The Hobbit's Bag End imagined with balloons
It would be the talk of Hobbiton, sure, but would this balloon bonanza upstage Gandalf's fireworks too?
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
Thus begins J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic "The Hobbit," first published 75 years ago and slated to be released as three movies despite the fact that it's only 300 pages long.
Indeed, the power of a franchise can be stronger than Smaug's fiery breath. That could have been what prompted Jeremy Telford to turn his room into a persuasively good rendition of Bilbo Baggins' home -- using balloons.
The Utah artist used some 2,600 balloons to re-create the always-cozy Bag End in about 40 hours, as seen in the time-lapse vid below.
You have to admire the detailing that went into the effort -- everything, down to apples in a bowl and flames in the hearth is done in balloons.
Telford has created hundreds of balloon sculptures over the years, including dinosaurs, trains, motorcycles, flags, animals, superheroes, and scarecrows.
Check out his gallery here.
Telford has an inventory of some 10,000 balloons for his job. The most challenging thing about creating Bag End was the timing -- some balloons would deflate, so they all have to be blown up in a short period.
But the best part was tearing it all down. Watch Telford's kids go nuts at the end of the video.