Perhaps the blackest deed of the fallen wizard Saruman in
The Lord of the Rings was the creation of the Uruk-hai, half men and half orc. Taller and stronger than other orcs, they made up the elite forces of Isengard's army, leading lesser orcs on scouting parties and into battle.
In the books, the Uruk-hai served, as I said earlier, as leaders for lesser orcs. Parties completely composed of them were uncommon- at Amon Hen a mere four were slain by Boromir, which reflects both how few were there, and their fighting prowess compared to standard orcs. In spite of this ability, there were too few Uruk-hai to make a lasting difference on the War of the Ring.
This is changed drastically in the Jackson films, where the entire army at Helm's Deep is composed of Uruks, and their ferocious cousins, the Berserkers. While this made for some formidable battle sequences, it also made the Orcs of Mordor which appear later seem tame in comparison. This resulted in an expanded role for the Easterlings and Mumakil at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields to increase dramatic tension, which, in my opinion, was a mistake. By taking the focus away from the central evil of Sauron's Orcs and increasing the ability of his servants like Saruman and the Easterlings, Jackson put Sauron on more of a level footing with his lieutenants.
Despite this, I do like the design of the film Uruk-hai, especially lightly-armored Scouts like these, with the White Hand of Isengard smeared on helm and shield. The first copy of the Hobbit I read was filled with the illustrations of Michael Hague (I believe I also mentioned his work
here). His goblins were an inspiration for the skin tones and hair of these Uruks.
I've worked on these off and on for the past month, so there are individual differences between the models, easiest to see in the warpaint (or lack thereof). I'm happy with that, as it makes this group look more like a disorganized mob, as fits a band of orcs.
The best known use of scouting Uruk-hai was at Amon Hen, where a mixed force of Isengarders, Orcs of the Eye and goblins from the Misty Mountains attacked the Fellowship, killing Boromir. Archers played a memorable part in this assault, probably allowing the Uruks to weaken Boromir before coming within range of a sword-thrust (overly represented by Lurtz in the Jackson films).
Rule-wise, I'm interested by Mauhur (mentioned by Ugluk as the leader of another band of scouts) and his "lads", fast as horse-riders. I like playing mobile, bow-heavy forces, and the added clout of the sword-armed scouts seems like it would make for a good army.
I've also painted up a Warg Rider to provide some support to the scouts. I'm particularly pleased with the demented look and dark hide of the Warg, and the primitive look of the rider.
I'm happy with how this force has turned out. Although I may add a few more models to it, I've got a fair sized core of warriors, plenty to play some Battle Companies or a small-scale SBG.
