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no in the bok it was wound, IIRC.

 the shrouded lord wrote:
no in the bok it was wound, IIRC.

Nope. Just a bare patch where the gems etc didn't become embedded.

 angelofvengeance wrote:

 the shrouded lord wrote:
no in the bok it was wound, IIRC.

Nope. Just a bare patch where the gems etc didn't become embedded.

Actually, it was the same thing. Girion had wounded Smaug with a Black Arrow as well, but didn't slay him.

Remember that in the book the Black Arrows weren't ballista bolts. They were just arrows, forged by the Men of Dale with the aid of the Dwarfs.

Yeah, the Black Arrow fired by one of Bard's ancestors removed one of Smaug's scales in the film, in the book I don't think it actually explained where the bare patch came from. There was certainly none of that Windlance nonsense in the book; I'm still holding out hope that Bard kills him with a regular arrow from a regular bow as per the book, that's far more heroic that a lucky shot with arrows fired from a ballista and designed to kill dragons.

And yes, I know there are spoilers out there, but I've avoided them so far, if anyone does know, please keep quiet.


And as for the posability, this is finecast, people! Behold:

Burning Dwarves is tiring and hot work, even for a dragon such as Smaug! Now you too can add this extra layer of character to your mighty beast, with the new and innovative possibilities offered by the revolutionary finecast. Over the course of a game, as even Smaug the Magnificent becomes weary, you will notice that his great from begins to droop, his head, tail and wings sagging over the battlefield as his strength flags. For best results, play your battles on warm days!

Of course, the material is great for experienced modellers as well, and there's so many options in posing that there's nothing to stop you buying two or even three mighty creatures!

 Paradigm wrote:


Of course, the material is great for experienced modellers as well, and there's so many options in posing that there's nothing to stop you buying two or even three mighty creatures!

Laughing my arse off at this bit lol. What a load of tripe!

I read as far as:

tail and wings sagging over the battlefield as his strength flags

before realising it was a piss-take. And that was after AoV's quote below it.

It's a sad day when you can't tell the difference between marketing and parody.

I have to say, GW are hard to parody, as they are sometimes so stupid that the best in comedy couldn't beat them at their own game, but sometimes, something like this just called out to be mocked! Glad it was appreciated!

 Paradigm wrote:
Yeah, the Black Arrow fired by one of Bard's ancestors removed one of Smaug's scales in the film, in the book I don't think it actually explained where the bare patch came from. There was certainly none of that Windlance nonsense in the book

To be fair to the film, shooting a dragon with a ballista like the one in the film seems a lot more reasonable than plinking tiny tiny arrows at him. Still a difficult target to hit regardless of whether you're firing a bow or ballista.

Ah okay thanks. It's been a long time since I read it.

 angelofvengeance wrote:

 the shrouded lord wrote:
no in the bok it was wound, IIRC.

Nope. Just a bare patch where the gems etc didn't become embedded.

It was hubris. The bare patch in the hollow of Smaug's left breast is an expression of the creature's vanity and hubris. It simply is.

"Dazzlingly marvellous! Perfect! Flawless! Staggering!" exclaimed Bilbo aloud, but what he thought inside was: "Old fool! Why there is a large patch in the hollow of his left breast as bare as a snail out of its shell!"

That's all you know about the bare patch in the book. Smaug is an evil dragon, a creation of Morgoth. His chief vices are pride and greed, much the same as Thorin, Thranduil, the Sackville-Bagginses, and even Bard to an extent. It is only Bilbo who resists the temptation of wealth (though one should note he begins the story living a comfortable life of relative leisure). It is only Bilbo who gives up his claim to his share in the dragon's treasure for the good of others. It is Bilbo who gives away the Arkenstone.

The Hobbit is a rather simple story. It has plenty of depth and nuance, but at the end of the day it is a simple story of self-discovery; a coming of age tale that follows a very old pattern. And that is largely what gives it such staying power as a work of fiction.

Why in the first pic is his neck straight and in the others hes looking to his right?
Can you pose him so?

 Ratius wrote:
Why in the first pic is his neck straight and in the others hes looking to his right?
Can you pose him so?

Edit: Ugh, I got trolled.

I'll grab a couple of them so.

 Da Boss wrote:
Aww, man.

I've been a giant LOTR nerd since I was a little kid, like lots of us on here. The Hobbit is one of my most treasured novels of all time because it introduced me to fantasy adventure, which has been a massive source of enjoyment to me for decades.

Ma brutha!

Smaug didn't have to be the BIGGEST DRAGON EVAR, he could have been a beefier, more characterful, actually good version of the LOTR dragon

Fixed that for you.

Shame! This sort of pricing has screwed GW out of a bunch of purchases. There are barely any plastic kits they've released for the Hobbit that I don't at minimum think are pretty good, and many of them are great. But the prices, man, the prices.

Yup.

A couple more pics (didn't see them posted yet, apologies if they were)

Still looks pretty good, IMO. Bit iffy about the wing design though, with wing fingers protruding straight out from the side of the hand. Unlike the Deviantart model. What was it like in the movie?

Also, anyone notice the jaw shape of a newly described dinosaur? If the timing was different it could've had an awesome Tolkien-reference name, rather yet another 'chinese-place-name-osaurus from-China'.

