Anyone know what happened to Kit Rae in all of this? I have a few of his swords and knives, and had been watching for a couple that have been due out since late last year. Wonder what will happen to that line? My true love still lies with the LOTR stuff, though.

I have not confirmed UC status, Kit Rae resigned, he did not get laid off or fired.

UC has indeed filed Chapter 11. They did this monday. The only current change is they will no longer accept credit orders, IE, all orders must be payed in full or COD. No lines are being discontinued at this time, and there is no information currently available for new lines.

That I don't know, they won't go itno that with me. Its a legal issue

Yep I wanted Mc Anduril so bad...

UC did file chapter 11 last Monday. I resigned as UC's product development director several months ago to pursue my own design business. I had been with them for 20 years and felt it was time to move on, though another one of my reasons was the direction the company was going. It was once a great company to work for and we did a lot of good projects there.

A few weeks ago UC laid off the entire PD staff, so it looks like any new projects are dead. They filed chapter 11 last week. There may be a chance they can reorganize and get bought by another company, though the LOTR license is gone.

well thanks for stopping by..again (said it in the other thread too)... congrats on starting your own company.. hmmm what to buy now... out of the 26 pieces of swords/daggers i have, 25 of them are UC... need to tie up my LOTR collection

enough rambling... again, congrats on starting your own company, and hopefully everything words out for everyone.

Wow... so there you have it, folks, official word at last... the LOTR line from UC is over and done with. Like BC said, I think it's time for me to hunt down the last few pieces I'm interested in.

Good luck with everything, Kit.

Thanks Kit for the info, bad news for all LOTR fans...

Gondor Avenger wrote:Thanks Kit for the info, bad news for all LOTR fans...

Yes and no.

While UC may have mishandled this valuable license in the end, I'm sure it proved quite lucrative for New Line Cinema during its duration. With UC out of the picture and the license up for grabs, this could very well free NLC to sell it to another company willing to pick up the line. The only downside to this is that any new products coming out would differ somewhat from UC's in the way that they are packaged, displayed, and with things like the Certificates and such, though that is admittedly minor. Another thing to ponder is that a new company coming into this license may consider rereleasing some of the items already done by UC. As collectors, we would then have to decide whether we would want these again, or if we would be content with the UC versions. Personally, and with Noble Collection already in the mix, I think three versions of Glamdring, Sting, and Anduril, are quite enough, but I would pay good money to obtain such items as Guthwine and Sauron's Mace.

Sorry guys, but i'm gonna twist this topic just a little.
There was something i was wondering about (and i apologize if i missed it on another thread).
But I was thinking...i'm guessing that quite a few of the Limited Edition LOTR items from UC have not reached their final LE number yet...??
Soooo, does anyone know:
a) which items have NOT finished editions (or, if easier, which HAVE...lol)
b) of the one's that have NOT finished, roughly how many were made?

Hi Kit, good luck with your new company!
Looking forward to seeing you future blades!

An excellent question, the answer to which I don't believe has ever been revealed or discussed on this Forum. Unfortunately, only UC would have that information, and I think they've got other things to worry about right now. Perhaps next time Kit drops by, he can shed some light on this issue. It certainly does pose an interesting dillema, knowing that you bought an item that is part of an LE run of a supposed 2000, for example, only to find out only 1250 were ever made. If anything, I think that would only add more value to the item.

If I had to take a guess, I'd say most likely the Witchking's Helm's run was not completed since that was the last LE LOTR item UC released. The only way to really find out would be to scour the net and find out what production numbers of what items people have, though to use that as basis for information, one would have to assume that each item is numbered in sequence as it comes off the assembly line, starting with #1.

The HEWS (High Elf Warrior Sword,) is NOT an LE item, and was never marketed or advertised as such by UC. The '3000' production number came from a couple of reps that stated to to their clients that the initial production run for that item would be around that number and that's how many would be available on the initial shipments from UC. However, as you correctly stated, UC ran into production and quality problems with the item and roughly less than a thousand were ever made before they went into bankruptcy. However, I just wanted to clarify that this item only became limited due to circumstance, not design. I own one, and I can tell you they are not numbered, nor do they have an LE Certificate like other LE items. It can be called LE by some, but it is not officially so. By the same token, Glamdring's White Scabbard could also be considered an LE item since only about 600 were reported to have been made.

Regardless, I think Jash was asking about official LE items that may have only been produced on a per-demand basis from retailers and did not reach the end of their run due to low sales and UC's subsquent financial problems.

It's funny, I've got a HEWS also.

Managed to get one (after a scramble, mind you), for its normal price (about $160) right now that auction site it's going anywere from $600-900.

Strange how a "regular" release ended up being the most "limited".

Such is the quirkyness of the collector's world.

I managed to get one also thankfully. I can't believe what some folks are trying to charge on auction sites. It's as bad as the gouging that went on for the LE Anduril.

I never imagined they'd become a limited edition item or that United Cutlery would go into bankruptcy. I wish they could've stayed solvent. I very much wanted scabbards for Herugrim, Eowyn's sword, Boromir's sword and Hadhafang. I'd also like to have seen them make Boromir's shield. I don't think it would've been hard for them to make that. Oh well.

Concerning the LE Anduril, I have noticed that Blades By Brown are offering a short quantity of "un-numbered" ones for a lower price than what we can find on the auction sites :
http://www.bladesbybrown.com/cart.php?m ... il&p=12480
too bad they don't sell overseas...

It is surprising that United Cutlery made those swords and never put a serial number on them. From a collector's viewpoint, I think I'd want that serial number. I wonder if they come with certificates of authenticity. Those are equally crucial. I remember seeing a LE Anduril for sale on one the auctions site. The seller was honest and admitted he'd lost the certificates of authenticity. There is no way I'd pay top dollar for one of those blades without those certificates. I learned myself the hard way about the fakes (bought a fake Glamdring though I didn't know it when I bought it) that are out there.

