It’s that time of year again, when SoCal Shire Folk gather together to celebrate the joint Bilbo and Frodo Baggins birthday on September 22. All gentlefolk are requested to gather at the Mineral Wells location within Griffith Park this Saturday beginning at Noon, and running until about 5-6pm.

As usual, there will be good food, a Middle-earth themed cake contest, lots of good fellowship and cheer, and costumes are always welcomed and encouraged. This event is a potluck, so please check our Facebook event page  for details on what is being brought and what is still needed. That page will be updated all week long, so keep checking to see if there is something needing to be brought. Also, down at the bottom of the event page are directions and a link to map in case you are a first time attendee.

Last but not least, we will have some guests from a combat league that use padded weaponry to simulate medieval combat, and they will be available to train anyone, young or old, in some sword play.

You may RSVP on the Facebook event page, saying how many people are coming and what food or supply items you intend to bring, or you can email me at Garfeimao@theonering.net

New York Comic Con is just around the corner; and TheOneRing.net will be there! We’ll have a booth at the Javits Center, where we’ll be selling tshirts and buttons, chatting with fellow fans, and giving out some amazing prizes… You can find us at booth number 1678, October 4-7.  Be sure to come and find us!

We’ll also be teaming up with Sideshow to host a party in Manhattan! This year our Ringers take Manhattan event is on FRIDAY 5th October (nb not Thursday this year), 8-11pm. The party will be at Tir na Nog pub in Times Square – that’s 315 West 39th Street. You can expect a great atmosphere, with fun decor and even some themed drinks!

You don’t have to be attending New York Comic Con to come along – all are welcome! Tickets are only $15 this year! – and include your first drink, finger food throughout the evening, and two tickets for the evening’s exciting raffle. You can buy tickets by clicking here.

Hope to see lots of folks in Manhattan – let’s take the Big Apple by storm! See you in a few weeks!

[Buy tickets for Ringers take Manhattan here]

 

 

Cliff and Justin are welcoming a very special guest to TORn Tuesday today – and they’re going live at an earlier time than usual, so they can have Dwalin himself, aka Graham McTavish, join them at the Scum and Villainy Cantina!

Amongst the many topics the conversation will undoubtedly cover, McTavish will be revealing more about his upcoming directorial debut, horror comedy This Guest of Summer. McTavish has described the film as ‘The Wicker Man meets Withnail & I’, in the style of some of the more camp 1970s Hammer Horror films! Part of the funding for the movie is being raise by crowdfunder, and there are some amazing Hobbit related perks on the Indiegogo campaign. Weta artist Daniel Falconer is creating a new, original illustration of McTavish as Dwalin, which will be mounted and framed along with a golden coin from Smaug’s lair – taken from the set of the movie! This extraordinary, unique piece – which will of course be signed by Falconer and McTavish – could be yours, to hang on your wall and be the envy of your fellow fans!

There are also hardback editions of The Hobbit to be had – signed by McTavish, Adam Brown, Aidan Turner and Ian McKellen! Plus other items signed by Hobbit actors. The campaign only has FOUR days left to run, so head over there now and grab yourself an incredible collectible!

And tune in at 12noon PT today to see McTavish chatting with Cliff and Justin!

One of my favorite pieces from Comic-Con 2018 was the amazing Balrog bust that showed up Saturday of the show. I got to see this piece up close both as what you can order now and a pre-prototype. I have to say that I very much prefer what fans will be able to order. The clear resin flames that light up are so freaking cool and well done. Our friends at Weta Workshop have done a superb job of using the right paints to make sure these look just right, which is tough when you go for the clear resin on flames. Jamie Beswarick as usual knocks the overall sculpt of the Balrog out of the park and as a fan of the character I love his work on this creature. Fans can order this piece right now for $699 and with an edition size of 888 he won’t be around too long. As a bonus fans won’t have to wait too long to get him as he’s due to ship in November of this year.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Balrog, Flame of Udun Bust Pre-Order”

One of the new Mini Epics revealed at Comic-Con 2018 last month was my favorite creature within Middle-earth The Balrog. This guy has had me mesmerized ever since I saw it on the big screen, when I first saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I’ve got several collectibles of him in my collection and when it was pointed out that they had this one for sale at the show, I had to have him.

You can get the Balrog for $99 and depending on where you have him shipped from, can get him shipped right now. He’s a massive piece, quite heavy, and super well done. Added with the very cool anime style of this line, its another great piece from our friends at Weta Workshop. Also joining the review as a special guest, is a Mini Epic of the Ring-bearer himself. Frodo Baggins.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Balrog Mini Epic Review”

Earlier this summer, TORn staffer greendragon had the great pleasure of going across to Edinburgh to meet with the good folks at Oscha Slings, a Scottish company who are our fellow licensees with Middle-earth Enterprises. This company, created by a father and daughter who are both big fans of Tolkien, makes beautiful fabrics, primarily for baby wraps, but also for wonderful throws, scarves and bags.

The company started after daughter Zoe fell in love with using a baby sling with her own children. She wanted to support parents who like the ‘baby wrap’ way of carrying (or even ‘wearing’!) an infant, and felt that most fabric designs were based on what the children would like, rather than what parents might like to wear. There was a gap in the market for elegant fabrics, and so Zoe and her graphic designer father began creating celtic, mythical and art nouveau weaves. As big fans for Middle-earth, they were delighted to be able to secure a license from Middle-earth Enterprises, and so begin dreaming up amazing designs, in a variety of art styles to represent the different races of Tolkien’s realm.

All of Oscha Slings fabrics are designed in Scotland and woven in England. They source their materials in the UK as far as is possible, and always make sure that anything they use is cruelty free, as organic as possible, and uses no harmful chemicals. (The company feel strongly that being as ecologically friendly as possible would be approved of by the Professor.) They have an army of fans, and when you see their incredible work, it’s not surprising! Many of the baby wrap fans are also Tolkien fans, and they are very vocal about what they want to see; one fan even designed a Mithril pattern for Oscha Slings! They have very active fans on Facebook, and 35,000 members in their international fan-run community – they’re no strangers to passionate fan bases!

Oscha also have plenty of items for those of us who don’t have babies to transport! Fans have even been known to hang their fabrics on the wall, as beautiful tapestries. Others have ordered smaller pieces of the fabrics to use for their own quilting projects.

We’re hoping to have some goodies from Oscha Slings for fans to look at (and maybe even take home) at DragonCon and New York ComicCon this year. Meanwhile, you can check out all the gorgeous items available at Oscha Slings here.