Comic-Con 2017 may be over but our coverage still has a little left for you all. Our friends at Weta Workshop had some really awesome pieces this year and were full of surprises. They hit us with pieces like Thranduil on Elk as well as the Gollum 1:3 mixed media statue. Both these pieces are fantastic and pieces nobody saw coming, which made covering the booth even more exciting. We had two pieces that fans had long been waiting to see, where fans could order them and get them added to their collections. Of course one of those was Grond who we had been patiently waiting to be able to order, and then we also got the Mouth of Sauron on Steed. Both pieces are limited with Grond at 500 pieces and the Mouth of Sauron at 750 pieces. Fans can expect these won’t last long so make sure to get your pre-orders in now.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop Comic-Con 2017 Booth Tour and Recap”

The Battle of the Last Alliance sequence at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the coolest moments in cinema. One of the many cool moments within that sequence is when you get that chain of Elves swiping to kill the orcs as they charge. Our friends at Weta Workshop have captured this perfectly with the Elven Warrior statue. The Elven Warrior was quite limited as well, with only 750 pieces worldwide, and is now sold out via Weta Workshop’s site. So if you’re looking to add this to your collection I’d suggest beginning that search now, before this one reaches grail status among The Lord of the Rings statue line.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Elven Warrior Statue Review”

SauronIf you were lucky enough to be at Comic-Con 2015 you were not only able to see this in person but snag it as well. The amazing talent that is Jerry Vanderstelt has a new Sauron print available for all Middle-earth fans to add to their collection. Titled “Dark Majesty” this print captures Sauron reaching through the print with The One Ring all lit up as he comes for his prey. This print can be had in 16 x 20 Lithographs and 17 x 22 Paper Giclees. Keep an eye on Vanderstelt Studio store to make sure you add a fantastic rendition of the Dark Lord himself.

legolasWe’ve started to see more products for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. So we wanted to remind folks of a great looking art print from our friend artist Jerry Vanderstelt who created a stunning looking art print of Legolas Greenleaf as we will see him in film two this December. You can get this amazing print from Jerry right now for a steal of a deal at just $78 for a 18×24 print. The other superb print we want to remind you of is Jerry’s Sauron art print. This print captures Sauron as he walks through Mordor viewing his realm and was recently turned into a statue from Sideshow Collectibles. You can also get this print for $78 and then compare it to the statue in our review.

“One does not simply walk into Mordor.” It’s one of the classic catchphrases from Lord of the Rings. But is it true?

To celebrate the release of The Hobbit this month, Kerry Shawcross and Chris Demarais, two members of Rooster Teeth Productions (the creators of the acclaimed machinima series Red vs Blue*, as well as Immersion, and Achievement Hunter), decided to find out for themselves. They’ve set themselves the task to complete in just six days the 120+ mile journey across New Zealand from the filming location of Hobbiton in Matamata to that of Mount Doom on Mount Ngauruhoe. Continue reading “Exclusive video: can one simply walk into Mordor?”

I never considered myself a tattoo guy.

Until now.

It started innocently enough. I wanted to commemorate what I considered no small achievement: reading all 12 volumes of the History of Middle-earth in one year. I made the pledge and started the trek in January of 2011, and managed to turn the last page in mid-December of that year. (I wrote about the experience here and here)

So what could I do to mark this considerable milestone?

I’d had every opportunity in my younger days to become one of the Inked. Lived with several bands, traveled around with all sorts of characters in a circus-like caravan for years before pretending to settle down and got a “real job”.

But never once did I feel the urge to get a tattoo. Big, small, cool or silly, it never crossed my mind as anything I would ever want to do. “How permanent!” “Do I really want everyone to see and judge me?” “Wouldn’t it affect my job or the impression customers and co-workers would get?” All of that crossed my mind, but not in any sort of huge, conflicting way. I just never wanted one.

So why, when searching for an appropriately Big Sign statement to mark the conclusion of my most recent Tolkienian Journey, was that one of the first things that came to mind?

Mayhap, as some have speculated (myself included), it’s a sort of midlife crisis, only instead of a Porsche I got some ink. (By the way – if this truly is the midpoint of my life, 50% gone and 50% still to come, I’ll take it, say thankee-sai.)

Others have said, simply, “I think he’s lost his mind…”

Possibly so.

Continue reading “Under My Skin: Externalizing Tolkien”