In this Collecting the Precious, I thought we’d have a look at a piece from my collection that is from an area of Middle-earth that means a lot to me, Gondor. I love it’s entire history from all the bits of lore we know, from it’s earliest beginnings in Numenor, through to the restoration of the High Kings throne by King Elessar.
This review covers one of that cultures greatest heroes; King Elendil. I’ve loved the armour since I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring almost 25 years ago. I was lucky that many years ago my Dad got me the King Elendil bust, but as the years went on I very much wanted a statue of this character. Finally after 20+ years it got announced and it sits proudly in my collection. If you’re looking for this statue now, you will have to look for it on the secondary market, because it is long sold out. So I wish you the best of luck on your hunt. I hope you enjoy this look at one of my favourite pieces made by Weta Workshop.
San Diego Comic Con is almost upon us – and we are looking forward to seeing our fellow fans there. Here are some of the things Tolkien fans can look forward to this year:
First and foremost, be sure to visit us at Booth #1934. There will be so much going on there! We’ll have our two new shirts designs for 2025 – official licensed apparel, a steal at just $30 each.
AND as if that wasn’t enough – returning to SDCC is the legend himself JED BROPHY, who will be signing all weekend at TORN’s booth #1934. Jed is the only actor to feature in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, AND The Rings of Power. Plus he is a fabulous guy – don’t miss your chance to meet him and snag an autograph.
More booths – don’t miss them!
When you’ve had your fill at TORn’s booth, you might stroll across the aisle and visit incredible artist Jerry Vanderstelt at #1931. You’ll want to check out all his art – and in particular, he has created a new original artwork based on the Rankin/Bass animated The Hobbit. There will be FREE prints of this amazing masterpiece – but to claim them, you’ll have to go on a quest to another booth… Middle-earth Enterprises are making their first con appearance ever, inside the Dark Horse booth #2615. We’ll say no more about it, except that you will NOT WANT TO MISS IT! The Vanderstelt prints are not the only treasures to be claimed there…
Our good friends Weta Workshop return to SDCC after a five year absence, with a big new booth #3613. You’ll also find the wonderful Badali Jewelry near door A at booth #715.
Panels to share all the latest news and views!
If you can tear yourself away from such an exciting show floor, we have PANELS for you:
Friday 2.30pm, Room 5AB: The Lord of the Rings: What’s Next?
This is TORn’s own, unofficial panel; which means you’ll get all the latest gossip and grist from the rumour mill! Our ears are to the ground and we have thoughts to share on all the goodies coming up in Tolkiendom. What will we see in The Rings of Power Season 3? When will we be hunting for Gollum…? Join us to speculate!
Sunday 2.15pm, Room 6BCF: Middle-earth: The Adventure Ahead
For this panel, TORn is collaborating with Middle-earth Enterprises to bring you official news from Weta Workshop, The Brandywine Festival, Return to Moria and more – all the latest announcements from Middle-earth Enterprises and their licensees. And there may be some very special guests!
Phew! So much to keep us all busy – and this is supposedly a ‘quiet’ year!! We don’t have an official party or offsite experience happening this year; we are drawing breath before the big year with all that will be happening in 2026! BUT there is so much to see and visit on the show floor, and we hope to see you at our booth #1934, and at our panels. Hanging with our fellow fans – it doesn’t get better than this! See you in San Diego!
Oh and – if you can’t make it to San Diego, or if you just know you’re going to have the post con blues a week from now, then you should plan on going on Comic Con The Cruise! It’s next January – but right now we are giving you the chance to WIN a Cruise for Two! Don’t delay – enter today!
“The first-ever publication of a previously unknown short satirical fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien.” – Harper Collins Publishers
Edited by Christopher Tolkien, this book will feature Tolkien’s The End of Bovadium, a story that has never been published before, and Tolkien’s illustrations for it. Tolkien worked on the tale from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. Also included will be the essay “The Origin of Bovadium” by Richard Ovenden OBE.
The story reflects Tolkien’s disdain of industrialism. This is represented in The Lord of the Rings by the scenes in Isengard and the “Scouring of the Shire” where the destruction of trees is a central focus. Tolkien, a lover of nature, and trees in particular, wanted the earth’s natural resources to be preserved, and he saw the lack of regard the burgeoning industrial complex held for them.
Feast your eyes! Here’s a first look at the new shirt designs we’ll be selling at our booth (#1934) at San Diego Comic Con this year.
First of all, if you have crazy visions of yourself in Bree, you might find yourself down at the Prancing Pony Club (complete with sparkle of course):
Next – we’re very excited to reveal that we’re partnering with Middle-earth Enterprises in bringing fan favorite the Rankin/Bass The Hobbit to SDCC first the first time. These Hobbit shirts are EXCLUSIVE and some of the first official merch ever for the animated TV special! Quantities are extremely limited.
Alas, these shirts will not be for sale online. We WILL have the Prancing Pony Club shirt for sale at DragonCon. Let us know if you’d like to see The Hobbit shirt for sale there as well!
More details of TORn’s participation in San Diego Comic Con coming soon; we hope to see you there, bright and early, to snap up these special shirts before they’re gone!
Over the last few years one of the most in demand exclusives to get at San Diego Comic-Con has been the print sets our friend Jerry Vanderstelt has at his booth and I have no doubt that this year won’t be any different.
