One of my favorite Orc designs from any of the Middle-earth films got the Weta Workshop statue treatment late last year. We originally knew him as Azog, then Bolg, and eventually he became The Torturer of Dol Guldur, beating Gandalf the Grey up during The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition. This guy is just brutal to look at, with metal on his face, armor made of bones, a massive mace, and blood all over. It’s an absolutely savagely superb piece! Sculptor Sam Gao, who we’ve come to know as someone who can brilliantly sculpt monsters, did it again. I hope you enjoy the review and I hope you get this piece, which is limited to an edition of only 500 worldwide.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s The Torturer of Dol Guldur Review”

Over the weekend, our friends at Weta Workshop surprised us with not one but two pre-orders. Not only was this out of the blue, but it’s also a very special kind of pre-order.

One of the coolest moments from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was during the fight sequence at the end of the film, when elves and dwarves join together. Fans can now add this to their collection, in either the Mirkwoord Elf statue or the Dwarf Soldiers of the Iron Hills statue. Both statues come in an edition size of 750 pieces, with a price tag of $449 (USD).

If you’re so inclined, you can order a special Elf and Dwarves two pack, which includes both statues with matching numbers (for numbers 2 through 150). What makes this two pack so special is that you can remove the elf from its base, and place it on one of the dwarves’ shoulders, to recreate the jumping scene from the movie. The two pack comes in at $898 (USD), and is part of the 750 edition size of each piece. I would ‘jump’ on this unique two pack now, and make space on your shelf for them in August of this year. You do not want to miss one of Weta’s most unique statue ideas!

We have some great news from out friend and Middle-earth artist Jerry Vanderstelt. If you’re going to WonderCon you will have a chance to visit with Jerry at booth 2101. Jerry is sure to have many of his amazing pieces of art there as well as I’m sure to be live painting something for fans to see. Speaking of live painting if you were in Seattle checking out our friends at the Weta Workshop booth you got to see Jerry live painting. He painted a large portrait of the Balrog over the course of the show and as he did so fans asked Jerry to turn this into a print. Surprising nobody Jerry listened to fans and will be doing a print of that painting.

 

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Vanderstelt Studio News”

Good news is never late; it arrives precisely when it means to! As we mentioned a little while back, our friends at Weta Workshop were nominated for several categories in Michael Crawford’s The Poppies yearly collectibles award show. Not only were some Middle-earth themed items nominated, but they came home with the hardware in both The People’s Picks as well as The Judge’s Picks. The Mouth of Sauron on Steed finished second place in best statue for The People’s Picks, as well as finishing third in the same category for the The Judge’s picks. Weta also did well in some other categories, with the Frodo Baggins Mini Epic finishing second in Best Designer Vinyl, while the 1:30 Dol Guldur set finished first in best misc collectibles. Congratulations to our friends at Weta Workshop!

This week our friends at Weta Workshop released a fantastic looking new statue from their awesome mini-statue line. This time fans can add Gandalf the Grey on Gwaihir as he escapes being trapped by former friend Saruman the White. This beautiful statue does a very good job of capturing the tiniest of details between Gandalf and Gwaihir. Fans can add this piece right now to their collection for only $125, and with it being in-stock there will be little to no wait time.

Our friends at Weta Workshop have helped show us why once again being patient can pay off in a very big way. After 15 years of waiting and always being at the top of anything we want to see, this statue made the list, and Eomer on Firefoot has come to be. This amazing statue captures Eomer as he and the Riders of Rohan help save Rohan from the Uruk-hai army sent by Saruman to destroy the people of Rohan.

Eomer is limited to only 750 pieces in the world so he won’t be around long, especially with Weta’s amazing payment system. Go order yours today and add the first of the horse people to be turned into a 1:6 rider statue.