As a German user pointed out, we still need to address graphical matters concerning the very appearance of the Guards of Orthanc. In the German forum, they proposed a Gondor-like resemblance (to symbolise Isengard's past as a stronghold of that Númenórean realm), to which the vessel of the White Hand might be added. I then suggested the look of the units be made a bit corrupted/marred (to show their allegiance to the evil cause and moral corruption equally).
So to continue on the matter of appearance of our little guards, I have a couple of suggestions for it. First of all, let's start with the resemblance with Gondor. Eventhough I agree that the units should have similarities with Gondor, we shouldn't forget that there is no 1 type of Gondorian Armor, especially in this mod. While the standard Gondorian soldiers have the armor which we see in the movies, the warriors from the Southern Fiefdoms all have different types of armor, with some not even resembling the standard Gondorian armor at all (at least in Edain mod). I can imagine that Isengard was no different from the Fiefdoms on this matter, so it should have at max a very small resemblance, but not more, to the Gondorian standard armor.
Now then, I was searching on Google Images for armor that, in my opinion, would fit the Guards of Orthanc very well. Sadly I couldn't find THE perfect image
, however there are 2 that caught my attention. Firstly, we have the Guards of Orthanc from the Third Age Total War mod, which the maker of the thread already proposed. Here is the screenshot again just in case:
The helmet style resembles the Gondorian ones a little bit, but with that the similarities end, which is fine by me. If I were to choose a type of armor for the Guards, I would choose this one. However! Since Saruman didn't become corrupted in one day, I think the armor itself should become a little bit more wicked, to show that these men have become corrupted as well. Perhaps some rust stains here and there, or some pointy parts in the shoulder pads and helmet.
The second armor I would propose is a whole lot different from the first one:
This was one of the results when I googled "numenorean armor". Ofcourse, there have to be made some changes here and there. For example, the golden influences on the armor should be removed, and the breast plate should have a white hand on it. The helmet could use a small Orthanc crest on top of it. Perhaps the cape can be removed as well.
What do you think?