The Fall of Gondolin is a fan written supplement for Games Workshop’s Lord fo the Rings Skirmish game. The author writes that the game
is set back in the First Age, before the treachery of Sauron and the forging of the great Rings of Power. Included within these pages are stats for mighty elven heroes named in the Silmarillion such as King Turgon and Tuor. There is the possibility of creating your own elven lords for each of the twelve houses of the Gondolindrim. The good side have the chance to wield battalions of the houses that make up Gondolin, each with their special trait. Like any decent supplement the evil side has not been forgotten, introducing mighty Fire Drakes and Balrog warriors to spice things up!
There are also twelve scenarios linked into a campaign format depicting the Gondolins Fall; narrated in four acts through the eyes of a surviving elf.
War in Middle Earth is a fan generated supplement to Games Workshop’s excellent Lord of the Rings skirmish game. It’s designed to allow you to play larger battles using the Games Workshop system.
Legends of Old Mars is a Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom variant of Games Workshop’s Lord of the Rings / Legends of the Old West game. I think that system is perfect for playing games involving John Carter, Tars Tarkas and the other denizens of Burrough’s Barsoom.
Dagorlad has a great article on the architecture of Gondor, along with instructions for building models for your Games Workshop Lord of the Rings battlegames. It’s somply amazing how he breaks down still photos from teh movies and then translates them into miniature.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
