The Midnight Rider & the Peaky Breelanders

A horseman rides into town, at the head of a large group of ruffians.
Is it the Midnight Rider?


♫  Go and tell the Midnight Rider
Tell the rambler,
The gambler,
The back biter
That you can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time  ♫

Indeed, it is him!
The Leader of the Resistance!

And he has brought a lot of proper Oldhammer friends to boot!

 Left to Right:  Aragorn, The Leader of the Resistance, the Peaky Breelanders

Yummy old school 80s goodness!

 This mini is coded as C33 Mounted Adventurer, Rogue with Dagger

I love everything about this model - the rider, the rearing horse pose.
Look at that horse's face!  And his 80's flowing mane!

And the rider himself is the epitome of rogueish-ness.
So who is he?
Who is the Midnight Rider?

Its Bill Ferny, of course!

Bill was once an informer for Mordor and for a long time he was able to hide his double agent status.
So while everyone thought of him as a villain and a traitor, he was secretly a hero.
He has been gathering info, men, weapons and supplies to combat the forces of Mordor and all the other myriad enemies of mankind.
Being in the confidence of the Ring Wraiths, he has learned much about the forces of Darkness.
He knows their weaknesses and their motivations (He is one of the few that actually knows about Mr Baggins and the Ring and why the Nazgul want him!)
This insider knowledge and having double agents still in the employ of Mordor, allows Bill Ferny to stay one step ahead of the game.

 In the center is Jack Ferny, Bill's brother.

Once when his brother Bill was captured by the Red Right Hand gang, Jack rescued him and took their gloves (with hands still in them!) as trophies.
Now he is known as "Red Right and Red Left Hand Jack".
Its a bit of a mouthful, isnt it?  But no one wants to argue that with Jack...

The Fernys are an old family from Breetown.
Even though the Fernys were always criminally minded, they were always proud Breelanders.

When they talk about their "Family Business" they mean it, because most of their gang are relatives or distant relatives.

Their gang, the "Peaky Breelanders" have now become folk heroes amongst the suffering commoners not only across Eriador, but the entire North.

 Gang warfare has always been part of their heritage, but now it is focused on eradicating the invaders.

 They have waged both an open war and a wave of assassinations against the agents of Mordor.
All across the north, their enemies tremble in fear, and the commoners cheer in hope with the news that each day brings.

 Every kill is finished with their famous slogan... "by order of the Peaky Breelanders."

So here we have the four main heroes of the Bree campaign.

Aragorn:  Bill Ferny!  You hooligan!  You really had us fooled all this time!

Bill Ferny:  Why Strider... you law lovin' Rangers were always a bit thick in the head.  I remember when I was young, you were always putting me and my pals in the lockup.  Still, Im glad you are here for the big battle of Bree!  Oh and later, we should talk privately about a certain Hobbit carrying a certain something into Moria with an Elven Prince from Mirkwood.  Seems to me, the Halflings, Elves, and Dwarves are conspiring without asking us Big Folk for permission... 

Aragorn:  Hmm... Im pretty sure it isnt a conspiracy, Bill...  Those races are our allies.  I wont close the borders to them and build a wall and make them pay for it!  

Bill Ferny: What about the Undead and the Greenskins?

Aragorn:  Well, we did build a Wall up North.  And we did make the Wildlings pay for it...  You know what? We need to build some Walls!  Around Bree now!  Still, its not a conspiracy, buddy...

Bill Ferny:  Its one of the chapters in the book, Strider!  Chapter 5: A Conspiracy Unmasked! Its right after Chapter 4: A Shortcut To Mushrooms.  Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book! 

Radagast:  Um... Tolkien, his name is Tolkien.

Aragorn & Bill Ferny:  (in unison)  Who is Tolkien?


~~~


Will other forces arrive before the next Undead attack?
Maybe...

Right now, Im wading through and assembling hordes of skeletons and zombies.

So before working on more humans, lets show some love to the forces of Darkness!

Next post:   The Black Rider