Mithril M132 Bard of Esgaroth (1990)

Bard of Esgaroth. First sculpt of this character by Mithril, in 1990. Solid figure, in quite a theatrical pose: not really suited to be used as a playing piece, but easily associated with the topical moment of Bard's life - when he shoots the Dragon.

I always liked Bard, since my first reading of the Hobbit. There is something fresh with him, that being essentially an anti-hero, a stern man with a coarse voice, whose grim advice goes unheeded by the people until the moment of need, when he turns into a real hero, a Dragonslayer and then a true king, not only by blood but also by merit. Like Bilbo, he was underestimated by all, and possibly by the reader too, which makes his rise even more surprising.

He's been variously portrayed in graphic arts: 

A perpetually angry archer by M. Belomlinsky (1976)

A scruffy looking man from the animated Rankin/Bass animated movie (1977)

A determined warrior in the Dixon graphic novel (1998)

 

A bewildered vagrant by Denis Gordeev (200?)

 

A handsome single father in PJ's movie trilogy (2012-2014)

 

Say what you want, Belomlinsky's Bard is my absolute favourite, by far. Here's mine, a sand-blonde fellow with yellow, black and brown clothing, aiming his longbow high to shoot the Dragon.

Mithril M15 Northman Scout (1988)

 

This is a nice miniature, even by Mithril's excellent standards. It belongs to what I consider the height of Mithril Miniatures and of Chris Tubb's sculpting skills. It was nice to paint, too - to be honest, the pictures don't do justice to the paintjob, which is better than my average.

I experimented a bit with trimming on clothes, and I think it came out nicely. For the inspiration I have to thank the many historical re-enactors that create awareness about High Middle Ages on Instagram.

Mithril Hithaeglir Northman Adventurer - M305 (1993)

This is a piece deriving directly from ICE's setting and meant to be used with MERP. It represents and adventurer, from the people of the Northmen - possibly an inhabitant of the upper Anduin valley - climbing the cliffs of the Misty Mountains.

The figure is quite complex, requiring the assembling of three pieces together. It's quite well done, possibly a bit dull to paint since he's only wearing hides, but suitably realistic. The pose is good and well balanced, a fine job from Chris Tubb.

I really like how he's laden with baggage, and seems to struggle upwards, pushing himself with the staff and holding the rope on his right shoulder.

I've been experimenting a bit again with the style I used with Boromir, but pushing it a bit more far with the highlights. What do you think? Yay or nay? I'm still not quite sure.