There’s been an argument circulating recently on the web that Gandalf’s original plan to get the One Ring into Mordor was via Air Eagle. It’s an interesting textual analysis, though unsupported by Tolkien’s copious notes and background information. The latest hilarious video by Brotherhood Workshop illustrates the counter-argument.
The video features the massive Barad-dûr by Kevin Walter that we featured a few years ago.
Regular readers will know that we’ve featured many LEGO dragons over the years, but I think on this occasion YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID now that heavy-duty character builder Shawn Snyder has decided to get in on the game with this recreation of Tolkien’s Smaug. From head to tail it’s 28 inches and the wingspan is a whopping 35 inches!
We used Sauron’s seeing-stone to track down the damp cave that Shawn hides in, and dispatched our goblin hoard to interrogate him about his latest bunker-busting creation…
TBB: You’re best known for creating large figures and busts of humanoid characters from videogames such as Halo and Assassins Creed, or movies like Iron Man and Predator. What inspired you to attempt a monster this time?
SS: I’ve actually wanted to make a dragon for quite some time. It wasn’t until ArchLUG did a collaborative build of Laketown that made me commit to finally attempt it. After all, Laketown needs a Smaug!
TBB: Tell us about the build. How did you get such a large yet detailed model to stay in one piece? Did it present any new building challenges for you?
We’ve featured a few oliphaunts from The Lord of the Rings over the years, but I think this one by Elliot Feldman (Simply Complex Simplicity) just might be the biggest. But Elliot’s oliphaunt isn’t just big and static — he’s placed it into an action-packed scene during the battle between Faramir’s men and the Haradrim when Sam and Frodo are trying to reach Mordor.
Classic-Castler Jens (Schlimps on Brickshelf) joins the fray at the last minute with a Battles Contest entry inspired by The Lord of the Rings:
The posable, brick-built oliphaunt (so called by Hobbits; called mûmak by men) certainly dominates the scene, but there are many more details to pore over in this great creation.