We here at TORn are very happy to introduce something new within the collectibles arena. We’ve been doing reviews and news blurbs under ‘Collecting The Precious’ for a decade now; so we’ve decided to branch out and add something new! MadeyeGamgee and myself (Elessar) are excited to sit down and talk about various collectibles topics, ranging from new collectibles and interviews with the artists, to tips to help new and old collectors alike. The very first episode is on YouTube now, and you can watch it below. In this first episode we cover mostly the cool things that came out of San Diego Comic-Con at Home 2021. We hope you enjoy this first episode, which comes in at just a little under three hours.
The awesome folks at Diamond Select Toys were cool enough to send us something pretty sweet to take a look at, and let you all know what we think. As we’ve mentioned in the past, they are doing a great action figure line in the same scale, for those who collected the Toy Biz figure line when the movies were out. These figures of course are updated, and created with today’s technologies; and it shows in how cool they are. The folks at DST sent us what started out as an unlikely friendship in Legolas and Gimli. These figures are out now, and come in at a price of $29.99. If you’re like me and have a copy of their 2021 SDCC Exclusive, they’ve let folks know what the packaging will look like and you can find that here. They’ve also announced a solo Gollum figure, and shown all the cool stuff it comes with along with a price; there’s a link to the blog post mentioning that here.
Numenor is a central location in Amazon’s billion dollar Lord of the Rings series, and now we have the first description of the peoples of the island, thanks to the intrepid Fellowship of Fans.
EXCLUSIVE: “There are different guilds in Numenor. Like blacksmiths Guild, Fisherman’s guild, bread makers guild, builders guild and so on.”#LOTRonPrime 1/5 pic.twitter.com/hINTlvJCRl
— Fellowship of Fans (@FansFellowship) July 18, 2021
Guilds as Tolkien wrote
According to leaked set reports, Numenorians have trade guilds and wear patches marking their trade allegiance according the extras on the set. This is actually true to the books and maintains #FidelityToTolkien.
This seems to confirm that Amazon has licensed stories from UNFINISHED TALES by J.R.R. Tolkien, a book posthumously edited & published by Christopher Tolkien. If we look at page 170:
Among the wrights of the Edain were weaponsmiths, and they had with the teaching of the Noldor acquired great skill in the forging of swords, of axe-blades, and of spearheads and knives. Swords the Guild of Weaponsmiths still made, for the preservation of the craft, though most of their labour was spent on the fashioning of tools for the uses of peace.
Unfinished Tales
Numenor is like Themyscira?
Further in Unfinished Tales it describes a horse & bow culture similar to what movie audiences have recently seen in Wonder Woman. With lead WW stuntwoman Dayna Grant recently in the news, it’s not too much of a stretch to consider her skillset is perfect for how Tolkien describes Numenorians:
The King and most of the great chieftains possessed swords as heirlooms of their fathers; and at times they would still give a sword as a gift to their heirs. A new sword was made for the King’s Heir to be given to him on the day on which this title was conferred. But no man wore a sword in Numenor, and for long years few indeed were the weapons of warlike intent that were made in the land. Axes and spears and bows they had, and shooting with bows on foot and on horseback was a chief sport and pastime of the Numenoreans.
A review is never late, fellow Ringers; it arrives precisely when it means to! Our friends at Asmus Toys sent us this awesome Gandalf the Grey Crown Series figure to review. The first thing we want to do is thank them! Gandalf is easily one of the coolest 1:6 figures I’ve owned. The headsculpt alone is worth the price ($350, if you want to know…), and when you add all the other detailing aspects you get one heck of a great figure. He’s out now, so you should be able to order him and have him quite quickly to your door, ready to invite you on an adventure.
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets.
So come and join us by the hearth, and enjoy!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
Ode to Elanor
By D.McGlinchey
Elanor, my star flower, my beautiful golden sun.
From lonely isles did your namesake travel to bring beauty and joy from afar.
