ring on the fimir foot

[tasoe]

I've been painting some fimirs for the 100th time, and I've been wondering again about that freakin' ring in their left leg, that I always forget to paint and notice it when I'm varnishing.

Why is it there? What does it do? It's stupid, no one likes it, it has no use whatsoever.

I've come up with a crazy theory. It was a piece of something the sculptor put there, it probably went around the leg and grabbed on the tail somehow, and it was only there to keep the tail in place while it was setting.
Then, he gave the model to be cast but he forgot about that thing and we've ended up with the weirdest piece of jewelry the miniature world has ever seen.

Let me know what you think of that theory, or provide your own.

[cynthialee]

I think it is meant to just be an anklet as adornment.

But I like to think they are manacle remnants.

[Baylor_OgreBane]

I think cythialee is right, its an anklet to give the mini a bit more bling, that or the sculptor had the foresight to included it just to annoy you tasoe!

[Goblin-King]

Yeah, it's just a piece of jewelry...

[torilen]

I know nothing about the history of the fimir, so I'm just spouting here...
I would imagine it to be the remains of shackles of some sort. Fimir could
have been slaves and those are the reminders of their slavery, to never allow
it to happen again. All adults put them on at a certain age.

[cynthialee]

Fimir are pretty tough dudes, not slave material.

Here is some information from Wiki on them:

Fimir society is divided into a caste system, consisting of Meargh, the Dirach, the warriors, and the Shearl. The Meargh - also known as witch-hags - are the leaders of Fimir colonies, as well as the only females.[1] A Meargh would typically also be a very powerful user of magic. The Dirach - described as "daemon-friends" - are a caste of wizards specialising in the worshipping of Daemons. The warrior caste - consisting of Fimm (warriors), Fianna Fimm (elite warriors), and the various nobles - take the brunt of raiding and fighting. The Shearls - the slaves of a Fimir settlement - exist only to work and die. The ruling Meargh hold the clans together. In the event of a Meargh's death, the Fimir of her stronghold separate, either working as mercenaries for other evil creatures or seeking out another clan to join. However the Meargh is sterile and therefore unable to breed. So as to replenish their numbers the Fimir kidnap young fertile human women to use as breeding stock.

[tasoe]

I don't know, it still looks weird to me. I think it is also badly designed. I mean it's visible in the front of the foot, but not in the back 'cause the tail just happened to be there.

Can anyone think of anything similarly stupid in any heroquest figure? What comes to mind is the feet of the mercenaries where one seems to have a boot on and the other has toes showing like a sandal, but I think the fimir bangle is way worse.

[Big Bene]

Idon't have a problem with either of them.
I think the mercenary wears boots on booth feet. What looks a bit like toes are the decorations on a shoe like the ones the second guy from the left wears on this picture:

They are just not sculpted to the same detail on the othe rfoot of the mini.

The ring on the Fimirs' ankle is a bracelet, just as the wizard wears a diadem and a finger ring. Why not? And how does the tail obscuring part of it make this any less believeable?

[Goblin-King]

I find the mercenaries' foot way more offensive. I too believe in BB's theory, but it's still annoying they look so different.
Don't know if it qualifies, but the barbarian's fur boots are terrible defined.
And the stretched beard on the dwarf...

[tasoe]

Wow! That photo with those terrible outfits really tells the story. The puffy shirt of that guy and those things he wears on his feet are surely the inspiration for the mercenaries.

What I meant about the tail covering the ring, is that it seems weird to co-exist in that place on the figure. I honestly think that they would put it on the other leg if they really wanted it there. Perhaps it was a last minute add-on.

I find the mercenaries' foot way more offensive. I too believe in BB's theory, but it's still annoying they look so different.
Don't know if it qualifies, but the barbarian's fur boots are terrible defined.
And the stretched beard on the dwarf...

They don't qualify. They are just low details sculpts in that point. Especially the barbarian's boots is really a shame that they're not more defined. They could be a very nice feature on the figure.