Back to my roots.

 Figures based now , varnished and just needing a finishing touch or two.

They have come out well and I found my bat swarm and ogre/giants today too.

Recently l asked a rules question on the Wargaming in Middle Earth Facebook group about what rules would work best with 30-40 figures a side. There were lots of helpful suggestions from a knowledgeable and friendly group of folk. I was taken by this one-

Fantastic Battles is a brilliant fantasy game and superb for doing Tolkien battles. But if you are looking for a small scale skirmish game then MESBG is perfect. It's a brilliant game and the profiles for the various heroes work very well. The previous edition is probably it's best manifestation

So after a little research and further chat l ordered Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game core rules and The Hobbit army lists. They arrived whilst I was sitting in the garden this afternoon. I was able to have a wee look at them over a cuppa.

The system was not new to me. When the set below came out circa 2001 Jan made a point of making sure l picked up a copy although we were in the midst of major family health stuff at the time. I recall the game being a welcome distraction and diversion. I played briefly around that time with the starter set and a few additional metal figures. 

I next played the game in terms of the figures after Jan died , added to them but probably played with other rules.

So here we are in 2026 with a later, but not latest version of the GW game system. I am looking forward to  trying the rules out with my Vendel figures and some others l have been planning round. So things come round full circle in a way.