Hello gentlemen, due to how much I love Dwalin and Thorin, I have been tempted to start a dwarf list, mostly erebor with an allied warband from another dwarven realm.

I bought a box of grim hammers a while back which I hear was a mistake, are these guys worthwhile at all? If not, how can I convert them to make them not useless?

I notice there are no 'grim hammers with spears? Like in the movie which is a great disappointment, do you think these will eventually be released?

Finally, I really like the dwarf ranger models but they don't seem to be of much use without bows, so if I got a box of 12 would it be worth using 8 of them without bows? I dislike using bowmen when the bow isn't on the model.

Any other dwarf input concerning future releases or the difference between the hobbit and Lotr dwarves is welcomed.

Thanks
VG

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

YAY! the world always needs another dwarf player. I would modify the grim hammers to either be khazad guard or Warriors of Erebor w/armor.

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Forward Ruby Rangers!!!

(Warning this will be fairly lengthy lol)
A topic I know I am an authority on! lol Dwarves are my main, have been since they had 2 troop choices (Khazad and Regular Dwarves lol).
Grimhammers suck! They are the worst of the dwarf elites (Khazad Guard, Iron Guard, Vault Wardens, Grim Hammers). For them I personally field them as either Khazads or regular Erebor Dwarves.

Rangers are decent without their Dwarf Longbows or DLB's, but they are less effective than they once were because of the penalty to throwing weapons.

LOTR (as opposed to Hobbit) Dwarves I personally think are better as they are a more developed "faction" if you will. Their access to three very different Elites, Vault Wardens, Khazad Guards, Iron Guards, (in order of my personal preference), their sturdy normal troops and strong heroes make them a good army.

That being said the Hobbit releases have actually helped the Dwarves out quite a bit now that the Dwarves of Erebor have spears which means they can support your other Dwarves who used to have no such help. Although you are fairly limited on who can lead their warbands.

Here's my recommended must haves for Dwarves (in order by priority for purchase)
LOTR Dwarves:
King's Champion (Absolute beast and comes with 2 banners for free!)
Balin son of Fundin
Murin & Drar
Gimli
Khazad Guard
Vault Wardens (once you build your collection some)

Hobbit Dwarves:
Dwalin
Thorin
Oin
Warriors of Erebor

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Thanks for the feedback both! Disappointed as the Grimhammer models are quite nice.



I own all except the kings champion and warriors of erebor. I made my own vault warden using a WFB scale shield

Thanks for input. Thinking of using a press mould for WoE arms and using them on grim hammers, will let you know how it goes!
VG

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

Oh also - LotR dorf warriors. Any good? Same as WoE?

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

I have a reasonably large selection of LOTR Dwarves but personally dislike fielding them alongside Hobbit AUJ Dwarves. I don't have a problem with people allying, but personally prefer purest forces with their own in built strengths and weaknesses.

Thorin's Company in the Hobbit have a rich and highly varied pantheon of heroes at the moment, with more to come in the form of Heavily armored and equipped versions once back in possession of the Lonely mountain.

The army of Thror will I suspect gain separate rules for young Thorin, Balin and Dwalin, and it is a crying shame that we have had a captain with throwing axe (that he is not under the rules able to use, still a beautiful miniature!) released, but no banner or hornblower to accompany him!

We should also gain an army of Dain list with Dain and Captains in the following film. I would also be surprised if we didn't see new troop types relating to Dain and his army at the battle of the five armies in the third film, which should expand the relative lack of variety (only two troop types) for the Hobbit Dwarves at the moment. We may find that we have an army of Thror and an army of Dain list at the end.

I would really like to see Dwarf miners appear for use on the table top as I enjoyed the concept in Warhammer.

I am working on both an army of Thror and a Balin's company at the moment.

I do love the Dwarf Hammerer models but they have been terrible in the games. I intend to mix them in with Erebor dwarves with shields and spears.


Personally if I was starting off I would be tempted by Thorin's Company augmented by Erebor Dwarves, and yes a few Grim Hammers. I suspect that more great stuff is around the corner, particularly if you are a Dwarf Enthusiast!

I'd use the Grimhammers as Khazad Guard (make sure your opponent knows and is okay with it), and make it mainly LotR Dwarves, allying in a warband or two of Hobbit Dwarves, using Thorin or Dwalin leading a warband of Erebor Dwarves with spears. Spread those guys out in your ranks, so you have spear support for your troops, while Thorin/Dwalin are in the center of the battle.

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See my WIP thread here. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=25624

I'll leave these pictures of my converted grimhammer into erebor dwarf army here.





Converted captain




I found the spears and shields on ebay but they are no longer on sale (although apparently the shields will be back soon according to the seller). Quite frustrating lol. The hand weapons are just the grimhammer weapons shortened and reposed. To do the spears I had to drill out the hands and then superglue the spears in the hole. The bases are resin ones (also from ebay), the models are glued and pinned on.

I love using this army, it looks so good on the battlefield and it'll look even better when I get young thorin and balin.

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12th GBHL 2013.
13th GBHL 2014
9th GBHL 2015


Mid Sussex Wargamers

Thats a great idea, especially as I prefer the uniformed look to the Hammerers in the film to the majority of the Erebor Warriors!

Lovely models there SD!

After talking to one of the lads in GW, despite taking what he said with a pinch of salt I do think i'm gonna give the Grimhammers a go in a game or two, as he said they're monsters. Plus, they're already painted and raring to go so why not.

While instore I picked up some Warriors of Erebor. I plan on Instamolding some weapon hands just in case the Grimhammers turn out to be rubbish. Should be the best of both worlds, can't wait for my heroes to arrive in the post.

VG

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

I'd rather play with models I liked the look of than ones I hated but were superior tactically. Then again I'm not a serious player. Having said that we intended to use the Khazad Guard profile for Grimhammers, but only because we're still on the LOTR hardback rules.

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That actually made me laugh lol. They are solid in their stats, but they're not worth their points.

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Commission Painting @FB http://www.facebook.com/squyrepainting
Commission Customers include:
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MiniWargaming

I suspect that they are great sprinkled here and there to jump in fights putting the boot in, but get splattered by goblins supporting each other!

As a bunch of 2handers, isn't this to be expected?

Will post a WiP thread in the next few hours to log my first proper LotR army!

VG

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

Very Much so, but they kill goblins on a 3+!

Using a 2 handed weapon is a waste of time let's be honest.

I used to play dwarves a fair bit, and have used Erebor armies in test games. Basically the lack of troop diversity really does not matter in Erebor, simply having a battle line that is defence 7, fight 4 with spear support means you can win alot of games simply through attrition. I prefer Durin's Folk for the sake of nostalgia and flair, but right now Erebor strikes me as the best 'military' force for the good side. Better fight, defence and courage than minas tirith for pretty much the same points.