Earlier this year, toy manufacturer Funko released a series of The Lord of the Rings figures in its ‘Bitty POP!’ format. Today they announced the expansion of this line to create a ‘Bittyverse’. The manufacturers say, ‘A refreshing extension of the core Bitty POP! line, Bittyverse focuses on enhancing the playability of the miniature Funko products by inviting fans to mix and match with new, IP-driven Rides, Towns and Displays.’ In The Lord of the Rings line, this means their Frodo Baggins figure gets his own Hobbit hole.

Part of the ‘Bitty POP Town’ range, the Hobbit hole is released today and retails for $9.99. Official details:

Your favorite The Lord of the Rings POP! collectibles have been shrunk into Bitty POP! collectibles. Expand your collection with Bitty POP! Town Frodo Baggins™ with the Ring and the Shire! Bitty POP! figure is packaged in a hard acrylic display case with a detachable bottom lid. The detachable bottom lid doubles as an acrylic base, to which the Bitty POP! figure is adhered. Remove this exclusive Bitty POP! Frodo Baggins™ from his display case so he can step inside the Bitty POP! Town The Shire! Vinyl figures are approximately 0.9 and 2-inches tall.

A bit more information about the Bittyverse, from Funko’s press release:

Taking the tiny figures to the next level of play, Bitty POP! Rides let fans take new Bittys on the “open” road with IP-specific Rides. Fans can also utilize new releases to drive into Bitty POP! Towns, which offer a variety of iconic IP-inspired buildings and locations. Each Town comes with a related Bitty POP! and case that can be placed within the Town. The latest releases allow fans to create endless combinations and run wild with their imaginations as they have the opportunity to place any Bitty POP! in a Bitty Ride or Town!

Funko POP! collectors will be delighted by these adorable additions to the Bittyverse. We wonder if eventually Frodo will get his own Bill the Pony ‘Bitty POP! Ride’…?

If you’re a fan, like I am, of the awesome figures our friends at Diamond Select Toys are doing, and you’re going to be at Comic-Con this year, you’ll want to make sure you get this.

This year their exclusive collectible representing The Lord of the Rings, is a fantastic looking deluxe version figurine of Gimli. From the images we have been provided, a number of hands, weapons, and two head sculpts are included with the figurine.

Con attendees will be able to grab this for $40 at the show, and, if any are left, you can get them on Diamond Select the Monday after the Con.

We’re delighted to reveal a special collaboration we’ve worked on with our friends at Oscha: TheOneRing.net 25th Anniversary mug! Now available for pre-order.

This beautiful mug has on one side Oscha’s own ‘Doors of Durin’ design, and on the other, TORn’s special 25th Anniversary logo:

The mugs are only available as a limited edition. You can pre-order online direct from Oscha; and we’ll also have a limited quantity of mugs available for purchase in person at DragonCon this year. (Sorry, we won’t have the mugs at SDCC this week; but we will have pre-order information!) Please note, this pre-order is for a VERY limited period – it ends July 31st at 4pm BST (11am EST). So don’t delay – order this mug and celebrate the 25 years we’ve had together so far. The road goes ever on….!

TORn is excited to announce that Jerry Vanderstelt has once again created the must have of San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive collectibles.

Last year, lucky Con attendees were able to purchase one of Jerry’s amazing The Lord of the Rings Trilogy print set collectibles. This year he’s back with a beautiful trio of prints, as a set for Comic-Con 2024. The three prints consist of Aragorn, Arwen, and the beautiful symbol of Gondor. These 12×16 prints are limited to 300 pieces, and will come signed, as well as numbered. They’re a steal as well for only $40. You’ll need to get in early as these will not last the entire show!

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Vanderstelt Studio Comic-Con Exclusive”

Tolkien fandom will be prominent at San Diego Comic-Con this year, with exclusives from Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and the fan community here at TheOneRing.net. Get ready for a week of reveals from Middle-earth!

Panels

Three amazing panels happening this year for all The Lord of the Rings related adaptations!

  • Hall H, Friday 11amThe Rings of Power comes to the biggest pop culture stage with a preview for Season 2 of the biggest show in TV history. Most of the cast and showrunners are expected, along with a new extended trailer.
  • Friday 8pm, Room 25 ABCTheOneRing.net “main” LOTR panel This is one not to miss! We’ll be featuring exclusive footage from upcoming animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, plus official info on the future of LOTR from Middle-earth Enterprises, with some very special guests and some surprises!
  • Saturday 5:30pm, Room 5 AB – “I Am No Man: Women in Middle-earth” Hosted by TORn staffer Kellie Rice and featuring women leaders from Weta Workshop, EA games, Wizards of the Coast, and Middle-earth Enterprises.

