And I know it's just a still, but I'm not fond of that cutesy grin on Fili's face.

*dies laughing* Exactly my thoughts.

I wonder why I've never posted in here. I don't know if I can qualify as a LotR fan: I like it well enough, but *ahem* have not read all of them. (I've only read FotR.) However, I love The Hobbit immensely and after seeing the last few pictures, can't wait to see it!

I agree with the majority on Kili and Fili. They're just a little too thin/ooh-look-at-me/elvish...yeah, a little too fangurl-attracting... I know they're young and all, but aren't dwarves still a little short, stocky, etc.?
I'm a little disappointed since Kili and Fili are my favourite. I don't know: maybe it's my fault for reading them as the dwarf versions of Pippin and Merry.

I like Dori and Ori. Don't know so much on Nori. I need a reread to remind myself of these three's characters.

Oin and Gloin are perfect! I love the braided-beard motif. And, too, I'm very pleased with Dwalin, Balin, Bombur, Bifur, and Bofur. Bombur is hilarious!

I don't think Bombur has a beard neck-chain, it looks more to me like he just has it wrapped over his shoulder like a scarf (because it's so long). That would make more sense.

TORn got the exclusive first look of Thorin (and Orcrist!).

http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/ ... mitage.jpg

As a young Dwarf prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing Dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After slaughtering many of Thorin’s kin, the great serpent, Smaug, entered The Lonely Mountain and took possession of its vast store of gold and jewels. No-one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, and thus, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile. Through long years of hardship, Thorin grew to be a strong and fearless fighter and revered leader. In his heart a fierce desire grew; a desire to reclaim his homeland and destroy the beast that had brought such misery upon his people. So when fate offers him an unusual ally, he seizes the chance for revenge.

My personal opinion, the Fili, Kili, Thorin family look too human for my personal taste. However, I'm really excited about the whole cross-section of dwarves. TORn has a teeny tiny picture of everyone except Thorin for comparison.

I don't think Bombur has a beard neck-chain, it looks more to me like he just has it wrapped over his shoulder like a scarf (because it's so long).

Gonna have to disagree. If you look at the hi-res version of the picture you can see both sides of his beard are braided into it.

He's not how I imagined Thorin, but I think he'll grow on me. I like this marketing technique of releasing images of the dwarves a few at a time.

The only problem I'm having with Thorin is that he looks too young. He needs more grey in his hair. Orcrist looks awesome though.

Seeing them all lined up together makes Fili's blond hair really stick out.

I Love Thorin! Not as old as I imagined him being but I like the way he looks very much!
And the Orcrist is gorgeous!!!!

I made some Dwarf Flash cards to memorize who is who, and who did what in the books. If anyone is interested.
I used the OneRing.net character descriptions so there are SPOILERS from the book if you have not read it yet.
(Just let me know if I should post these somewhere else, I didn't know where else to post them.)

Dori

Nori

Ori

Gloin

Oin

Fili

Kili

Bombur

Bofur

Bifur

Balin

Dwalin

Thorin

I am relieved, and pleased, with Thorin. I think that as a dwarf, he looks just perfect, and as Richard Armitage (swoon . . ), he doesn't look ugly!! YAY!!!!!!! So happy that all the dwarves (or dwarfs) are released, and I'm very pleased with them. I love how they have personality, and they're all so different.

Thorin! Wow! I think he looks pretty cool! And intense.

One thing that concerned me a bit was the description of him... It says when he meets an unusual ally, he seizes the chance. That wasn't exactly how it originally happened in The Quest of Erebor... Thorin wasn't too keen on going on any journey with Bilbo Baggins, and took a lot of persuading...

~Riella

The only problem I'm having with Thorin is that he looks too young. He needs more grey in his hair.

I posted this on my Facebook page, but when I thought of Thorin originally, I thought of the oldest and wisest dwarf in the group. But then two things happened, one, they cast Richard Armitage and two, they released pictures of Fili and Kili. I was actually expecting a much more young and attractive dwarf than what we got. So I was pleasantly surprised by that aspect of the picture we got this morning.

