In today's Around the Community blog, the Middle-earth team’s trusty outrider, Dan Entwisle, is reporting back with some gloriously painted cavalry and mounted Hero models that he’s spotted galloping across the wider Middle-earth community. Over Dan himself to tell us more about them.
Dan: For this instalment of Around the Community, the theme is cavalry, so any model with the Cavalry keyword was eligible for selection from the many fantastic choices you’ve been painting on offer. With that in mind, let's charge in!
First up, we have an incredibly regal Helm Hammerhand painted by David Clark. He’s achieved a wonderful deep red on the armour that stands out boldly against the lighter colours of his horse and warhorn. The red is complemented by the golden trim and scale mail armour on both Helm’s armour and his horse’s barding – a fitting look for one of Rohan’s greatest kings. David completed the miniature with a characterful scenic base, including flowers and small rocks, making it look as if it has just been plucked from the plains of Rohan.
Next up is another Lord of Rohan – Éomer, Marshal of the Riddermark – painted by Elliot Prowse. Elliot’s model sees Éomer riding an armoured horse and wielding his sword as he thunders into battle. He’s done a marvellous job painting the details on the miniature, such as adding a beautiful wood grain effect to the shield, giving the model a very sharp finish that catches your attention.
Naturally, any article talking about cavalry will feature plenty of Rohirrim, so here’s another fantastic model – Déorwine, Chief of the King’s Knights, painted by Kalman Steels-Wright. The vibrant red cloth is stunning alongside the muted green of the cloak, making these complementary colours stand out against one another. The mottled piebald pattern of the horse is remarkable on this miniature – it’s rare to find horses in the real world that are a solid colour, and Kalman has done a wonderful job reflecting that here.
Louis Vanhecke has produced this particularly menacing rendition of Azog, riding atop his ferocious White Warg. The paler elements of the model, such as Azog’s flesh, the White Warg’s fur, and the snow on the ground, provide a stark contrast against the dark armour and rough ground on the base. The blood and battle damage around the Warg’s mouth and face continue to build on the savage look of this miniature – you can imagine Azog crushing one enemy with his mace while the White Warg mauls anything that comes within range.
This stunning version of Aragorn, King Elessar, was painted by Paweł Wilk, who went the extra mile with this piece. There are freehand designs all over the model, including an intricate diamond pattern on the cloth covering the horse’s body and the designs on its reins. Paweł clearly has an extremely steady hand and plenty of patience to achieve exceptional results like this.
This version of Gandalf the White atop his loyal steed Shadowfax has been painted by Tom Thorpe. Tom is well known in the Middle-earth community for his beautifully painted models, having acquired several Best Army awards at various events hosted at Warhammer World – and, unsurprisingly, his Gandalf is no exception. Tom has paid special attention to the miniature’s face, focusing on all the minute details such as the eyes and eyebrows.
Black and white shades are notoriously difficult to paint to a high standard, but Ixmil Lalilulelo has done a wonderful job of both colours on Saruman the White and his horse. The midnight-black mount really helps the lighter elements to stand out. Ixmil has also taken great care to pick out the horse's reins and other areas of leatherwork with a series of fine and intricate highlights, while adding a splash of colour across the dark hide of the horse.
Looking every part the stoic, noble lord of Gondor we know and love, this version of Boromir, Captain of the White Tower, was painted by Jonas Drawitsch. Jonas has added lots of very fine freehand details to his Boromir – the precise tree design and other embellishments painted on the banner and the reins command your attention as soon as you look at the model.
Finally, James Collard produced this spearhead of Knights of Dol Amroth charging headlong into battle. James achieved a fantastic weathering effect on his Knights, giving the lower parts of their robes a dirty, mud-spattered look from the churned ground beneath them. He has displayed them on a spectacular movement tray, complete with large rocks, tufts of grass, and bunches of wildflowers. This adds a variety of colour to the display and looks fantastic alongside the traditional blues and whites of the Dol Amroth.
Thanks, Dan and everyone who sent in pictures! This was just a small selection of the models painted by the fantastically talented Middle-earth community. There are more blogs like this on the way in the future, so keep painting your models and make sure you share your wonderful works with us on our Warhammer Official Facebook page, and on Twitter and Instagram using #PaintingWarhammer. You never know – you could end up starring in our next Around the Community showcase.