u/Painting_in_Arda

"Then Glorfindel leapt forward upon him and his golden armour gleamed strangely in the moon, and he hewed at that demon that it leapt again upon a great boulder and Glorfindel after. Now there was a deadly combat upon that high rock above the folk; and these, pressed behind and hindered ahead, were grown so close that well nigh all could see, yet was it over ere Glorfindel's men could leap to his side. The ardour of Glorfindel drave that Balrog from point to point, and his mail fended him from its whip and claw. Now had he beaten a heavy swinge upon its iron helm, now hewn off the creature's whip-arm at the elbow. Then sprang the Balrog in the torment of his pain and fear full at Glorfindel, who stabbed like a dart of a snake; but he found only a shoulder, and was grappled, and they swayed to a fall upon the crag-top. Then Glorfindel's left hand sought a dirk, and this he thrust up that it pierced the Balrog's belly nigh his own face (for that demon was double his stature); and it shrieked, and fell backwards from the rock, and falling clutched Glorfindel's yellow locks beneath his cap, and those twain fell into the abyss. "

I put together this scene by repurposing my "High Pass" diorama and throwing the Balrog & Glorfindel in for an epic shot!

Its such a fantastic chapter of the Silmarillion / Fall of Gondolin. After the fall of Gondolin to the forces of Morgoth, Glorfindel guides the refugees away through the mountain pass only to be pursued by a Balrog, giving his life in a climactic duel, for his heroism he is reincarnated by Manwë to continue to serve the free peoples of Middle-Earth.

(Background and enviroment is real, just some filter blizzard effects added to enhance the scene!)

Against the stacked schedule of ArdaCon I managed to run 2 games where 17 players braved the perils of the Mines and attempted to claim the Kingdom for their own 700 point expedition force, against a custom scenario I wrote.

Game 1 Highlights included

-Radagasts Sleigh meeting the Dragon Emperors Palanquin on one of the most narrow sections of the board.

• Durin attempting to avenge himself against the Balrog, putting a solid 5 wounds on it, before he and his entire army were wiped out by the servant of Morgoth.

• Beorn constantly changing between Bear and man form to tip toe down the stairs and Bridge of Khazad dum.

• Theoden spending most the game trying to cross the Bridge, only to be met by Beorn and crushed midway.

• Multiple Easterling acolytes in a row base jumping down from great heights to reach objectives and splatting at the bottom

• Grey Company sitting back and shooting the Watcher (boo, nobody wants to swim with him 🐙) After 4 wounds, it decided to resurface on the opposite side of the board, only to be turned to sushi by Thorin Oakenshield.

• Boromir, COTWT, pinned in Balins tombs entrance for 6 turns by a constant stream of goblins and trolls, preventing his troops from entering to help.

Victory was claimed Host of the Dragon Emperor

2nd place went to Battle of Five Armies.

3rd place went to with his Reclaimation of Osgiliath

The Balrog remains lurking in the depths, undefeated.. ready to resurface and destroy the new colony of Easterlings ...

Game 2 Highlights included -

• Prince Imrahil slaying 11 CAVE TROLLS over the course of the game... 😳

• The Balrog being bear hugged into submission by Beorn

• Gil Galad duelling 3 cave trolls at once

• A pair of Dragons BBq'ing Radagasts Sleigh and bunnies 😅

• The Watcher appearing in the West-gate for one turn, getting bored, then resurfacing at the bridge of Khazad-dûm, eating lots of men of Numenor then being hacked into sushi by a combo of Prince Imrahil and Elendil

• The Bridge of Khazad-dûm itself claiming the lives of 17 unbalanced warriors

• The Balrog unexpectedly returning only to be destroyed by a combination of Durin AND a Dragon! Boo 👎

Victory went to Dragons of the North for seizing objectives, slaying the Balrog AND general VPs

2nd place went to Fiefdoms

3rd place went to Battle of Five Armies (Balrog slayer)

Also honorable Balrog slayer category went to Thomas with his Khazad-dûm list, for poor Durin's best efforts, in which over the course of 2 games, he inflicted 10 wounds on the Balrog.

Thanks to all those who participated and donated. Together you raised over £400 for British heart foundation and united international MESBG'ers for a couple nights of unforgettable, narrative fun 😀

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Absolutely hilarious chaos followed , great night for all involved and £400 raised for charity! 🙌

Highlights included

-Radagasts Sleigh meeting the Dragon Emperors Palanquin on one of the most narrow sections of the board.

- Durin attempting to avenge himself against the Balrog, putting a solid 5 wounds on it, before he and his entire army were wiped out by the servant of Morgoth.

- Beorn constantly changing between Bear and man form to navigate the stairs and Bridge of Khazad dum.

-Theoden spending most the game trying to cross the Bridge, only to be met by Beorn and crushed midway.

-Multiple Easterling acolytes in a row base jumping down from great heights to reach objectives and splatting at the bottom

- Grey Company sitting back and shooting the Watcher (boo, nobody wants to swim with him 🐙) After 4 wounds, it decided to resurface on the opposite side of the board, only to be turned to sushi by Thorin Oakenshield.

-Boromir, COTWT, pinned in Balins tombs entrance for 6 turns by a constant stream of goblins and trolls, preventing his troops from entering to help.

-Prince Imrahil killing 11 cave trolls !

-Gil-galad fighting off 3 cave trolls repeatedly

- Beorn killing the Balrog

-The Balrog returning and being immediately slain by a Dragon

Incredibly rewarding experience to share this table finally with the international community 🙌

Who shall brave the mines next??? 🔥🔥🔥

"They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes... Drums. Drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark... We cannot get out. They are coming."

Balins tomb is complete! ⚒️

By far the most challenging section of this build, so much detail packed into the small iconic @wetaworkshop environment, the main foundations were made from foam, with plaster cast custom pillars, 3d printed and GW converted plastics for scatter pieces and LOTS of bits of tiny paper scrolls..

Next up is to dress the whole scene in cobwebs for extra on screen accuracy.

Coming to @ardaconsbg 2026 !

"for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand. I beheld the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him; but Sauron himself was overthrown"

Heres some shots of my mega terrain project, the Mines of Moria!

Its measuring in around 11x6 feet, mostly handmade from xps foam in 17 sections.

It follows the Fellowships path from West-gate to East-Gate.

LED and resin effects throughout.

Coming to ArdaCon 2026 exhibition!

(A lucky few will get to play a massive scenario on it!)