Wolf Packs!

A big pile of reinforcements for Sauron in the form of two 6 figure wolf packs and another 6 figure squadron of wolf riders. These are Vendel Miniatures from Thistle and Rose in Illinois. I requested small round shields because I dislike the original square wicker  shields. 

The wolves all painted up very fast. Just layers of dry brushing successively darker colours from stomach to back. I did one pack with grey fur and the other with brown, just mix it up.

I broke my usual routine and painted the riders before gluing them to the wolves because I remember from the first squadron that the riders got in the way of the dry brushing of wolf fur. I also painted the shields separately because I anticipated them being very close to the wolves and being in the way when trying to mount the riders. So they got attached to the riders after mounting.

For bases I used some round steel off cuts from work. I like the round blobs, it makes the wolves more irregular and wolfy than the neatly ranked up 25x50mm rectangles my first squadron is based on. I hope they aren't too thin to be easy to pick up.

Here is a comparison shot with the big, lean, red-eyed and slavering dire wolves:

Of course, now I need to make the wolves and dire wolves different somehow. 

But now the Dark Tower has a pretty nice mounted division. I could make an entire 24 point mounted warband for Dragon Rampant! I'm feeling a sudden need to crack on with that 2nd box of Gripping Beast plastic Gothic cavalry I bought and do a little wolf on Rider action!