Holidays in Middle-earth are based on the turning of the seasons, as they are in our own world. Yule, as Tolkien named the winter celebration in his novels, is led off by the Winter Solstice. The history of Yule can be traced back thousands of years to the Norse peoples, whom we know J.R.R had an affinity for. During this holiday, the Yule log (an entire tree fed gradually into the fireplace), decorated trees, wassailing (caroling), and roasting of wild boar were the centerpieces, from which current traditions are derived.

Festive decorations in the lamplight, outside a round, wooden door, hung with a holly star.
As we relax beside the crackling fire,
And the wind tosses branches in the pine,
Into a snow globe of Middle-earth, let us peer
Upon the festive winter holidays in the Shire,
Icicles on the Golden Hall that sparkle and shine,
The sound of sleigh bells in Ithilien drawing near,
The frost-glint upon holly and fields of briar,
The sumptuous fare on which the Elven-folk dine.
'Tis a time of joy in Middle-earth, for Yuletide is here. 
– Mithril
A sprig of greenery with red berries.
Continue reading “Yuletide Celebrations in Middle-earth”

If you haven’t been following our friends on Weta Workshop or our own social media accounts then you might have missed the pre-order for the new Legolas and Gimli statue. This great looking statue was sculpted by the super talented Jane Wenley, and it continues the great series of statues from Amon Hen. Legolas and Gimli is available to pre-order for $699 and will ship in March/April of next year. The key part of this is the edition size of these two characters will be set based on the number of people who want one. So in these last 24 hours, get your order in, because it’s likely there won’t be one to go around.

One of the best artists on the planet, who just happens to have a license to do art from the world of Middle-earth, is having a sale right now. Our friend Jerry Vanderstelt’s Black Friday sale is happening right now through to November, 30th. You can get 20% off select items in his store via the code BFSALE2020. So if you’re looking for a great Middle-earth themed item to get the fan in your life this is a great place to go. Jerry’s work is amazing and I can assure you that the fan you know will love it.

As we told you a while back the folks at Diamond Select Toys are making action figures from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We’ve previously shared details and images of the figures Legolas and Gimli. Now we get to share with you Frodo and the Ringwraith. Just like the previous releases, these two figures each come in their own box with a piece of Sauron himself. That’s right! If you had forgotten you get to build Sauron with each release. These figures come in at 7 inches tall for figures like the Ringwraith and 4 inches tall for figures like Frodo all of them with 16 points of articulation. Fans can get their order in now for $59.98 with these awesome figures shipping in the spring of 2021.

During their New York Comic-Con Online, our friends at Sideshow Collectibles debuted a new collectible from Middle-earth.

If you’ve been following the line of collectibles from Iron Studios you would know that they’ve been creating the Balin’s Tomb sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring. We’ve already got Gimli and Legolas and now, taking this set up to the next level, we’ve got a Cave Troll! Fans can pre-order it right now for $725 with payment plans available, to add it to their collections next summer when it ships.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Iron Studios Cave Troll Statue”

Over the summer I got a chance to sit down and finally review one of my favorite pieces, and my favorite version, of the character Aragorn. This outstanding piece from our friends at Weta Workshop has long been sold out, with eager collectors snapping it up during the early bird pre-order stage. So while you may have to go to the secondary market if you want to get him yourself, I hope you use this review to see it is absolutely worth tracking down.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Aragorn at Amon Hen Review”