Here in the Middle-earth team, we’re always on the lookout for armies that grab our imagination. This week, Forge World editor and Middle-earth fan, Andrew King, shows us his ever-growing Mordor collection.
Andrew: The core of my collection is made up of Mordor Orcs, the ubiquitous servants of Sauron. For me, the Orcs in the books and movies epitomise the evil that Mordor represents – the desire to corrupt and dominate all life in Middle-earth.
The Orcs in my force are a mix of plastic models and the older, metal Orcs. These models really capture the degenerate nature of the Orcs, with pointed-ears indicating their Elven origins, alongside their ragtag clothing and armour illustrating their unkempt nature, all showing that they are more of a chaotic rabble than an organised army.
For games, my collection can be tailored to a variety of different Narrative Scenarios from the Strategy Battle Game supplements with the addition of a few Heroes or Monsters.
The Orcs were fun miniatures to paint and each was surprisingly quick, taking only a couple of hours per model. I tried to emulate the dark and dirty look of the Orcs in the films but I was careful not to go overboard with the weathering. At this scale, too much dirt would make them appear messy and poorly painted.
Instead, I used a palette of dark, grimy-looking colours which, while not identical to the movies, work very well at this scale.
To match the aesthetic of the Orcs seen in the movies, I painted the models in drab, muted colours such as Dryad Bark, Rhinox Hide, Skavenblight Dinge and Mechanicus Standard Grey. These were shaded with Agrax Earthshade before adding colours such as Screaming Skull or Karak Stone for the highlights.
By applying a limited number of colours to different sections, I was able to tie the miniatures together without them looking too uniform. To add some splashes of colour, I painted some of the cloth areas Khorne Red and highlighted this by mixing Kislev Flesh with Khorne Red.
I found that more subtle, muted tones matched the look of The Lord of the Rings™ movies by making the models appear more natural than brighter and more vibrant shades would.
My choice of Heroes and Monsters provide the force with a sense of narrative, grounding it in a particular time and place. I wanted the collection to reflect the army which fought in the final battle before the Black Gates of Mordor – so it is led by the Mouth of Sauron.
There’s something very sinister about the movie’s portrayal of the character, with all of his features hidden behind his helm save for his creepy, over-large mouth so I knew I wanted to paint my own version of this disturbing character. He was painted in a very similar way to the Orcs, using Abaddon Black as a basecoat and highlighting it by adding in progressively lighter shades of grey.
To add some weathering, I stippled Mournfang Brown and Skrag Brown towards the bottom of the robe to simulate the build-up of mud and dirt.
Another character in my army is the Orc Taskmaster. In the movies, he can be seen marching the Orc horde towards the Black Gate prior to the arrival of the armies of Gondor and Rohan and so was, presumably, present at the Battle of the Morannon. The addition of a Drummer further contributes to the theme of an army on the march.
For me, one of the most memorable moments in the books is when a host of Trolls assault the company of Beregond and Pippin. To reflect this, I wanted to include some Mordor Trolls. As Monsters, they provide a strong focal point, towering over the smaller Orcs with their imposing presence. I also wanted to include the Troll Chieftain who fights Aragorn in the movie version and wounds Beregond in the book.
The Mordor Trolls were a fantastic opportunity to paint different textures such as their cracked and scratched leather, tough elephant-like skin and metal armour plates. I used a series of small, tapering lines on the edges of the leather straps, concentrating on those areas where the leather would naturally bend and crack (an old belt or jacket is perfect for reference).
To provide a base colour and some initial shading for the Troll’s skin, I applied Guilliman Flesh over all the skin and highlighted this by painting thin stripes following the sculpted creases. I started with Kislev Flesh and added increasing amounts of Ushabti Bone all the way up to pure Ushabti Bone for a fairly pale skin tone.
In order to emphasise the texture of the skin and to distinguish it from the other areas, I blended the highlights by mixing a lighter colour into the base colour along with a drop of Lahmian Medium to achieve a subtle transition.
The Orcs and Mordor Trolls gave me a good basis for a number of different scenes from the books and movies. After all, the forces of Mordor were involved in many of the battles of the War of the Ring. Next, I plan on adding a few of the resin characters such as Guritz & Gothmog’s Enforcer and Goroth & Zagdûsh so I can recreate the different conflicts which took place in Tolkien’s stories.
Thanks, Andrew! If you want to build your own army worthy of Mordor, be sure to pick up a set of Morannon Orcs and Morannon Orc Commanders to start your collection off with some reliable, well-armoured warriors and a selection of Heroes with which to lead your warbands.