle for Macragge box set in 2004. I was 9!
Im 14 just got into middle earth strategy battle game. So i will make sure it continues
Thanks for the shout out man! Lord of the Rings warhammer will never die with people like you making ace content! I think GW may already have the licence for the Amazon stuff... BUT WE'LL SEE!!
Great format. I started in 2001 because my best pal was playing lotr, but when we got to the store we saw space marines, and as they say, the rest is history.
Battle Games in Middle Earth was my introduction, 20+ years later I'm still here! Good to see you're sticking with Middle Earth too - I WILL get some Minis Tirith stuff done for you when my collarbone heals 😂
I didn’t realise tabletop war gaming was a thing until my Grandmother bought me BGIME when they first came out, which I think was when Two Towers was released. I was pretty much obsessed with it through most of my childhood. Like a lot of people, I stopped in my late teens and sold my ME and WFB collection and didn’t interact with the hobby for about 10 years. I didn’t even realise WFB was canned until a friend told me a few years after the fact. Again like many people I know, I got back into it through the Pelennor Fields box when a LGS opened up in my town. It’s nice to see the game has been revitalised since then and there are rumours of a new edition at the end of the year with a new starter set. Hopefully the futures bright as it is along with Mordhiem the best system GW has ever created.
My journey started way back in 1986 with D&D but 1988 was when I stared playing warhammer fantasy. Dwarves have always been one of my favorite armies.
2004 and the Return of the King starter set was the start of my hobby journey that continues to this day mainly with 40K now but been a veteran with all 3 of GW’s main systems for more than half my life
I unfortunately didn’t start wargaming when the LoTR movies came out, or start wargaming with LoTR Warhammer, or even play LoTR Warhammer, I can’t deny I wanted to play it. LoTR is my favorite movie series and I will play the game eventually, but I’m balls deep into the Horus Heresy and life is about to become busy again, so I don’t think I can get into the game.
Also I started wargaming in 2018 with Star Wars Legion.
I started in 2007 when I was 14 with the "Balin's Tomb" starter set (or whatever it was called).
Currently I'm mostly playing Age of Sigmar but I am planning on giving my Mordor Orcs an overhaul when I'm done with my Bachelor thesis
I was literally talking to Ollie on friday about getting back into this. I have 30 very broken uruk-hai and a lot of nostalgia, cant wait
So LOTR got me into war gaming in 2005 but I never played it.
The Mt Gravatt Games Workshop was right by where my mum went to the chiro. When I was going on 10 years old my mum would let me wander around as I was bored waiting during her appointment. The building used to have art from Battle for Macragge on the windows but I had no idea what I was looking at. Still, I was curious about what was inside and went in.
It was so cool, and I recognised the LOTR models as I had watched the movie on DVD with my parents that year (after mum made me and my brother sit through 36 hours of behind the scenes so we knew the blood and violence wasn't real - and it was cool seeing the movie magic).
My first kit was a pack of 12 Moria goblins with a paintbrush and tiny pots of paint. I got some Easterlings next as they were so cool, then I saved my pocket money for the starter set.
Now I wanted to get into Warhammer Fantasy as I love fantasy settings andI didn't see many people playing LOTR when I went in but heaps of people played WFB and 40k. My parents wanted me to go LOTR and didn't like WFB due to the magic and demons and stuff (good conservative Christian parents there).
If only I realised Bretonnia was a thing that faction was screaming my name, but I digress.
So, in the end got the Battle for Macragge, and have had heaps of fun, but I wish I had gotten into LOTR and WFB back then too.
I started last year after finding my Khazad-Dum Dwarves from 8 years ago. This Game really helped through dealing with depression while Covid.
1988 Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader. My aunt bought me the Metal Harlquin box and the original plastic beaky marine box for my Birthday.
2022. MESBG drew me in and the content your channel has produced. Always been into serious board games (zombicide, star wars imperial assault, tainted grail etc) but never touched War gaming before
LOTR got me into this hobby back in 2001. I will never forget turning up at my cousin's house and playing with the Fellowship starter set, I was hooked.
I now play 40k and AOS but have LOTR to thank for everything.
Unfortunately where I live no-one plays LOTR unfortunately and even my local GW store doesn't have any LOTR products in it. I was actually really disappointed when I went to Warhammer World to not find a lot of LOTR displays, just a small corner really.
All that being said, I absolutely love watching your videos, battle reports for LOTR and will always continue to watch them.
Ohhhh and btw...
Your Horus Heresy videos are absolutely amazing! By far the best on the internet! Thanks for all your hard work, they are a pleasure to watch!
