Nori the Dwarf

The Great Priming Project of 2013 is nearing a conclusion as the tropical humidity builds day by day.  And while my attention has mostly been focused on priming as many miniatures as I can before my weather window closes, I couldn't stay away from painting.  Between projects I have managed to polish off a few miniatures, including another one of those pesky little dwarves.

Nori is the middle brother of the Dori, Nori, Ori trio but I painted him last of the three.  I was reluctant to paint this particular miniature because, to be honest, I really hated his hair in the movie.  I do realize that Peter Jackson had to make each of the thirteen dwarves very different so the audience could easily differentiate between them on the big screen, but I felt he went overboard on Master Nori.  The strange triangular hairdo just doesn't do it for me.  He wasn't going to paint himself however, so I eventually gave in.  Here is the completed mini.

There's not much to say about the painting style.  I mostly followed the GW guide as far as his garb and armor are concerned.  I did make a minor change here and there but those changes are not readily apparent.  I'm not a huge fan of washes but I did use quite a bit of Delvan Mud on Nori to soften the appearance of both the light and dark brown leather.  I also used the same wash to tone done his hair and bring it more in line with his little brother Ori.  Other than that, I painted by the book....or the magazine article in this case.

 

According to some of the background literature I found on the movie version of the dwarves, Nori is characterized as a bit of a rogue.  Apparently he left home at an early age and lived a nomadic life, "living off the land and off his wits."  It is also said that his expertise at foraging sometimes "crosses the line, and becomes theft." 

Now I am definitely a lore nerd when it comes to Tolkien and Middle-earth.  And though I love the movies, if given a choice, I will always side with the Professor's written word.  However, since little is said of the individual dwarves of Thorin's company in the lore, I'm mostly OK with Mr. Jackson developing the background of each dwarf to give them a bit of personality.  I'm actually excited to see how Nori's questionable past will play out in the next two movies.

Not only have I finished Nori, but Balin and Dwalin are complete as well.  I'll try to get those photos posted in the very near future.

Thanks for reading....