Autumn had finally arrived in northern California when I boarded a plane to head into spring on the other side of the planet in New Zealand. To say I wasn’t frightened would be a lie. I felt very much like Frodo heading out into the wide world, for I was about to be away from my family and my continent for longer than I ever had. The weather in Wellington had been pleasant until I arrived, or so I’m told, and as more and more cold rainstorms blew into the bay off the Pacific, my co-workers at Weta Workshop teased that I had brought winter with me to their beautiful island nation.
The flight from Auckland to Wellington, NZ
Like most fans of the TheLord of the Rings films, I had long dreamed of visiting New Zealand and seeing as much of its Middle-earth landscape as I could. However, also like most fans, the cost of such an adventure always held me back. As such, if someone had told me that I would have gone to Aotearoa twice in 2015, I would’ve thought they were as full of tall tales as old mad Baggins! But step out my front door I did, each time with a little nudge.
Fellow Ringer The Hutt is back with their review of the last of the Extended Editions from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy. By now I would venture to guess many of you have had a chance to get your copy and have seen what has been added to this pretty awesome film. If you’re living outside the United States and are getting the UK DVD release then you will want to make sure you listen to how impressed The Hutt was with this final release.
One of the awesome Weta pieces from Comic-Con 2015 is now available to order. If you enjoyed the look Azog took in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, or if you’re like me and just want more Azog, then this item is something you and I will both be adding to our collections. Azog: Commander of Legions is now up for Pre-order. The statue captures Azog with all his really cool armor and that new sword he implanted in his arm after The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The new Azog statue has an edition size of just 1000 pieces world-wide, and given the success of the first Azog statue I wouldn’t wait to order this one. The price tag is $349 and will be shipping in the first quarter of next year.
We’re just a little over a month away from the final of The Hobbit Trilogy. That means, as we’ve previously gotten with all the Middle-earth films, an extended edition, which tends to be the most desired version for so many of us. As has also been the case with all the other films we get a great gift set to go with each film. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is no different and once again our friends at Weta Workshop have been tasked with creating a great looking statue for the set. This statue captures Bilbo and Gandalf post battle as they reflect on what’s been won and lost. You canpre-order the gift setwith the 3D edition of the final film right now from Amazon for $79 and if it is cheaper when it ships you get it for that price through Amazon.
Weta Workshop is at it again! This time they’re wowing fans on the East Coast with the goodies they brought with them to New York Comic-Con. This event brought us several new items from both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. From The Hobbit Trilogy we got an amazing Smaug bust it is a hugely detailed piece giving fans a super upclose look at him without being turned to ash. You can order Smaug right now for $399 with it shipping in Dec/Jan. Also up for order and a new piece from NYCC is one of the cooler looking Orcs in this set of films Yazneg. Like the other Orcs he has that brutal looking skirt of Dwarf faces. You can also pre-order him right now for $279 with him arriving in Dec/Jan. The final Hobbit item is one that debut at Comic-Con this past July. Ori the Dwarf comes to fans with an edition size of only 500 pieces and with a price of $249 he is sure to sell fast. He’s in-stock, so make sure to get your order in now.
The newest member of Thorin’s Company to join our collections is the very funny Dori the Dwarf. Dori made his debut this past July at Comic-Con and last week went up for order. Dori is sculpted by Lindsey Crummett who as you know has turned out some truly amazing Middle-earth pieces. You can get this piece right now as he’s in-stock for $249, and with an edition size of only 1000 pieces you may not want to wait too long.
