Is it me, or did they give them prosthetic hands too? Some of their hands look unusually large and thick to be their own. I guess the Hobbits have the feet, while the Dwarves have the hands.

[quote=""swordsicle""]Is it me, or did they give them prosthetic hands too? Some of their hands look unusually large and thick to be their own. I guess the Hobbits have the feet, while the Dwarves have the hands.[/quote]


Yes I believe they do. I think its to bulk them out and make them look bigger than what they are

[quote=""swordsicle""]I guess the Hobbits have the feet, while the Dwarves have the hands.[/quote]

HA, the dwarves have prosthetic feet as well.

Wouldn't they just be wearing shoes or boots?

They don't wear them all the time.

Spectacular new production log from PJ, with a wondrous appearance at the very end!

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 7&comments

That is so awesome, the dwarfs look great now seeing them in action and speaking and moving around... they are going to be great.

GREAT surprise at the end , even tho I figured what was going on at the very beginning!

Not to be pedantic but... it's DWARVES, not dwarfs!

i know its supposed to be dwarves, but my spell check likes dwarfs!!

Bah.

Sorry, but it annoys me because Tolkien specifically changed the word for his novels in order to throw out preconceptions. He also made sure it was 'elves' and not 'elfs.'

[quote=""Valkrist""]Bah.

Sorry, but it annoys me because Tolkien specifically changed the word for his novels in order to throw out preconceptions. He also made sure it was 'elves' and not 'elfs.'[/quote]


I've become so used to saying DWARVES now that its the only way I spell it I keep getting wrong for it as well

It makes more sense for it to be dwarves. We have knife and then we have knives, not knifes. Elves, not elfs, but anyway


Did everyone see the facebook clip?

A new composite pic is up, affording us a new look at a calmer Thorin. Sadly, no new angles of Orcrist.

http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/ ... WF-007.jpg

[quote=""Valkrist""]A couple of details I missed on the smaller versions of those pictures: Bombur's necklace is actually a braid of his hair, and his weapon is a ladle! Also, Kili has a shortbow on his back.[/quote]
I had mentioned many days back as to whether anyone was looking at close ups of these pics.
I noticed all that you mentioned here Val, and your comments that you've finally caught these details has me wondering how many critiques have been stated at quick glances at these characters.

I believe that another group of individuals would have given us completely different renditions of these dwarves (and their weapons), and that we would all be saying similar things about likes and dislikes.

I also said I was chomping at the bit to see the entire troupe together (photoshopped or not), the visualizations I had in my head imagining them together has proven to be a lot of what I had e xp ected;

Kili's humaness is reduced to very young dwarf yet to live long enough to have all the hair, beard, and stout body (I can see him becoming like the others in time).

Overall I'm pleased with the troupe, their differences, and the diversity of weapons.

Does Orcrist look like a miracle grow Sting on steroids? Yeah I guess it does, but I am pleased that it doesn't look too much like a Glamdring twin.
By itself, I have to say it's the most beautiful piece yet, like a hybrid version of the best of all the pieces combined.

More detail shots of Orcrist will be needed to make a final determination of it. Personally I see a straight axis with one side having a very subtle leaf shape and the leading edge facing us having a very prominent leaf curve. Double edged is my guess. Definitely at the top of my purchase list for sure. I admit my very first thought was; "I'd love a MSSC version of that baby".
If I was reading ed209 correctly, he's already placing his order, lol.

The third video blog has really gotten me excited for these Dwarves. They look great! it was nice to see Hugo and Cate in it as well

Hope they do a publicity photo just for Orcrist by itself I wanna see what it looks like properly

I'm surprised no one's commented yet on Thorin's pre-Orcrist axe. That looks very dwarven to me. Those hard angles and sharp point as opposed to the more traditional curve of an axe blade make the weapon seem exceptionally brutal to me.

Yeah Thrand, I'm kinda kicking myself for missing such obvious details, even if the original images were a bit smaller. However, my appraisal of the dwarves was always positive to begin with, so for my part, nothing's changed. I think most were just judging on the overall package.

