I don't think that's odd at all.

See how well Kit's swords sell? It's because they've got modern-ish tribal designs, spikes, and what-not. That's just what the average guy wants in a sword. A viking-like sword however, is less appealing to the general public, as the general public has different tastes than us.

I do find it strange that the elven swords didn't sell well however. Thought I was done with the LOTR line, but I think I'm gonna get my hands on those two. At least the HEWS. =)

Overall the elven swords sold very well, probably the most popular category below the triumvirate of Anduril/Narsil, Sting, and Glamdring. It's just that once LOTR was done, the eleven pieces tapered off - except for that brief period of EWS craziness when they were not available for a year and the value went into space, then sales shot up briefly when production resumed. The Sauron pieces did very well. Gilmi axes sold OK slightly more than the Rohan swords. The two Rohan swords only did moderate sales even when the movies were still hot. I predicted this when we did them, though I still tried to squeeze in Guthwine before the I resigned from the old UC back in 2006. The numbers just were not there to do it.

I do still have detailed photos and measurements of the prop I sold Who knows. Maybe one day.

I've always wondered if the Rohan swords sold slower because they're shorter than the others (Narsil/Anduril, Nazgul swords, Glamdring, etc). Herugrim is certainly a beautiful design! Maybe in some things, size DOES matter.

Possibly, but in my e xp erience movie knives and swords have always sold based on the overall coolness factor. Cool looks are very important, but the characters and how the weapons are used, as well as screen time, are primary factors. Secondary characters with weapons that have very little screen time are typically not going to be great sellers.

We may think they are worthy of a replica, but the majority of sales are to LOTR films fans who have little knowledge of the books or much of an education about sword history, and they just were not into the Rohan stuff as much as the other characters and swords that got more screen time in and out of battle.

There are always exceptions, such as Hadhafang. Even though it was barely on screen in the first film, it had a very sleek looking design that appealed to women who liked the character, and the LOTR sword collecting public. I think us sword folks liked the twist on familiar Japanese and middle eastern elements in the design. At least I did. I saw the photo of Arwen on her horse holding her sword when I was in the original meeting with new line back in '99. I did not even know who this character was supposed to be, but I knew that sword would sell. I assumed they had made one of the elven men from the book into a woman for the film. No idea that was Arwen at the time, but I knew the sword would be a hit. Same with the EWS.

Not sure why but I've never really been a big Hadhafang fan. On the other hand, I think the HEW sword is about the coolest thing that ever came down the pike . It hangs in my bedroom and I find myself staring at it all the time!

Kit, was there ever a plan or intent to make the elven dagger that was a companion to Hadhafang? Also, did the scabbards sell poorly, and is that the reason we got so few of them?

Mr. Rae, always a pleasure to have you around!

I do wish Guthwine had been made, and I know you were probably our greatest advocate for it on the inside. So thank you for your efforts, good sir.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that -someday- UC will realize that they screwed up on skipping this one...

I wish I cud get Hadhafang... stupid UK laws!

[quote=""Valkrist""]Kit, was there ever a plan or intent to make the elven dagger that was a companion to Hadhafang? Also, did the scabbards sell poorly, and is that the reason we got so few of them?[/quote]

Yes. All of those items at the start of this thread were in some form of development and had been approved by New Line. When UC changed ownership almost everything was canceled. By the time the new owners got everything sorted out, license had to be renewed, and then the momentum for the line was lost.

seems to me,that licence for lotr. is up fore sale .
eny bets??eny one?
ed ,thanduril maby

oh elvenguard13,the hedfang is up for sale over here,and its from a relalable store.
(but you do need a weapon permit.)
"just copi and send by mail."
then you need to figure out the ,feeds ,cost ,from dk to uk.
i dont now ,i can pm the link.if you whish.

[quote=""Elvenguard13""]I wish I cud get Hadhafang... stupid UK laws! [/quote]

Yup, that is ridiculously silly. There are tenfolds of other blades that are way more dangerous than a katana in unskilled hands. A rapier for example? Same thing, a sharp sword, but extremely light and fast.

Besides, those would be gangs are only using sharpened wallhangers anyway.

hell,year darlak,**** laws,(say having a kitchenknife in your liveing room whiout ,a weapon permit is alligial)hahaha ,can you belive that.and ist tru .i read the rules,hahaha.damn rules.
any way to get back,into this thred.peronely i do care and then not.about a perfect made funktionel lotr sword.say i dont care who is making it as long as it is perfect.
im mutch more into history swords then. so and if ,and in the avalableites isues.
well albion might do the work here..

