Editor's note: in order to make us look stupid, Games Workshop decided to retire the Forge World brand the day before this article went up, and replace it with 'expert kits'. However, we're too lazy to change it.
A couple of weeks ago, we dropped an article on plastic kits we both wanted and could maybe see being released in this lifetime. This week, we'll turn our attention to Forge World models. And whereas recent plastic kit releases tend to be limited to main characters, terrain kits and super-iconic moments from the films, Forge World seems to have a bit more carte blanche for their releases, and we've seen some real left-field models drop out of nowhere - delicious treats like Glorfindel, Personalities of Bree, and a ton of Hobbit heroes have completely blindsided us, in the best way possible.
While we appear to be in a bit of a Middle Earth release drought, we can never rule out that an unexpected FW release is around the corner, so here is our wishlist. Some seem fairly likely, whereas some are pure fantasy - but with Forge World, you never know...
Rhunish
Drake
The recent
Defence of the North supplement saw Rhunish Drakes migrate over from their
previously Battle-Companies-Only status and gain a spruced-up profile to
hopefully earn their price tag of 20 points a pop. The Crebain profile was in a similar situation after the release of the War in Rohan supplement – but whereas that was a few short months between book and model, it's been over a year now and there's no sign of a Rhunish Drake release.
It’s been
tough to gauge whether the Rhunish Drake profile is really disruptive in any
way. I haven’t had any mind-blowing success with them, but until they are used
en-masse by the player base, it’s really too soon to tell – and we haven’t seen
that happen yet because nobody can even tell you what size base they’re meant to be
on! (Even though it fairly clearly 40mm and you should look with great
suspicion upon anybody who says 25mm).
We don’t
believe for a second that these sculpts aren’t finished and sat on a shelf
somewhere gathering dust. The people need their drakes!
Likelihood:
8/10
 |
| A Rhunish Drake courtesy of yours truly, created for Battle Companies many years ago. In my defense, I didn't know any better, and it never says you CAN'T use a 25mm base... |
Grimbold on
Horse
Grimbold
needs a horse.
Likelihood: 0/10
Heroes of
the Fiefdoms
It’s no
secret that I think that the Forge World ‘Heroes of Dunland’ pack is one of the
best releases in the history of the game. A triple pack of gorgeous and varied mid-tier heroes is such a great way to bulk out a faction and add new listbuilding options, and just about every army in the game could benefit from this type of release.
But what’s
the army that revolves around its mid-tier captains like no other? That’s
right, it’s the Fiefdoms! The triple threat of Forlong, Duinhir and Angbor, and their special rules, give
the faction a lot of its unique flavour - and as the models are getting rather long
in the tooth, a Forge World makeover is just what they need. It would also be a
chance to finally give Forlong his famously absent horse, finally giving us an option to run the strength 5 war spear-wielding tubster the way he's meant to be run.
Likelihood:
3/10
 |
| On a completely unrelated note, Unreleased Miniatures sell a 'Fat Medieval Bismarck' model... |
Shelob
Anybody who has built the metal Shelob will probably agree with this one. The prospect of assembling Shelob and having her stay in one piece is a real ask for a hobbyists new and old - I think we owe it to the big lady to give her a creepy new resin scuplt that can actually make it to the end of a game with all of her limbs still attached.
Not a sure thing by any stretch, but an updated Shelob model would definitely shift some units with her old fans, as well as earning her plenty of new ones.
Likelihood: 4/10
Mounted
Gil-Galad
It’s really
no wonder that the harpers sadly sing about Gil-Galad when you see the state of
his model. It's not the worst the game has to offer, but it's so comically overshadowed by the new Glorfindel and Elrond models that it's hard to imagine there isn't something in the works. With without a doubt one of the most terrifying combat profiles in the
game, I struggle to think of any situation in which you wouldn’t choose to put
him on a horse – and yet there is no official option to do so.
What’s
more, with Elrond now being sold separately in a stunning new plastic kit, the
Elrond & Gil-Galad pack is less tempting than ever. The High King looks It would be an absolute
slam dunk to give him the Glorfindel treatment and there is no doubt the
model would look absolutely stunning.
Likelihood:
7/10
Beechbone
A new Beechbone model seemed to be a safe bet after the release of Quickbeam - yet we've had no mention of Ents since then. It's fairly easy to fill this gap in the range with the plastic Ent kit (who does look quite similar to Beechbone's film depiction), but it does feel a bit unfair given how stunning the Quickbeam sculpt was.