Parties

Prime Video and TheOneRing.net are celebrating the upcoming Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power with a Middle-earth Moot! We’re honoured to be co-hosting this exciting event on Friday afternoon – but we’re sorry to have to tell you that the tickets were all snapped up in record time, and the party is full! Looking forward to seeing folks with tickets on Friday afternoon!

  • When: Friday 1:15pm
  • Where: Venue 808 (map)

And don’t forget, if you have a ticket, you can try your luck to claim one of the Autograph Opportunity Wristbands for this special event. Visit TheOneRing.net’s booth (#1934) during the following times:

Thursday 25th July 10-11am; OR 12-1pm; OR 2-3pm

Ask for greendragon! Bring proof that you have a ticket to the gathering (either printed out or on your phone). A certain number of lucky folks who come to the booth, during each hour slot, with proof of their party ticket, will be given a special wristband, which will allow them access to meet the cast and get autographs at the event.

You must be there in person to get a lucky wristband, and you must already have a party ticket. People will not be allowed to claim wristbands for others who are not at the booth in person.

TheOneRing.net Booth 1934 and new LOTR Merch Exclusives

TheOneRing.net is partnering with the #1 Tolkien YouTuber (with over 1 Million subscribers) Nerd of the Rings! Alongside Matt’s knowledgable expertise on the lore of LOTR, also joining us in the booth is the fabulous Jordan Rannells, creator of A Long Expected Soundscape. Step up to the booth to get an audio experience of original musical scores inspired by the books of Tolkien.

We’re delighted to welcome the one and only Jed Brophy back to our booth! As many fans know, Jed is one of the most fun folks to meet; an actor who has appeared in all six of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films AND in The Rings of Power, he’s always delighted to chat with fans, and has some amazing stories. Come and meet him, and snag a signed photograph!

As if that wasn’t enough, we’ll have MORE friends joining us throughout the weekend, including some of your favorite LOTR influencers! Kili from Happy Hobbit will be there much of the time; people will be popping by throughout the con; and we can confirm the following specifically:

Saturday 27th at the booth:
11am-12noon Tea with Tolkien; 1-2pm Knewbettadobetta; 3-4pm The Tolkien Professor.

Come and meet some of the coolest folks in fandom! Win some amazing prizes in our trivia contests – including the newest published editions of Tolkien’s books. Or treat yourself to some merch…

It wouldn’t be Comic-con without brand new EXCLUSIVE merch from TheOneRing.net! For our 25th anniversary this year, we’ve made a commemorative silver shimmer “You Haven’t Aged A Day” shirt, limited to only 100. Then to complicate the upcoming election even further, Gollum has announced his candidacy with our “Gollum/Smeagol 2024” shirt on vintage heather black.

Nerd of the Rings and Happy Hobbit have their first convention shirts ever this year! With these shirts, Happy Hobbit have sourced sustainable fabric and chemical-free printing for a better Shire. Here are the fun LOTR themed designs available only at the booth, not online, while supplies last.

Hot off a hugely successful kickstarter, Jackson Robinson has sent over packs of his officially licensed The Lord of the Rings playing card decks, featuring custom drawn 52-cards from both Fellowship and Two Towers. Shire Post Mint also returns to SDCC show floor inside our booth with their high quality coinage and jewelry. AND – we’ll be revealing a special collaboration with Oscha, celebrating our Silver Anniversary, which will be available for pre-order throughout the con. Stay tuned for more on that…!

Looking forward to seeing all you shire folk in San Diego next week, July 24-28. Our booth is open all hours of the convention floor. One final word of warning: you’ll want to get in line extra early for a seat at our 2 LOTR panels. Be sure to join TheOneRing Discord to get caught up on the excitement when things are revealed!

The greatest gathering of fans happens next week! That’s right San Diego Comic-Con 2024 is coming up, so once again it’s time for MadEyeGamgee and myself to speculate on the Middle-earth collectibles we might see.

Our special guest is Tyler McClim who helps hosts The Lord of the Collections podcast on YouTube. Over our 90 minute conversation we chat about what we want to see not only at SDCC, but also in the time after Comic-Con.

We hope you enjoy this episode and we look forward to reviewing what we saw post SDCC.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – San Diego Comic-Con 2024 Preview Episode”