Sean Robinson has two passions that have recently found their way together in a most amazing fashion. Sean discovered his passion for pottery in 2007 – a hobby that sprang from his love of several different arts. He is also a huge fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien – a love, I think, we can all appreciate. Working from his pottery studio in Jamestown, NC, Sean spends his free time crafting many fine objects.
Most recently, his works have taken on the form of some very recognizable objects
from the lands of Middle-earth. It began in the most unexpected way for Sean – with
his father, Bill Robinson, indulging him in his appreciation for Tolkien’s stories. This
took the form of some intricately constructed wooden signs as seen in Peter Jackson’s films – one for The Prancing Pony in Bree, and the other for The Green Dragon in the Shire.
Editor Note: Our latest staff review comes from the man behind the Collecting the Precious posts, staffer, Elessar. As always if you’re still to see the film and are avoiding spoilers, please be aware that there are spoilers all through Elessars review.
Here we are a year later following the fantastic film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The waiting is over and the time to immerse ourselves in another movie about Middle-earth has begun. I, like so many of you have been counting down the days until it was time, and after seeing it twice I’ve written my personal review.
One of the great joys of these words is that they are available in so many different languages, as are the countless sentences that follow. They are accessible to so many different cultures and nationalities. Now, for the very first time, Professor Tolkien’s brilliant classic “The Hobbit” is available in the official Yiddish translation, approved by the Tolkien Estate – through Harvard Book Store. Continue reading “Journey There and Back Again with the Official Yiddish Translation of ‘The Hobbit’”
The Holiday shopping season is quickly approaching and its time to start thinking about what to get that special Tolkien lover in your life. We’re pleased to to help ease your journey in by narrowing down what we feel are the top 10 Middle-earth related collectibles that fans can easily swing on a holiday budget. You can get any of these amazing collectibles from our friends at Weta Workshop, Artist Jerry Vanderstelt, Sideshow Collectibles, and The Noble Collection. These collectibles range from mini-sword letter openers to giant premium formats all of which help cover any Tolkien Collector in your family.
We’ve started to see more and more products announced and launched tying into The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. One of the companies turning out some pretty cool stuff for film two is our friends at The Bridge Direct. The collectible we’re covering today is Radagast the Brown, from their 6” line of figures. After seeing this piece at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, I was quite excited to get this; and I have to say this figure lived up to my expectations.
PACKAGING
The layout for the box design for Radagast is exactly the same as we saw with wave one of the figures, for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The new figures differ in the graphics, as well as the coloring of the box. The images show the company climbing what I would assume is the Lonely Mountain, with another view of that same Mountain in the background. You also have a blue tone to the coloring, which suggests the darker turn the movie will take, compared to how wave one and movie one matched up.
On the bottom of the box you have a cardboard slip with the character’s name and a picture of the character all rendered in the same coloring. The back of the box has a great little breakdown of the second movie. They not only do this in English but also in French, which I have to say I really got a kick out of. You also get a look at the three 6” figures in wave two: Radagast, Legolas, and Azog.
Accessories/Articulation
Radagast is simple when it comes to the number of items you get with him; he comes with his hat and his staff. However, this matches exactly what we see him with during the movie, so you get to create the exact look of what we saw.
The articulation on this figure as a whole is really good. You have great movement in the hands, elbows, shoulders, and ankles. The only area which I found had any kind of limited movement is the head, but that is due to his beard. Overall, you can have some real fun with this figure, creating some of the craziness we could imagine Radagast getting into.
SCULPTING
I love the sculpting job on Radagast. I really think the likeness on this figure is pretty darn close to a dead ringer for what we saw on screen. Within the facial likeness, the little bird’s nest is also there and can be shown or not depending on if you have him wear his hat. The detailing doesn’t stop there, as his outfit has some amazing fine points in it, even with little things I didn’t notice in the movie when I’ve seen it several times. Radagast comes with a couple of extras, which are the hat I just mentioned, and his trusty staff with the blue crystal that he uses to save Sebastian the hedgehog.
PAINT
As I’ve said before in other reviews, the paint can make or break the sculpting work. I really think The Bridge Direct nailed the paintwork on Radagast, giving the character the proper ‘on screen’ look. The skin tone looks like his movie counter part and has a nice natural, alive tone to it. His hair has the proper brown and grey mix as we saw on screen. That’s not my favorite part, though, of what was done to his hair. One of the things I don’t care for with Radagast is the bird poop in his hair – it’s just something I really wish they had left out. Luckily, the way it’s painted on the figure it just looks like a large area of grey hair, and I love it. Much better than what we actually got! His outfit is also painted very nicely, allowing for all the sculpted details to come screaming through.
Overall
Radagast is a fantastic figure. You get a great sized figure and tons of detail. You can get Radagast exclusively at Toys R’ Us for $14.99, along with Azog, Legolas, and the Mirkwood 5-Pack. We want to thank The Bridge Direct for this chance to give our readers a look at this pretty cool figure.
As some of you remember a while back I decided to share my collection with you all. Now, I’d like to share a fellow Ringer’s collection who decided that he also wanted you all to see the passion he has for Middle-earth. I hope you all enjoy Eric’s collection and if you would like to share what you’ve gathered after years of collecting don’t be afraid to let us know.
Here’s how Eric describes his collection:
My name is Eric from Maryland, USA. I’ve always had a love for weapons growing up. And so when United Cutlery started making the The Lord of the Rings movie swords and props, I thought it would be a cool idea to one day club our basement and make a Middle-earth themed place to hang out. I started collecting them in 2003. Most of the purchases were made between 2003 – 2006, but it was only about 6 months ago that we finally finished our basement. Until then, my collection was mostly in boxes. When collecting, it was my goal to have a poster of each main character and to have their weapon right beside that poster. In the TV room, we have the “fellowship” section. It showcases the characters at the core of the fellowship, with whatever memorabilia I could collect to represent them. In the gaming section of the basement, I have some of the original theatrical posters as well as an Elven Warrior, Rohan and Sauron sections. Some sections are still a work in progress and I have some room to hopefully grow the collection a little over the next two years. After seeing Elessar’s collection, ( which we really enjoyed viewing ), he invited me to share our collection. I thought it would be a good idea to share how we have celebrated Middle-earth. I hope you enjoy what we’ve done.
Sean Robinson has two passions that have recently found their way together in a most amazing fashion. Sean discovered his passion for pottery in 2007 – a hobby that sprang from his love of several different arts. He is also a huge fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien – a love, I think, we can all appreciate. Working from his pottery studio in Jamestown, NC, Sean spends his free time crafting many fine objects.
As some of you remember a while back I decided to share 