[quote=""Valkrist""]I'm surprised no one's commented yet on Thorin's pre-Orcrist axe. That looks very dwarven to me. Those hard angles and sharp point as opposed to the more traditional curve of an axe blade make the weapon seem exceptionally brutal to me.[/quote]

It's exceptionally brutal and quite effective, but personally, I'm not crazy
about its design; it's too much like an arrow-head to me. (I don't hate it, far
from that!) Yet Sedhal likes this one a lot, so I guess we split ways again.

We'll see.

Thorin also has a sword there, am I correct? I'm quite interested in that, even
though I fear it might have the "whatever" effect like the first three swords.

We'll see.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Yeah Thrand, I'm kinda kicking myself for missing such obvious details, even if the original images were a bit smaller.[/quote]

[quote=""Valkrist""]Bombur's necklace is actually a braid of his hair[/quote]

I think that's his beard!

We'll see.



By the way, was there a discussion here about Bifur and an axe embedded in
his forehead (I'm too lazy to look up again)?

Ed, I don't see a sword on Thorin but I could be wrong. If you are referring to what's just below his right hand, it looks like some belt attachment or pouch. If you are referring to his left and just under the axe, that's actually Balin's sword (the dwarf next to him on the left.)

Bombur's braid: I thought it might be his beard also, but he seems to be beardless unless the braid comes from the sides of his cheeks and not the chin (which is hairless.) It could also be the two ends of his moustache braided together in the middle. Now that would be epic!

Bifur's forehead: yet another weird detail missed. No, there has been no discussion here to my knowledge, except that his hair is weird and he's probably one of the least liked appearance-wise. If that truly is the broken-off end of a small axe or hatchet, then it's certainly a conversation piece and source for major speculation. For one, it is clearly an invention of the movie team versus the book, but I don't mind little personal touches like this. Hard to fathom how Bifur could bear to walk around like that, but it could be one of those wounds where it's determined that removing the weapon tip would actually kill him, so they decided to leave it in. I'm sure we'll get some e xp osition on that oddity in the movie. I can just see Bilbo gaping at that thing and thinking: "Wow, these dwarves are some tough hombres!"

[quote=""Valkrist""]Ed, I don't see a sword on Thorin but I could be wrong. If you are referring to what's just below his right hand, it looks like some belt attachment or pouch.[/quote]

I could be wrong too. I took a few minutes to sketch what my two eyes see
in that pic. Maybe I'm right, and maybe I just made a fool of myself, but this
is "edvision" disassembled:



Additionally, what is this? Sedhal and me were wondering about it today:



[quote=""Valkrist""]Bombur's braid: I thought it might be his beard also, but he seems to be beardless unless the braid comes from the sides of his cheeks and not the chin (which is hairless.)[/quote]

I bet it's the beard from the sides of his cheeks, but I'll leave the
investigation to someone else. These swords are taking all my energy.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Bifur's forehead: yet another weird detail missed. (...) If that truly is the broken-off end of a small axe or hatchet, then it's certainly a conversation piece and source for major speculation. For one, it is clearly an invention of the movie team versus the book, but I don't mind little personal touches like this. Hard to fathom how Bifur could bear to walk around like that, but it could be one of those wounds where it's determined that removing the weapon tip would actually kill him, so they decided to leave it in.[/quote]

No wonder to see something like this from someone who filmed "Braindead."
But it's *a bit* too much, if you ask me. It's not as if he received a bullet in
his head, it's a damn *axe*, and to be stuck so firmly, it would have to be
quite deep in his brain.

"He's still twitchin' cause he's got mah axe embedded in his nervous system!"

—Anachronistic comment from Gimli in TTT:EE.

Hmmm... there's something to be said for Edvision. I see now what you're referring to and it is a distinct possibility with one caveat: at that angle, the length of the weapon should be seen protruding behind and below Thorin, and in between him and the dwarf to his right, but there's nothing there. So, it's either not a sword; it's a weapon of very short length; something else altogether; or the angle going backward is more horizontal than it looks.

At any rate, if it were the same sword shown in the shot with PJ and Thorin, it seems that for sure it should be appearing behind him and by his leg. Then again, the pics have been so digitally retouched that it's hard to tell what is going on in some instances.