Good luck with the move to New Zealand! Go hunt some ORC!
my miniature wargaming start was in 2015 I got my first blood angels tactical squad and Chaplain Lemartes love 40k ever since DAWN OF WAR. I would have to say that you and this channel got me into the middle earth miniature game because of the all the epic builds and keen to see more osgiliath.
Great video. Super envious of where you're moving to but doing something similar (on a much smaller scale) with my family right now. Best of luck on the move.
I was really enjoying the Dol Guldor build and look forward to seeing that closer to completion. Also looking forward to Edoras. That will be awesome.
Thank you mate :)
People need to give games other than 40k a chance. Not every wargame has to be about space marines and more space marines. I wish more people would step out of the GW bubble.
2002, found LOTR MESBG kits being sold by a monthly magazine company, got way into it. Just making my return to mesbg as a game this summer with the purchase of my first home.
Ive played warhammer, 40k, bunch o other wargames and still i keep loving the depth of play and simplicity of the rules that lotr mesbg gives me
All the character and armour designs of Amazon abomination are shockingly awful. GW would be right to avoid this crap like the plague.
I still remember when the game came out, I was totally hyped. I was a teenager/young adult and loved the books and movies. The few miniatures there where at the time looked so great on the handcrafted, grassy boards with hills, trees, etc...
It felt right as a high fantasy skirmisher with great terrain and very cool licence. Back these days the LotR miniature boxes were quite cheap, so you could start so cheap...
The rules were great these days, if you did not play too big games - like still today-
first war-game was Donald Featherstone wargame rules from library, first fantasy war-game rule set was reaper by Richard halliwell and rick priestly and sci fi set was striker by gdw. 1981
I started 2002 with the Strategy Battle Games in Middle Earth Magazines after the game was shown at a fair for games here in germany. Brought me right into tabletop, till date. My favorit system till than.
I started gaming in 1980 with TSR's Chainmail... I started playing 1st Ed Warhammer Fantasy Battles in the mid-80's (Australia) and LoTR from day one and still playing it.
Super excited for the future of this channel! I hope your move goes great!
Loved the update, Lachy, and sorry yo hear the huge amount of work you put into the heresy stuff isn’t getting the reception you hoped for. While my first ever minis game was the WEG Star Wars one in 1993 or 1994, my first minis were mithril Middle-earth figures. I was overjoyed to happen upon their factory on a family trip to Europe in 1995, and even more excited (as a fellow massive Tolkien fan) when I saw the fellowship box set (at an old games / comic store in Brissie). It definitely got me into minis properly after a few years playing CCGs. Having visited a lot of the LotR sites in 2003 (and since), I even have a few bits of set lying around from that time along with many happy memories. I really do have to get my fragment of the seat of Amon hen mounted in a frame… anyway, really looking forward to seeing more middle earth content and hoping for a lot more sweet Noldor figures whether from the Amazon series or not!
Started playing 1998, played a GorkaMorka demo game, came back the next day to play a 40k mega battle, which then inspired me to buy the second edition 40k starter set
I started wargaming in 2017. I was always interested in MESBG from a young age but didn’t know where to play it. In 2017 I got a 40k painting starter sets to learn to paint so that I could get into Star Wars legion with a friend, that kinda fell through but I got hooked into 40k and then convinced people I met playing that to play Mesbg and now it’s one of our main games and I couldn’t be happier.
I started in 2017. My Grandma gave me a box of Men of Minas Tirith and Orcs, so my love for the game started! I now have 300 models and 5 years under my belt. Love this video! Thanks!
For me it was 1998, Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Dark Elves specifically. It's interesting to see how LOTR game has held on, as where i'm at in the US it seems to have only a niche player base, it's far from a "staple" game. Wish it would have been bigger here, would have been fun to play.
Started in 2008 with the forces of Isengard! A friend of my played Gondor and many games were had before we moved to play further systems.
I have no idea what year this got started. My dad brought me to the only GW store in norway as far as i know now at least. And he bought the moria set. I was honestly not really instantly interested but some years later i found the models in the garage. Some uruk-hai. And that really invested me.
Always had been familiar with 40K, but hadn't quite actually gotten into. I had been thinking about trying miniature wargames after talking with a buddy about his 40K collection. That was when I noticed that GW had made a LOTR game. And since LOTR is one of my favorite all time series (movies and books)...
So two years later, I've painted hundreds of miniatures and now I'm contemplating moving to 40K, but I love my massive armies of Orcs and Men (as far as "complete" armies go, my project over the last year was collecting and painting every miniature necessary for the Pelennor Fields module. I'm nearly finished).
