Late last night Amazon.com added a price and the option to pre-order the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Gift Set. This gift set comes with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D Blu-Ray, 2D, appendicies disc, and like The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Gift Sets, a special statue. This statue captures ‘The Riddles in the Dark’ sequence of the film featuring Gollum coming over a rock while Bilbo stands a bit scared of what is going on around him. The statue has been created by the amazing folks at Weta Workshop and was sculpted by Gary Hunt.You can get this set from Amazon for only $69.99 which is a great deal considering the regular 5-disc set is $38.99. [Gift Set] [Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet] [Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet]
Anne C. Petty, a notable J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, writer, editor, publisher and friend died from cancer on July 21. Petty lived in Florida and is survived by her daughter. She is perhaps best known for her book “One Ring to Bind Them: Tolkien’s Mythology,” but those who knew her will remember her best for her fun and down-to-earth nature.
TheOneRing.net had the honor of calling her friend via several of our staffers. She was invited to and spoke at our own One Ring Celebration (ORC) and was a frequent Tolkien guest at Dragon Con in Atlanta where we had the pleasure of knowing her on a more personal level. Although she was a scholar with all the academic credentials (Ph.D. in English, Florida State University) she never thought any other Tolkien fan or their opinion or feelings were any less important than her own.
Anne loved anime and she showed up at Dragon Con’s annual Middle-earth party night in her head-to-toe fox costume, making a point to greet those of us who knew her, despite our inability to recognize her at all. She would alert us to her costume the following day if we didn’t catch on at the event. She also had a taste for the darker parts of entertainment, a characteristic she wasn’t afraid to share.
Petty delivered interesting Tolkien themed lectures frequently at DragonCon and was always willing to listen to audience questions and responses. She wrote “Tolkien in the Land of Heroes: Discovering the Human Spirit,” and “Dragons of Fantasy: Scaly Villains & Heroes of Modern Fantasy Literature,” that included a section on Tolkien’s dragons that TORn favorably reviewed.
We featured at least two longer interviews with her in our own Green Books. Please see Part One and Part Two.
After repeated exposure to Anne at Dragon Con and other conventions, she evolved into a personal friend of several of our staffers including our own Balin/Greg, who also died of cancer and for whom we always buy a drink at the annual celebration of popular culture. I had the chance to know Anne on a deeper level and even met and chatted with her daughter who visited the convention one year. I wrote the following about her in 2005 as part of the summary of the whole Tolkien part of the convention:
Dr. Anne “Just Anne” Petty was also part of the Tolkien track and was kind enough to join a group of us for dinner at the Hard Rock Café after the convention was winding down. I admit I was a bit chagrined that we were taking somebody I considered of grandmother age and who deserved respect as a genuine Tolkien scholar to such an undignified and loud joint. A short time into the meal it was discovered she is a closet hard rock / heavy metal fan who has toured around with Yngwie Malmsteen http://www.yngwie.org/ and considers herself a surrogate grandmother to the Swedish guitar virtuoso. She is extremely fond of Danzig, System of a Down, Ramstien and a gaggle of other just-as-unlikely bands. I joked that she probably knew Norweigen death-metal bands and she proceeded to name one that she likes. Consider her officially outed and look for her name in the “thank yous” on the Malmsteen disc. Those present urged her to use “Metal Mamma” as her TORn board and chat room handle.
In successive years we shared more con-meals and our mutual love for Tolkien and the most unlikely of music made us comfortable friends. It is with some shame that I can’t claim to have kept in better touch and I didn’t realize her time was so limited. She last updated her personal blog on May 22 with a headline of “Staying Alive,” and I am confident the irony of that would tickle her now.
While we have lost our friend, the whole of the Tolkien community has lost one its voices and much more importantly one of its spectacular people. We at TheOneRing.net wish her family and friends peace.
This weekend in the Hall of Fire, we’ll be chatting about the final chapter of Book III of The Two Towers.
‘Go to sleep!’ said Merry. ‘You’ll get information enough, sooner or later. My dear Pippin, no Took ever beat a Brandybuck for inquisitiveness; but is this the time, I ask you?’ Continue reading “Hall of Fire this weekend: The Palantìr”
After Bombur fans were left in limbo as to who would be the next Dwarven statue released by Weta Workshop. Just before Comic-Con 2013 we got the answer to this question. One half of Thorin’s Company version of Happy Hobbit has gone up for order and reached our shelves. The member of the company who is landing now is none other than Kili. This is the second Dwarven statue to be a limited edition piece with only 1000 pieces worldwide.
PACKAGING
The overall graphic layout for Kili’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 Kili, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Kili 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: An Unexpected Journey line of collectibles. The back of the box contains a great story on Kili 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
Lindsey Crummett was given the task of sculpting Kili in order for him to make it to our collection. This is the second statue Ms. Crummett has completed in this line with her first being the superbly well-done Balin. She is also responsible for the Bofur statue, which we will be reviewing soon as well as the uber awesome Azog the Defiler on Warg we saw during Comic-Con 2013. Much like with Balin this statue is very well done and is a fantastic representation of the character Kili.
There’s been quite a bit of debate on various message boards in regards to the likeness of Kili. After having received mine I can say without a doubt that it looks very much like Aidan Turner. I love the fierce yet focused look of Kili has, as he is about to take out an Orc or Goblin in his way. Unlike Bombur Kili gets back to the Dwarves wearing lots of leather and once again its done in a way that creates the look of real leather. For me with the outfit its all the little detail you have within the costume that really shows off the skill in this statue. Kili’s vembraces have great little detail in the tiny triangles with circles in the middle, his sleeves of his jacket has a great design sculpted, and sculpted fur at the edge of the sleeves. He also has some great detail in his main outfit with fantastic weaved design as well as great metal and leather work in in the strap for his sheath/arrow case.
