Loosely translated, the name "Balrog" means "demon of might", in other words, a demon that is really frikkin' strong. They usually have powers relating to darkness and fire, but there are rumors of balrogs controlling other elemental forces.
There is a heated debate amongst nerds, I mean, amongst devoted Lord of the Rings fans, over wether balrogs have wings or not. In the LOTR novels, the wizard Gandalf fought on a crumbling bridge with a fire balrog. The book-text referred to the balrog:
"His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."
"Like two vast wings" is obviously a simile, but then the text continues:
"...suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall..."
If you read this, then you can take it literally that the balrog has actual, physical wings. Who cares right? Well, if balrogs have wings, then that means they may be able to fly, and therefore become that much more deadly. Honestly, HEATED debate over this issue. Go figure...anyway, enough about fanboys!
I found a cheap dragon at a second-hand store that looked awesome but had little articulation. I remembered I had an extra Omega Red laying around, back at my secret base, so I figured I'd try and make myself a Marvel Legends Balrog.
A balrog is a demon, but this thing is a dragon, so to cut corners and not type out a whole backstory, I'll just say this is what you get when a balrog decides to posess a dragon! A Draconic Balrog! With enourmous wings to flaunt in the face of LOTR fanboys everywhere.
I cut out the major sections of the legs, cracked open the dragon's armored body, and removed the cool wings. I cut off Omega's shins and armor and popped out his arms and head. I did some fancy work to get the knees to fit in the dragon's legs, the dragon's neck to fit on Omega's head peg, and the dragon's arms to fit in Omega's body. I trimmed the inside of the dragon's armor to fit on Omega's chest and then screwed in the wings to the back on a little plate they came with. All boring technical info I'm sure.
Final product, this demon stands 9 inches tall, way taller to the top of its wings, and has a 17-inch wingspan. I am officially out of room for my figures. Best of all, it stayed fully articulated! Wrists swivel and hinge, elbows bend, shoulders are swivel-hinged, the neck/head has 4 POA, it turns at the waist and has a mid-section joint, the legs are swivel-hinged, knees are double-hinged, and the wings are freakin' awesome. They can flap in any direction because the main spine in the wings are made of flexible rubber that holds its shape in any position. Yay.
~Gj
You guys might as well write a book about the stories and make some money It's not like there is a shortage of people who would buy that junk, er, gaming literature
I go to comic shops, comic shops have dudes playing all sorts of boring board games. Although it is fun to watch them get excited when they roll a 23 to slay the Vile Troll of Gorrath!