Giant Eagles

A pair of Giant Eagles for the  Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.

These were my submission for the Painting Challenge, for the 'Myth'  theme bonus round.

I actually finished them off a few weeks back now, I think in December, but they had to remain absent here from the blog till they featured on the Painting Challenge blog..

The idea of a Giant Eagle is fairly mythic in itself, but I did recall this mythological beast cropping up from my D&D RPG days... a Giant Eagle back then was referred to as a 'Roc'...

I did a Google on the Roc, and found it was a mythic beast from ancient Persia ...

Here's a link from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc_%28mythology%29

Back to the models and these are again nominally 28mm scale, but are large beasts mounted on large 'flying bases'...

To give an idea of scale I have included a pair of unfortunate orcs in the last picture, who I believe are about to become 'lunch'.

They are plastic multi-piece kits and went together very well. 2 Eagles per box, and you can vary the wings between the torsos, giving you a couple of options on the final pose.

Painting was straight forward, with base coat, shade wash and highlight with drybrushing before final details of eyes, beak and feet were completed. Based and varnished to complete the job.

The movie work by PJ depicting these wondrous creatures was a pleasure to behold, particularly I thought in the first Hobbit movie; An Unexpected Journey,... having rescued the Company, from Azog and his hunter orcs,  they fly them to the pinnacle of rock known as the Carrock... these sweeping flight scenes over the scenic landscapes, put to Howard Shore's masterful music, I always find incredibly moving...