Well paint me impressed, I want one but will not be able to afford it or have the space for it. I want it for display purposes that is it's only real purpose but it seems likely this will be axed before I ever get the money (maybe). :(

 Paradigm wrote:
Yeah, the Black Arrow fired by one of Bard's ancestors removed one of Smaug's scales in the film, in the book I don't think it actually explained where the bare patch came from. There was certainly none of that Windlance nonsense in the book; I'm still holding out hope that Bard kills him with a regular arrow from a regular bow as per the book, that's far more heroic that a lucky shot with arrows fired from a ballista and designed to kill dragons.

Honestly I much prefer the film version... It's pretty absurd that a normal arrow from a normal bow could kill a massive dragon. Just going on the size of the arrowhead vs the thickness of Smaugs body it simply makes no sense.

It's legendary heroism. Beowulf. Fafnir. St. George. The vorpal blade went snicker-snack. Y'know?

Finecast?

It's pretty absurd that a normal arrow from a normal bow could kill a massive dragon.

The arrow was a force weapon.

I always assumed the arrow had just caused Smaug to crash into the lake, and that the bitter cold of the lake had quenched his fire, killing him.

Have we actually seen that it's Finecast or not?

Beyond snarky commentary from posters that is.

I hope it isn't! If it was hard plastic, it would be much more attractive. But they don't usually say "advanced modelling skills required" for hard plastic.

True, but they don't say it for Finecast either...

Maybe it's an actual resin kit? Would explain why Trish Morrison(aka Forge World's resident Monster Sculptor) has been seemingly not doing much.

 Kirasu wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
Yeah, the Black Arrow fired by one of Bard's ancestors removed one of Smaug's scales in the film, in the book I don't think it actually explained where the bare patch came from. There was certainly none of that Windlance nonsense in the book; I'm still holding out hope that Bard kills him with a regular arrow from a regular bow as per the book, that's far more heroic that a lucky shot with arrows fired from a ballista and designed to kill dragons.

Honestly I much prefer the film version... It's pretty absurd that a normal arrow from a normal bow could kill a massive dragon. Just going on the size of the arrowhead vs the thickness of Smaugs body it simply makes no sense.

Well, Smaug wasn't as gigantic in the book as he is in the film. Extrapolated from Tolkien's drawings, Smaug is about 65 feet in length, which is plenty damn big, of course. For comparison, a Blue Whale is 98 feet in length. A T-Rex is about 40 feet in length. Spinosaurus can be up to about 60 feet in length. Apatpsaurus had an average length of 75 feet. Even at 65 feet, Smaug was a big darn animal.

That said, it does not defy all logic or reason that a lucky shot from a skilled archer could sink an arrow deep enough into Smaug's body to puncture the creature's heart.

Even so, it is a tale of fantasy, and Smaug dies because he is slain by a hero, getting his proper comeuppance for his evil ways. In the grand scheme of the fantastic feats of skill and heroism that occur in Tolkien's works, Bard killing Smaug with a single arrow is certainly a big deal, but it is not the most legendary thing to have been done. Turin's slaying of Glaurung, for example, is comparatively less believable.

 Kanluwen wrote:
True, but they don't say it for Finecast either...

Maybe it's an actual resin kit? Would explain why Trish Morrison(aka Forge World's resident Monster Sculptor) has been seemingly not doing much.

I really think that it wasn't sculpted by anyone at GW, I reckon the 3D model was simply transferred across from Weta, and perhaps modified slightly for casting/reproduction purposes.

I don't see anything that strikes me as impossible to do in plastic, but I think some for of resin is more likely, and a more labour intensive production method does at least, in part, justify the price tag.

Kirasu wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
Yeah, the Black Arrow fired by one of Bard's ancestors removed one of Smaug's scales in the film, in the book I don't think it actually explained where the bare patch came from. There was certainly none of that Windlance nonsense in the book; I'm still holding out hope that Bard kills him with a regular arrow from a regular bow as per the book, that's far more heroic that a lucky shot with arrows fired from a ballista and designed to kill dragons.

Honestly I much prefer the film version... It's pretty absurd that a normal arrow from a normal bow could kill a massive dragon. Just going on the size of the arrowhead vs the thickness of Smaugs body it simply makes no sense.

Vermis wrote:It's legendary heroism. Beowulf. Fafnir. St. George. The vorpal blade went snicker-snack. Y'know?

Yeah, exactly my point. The fact it's almost impossible to slay something that big with a single arrow just makes the feat all the more spectacular, and doing the impossible is what heroism is about. It's the same reason that James Bond or Batman are cool and inspiring, because despite being 'ordinary', they do the extraordinary.

Wasn't the LE Void Shield generator made of resin, and not Finecast? Why would this not also be resin like the VSG?

 Paradigm wrote:
I have to say, GW are hard to parody, as they are sometimes so stupid that the best in comedy couldn't beat them at their own game, but sometimes, something like this just called out to be mocked! Glad it was appreciated!

Well said, Paradigm - sigged!

A 400$+ model made of finecast would be pretty amusing.. I wonder if the amount of defects is directly proportional to its cost.

so i think this is around same size as the greene models version:

Greene Models: http://www.beastsofwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Smaug-Bilbo-Scale.jpg
http://www.warseer.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=200012&d=1410554536

compared to GW:

http://www.beastsofwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Smaug-Head.jpg

will let the wife know; hopefully she won't mind me getting one of these. (prob GW one...think it looks a bit nicer)

Sanjay