We’re delighted to share an exclusive interview from fellow Tolkien fanatic Eirik Bull – a journalist from Norway. He recently sat down with our friend, Weta Workshop’s own Daniel Falconer.

In Eirik’s interview with Daniel they cover a lot of topics, looking at Daniel’s history in working in Tolkien’s amazing world, as seen in Sir Peter Jackson’s brilliant adaptations over 20 years ago. Eirik and our friends at Weta asked us to share this interview – and you can look forward to another interview coming soon, with Sir Richard Taylor. We all hope you enjoy this amazing look at Daniel Falconer’s journey in Middle-earth.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – time spent with Weta Workshop’s Daniel Falconer”

The awesome folks at Diamond Select Toys have even more awesome Middle-earth collectibles for those of us who collect their sweet pieces.

If you’re like me, and are collecting the Deluxe Action Figure line, you can now pre-order Merry and Pippin. Both of these figures are priced at $29.99 for a single figure or you can grab both in a set for $59.98 with the figures due to ship in quarter 3 of this year.

If you’re a fan of their Gallery Diorama series you can now add the Cave Troll to that collection. The Cave Troll comes in with a price tag of $125 and will be shipping in quarter 2 of this year.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Diamond Select: Merry, Pippin Deluxe Action Figures and Cave Troll Diorama”

We come to it at last… Having celebrated the 20th anniversaries of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movies, NZ Post are now marking that same milestone for the third and final film in the trilogy. Some stunning new stamps are available now, with coins due to ship closer to the holidays.

Here’s what their press release tells us:

NZ Post releases final The Lord of the Rings trilogy stamp and coin collection

NZ Post is proud to release special edition stamps, coins and limited-edition prints to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

To be released November 1st by NZ Post, this is the third, and final, of three 20th anniversary collections –
having previously released issues commemorating The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

NZ Post Head of Stamps and Collectables, Antony Harris says, “Like the previous two special edition releases, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will be just as popular among Kiwis and international collectors.

“There will be a lot of interest from around Aotearoa, New Zealand, and the world, as this collection marks the final milestone in the history of such an iconic series of films,” Harris said. “The previous two stamp releases have sold across the globe like nothing we had ever seen before.”

The Lord of the Rings is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J.R.R Tolkien.

Harris said, with only eight weeks until Christmas, any items from this final release would make an ideal gift – especially for family and friends living overseas.

The special edition stamps, coins and prints are being released in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

The artist behind the stamps and pins is New Zealander Sacha Lees, who began her career at Wētā Workshop working on The Lord of the Rings trilogy as an illustrator, creature designer and airbrush and concept artist.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 20th Anniversary stamps will be released on Wednesday 1 November 2023. To order and read about the collection visit collectables.nzpost.co.nz

Once again, these products from NZ Post are stunning. The eagle (or elf!) eyed among you may notice that these stamps also contain ‘hidden messages’ – keys lines from the movies, somewhere in each image. The coins are equally beautiful; you can see the Beacons and Meduseld ones below. There is also a Gondor coin, and one showing Gandalf crowning Aragorn, the returned king. See these, and take a closer looks at all these fabulous pieces, by visiting NZ Post’s website now.

We’ve made it to Episode 10 of this very fun podcast; and for our tenth episode, we have a super special guest. I’ve had the chance to chat with him over the years at Comic-Con, but having the amazing Sir Richard Taylor sit down for almost 90 minutes to talk about collectibles was beyond anything for Jim and me. We had a blast chatting; and in the episode, there is even a tease for a new collectible coming. We hope you have as much fun watching this episode as the two of us had filming it.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious Podcast Ep10: chatting with Weta’s Richard Taylor!”

As you all know, the Magic The Gathering The Lord of the Rings cards have been a massive hit among fans. The collector booster boxes are going for a nice sum of cash on the market. Right before Comic-Con, I snagged a box and opened it. In this video, you’ll see all the cool cards I got – including a $200 Bag End Foil! I will definitely be tracking down another box.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Magic The Gathering The Lord of the Rings Collector Booster Box Opening”

As you saw at their booth during Comic-Con 2023, our friends at Diamond Select Toys have two new Deluxe Action figures up for pre-order. Fans can now add to their collections the loveable Samwise Gamgee, and Saruman the White. Both figures looked amazing in person! You can snag these individually for $29.99 or $59.98 as a set, with a release date of quarter 1 of next year. Check out our Middle-earth tour from Comic-Con to see all the goodies DST had at the show.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Diamond Select Samwise and Saruman Deluxe Figure Pre-Orders”