Our friend Jerry Vanderstelt has been given the green light by Warner Bros. to offer the beautiful art print he created for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for sale in his store. This amazing print is available in several styles for the various budgets we collectors have. Each of the print styles is limited, so be sure to act quickly to get a great collectible for your Middle-earth collection.
The various offerings include:
$450 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Epic Size Collector’s Edition Canvas Giclee – 100 pieces. Includes a character sketch on a separate parchment ( roughly 5 x 7 inches ). Numbers will match. Customer will have the option to choose the name of any character that appears on the artwork for their Original 5 x 7 sketch.
Canvas Size : 29 x 39 actual art with 2.5 inch border all around for Gallery Wrapping.
$350 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Limited Edition Canvas Giclee – 100 pieces. Size : 24 x 32 actual art with 2.5 inch border all around for Gallery Wrapping.
$ 195 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Epic Size Edition Paper Giclee – 2000 pieces. Size: 28 x 36 – ( 26 x 35 actual art size ). Comes with a .5 inch white paper border on top and bottom and a 1 inch border on the left and right sides.
$ 150 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Limited Edition Paper Giclee – 2000 pieces. Size: 18 x 24 – ( 17 x 23 actual art size ). Comes with a .5 inch white paper border all around.
Posted by a fan on The Bridge Direct’s Facebook page are pictures of two new figures for wave 2 of their The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey line. It does appear that Azog and Bolg are both a part of their 6″ line, and as we can see Azog is pre-arm loss. Bolg also appears to come with a weapon that his 3 3/4″ figure does not have. These are all just guesses, but Toy Fair in New York is next month and by The Bridge Direct’s comment on their page, we should know more then:
‘The Bridge Direct:You must have some good connections – these are some of the figures we are previewing at New York Toy Fair next month – stay tuned for more details’
“By my beard. You are shorter and wider than last we met.” — Dwalin to Balin as they meet up for the meeting at Bag End
Our friends at Gentle Giant have a program known as their Premiere Guild Membership (PGM), which allows fans to get discounts, early access, and other exclusives for the many products they produce. When Gentle Giant announced their PGM gifts for this year, an exciting collectible from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was on the list: the Dwalin Mini-Bust! Fans of one of the baddest dwarves in Middle-earth can now select Dwalin, representing The Hobbit for 2012/13. Dwalin of course follows up Thorin who was the first bust released in this line and could be had during Comic-Con 2012.
In Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit, Dwalin is one of the many dwarves of the Lonely Mountain driven into exile by the dragon, Smaug. Dwalin joined his brother Balin, and Thorin’s father Thrain, in the group of dwarves who tried to take back Erebor in 2841 of the Third Age and was also one of the company who, 100 years later, joined Thorin in retakig Erebor from the dragon. After the mountain was retaken Dwalin, and his brother Balin, went on to be very successful. Dwalin lived to be one of the oldest Dwarves on record.
PACKAGING
The graphics used for Dwalin represent our first glance at what Gentle Giant will be doing in the future with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. One noticeable difference is a change from the box used for Thorin at Comic-Con. Dwalin’s box is very colorful and has a more of a distinct feel of Middle-earth. The color mixing that almost feels like it’s the dawn of a new day, with a great shot of a mountain range in the background. The coloring and style used is the same styling used for the figures from The Bridge Direct, which makes me think this is the style that we will see going forward for many of the products from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The sides of the box are similar to what we’ve seen from other companies with great looks of the Mini-Bust. While the back of the box gives the summation of the story of The Hobbit. Inside the Styrofoam gives the protection required to make sure this makes it to your home.
SCULPTING
Gentle Giant has once again produced a really solid sculpt, continuing the momentum they started with the Thorin Mini-Bust. Regarding likeness, Gentle Giant did a solid job of capturing Graham McTavish in his portrayal of Dwalin. The only minor issue is the face is a little longer in the jaw area. His outfit is very well done with bits of fur that look like fur, leather looking like leather, and the proper Dwarvish look to his clothing. His weapons are also sculpted in delightful detail, including each of the axes having their names sculpted into the blades. The Mini-Bust also gives you something we’ve not seen before with Dwalin in that we get the large hammer he is also known to carry with him; it rivals the detail of his axes and adds a nice touch to the character we’ve not seen before. As I mentioned in another review for a product for Dwalin, the guards on the hands are also very well done. The base of this bust is also well done with little cracks all over giving it a great sculpted from stone appearance.
PAINT
Gentle Giant really nailed the paint job with this bust. Everything comes together to help make this one of the best products I’ve acquired from them. The skin tone on Dwalin is really outstanding and is very natural. Another solid job by Gentle Giant is the paint job done on the outfit, armor, and axes. All of these have great detail, which is not lost with the paint, but rather enhanced with the job done on the production level. The outfit has great shading for the fur that accurately reflect many of the production stills and scenes we see during the course of the movie. The leather-work also has the proper look, better than what you’d expect of leather on a polystone product. The weapons all have a great metal look to them and very much give you the feel that they’ve been used in many battles. Dwalin, of course, has tattoos representing his heritage. Gentle Giant appears to have used a printing process for the ones on his head and hands and did a really nice job of making sure these came out well.
