Ah, I suspected that the ever-green debate centred on Smaug's model would haunt this thread again
I'm joking, obviously. All arguments and topics of significant note for the discussion should always be analysed and considered in the most thorough way. I myself have already forwarded in this thread my thoughts on the general matters involved, but I will gladly add my opinion on the most recent remarks.
Many thanks to you, on the other hand, for bringing the topic here to open discussion. And welcome to Modding Union as well! In light of the recent happenings taking place on ModDB, it has certainly been a wise choice to have moved here and the Edain Community will thus be granted the chance to debate in a more proper place
Well, where to begin, I personally already stated in this thread my wish for a new model of Smaug, alongside other graphical and conceptual overhauls aimed to stick even more loyally to the whole Hobbit motive we all appreciate (I hope) very much; other great changes have already seen light during this and last year, and they were exactly meant to provide the Edain Mod with more unique and Hobbit-ish additions. Just to mention two significant ones among them: the new Iron Hills models and Thranduil's silver armour. Therefore, as the current known official news concerning the Misty Mountains came out almost three years ago, I believe there will logically be needed improvements to make before the final release and Smaug ought to be (in my opinion) included too.
The Misty Mountains shall be the last chapter of the Edain 4.0 plan. A grandiose plan that has most importantly transposed everything into the initial BFME1 mechanics and permitted great concepts from the Hobbit to find their place in the game too, on the footsteps of the end of PJ's six-film saga which exactly dealt with Middle-earth. Given that this faction will be the most Hobbit-based one of the Mod, who, if not Smaug, deserves to be the greatest possible as all the other splendid concepts from the Hobbit trilogy? The 'leader' (a particular type of leader, as we convened in the previous passages of this discussion) of the Misty Mountains is in fact one of the most prominent characters of the trilogy and the valuable motive of those films consequently underlies him all.
Regarding the model itself, as you wrote it, it's simply a very clever compromise between the cinematographic rendition of Smaug and Tolkien's four-leg concept; the latter was also the concept which WETA initially came up with, before opting for a wyvern-fashioned design. This feature (four legs) thus resolves the lore issue at the root of the matters and avoids the need of a new animation, something that would result in a very daunting task to achieve. So, yes, I'm fully for a new model of Smaug characterised by graphics more accurate towards what we watched on the big screen (his malicious face, his smile, his eyes, his smile,...). With all the due respect for the current one, a new model (entirely made, hopefully, by the Edain Team) would eventually do the right justice to the Edain 4.0 era.
That said, I once again make clear that this kind of proposals is not really common to manage, for it's easy to conceive ideas in theory but not so in practice (even if animations are not involved). Furthermore, we always have to consider that there are people with the legitimate opinion that graphical aspects should not have a so major role in the game and should thus remain secondary compared to other ones. Nevertheless, what expressed above is my pure view of things and I really hope it will finally get real someday, regardless of the time it would take. There are other magnificent suggestions in this forum whose main intention is exactly exploring deeply the valuable sides of the Hobbit trilogy, in line with the premises I illustrated above; this one is totally one of them
I'll be quite direct now: my personal preference and likings gravitate around the AOTR Smaug, for it is quite undeniable, I guess, that it loyally mirrors the own vision of WETA, of which most of the international public are extremely fond. Smaug was in fact one of the pearls of the trilogy, if not its major jewel. Not only was the Dragon's overall role superb, but the final rendition on the very screen towered over many other characters and flaws. I wouldn't thus deem it improper, if I said that he is really something PJ and his entourage can be proud of.
Now, leaving aside personal tastes, the resemblance to the spirit of the cinematographic adaptation has always been one of the pillars of the Edain Mod and this obviously reflects on the actual game. Not all characters, sure, but not many of them have no connection whatsoever with our glorious films (apart from Angmar). In this case, the situation is even more apparent, as we are dealing with nothing more than the faction's most relevant hero, embodying the conceptual motive of an entire trilogy. Don't you think it's necessary to have a more WETA-like model? Imagine having the Necromancer, Thranduil, the Dwarven Company or the Defiler not have much in common with their cinematographic counterparts; a quite unfair and illogical eventuality. Nevertheless, albeit fantasising about it, I don't agree with the mere transposition of the AOTR concept into the Edain Mod, but some adjustments could be found, such as making the current model more robust and mightier (an impression that it doesn't give me, at the moment), alongside reworking his face. This is not a stringent priority, but it does have its importance.