This month on J.W. Braun’s Bookshelf, J.W. takes a look at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II: Creatures and Characters by Daniel Falconer and Weta Workshop. Meanwhile, he announces a new contest and answers your questions in the mailbag section below.
Continue reading “J.W. Reviews The Hobbit Chronicles II Book”
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Finally, collect one of the most instantly recognizable and iconic buildings of The Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Tower of Orthanc! Build all 6 highly detailed floors filled with fascinating movie-related details including the attic, library, alchemy room, Saruman’s throne room, entrance hall and dungeon. This exclusive model stars in some of the most iconic scenes from The Lord of the Rings movies. Swoop down with the Great Eagle and rescue stranded Gandalf the Grey from his tower-top prison after his defeat at the hands of the white wizard, Saruman. Build the powerful, tree-like Ent, with poseable limbs and cool swinging arm function, then attack the Uruk-hai and Orc Pitmaster while Saruman and his servant Grima Wormtongue take refuge high in the tower. The Tower of Orthanc is a must-have model for any The Lord of the Rings collection! Includes a Great Eagle, buildable Ent figure and 5 minifigures with weapons: Saruman with kirtle outfit, Grima Wormtongue, Gandalf the Grey, an Uruk-hai and the Orc Pitmaster.
Follow the break for some amazing official imagery and full product details. [Shop LEGO Today!]
(10237) Tower of Orthanc
Ages 14+. 2,359 pieces.
Build the The Lord of the Rings™ trilogy must-have model!
US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 199.99€ UK 169.99 £ DK 1699.00 DKK
- • Includes a Great Eagle, buildable Ent figure and 5 minifigures with weapons: Saruman with kirtle outfit, Grima Wormtongue, Gandalf™ the Grey, an Uruk-hai™ and the Orc Pitmaster
- • Features 6 highly detailed floors with lots of functions, including a folding staircase, LEGO® light brick palantir, opening entrance doors and a trap door
- • Weapons include 5 staffs, knife, sword, shield and a long axe
- • The attic features a folding staircase, the 3 staffs of the missing wizards, the 2 keys of the Two Towers, 2 maps and an Uruk-hai helmet, shield and sword
- • The library features 2 books, 2 torches, 2 maps and 2 skulls
- • The alchemy room features 2 torches, a bomb (being produced for the Battle of Helm’s Deep™), 2 potions, bottle, skull, gunpowder keg, pot, cauldron and a long axe
- • Saruman’s throne room features lamps, 2 bookcases with 3 potions, map, letter and the powerful palantir with a LEGO light brick
- • The entrance hall features opening doors, trap door, 2 large banners, chandelier, statue and 2 axes
- • The creepy dungeon features a chain, 2 bones, 2 skulls and a rat
- • Buildable Ent features poseable limbs for holding a minifigure and a cool swinging arm function
- • Attack the tower with the cool buildable and poseable Ent!
- • Swoop to the rescue with the Great Eagle!
- • Activate the LEGO light brick and make the palantir glow!
- • Set the trap door and banish unwanted guests to the dungeon!
- • Prepare the bomb for the Battle of Helm’s DeepTM!
- • Swing the Ent’s arms to smash or grab things with the poseable fingers!
- • Measures over 28″ (73cm) high, 8″ (21cm) wide and 6″ (16cm) deep
- • Ent stands over 9″ (23cm) tall
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning July 2013! Build your Hobbit and LOTR Collection today. [Shop LEGO Today!]

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Our friends at United Cutlery have two brand new items that are now available to order through BUDK. The first item is the Helm of Sauron. This replica is created out of polystone then finished to match the prop we saw on screen during The Lord of the Rings, and the base that this helm sets on has been created from wood then made to look like the upper torso of Sauron. The helm can also be worn due to the padding on the inside of the replica. This piece will have an edition size of 1500 pieces world wide, comes with a price tag of $350, and will be shipping in July of 2013.
