One of the most quintessential corners of Middle-earth for me is Hobbiton, in particular Bilbo Baggins's home Bag End. The first chapter of The Hobbit evolves into the juxtaposition of a small hoard of dwarves gate-crashing Bilbo's pristine home, unknowingly to the Hobbit, setting the quest of a lifetime in motion.
I absolutely love this scene in the film, from the clear look of disdain on Bilbo's face as the dwarves quickly transform his home into a dwarven cave. From the mountains of food to the natural walls of Bag End, I could not wait to tackle this enigma of a scene.
ADD PHOTO OF FINISHED MODEL
I wanted to include as much of Bilbo's dining room as possible in the miniature, so I decided to keep the fireplace, framed by the two small round windows, as well as his ornate wall with indented shelves. The rest of the room would be open to see the scene in all its glory.
The main bulk of the miniature was made using a mixture of wood and foam board. I used many different types of wood, mainly walnut and teak for the flooring and wall panelling. The fireplace was made using carved blocks of chemiwood, and the bricks were made using XPS foam.
Lots of the details inside were made from paper and polymer clays, whilst all of the pottery was made on a mini potters wheel. The furniture was fashioned from wood, and the characters were sculpted from polymer clay.
I had particular fun deciding what expression each of the characters was going to have, I wanted some as they were in the film, some in the books and some that summed up their character. I had Bofur throwing an egg into Bombur's mouth, Dwalin pouring ale down Oin's ear trumpet and Nori stealing some cutlery.
It was only when I began sculpting the characters that I realised how detailed their costumes were, especially Fili and Kili, being royalty.
Overall I am ecstatic with the outcome of this miniature. I was fortunate enough to exhibit it at the national modelmakers event, New Blades in 2023 where it won two awards, one Best Use of Creative Materials and the other Best of Show Runner Up.
This model has since been placed at Arts University Bournemouth's 'TheGallery' and is on display to the public.
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