Smaug

[sneakgun]

The unveiling of the Smaug model from GW...

[UlrichvonDiakanov]

 It´s bigger than my dog!!!! I have a Pomerania 

I love the molde, anyway it will be so expensive to me 

[Timbor]

Definitely a nice model, though when they get that big, they start to look not much better than a $20 kids toy.

Also, the video was ruined by the sub-par paintjob on Bilbo...

[supervike]

Pretty spiffy, but far more than I would ever consider for it.

[Melnibonean]

He doesn't have bits of treasure stuck all over his belly.
I haven't bothered to see the movie, so am I to assume that Mr Jackson decided that that little detail needed to be changed from the proper tale?

[Westfalia Chris]

He doesn't have bits of treasure stuck all over his belly.
I haven't bothered to see the movie, so am I to assume that Mr Jackson decided that that little detail needed to be changed from the proper tale?

It's been some time since I last saw it, but IIRC, he was missing a scale in a vulnerable place rather than the jewel-encrusted belly from the book. That said, I do think it might have looked a trifle gauche, a bit too bling-bling, if the climax of the sequence in the forge is anything to go by.

Probably also cheaper to animate, dark scales vs. shiny gold and gems.

Fascinating model, that one.

[Momotaro]

Lovely model!  You can even see the loosened scale on his left side.

Not sure he's a gaming piece - that tail looks very easy to snap.  But as a painting and assembly project - wow!

[Nord]

It's nice. But not £300 nice.

[Connectamabob]

Definitely a collectors display piece rather than a gaming piece. Cost aside, the base kinda makes it obvious.

IMO there comes a time in a mans life when he must take his chances in the shed with a brick of Sculpey and some rebar wire. Or for the less adventurous, there's the recent Pegasus Vermithax vinyl kit for a decent, affordable, big but not too big for the table dragon.

[guitarheroandy]

GW take a load of cr*p on this and many other websites, some justified, some not.

In my opinion this model is absolutely fantastic! It is a superb sculpt, brilliant paint job and is an amazing collectors piece.

This is the one model most thought GW would never make, and certainly Warner Bros (or whoever it is that owns the movie rights) have made it very difficult for them if the rumours have been true. But they have done it! Ok, it's £300. But actually when you look at its size and figure in the fact that even 10 plastic warhammer figs cost 20-30 quid, actually, it's not that expensive in comparison.

I think it's just magnificent and if I had space for it and if I could still paint worth a darn to do it justice, I'd be tempted...

But I don't and I can't, so I won't bother.

Brilliant piece of work, though!

[goon3423]

It's nice & all but GW priced me out a long time ago.

[matthais-mouse]

In the video, you can see the detail of the skin on the neck and it looks just like a snake (not saying its good or bad as not sure if Smaug was meant to be snake like skin wise) but I do actually like the way the video is made.

The paint scheme isn't too bad (still better than what i could do haha) but not long enough of a video to really appreciate the detail, I would have to see one up close and have a good half an hour to an hour to inspect it.

[Garanhir]

I think the model's really quite lovely, in a "terrifying giant reptile"sort of way. Completely out of my hobby budget, but a fine talking point. Is it more a display piece than a toy soldier? Possibly.

It's still lovely, though.

[Vermis]

In the video, you can see the detail of the skin on the neck and it looks just like a snake (not saying its good or bad as not sure if Smaug was meant to be snake like skin wise) but I do actually like the way the video is made.

Oh, now you've done it.

In Tolkien and older legends, dragons and things are sometimes said to be like 'worms' or 'serpents', but in modern fantasy meedja almost everyone puts those snakelike ventral scales on dragons. The problem, IMO, is that those big, wide, single-row ventral scales are only found on limbless snakes. They're like that to reduce friction on the belly during locomotion and even aid rectilinear locomotion ('rib-walking').
I don't think a lot of fantasy artists know that type of scale is specifically snakelike, let alone that they have a specific function. Most seem to put them on dragons because they look 'kewl' and because 'everyone puts them on dragons; that's just what dragons have', and then go and turn them from smooth, flexible locomotor scales into great, thick, horny plates that look like concrete flagstones and about as flexible, or like an apron made out of the Michelin Man's skin. Often accompanied by a similar and even more baffling row along the back.
I'd like to see some more 2D or 3D dragons that show a bit more original thought or knowledge in their design, TBH, and skin's just one area. Something more lizard or crocodile-like. Or something even more esoteric. Y'know there's a Triceratops specimen with preserved skin texture? Small bumpy scales along the back, with occasional large polygonal plates scattered among them, and rectangular, croclike scales along the belly. Nice.

Some of you might laugh at me for taking this too seriously. You wouldn't be the first, or the loudest. But I'm fairly disappointed that this Smaug design has gone the same old way with it's belly scales. It seems that even one of the most iconic, explicit, plot-important designs/descriptions of a dragon character can't hold up in the face of a tired image cliche.

[LawnRanger]

That aint a Dragon its a Wyvern as its only got 2 legs..