Super excited for some new Middle Earth content! I’ve gotta say, I am blown away by how you’ve managed to get all of these amazing projects underway while in the midst of a big move. I understand the utter chaos of moving, so, keep up the good work!
Thanks Certex it's been an absolute slog I won't lie.
Funnily enough I started around 2000, before the Lord of the rings strategy battle game came out with Warhammer 40k, there was a vibrant community in Toulouse back then. I never had a defeat leading space marines in the... three games I played until Lord of rings came out and I knew that's what I wanted to play. The first games workshop piece I ever owned was Grombrindal from White Dwarf 100 bought on holidays, it's also the only age of sigmar figurine I have.
I did not buy so many figurines from the Fellowship edition, only the fellowship and goblins because those metal orcs were so damn expensive. But when the two towers came out I got about 60 uruk-hai and 20 riders of rohan. When the return of the king came out I was starting an army of elves but received the 120 euros "forces of the dark lord" box instead of the 25 euros warriors of the last alliance I ordered so I stayed with the dark lord for a bit. Which was perfect because my brother was starting to collect a minas tirith army.
I think that's about when the serial magazine came out in France and we subscribed because the figurines were incredibly cheap and the painting guides were really nice to improve our techiques.
Nowadays I can field 1000 points of most Lord of the Rings armies. Or about 500 points in War of Rings, which is the reason I bought so many base troops.
I intend to completely ignore ANY Amazon content for this game, the same way I ignore ANY Star Wars sequel content for ANYTHING.
first wargaming was WW2, using 1:72 stuff and a book from the library.. in the mid 1980's
had LotR:SBG about a decade ago with the Mines of Moria set, only had a few games but its recently taken off at local club, Pelenor Fields is a good set. currently into a Battle Company campaign, after one of the others saw your channel
I’m a newbie, know no fear in eighth edition got me into war gaming, but I’ve expanded quickly, getting into a crap ton of indie skirmish games
A couple of guys in my year 8 class spent most of their days reading White Dwarf under their desks - one played Catachan and the other Orks apparently. I was playing Magic at the time too and the place I got cards for also stocked GW. But it was Fantasy which took me: first units were a couple boxes of Night Goblins in 6th edition.
Goood old High School White Dwarf sessions, I've been there man!!
I started 40k in 2000. Between then and now I dabbled in WHFB and played BFG and Mordheim. Started Aeronautica late last year. 2022 I got my first MESBG minis. I absolutely love painting these and the rules look good. Hoping to have my first game in a month or so.
Started in 2001. My parents bought my brothers and me the Fellowship of the Ring 2 Player starter. Battle Game in Middle Earth never came to the US. Seeing people post about them on the Last Alliance and One Ring, I was always jealous.
My little brother introduced me to GW through the old Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 which he learned about from a room mate. However, my first 'miniatures battle game' was actually using miniatures in my old AD&D games to bring more tactical play into D&D games. I did pick up both The Mines of Moria and the Hobbit boxed starter sets but mostly for the goblins and Fellowship characters for use in fantasy RPG games.
'97 40k but i did get a few of the magazines in my teens and have a unpainted wood elf army somewhere from when i worked at GW. It was my favorite game to play at the time
I actually started with the Warhammer Fantasy collection you could buy from the press kiosk (I don't know if that's the name tbh) back in the late 90s. But the first game I played a bunch was LoTR again by buying the weekly collection. Way easier to play with friends when you only need like 20 models each for a decent game.
Although the magazine was definitely my first foray into games workshop myself, my older brother had collected an all metal ulthwe force of eldar which I inherited once he dropped the hobby, that served as my gateway into 40k which I'm still doing today
I since sold the eldar to a friend years ago but I do still have all my middle earth minis, and I'm glad I still have them, it's very nostalgic to crack them out once in a while and look at the quality of my painting 20 years ago, abysmal as it was
Although my mum did help me painting riders of rohan, the horses themselves still look very nice
Edit: looking forward to your content in the future, I love the work, care and attention you put into your terrain builds
I started wargaming with the Battle in Middle Earth magazine issue 29 when I was 12 years old, and never strayed far from it since then.
With the metal Theoden from Helms Deep that came with this issue I started my now nearly a 1000 figures large collection of LOTR wargaming miniatures. And I still love it to the core.
They should try SOW stuff . Talion , Baranor and bruz of course . And modular ork captains . And units like graugs , drakes and karagor cavalry