We’re handing over to the Middle-earth team once more as Dan Entwisle returns to chat with fellow Middle-earth rules writer Jay Clare about his awesome Army of Dunland.
Dan: So, what was it that made you want to start a Dunland force?Jay: Dunland has always appealed to me as a faction. I really like how they look on the table, and fielding an army of physically strong warriors is often a recipe for success.
As it was, I needed to put an Evil force together for the 2020 Warhammer World Grand Tournament. With the War in Rohan supplement still very new and a selection of Dunland models having just been released for the first time, it felt like the ideal moment to take the plunge. They also performed rather well as I ended up finishing second, which is always nice.
Dan: That’s certainly not a bad result. When it came to building your army, which models did you start with?
Jay: Whenever I begin a new faction, I always like to jump in with the Heroes. Armies in Middle-earth tend to revolve around these characters, as they’re a great way to establish thematic rules and combos. This is especially true for Legendary Legions such as the Army of Dunland.
It’s also good to feed the excitement of starting a new project by painting the force's most important Heroes first – Thrydan Wolfsbane, Gorûlf Ironskin, and Frída Tallspear in this case.
Dan: What led you to choose the colour scheme you used for your Dunland force, and how did you achieve it?
Jay: I usually like to make sure my models look like how I imagine them from the books or see them in the movies.
For the more ‘organised’ (at least for Dunland) part of the force, I painted them all in a similar way to show a unified fighting force. The dark red cloaks and cloth areas were painted with Khorne Red, washed with a 1:1 mix of Carroburg Crimson and Lahmian Medium, highlighted with Tuskgor Fur, and then given another wash of the same mix as before.
The lighter red for the shields was achieved with Mephiston Red, washed with the aforementioned mix, layered with Mephiston Red, and highlighted with Evil Sunz Scarlet.
The metal details were all painted with Leadbelcher, washed with Nuln Oil, and drybrushed with Ironbreaker to make the metallics pop that little bit more.
While I used reds for the main army colours, I still imagined that the Dunlendings would have a fair amount of brown and grey cloth as well. Seeing as they’re essentially just angry raiders that have formed some semblance of an organised army, getting hold of consistently coloured fabric would probably be a tall order for them.
The grey areas of cloth were painted with Mechanicus Standard Grey, washed with Nuln Oil, layered with Mechanicus Standard Grey, and then highlighted with Dawnstone.
The fur cloaks were all painted with Mournfang Brown, washed with Agrax Earthshade, and then lightly drybrushed with Terminatus Stone to finish them off.
When it came to painting the Wildmen of Dunland, I purposely didn’t use any red on them at all. I wanted them to look like the unorganised, rough, and somewhat dishevelled fighters that we see in the movies – very much just angry and, well, wild men who want to see Rohan burn.
Dan: Which is your favourite model in the army?
Jay: That’s a tough one, though overall, it’s probably Frída Tallspear. She’s come out the best, and I’m pleased with how she looks on the tabletop. Oh, and also the Palantír. I know it’s not technically in the army, but I was really happy with how the glowing Eye of Sauron on it ended up.
Dan: Have you got plans to add anything else to this force?
Jay: I’d quite like to add a bit more speed to the army. A couple more flocks of Crebain wouldn’t hurt. I’d also like to increase the number of Wildmen of Dunland, so I have a full warband ready to go.
Aside from that, I think this project is pretty much done, so I can turn my attention to a few other things I have on the go – though they’ll have to remain secret for now…
Thanks, gents. Jay’s Dunlendings will certainly look good while marauding across Rohan – burning houses and farms as they go. If you want to begin your own Dunlending force, grab the Heroes of Dunland and a Dunlending Warrior Warband.