Monday, May 04, 2015

Erkenbrand, Lord of the Westfold

Getting back to some LOTR painting, and I have recently completed Erkenbrand, Lord of the Westfold of Rohan, to compliment my growing Rohan force.


Erkenbrand's name is possibly derived from the Old English 'eorcan' meaning precious, and 'brand' meaning sword.


Erkenbrand was the Lord of the Westfold of Rohan at the time of the War of the Ring, at the end of the Third Age.

He is largely missed from the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, with a brief appearance in Return of the King.

In the books, during the battle of Helms Deep, it is he and his Eored, that Gandalf seeks out as reinforcements to the beleaguered defenders of the Hornburg, and not Eomer, as in the movie. In the books, Eomer is already in the Hornburg, as one of the defenders...




Again, in the books, after the battle of Helms Deep, when Theoden leads the forces of Rohan to Gondor's aid, Erkenbrand remains behind to manage the Dunlending prisoners and make repairs to the fortress.


After the War of the Ring comes to an end, Éomer makes Erkenbrand Marshal of the West-mark


In the game, Erkenbrand is a potent hero of Rohan, allowing me to field another warband of 12 Riders of Rohan. What attracts me to using him though is his special rule "Red Shields". For 1pt per model, Warriors and Riders of Rohan can have their Fight skill increased from 3 to 4.

That doesn't sound much but when their traditional foes are Uruks with Fight 4, that brings the Riders back to parity... and with the extra mounted attacks a cavalry charge brings, that should start scattering the evil forces, especially against any lowly Fight 3 orcs in their forces...


Looking forward to giving Erkenbrand a whirl, alongside Eomer and Theodred...

21 comments:

  1. Nice work on him! Good to see some of the more uncommon characters painted up as well

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  2. Very nice! Thank you for the Old English info.
    Panagiotis

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  3. Lovely work Scott. I have the same figure (though nowhere near as well painted) and I use him as my Saxon Warlord: Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

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  4. can't wait to see the lot together in a group shot.

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  5. And in one fell swoop you negate half of my Uruks advantage. I'll just have to rely on that stupidly high defence now.
    I'm not keen on the mounted pose but that foot one is cracking. And you've done it justice, very good work sir!

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  6. Fabulous job Scott. Looks amazing!

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  7. Really well painted. I remember painting this model, it is quite a large one (compared to the tiny plastic Rohan Warriors) if I remember correctly, but nevertheless I did found the shield and the little beard very difficult to get right - and in fact, I never got them right!

    So, I know my Erkenbrands and this is a very well painted one!

    Not sure if you want C&C, but here goes: The cloak, perhaps a wash? I am no expert though, as well you know ;)

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  8. Hey Scott,
    It's great to see you get back to some Lotr stuff.
    Erkenbrand is one of my favourite models of all time, and I think you did a cracking job with him!
    Regards

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  9. Excellent addition to you collection, Scott. Never ceases to impress.

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  10. Love your Rohan figures! Don't think I even registered the existence of this one!

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  11. Very nicely Done Scott and the figure has great posing!

    Christopher

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  12. really nice work Scott. although if my memory serves, his upgrade effects only riders, not warriors.

    but that +2 horn really makes a mess of things when you are used to men running away...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the heads up, yes I had forgotten about the Horn, another useful ability !

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