My next question is, what the heck is that guy wearing on his head to the left in those two pictures?

[quote=""Valkrist""]My next question is, what the heck is that guy wearing on his head to the left in those two pictures? [/quote]
It's a braid on the back of his head.
You can see it near the end of this video.(Which, if you haven't seen it, has a very pleasant surprise at it's very end).

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 7&comments

Concerning Bifur's ax in head; It's rare, but some people can function normally with such objects imbedded in their brain. Check out You Tube for some real life stories. I'm remembering one guy who recently had an eight inch knife in his skull and was fine. X-ray had all the doctors scratching their heads.

[quote=""Thranduil""](...) this video.(Which, if you haven't seen it, has a very pleasant surprise at it's very end).

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 7&comments[/quote]

Thanks for sharing, man! Awesome video!

It almost seems like the same vid we've been discussing and analyzing screenshots of!

(Shhh!...)

I just got a look through the Weta prop pix for all the Dwarves. I can't talk about them, but I'll just say, there are some very cool weapons, and many more than what you see in the publicity pix released thus far. Orcrist is definitely my favorite, as are Kili and Fili's weapons. Gloin's axe should look familiar...

Hey Kit, thanks for stopping by, its been far too long.

Maybe you will be in charge of the production of some Hobbit weapons for us collectors!

Funny you should mention Orcrist being your favorite, I think that weapon has split the forums in half with some on the liking it side and others on the, I don't want to say hating it side, but maybe not what they were e xp ecting/wanting side.

I wasn't a big fan of Kili and Fili's weapons and first, I thought they were a bit orc-ish, but when I saw the picture of all the dwarves together, I think they fit in with the over all them.

I know you are a busy man, but these forums always welcome your input!

[quote=""Nasnandos""]I just got a look through the Weta prop pix for all the Dwarves. I can't talk about them, but I'll just say, there are some very cool weapons, and many more than what you see in the publicity pix released thus far. Orcrist is definitely my favorite, as are Kili and Fili's weapons. Gloin's axe should look familiar...[/quote]

So is this a confirmation that UC will be doing swords from the Hobbit?

[quote=""Nasnandos""](...) there are some very cool weapons, and many more than what you see in the publicity pix released thus far. Orcrist is definitely my favorite, as are Kili and Fili's weapons.[/quote]

Hmm. For me, this isn't quite helpful, as it can mean two (opposite) things:

If the remaining weapons are "very cool" like Orcrist, that should brighten
everybody's day. However, if they're as ugly as those Fili meat-cleavers
or/and lame as Kili's... whatever that is, then we're (ultimate collectors) in
trouble.

For now, I'll remain cautious with my emotions.

[quote=""N2darkness""]So is this a confirmation that UC will be doing swords from the Hobbit? [/quote]

I'm afraid so. But hey, it was e xp ected. What an irony: we have the almighty
Albion re-creating that crap from "Conan 3D," and we have United Cutlery re-
creating the amazing "LOTR" somewhere in the wastelands of China. I'd give
anything for a switch.

Still, as I'm such a sucker for these blades, I guess it's better to have UC's
display pieces (with all their imperfections due to mass production) than
nothing.

I thought Kit didn't work for UC anymore.

KRDS does work for several clients, including UC. I was a full time employee for UC in the 90's and through the LOTR years, but I have been working with them and the various owners for over 25 years. I can't say who I am working with on The Hobbit replicas at this point, I just thought I would post some info since we have a thread going here discussing the pix PJ has released.

Considering what they were going to do with the Dwarves the the first time around with the Hobbit - all looking the same with the same style axes - I am very happy Pete is in charge now.

He is being consistent with what he has already established for the Dwarves, while at the same time giving each character's weapons a unique look, as if they came from various Dwarven cultural backgrounds, from different eras, but still distinctly Dwarven. Most retain that angular, geometric styling of the PJ Middle earth culture. Some very unique looking sword, axes, maces, and other weapons/tools. A few are not going to be replica worthy, but I like almost all of what I have seen. If you never liked the look of the Dwarven weapons from PJ's films, you are out of luck here.