Elf Child, though of Halfling kin, fair beauty of the Shire.
Your grace and wisdom outshines them all and your laughter a Dragon would halt.
Blessed with the grace of the Valar you glow.
Though hard was the road that led to your being,I never faltered nor forsook the dreams I made.
I traveled there and back again to make true those distant dreams.
And I did.
With you Elanor.
My star flower.
My beautiful golden sun.
~ * ~
A poem of “Riddles in the Dark”
by MA Corkery
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
What object is this? Have I found some new bling?
It’s shiny, and gold and I think very old
But there is something more to it that can’t quite be told
Will it bring power, joy, or wealth?
Can it save me from this dark goblin house?
These questions, they run in my mind as I ask,
“What have I got in my pocket?”
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
What is this creature, this non-goblin thing?
Is it tasty, will it be a good snack?
My precious let’s see and then swiftly attack
Now it is riddles: teeth, daisies, and time
We’ll answer his questions and then he’ll be mine
But wait, where have you gone? Did I lose you somehow?
My precious where are you, I cry out aloud
I look at this morsel, this non-goblin thing
Just maybe, perhaps, he has taken my ring
Riddles in darkness, hobbit, and ring
I am one step closer to my dark lord and king
The darkness is coming, he’ll find me I know
And in the darkness binding he’ll grow and he’ll grow
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
Remember with winter there is always a spring
No matter the darkness, no matter the might
There will always be hope and good fighting the fight
~ * ~
Keep The Faith
by Michael Amos
Though bird in shire and toad in hollow share their daily cries
Dark forces incessantly wallow chanting so he flies
It’s never good to lose your sight of things that truly matter
For there’s a fight tween wrong and right the falling swords a-clatter.
The day is new and offers all the chance to make a choice
The very things that fill us up and cause us to rejoice!
So why are we so very willing at the least resistance
To tattle, harp and creak our spilling complaints every instant?
It’s ours to mourn the loss of power swelling loves true ranks
When all our whinging melancholy has us walking planks.
The remedy is simple dear, and never once you doubt it
You’re the one who moves your eyes and never should you floutt it.
Here the birds and all the frogs who’s siren song declares
The sun is coming! Build your life and share with us your wares
The evil waits for you to fake your focus on a whim
So, always know it’s on your watch you give a chance to him.
Remember love, and luck and joy and fight with all you’ve got
To grow, and know, and pluck your vision from the twisted knot
Of everything that blocks your way and dance aside so lightly
You’re a living song of ever loving will so mighty
The shire is true, The sky is blue
The stakes are oh, so high
Let’s herald one more chance
To make the best of life, it’s nigh.
~ * ~
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
Yesterday our friends at Weta Workshop delivered something many of us long-time collectors wanted to see, but never thought we would. For years we wanted a Bilbo Baggins sitting at his desk, as you see him during the opening events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, fans not only have one superb piece; there are actually two amazing options, depending on how you want to go. If collectors want not just Bilbo at his desk, but also want some of Bag End as well, then you’ll want to go for the limited edition. This piece is up for PO right now through June 21st. This will determine the edition size of Bilbo, which comes with a price tag of $1,299. If you just want Bilbo at his desk, you can order the classic series version, which is an open edition piece for $349. Both versions are not shipping until the first quarter of next year. No matter what route you go, this is going to be one of those pieces that create conversations about your collection.
We here at TORn are very happy to introduce something new within the collectibles arena. We’ve been doing reviews and news blurbs under ‘Collecting The Precious’ for a decade now; so we’ve decided to branch out and add something new! MadeyeGamgee and myself (Elessar) are excited to sit down and talk about various collectibles topics, ranging from new collectibles and interviews with the artists, to tips to help new and old collectors alike. The very first episode is on YouTube now, and you can watch it below. In this first episode we cover mostly the cool things that came out of San Diego Comic-Con at Home 2021. We hope you enjoy this first episode, which comes in at just a little under three hours.
