The Army of Erebor - Balin & Friends

Here's Balin, Lord of Moria looking all sweet with his Superman cape and all.  Balin makes a great army general for my Erebor force and is half the cost of Dain Ironfoot.  Which allows me to include an "Old Friend" in the army I wouldn't be able to fit in with Dain unless we're playing a bigger game of War of the Ring.

This miniature and the original Khazad Guard boxed set that he came in really set the standard for the rest of the Dwarf miniature line to follow.  Great minis every one.  Equally as disappointing was the fact Dain's mini (see here) was basically a copy of Balin with a new helmet and the axe switched to the left hand.  I'll probably end up using Durin's fig for my Dain.

I only have my command company of the Khazad Guard done, but a very promising start as these guys look great.  Great unit on the battlefield too.  Throw in a character like Balin and they'll wreck someone's day.

I have three more companies of Khazad Guard I'm currently working on.  I think four companies is perfect size for these guys for any army of 1000 points or more.  Normal Dwarf Warrior units can get by with three, but four companies of Khazad Guard is right amount to ensure this unit is effective all game long.

This next mini is the one I originally used for my King's Champion.  MVP in many a battle and still scary threat in the others.  As much as my opponents hated seeing this guy run around a wreck stuff, I loved every minute of it.  His set of rules are perfect with Epic Challenge and Epic Duel, and makes for great gaming drama and fun.  :-)

The new King's Champion model (found here) finally solves the question of base size for this "formation," and definitely looks sweet with the two banner/shield bearer and everything.  Still, I've got a soft spot for this guy who has a good amount of "Epicness" about him as well.

I've thought about making a second King's Champion sized base and putting him with some other figs, but can the King really have more than one Champ?  Doesn't seem right.  Although he might look awesome on top of a fallen cave troll or pile of Uruk-hai, the new Champ models deserve a spot on the field too.

I'll have to find some way to honor my original Champ, but for now he's just an extra Dwarf Captain.