I have a load of gondors but only 24 morannon orcs

are the gondors in any other book apart from gondor in flames.

i am looking for a good beginners evil army to start with preferably using the orcs so i can at least get some plastic on the table this weekend and the kids can start playing

Gondor in Flames is all you need for the Gondor rules.

For the Morranon Orcs you'll need 'Mordor'.

As for beginners armies, a box of Morranons and a blister of Morranon Orc captains should come in at the same pointage as a box of Warriors of Minas Tirith and a WoMT command blister. (haven't got the rulebook to hand, so can't give exact point costs). That should be enough to play a few beginner games to get yourself aquainted with the rules.

A box of Warrior of Minas Tirith and one Command blister costs 287 points, and a box of Morannon Orcs and their Command blister (with both captains) costs approximately 292 points, more if you give shield to any of the spearmen. The only books you'll need for the above basic armies would be the Core Book and Gondor in Flames and Mordor respectively.

Though for more advanced tactics, I'd buy the Command boxed sets, giving the Gondor force a hornblower (for Courage bonuses) and the Mordor force a Shaman (for minor spellcasting). Though if you're a beginner, I'd just go for the first mentioned options.

Cheers,
Fenrir

Mordor is a fairly safe bet for a first-time evil army: you've already got Morannons to get started and a typical rival in your Gondorians. Mordor has a good variety of models as well as having some of the most recent (and therefore the fanciest) releases.

You should pick up the "Mordor" book - like "Gondor in Flames" it'll contain everything you need to know rules-wise about that particular army. As suggested, some Captains would be a safe bet and give you a decent enough army to play a few small games. A box of Mordor Orcs or Warg Riders would probably be next on the agenda.

What does your Gondorian army currently consist of? If you're hoping to build both at the same time - to allow a someone else to use one or the ather in games - its probably a good idea to try and keep them roughly equal in build and points.

thanks for the replies,

the gondor and good forces minis i currently have according to the list i was given with them are

gondor captain on foot, gondor standard on foot
47 gondor soldiers (5 of which are citadel guards with spears)
24 gondor soldiers with bows
12 gondor knights (1 is captain 1 has a standard
16 army of the dead
gondor trebuchet
12 gondor rangers
6 gondor clansmen
mounted gandalf the white gandalf the white on foot
mounted boromir boromir on foot boromir hornblower
mounted aragorn
12 fountain guards

and for the evils
24 morannon orcs 1 morannon orc captain blister
saruman


off to buy a mordor book now

that Gondor force is a really good size and will give you alot to fall back on. What you want from there is up to you really(I would look at the Avenger Bolthrower my self)
As for the Mordor There is a fiar bit to go here as most mordor/goblin armys should always outnumber there opponents. So maybe look at some normal mordor orcs for meat shields etc as well as the plastic troll(One of the best kits GW have ever made for LOTR).