A couple of surprise announcements came our way this week from our friends at Weta Workshop.

If, like me, you’re a fan of the Rohirrim culture then this announcement is going to be something to make you smile. Fans can now add a statue of Gamling who during The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers showed himself to be a loyal solider to King Theoden. Gamling did not travel alone though — fans can also add the Royal Guard of Rohan who we first meet as Aragorn, Gandalf the White, Gimli, and Legolas try to enter The Golden Hall. Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Gamling and Royal Guard of Rohan Pre-Order”

As you all might be aware we’ve teamed up with our friends at Gemr to create a Collectors Club specifically for fans of Middle-earth. Things are going great, and so many of you are posting your items and collections. In celebration of how things are going, and to help get the word out even more, we’ve created a Middle-earth Giveaway of some pretty cool items ranging from a mini-Ringwraith from Weta Workshop to a XL Funko Treebeard. The contest runs from today May 29th to June 29th. Get signed up, show off your collectibles, and lets all Collect The Precious.

Enter Here: Middle-earth Giveaway

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – TheOneRing.net’s Collectors Club Giveaway”

Following the success of the Fellowship of the Rings complete recordings – on Blu-Ray, CD and vinyl, pre-orders are open for The Two Towers. The limited edition vinyl comes in blue (FOTR was red) and is sure to be a sell-out.

According to the Amazon page, the price for the Fellowship vinyl has already doubled so be sure to place your order for The Two Towers: The Complete Recordings.

Order here on Amazon.

Orders are expected to ship in late July.

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!

It’s official…”The Fall of Gondolin” by J.R.R Tolkien, edited by Christoper Tolkien, and illustrated by Alan Lee, is indeed being published. It will be released on August 30, 2018. While rumored, the release still comes as a very welcome surprise given that many expected “Beren and Lúthien” to be Christoper Tolkien’s final release. “The Fall of Gondolin” will be available in hardback, deluxe hardback, large print and e-book worldwide as well as a companion Tolkien Calendar. The Guardian has a wealth of interesting background on the story. Further details as well as reaction can also be found at The Tolkien Society.
The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the HarperCollins Press Release:

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar: he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs.

Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, the instrument of Ulmo’s designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon’s daughter, and their son is Eärendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo.

At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Eärendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources.

Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same ‘history in sequence’ mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three ‘Great Tales’ of the Elder Days.