I know that it's a very long one but I can't resist to quote the famous Bilbo Farewell's Speech ... 

(with some pictures maybe ?? )

"Mes Chers Amis,
Mes chers Sacquet et Bophin, et mes chers Touque et Brandebouc, Fouille, Boulot, Fouine, Sonnecor, Bolger, Sanglebac, Bravet, Trougrisard et Fierpied. Et aussi mes bons Sacquet de Besace, dont le retour enfin à Cul-de-Sac est le bienvenu. Ce jour est celui de mon cent onzième anniversaire: j'ai undécante-un ans aujourd'hui! 
J'espère que vous vous amusez tous autant que moi. Je ne serai pas long,  je vous ai tous rassemblés pour une certaine raison.
Pour trois raisons, en vérité ! Tout d'abord, pour vous dire que je vous aime tous immensément et qu'undécante-un ans sont un temps trop court à vivre parmi de si excellents et si admirables Hobbits.
Je ne connais pas la moitié d'entre vous à moitié autant que je le voudrais; et j'aime moins que la moitié d'entre vous à moitié aussi bien que vous le méritez. En second lieu, pour célébrer mon anniversaire.  Je devrais dire: NOTRE anniversaire. Car c'est aussi, bien sûr, celui de mon héritier et neveu, Frodon. Il entre aujourd'hui dans sa majorité et dans son héritage. 
Ensemble, nous comptons cent quarante-quatre ans. Votre nombre a été choisi pour concorder avec ce total remarquable: une Grosse, si vous me permettez cette expression.  C'est aussi, s'il m'est permis de me rapporter à l'histoire ancienne, l'anniversaire de mon arrivée par tonneau à Esgaroth sur le Long Lac; bien que le fait que ce fût mon anniversaire me fût sorti de la mémoire en cette occasion. Je n'avais alors que cinquante et un ans, et les jours de naissance ne paraissaient pas aussi importants. Le banquet fut splendide, toutefois, encore que je fusse affligé d'un fort rhume à ce moment, je m'en souviens, et je pouvais seulement dire " Berci beaucoup ". Je le répète à présent plus correctement: Merci beaucoup d'être venus à ma petite réception. 
Troisièmement et pour finir, dit-il, je voudrais vous faire une ANNONCE. J'ai le regret de vous annoncer quoique, je vous l'ai dit, undécante-un ans soit un temps bien insuffisant à passer parmi vous - que ceci est la FIN. Je m'en vais. Je pars MAINTENANT. ADIEU ! "

 

My dear People; My dear Bagginses and Boffins, and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks, and Grubbs, and Chubbs, and Burrowses, and Hornblowers, and Bolgers, Bracegirdles, Goodbodies, Brockhouses, and Proudfoots. Also my good Sackville-Bagginses that I welcome back at last to Bag End. Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday: I am eleventy-one today! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as I am. I have called you all together for a Purpose. Indeed, for Three Purposes! First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. Secondly, to celebrate my birthday. I should say: OUR birthday. For it is, of course, also the birthday of my heir and nephew Frodo. He comes of age and into his inheritance today. Together we score one hundred and forty-four. Your numbers were chosen to fit this remarkable total: One Gross, if I may use the expression. It is also, if I may be allowed to refer to ancient history, the anniversary of my arrival by barrel at Esgaroth on the Long Lake; though the fact that it was my birthday slipped my memory on that occasion. I was only fifty-one then, and birthdays did not seem so important. The banquet was very splendid, however, though I had a bad cold at the time, I remember, and could only say ‘thag you very buch’. I now repeat it more correctly: Thank you very much for coming to my little party. Thirdly and finally, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. I regret to announce that- though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you- this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!

 

I continue the range of "Rangers of the Ithilien" with Faramir, captain of the Company.
On the Mithril web-store , not a lot of information :
 "Faramir was the younger son of Denethor, the ruling steward of Gondor during the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age."
 
But more informations on "Tolkien's Gateway" :

The Rangers of Ithilien were a Gondorian special operations force, selected from the descendants of the people who had dwelt in Ithilien before it fell from Gondor's control. Dressed in camouflaging green and brown, they crossed the Anduin in secret to harass the forces of the Enemy in Gondor's old domain and used several secret retreats in the region.

History

It is likely that the Rangers of Ithilien were established at the same time that Henneth Annûn was built, in T.A. 2901 when most of the remaining inhabitants of the region departed due to Uruk attacks from Mordor. The Rangers' main task was to harry Sauron's forces whenever they entered Ithilien.
At the time of the War of the Ring,  the leader of these Rangers was Faramir, son of the Ruling Steward Denethor.
 Other Rangers at that time were Damrod, Mablung and Anborn
On 7 March 3019, Frodo and Sam witnessed a harassing attack by the Rangers of Ithilien upon a regiment of Southrons  marching north. The two hobbits were captured by Faramir and other Rangers and brought to Henneth Annûn.  Faramir learned of the One Ring carried by Frodo and captured Gollum, but on 8 March, he let the three go to seek entry into Mordor.
Faramir and the Rangers of Ithilien left Henneth Annûn on 9 March. The Rangers fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.  When the Army of the West marched through Ithilien on its way to the Morannon, a powerful force of Orcs and Easterlings tried to ambush its leading companies, but the Rangers of Ithilien, led by Mablung (since Faramir was recovering in the Houses of Healing) trapped the ambushers and destroyed them.
After the defeat of Sauron it may be that the Rangers of Ithilien became the White Company, the guard of Faramir, who became the Prince of Ithilien at the command of King Elessar."

I love this figure, Faramir is very expressive and the pose is perfect.
He seems to look down ... it gives me some idea ...
Let's see with pictures ...

I've painted some fantasy figures for a small LoTR range ( 22 figures )... I've posted before a W.I.P which can help you for this little "game" !
Well that's simple:
In the (bad) pictures bellow, each figure has a number from 1 to 22.
If you find who they are, you just have to give number = name of the character wich  it supposes to be .
The other pictures can help you .. maybe !
Good game ! ... and Thanks !







the whole range :

Hi !

I've started a new Fantasy project.
Like I have some Caesar and WoTR figures, I thought that I maybe could do a "Fellowship"... but I've seen that some other figures of those sets could be good for other characters.
For some of them, it's quite easy to know who they are, but sometimes, I've to choose between 2 figures.
I've also done some minor conversions for  a few figures.

In the pictures bellow, they have a number, so you can give your advices, they will be welcomed !
Many thanks !

Saruman

Galadriel with the Mirror

... one of my last painting work, two in fact !

The first one :
MS570 : Sam with cooking apparatus. 
Remember : when Frodo, Sam and Gollum were in the Ithilien, before being caught by the Faramir's Rangers, Gollum bring a rabbit to Sam who start to cook it... it was not a good idea of course ....

So I've painted also Gollum (the one from the box "Shelob's Lair" ), I think they fit well together.