Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Greetings all,

I had spoken to Gondian about this last year but I believe he may have fallen back with other projects here. I am looking to commission a replica or as close as I can to Strider's bow as seen the PJ films. I have plenty of images and can give the length it needs to be when unstrung. I have someone working on the quiver and am nearly done this 10 year journey to complete this replica kit except the bedroll and black cloak. If anyone thinks they may help please drop a line here. I also may need arrows as well. Thank you all kindly

-Rifter

Sounds like an ambitious project! I'm afraid I can't help with the bow, but it's entirely possible there is someone around here who can.

As it happens, however, I have been looking long and hard for good reference photos to Strider's bow and quiver, and I'd be very interested to see what you have. I already have all the photos from AlleyCatScratch.com, and most of the others that pop up around the web, but most of those aren't very detailed, and if you have more extensive research on the subject, I'd LOVE to see it!

Do you have the set of pictures of the Arigorn figure that shows his gear? I have them and can post them for you if you need them.

I can e-mail them to you if you want sure. Most are from my own collection of items such as premium format figures and such. When it comes to Strider/ Aragorn collectables. I have it. I'm possibly meeting Billy Boyd in 3 weeks time and if the kit can pass his eye as someone who spent years around Viggo then I'll take it as looking pretty good. Assuming I can get everything done and taken care of. I'm not doing the bedroll or black cloak because I spent enough of the elvish cloak that it's getting worn.

So there's no bow makers who are interested in giving this a shot so to speak?. I can give height dimensions.

What deminsions and draw wrong are you looking for? Is it primarily for costume use, or will it see a lot of range time? I might be able to give it a go, but it depends on what you're looking for.

Brian

Anyone consider writing a letter to WETA or whomever holds the gear & costumes for the movie and ask them for specs, drawings, photos?
I realize that Legolas used a CGI string and arrows but the bow existed, if only as a prop so the same would be true for Aragorn. A real bow or bow-like prop that could be duplicated in reality.

I just finished a paper on Martian Archery for the Burroughs site and that got me thinking about the ME bows.

Were they Self-Bows or Composite? If Composite, with what were they backed?

I'm guessing between 40-80# draw depending on if he felt that he needed to stop a rabbit for a stew or a deer to feed a group or an Orc wearing armor. But how many people carried Warbows as a daily thing?

It lookes to me to be a self-bow, dark wood, the tips are bulging larger than the limb then are deeply carved for the string instead of simply adding a wood or horn or bone tip-backing.

The thing to remember with this is it probably was not made as a functional bow. Probably some were rubber for falling scenes and some were wood that could fire an arrow short ways out of frame such as in Moria scenes, character wise it does look to be for small game and deer so 40-50 libs more then likely. I may put more work into the archery kit being functional later but may just have to get a small wood bow and cut it and shape it to look correct

yes, the actual shape and basic design, then it can be back-worked into something that works well.

My guess is it would turn out rather like that 'Welsh Short Bow' you see some places. Heavy draw, very short pull, lots of hand shock, and pinchy fingers. Something along those lines like as not. Most of those can be worked with in some way or other, but the shorter the stave on a self bow, the more interesting it is to deal with.

Good luck.

Eledhwen

If you look at Viggo in the Moria scenes, he's pulling the string back to a full draw (though his form is rather bad), and the bow is practically bending in half. It would be a real feat to get a self-bow of any kind to bend like that consistently and not break. But I can't help it, I still love that darned thing. It's so great and compact.

Yeah, I am not really a fan of bows really...I know travesty. But I'm a sword guy and the Strider in the films seems more suited to sword then bow which seems just used for hunting and such

Rifter wrote:I...am nearly done this 10 year journey to complete this replica kit except the...black cloak.

Strider's cloak is actually green. They just put it through such a hard weathering process that it looks black. It was in the behind the scenes for...I think Fellowhip?

Valjuen wrote:

Rifter wrote:I...am nearly done this 10 year journey to complete this replica kit except the...black cloak.

Strider's cloak is actually green. They just put it through such a hard weathering process that it looks black. It was in the behind the scenes for...I think Fellowhip?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but, the film was altered through color grading.
...and back to that tiny bow...