Kili of course comes ready for battle with his fantastic bow with arrow ready to take out any crossing Orc, Goblin, or Warg. The detail in the bow is really superb! You have fantastic sculpting giving it amazing wooden detail. The handle also has some great detailing giving it a very intricate wooden sculpt. On his back you have Kili’s sword and arrow case with arrows in it. His sword you can only see the handle area but it’s got some super tiny detail sculpted in it. It does such a great job of matching the sword you saw used in the movie. The arrows are also well done with the one full arrow being the one he’s about the shoot. Similar to Gollum statue Kili also has a bit of environment with this statue. He has a small rock which he is resting his foot before he unleashes that arrow. It’s a nice touch and adds a bit of spice to an already awesome statue. All in all the sculpting job done on Kili just continues to keep the ball rolling on this awesome line.
PAINT
Kili continues the streak of very well painted statues from Weta Workshop. The skin tones use the proper paint mixture to not only make the statue look like a shrunken Dwarf. The challenge with this statue is making the outfit and weapons not lose those amazing details. The leatherwork that has been sculpted has been enhanced by the paint job on this statue. When looking at it you very much get the sense the outfit is being worn in Middle-earth. The most impressive paint job of his weapons has to be the bow. Between the sculpt on it and the paint you can almost swear it’s a real wooden bow he’s holding. Its one of the best 1:6th weapons I’ve seen on any statue in my years of collecting.
Overall
Kili retails for $249, which is in line with most of the statues so far in the line. Kili is a character I’ve grown to like more with each viewing and I’m very happy to have this statue within my collection. He looks great and helps create a really great looking Hobbit display. I want to add that with every release in this line Weta is just continuing to show how great they with these statues.
SPECIFICATIONS
Kili is limited to just 1000 pieces worldwide and in-stock ready to purchase. Get your order in now before he sells out.
Dimensions:
9.3″ x 9.1″ x 5.9″ (H x W x D)
23.5 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm
Kate Madison as Elgarain in Born of Hope. Photo by Richard Unger
When Kate Madison’s fan prequel to the Lord of the Rings, Born of Hope, was released in December 2009 it instantly raised the bar for fan film productions and was hailed as an accomplished and in every respect a worthy addition to Peter Jackson’s trilogy.
Three years and 23 million online views later Kate has revealed that she is now planning to raise the bar for fantasy web series. “Web series have become a popular and important way for independent filmmakers to showcase their work and compared to a film, the potential for shaping an on going story line for, and with, the fans is really appealing”.
Ren encounters the leader of the Kah’Nath. Concept art by Max von Vier
Ren is the story of a young woman, who lives a quiet life in a small village until her face is branded by a powerful ancient spirit and she becomes feared by all who see her. Dramatic events, involving the ruling warrior order of the Kah’Nath, force her to leave her safe existence and journey across the land to find the truth behind the web of lies she’s believed in all her life.
“The first season will consist of 6 ten minute episodes and is scheduled to go into production in the next few months. It’s so exciting to be creating a brand new fantasy world and I’m already working with concept and story artists to brainstorm what the next season could bring” says Kate.
Ren and Hunter’s dramatic escape. Concept art by Max von Vier
The inspiration for the show is rooted in great fantasy stories like The Lord of the Rings, but epic books and TV series like Game of Thrones and the more lighthearted Legend of the Seeker have also influenced the creation of REN. One of the most important features of Born of Hope was the fan base that helped finance, design and even act in the film and we are keen to involve the fans even more in this project. The series is in the very early stages, with only the first season written, so we will look to the online fan community to influence what happens… and yes, even be in it!
Kate needs your help to get the show off the ground and has launched a Kickstarter campaign which runs until the 19th August. There are some great rewards to getting involved and she is releasing exciting updates throughout the campaign.
During Comic-Con this year you heard me mention a couple of times that Weta Workshop would be coming back to do 1:6th statues for The Lord of the Rings. Tim Launder General Manager of Weta Limited last night via The Shadow and Flame Forum announced who had been selected as the first character in the line. This character was one of the characters not done in statue form during original The Lord of the Rings statue line so fans are going to be pleased with this announcement. After years of waiting fans are finally going to be able to add a Faramir statue to their collections. Now, the question becomes will we see the Ranger Faramir or Faramir in his Gondorian Armor? As details come along from Weta we will let you know and maybe before the end of the year we might even get a good look at what is sure to be an awesome statue.
Late last night Amazon.com added a price and the option to pre-order the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Gift Set. This gift set comes with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D Blu-Ray, 2D, appendicies disc, and like The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Gift Sets, a special statue. This statue captures ‘The Riddles in the Dark’ sequence of the film featuring Gollum coming over a rock while Bilbo stands a bit scared of what is going on around him. The statue has been created by the amazing folks at Weta Workshop and was sculpted by Gary Hunt.You can get this set from Amazon for only $69.99 which is a great deal considering the regular 5-disc set is $38.99. [Gift Set] [Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet] [Blu-Ray + Ultraviolet]
This weekend in 
Kate needs your help to get the show off the ground and has launched a Kickstarter campaign which runs until the 19th August. There are some great rewards to getting involved and she is releasing exciting updates throughout the campaign.