Munburr, the proud father

 Hi readers! Today's build includes some classic Cyclopic Bricks content a.k.a a member of dwarven race. This was a fast build, completed in couple of days sometime in June. I wanted to experiment with some beard designs and use some dark brown parts, originally released in Chima sets.

The figure began with the head. Crowbar beard and barb moustache were some early installments. I also wanted to make a mohawk, as something inspired by Dwalin's flashback appearance in The Hobbit movies. Even with it the head looked tad generic, so I added the dark red war paint streak over the right eye. I liked the contrast it created, and it enhanced the berserk look. Spiky shoulder pads were natural follow-up of this motif. They're premade pieces from KK2 line, but their colour is very cool. I wondered if I should give the fellow a bare chest, but armoured tank look was an iconic dwarf trait, and more interesting to build in this case, so I made a chest armour with silvery grille pieces. I wanted to use several different metallic shades to represent different types of metal used on the armour.

The wide leather belt uses four dark brown car bonnet pieces. Letranger Absurde used them on his Doc Ock build in last December, and it made an excellent gut shape, so I shamelessly stole it. The pieces have some stickers, but they work nicely as rivets or something; however, they're not well visible on the pictures. Under the belt there are some skirt flaps protecting the legs. Chima Ice Age printed flag piece felt fitting for the overall aesthetics. Using printed and stickered pieces is something I've gotten engaged with lately. Triangular (or actually pentagonal) wedge slopes in the sides have nicely similar shape. The back side has less elaborate but equally protective flap. The legs recycle some ideas used on Dwarvish Dragonguard from Battle for Wesnoth and Nobby Nobbs from Discworld books. They created a bit crouching, down-to-earth-pose associated with dwarves. Even the boots have some metal fins for tight spots.

After finishing the figure itself, I though about its equipment and setting. Weapons felt natural; an axe or a warhammer or something, like previously. But then I though: Where's the challenge, where's the idea? It felt obvious, and thus not bit, but very dull. Another blood-crazy little warrior dude. I though about the over-masculine dwarven tropes (which are well processed on Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, of course) and habit of seeing fantasy races based on their warriors in general, and ended up making something completely different. Farming maybe, or making a fence or something. But I went even further and made him (or her, who knows with dwarves anyway?) holding a baby. It felt quirky and original, and I managed to add some humour to the build with the baby dwarf's tight light aqua swaddle, little cap and brown beard with a pacifier stuck in middle; it has a golden chain, as it's a dwarf, after all. Gold gold gold.

-Eero.