In June of this year the folks at Weta Workshop answered a long-standing request from the fans of Middle-earth with the release of Set One of The Fellowship of the Ring three-part set. Well, on the heels of the debut of Set One (review of said set coming soon), Weta has announced Set Two.
As you know the first set contained Gandalf, Frodo, and Legolas all of whom look really fantastic. Set Two gives fans four more characters on our way to completing the Fellowship with Boromir, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin. Like Set One this set will cost $200 and will not be shipping until quarter two of next year. Start saving now!
[Pre-order]
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Weta Workshop has released even more items for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The new items range from some awesome T-Shirts to a great replica of Thorin Oakenshield’s Dwarven Ring. Thorin’s Map obviously plays a big role in The Hobbit and now you can wear it with this fantastic looking Thorin’s Map T-Shirt.
Also, Weta has put up a really good looking t-shirt with the Red Dragon Logo of the and only Smaug. Barad-Dur: Fortress of Sauron will start shipping in the near future from Weta, and what better way to show your excitement for that item than to also buy the Barad-Dur t-shirt. The final t-shirt from Weta also has a matching pin celebrating The Hobbit’s world premiere on the 28th of this month.
All of these shirts come in at $30 and are well worth the purchase. If you’re in New Zeland or know someone there make sure you get the World Premiere Shirt and World Primiere Pin. Finally, fans can order a sterling silver version the Ring of Thorin Oakenshield which is set to ship in early December for a great price of $189.
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Back when The Lord of the Rings movies came out, there were promotional tie-ins at libraries in America, encouraging those inspired by the films to try the books! Now, the American Library Association has released a similar campaign for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The poster shows Bilbo reading his contract, with Galadriel, Gandalf, Thorin and Company in the background, and reads, ‘Take an unexpected journey – read’. Bookmarks and buttons are also available. Let’s hope these films create a whole new legion of Tolkien fans, who eagerly go back to the source and open up a book! Thanks to Ringer Michael S for letting us know about this!
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In the United States, Tolkien publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are releasing five books to tie-in with the first of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies – and they go on sale next Tuesday, 6th November. Here are the details:
Continue reading “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey tie-in books – coming next week!”
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“I can avoid being seen if I wish; but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift.”
-Strider to Frodo while at The Prancing Pony in Bree
Continuing the trend of fantastic mini-statues from The Lord of the Rings, the artists at Weta have created a great version of Strider. This is the third statue in a beautiful line, which includes Gandalf The Grey and Gollum. This version of Strider captures the character as we first meet him in Bree, sitting by himself, watching the comings and goings of those at The Prancing Pony.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the front of the box for Strider have the same elegant look we’ve come to know from the collectibles Weta has created for The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings logo appears in the upper left hand corner, while a screen capture of Strider from The Fellowship of the Ring is in the upper right hand corner. In the center of the box you have a great picture of the piece itself, with the name of the collectible under the screen capture of Strider. On one side of the box there is a further picture of Strider, while the other contains multiple images of items that you can find on Weta’s website. The back of the box has one final image of Strider, with a bit more information on the collectible and the sculptor.
SCULPTING
Sculptor Steven Saunders created the Gandalf in this line of statues, as well as the Gandalf from The Hobbit line of statues; so we’ve seen his skills in being able to deliver a great collectible. The likeness to Viggo Mortensen is really well done, especially for a small statue with a head that has to fit in a hood. The texture of the cloak in which Strider has concealed himself is astonishing, giving a real look of draped cloth. We also get a great little sculpted pipe, which we see Strider smoking as he surveys The Prancing Pony. The extraordinary detail of this statue is continued in the bench Strider is sitting on; the natural lines and markings of the wood are perfectly captured.
PAINT
The paintwork on Strider is as good as the sculpting. The greens of Strider’s outfit match exactly what we saw on screen in Bree. The skin tone once again shows that Weta can get it done when it comes to making skin look very natural. One would expect the eyes on this statue, being small, to be an issue – but the painters did a fantastic job capturing Viggo’s eyes. Strider’s beard has the proper, worn look you would expect on a guy who lives out in the wild!
Overall
Strider costs $75 retail via Weta’s website, which is a steal for something as superb as this collectible. So do yourself a favor and hop over to Weta’s site and place your order now for a fantastic Strider statue!
SPECIFICATIONS
Strider is an open edition. The specifications for Strider are as follows: 5.3″ x 4.3″ x 4.1″ (H x W x D)
13.5 cm x 11 cm x 10.5 cm
PHOTOS
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On October 18th, thanks to our amazing friends at The Noble Collection, we announced a contest for not one but five of their replicas of Bilbo Baggins’ Contract. This proved to be a hugely popular contest – with 850 entries! – and we’re pleased now to announce the five winners of this amazing replica.
The following fans will be receiving this replica directly from The Noble Collection: L. Sherman of Young Harris, Ga, S. Smith of Sherman Oaks, Ca, S. Suzuki of El Sobrante, CA, M. Mitchell of St. Charles, IL, A. Rice of Felton, Ca. Congratulations to all five of you; enjoy this beautiful replica of Bilbo’s Contract! Thanks again to our friends at The Noble Collection; you can check out all 38 fantastic items they have for purchase from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey here.
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In June of this year the folks at Weta Workshop answered a long-standing request from the fans of Middle-earth with the release of Set One of The Fellowship of the Ring three-part set. Well, on the heels of the debut of Set One (review of said set coming soon), Weta has announced Set Two. 
