I am doing research on what manufacturer’s produce Middle-earth compatible minis with human males in the 28mm or 30mm height range.

Background: I have hundreds of D&D and Pathfinder miniatures (where human males are 28mm tall, sometimes closer to 30 or even 32mm tall). Some call it ’25mm Heroic’ but these larger minis look noticeably taller than the traditional 25mm counterparts. However, most of the Middle-earth miniatures lines are in the true 25mm size range, not 28 or 30mm.

I want to buy minis to use for Middle-earth wargames which will field around 100 models on the table using the Dragon Rampant rules. I am also starting an ‘Adventures in Middle-earth’ roleplaying campaign, so I’d like to use these same miniatures in both Middle-earth wargaming and in tabletop roleplaying games. So I’d rally like my Middle-earth armies to be in the 28mm or 30mm height range.

I asked on the “Wargaming in Middle-earth” Facebook group and got some great feedback!

28mm Metal & Plastic Miniatures

Northstar’s Oathmark miniatures range has a nice range of goblins, dwarves and soon will have elves as well. It is worth taking a look at Frostgrave stuff as well.  These look to be the best looking manufacturer in this size range.

If you go hunting for Dark Age / Saxon cavalry there’s a load of great options out there in 28mm. Gripping Beast do them in metal and plastic.

Footsore Miniatures also have nice mounted Saxons.

I hear that there are plans to add goblin riders, but I’ve not seen official news on that.

Size Comparisons

There are some great blog posts showing the different sizes between GDW Lord of the Rings figures and models such as Oathmark:

Rebased Heroclix Models

I also plan to rebase some Heroclix Lord of the Rings models. I’ll touch up the paint jobs a bit. These are a quick, inexpensive way to get Middle-earth figures on the table that are the 28mm size range.