“I can avoid being seen if I wish; but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift.”
-Strider to Frodo while at The Prancing Pony in Bree
Continuing the trend of fantastic mini-statues from The Lord of the Rings, the artists at Weta have created a great version of Strider. This is the third statue in a beautiful line, which includes Gandalf The Grey and Gollum. This version of Strider captures the character as we first meet him in Bree, sitting by himself, watching the comings and goings of those at The Prancing Pony.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the front of the box for Strider have the same elegant look we’ve come to know from the collectibles Weta has created for The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings logo appears in the upper left hand corner, while a screen capture of Strider from The Fellowship of the Ring is in the upper right hand corner. In the center of the box you have a great picture of the piece itself, with the name of the collectible under the screen capture of Strider. On one side of the box there is a further picture of Strider, while the other contains multiple images of items that you can find on Weta’s website. The back of the box has one final image of Strider, with a bit more information on the collectible and the sculptor.
SCULPTING
Sculptor Steven Saunders created the Gandalf in this line of statues, as well as the Gandalf from The Hobbit line of statues; so we’ve seen his skills in being able to deliver a great collectible. The likeness to Viggo Mortensen is really well done, especially for a small statue with a head that has to fit in a hood. The texture of the cloak in which Strider has concealed himself is astonishing, giving a real look of draped cloth. We also get a great little sculpted pipe, which we see Strider smoking as he surveys The Prancing Pony. The extraordinary detail of this statue is continued in the bench Strider is sitting on; the natural lines and markings of the wood are perfectly captured.
PAINT
The paintwork on Strider is as good as the sculpting. The greens of Strider’s outfit match exactly what we saw on screen in Bree. The skin tone once again shows that Weta can get it done when it comes to making skin look very natural. One would expect the eyes on this statue, being small, to be an issue – but the painters did a fantastic job capturing Viggo’s eyes. Strider’s beard has the proper, worn look you would expect on a guy who lives out in the wild!
Overall
Strider costs $75 retail via Weta’s website, which is a steal for something as superb as this collectible. So do yourself a favor and hop over to Weta’s site and place your order now for a fantastic Strider statue!
SPECIFICATIONS
Strider is an open edition. The specifications for Strider are as follows: 5.3″ x 4.3″ x 4.1″ (H x W x D)
13.5 cm x 11 cm x 10.5 cm
PHOTOS
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On October 18th, thanks to our amazing friends at The Noble Collection, we announced a contest for not one but five of their replicas of Bilbo Baggins’ Contract. This proved to be a hugely popular contest – with 850 entries! – and we’re pleased now to announce the five winners of this amazing replica.
The following fans will be receiving this replica directly from The Noble Collection: L. Sherman of Young Harris, Ga, S. Smith of Sherman Oaks, Ca, S. Suzuki of El Sobrante, CA, M. Mitchell of St. Charles, IL, A. Rice of Felton, Ca. Congratulations to all five of you; enjoy this beautiful replica of Bilbo’s Contract! Thanks again to our friends at The Noble Collection; you can check out all 38 fantastic items they have for purchase from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey here.
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For Sideshow Collectibles the month of October means their annual Spooktacular event. Now the event brings Ringers a chance to order the best Premium Format Sideshow has ever made. The Dark Lord Sauron has been turned into a massive 3 foot tall Premium Format figure. Sauron will cost you $900 and will not be shipping until July of 2013, so fans will have time to save those pennies or use Sideshow’s super friendly flex-pay plan (up to 8 payments for Sauron). As we saw at Comic-Con this past July, this piece is amazingly large and impressive – worthy of the centerpiece for any The Lord of the Rings collection. [Sauron]
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Sideshow Collectibles Sauron Premium Format”
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If you are a magazine collector, right now is an amazing time to be a fan of The Hobbit. Not only do we have some amazing new editions from EMPIRE, but you can still grab the remaining copies of The Hobbit tribute magazine! A collaborative effort between Topix Media Lab and your friends here at TheOneRing.net, it covers everything you need to know about the Hobbit movies from a fan perspective. Side-bars and feature articles, contributed by our own volunteer staff, include interviews, a feature on book vs. the movie, articles on games and collectibles, a Middle-earth timeline, and much more! The magazine is also packed with colorful pictures of cast and crew members, locations, collectibles, gorgeous fan art and a few exclusives! One thing that makes this truly a collector’s edition is that there are only two ads in the entire magazine. If you enjoy your copy, please spread the news! This is the first time a not for profit website like TheOneRing.net has collaborated with a publisher to release such a publication nation-wide!
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As we revealed yesterday, the diner chain Denny’s has secured a big Hobbit tie-in and is releasing a new, Hobbit menu plus collectible trading cards on November 6th. Staffer greendragon had the pleasure of visiting Denny’s HQ to find out what this is all about, and she was surprised by what she discovered. Here’s what she had to say:
OK, full disclosure here folks. I have never been to a Denny’s. I didn’t know what their food is like but I had my assumptions – fast food, all frozen, pre-cooked, processed rubbish, I thought… And then I heard they were going to have a Hobbit movie tie-in campaign. Hooommm. Sounds like orc mischief to me; slap a few gimmicky names on a few already-designed dishes and make a fast buck. Right? Turns out, I was wrong; read on to find out what I discovered yesterday….
Continue reading “Denny’s, Middle-earth’s Diner – ‘Hoom, don’t be hasty….’”
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The riddle has been solved. Those mysterious ‘Bilbo-ards’ (thanks to facebooker Jesse for that joke!) with their secret, runic message have been explained.
A week or so ago, giant advertisements appeared in Los Angeles, showing images of breakfast foods but with no writing except for lines of runes. Those who could decipher the runes affirmed the message suggested by the accompanying photographs: the runes read, ‘The breakfast riches of Middle-earth await.’ What did it mean?
Now, TheOneRing.net can reveal the answer to the riddle. Middle-earth is coming to Denny’s! We are delighted today to be attending an event at their headquarters in Spartanburg, SC, where Denny’s are unveiling their new The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey inspired menu items and memorabilia – which will be available at ‘America’s Diner’ from 6th November. Staffer greendragon is there in SC, getting a sneak preview of the new menu items!
Continue reading “Breaking news: Denny’s, America’s Diner, becomes Middle-earth’s Diner”
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Continuing the trend of fantastic mini-statues from The Lord of the Rings, the artists at Weta have created a great version of Strider. This is the third statue in a beautiful line, which includes Gandalf The Grey and Gollum. This version of Strider captures the character as we first meet him in Bree, sitting by himself, watching the comings and goings of those at The Prancing Pony.
Sculptor Steven Saunders created the Gandalf in this line of statues, as well as the Gandalf from The Hobbit line of statues; so we’ve seen his skills in being able to deliver a great collectible. The likeness to Viggo Mortensen is really well done, especially for a small statue with a head that has to fit in a hood. The texture of the cloak in which Strider has concealed himself is astonishing, giving a real look of draped cloth. We also get a great little sculpted pipe, which we see Strider smoking as he surveys The Prancing Pony. The extraordinary detail of this statue is continued in the bench Strider is sitting on; the natural lines and markings of the wood are perfectly captured.
The paintwork on Strider is as good as the sculpting. The greens of Strider’s outfit match exactly what we saw on screen in Bree. The skin tone once again shows that Weta can get it done when it comes to making skin look very natural. One would expect the eyes on this statue, being small, to be an issue – but the painters did a fantastic job capturing Viggo’s eyes. Strider’s beard has the proper, worn look you would expect on a guy who lives out in the wild!