This years set is titled Winged Fury, and captures three of Jerry’s prints in a never before released size of 12×16. The three prints that make up this set are the Fell Beast, Smaug, and The Balrog. I personally have all 3 as individual prints and I cannot wait to add this set to my collection. They are exceptionally well done. This limited edition, 350 print run, at a price of $40, will not last past the end of SDCC on July 27th. Fans going to Comic-Con can pre-order theirs right now, if they’d like, and simply take their receipt to booth 1931 to pick it up. The online pre-order will be limited to only 150 copies, with the final 200 being sold exclusively at the show. Get yours now because you do not want to risk not getting it once the show starts.
These are heady days for fans who enjoy seeing Tolkien’s legendarium interpreted by ‘other minds and hands’! A year ago we reported that the Tolkien Estate had granted permission for composer Paul Corfield Godfrey‘s musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings to be released. We are delighted to reveal today that the recording of these works will be released this September – and is available for pre-order now!
Featuring 35 singers, most of whom are from Welsh National Opera, these chapters (and, in true Tolkien styles, some appendices) make up over 17 hours of music, and use text lifted almost entirely verbatim from Tolkien’s masterpiece. Looking at the cast list, we’re excited to see both Tom Bombadil and his fair companion Goldberry listed! The recording will be available as a 15 CD Deluxe Digibook with 64 page complete libretto and notes from the composer.
Here’s the official press release from Volante Opera:
MUSICAL CHAPTERS FROM THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE CYCLE COMPLETED
The agreement by the estate of the late J. R. R. Tolkien last year to sanction the recording of Paul Corfield Godfrey’s “musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings” was hailed by listeners throughout the world as a milestone in the field of Tolkien adaptations.
For many years the Tolkien Estate has refused to allow any musical treatment of the works of the author which employed his own words. Now they have agreed to make a concession in respect of the music of Paul Corfield Godfrey, whose acclaimed cycle of “epic scenes from The Silmarillion” was finally completed in 2023 with the issue of a ten-CD series of recordings from Volante Opera and Prima Facie Records.
Ever since the 1960s the composer had been working on sketches, fragments and episodes of what was originally envisaged as a cycle of musical works based upon The Lord of the Rings. Following on from the success of the recordings of The Silmarillion he was persuaded to go back to these beginnings and fully explore, expand and complete the work which has now evolved as “musical chapters from The Lord of the Rings”. This fully operatic setting has now become a companion work on the same scale as The Silmarillion. The adaptation extends to thirty “chapters” designed for performance over six evenings – more than fifteen hours of music.
Cast
This recording of the complete work by Volante Opera has now finally been completed and Prima Facie will release a demo set of the complete cycle, in the same manner as their Silmarillion recordings, in a single volume on 5 September 2025. The professional singers, some thirty-five in number, come mainly from Welsh National Opera. Returning artists from The Silmarillion include: Simon Crosby Buttle as Frodo, Julian Boyce as Sam, Philip Lloyd-Evans as Gandalf, Stephen Wells as Aragorn, Michael Clifton-Thompson as Gollum, Helen Jarmany as Éowyn, Huw Llywelyn as Bilbo and Éomer, Emma Mary Llewellyn as Arwen and Goldberry, Laurence Cole as Boromir and Denethor, Martin Lloyd as Treebeard and the Herb Master, Helen Greenaway as Lobelia and Ioreth, Rosie Hay as Gwaihir, Sophie Yelland as the Barrow-Wight and Louise Ratcliffe as Lindir, with George Newton-Fitzgerald and Jasey Hall taking on a plethora of parts. Angharad Morgan is also reprising her role as Galadriel from The War of Wrath. Other new cast members include Rhodri Prys Jones as Legolas, Gareth Long as Gimli, David Fortey as Pippin, Dyfed Wyn Evans as Merry, James Schouten as Faramir and Elrond, Gavin Davies as Thëoden, Gareth Lloyd as Saruman, Peter Wilman, Owen Webb, Alastair Moore, Francesca Saracino and Steffan Lloyd-Evans in various other solo roles and Howard Kirk as Tom Bombadil and Quickbeam.
Plot
Although the text is inevitably abridged, it adheres without any but the most minor alterations to the author’s original words, and the original plot development remains unchanged – including such elements as Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wight, the love story of Éowyn and Faramir and the ‘scouring of the Shire’. And some other passages, such as the coronation and wedding of Aragorn, are given expanded musical treatment. The issue includes not only the complete musical score, but also a substantial booklet containing full details of the recording (including the text as set) and a supplementary appendix disc giving more extended versions of some of the more substantial narrative poems. As with the earlier issues of The Silmarillion the cover art has been furnished by Ted Nasmith.
Physical copies directly from Volante Opera Productions available for pre-order now; orders from other retailers will be closer to the release date.
Digital purchase will be available to pre-order seven days before release date of Sept 5th. Streaming platforms will be very limited but specific platforms will be itemised closer to the release.
And just to make September 5th seem even longer to wait – here’s a teaser trailer to whet your appetite! (You can see a longer trailer here.)
Artists appear by arrangement with Welsh National Opera
The Paul Corfield Godfrey Trust was founded in 2021 with the objective of promoting the compositions of the composer, by the commissioning for musical works by the composer; the publishing of works by the composer (Zarathustra Music); the promotion and performance of works by the composer; the recording and distribution of works by the composer and the promotion of the composer’s music by means of lectures, tours and other events. Trustees: Paul Corfield Godfrey, Simon Crosby Buttle, Julian Boyce. Officers of the Trust: Klara Claesson, Larissa Martins Costa, Phillip Walch.
In this Collecting the Precious, I thought we’d have a look at a piece from my collection that is from an area of Middle-earth that means a lot to me, Gondor. I love it’s entire history from all the bits of lore we know, from it’s earliest beginnings in Numenor, through to the restoration of the High Kings throne by King Elessar.
