This is one of the Classic series by Mithril, issued in the early 1990s. They represent key characters in the original stories of Tolkien, and namely the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.
In this specific sculpt, Chris Tubb represented Thorin in fine clothes and holding on his shoulder the sword Orcrist. We may suppose this was meant to either represent Thorin during his stop at Rivendell, shortly after he recovered the sword from Hill Trolls in Rhudaur, or in Esgaroth, while he was a guest of the Master. The sculpt dates from 1991, as indicated on the base.
Thorin looks particularly relaxed and lordly, in line with the description of the Hobbit, where he is described as "an enormously important dwarf" and "very haughty". He drinks wine, plays a silver harp, does not help clean the table and holds a very long and institutional speech. I must say I really love how Tubb used he pose of the figure to bring out its character.
Now, allow me this short rant: Thorin's main characteristic is to be haughty. He is, after all, a very noble Dwarf, perhaps the noblest living in Middle-earth and Arda. He is heir of the kings of the Longbeards, the direct descendant of Durin the Deathless. He is pompous, sometimes arrogant, in a way obsessed with his inheritance and his family duty. But he is also a good leader, generous with his men, beloved by his people; he's smart, very good in talking his way out of situations, and yet keep his honour by not telling any lie; he can be aggressive, but he can be fun, too, laughing and singing with the other dwarves. He is just not simply a self-centered, brooding dick, as portrayed in the movies. I really hated how he came out there. Really, Thorin is such a great and complex character, PJ didn't do him justice. But then again, he didn't do justice to any character in the story, especially the grey-shaded ones.
Right, end of the rant.
It took me some time to decide how to paint it. The reasoning was that at Rivendell and Lake-town Thorin probably wore clothes that were fine but still not excessively rich: he was travelling after all. They should display deep colours, but not too garish. The only set thing was the hood: in the Hobbit, Thorin wears a "detachable hood" which was "sky-blue [...] with a long silver tassel". Now, this miniatures displays a cloak, not a detachable hood, but still here is the long silver tassel attached to the hood. I decided to go with it and keep the colours of sky-blue and silver.
Now, allow me this short rant: Thorin's main characteristic is to be haughty. He is, after all, a very noble Dwarf, perhaps the noblest living in Middle-earth and Arda. He is heir of the kings of the Longbeards, the direct descendant of Durin the Deathless. He is pompous, sometimes arrogant, in a way obsessed with his inheritance and his family duty. But he is also a good leader, generous with his men, beloved by his people; he's smart, very good in talking his way out of situations, and yet keep his honour by not telling any lie; he can be aggressive, but he can be fun, too, laughing and singing with the other dwarves. He is just not simply a self-centered, brooding dick, as portrayed in the movies. I really hated how he came out there. Really, Thorin is such a great and complex character, PJ didn't do him justice. But then again, he didn't do justice to any character in the story, especially the grey-shaded ones.
Right, end of the rant.
It took me some time to decide how to paint it. The reasoning was that at Rivendell and Lake-town Thorin probably wore clothes that were fine but still not excessively rich: he was travelling after all. They should display deep colours, but not too garish. The only set thing was the hood: in the Hobbit, Thorin wears a "detachable hood" which was "sky-blue [...] with a long silver tassel". Now, this miniatures displays a cloak, not a detachable hood, but still here is the long silver tassel attached to the hood. I decided to go with it and keep the colours of sky-blue and silver.
The first layer of painting left me unhappy with the gold-rimmed cloak. That seemed too much for travelling clothes, so I changed that to silver as well.
Yes! I'm very happy with how the cloak turned out. Still room for improvement, but definitely better than the last one. The sword also looks nice - I painted it silver with a dark blue scabbard, to retain some "elvish flavour". I decided to leave the base pretty much disadorned, except for a dark green base and some lighter drybrush. This miniature will probably be used in games, so I don't want to add staff that will come off with heavy handling.
Look at the famous Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, heir of the Folk of Durin, gloating at the prospects of his homecoming to Erebor:
The King beneath the mountains,The King of carven stone,The lord of silver fountainsShall come into his own!His crown shall be upholden,His harp shall be restrung,His halls shall echo goldenTo songs of yore re-sung.The woods shall wave on mountainsAnd grass beneath the sun;His wealth shall flow in fountainsAnd the rivers golden run.The streams shall run in gladness,The lakes shall shine and burn,And sorrow fail and sadnessAt the Mountain-king's return!