If you’re a fan of Gondor then this next item is for you! During The Battle of the Last Alliance this shield was carried by soldiers of Gondor as they fought Sauron for the fate of Middle-earth. This amazing replica from United Cutlery captures the fantastic design we saw during the prologue sequence of The Fellowship of the Ring. This fantastic item measures 42 1/2″ x 20 1/2 and comes with a awesome Gondorian Banner. You can pre-order this item right now for $250 and it also shipping in July of this year.
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The Bridge Direct fresh off the success of their line of figures for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey are releasing some information regarding when we might see wave two. This wave will commence under The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug which hit store shelves October 15th. This wave will have the same style of figures that we saw in wave one but we will see characters we did not see as well as new characters. The Bridge Direct also announced they will once again have an exclusive figure at Comic-Con in July of this year.
Update: We just received some awesome pictures of a few of the upcoming items. So a gallery has been added to this post.
Per the info we know so far for Wave Two:
3.75” SCALE ACTION FIGURES
o New assortment includes Radagast, Thranduil, Azog, Beorn and Gandalf
o Each figure features 12 points of articulation and replicates the authentic facial features, clothing, weapons and accessories of the character in painstaking detail.
o SRP $7.99 each
3.75” SCALE ACTION FIGURE BOX SETS – Three New Packs!
- Mirkwood Pack: Legolas, Tauriel, Thranduil, Fili and Kili
- Thorin Oakenshield Adventure Pack: Nori, Ori, Dori, Gloin and Thorin
- Bilbo Baggins Burglar Pack: Bifur, Bombur, Bofur, Oin and Exclusive 3.75″ Invisible Bilbo
- SRP $29.99 each
6” SCALE COLLECTOR FIGURES
- New assortment includes Radagast, Azog and Legolas
- Each collector figure features intricate details replicating the character’s facial features, clothing, weapons and accessories.
- SRP $14.99 each
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If you’re going to be in Calgary, Canada this weekend and you’re a fan of the work Weta Workshop then make your way to The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is this weekend April 26-28th. This will be Weta’s first time at the show! So if you’re a fan of Middle-earth, TinTin, and Dr. Grordbort’s make sure you visit booth number Z-603 where you can get Weta Treasure cards good for discounts and prizes via the Weta Website.
Weta Goes to Calgary
Woohoo – Weta will be attending the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo 2013.
When: April 26-28, 2013
Where: The BMO Centre, Stampede Park, Calgary, Alberta
The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is the only festival in Calgary where you can get your sci-fi, film, television, fantasy, horror, comic book, gaming, and animation fix all in one incredible weekend. Join 60,000 other fans for this celebration of pop culture.
We are absolutely thrilled to have been invited by the organisers and we’ve been eagerly packing cool stuff from Middle-earth and beyond onto trucks and into planes to have a great range available to purchase at the Weta booth. Our booth number is Z-603 (Please Note: due to some international systems issues, we will only be able to accept cash at our booth – we cannot accept any payment cards).
This is our first ever show in Canada and we can’t wait to hook up with our fans and friends at the convention.
Richard Taylor and David Tremont will be at the Weta Booth along with Ri, Tim and Stacy.
This year the Calgary Expo will feature a variety of guests from different industries. From film and television stars to make-up artists, writers, comic book creators, cosplay specialists and much more – the Calgary Expo covers every corner of pop culture imaginable!
There will be over 600 exhibitors, artists, and special guests, all in one spot!
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Welcome Ringers to the latest installment of our LIVE show TORn TUESDAY, with host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway. Today’s show will investigate and celebrate the community building effort that was the #votebilbo campaign that lit the fires of Tolkien fandom around the globe. You can pop into our Barliman’s Chat Room that is built-into our Live Event page here, bring your questions and comments during our webcast! The fun begins at approx 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time right here — we’ll see you there! Follow Cliff on Twitter at @Quickbeam2000!
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