Likelihood: 4/10
 |
| Beechbone conversion guide: Step 1, Assemble Ent; Step 2, Introduce flame |
Mounted Elendil
Sure, it's easy enough to convert up an Elessar to make a rather nice looking Elendil - but this is really doing the High King of Numenor a disservice. A regal Forge World sculpt of Elendil with a dismount to match would really breathe some life back in to the Numenor faction.
Likelihood: 5/10
 |
| Rob Macfarlane was featured in Warhammer Community with this really lovely Elendil converted from a Theoden. |
Corsair
Reavers
Another
profile that’s never been given an official sculpt. There hasn’t been much
consensus on how to model these guys (though we threw our own hat in to the ring with a Conversion Corner). A lot of people go for red
clothes or a double-axed barbarian style pose - but such an interesting part of
the army really deserves its own model, preferably one that displays a frenzied buccaneer with no regard for their own life - or anyone else's.
Plus, in a rag-tag faction like Corsairs, it can be quite confusing to keep track of modified Reaver models in amongst the rabble. I could imagine them getting the same
treatment as Huscarls, Dragon Cult Acolytes and Guards of the Galadhrim Court,
and being sold in a FW 3-pack - hopefully not setting us back too much for the 6 to 12 Reavers typically found in Corsair lists.
However, Corsairs haven't been mentioned by GW in a long time, and there is no indication that they have anything on the horizon - so we're not holding our breath.
Likelihood: 5/10
The Balrog
Not much to say here, but the prospect of a new & improved Balrog model which is up to the current Forge World standards would have a lot of people very excited. The original Balrog kit got a ton of us in to the game, and a new model would sell like hot cakes. However, the old model isn't that bad - it doesn't look quite as imposing or dynamic as it once did, and when compared to some of the large monsters we've seen GW release in the last few years, it has us pining for the possibilities of a new sculpt. But it's far from the most dated model in the range, so we can probably chalk this one up to wishful thinking.
Likelihood: 3/10
Celeborn - along with mounted option!?
On
paper he’s the strongest of the army. In practice, he’s a bit of a
disappointment. How to breathe some life into this model though? The pose is
still decent (the armoured version), but given the latest treatment of his
Rivendell cousins, he stands a good chance of a Forge World revamp - which also
opens up the opportunity to finally have him mounted - though that's admittedly pure speculation on our part. A strong cavalry hero is
something that Lothlorien lack - though there is an argument that a mount & Fleetfoot might make him too strong.
Likelihood: 1/10
Lurtz
One of the most iconic figures for those who
started back in the DeAgostini days was Lurtz. Whilst I do have a soft spot
for his mini, I’ve always felt that he just didn’t fit the profile of the
strongest and most aggressive Uruk, and that he looks a
little wooden. A truly dynamic pose based on his duel with Aragorn would be
a great addition - perhaps with a resculpted Ugluk to compliment the
Grishnakh and Snaga previously released? Another release that would be sure to shift a ton of models.
Likelihood: 6/10
 |
Take exactly this pose, release it in FW resin, and I will personally buy 15.
Credit: New Line Cinema |
Anarion
Anarion has long been the poster child for 'models that are referenced in the rulebooks and were forgotten about forever'. He's been sat there for so long that it's hard to see this changing at any point. There's no time limit attached to the Middle Earth team's policy of giving everyone from the rulebooks their own model, but Anarion sure must be getting impatient by now.
Likelihood: 5/10
Arvedui, Malbeth and Warriors/Captains of Arnor
Noticeably missing from our first article was Arnor, who have been long out of production from Games Workshop. One reason
for their absence was our hope that they may be given a fresh and fantastic set of new models from
Forge World.
While the models in general hold up perfectly well, the warriors could do with a bit more refinement. They were metal upon
their release and, in a similar style to the original Knights of Dol Amroth, so I don't think
it's out of the question to hope to see a six man box release with them brought up to today's standards. Similar to other 6-man infrantry kits, this kit could contain a banner or even a horn (if tweaking the profile is an option), and
options to kit out a Captain with a bow - something the original metal sculpt
did not have.
Arvedui and Malbeth are definitely not bad models by any
stretch, but like the rest of the original Arnor release these were released later
into the game's life back in 2007. But considering
that they aren't even available at the moment, would it be so out of the
question so hope for new scultps? If we're putting on our tin foil hats, the fact that they are all unavailable may even hint at something in the works...
While we'd love to see the faction fleshed out a little more,
maybe some more elite units, I think we'd all just settle for a generic
rerelease first!
Likelihood: 6/10
 |
| The entirety of the Arnor range. We've seen plenty of FW release waves bigger than this! |
So there's our list! Obviously there will be tons we missed, so let us know what you want to see from Forge World in the next few years!
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