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I have spent the last week busily working on a project that I have long wanted to complete: a Games Workshop Mumak from Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. There were three things that drew me to paint this kit: first, the thing is absolutely gorgeous, from tip of the trunk to tip of the tail. Second, my dad read me Lord of the Rings when I was eleven, and I distinctly remember the poem that Sam recited upon looking on a Mumak (or Oliphaunt, as the hobbits call them.) And third, given that this beast is from Games Workshop and is massive, it’s relatively inexpensive. I bought it off Amazon (Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games) for just over $90 USD.

Now, I’m a painter, but I’m not an expert painter, and when I went to put this thing together I neglected one major issue: it has some serious mold lines. Just look at the mold lines that are running up the face and over the forehead of this beast. I didn’t scrape them down (to be honest, I don’t think I could have scraped them down given the way it was molded), and by the time that I gave the Mumak its first coat of paint, wash, and highlights I realized that I had a serious problem on my hands. A problem that could only be solved with Liquid Green Stuff.

The problem, I came to find out, was that neither of my FLGSs in my town had any Liquid Green Stuff in stock, and the two Warhammer stores (which are considerably farther away and which I only go to if I must) didn’t have any in stock either. I guess the supply chain hits again. So, I decided to do a workaround. If I couldn’t smooth down the mold lines, I could hide them. I looked at some reference images of the Mumak in Return of the King and saw how their war paint was applied. And then I did a semi-accurate approximation based on the blurry images. I’m happy to say that it turned out MUCH better than I was expecting, and you can only see those pesky mold lines if you’re looking for them.

Building A Games Workshop Mumak

The Games Workshop Mumak comes in four main sections: the Oliphaunt himself, the platforms, and the Haradrim that ride atop it, and the base. I decided to take them in turn. This was going to be a Christmas gift, so I wanted it to be extra well-done, and I’m not the world’s best painter, so I took my time, I followed all the advice I have ignored about painting for so long, and the Oliphaunt came together quite nicely.

The platforms came next, and there was nothing particularly difficult to paint about the platforms. One thing that I like about painting large beasts is that it feels less like drawing inside the lines and more like painting on a canvas. So I painted the red cloth surrounding the platforms in a much more freeform style, and I think it is so much the better for it.

One note about the Games Workshop Mumak: the wooden supports that hold various parts of the platform in place do not always fit quite right. The looked like the were molded correctly, but some of them were off by more than an eighth of an inch, which was frustrating. Still, some trimming with the hobby knife was all it really took to get them in position.

I should also note that on much of this I was using super glue and super glue activator (Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games) because the plastic glue was just not working fast enough for what I wanted. I realize there’s a tradeoff to be had in terms of strength, but seeing as how this is going to be a display piece and never see a Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game table, I figured I was okay. (I did drip a little shiny super glue down one leg of the Mumak, but matte varnish took care of that.)

The base is something that I particularly enjoyed. I love that they gave us a sculpted base, and not just rocks but actual dead Rohirrim. It adds a lot to the model, and it didn’t really take much time to paint up. The end result gives it a far better look than I could have achieved if I was trying to base the Mumak myself.

As for the Haradrim, I batch painted them and they really took no time at all. A couple of different colors for their clocks and paints, some fine highlighting of their armor in a bright yellow gold, then just the faces and the weapons.

And the result is this. I can truly say that I have never been more proud of a miniature that I have painted more than this one. It looked like an enormous project–I had thought it would take me weeks, but it really only took about five days, three of which were work days so I was only painting in the early morning.

I can’t wait to give this Games Workshop Mumak as a Christmas gift. I know that the recipient will love it as much as I do. (Here’s hoping he doesn’t read this blog.)