If you look at all the events occurring at the time of the Hobbit, from the book, the LOTR appendices, The Silmarillion, Lost Tales, and a few other Tolkien works, you will get an idea of all the other stuff that we will see. Three different cultures of Elves, Sauron's forces in Dol Guldur, the Istari, et cetera. I have not seen all of those props, just a few and some concept art. The Elven weapons are very consistent with what we have already seen in LOTR. I am really happy with that stuff, and hope to be able to see replicas come to life for a few of those items. Hopefully a lot of them. The Orcish weapons are also consistent with the look established, though there was never much interest in replicating those from LOTR.

I hope there's a scene of Sauron's sword laying around in Dol Guldur, so that we can finally get a replica of it!

[quote=""Nasnandos""]KRDS does work for several clients, including UC. I was a full time employee for UC in the 90's and through the LOTR years, but I have been working with them and the various owners for over 25 years. I can't say who I am working with on The Hobbit replicas at this point, I just thought I would post some info since we have a thread going here discussing the pix PJ has released.

Considering what they were going to do with the Dwarves the the first time around with the Hobbit - all looking the same with the same style axes - I am very happy Pete is in charge now.

He is being consistent with what he has already established for the Dwarves, while at the same time giving each character's weapons a unique look, as if they came from various Dwarven cultural backgrounds, from different eras, but still distinctly Dwarven. Most retain that angular, geometric styling of the PJ Middle earth culture. Some very unique looking sword, axes, maces, and other weapons/tools. A few are not going to be replica worthy, but I like almost all of what I have seen. If you never liked the look of the Dwarven weapons from PJ's films, you are out of luck here.

If you look at all the events occurring at the time of the Hobbit, from the book, the LOTR appendices, The Silmarillion, Lost Tales, and a few other Tolkien works, you will get an idea of all the other stuff that we will see. Three different cultures of Elves, Souron's forces in Dol Guldur, the Istari, et cetera. I have not seen all of those props, just a few and some concept art. The Elven weapons are very consistent with what we have already seen in LOTR. I am really happy with that stuff, and hope to be able to see replicas come to life for a few of those items. Hopefully a lot of them. The Orcish weapons are also consistent with the look established, though there was never much interest in replicating those from LOTR.[/quote]

Wow, that's very interesting and exciting! Thanks as always for your insights, Kit!

I'm liking the sound of this. Just don't pour too many The Hobbit weapons down our throats, I'm running out of space and you know I'll be buying them anyway!

[quote=""Fingolfin""]I'm liking the sound of this. Just don't pour too many The Hobbit weapons down our throats, I'm running out of space and you know I'll be buying them anyway! [/quote]

I'm right there with you!

[quote=""N2darkness""]I'm right there with you! [/quote]

Perhaps you should mock up another custom sword display, one that goes on the ceiling this time! I may be needing one of those if there's this many weapons to buy!

Good news, and thanks for clearing that up somewhat, Kit.

You will notice that our honoured guest does not confirm whether or not these will be made by UC (because he can't.) So Ed, there is hope yet.

I also agree with others in feeling that I'm going to be very selective about which replicas I buy. Money and space are definitely a concern these days.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Good news, and thanks for clearing that up somewhat, Kit.

You will notice that our honoured guest does not confirm whether or not these will be made by UC (because he can't.) So Ed, there is hope yet.

I also agree with others in feeling that I'm going to be very selective about which replicas I buy. Money and space are definitely a concern these days. [/quote]

I know exactly what you mean, the only for sure items I'm interested in is Orcrist and perhaps Gandalf's staff.

TORN did a panel at Comic-Con. See it here: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/07 ... ering-net/

There wasn't too much revealed that we don't already know. One thing I flat-out laughed at was how much these guys kiss Weta's, and the whole PJ production's, collective butt. Now, don't get me wrong. Those entities are certainly deserving of a whole lotta kissin. However, the TORN staffers both said they did not think the publicity shot of Thorin looked like a Klingon. Oh please! That shot was totally Klingon. But they said, oh no, they couldn't really see the comparison...not enough brow ridges, not enough eye shadow, etc. They apparently have the rare ability I once heard about in a movie, the ability to pick gnat droppings out of pepper.

