129 years ago today, in Bloemfontein Africa, a very special person came into the world: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Forty-five years later, in 1937, his book The Hobbit, was published which he had written for his children. Together with its sequel, The Lord of the Rings, it launched generations of readers on adventures through the invented world of Middle-earth; adventure that would impact many of us for the rest of our lives.

One of the greatest ways Tolkien has impacted many of our lives is through the friendships we’ve made from having read Tolkien’s books and/or watched Peter Jackson’s movies of the same. Tolkien himself made lifelong friendships as a result of his writing endeavors, sharing many a pint critiquing yet-unfinished works at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford with friends C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and others. Today, countless discussion forums, websites, and clubs carry on the tradition of those discussions, sharing ideas about Tolkien and his writings with like-minded fans and, yes, dear friends.

Today, TORn celebrates life of J.R.R. Tolkien and the inspiration and friendships he has given us. To express our thanks, we’re continuing our theme of the day of Tolkien quotes, this time with quotes having to do with friendship from The Lord of the Rings:

“I name you Elf-friend, and may the stars shine upon the end of your road”

– Gildor to Frodo (The Fellowship of the Ring: Three is Company)

“You can trust us to stick to you, through thick and thin – to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours – closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.”

 – Merry to Frodo (The Fellowship of the Ring: A Conspiracy Unmasked)

“Though all the mighty elf-friends of old, Hador and Hurin, and Turin, and Beren himself were assembled together your seat should be among them.”

– Elrond to Frodo (The Fellowship of the Ring: The Council of Elrond)

“You will meet many foes, some open, and some disguised; and you may find friends along your way when you least look for it.”

– Elrond to the Fellowship (The Fellowship of the Ring: The Ring Goes South)

“Twice blessed is help unlooked for, and never was a meeting of friends so joyful.

 – Eomer to Aragorn (The Return of the King: The Battle of the Pelennor Fields)

“I wish we could have a Stone that we could see all our friends in and that we could speak to them from far away.”

Pippin (The Return of the King: Many Partings)

Looking for that perfect holiday gift for your favorite fan of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies? Look no further! Monday, December 16 could be your lucky day. That’s the day Julien’s Auctions, known for their auctions packed with Hollywood collectibles, will be auctioning off one of the original tobacco pipes used by Sir Ian Holm in his role as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring! The pipe will come fully documented for authenticity by both Peter Jackson and Animation Designer and Supervisor, Randall William Cook.

According to the Julien’s Auctions website: Jackson personally gifted this production artifact to animation supervisor Randall William Cook in celebration of Cook’s 50th birthday during the making of the film. Included with the prop is the original birthday card from Jackson to Cook when the gift was presented to Cook on his birthday as well as a letter of authenticity from Cook.

Follow this link to the Julien’s Auctions site to bid. Did we mention the opening bid is $25,000 with the piece expected to bring between $100,000 and $120,000 U.S.? Good luck!


If you were lucky enough to attend opening day at the Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle, Washington today, you may have had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the next awesome statue from our friends at Weta Workshop in their The Lord of The Rings statue line. Adding to the amazing scene set-up with the Boromir and Lurtz statues, we now have Aragorn at Amon Hen. In this piece, we get to see Aragorn as he races back to help save Boromir who has blown The Horn of Gondor in desperation as he defends Merry and Pippin from attack by Saruman’s Uruk-hai Orcs. Fans can sign up to be notified when this beautiful statue goes up for order, and as soon as it does you can count on us to let you know.

As we mentioned a while back, we have a new player in the Middle-earth Collectibles game. Iron Studios is going to be producing collectibles based on the best trilogy of all-time: “The Lord of the Rings,” of course! These pieces will be produced in 1:10 scale, which is smaller than other collectibles based on the trilogy. Despite being smaller from what we can see in the production photos the to be very well made. I have had the chance to see their Marvel pieces up close, so I have very high hopes we’re in for a real treat! All four pieces Gandalf the Grey, Frodo Baggins, standing Ringwraith, and attacking Ringwraith can be pre-ordered right now. They range from $95 for Frodo to $115 for Gandalf the Grey. Collectors can expect all of these figures to start landing during quarter four of 2019.

Our friends at Weta workshop have two fantastic new items for fans who are looking to expand their Middle-earth collections. Our first item allows fans who are missing one of the original The Lord of the Rings statue line greatest pieces The Ringwraith on Steed. This piece is long sold out and hard to track down. So it was a wonderful surprise back during the holiday season they showed off the beautiful Ringwraith at the Ford statue. This superb piece is a companion piece to go with the Arwen and Frodo on Asfaloth, which was announced and shown off during Comic-Con 2018. Like Arwen and Frodo this Ringwraith comes in with an edition size of 750 pieces and a price tag of $699. Fans also have the payment plan option open to them, which will hopefully allow them to add a statue of the year for 2019 candidate into their collections.

Are you a fan of the Mini-Epic line? Then you’re going to love the latest edition to this set of collectibles. You may not simply be able to walk into Mordor but you can once he ships simply walk this one into your collection. That’s right Boromir Son of Denethor is the newest character to get the Mini-Epic treatment. Boromir isn’t due to ship until this summer but he can be had for a fantastic $29.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Ringwraith at the Ford and Boromir Mini-Epic Pre-Orders”

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”