Oaken's Twelve: GW's Dwarf Rangers as Thorin's Company. Coda I: Dain Ironfoot

[Mason]

They're just perfect!!!

Exactly as I think they should look almost.

The Crazy Viking has it spot on!

Great work.
Love them all, and the finished product is just great.
 

[Jevenkah]

Very cool! The tucked-in braids were a detail that drew my eye right away. Love the brushwork on the cloak too.

I enjoyed the essay on your blog as well. It had the effect of composing a few different discussions in my head re: war and the gradual but distinct darkening of the subject matter in The Hobbit. My quick take is this: not only was Tolkien a great student of history and the thus the ways war shapes culture, he also fought and lived through "The War to End All Wars". I can't help but think for a children's book at the time, it painted quite a vivid argument for peace. Tolkien presents the both the excitement of war, and its dire consequences.

When you said this was the last of the upright dwarves does that mean you have casualties in the works? Thorin in his final moments? I am curious...

Jevenkah

[Momotaro]

Yep - definitely better than the movie crew!

[Little Odo]

Very, very nice conversions and paint jobs. I like your take on them much better than the cinema versions, but as mentioned by another poster, I can see why PJ did it the way he did.

[Jet Simian]

Thanks again, guys!

Hat tip again to Jevenkah - yeah, I agree with what you say about Tolkein. I think his personal experiences on the front are an integral part of his storytelling, and find it interesting to compare the mythos he created (informed by that experience as much as his regional background and academic studies) compared to the other mythologies created by the likes of lewis and Lucas - all very different, each treating subjects like war from quite different distances.

@Little Odo - yeah, I'm sure Jackson has opted for the version of the Hobbit Dwarves we've seen due to the LotR movies coming first and certain groundrules being established. It definitely works for the movie in that regard; cool that we still have other choices in our model making though, yeah?

As for my reference to 'upright' Dwarves Jevenkah - a dying Thorin is a neat idea and one I hadn't thought of (I'm sure we'll be seeing a few dioramas based on that in years to come). My reference is to a side project though - my Moria Cutaway (http://jetsimian.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/oakens-eleven-moria-cutaway.html) which is... coming along, at least!