I made a long research both in Tolkien sources and in available models before choosing the best suitable model and colors to represent Glaurung the Golden.
About Tolkien, the most important existing descriptions may be summed up in three:
- an autograph drawing (the only existing one), "Glaurung ('Glomund') sets forth to seek Turin" - here below; - the description in the "Narn-i-Hin-Hurin"; - and its nickname, "The Golden".
About its aspect, I must say that Tokien's imaginary about an urulòki was clearly much close to that of a Chinese dragon; this is very clear from his writings, and it is confirmed by a couple more of his drawings.
The colour, though, is a different matter. For this beast has born fully golden (see the drawing and the nickname), to become later "ash gray" (see the Narn). This change was of course necessary in the Narn, for the general tones of darkness and sadness that characterize that splendid narrative wouldn't fit with so shining a creature. Artists are divided upon the matter: it is most often depitded gold in the Nirnaeth, and gray in the Narn. Only the great painter Donato Giancola has found an artistic compromise soluction: gray scales, with a golden skin shining from below.
I was longly undecided, but I finally opted for gold; this overall because of that precious Tolkien's drawing, but also because Giancola's soultion was not applicable to the metal model I had chosen.
Finally, about the model. A true Urulòki model was only made by Mithril Miniatures. It's a splendid piece, though far from Tolkien's description: bulky, hardly fit to crawl, and characterized by huge horns from its back, never quoted or depicted by the author. So I looked for oriental dragon models, and I found two excellent ones: the "Oriental Dragon" from Grenadier, and the "Fire Dragon" from Clan War. I find both to be perfectly suitable, with but little customization.
My Glaurung here is that of Grenadier, with modified head and tail overall. Its base is still under construction.
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Aurë entuluva!
Last edited by Hurin_it on Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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