One of my favorite subsection of statues within the whole Middle-earth statue line from our friends at Weta Workshop is the rider line. This line obviously includes statues that involve someone riding a creature from Middle-earth. There are things like Legolas/Gimli on Arod to Gothmog on Warg. The Hobbit line of course has the amazing and large Azog on Warg, but not anyone from the good guy/gal side of things. That is until Dain IronFoot on War Boar showed up during Comic-Con 2015. Dain was a 800 piece statue and came in at a price tag of $499, which is now sold out from Weta. However you can still get this guy on the secondary market if you’re really hoping to add this to your collection.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Dain IronFoot on War Boar Review”

IMG_7812Tonight we have several new items from our friends at Weta Workshop. The first of these new items was my personal favorite at this years San Diego Comic-Con.

The beautiful Lady Galadriel at Dol Guldur is without a doubt the best version of this character we’ve had a chance to add to any of our collections. This stunning piece comes in with an edition size of only 750 pieces world wide and can be purchased for $275. You can expect to have her in March of 2017.

The next two items continue the growing resurgence of the helm line. Fans can now add the helm of Dain Ironfoot as well as The Witch King as we see him at Dol Guldur during The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Both the helms come in with a price tag of $79 and edition sizes of 750 pieces. If you manage to order all three helms that have been released so far by September 30th, 2016 by midnight (NZT) you can be in the running to get the #1/500 Uruk-Hai helm.

IMG_4917Today, is the last of the three week run of Weta Workshop post Comic-Con extravaganza collectibles.We end this run with a very cool rider piece capturing Dain Ironfoot himself on that really awesome War Boar. Dain, who hopefully we get to see a bit more of in the extended edition because what we did get to see of him in the theatrical release was pretty cool, is presented in incredible detail. One of the other things I really liked about Dain, besides the incredible detail and likeness, was the metallic paint used on the armor. Fans can order Dain right now for a solid price of $449 with a pretty low edition size of just 800 pieces worldwide. You can expect Dain to arrive into your collection during the first quarter of 2016.

IMG_5664Our friends at Weta Workshop had so many great items at Comic-Con this year. Starting from next week, and continuing for the following two weeks, fans will get a chance to place pre-orders for some of these items. The first item will be available on August 3rd, this  item being my favorite piece at Comic-Con, Minas Tirith. Then on the following two weeks, August 10th and 17th, we will get the Uruk-hai Swordsman (August 10th) and Dain Ironfoot on War Boar (August 17th). All three items will become available for pre-order at the same time starting at 2pm PST.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Post Comic-Con Extravaganza”

dain2One of the big visual secrets of the final Middle-earth movie from Peter Jackson, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” is Dain Ironfoot. Played by Billy Connoly, Dain is a character that is essential to the story but isn’t incredibly fleshed out in J.R.R. Tolkien source material that was originally intended for children.

Our own Demosthenes has this excellent analysis of Connolly as Dain complete with quotes and descriptions of the character. It has long been reported that Dain will arrive on the scene riding a war boar but clearly Jackson’s team has been careful not to reveal this in any teaser trailers so far, and, lets hope it stays that way.

But, visuals of the character have started to seep into the public eye. With giant franchise films like The Hobbit, it’s impossible to put a lid on too much because merchandise and toys need to start selling before the film hits theaters (and before it is finished!) and that means that at the very least, clues are out in the wild.

The image at the top of this story, for example, clearly displays Lego Dain and it jives with the descriptions that are out there including this one from Connolly via Yahoo Australia:

“They’re basically broadening me, making me wider. But let me say, this guy will terrify the life out of you. I have a Mohawk and tattoos on my head. You’ve got to see it.”

The Lego character appears to be a ginger and is wearing a red chest piece as part of his armor, giving him a distinct look that will visually set him apart in cinemas so viewers will know instantly that he isn’t like the dwarves we have spent so much time with so far. He is a new element with a distinct mount, armor and will be immediately recognizable and unique.

DainThe Lego Dain even evokes a little bit of Connolly to me visually, although it could be a previous bias.

The concept art here seems to really compliment the Lego image as something close to Dain’s final design. The helms certainly seem similar in shape and color and the beards seem the same in shape and color. There are differences however in the color of the breastplate, although details on a Lego toy are only meant to be a representation and not a literal translation. In fact the looking and speculation from still images of a toy and a concept art is fun because of how different the motion picture experience is from a still image. In the day of CGI, what is filmed may or may not even resemble what ends up on screen.

UPDATE EDIT: Readers have correctly pointed out the below image is of Dwalin. The writer has been sacked.


Dain Mohawk