Greetings from the West (California)

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Howdy everyone. My name is Ron and I am a collectoroholic. Thanks for letting me join the forum! I've been creeping here for a couple of months now and it's great to finally be signed up. I've been looking for a forum that focuses more on Hobbit/LOTR items and I'm not sure how I only just found this place recently but I'm glad I did😀.
I'm actually way late to the Tolkien collecting party only just having started in 2017 with my first piece being UC Anduril. Before that I was mainly a Star Wars replica prop collector. I would have loved to have started back in 2003 when UC began the line but I didn't exactly have the disposable income that I do now. It wasn't until about a decade later that I decided I was ready to start collecting and I began with Star Wars props, specifically Master Replicas lightsaber hilts. Now by that point Master Replicas was no longer in business (though they're back now but I don't think they have the Star Wars license anymore) so the hilts were now harder to find or way too expensive to buy. Sadly these things I dreamed about since I was a child were out of my reach again. However, it turned out to be a blessing as I soon after discovered fan-made custom replica props that were more accurate and to me more faithful to the original film used props than the licensed ones were. I would never go back to licensed props again. So fast forward a couple of years and I decided it was time to begin collecting LOTR swords. Bearing in mind my experience with Star Wars props, I didn't even bother looking at United Cutlery swords as I no longer wanted anything licensed; a decision I came to regret. So I started searching for custom fan made swords. Accuracy is my number one priority when buying a replica and while there were some nice ones out there, none were accurate enough for me or they were well out of my budget as I discovered most custom swords are. So I came back to the UC line to give a second look starting with Anduril. The sword looked great, was super accurate, and had great reviews. So I bought it not sure how much I would like it but one thing I remembered from reading reviews and watching videos was that you don't realize how great it is until you hold it in your hands. When it arrived and I opened it, I had the same look on my face that Aragorn had when he first held it...just awe-struck. I could not believe a licensed product could be this nice at this price. I was very happy indeed.

Originally I only wanted Anduril. But then it starts..., "Hmmm, I always liked those Legolas fighting knives. Maybe I'll just get those and that's it" "Oh, someone is selling the Gimli battle axe on ebay? Well, I need to have it to go along with the sword and knives of course. Which of course means I'll need Glamdring too." "And I have to also have Sting to almost complete the Fellowship. Okay that's it" "Wait, there's a Hobbit line too?! Well, I gotta have Orcrist at least!" "Sting WITHOUT the Elvish writing? Yeah I better have it to fit the timeline." "Fighting knives of Tauriel? Was she even in the book??? Dah, whatever, I'll take'em!".

And here I am about 30 pieces in and completely hooked😁. Not all the items have been great. Gandalf's white staff was very disappointing (glad to see they're trying it again and from what I understand, it will be one piece). But other than that and a couple of others, they've mostly been very nice. I still have a lot of catching up to do as I missed out on a lot of great pieces. But it looks like I arrived at a good time as it seems like they're reissuing some of those older pieces as well as adding newer ones. Hopefully this keeps up. The top of my wish list is, like I'm sure a lot of you, the Lothlórien bow. My reissue wish list would be the Witch-king sword and the Boromir sword. Other than, scabbards, scabbards, and more scabbards.

So that's pretty much it. Other things I like that I'd love to be able to collect: cars, guitars, firearms. But I'm sticking to stuff I can afford for now :). Those Weta statues are lovely too but I just don't have the space for it.

I also belong to RPF and Rebel Armory forums. Haven't joined Flame of Udun yet bet I eventually will. I find this forum easier to navigate and more focused on UC. I apologize from now if I ask a lot of questions or get post happy. You guys help so much with figuring this stuff out. Thanks again.

Ron

EDIT: I'm not sure how those smiley faces got so big but I promise I'll never use them again lol.
Last edited by Ronin on Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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Welcome to the forums!

Always nice to have a "new face" around that enjoys the thrills of collecting! I must say, you have quite a collection of 30 pieces and have only been collecting for a couple years!!! Very impressive. Its also good to hear that people are entering the collecting world, no matter "how late in the game" it may seem, those new collectors are helping keep the factories running and interests peaked, and why we might get some new pieces coming out.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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BladeCollector wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 4:56 am Welcome to the forums!