There was also the suggestion, unconfirmed, that the thing embedded in Bifur's (?) head is not a weapon, but a mining tool.

They also joked about a scene of Legolas standing under a waterfall, washing his hair. I got a good laugh out of that.

[quote=""N2darkness""]I know exactly what you mean, the only for sure items I'm interested in is Orcrist and perhaps Gandalf's staff.[/quote]

Yep, Orcrist and the Grey's staff for sure. I'm intrigued at the possibility of new elven weapons, maybe Thranduil's sword (since we will never get Haldir's,) and perhaps Bard's bow or sword. Dwalin's warhammer looks awesome, but like Sauron's mace, they may not bother due to size and weight. However, that's about it for me.

[quote=""Valkrist""]I also agree with others in feeling that I'm going to be very selective about which replicas I buy. Money and space are definitely a concern these days. [/quote]
I've always felt the dwarf end of my display plans was going to be lagging, so some of these new weapons change that.
Orcrist is a total gimme, and I can squeeze that in.

Money and space definitely a concern for many of us; So true, so true.

[quote=""MorgulMike""]I hope there's a scene of Sauron's sword laying around in Dol Guldur, so that we can finally get a replica of it! [/quote]
Let's hope. I would love it if the Sauron appeared in armor with the mace again, just to have an excuse to finally make it, but I have no idea in what form or to what extent we will see him yet.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]I'm liking the sound of this. Just don't pour too many The Hobbit weapons down our throats, I'm running out of space and you know I'll be buying them anyway! [/quote]
That will all be up to the license holder. I recommend what I think should be made and when, but they make the final choices. I presume at least half of the sales will be in the US, but our current leadership and congress here have basically destroyed our economy, with more of the same to come. With available dollars for collectors to use to buy these items small, I don't think there will be an overwhelming number different items made at any one time. But, the window of opportunity to get these on the market while the films remain in peoples minds is only a few years, so...

[quote=""Valkrist""]
You will notice that our honoured guest does not confirm whether or not these will be made by UC (because he can't.) So Ed, there is hope yet.
[/quote]
All I will say is that I'm pretty sure the two options we had in the past to buy replicas from will likely be the same...with less restrictions. Hopefully the third, more recent option will be there too. PJ holds all the cards now, so I suspect Weta's Peter Lyon limited edition custom versions will be out there for those that want the real thing.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Yep, Orcrist and the Grey's staff for sure.[/quote]
Those are the first two on my list.


[quote=""Valkrist""]I'm intrigued at the possibility of new elven weapons, maybe Thranduil's sword (since we will never get Haldir's,)[/quote]
Won't we?

Ah, Kit... you are clever.

So, if I may conjecture upon your comments, United Cutlery, Noble Collection, and Weta itself will likely hold the licenses and produce the replicas and mastersmith versions respectively.

I'm both intriguided and confused by your comment about Haldir's sword. I figured we would never see it now since it was part of the LOTR license, which has now reverted back to New Line. All I can infer from your teaser is that a) enough interest may be generated from these new movies that the LOTR license will be reacquired and thus me may yet see Haldir's sword reproduced, or b) Haldir will make an appearance in The Hobbit, therefore bringing his sword under the new license.

I'm doubtful of option B because I think by now we would have had news that Craig Parker (Haldir) was going to be in these movies. PJ could be keeping it as a surprise, of course. When or why would he appear? The only logical place is as an escort to Galadriel to the White Council meeting, and possibly later during the Dol Guldur attack. Exciting? Could be.

Wow, thanks for all the insight to some of the behind the scenes action. Can't wait to see some actual props and weapons and it looks as your looking forward to it as much as we are.

Val, I obviously am not at liberty to confirm or deny any of what you surmised regarding Haldir...I'll just say, never say never regarding that sword. I kept that prop for a reason.

