Each member of the Fellowship played extremely important roles in the victory over Sauron and the Ring, with some of the most vital contributions coming from the (seemingly) least significant members of the group. While Frodo’s importance as Ringbearer is quite obvious, he would have failed if not for the bravery and persistence of Sam. However, their quest would not have succeeded had the peoples of Middle Earth not united against Mordor, an event which would not have been possible if not for the efforts of the other Hobbits. It was the abduction of Merry and Pippin that caused the three hunters to become involved in the affairs of Rohan, without which the Rohorrim would not have come to Gondor’s aid. It was the plea of Merry and Pippin that roused the Ents and resulted in the downfall of Isengard. It was Pippin’s meddling with the Palantir that drew Sauron’s attention away from Mordor, and hastening Gandalf’s arrival to Mines Tirith. And it was Merry’s courage and attack that allowed Eowyn to slay the Witch King, removing the enemy’s most dangerous captain from the field of battle. Without the presence of these two heroes, Saruman would have retained the west, Rohan would have remained idle, and Gondor would have assuredly fallen.
I had not mentioned it previously, but the scale of these miniatures is TINY!!! The scale is a true 25-28 mm with realistic proportions, meaning that the hobbits stand about 20 mm. Overall, the sculpting was decent, although the likeness of Dominic Monaghan is somewhat lacking. As with Pippin, I chose to follow the colors of the wardrobe reference photos rather than the desaturated and washed out tones from the films. Again, I was surprised at how vibrant the Hobbit’s clothes were in “real life”, but this makes perfect sense given the tastefully cultured lifestyle of the Shire.
Painting was rather straightforward, with the only issues being matching the actor’s complexion and hair color. Also, Merry’s satchel is rather unusual with some sort of circular hoop or stitching for which it was incredibly hard to find reference images. But the colors of his jacket and waistcoat really popped, making for a bright and interesting mini!
As was previously mentioned in regards to Pippin, the base is not painted yet as this piece is planned to be part of a larger scene involving all of the Nine Walkers. Once that is designed, sculpted, printed, and painted all of the stock bases will be replaced.
Overall, I’m much happier with Merry than with Pippin. However, these were the two more colorful Hobbits. Get ready for a heap of browns and grays with the next dynamic duo…
Flesh:
The skin received a base coat of VGC Heavy Skintone (72.140), followed by shading of the eye-sockets, lip crease, and the underside of the nose with a 1:1 mix of Heavy Skintone and VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). The eyes were then blocked in with VMC Ivory (70.918) and the iris was dotted with German Camo Black Brown. The major forms of the body were then lightened with a 1:1 mix of Heavy Skintone and VMC Flat Flesh (70.955), followed by initial highlights with pure Flat Flesh, followed by point highlights with a 1:1 mix of Flat Flesh and VMC Light Flesh (70.928).
Some tonal variation was added with the inclusion of some VMC Old Rose (70.944) to the highlight tone and some Vallejo Fantasy Pro (VNP) Burned Flesh (74.002) to the shade tone.
Hair:
All of the hair was blocked in with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). Basic forms were then base coated with a 2:1 mix of German Camo Black Brown and VMC Light Brown (70.929), then lightened with a 1:1 mix of the same colors. Individual hairs were picked out with a 1:1 mix of VMC Brown Sand (70.876) and VMC Iraqui Sand (70.819), then highlighted with VMC Sunny Skintone (70.845) with limited point highlights of Iraqui Sand.
Waistcoat:
The entire waistcoat was base coated with VMC Brown Sand (70.876). The central overlap was then shaded with a 1:1 mix of Brown Sand and VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). The major wrinkles were then picked out with a 1:1 mix of Brown Sand and VMC Golden Yellow (70.948), then highlighted with pure Golden Yellow. A very small area of the right breast was further highlighted with a 1:1 mix of Golden Yellow and Schmincke Titanium White.
Pants/Knapsack:
Both areas were blocked in with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). The major wrinkles were then lightened with a 1:1 mix of GCBB and VGC Heavy Sienna (72.154), followed by pure Heavy Sienna, then a highlight mix of 1:1 Heavy Sienna and VMC Light Brown (70.929). Limited point highlights were added with a 1:1 mix of Heavy Sienna and VMC Sunny Skintone (70.845).
Jacket:
The green jacket was blocked in with a 1:1 mix of VMC Black (70.950) and VMC Black Green (70.980), which served as a shadow tone. The major forms were then base coated with pure Black Green, lightened with a 1:1 mix of Black Green and VMC Gunship Green (70.895), and highlighted with pure Gunship Green. Final point highlights were applied with a 1:1 mix of Gunship Green and VMC Sunny Skintone (70.845).
Cloak/Rock:
Both areas were base coated with VMC Neutral Grey (70.992). Recessed areas were then shaded with a 1:1 mix of Neutral Grey and VMC Black (70.950). The major forms were lightened with a 1:1 mix of Neutral Grey and VMC Sky Grey (70.989), then highlighted with pure Sky Grey.
Sword:
The sword was painted with a standard non-metallic metal application of the following colors: VMC Black (70.950), VMC Pale Grey Blue (70.907), and Schmincke Titanium White.
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