It says when he meets an unusual ally, he seizes the chance. ...Thorin wasn't too keen on going on any journey with Bilbo Baggins

If I hadn't stumbled upon a quote just a few days ago, I would never have thought of this, but I wonder if the 'unusual ally' is actually Gandalf rather than Bilbo. The description of their meeting each other is in the Appendices and that's kind of what it made me think of.

My personal opinion, the Fili, Kili, Thorin family look too human for my personal taste

Ditto.

Hmm... Thorin is a little disappointing, for me. He looks a little too much like Jack Sparrow, IMO. I always pictured him a little more older/wise-looking/more red-hued. Same with all the other dwarves. Perhaps it's just the stills, but I pictured more saturation of colours rather than grey-hued clothing and stuff...

Oh, well... the rest of the dwarves are pretty exciting!

I don't know if I can qualify as a LotR fan: I like it well enough, but *ahem* have not read all of them. (I've only read FotR.) However, I love The Hobbit immensely and after seeing the last few pictures, can't wait to see it!

What did you think of FotR? Did you like The Hobbit better? When I finished FotR, I could hardly wait to start reading TTT.

I know they're young and all, but aren't dwarves still a little short, stocky, etc.?

That's what I originally thought too.

I like the picture of Thorin. I never really spent much time thinking about how the Dwarves could look. I do think he should technically look somewhat older -- after all, doesn't the book hint something to this effect about Thorin's father leaving about a hundred years previous to the happenings in The Hobbit? Correct me if my memory is faulty, of course.

ETA: The Quest of Erebor? I'm pretty sure I've heard of it before but don't remember reading about it. I don't remember how much of the appendices I read, though.

Lady Galadriel,

I really enjoyed FotR, but I admit I skipped the Council of Elrond (sp?) and also, I stopped after having only one or two chapters left to go. I watched the movie and then decided to finish the book, since I liked the movie and ith helped me understand better. (I've also watched TTT, violating a rule of mine which is for me to read the book first, then watch the movie. I liked it.)

Compared to LotR (my sister's a big fan, so I know the story, and then the movies. [though, I have not finished watching RotK.]), I do like The Hobbit better. Maybe because it's less intense and suspenseful, and more of an adventurous, happy book to read. I should probably restart LotR, though.

Glad to know I'm not alone! And after seeing Gimli, it kind of strengthened the idea.

Ithilwen wrote:It says when he meets an unusual ally, he seizes the chance. ...Thorin wasn't too keen on going on any journey with Bilbo Baggins

If I hadn't stumbled upon a quote just a few days ago, I would never have thought of this, but I wonder if the 'unusual ally' is actually Gandalf rather than Bilbo. The description of their meeting each other is in the Appendices and that's kind of what it made me think of.

I browsed through Appendix A last night and paid closer attention to the bit on Durin's Folk than I normally do. I think the 'unusual ally' is Gandalf. Thorin and Gandalf met "by chance" in Bree and both were seeking a way to get rid of Smaug. Of course Gandalf couldn't be much help because he had to meet the White Council so he picked Bilbo to join the Quest.

ETA: The Quest of Erebor? I'm pretty sure I've heard of it before but don't remember reading about it. I don't remember how much of the appendices I read, though.

The Quest of Erebor is a short story that documents Gandalf meeting Thorin at Bree, the talk Gandalf had with the dwarves at Ered Luin, and also the night spent at Bilbo Baggin's house from the viewpoint of Gandalf and Thorin. It's a great story, and should definitely be read by anyone who wants to know all the facts and details of what went on at the start of The Hobbit.

I have three different versions of the story. Two are contained in my copy of Unfinished Tales. The other is included at the end of my Annotated Hobbit book.

~Riella

Some brilliant person on TORn did a full body render of Thorin (using Gloin's body looks like) and put this amazing panorama picture together.

http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/DwarvesFinal.jpg

So awesome.