Isengard Unleashed Pt.5

So that's my Isengard army finished for the moment. The army comes in at 800pts which is a fine size for an evening's game. I will no doubt take a gander at War of the Ring when it comes out but I can't see myself shelling out too much on a ridiculously big army that I'd only be able to game with once in a blue moon.

That's not to say it will be a static army. If there's one thing I've learned in my years wargaming is that you are never finish your army. ;)

Here's the list as it stands...

Legion of the White Hand

Saruman 170pts

Lurtz 60pts

Uruk-hai Captain (shield+heavy armour) 60pts

Uruk-hai Captain (shield+heavy armour) 60pts

Uruk-hai Captain (shield+heavy armour) 60pts

10 Uruk-hai warriors with shields 100pts

9 Uruk-hai warriors with pikes 90pts

1 Uruk-hai with banner 39pts

3 Uruk-hai Bezerkers 45pts

Isengard Troll 110 pts

Total: 794pts

Room for improvement: As one can see, it's quite a small army. This is to be expected in a predominantly Uruk-hai army. Yet numbers do count so my next purchase will probably be a box of (plastic-huzzah!) 24 Uruk-hai scouts. They are somewhat cheaper points-wise than their warrior counterparts and also 8 of them are armed with bows, giving me at least some ranged firepower (apart from Saruman's highly entertaining 'Sorcerous Blast' and the Troll's 'Throw stone'). More bezerkers would be useful and fun to paint too.

And as I've said before, Grima Wormtongue would make a very characterful addition.Maybe some Warg Riders as cavalry support...

Any other suggestions?

Isengard Unleashed Pt.4

The last part of my army, and it's a big 'un!

The new plastic Mordor/Isengard Troll is a beast of a model but very easy to assemble and paint. I couldn't decide whether I wanted him with a spear or sword so I made and painted both as they can be popped onto his shoulder like the way SM Dreadnoughts can have interchangeable arms.

The skin of the troll was difficult to get right. At first I got too concerned with getting the exact same shade and hue as on the box but then I decided to use my own scheme.I used a basecoat of Calthan Brown and added a mix of dwarf flesh and vermin brown to create the sickly-coloured skin tone. The metal was boltgun metal drybrush followed by a black ink wash. The leather was scorched brown with the straps picked out in vermin brown or snakebite leather. The teeth and fingernails were picked out in bleached bone. Finally everything was given a wash with brown ink.

I'm quite happy with how this came again. Please note it doesn't look as bright and shiny in real life, the photos are a tad bright.

Needless to say I plan to keep him well away from pesky rangers who will pincushion him before he can unleash his full hitting potential. Like the bezerkers this is a great unit to distract and intimidate your opponent.

I'll post my army list soon and how I might 'upgrade' to War of the Ring scale, as I've been hearing nothing but good things about it.

Isengard Unleashed Pt. 3

Sauruman is essential for the true Isengard army but he's quite expensive points wise so best used in larger games. Smashing people around is both useful and great fun! (especially hapless warriors into heroes

Painting was pretty straight forward; bleached Bone undercoat leading up through various thin layers of Skull White. Skin is Elf Flesh. I really would like Grima Wormtongue but when I got the Saruman blister pack waay back it only had the White Wizzard [sic] himself. I may get the new blister pack so I can get Grima. His rules are great; heroes have to spend double the amount of might to modify dice rolls etc, representing his harmful 'advice'. All which must be delivered in his weird voice! This purchase will mean I'll have a spare Saruman.... Saruman the Tartan anyone? (a cookie if you guess the reference!)
Lurtz is a solid hero of an Uruk-hai captain but with added might and a bow.

Again painted like all the Uruk-Hai with his skin painted in a muted version of the bezerkers. Special attention was given to get the hand-prints on his head.

Isengard Unleashed Pt.2

Next up is my 3 Uruk Captins. I used the Uruk Hai scouts as they have nice dynamic poses. To distinguish them from the rank and file I gave them the White Hand of Saruman (like what they do to Lurtz in the Fellowship of the Ring). The rest is painted just like a regular Uruk-Hai.

Captain 1

Captains 2 & 3 (and 1)

These guys are literally the unsung heroes of the army. Their 2 points of might allow for timely heroic moves (only used when you can bring a load of his mates with him, preferably other heroes too) and for winning combats or upping the dice roll to wound Aragorn (maybe at least once?)
I will however get the actual Uruk-Hai captain model at some stage (maybe when I increase the number of regular Uruk Hai in my army). This is mainly so I can model him on a rock shouting (like one does at Helm's Deep).


A standard bearer is an excellent addition to an army as it allows you to re-roll the dice when rolling to see who wins a nearby combat.


This was a regular pike-armed Uruk-Hai that I attached a cross-beam to in order to hang the banner from. The cross beam is a cut-down Dark Elf warrior standard cross beam and the standard is simply paper painted black with the White Hand painted on.
And then we have the bezerkers! These guys rock. Whilst they are formidably tough and almost fearless they are just as useful for their pyschological factor. Your opponent will want to kill these blood-soaked maniacs and may not pay enough attention to your Uruk-Hai... Keep them shielded until they can spring forwards though, as rangers and elves will no doubt try to spoil your day with namby pamby bow-fire.
Easiest and most fun models to paint in the army. Black undercoat followed by Mechrite Red foundation paint (huzzah fro foundation paints!). Then simply a liberal wash with brown ink to simulate slick, shiny, fresh blood! Some brown for the loin cloth and gauntlets and Boltgun Metal for the helmet (with added White Hand markings) and these guys are ready to start chopping things up! I only have 3 of these at the moment but am strongly tempted to add more as they are so easy to paint and fun to use.

Isengard Unleashed

Ok first proper post, let's get things going eh?

There shall be no dawn for men.....

Over the summer I was drawn back to the LOTR game. After an initial dabbling when the Two Towers box set came out I grew tired of the rules and even the models. Then one of my friends started collecting the Grey Company and I played him with my unpainted and unloved Uruk-Hai. And I realised how great a game it actually is. Fast, dynamic and with minimal book-keeping. Another fact was probably that I had become used to the mechanics of the system through regular playing of Legends of the Old West (which adapted its rules from LOTR).Therefore I resurrected my Isengard army and decided that I would own one fully painted army at least. The core of any Isengard army has to be a solid phalanx of Uruk-Hai. With a high defense, armour and shield they can quite a beating. And the models are very easy to paint!

Colour scheme: Black undercoat. Metal areas (armour, shield, helmet, weapon) in Boltgun Metal. Skin and leather straps/tunics were painted with the foundation paint Calthan Brown. Lastly a wash with Brown Ink (using washing-up liquid to make the ink run more evenly) to make the armour more weathered and the skin more shaded.
And that's it really. LOTR models really are a dream to paint (as well as assemble, sometimes you get sick of multi-multi-part models).




A wall of pikes is very useful as the can fight in three ranks.
Bases are sand painted with scorched brown followed by a drybrush of vermin brown, then bleached bone in patches and static grass in small patches.




More to follow...



C&C welcome