Overall
Dwalin retails for $70 with the purchase of the Premiere Guild Membership and, after discount, you only pay the shipping. If you also you choose another one of the PGM gifts, you will still only pay $70 for Dwalin. Gentle Giant did a really fantastic job with Dwalin and, as good as I think the Thorin figure is, Dwalin is even better. Dwalin is my favorite Dwarf and I am thankful that Gentle Giant did such a good job of capturing the look of the warrior we saw on screen. I recommend getting this great follow up Mini-Bust and I can’t wait until we get Gandalf and Gollum.
SPECIFICATIONS
The edition size of the Dwalin Mini-Bust is only 300 pieces worldwide with a retail price of only $70.
If you’re a fan of the Eaglemoss Company you know they do some of the coolest figures in 1:25 scale. During The Lord of the Rings trilogy, they produced numerous figures representing some of the many characters we saw in Peter Jackson’s adaptation. Now, Eaglemoss is back to produce the same high level figures for Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit; right now on their website you can get a look at the first six figures in this series. Currently shown on the Eaglemoss site are: Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Dwalin, Bolg, and Gollum. If you order now, there is a free gift offer which includes a larger figurine of Bert – one of the three trolls – as well as a stand to place your figures on. These figures cost 7 pound sterling, and come with a special magazine based on each character. As of now these figures are only available in the UK; hopefully those of us in the US can get our hands on these from EagleMoss soon.
“By my beard! You are shorter and wider than last we met.”
-Dwalin to Balin as they meet up for the meeting at Bag End
Yet another one of the statues we saw at Comic-Con 2012 for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was for the character Dwalin. Dwalin joined Thorin, Gandalf, Bilbo, Balin, and Bombur (not yet released). Dwalin went up for sale the same day as his brother Balin, making them the fourth and fifth statues released.
In Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit, Dwalin was one of the many dwarves of the Lonely Mountain driven into exile by the dragon in the Third Age. Dwalin would join his brother Balin and Thrain in a group who would try to take back Erebor in 2841 of the Third Age. Dwalin would be one of the company who, one hundred years later, joined Thorin in trying to retake Erebor, and was successful in doing so. After the mountain was retaken, Dwalin would go on to be very successful with his brother Balin, and would live to be one of the oldest Dwarfs on record.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the box follow the same pattern we’ve seen with both Thorin and Balin, keeping the now familiar Dwarven design. Per the format we’ve come to know, the front of the box gives you a great shot of Dwalin, graphic work for the title of the movie, and of course the Weta logo. The sides of the box for Dwalin also present a familiar format with different looks at the statue on one side, while the other side of the box presents some of the various products you can get for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, such as the Balin statue, Thorin’s Map, Key to Erebor, and Bilbo’s Contract. The back of the box contains a great story on Dwalin, 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, but does have a special compartment for his arms holding his axes.
SCULPTING
Greg Tozer is a name fans of Middle-earth collecting should know, if they own a certain statue of a Dark Lord of Mordor. That’s correct – the massive and awesome statue of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings statue line was created by Greg Tozer and David Tremont (who worked on Barad-Dûr). Dwalin is my favorite looking Dwarf design from The Hobbit, so I was super excited to get this into my collection. As is the case with his brother Balin, the likeness to Graham McTavish’s portrayal of Dwalin is fantastic. Not to be outdone is the work on the outfit of Dwalin; Mr. Tozer did a superb job of sculpting the fine details of the cloth part of his outfit with all the little lines in their place, and the fur of the outfit also wonderfully matches its onscreen counterpart. The leatherwork on the Dwalin statue is also exceptional. You have great detailed work in his chest guard and his belt, which lead into his sheath holding his knife. Dwalin, like any warrior, must have weapons which he takes into battle, and this warrior carries two nasty looking axes. These axes, named Ukhlat and Umraz, have all the Dwarven detail you see on the larger props in the movie, including the names carved into the axes. Any warrior must protect his hands, and Dwalin takes every precaution with two metal guards, which in the right situation could also be used as weapons. Finally, on his back, Dwalin has two holders for his axes, which are also sculpted very well.
PAINT
Dwalin 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 miniature Dwarf but also very like the character appeared on screen. The painting on Dwalin’s outfit is equally good. All the pieces of cloth, fur, and leather look as they should and as they did when we saw them in the movie. One of the great things about the cloth aspects of the paint is the proper green tint, giving homage to the green hood he wears in the book. As with both Thorin and Balin, the metal paint look to his axes makes them very much like used versions of something he’d carry if the statue were real. Much like with those two Dwarves, the Dwarven details of his axes are still there for the world to see. Finally, Dwalin has tattoos in support of his Dwarven heritage. These tattoos are decals, allowing fans to get great clean lines and show no blurring at all on the statue (both his head and on his hands).
