Thought he'd be one of the simpler Dwarves to make but nope, loads of detail needed the closer I looked. I gave him a slightly more pronounced left eye inspired by one of the pics I saw of him that gives him a bit more character especially as he can't speak and tends to ramble in an ancient Dwarvish dialect due to the injury of the axe in his head (I modified one of Peter's sculpts for this then opted to give him real hair for his beard, braids and head). I did quite a bit of sewing on this one, sculpted a lot of parts and had to hand weave loads of little bits of leather into hemp sacking as well as plenty of different materials to braid.
Bifur's Story:
"Whilst he was a descendant of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, Bifur was not of Durin's Folk. Most of his familial relations are unclear, and what is known of his parentage is very little. He and his family were driven out of their home in the Lonely Mountain by the Dragon Smaug, and were forced to live in exile, where the Dwarf warrior worked as a toy maker. Following Thorin II Oakenshield to a new life in the Blue Mountains, he continued his life as a toy maker.
Quest to EreborEdit
The-Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-Bifur
Bifur as portrayed in The Hobbit film trilogy.
Answering Thorin Oakenshield's Quest of Erebor, he went to the meeting at Bag End with his cousins Bofur and Bombur, where he played the clarinet. On the quest, he was nearly cooked on a spit by trolls and nearly killed by Goblins, Wargs, Stone giants, Great Spiders, and the dragon Smaug himself. A valiant and brave warrior, Bifur never gave up, and fought in the Battle of Five Armies with all his strength, killing numerous enemies. In the fallout of the great battle, Dain II Ironfoot gave him his share of the treasure, and he retired to live at the Lonely Mountain.
Bifur is played by William Kircher in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films. The studio released the following statement about Bifur:
"Born in the West, Bifur has the rusting remains of an Orc axe embedded in his forehead, which has rendered him inarticulate and occasionally feisty! He communicates only with Khuzdul and hand gestures. Unlike most of the others in The Company of Dwarves, Bifur is not related to Thorin, nor is he of noble lineage, but rather is descended from miners and smithies – simple folk with simple tastes."
In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- Extended Edition, Bifur loses the axe in his head when he strikes an attacking Orc with a head-butt and knocks his foe off a cliff, although Bofur and Bombur manage to haul him back to safety.
According to The History of The Hobbit by John Rateliff, in the never completed third revision of The Hobbit, Bifur, along with Bofur and Bombur were to become something like an Honour-guard to Thorin. Such a change is already supported in several places of the book, including the fact that Bifur, Bofur and Bombur all arrive at Bag End at the same time as Thorin, and that they climb into the same tree as him when the company is attacked by Wargs and Orcs. "
Reference pics:
My Bifur: