LOTR White Box

Thoughts on a Middle Earth Milieu
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien are listed among many other authors in Appendix N as influences on the White Box game. The early printings (1-5) of the LBBs list Hobbits, Ents and Balrogs just as they appear in Prof. Tolkien's literature. For me there is no denying Middle Earth is connected to White Box, but White Box is not a game of Middle Earth (ME). There have been such, but in my experience even the ones bearing the title seem to miss the mark in one way or another. I ask myself the question many times, can White Box in all its flexibility be used as the basis for a (successful) Middle Earth RPG experience?
Magic is a area where the designers of White Box chose to take the game in a different direction than one consistent with ME. Gandalf and the other Istari are Maia (angels) and can be ignored as player characters, however other magics do exist in ME.  Aragorn seems to practice some degree of "magic" either as a result of being of royal blood, or association with elves, etc. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, and Grima Wormtongue each appear to have their own subtle magics.
ME is a low level setting in White Box terms. There has been expressed on various forums the idea that Gandalf was about a 5th level Magic User in game terms and there is some merit to the argument. Goblins, wolves, orcs, and trolls remain very dangerous creatures in ME. The White Box treatment of the Hobbit as a Fighting Man limited to 4th level seems about right. Elf player characters should be limited to silvan elves, those lessor elves who have not gone west. The elven ability to act as either Magic User or Fighting Men could be converted to race-as-class allowing elves the ability to cast spells via song from their own unique spell list.
Magic Users like Denethor, Grima and the sorcerer, Mouth of Sauron, would have their own specialty areas of magic. The White box spell lists need to be reworked and a school system including at least Divination, Mind Control, and Necromancy be imposed. Each school will require a specialty spell list and generally be of low power, although some longer rituals of higher potency may be allowed. Potions, herbs and astrology type magic seems appropriate to ME and I would include those in building the milieu. Dwarves, like elves should probably be their own race-as-class and that should focus on craftsmanship with some skill in rune magic, perhaps.
Clerics seem inappropriate for a ME milieu. I would replace the Clerics class with Rangers/Dunedain who have some ability to turn undead and some herbal knowledge of healing as well as woodcraft. Ithilien Rangers could be similar or separated out as more straight woodsmen fighters without the mystic abilities of the Dunedain. The Dunedain could even be set up as race-as-class since during the Third Age they are pretty much living as frontier woodsmen.
I see ME as a dark setting with the threat of the Shadow hanging over it. I therefore would include rules for despair and/or corruption. The Shadow forces eat away at the adventurer's resolve, causing despair through wounds, discomfort, fear, fatigue, etc. Eventually it can sap one's will to resist. Corruption is more the effect of giving into the Shadow. Using sorcery or necromancy, committing Chaotic or evil deeds, giving in to greed or cruelty or despair, visiting certain corrupt places and encountering creatures corrupted by the Shadow, all would put the PC in danger of corruption and eventually becoming an agent of the Dark One (and going out of play).
Having previously run some White Box ME sessions and learning a little from each, I am becoming more convinced that it is not an impossible task. A ME White Box requires significant re-design of the core game, but the system is robust enough to handle such as is evidenced by the Empire of the Petal Throne conversion and other less well known adaptations. The way I currently approach and read Supplements I and II, they themselves represent significant alterations of the Original game in order to fit a certain milieu. To paraphrase Mr. Gygax, the rules are written to accommodate a wide range of different campaigns, some requiring significant rule modifications. DIY is part of the fun!