Overall
Dwalin retails for $249, and while he is more expensive than his brother Balin, he is still a good deal. As I said earlier in this review, I love the design of Dwalin, from the tattoos and weapons, to just his overall look; he’s freaking cool! So for me, the $249 was easy for that reason alone. He looks great with the other four statues and if you can add him to your collection, I say go for it! Dwalin, like the other statues so far, is an open edition.
SPECIFICATIONS
Dwalin is an open edition statue with a retail price of $249. He’s also instock as of right now, so don’t delay.
Dimensions:
9.8″ x 9.1″ x 5.9″ (H x W x D)
25 cm x 23 cm x 15 cm
“Then at last his gaze was held: wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black tower of adamant, he saw it: Barad-Dûr, Fortress of Sauron. All hope left him.”
—The Fellowship of the Ring
How do you follow-up one of the coolest environments you’ve ever produced? Well, you go ahead and produce one of the next most coolest environments of course! Shortly after Comic-Con 2011 senior model maker David Tremont began the momentous task of transforming the original model of Barad-Dûr for The Lord of the Rings into a collectible we could all own. Finally, after a year of slaving, fans of Middle-earth got to see the result at Comic-Con 2012 when Barad-Dûr was unveiled to the world.
Sauron began work on Barad-Dûr during Middle-earth’s Second Age, when he chose Mordor as the place his dominion over Middle-earth would begin. Barad-Dûr was finished in the year 1600 of the Second Age and during that period Sauron would go on to create The One Ring, which would only help to make the fortress even stronger. During the War of the Last Alliance fortress was destroyed with the exception of the foundations as they could not be destroyed as long as The Ring was around. In 2951 of the Third Age Barad-Dûr’s reconstruction was started, but it would not last when Gollum fell into the lava of Mt. Doom destroying the Ring and the fortress.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the front of the box for Barad-Dûr have kept virtually the same design we’ve seen with previous environments from Weta. On the front of the box a screencap of Mordor with an image of Barad-Dûr completes the scene. Of course, you also have the beautiful The Lord of the Rings logo in the upper right-hand corner with the name of the environment under the picture of Barad-Dûr. One side of the box contains images of Barad-Dûr while the other side features images of other Weta Workshop products. The back of the box contains a great picture of the environment along with a background story about the collectible.
SCULPTING
Over 1,500 hours were put into Barad-Dûr to ensure the collectible on your shelf matches what you saw during The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I believe fans, once they have a chance to see the detail in this piece, will agree all of those hours paid off in spades. David Tremont and his team made very sure every window, spike, tower, ledge, bridge, and rock is included on this piece. Gazing upon this collectible, you can almost imagine Sauron or any number of his minions looking out upon Mordor from any of the many ledges and balconies. It truly is a great representation of the model we saw on film. What’s even more amazing is because of the material used it allowed these details to be captured and safely arrive to our homes. Rivendell had its beautiful river running through it and Barad-Dûr has something similar with its lava river flowing from Mt. Doom into the cavern surrounding the fortress. Even the rock areas of Barad-Dûr are exceptionally realized with the plains of Gorgoth looking like a place you don’t ever want to visit. Like Rivendell, this collectible is an achievement for Weta in showing off the amazing talent of their artists.
PAINT
The paintwork on Barad-Dûr is fairly simple compared to say Rivendell, and much more in-line with that of Orthanc. It’s all black and the shading for the different levels in different places are all really well done. The color of the tower does not match the color of the rock within the piece. That was going to be the toughest part of the paint I think and they were able to create the proper level of separation. The lava looks really good and stands out like lava would with an all-black world of Mordor.
Overall
Barad-Dûr costs $700 but the level of detail you get and the size of this piece allows you to truly get value for money. This piece is a limited edition piece with only 1,000 of the fortress being produced. Barad-Dûr does not come with a flaming eye but if that is a potential issue for you all you have to do is download the iPhone or iPad app. Then you will have the eye of Sauron. Finally, I cannot implore you enough if you are a The Lord of the Rings collector to find a way to get this piece into your collection.
Also, if you’re truly interested in what it took to bring this collectible to life check out the three articles by David Tremont. In these articles he explains the ups and downs of making sure we got one of the best environments ever created.
Our friend Jerry Vanderstelt has been given the green light by Warner Bros. to offer the beautiful art print he created for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for sale in his store. This amazing print is available in several styles for the various budgets we collectors have. Each of the print styles is limited, so be sure to act quickly to get a great collectible for your Middle-earth collection.
