Nöht'ò Nôdi "Sharp Wolf"

This was done as a favor for a friend of mine who is a member of the Tłı̨chǫ or Dogrib Tribe (a first nations people of Canada). The name Nöht'ò Nôdi translates to “sharp wolf”.

I started with the Lak Sivrak figure. I added a custom bow made from random parts, and I used stretched clear sprue for the arrow. I mounted the figure on part of a rock mold.

I painted him and the rock in Vallejo acrylics. I used several thinned layers of acrylics to create the rock look. I then sanded down some balsa wood and used the shavings (mixed with green paint) to make the moss.

I finished it off using the Game Color purple ink for the arrow.

Nöht'ò Nôdi was a Shistavanen hunter who gained notoriety during the Clone Wars and Empire era. Nöht'ò left home at an early age by stowing aboard a weapons transport bound for Coruscant. En route, Nöht'ò spent his time building his own blaster rifle in the shape of a bow, his tribe’s preferred weapon. When the ship docked, Nöht'ò surprised the three pilots by ensnaring them in a handcrafted net. Nöht'ò was about to be arrested by Coruscant guards when they noticed the bow-shaped blaster. Upon further inspection, the troops discovered that the so-called textiles transport was doubling as an illegal arms smuggler. Nöht'ò was given a small reward for his serendipitous efforts.

Nöht'ò spoke only a few words of basic, and spent several years on Coruscant working with the Senate guards. His keen senses made him invaluable to officials who had weekly run-ins with Senatorial aids attempting to bring some unauthorized goods into the Capital, usually some kind of drugs. By the time the Clone Wars began, Nöht'ò was very much sought after by police and senators alike for his uncanny ability to sniff out contraband.

During those years, Nöht'ò reworked his blaster into a customized energy bow. The bow featured large spherical conductors near the tip that created an elongated charge of energy in the shape of an arrow. Instead of a pull-string, Nöht'ò’s bow used a separate trigger that was balanced in place by magnetic coils on the bow itself. Pulling back on the free-floating trigger activated the conductors, which shaped the energy into a sleek bolt. The energy bow was somewhat slow to fire and quite ungainly to wield, but it had exceptional range and accuracy, especially in the hands of a well-trained hunter.

Nöht'ò would later find work as very peculiar bounty hunter, one that specialized in hunting assassins or slave-traders. Many senators employed his skills until the Clone Wars ended. By then, he had moved away from Coruscant and was plying his tracking abilities to rebel groups seeking escape from Imperial forces. Preferring to keep a low profile, Nöht'ò acted as a tracker/hunter for rebel groups, typically by helping small villages fend off Imperial Scout teams. He became known as the “quiet thinker”, the one who would sit outside while others partied inside. But for his closest friends, Nöht'ò was a fiercely loyal companion with a strict moral code to help others and a kind heart that belied his ferocious appearance.