A slightly obnoxious suggestion - Female Elf Scout

[aelfwine]

Hi all

This is one that has been intriguing me for a while. It's a combination of three things.

- I love Elves and would dearly love an affordable Female Elf Scout, but without the sort of "swim suit" look of the Sindarin Elf Scout miniature.

- The notorious female Ranger would actually be a kinda cool mini to have - if it didn't cost an arm, a leg, a kidney and my first born.

- There's an interesting villain in the Graham Staplehurst penned MERP adventure (published in White Dwarf about, oh, 18 years ago) who is an evil half-elf scout type. (Half elves were rather more common in MERP than in Tolkien - though I'd hazard that logically Middle Earth would have a few knocking around.)

So how about a female Elf scout/ranger/whatever? One that could, with a bit of conversion or a different paint job become any of the above?

I am thinking of a female elf character, probably armed with a bow (similar pose, perhaps, to the Fellowship Legolas), cloaked, maybe hooded, though wearing some sort of leather armour. Someone willowy and slender, yet poised and deadly.

Thoughts?

Gavin

[ddaines]

Not a great fan of having 'Girlie' heroines other than Eowyn (we have Wendy), I still don't know what to do with previous (Elf) heroines/warrior/scouts - I doubt if they will end up used as intended.

Having said that if it helps to fill a gap in an army/collection and keeps the action figures coming then why not. This is about personal taste and ideas, and is I suppose, about imagining beyond the books themselves.

I suppose I'm still slightly cringing from PJ's Arwen upgrade and the stomach churning rumour at the time that she would appear at Helm's Deep!

So why not!

David.

[aelfwine]

Well, they actually filmed the whole Arwen at Helm's Deep thing, and then someone thought it was dumb.

I don't mind having a few female heroes, or at least combatants. We have Eowyn, obviously, but it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine a young woman fighting alongside her brothers and cousins in some isolate Northman town (ala the Woodman Girl with bow miniature), or a Dunlending girl fighting alongside her brothers, or indeed, some sort of female elf puncturing the odd orc.

It becomes a bit more problematic when you start thinking about things like Gondor, or the High Elves, or indeed, the shire.

anyway, gotta run!

Gavin

[ddaines]

Glad someone had the idea Arwen at Helm's Deep was Dumb!

Actually I was forgetting the Woodmen angle, and as you quite rightly say what's to stop a young girl from defending her home or as in the case of the Dunlendings from attacking their sworn enemies.

[twrich]

There are a number of "generic" pieces, male and female, of all Races, Cultures, and Professions that should be considered for production. I am confident that Chris is doing so.

[aelfwine]

Definitely. I'd love to see more.

However, I mention it here in terms of discussing a "special" piece, rather than the slightly more generic concept of a "Northman Girl with Bow" in a potential M series.

But I'd love some more generic models as well. I like to get more use out of my models beyond leaving them on a shelf (though I do have a list of dioramas I'd love to make!)

Gavin

[Wendy]

Here, here regarding Arwen at Helms Deep in the movie. There is no way Elrond would have let Arwen roam about by herself, considering what happened to Celebrian, but they didn't seem to care about that.

I could see women fighting to defend, but in an offensive battle, I just don't think it was likely. Women were too important for childraising and birthing to lose many in battle. As scouts, it would be more feasible, I believe.

[bombadil1963]

I agree with Wendy. But there are some female heroines. Think of Haleth! Her people were named Haleth´s People because of her defending fights against the orcs in the First Age of the sun.
But I´m not sure what I should think about half-elves. There are only few of them and we know their names. Although there´s space for rumours. I remember Prince Imrahil and that Legolas thought that not every elf went overseas to the Undying Lands when he saw him first . . .

There´s another way for developing the idea. Not all the elves in history of Middle Earth were "good" in deeds, mind or behaviour. I think of Eol and Maeglin, the dark elves, or some of Feanor´s sons. And even the Sindar weren´t mild and just lords of their empire all the time either: they hunted and killed the Little-Dwarfs (like Mîm and Ibûn). So why shouldn´t this villain-type female-elvish scout be a surviving Avari-elf of the First or Second Age? Mistrusting the world and every of it´s creatures.
It´s said in the Silmarillion, that they are "forgotten". This could mean that they don´t play a big role in history and time. But the Avari have had the chance to survive. Another rumour said lot´s of them were captured and Morgoth created the first orcs through torturing and pains out of them.
Lot´s of possibilities . . .
But one big problem: what about the licences? They are mentioned in no context with LotR.

[aelfwine]

Well, of course Wendy is quite right. Elrond would not have let his daughter go out adventuring, considering what happened to his wife. In a way, though, Movie Arwen is a mix of Glorfindel and the Sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir. The whole "Elves at Helm's Deep" replaced the Dunedain with Elves and had them show up a few days earlier.

The reason I mention Faroth Morchaint is that "Taurefanto" is my all time favourite RPG adventure. It is about the Entwives and the Brown Lands and legends and tragedy. It was gloriously illustrated and wonderfully written.

The character could be any and all of the above (and I'd definitely buy three to make her all of the above!).

Gavin

[Hammershield]

"Not a great fan of having 'Girlie' heroines other than Eowyn (we have Wendy), I still don't know what to do with previous (Elf) heroines/warrior/scouts - I doubt if they will end up used as intended."

To each his own I guess, but come on, evenhough The Lord of the Rings was written in a different time an context, there is plenty of room, without stretching theme or using far fetched extrapolation, for shield maidens other than Eowyn.

My Woodman warband has plenty of girl warriors. They are not wielding the heavy axes but are good with bows tomahawks and knives.

As for Arwen, I don't percieve her as passive. I always thought she was fighting another fight than the one one the battlefield. I think the movie captured that pretty well.

[Axel]

I agree with Hammershield on Arwen. When its time to moviebash, Arwen is certainly not my first choice. Actually I think that her character is well served, given her importance to the motivation of Aragorn or Elrond in the book. Much happens there that does not hit the main tale.

[Gerold]

To all who like to see a female warrior figure : I suggested a female Rohan warrior for this month, so if Chris puts it on the voting list, you know what to do ! He will make a lovely figure of it.