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Glamdring (1:1) & Scabbard . The sword of Gandalf the Grey from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Lord of the Rings” .
Forged by the High Elves in Gondolin for the Goblin-Wars, Glamdring (translated “Foe-Hammer”) was found in a trolls’ hoard by Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, and the dwarves of Erebor. Taking it for his own, Gandalf used the Foe-Hammer to great effect in the caves beneath the misty mountains, where it slew many a terrified goblin who was terrified of “Beater’s” glowing-blue blade.
Having built Sting from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I wanted to construct more Tolkien weapons that I could take to the upcoming BricksCascade 2013 convention; a broadsword seemed like the natural step forward, with Andúril and Glamdring being my top two options. I might still build Andúril in the future, but I chose Glamdring for now as it is in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and would thus better accompany Sting.
Just like with my Sting replica, my Glamdring is an approximately life-size replica of the original movie prop and slides into a specially-fitted scabbard which can be worn on one’s belt-line. The sword is 47.6” long, 10” wide, and 1.88” thick, and the weapon weighs 0.78 lbs. I first completed it on January 14, 2013, three months after building Sting.
This project was an interesting look at the structural capabilities of the LEGO System in creating the long, thin blade. The building method that I used for Sting is strong enough to keep the blade straight when the ‘sharp edges’ are pointing up and down, and a significant droop occurs when the broad sides of the blade are pointing up and down. [See the embedded video below.]
What’s interesting is that the blade’s smoothly bending downward seems to evenly distribute the weight so that the structure stays in one piece, even if I rapidly wobble the blade like a diving board. (Not bad for a ‘purist’ model with no glue!) If the blade was supposed to be much longer or thicker, I could not have accomplished this level of durability in the model.
Another interesting aspect of this project is that the sword’s length presents a significant amount of friction when sliding it in and out of its scabbard.
While the LEGO keychain element enables me to wear Glamdring at my waist, its length and weight in the scabbard make this a little awkward, and I haven’t figured out a good way to keep the pommel pointing in front of me instead of straight up in the air.
I’m not sure what my next weapon replica will be, but I’m definitely open to ideas! Feel free to comment and give me your suggestions! (And let me know if I should sell instructions for this model too!)
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, be sure to visit Bricks Cascade 2013 (on March 9-10) at the Oregon Convention Center and see my Tolkien swords in person!
Thanks for looking, and let me know what you think!
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