Always nice to have a "new face" around that enjoys the thrills of collecting! I must say, you have quite a collection of 30 pieces and have only been collecting for a couple years!!! Very impressive. Its also good to hear that people are entering the collecting world, no matter "how late in the game" it may seem, those new collectors are helping keep the factories running and interests peaked, and why we might get some new pieces coming out.
Thanks, BladeCollector! Yeah, I got very lucky. In 2017, there were still quite a few Hobbit swords and props on sale and discounted at Budk. And then of course, they always have a good stock of the main LOTR swords. Also got very lucky finding a Gimli Battle Axe and Anduril scabbard on ebay at that time. Right now is when it's gotten harder to find some of those rarer pieces like the helms for example. Would love to have those. But yeah, so far I'm very happy.
Last edited by Ronin on Mon Mar 25, 2019 5:44 am, edited 2 times in total.

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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Hi Ronin, and welcome to our little corner of the internet.

We may be smaller and quieter than places like Flame of Udun or RPF, but it's that sense of intimacy and slower pace that makes UCForums all the more special in our eyes. ;)

I'll echo what Bladecollector said in that it is very impressive that you've amassed such a large collection in so little time. Nicely done! We used to have a couple of members that were heavily into the lightsabre replicas but sadly they no longer post.

If you need help hunting down particular UC pieces you're still missing, let me know. People often sell them locally and I regularly scour the ads to see what's available. If I see a particular one that you are looking for, I can alert you and we can work something out. :thumbs_up

Happy posting! :cheers:
This Space for Rent

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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Valkrist wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 6:20 am Hi Ronin, and welcome to our little corner of the internet.

We may be smaller and quieter than places like Flame of Udun or RPF, but it's that sense of intimacy and slower pace that makes UCForums all the more special in our eyes. ;)

I'll echo what Bladecollector said in that it is very impressive that you've amassed such a large collection in so little time. Nicely done! We used to have a couple of members that were heavily into the lightsabre replicas but sadly they no longer post.

If you need help hunting down particular UC pieces you're still missing, let me know. People often sell them locally and I regularly scour the ads to see what's available. If I see a particular one that you are looking for, I can alert you and we can work something out. :thumbs_up

Happy posting! :cheers:
Thank you, Valkrist! By the way, love your avatar haha.

I really appreciate the offer. That's what I liked about this forum. Not too many active members but the ones that are here are very dedicated. Feels like you're all a group of friends.

Yeah, like I said I was very lucky in that many items were still available at the time and heavily discounted. I'm really shocked at just how many replicas UC has made and is still making, some of them relatively obscure which is really great. Like Guthwine for example. Who would've thought it would have ever been done and here we are 17 years later. I almost jumped on Indy's run but thanks to you guys here and Kit Rae, I found out UC was making their version finally. So I'll be waiting for that one. Although I wish like Indy they were also making the scabbard.

But yeah, Val I'll definitely let you know!
Last edited by Ronin on Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:32 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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Buckeye wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:02 pm Welcome to the UCF, Ronin!
Thanks, Buckeye! Happy to be here :).

Was going to ask you...I saw that Budk has relisted Gandalf's pipe staff which hopefully means UC is bringing it back. I think I read that you made tobacco pouches for it? Are you still making them by chance? I'm sure you guys saw that Weta had a sale going on over the weekend. I almost nabbed their version of the staff but once again thanks to you guys I learned the UC staff is more accurate. It just needs that pouch.

Re: Greetings from the West (California)

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Ronin wrote:
Buckeye wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:02 pm Welcome to the UCF, Ronin!
Thanks, Buckeye! Happy to be here :).

Was going to ask you...I saw that Budk has relisted Gandalf's pipe staff which hopefully means UC is bringing it back. I think I read that you made tobacco pouches for it? Are you still making them by chance? I'm sure you guys saw that Weta had a sale going on over the weekend. I almost nabbed their version of the staff but once again thanks to you guys I learned the UC staff is more accurate. It just needs that pouch.
Valkrist wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:14 pm I too am waiting for Buckeye to do a run of those nice pouches. I've already pestered her enough, however, so now I must sit on my hands and wait until she has time... lol. :laugh:
Yes, I'm still planning to do a batch of tobacco pouches. Life interfered . . . in more ways than I ever anticipated. I'm embarrassed to realize that I was working on my tobacco pouch way back in June. :(

I've got the materials and a decent prototype, but I had hoped to make some modifications based on Kit's photos of his Weta tobacco pouch. Even if I go with my original design, I will make some. For those who are willing to give my humble efforts a home in their collections I will do my best to render pouches that won't disappoint.

Val, until Ronin's post this evening, I think you were the only one who actually requested to be on my short list. My thanks to you both.

Let me think about a price (which I never settled on) and see about getting the pouches made.

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

~~ Thorin Oakenshield
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