For the past 20 years our friends at Weta Workshop have been creating intricate collectibles from Middle-earth. Starting this week they’ve started auctioning off the number 1 of each pieces edition size. These amazing pieces range from environments like the Prancing Pony to the Master Collection Gollum. Each week when the auctions start they will run for 72 hours. Week one has come to a close but week two starts next Monday and will end on May 21st.
In support of their local community, Weta is going to donate 100% of the proceeds from one statue per week to the Neonatal Trust. This wonderful charity, of which co-founders Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger are patrons, provide support to families of premature or sick babies on their journey through neonatal care towards health and home.
Ever generous with his time and talent, Andy Serkis is hosting a #hobbithon of sorts and reading the entirety of The Hobbit for 12 hours – right now!
In a message to his fans, Andy writes:
So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown. While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12 hour armchair marathon reading of “The Hobbit” by yours truly – a journey across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need – NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings.
We have links below to the various ways you can watch, and then you can support his efforts on the official GoFundMe page.
If you haven’t already, make sure to mark your calendars for this Thursday, October 10th. That’s the day we can finally order the beautiful Minas Morgul environment we saw at Comic-Con this past July. Unlike previous items, this will have a unique way to determine the edition size. When orders open on Thursday they will begin calculating the edition size, and when orders close on the 23rd of this month they will finalize the number. So we, the fans, will determine just where this ends up; and it also allows us to show bad we want this piece. So mark your calendar now.
Here is what time Minas Morgul will go up based on your location:
· 12.30 p.m, October 10 – 12.30 p.m, October 23 (PDT)
· 9.30 p.m, October 10 – 9.30 p.m, October 23 (CET)
· 8.30 a.m, October 11 – 8.30 a.m, October 24 (NZT)
No, it doesn’t reside in the depths of the Misty Mountains, or mutter “My precious, my precious…” in the dark.
However, the possible fate of a particular toad from Malaysia, that gets its name from everyone’s favorite duplicitous, conniving, yet lovable, precious-coveting character from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, is concerning scientists after becoming the latest to join a list of animals at great risk of extinction.
One of my favorite lines from our freinds at Weta Workshop is the mini-statue line. As I’ve mentioned before, these statues are really super well done, and done at a price that allows for collectors on a budget to get some Middle-earth goodness.
A statue of Samwise was long over due, as he has not had one from Weta since the Sam and Bill statue 17 years ago. Samwise comes in with a price tag of $79 and is a short pre-order with a shipping due date of just this month.
At Comic-Con 2017, our friends at Weta Workshop unveiled one of the most stunning pieces I’ve ever seen. The piece is part of the new Masters Collection, and the character is one we all know quite well: Gollum. This superb piece is a 1:3 mixed media piece with real hair, glass, eyes, translucent skin, clear resin water, and an actual cloth loin cloth. Needless to say this is the best Gollum piece that’s been done. Gollum is limited to only 589 pieces worldwide and comes with a price tag of $1799. Fans that are interested can also use Weta’s handy flex pay system that will help you break this down so you can add this amazing statue into your collections. Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Masters Collections: Gollum”