Repurposed Sarumans... Sarumen?

So, work on the Old Faith army stalled a little after the initial burst of Christmas productivity - not because I've lost enthusiasm for the project (quite the opposite!), but because I wasn't particularly inspired by the models I'd planned on painting next. After a pause to take stock, I opted to work on some character models to keep things going while I figured out where I wanted to take the army.

Druid-types were a must for this force, and my aim is to eventually have a dedicated spellcasting unit of six. I found a couple of cheap Lord of the Rings Saruman models on eBay that were perfect for the look I wanted. A different paint-job would do most of the work in terms of moving away from the classic Christopher Lee vibes, but I also decided to replace the distinctive staffs with simple metal rods.

This first one is Saruman in his incarnation as Sharkey from the Scouring of the Shire. It's one of my favourite models from the entire range, but I'd never painted it before. The original staff was bent double, so replacing it was a necessity - drilling into the crook of the arm took a while, but the folds of the cloak and some green-stuff work tidied things up nicely.

Another Saruman - I think the original sculpt for the character. For both models, I opted for off-white robes beneath green cloaks, which I thought would be enough to step away from the original character depictions. Here, however, I kept the white beard and, in hindsight, I wish I'd made him a redhead or something to differentiate it further. I'm leaving it for now - I'll see if it annoys me enough to repaint!

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