As far as an LOTR only license...I think WB changed their minds on that. It is also safe to assume that any LOTR items that may reappear in the Hobbit films would be open to re release (if they had already been made as a replica), or to be replicated as new items. You all know several LOTR characters have been announced and confirmed as returning for TH. I don't know anything more past what has been announced...well, I know of one other. I'll just say I was surprised at a few of the props I saw, which led me to draw a few conclusions about characters that may be returning and storylines. One prop has me completely baffled because it should not be in TH, and definitely not used by the character who's name was assigned to it in the materials I saw. I think Pete has a few surprises in store for us.

Here's a report from TORN that PJ and Co have returned to NZ to resume filming: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/07 ... obbit-set/

Should we assume that all of Christopher Lee's scenes are now filmed? I hope so. I hate to be morbid or to appear disrespectful, which I do not intend to be, but if one of your stars is 90 years old, you'd best film all of his scenes at once, in case he's not still around later when you might want to do another round. Really, it's a miracle that Lee has lasted through all the obstacles that led to the new movie, and is still working.

Moving to another topic, I was watching bits of ROTK EE a bit ago, and having watched the TORN Comic-Con panel earlier with its speculation about flashback scenes of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, I started wondering again about what extra bits PJ might be filming for LOTR. As you'll recall, one of his crew, Michael Pellerin, said some time back that some extra work for LOTR was to be done during Hobbit production. So now I'm wondering if we might get a few brief inset scenes of Sauron's attack on Erebor, Laketown, and Lorien during the War of the Ring. I know that most people are not wanting to add to ROTK's length, but that problem is easily solved by removing most of the additional Paths of the Dead material in the current EE.

Kit, I know you can only reveal so much. Trust me, I am grateful for your insights and comments, and excited for what's coming down the line.

On the topic of Haldir, all I can say is if that sword ever gets replicated, you've got yourself at least one buyer right here.

Your last comment, the one about the prop (weapon?) that should not be in the movie, and not in the hands of the character you read it was assigned to is sure to set this forum on fire with speculation now. I know PJ is not above changing some things. I just hope it all makes sense in the end.

I do wonder what Radagast's staff will look like though.

Olorin, I do hope you are right, and it would make sense. Sir Lee has earned his break, and I applaud him for taking the time to be in this movie for his fans. There could never be another Saruman.

I'm excited to see scenes involving the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, and very curious about what they might add to LOTR. Of course, that comment was made long ago, and things may have changed. I'll wait for confirmation before getting too excited (not excited about buying yet another version of those movies though!)

Kit, thanks for stopping by again. Your insights make my sword buying mouth water with excitement! You have the uncanny ability to be so cryptic, I know you arent at liberty to say too much, but it is fun to speculate on what you do say!

On my current "LOTR wall" I have room for 4 maybe 5 more pieces, I dont know what I am going to?!

So much to talk about! I personally am really excited about the idea of doing new things for LotR. I never heard about this before, and as a big Tolkien reader I would LOVE it if they went back and added new things about the War in Wilderland to LotR. And I'd also eat up anything to do with the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, a subject that I wish Tolkien would've gone further into detail about.

As for The Hobbit collectibles, I had forgotten about Gandalf's staff. I'd definitely buy that, no questions asked. And I'd probably go for Haldir's Sword too. I hope that they do have him in the bits about the White Council and Dol Goldur. I suppose they may not have announced Craig Parker's return if they do add his character, after all, we haven't heard anything about Dain either and I don't see how they can possibly cut him out of the story. It wouldn't make sense.

Oh, and I think we ought to start our far fetched guessing now about who has a prop assigned to them that shouldn't. First guess: Bard the Bowman wielding Narsil!

[quote=""Valkrist""]
I'm doubtful of option B because I think by now we would have had news that Craig Parker (Haldir) was going to be in these movies. PJ could be keeping it as a surprise, of course. When or why would he appear? The only logical place is as an escort to Galadriel to the White Council meeting, and possibly later during the Dol Guldur attack. Exciting? Could be. [/quote]

I was thinking the same thing Val. Hopefully he does come back and I would also like Liv tyler to be seen at Rivendell but there's been no news on that either