The whole LE Anduril business left a bad taste in my mouth the moment UC decided to release an Unlimited version. The fact that now unnumbered versions of the LE are suddenly cropping up just annoys me even more. Nice to know that instead of owning X of 5000 is actually turning out to be X of 5000+?... what a load of crap.

How can one put any actual value or worth on these swords in one's collection when stuff like this crops up? Speculators and dealers like BBB may charge an exhorbitant price to make a profit, but it really only makes me feel like the uniqueness of my genuine LE Anduril only continues to decrease because this sword just won't go away. I'm sorry for those who were wishing for one, but I'm glad UC didn't get to make a MC version. Enough is enough.

Don't get me started on the LE's....

Sorry to hear of both your situation and UC's. Hopefully both of you will have better times ahead.

Very sorry to hear it. I sympathize with you, and all those who lost their jobs, as I have been through a lay-off once before myself. It really sucks when hard working folk end up in these difficult situations because of the mistakes of others (usually higher-ups like VPs and CEOs). I certainly hope everyone will be able to find new positions doing something they enjoy. That seems to be one of the great tricks to life. I'm still trying to find that perfect fit.

Kudos to you Adam, and to Kit, and all the UC staff who pulled off what is probably the most extensive and impressive collection of movie arms & armour that has ever been made. Truely something to be proud of IMHO. It's a shame the business folks couldn't manage the company better, and things had to reach this sorry state.

Another company will come along and pick up where UC left off. UC's downfall had nothing to do with LOTR or the other collectible lines, it was some bad business ventures done on the side, things outside the market UC was known for. UC was one of the few large companies that still catered to customers that don't want the cheapest crap out there. I just hope whoever gets the LOTR license tries to keep the quality level high. We did a lot of great replicas there. Not every one came out perfect, but I was happy with the majority of them, so much that I have a huge collection in storage. I have to build a bigger house one day to display all the replicas and props!

My primary business is my design studio. I do the same stuff I have always done. Product design, drafting, product development, fantasy and sci-fi art, and graphic design. I am working on a project for the Eragon film, the Forstmourne sword from Warcraft, and a few other things right now.

With regards to my knife and sword line, UC is still distributing the remainder of thier inventory until the end of the year. I'll decide after that who I am going to have distribute the line. I have a few offers. This will delay new product for about 8-10 months, but I think in the long run it will be a better situation.

Thanks for the update, Kit. I can't wait to see some new designs. I'm still hoping the newer items that were not yet released, such as the Avaquar Dagger, will be available soon. I stumbled across a retailer on "that internet auction site" that claims to have it and the silver Navros Dagger in stock. I shot him an e-mail saying that I was unaware that it had been released. But, apparenty one or more distributors have bought UC's stock and are getting them out. I have put out e-mail feelers with some of my favorite retailers to see who can get it. I have been waiting for the Avaquar Dagger fr months, although I admit I don't even have the sword yet.

Anyway, I'm glad things are going well for the KR Design Studio, and I wish you the very best of luck with finding a company to carry on the torch of producing your lines.

I came across this article by way of an SFI thread.

I wonder if there were any prototypes of unreleased UC products? What will happen to them?

Windlass's website is incomplete right now,they hardly list any products, so I don't think there meaning that they are continuing the LOTR line. I think they just want to list the items they made for the LOTR collection, as they were sub contracted by U.C. to make many of the helms. They listed the same on there old site.

However, it may be a possibility, Windlass has taken on a lot of film props, (The Kingdom of Heaven swords for example).

I can see that it is possible for windlass to carry on from UC, considering the sub-contracting and their previous e xp erience etc.

I'm just curious to see whether windlass or whoever eventually (if at all) takes over, whether they would carry on the traditions already set, such as on the Museum Collection front?

Well i don't know a great deal about this situation...but i'm going to take a stab at it. My guess would be that the weapons from Conan are only a handfull...so any companies who make Official Reproductions from that movie are only dedicating a small part of their time and effort on that particular line. This will go for most Licensed Swords (Highlander, Xena, Kingdom of Heaven, etc etc). Where another bulk of their money coming from their other swords (Windlass, Marto, Albion, etc). On the other hand, LOTR took up, relatively speaking, a large part of United Cutlery's time and finances...which was worth it at the begining when the movies came out. The LOTR lineup is quite large, as we can see from what UC has done already...with not very many feasable weapons left to make (considering customer interest as well). So i would think that any company willing to take the LOTR license now would be quite brave.... dedicated a relatively large amount of their finances for a lineup that has been stripped of it's most popular weapons already. In addition, dedicating the time and money to make the "new swords" at least on par with the quality of the UC versions (if they decide to remake some of them) might just not be worth it. Just my thoughts....

I think that is what Bud-K intends to do with UC. I am meeting with the new owner soon to discuss some business with him. I'll post some news here after I get more details.

Kit, as you mentioned previously, UC has lost the LOTR license as part of their financial troubles or as a result thereof. What do you figure is the likelyhood that Bud-K will either want or be able to reacquire this license from New Line?

This doesn't have to be based on hard facts, you can speculate and give us your personal feelings on the matter, if you feel so inclined. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on LOTR coming back. The only factor I see against this happening is that since UC has already put out the major and most important pieces on the market for that line, Bud-K may not be interested in making the few odd items remaining that are more selective in taste and collectability. Then again, the scarcity of the older items could be an indication that Bud-K still stands to make some money by bringing the entire line back into production.

Thoughts?

Perhaps Bud-K's first LOTR piece will be the Sword of Sauron.

[ducks for cover]