5000 Meters through Moria Virtual 5k Certificate

If you survived the dark and dangerous halls of Moria, congratulations! Here is your Finisher Certificate. Print it out and share a photo of yourself on our World and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien Facebook page, and tell us what you encountered on your run. Perhaps you had to fend off orcs or cave trolls? Did a Balrog singe your sneakers?

There is still time to run the two previous Middle-earth Virtual 5k races. The Shire Sprint and Racing to Rivendell are still up and available for download. The certificates for those races are in the posts.

You have until May 29th to complete all four races to be eligible for the final additional certificate that shows you completed all four races. The next and final race will be posted this Friday, May 22. We hope you’ll join us. Congratulations again!

Whether you have run the previous two races or not, you can still participate in this one, so limber up and join your fellow ringers and take on the 5 Meters Through Moria Challenge. This course will follow the fellowship of the ring’s dark and dangerous journey through the mines of Khazad-dûm. Once prosperous and echoing with song and the ringing of pick-axe, these dark caverns are now inhabited by orcs and cave trolls and something much, much worse. So be on your guard as you make your way to the final bridge and cross once more into daylight.

This Virtual 5k Race (3.1 miles) can be run or walked at any location you choose (please follow your town’s current rules). You can run, jog, walk in your neighborhood or your backyard, use a treadmill, climb the stairs in your home, or use an elliptical – whatever is most convenient and safe for you. 30 minutes of exercise can also count as 1 mile. Run your own race, at your own pace, and time it yourself – our 5k’s are on the honor system.

Before you start each race, download a RACE BIB here or from TheOneRing.net’s “The World and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien” Facebook page. Write your name or nickname and/or race time in the white box, then you can stop by our Facebook page and post a photo wearing your bib, or post in the comments below.

Once you have completed each race, let us know! Download your Finisher Certificate here and share another photo.

Also, check back next Friday for the fourth and final race. If you complete all four races, an additional special certificate can be yours! If you’re so inclined, reading the section in “The Fellowship of the Ring” that corresponds to this race might add a bit of color to your journey. Above all else, have fun. On your mark, get set, go!

If you weren’t able to join the first two races, don’t despair! Click on these links to earn your Shire Sprint and Racing to Rivendell bib and certificate. Complete all four races by May 29 and earn an extra crowning certificate.

Bibs and certificates designed by TORN staff member Mithril, aka Nancy Steinman.

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”

We have some great news from out friend and Middle-earth artist Jerry Vanderstelt. If you’re going to WonderCon you will have a chance to visit with Jerry at booth 2101. Jerry is sure to have many of his amazing pieces of art there as well as I’m sure to be live painting something for fans to see. Speaking of live painting if you were in Seattle checking out our friends at the Weta Workshop booth you got to see Jerry live painting. He painted a large portrait of the Balrog over the course of the show and as he did so fans asked Jerry to turn this into a print. Surprising nobody Jerry listened to fans and will be doing a print of that painting.

 

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Vanderstelt Studio News”

If space in your collection is at a premium then the mini line of statues from our friends at Weta Workshop has to be one of your go to lines. These great statues carry all the detail you expect from Weta Workshop but are scaled down into a smaller statue.

Tonight we get a new statue joining the line, this time from the bad guy side of Middle-earth. As the Fellowship made its way through Moria, Pippin set off a series of events and The Fellowship would have to face off against the Orcs of Moria. The Moria Orc mini depicts this Orc crawling on one of the beautiful pillars in Moria.

Fans who want to add this Orc can do so as he is currently in-stock and can be had for $125. Also, as you all know Weta has been running a contest for their uber cool 1:30 Dol Guldur signed by Richard Taylor, Leonard Ellis, and Dave Tremont. This contest has just seven days left and all the questions are now posted. Make sure you enter the 1:30 Dol Guldur Signed Set before it closes August 31st.