Today, we bring you part two of our coverage of Weta Workshop’s booth at Comic-Con 2013. In this part we have for you a little video of what was at the booth. Between the pictures and this video we hope it gives you an idea of just how cool the stuff Weta had this year. Weta has also given fans who couldn’t go to get one a chance to download their awesome Third Quarter Catalog, which has several of the products you could see at their Comic-Con booth.
Weta also had a major announcement at the Weta/Shadow and Flame party during Comic-Con this year. You will hear me mention it towards the end of the video. The announcement is that Weta Workshop will once again be doing 1:6th statues from The Lord of the Rings. So not only will we be getting great statues from The Hobbit Trilogy fans can now also get great statues with the Middle-earth map base we know and love from The Lord of the Rings.
Tim Launder who is the General Manager of Weta Limited has this for fans about this announcement:
It’s been several years since Weta last released a figure from our extensive range of 1/6th scale LOTR statues. For the last year and a half, we have been busy creating a new range for The Hobbit. But we think it is now time to also return to The Lord of The Rings and fill a few gaps. What do you think ?
Cheers
Tim
Posted in:
Share:
Comic-Con 2013 may be over but the coverage of their booth is not. The folks at Weta Workshop brought their “A” game with the items fans could check out multiple times as I did. The great thing about this years items is that Weta covered the bases with Dwarfs, Orcs, Wizards, Trolls, Elves, and environments. Some of these items are in-stock right now and some of them will be available as the year goes on. Right now you can purchase Kili, Bofur, Tom the Troll, Bombur Barrel Rider, and the White Council Chamber. The amazing items we have to look forward to are; Azog on Warg, Radagast the Brown, Gloin the Dwarf, Thranduil, Tauriel, William the Troll, Bert the Troll, and a mini Arwen Statue. Another item not at the show but also up for order is the first art book for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. You can order this right now and get a signed copy by the artists for only $39.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Comic-Con 2013 Booth Coverage Part 1”
Posted in:
Share:
Last night our friends at Weta Workshop sent out their latest newsletter jam packed with information on some of what you can expect to see at Comic-Con starting Wednesday night. They’re going to have tons of items from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogy on top of other licenses that Weta has. You’re also going to be able get plenty of autographs while at the booth from various artists, Richard Taylor himself, and the beautiful Evangeline Lilly. Over the next few days we here at TORn are going to show off the amazing collectibles that Weta will have for us.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop Comic-Con 2013 Mega Update”
Posted in:
Share:
Weta Workshop has a couple of really neat items for you with their latest releases. These items are fantastic and they allow you to stretch that collecting budget all at the same time. The two newest collectibles from Weta are a very cool prop replica of Bilbo’s Acorn Buttons and a pin celebrating Durin’s Day. The buttons are an exact replica of the buttons used on the jacket by Martin Freeman. You can order one of these buttons for $11 or you can order them as a set of 5 for $45. The Durin’s Day pin celebrates the day that will be of the utmost importance to Thorin and company for getting into Erebor. The pin has some great looking Dwarvish script and a Thrush on it. Fans can order this pin from Weta’s website right now for $11. All of these items are in-stock right now and will be shipping from the New Zealand warehouse.
Posted in:
Share:
The Summer of Smaug is in full go, as we get closer to Comic-Con 2013. We have had the first teaser poster, first trailer, and the first of Sir Peter Jackson’s Vlogs for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Now, we get the first product for the second film capturing a key moment in the Traveling Party’s journey to Erebor. The moment captured in this mini-statue is one of the participants in the barrel escape. The first character to be done in this series of mini-barrel riders is our loveable Hobbit Bilbo Baggins. This statue is a pre-release before the movie and shows the awesomeness of the collectibles to come from what we will see in the second film.
PACKAGING
The overall graphic for this mini-statue box is the same as we’ve seen from other statues for The Hobbit be it smaller than say a normal 1:6th statue box. Per the format we’ve come to know the front of the box gives you a great shot of Bilbo, the title of the movie (now saying though The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), a special wax looking stamp saying it’s a preview collectible, and of course the Weta logo. As we’ve seen before you get a couple of shots of the statue on one side of the box. However, the other side gives you information about the statue and how it’s tied to the second film. While the back of the box gives you a look at a couple of items that you can buy from Weta.
SCULPTING
Brigitte Wuest is a name many fans that have collected statues based on the characters of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit should know quite well. Ms. Wuest is back with another amazing piece. Doing a statue of this size and its smaller than even some of the previous mini-statues you’ve seen reviewed here before is a challenge. Well, the job done to make this statue detailed and capture a likeness was a successful one. When you look at this piece you see Martin Freeman and at a full 1:6th scale that’s a great thing, but even more so when you look at the size of this statue. Ms. Wuest did a superb job of making sure that we are able to have a great likeness of Mr. Freeman as he plays Bilbo in this moment.
The outfit is also very well done and there is great amount of detail within what you do see with this statue. His jacket very much looks like its real cloth, as do his pants. His hair also has some great detail in it very much looking like the hair he has on his head as we see it on screen. The barrel Bilbo is holding on to is a very detailed piece with all the little bits and pieces we see in barrels here in the real world. You also get the rushing water of the river, which we will see all these barrels making their way through. There is quite a bit of detail here when you examine the statue seeing how it’s made to look as if the water is a treacherous ride for the company.
PAINT
The skin tone on this piece is well done as usual by the folks at Weta Workshop. You look at Bilbo and you see someone who very much looks healthy and alive, which is something you want in your collectibles. Aiding the sculpting detail of the clothing is the paint job, which puts the final touches to create the cloth look we expect. The barrel as I said has a great sculpting job done to give it the proper details, but the job to put the cherry on top comes with the paint job. This allows for the barrel to look like its truly made of wood and something you would see in the real world. Of course you have the water, which is, has a great blue paint job creating the illusion of water. However, the coolest aspect of the paint job is the clear lacquer that’s been applied to this statue. In order to give it the proper wet look Weta applied a clear lacquer to the Bilbo, the barrel, and the water. Weta did a fantastic job of doing this so it has the proper wet look but not something that looked slimy.
Overall
Bilbo retails for $65, which is a fantastic price along with something most collectors can fit into a tight budget. The price will also make it much easier for collectors to get all the members of the Traveling Party. As I said the sculpt and paint on this statue is really well done and even more so when you factor in the size of the piece. I want to add that with every release in this line Weta is just continuing to show how great they with these statues.
SPECIFICATIONS
Bilbo is the first in this series of mini-barrel rider statues. He is an open edition and can be purchased for just $65.
Dimensions:
2.7″ x 4.1″ x 4.1″ (H x W x D)
6.8 cm x 10.5 cm x 10.5 cm
Weight:
.7 lbs (320g)
PHOTOS
Posted in:
Share:
As we move ever so much closer to Comic-Con 2013 later this month we’re going to start seeing a few of the new products that fans will be able to order. Well, our friends at Weta Workshop have put up the next statue which fans can order right now to add to their growing Middle-earth collection. The next statue up for grabs is Kili who becomes the 8th statue released for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Though there are sure to be just a few more that make an appearance in a few weeks at Comic-Con 2013. Kili comes in at a price tag of $250 and will be shipping to fans around the world starting towards the end of July or first of August. So make sure to get your soon so you can be one of the first to receive this Dwarf.
Posted in:
Share:
