Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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Hey everyone,

Just starting this thread because my weta Dwalins axes and Balins mace arrived today and I'm going to upload some pics of them later on today and everyone can get a better look at them :)

They are awesome but I think they are overpriced considering the materials used to make them and the feel they have when holding them in our hands. Aesthetically pleasing yes, but the materials and replication of them could have been a lot better after paying more than $500 for the both of them.

Pictures coming soon,

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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[quote=""Khal1993""]I think they are overpriced considering the materials used to make them and the feel they have when holding them in our hands.[/quote]

This is precisely what I was afraid of. :|

Though this is just a preliminary review on your part, I appreciate your honesty, Khal. The tendency when spending so much money on something that you end up somehwat disappointed in often results in covering up that fact in order to make yourself feel better about the e xp ense. I'm glad that's not the case here and you're telling us how you feel.
Last edited by Valkrist on Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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Ahh, seeing pics of the piece in hand tell me this is one of those film props (or something made out of the same thing by the same people who made the thing from the same molds as the real thing) that's kinda low-quality compared to e xp ectations.

I'll just talk about the mace, since I try to ignore the axes at all times because the design just puts me off- this is a piece that would look absolutely fine on film. It would even look great in closeups, most of which would not focus on it or stay on it for long. But when it's not on the screen, it turns mundane and you can suddenly see every wart and imperfection and it loses its magic.

I guess there are two extremes a maker can go to when reproducing something. They can go all the way to one end of the spectrum and idealize the heck out of it, change materials, tooling, even change the design, only reproducing the prop in spirit (and not putting any weathering on it, ick!). Or they can go in the other direction and reproduce the original prop as closely as possible, warts and all, to make effectively a duplicate piece. This is going to make one part of the market, a very niche part, absolutely happy. But the rest of consumers get shafted when they see the material it's made from, the paint, the cast-in-plastic nature of it.

I'm sad that this turned out to be the case with the replicas, Khal- on the plus side, they do look like they'd be great on a display.

EDIT: However, I do believe they are fully worth the cost to buy them. There is a very present prestige factor of having the maker of the original also make the reproduction, and the time of those original makers is very valuable, and I don't think you overpaid a cent for these.
Last edited by Jamanticus on Mon Oct 08, 2012 3:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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[quote=""Jamanticus""]
EDIT: However, I do believe they are fully worth the cost to buy them. There is a very present prestige factor of having the maker of the original also make the reproduction, and the time of those original makers is very valuable.[/quote]

I can't speak directly about these items but on the topic of the Ring of Barahir, I see nothing prestigious about paying more for a less accurate and less "precious" (metal) piece just because it was made by the movie makers.

It really leads me to ask the question, "how accurate are these really to the movie?" if all their other items have been less accurate than noble jewelry wise. On the topic of swords, the only thing we have really seen from Weta is from Peter Lyon and that has of course been perfect.

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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[quote=""Valkrist""]Khal, you mislabelled your posts with the pictures, so I edit them to correct it. I agree with Rev. The axes look like toys.[/quote]

Happy that you are happy Khal, at least for adding to your collection :) (but the price!!!!)

Val and I have long been on the same page about these rubberized versions...you took the word right out of my mouth. Toys. :P

It is too bad UC is not making them, or better still, as Rev mentioned, Windlass. In which case I would probably spring for Balin's mace. I like the look of it.

Well said, Jamanticus....we, the [financial] middle class collectors are indeed the losers with these cheapened props. :(

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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On the rings side, nowhere in their descriptions is it stated how accurate they are, though I agree, Weta should be the ones making the absolutely accurate replicas of these things as the ultimate version of them, like Peter Lyon's MSSC. I also imagine the rings are not even crafted in NZ, probably somewhere in Asia for lower costs, like their environments. If the original maker, Jasmine Watson,were making Barahir's ring and Nenya like Jens Hansen and the One Ring, I assure you they would be dead-on.

For the urethane weapons, all descriptions say that they were made from the same moulds as the film props. You are right though, nowhere in those weapon descriptions does it say that the people who made the originals also are making the reproductions, I apologize for that and rescind my prestige statement.
Last edited by Jamanticus on Mon Oct 08, 2012 3:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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Oh, no worries! I didn't mean to come off as combative and I certainly wasn't disagreeing with your "some people" statement. You are right, for some people it is indeed prestigious to have the same molded weapons, no matter the materials. Trust me, some people pay thousands of dollars to get their hands on the rubber (not hard plastic, literally bendable) lightsabers from the Star Wars movies.

Heck, I myself take pride in my inner tunic fabric on my Anakin costume is the same exact fabric used in ROTS. I got it from the same company as the costume designer.

Nonetheless, my statement was about how I don't see how THOSE people could find it prestigious to pay top dollar for REPLICAS made of plastic at that high cost. Now, I am definitely NOT accusing Khal of this, he is just a true completion-ist when it comes to LOTR collecting and I have plenty of respect for him!

Re: Balins Mace & Dwalins Axes

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For the price and quality.
:p uker: :p uker: :p uker:
Looks like my collection won't be getting much bigger.
"and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut stones, to work in wood, and engage in all kinds of craftsmanship"
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