Getting ready for a Throne of Skulls event always feels a bit like marching to Helm’s Deep with a half-packed kit.
You think you have time, your models are in “various stages,” and suddenly the weekend is looming like a Mordor storm cloud. This update catches us back up with two hobby adventurers, Lewis and Ash, as they push to finish their Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game forces before the big Throne of Skulls at Warhammer World. As you will see, their approaches are very different, but both are deeply themed and dripping with narrative. And yes, there is absolutely still room for the traditional “paint until midnight before the event” energy.
Lewis: Non-Linear Hobby Chaos And A Very Clever Display Board
Lewis is deep in the classic pre-event grind: a handful of finished models and “a kingdom” of part-done ones. However, he leans into a deliberately non-linear workflow to keep things fun rather than feeling like a production line. Instead of batch painting one thing until his soul leaves his body, he bounces between painting, converting, basing, and even working on the display board, depending on what he feels like that day. This keeps the project exciting and means nothing ever feels like a chore.
Importantly, Lewis has gone hard on characterful conversions. Both his Gondorian and Númenórean kings are converted, with the foot versions being his favourites. In his mind’s eye, the Númenórean king holding a Palantír is actively communicating with the Gondorian king in a time of crisis, while the mounted versions show them in full warlike fury. Additionally, he has taken the chance to build a little story around his trebuchet by converting some Lake-town Militia as extra crew, standing alongside the “official” crew who will actually hit the table. Consequently, the war machine feels more like a tiny diorama than just a single entry on an army list.
Meanwhile, Lewis is just about on schedule and clearly enjoying the ride. He has even built himself a compact display board using a deep picture frame. The ruins are mounted on a separate MDF insert that can be lifted out, so during games he can drop the flat surface back in and use the frame as a dice tray. It is functional, thematic, and very convention-friendly. Now he just has to see if it works as well in a crowded hall as it does on his hobby desk. Finally, this Throne of Skulls will be the first time he actually plays this list, so he is understandably hyped to see how his conversions perform on the battlefield.
Ash: Red-Armoured Arnor, Hero Focus, And Narrative Objectives
Ash has taken a slightly different route, starting with the bulk of his Warriors and grinding through the core troops first. However, like most of us, he needed a break from endless batches, so he jumped over to painting key Heroes as little self-contained projects. He has already finished a royal pairing in King Arvedui and a mounted Argadir, treating them as high-effort centrepieces that anchor the army visually. This lets him fit hobby into smaller sessions around a busy life without feeling like he is always stuck on the same cloaks and mail.
Once Argadir was done, Ash added some mounted Knights of Arnor so the force has actual speed on the table. Additionally, horses give him a chance to introduce extra colours outside the main scheme, which helps keep the overall look more interesting and gives him a mental break from the main palette. Then he went full narrative and built a couple of objective markers: one is a Palantír, nodding to Arnor’s two seeing stones before its fall, and the other is a plinth with a decorative heirloom helmet. On game day he can swap these in as objectives or just use them as thematic reminders of rules like Seeing Stones. Consequently, the army feels more like a slice of Middle-earth history than just a collection of profiles.
Ash has also put real thought into his colour choices. People keep asking why his Arnor is red instead of the traditional green. However, he has anchored his scheme in the lore: Arnor eventually splits into Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. His current force represents Arthedain, so he went with red and cream to mark that kingdom out. Additionally, he is already planning a yellow and black scheme for future Cardolan contingents, while Rhudaur is, as he notes, firmly in Witch-king territory by that point. So there is a long-term vision of three related but distinct colour schemes across the wider collection. Before Throne of Skulls, he even has a practice game planned against Lewis, though he is jokingly hoping his army does not end up all dead and ghostly by turn four.
Closing Thoughts: Previews, Panic, And Plenty Of Inspiration
Together, Lewis and Ash give a really nice snapshot of pre-event hobby life: conversion-heavy narrative builds, practical display solutions, hero-focused painting bursts, and small side projects like objective markers that inject tons of character. Meanwhile, their progress update quietly reassures everyone that you do not have to be perfectly linear or fully finished months in advance to still bring something special to a Throne of Skulls weekend. Tom and Danny could not check in this time due to other commitments, but there is every expectation they will rock up with finished armies when the big weekend actually hits.
If their work has you itching to jump into Middle-earth yourself, you can always start with a boxed set like The War of the Rohirrim: Battle of Edoras, which gives you two forces, Heroes, Warriors, scenery, dice, and the full rules in one hit. Ultimately, whether you are converting kings, painting Knights of Arnor in non-standard colours, or just trying to get your last ten Warriors highlighted before the event, the real win is showing up, rolling dice, and watching your little narratives play out on the table.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
