Thranduil MS462

[Axel]

Great piece again. Perhaps a bit too much armour for my taste, but who am I to question the protection of an Elven King in battle. If there is any member in Thranduils army wearing armour he certainly is the one.

I will order two of them...

[Gildor]

I think this figurine is absolutly beautiful, and it looks quite like the Noldo Warrior rare M247
well actually if you "forget" it is Thranduil... this Elf could very well be a Vanya elf from the Host of the Valar in the First Age, or a Noldo warrior from the First Age too... No one knows for sure that these elves from the First Age did not have plate mail. Especially those coming from Aman with the most accomplished armorsmiths of Arda directed by Aulë himself.

[aelfwine]

I'm a little unsure.

I really don't like "plate" armour, but I know its meant to be a thematic link with earlier "elf lord" models such as those from The Last Alliance set and the Early Ringbearers. I was kind of hoping we'd see something new, like a combination of leather and mail, which wouldn't seem too different from the current Thranduil/Elven King model.

I was going to buy this model the moment it came out, but now I am not so sure. I still want to make my good friend Don a nice diorama, and I still think the Battle of the Five Armies would be the way to go...but that's still a few months away.

Gavin

[twrich]

I think the armor is appropriate in this case (although there is no reference whatsoever to any armor worn by Thranduil in the Hobbit) as this is a depiction of Thranduil at the Battle of the Five Armies, which took place about the plains, valleys and hills, even upon the slopes, of the Lonely Mountain! Surely if the Elvenking were being depicted in battle-gear for a forest setting, rigid leather trappings with perhaps a mail shirt and small helm (leaving ears exposed for better hearing) would be more appropriate. But in open warfare with multiple armies, where he personally led his warriors, I think that this gear is correct.

[bombadil1963]

I am with Aelfwine.
Remember the times we think of when we are talking about the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings: According to Tolkien´s deepest wishes it should be an - until his attempt not existing - English myth. A myth about the roots and the foundation of the English Kingdom.
It developed out of a mix-up of cultures of the old partially roman influenced Celtic inhabitants and Anglo-Saxon and later on Danish invaders. He didn´t like the romanized Nomannic heirloom of the English crown. So everything we read and hear about must have happened before 1066! And there was no plate armour in northern and western european wargear in those times! It was chain mail or plated mail for the rich and wealthy warriors, nothing else. There might have existed some full-metal chest-armour or shin-bone plates from the Roman ages, but I guess this was only for the noble people.

And when this is supposed to be true for the Third Age it must be more than true for the First and Second Age. So for me no elf ever weared plate armour nor did any man in those times!
Sorry, but this is my opinion. And I think there are enough quotes to prove it.

[Axel]

I am not sure that the elves did not wear plate. As far as I remember, not much references are made but some to frightening helms and general outlooks, especially to the Vanya. I can imagine that especially the elves had access to equipment that simply has no real life reference - they had a couple of decades to create the stuff and skill beyond our comprehension.

Anyway, who says that he does NOT wear rigid leather, hardened by some time wearing process? I will paint mine in brown and green, to go with the rangers...

[Theobald]

hi everybody, I think you will never find a correct answer discussing matters this way I do not want to offend anybody here, but to me it seems that this discussion shifts between fantasy and history .
So as we all tend to call Tolhien's works 'fantasy literature' we should accept it that way. Of course he made use of parallel descriptions of peoples in history. This is why the reader feels knowing about certain people or even habits in Tolkien's prose.

But what about our knowledge about orcs? Here we have to rely upon Tolkien's descriptions; as for me I have neither heard of an orcish history nor have I seen those beings until now. So who really is to judge about their outward appearance or habits?

And to me it's the same with the elves. So why to try to match human historical background with fantasy literature? I think every reader of Tolkien's work produces an individual image of the characters in his/her mind, isn't it like that? That's for example why we discuss the film trilogy, talking about the details - such as armour or robes.

I think the magic of Tolkien's work could be seen there. Enabling the reader's mind to imagine. This logically leads to various, individual thoughts and imaginations that might collide with others or, in many cases, match others. So here we are.
A well-known person once said that phantasy is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited - it was A. Einstein.

On the other hand I like discussing as you might have realised

[bombadil1963]

Ok. Calm down ;D!

There are more different attitudes about this theme than elves in the complete Mithril-range!
For me it will ever stay chain-mail for the elves. Nobody will convince me of the opposite .
I only think of Frodo`s mail-shirt, made of mithril: it was made for an elven Prince . . . .
A Prince would have worn it! Not a normal warrior! Why didn´t they forge a plate armour for him? It gives more shelter for example against orkish arrows . . . The answer is easy: they made the best they can! And this was mail !

[Gildor]

Well Vanyar did not set foot at all in Middle Earth since the beginning of the First Age except at the end of the First Age in the host of the Valar... They may even have been provided in armor by Maiar armorsmiths instead of their own armorsmiths... No doubt that nobody except them should have special armors worn by nobody else on Middle Earth providing them superiority with their gear to resist without ANY difficulty the legions of Melkor while Noldor princes had quite spent thousand years to achieve what they did in a single striking battlle.

I agree with Bombadil when it comes to any elves except the 'host of the Valar', but as for them, no one can say for sure, they were after all exceptionnal.... Now indeed for Thranduil, I doubt this armor fits him because he is but a "simple" sinda lord... but in Mithril Range we have had plated elves several times already... including especially Gil-Galad recently. So to fit the whole Mithril range, plate armor is ok... It may not match with "tolkien conception" but it matches the Mithril range...

[Axel]

Regarding the Mithril mail shirt, we should note that this is not elven but dwarven made, and as thus (especially due to its material) it is superior to any plate.
Using more mundane materials, it is hard to produce mail that cannot be increased in durability by the odd piece of solid metal on crucial spots. Given the time that Elves have to customize their gear, MY version of ME fits well with plated elves. I also think that the "plate" they wear certainly has only outward similarities with the "clumsy" works of the real historical human armour.
That said, I also believe that Elves will avoid the type of pitched combat that makes armour a necessity where possible, only using it as a last resolve. They certainly never war for fun or power, and very rarely for treasures. Armour making (mail, plate, whatever) is certainly a rare occupation with them.

All this is of course only valid in MY image of Tolkiens ME. I can well live with that Thranduil. For those into mail rather then plate, it could well be that the hard stuff are just ornamental leather and a coat d`arms, going together with the cloak.

[Hammershield]

Its alright eventhough I would have preferred to see him in his autumn leaves crown.

By the way, Chris Tubb sent me a pic of the Corsair Admiral and it looks great! He has helmet derrived from the Numenorean karma design, but a bit more punic/assyrian. Now I really hope the corsair release will happen this year.

[ddaines]

Tharanduil, Corsair and Female Ranger.

All arrived today, and whata bunch, I like 'em a lot, The Corsair, just so full of character - a true 'Sea-salt', the Ranger is in such a nice, unusual pose and Thranduil another nice 'action' figure.

Well done again team Mithril