Comic-Con 2013 brought us, at this point, one of the most polarizing characters we’ve seen in The Hobbit Trilogy. Before she ever uttered a line, Evangeline Lilly’s Tauriel had fans picking sides. Collectors got a good look at the character when the amazing artists at Weta Workshop unveiled the 1:6th statue of Tauriel. This was a special release granted by Warner Brothers so fans could see the character and start getting us pumped for the awesomeness that is to come in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
PACKAGING
The overall graphic layout for Tauriel’s box stays the same as we’ve seen with previous entries in the line. Per the format we’ve come to know, the front of the box gives you a great shot of Tauriel, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Tauriel also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue. While the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get for The Hobbit line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Tauriel as well as information regarding details of the character and statue. The styrofoam on the inside is typical with what we’ve come used to getting with these statues.
SCULPTING
New to sculpting Middle-earth is Yasmin Khudari. Judging by the results of Tauriel, I would say this is yet another amazing talent that Weta has in the fold to bring our favorite world to life. I would say without a doubt the job Yasmin Khudari did easily helped make Tauriel one of the best pieces at Comic-Con.
The likeness of Tauriel is pretty darn exceptional. After having had a chance to give the statue a good onceover and a chance to talk with Evangeline Lilly at Comic-Con I think this is pretty much spot on in the likeness department. The work on the hair is also nicely done once again giving the real life appearance. Unlike most of the Dwarves, Tauriel’s outfit is solid mix of cloth and leather. I love that when you look at the cloth parts you can almost see the little fibers that go into making her outfit allowing her proper movement as Captain of Thranduil’s Guards. The leatherwork in her outfit comes with her pants, arm-braces, chest protector, and boots. The detailing on the arm-braces is very impressive with sculpted trees or tree branches have been put into those. Really incredible detail with these two pieces. Her boots are also really well done with the seams you see that put them together, but the pants I found to be quite impressive. It had to be tough making smooth leather look real but between the paint and sculpted details it came out great.
The weapons Tauriel carries are also really well done. The wooden detail in the bow is fantastic! The best part of this weapon is the little leaves that have been carved into the bow. These along with the vembraces as well as look of the arrow quiver make for a woodland feel, which is totally appropriate for the Mirkwood Elves. You don’t get to see them really, but the handles of her daggers look pretty sweet. As I mentioned earlier, the arrow quiver is really fantastic – its been sculpted to look like a giant leaf with gold on each end to keep the arrows from coming through. A small detail that’s easy to miss is how well the arrows are done. The feathery end of the arrows have some super detail in them, and I love the different look to the sharp end of the arrows as opposed to the different arrows we’ve seen.
Finally, I want to talk about the base of the statue. Once, again we get the amazing Thorin’s map, but this time we get a little something else with it. One of the creepy trees of Mirkwood with the cool mushrooms that grow in the woods gives this statue some real presence. Yasmin Khudari did a fantastic job of creating the old ruined wood that has begun to really take over Greenwood the Great. This base really helped make this piece overall just pop when I saw it at Comic-Con
PAINT
Tauriel continues the streak of very well painted statues from Weta Workshop. I absolutely love the skin tone on this statue. For me it has the right balance of paints to create a super healthy looking skin tone. It goes a long way to making it feel like Tauriel jumped off screen and into my collection. I also love the work done on the eyes – they help sell the fierce warrior that I believe we will see on the screen. The color of her hair is pretty darn good as well. The auburn color of her hair is well captured but there seems to be a hint of a gold highlight that has been added in to really make that pop.
As I mentioned earlier the outfit looks really good. You do not lose the cloth details that have been put into this piece and the leather pieces very much have that real leather look. The paint job on the leather parts of her outfit as well as her weapons really did come out looking outstanding. The woodgrain that’s been painted into the bow very much gives you the impression that it’s a shrunken version of a real bow. The arrow quiver looks fantastic! When you get this you’re going to swear that between the sculpting details and amazing paint that it’s a real leaf with golden ends.
Of course the base cannot be forgotten! The paint job on the wood really gives the finishing touches of creepiness that I think we’ve all imagined from our readings of The Hobbit. I love the finishing touch of the mushrooms as well coming in a reddish/orange and Fungi having this cool blue color.
Overall
Tauriel retails for $275, which makes her more than the Dwarves but we get a lot added to this piece compared to them. I admit I think I like what I’ve seen of the character so far and some of that comes from being a fan of Evangeline Lilly. I hope that when the last two movies come out more people will like her character. That way this amazing piece can be added to as many collections as possible.
SPECIFICATIONS
Tauriel is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide and is in-stock for the New Zealand Warehouse with more coming to the US/UK warehouses in December. Get your order in now before she sells out.
Dimensions:
11.4″ x 11.4″ x 8.3″ (H x W x D)
29 cm x 29 cm x 21 cm
Weight:
4.8 lbs (2.2 kg)
WHERE TO BUY: From Weta direct of course?! CLICK HERE
PHOTOS