I would love to get my hands on any of those items especially that mace to complete the dark lord sauron collection. ohhhhh what i would give to get that thing

[quote=""dpegasusm""]I would love to get my hands on any of those items especially that mace to complete the dark lord sauron collection. ohhhhh what i would give to get that thing [/quote]

I totally agree! The mace is the one thing that they didn't produce that I really wanted, I wish they would have started the Sauron collection with that first! Hopefully someone else will pick up the license and produce it.

Hey Kit... you wouldn't happen to have an extra mace just lying around you would be willing to part with?



(shameless i know but had to try guys)

The piece in that video that made me go weak-in-the-knees was the Sword Of Sauron. That appeared to be one big weapon!

Yeah, I would have bought that mace in a heartbeat had UC produced it. My preference would have been for a Sauron-scale version, but I would have settled for actor-scale. As is, it remains a big hole in my collection.

I wouldn't have bought the sword. I know Kit and many others here like it, but I don't. It seems too over the top, plus it was never used in the movie, aside from a brief glimpse of it on a weapon's rack in Minas Morgul. I think the prop was originally made for Sauron to use in his unused scene where he battles Aragorn at the Black Gate. Since the scene was discarded (thank God!!!), the prop became meaningless.

So I guess with UC giving up, I'll actually have to purchase all of the items I've been waiting on in hopes of Guthwine coming out. Oh well. Now to rush and spend all of my savings on the what pieces are left over.

I wonder how much of the stock is left... i dont really have that much e xp endable money right now to buy everything left that I need and want.

Ditto.

Still need Boromir's, Eowyn's, and Isildur's swords. I'm kinda meh on the Sam sword, but my OCD completionist side won't let me not buy it, so I'll have to scoop up the MC version at some point. Also need Gimli's Bearded and Walking Axes, the Gondor Shield and Helm, the Wiki Dagger and Mask, and the toughest of all cookies to find... Isildur's Helm.

I was planning on holding off on all this stuff until I got a bigger place with a room I could dedicate to all this, but I'm not so sure now since a lot of these items are extremely scarce already. As is, anything I pick up now will be going into storage.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Ditto.

Still need Boromir's, Eowyn's, and Isildur's swords. I'm kinda meh on the Sam sword, but my OCD completionist side won't let me not buy it, so I'll have to scoop up the MC version at some point. Also need Gimli's Bearded and Walking Axes, the Gondor Shield and Helm, the Wiki Dagger and Mask, and the toughest of all cookies to find... Isildur's Helm.

I was planning on holding off on all this stuff until I got a bigger place with a room I could dedicate to all this, but I'm not so sure now since a lot of these items are extremely scarce already. As is, anything I pick up now will be going into storage. [/quote]

Wow. You have lots already and there is lots to acquire still... Planning to take out a second mortgage on the old homestead, or maybe just sell your firstborn male child?

9/10 of my stuff is "in storage" (still boxed up in the walk-in closet).
Any books/DVDs/CDs are on bookshelves and some non-weapons stuff is on display, but anything that has to be hung on a wall ...isn't hung [yet].

hey val...I have isildur's helm... I need Elendil's

i also need boromir's, sting, sam's, ews, hadhafang, the gondorian shield, the latest of gimli's axes... i have the firs tone., narsil, isildur's sword, the urak hai scimitar, the white staff, the witchking helm, i guess... i never got sauron's... geez, I thought my collection was big, but i still need a lot of stuff!!!

I've added the "my collection" list at the bottom... I still need to go through my daggers from kit rae get the ones i didnt get... that list was from memory and looking around my room... but some of my stuff is in the closet or in another room

i need isildur's helm. ive seen a couple come up on "the site that shal not be named" but they are about $300 starting bid and never sell. the last one i saw sell was for about $250. ive got all other of the limited editon items except that one. other than that im not missing much else

I'm a little concerned myself, BC...There aren't too many pieces left that I'd really want to pick up...but I'm still concerned about sitting on this too long. I'm hopeful that there's enough stock out there that it might last another few months. I'm going to contact the folks I buy mine from and see what their stock is looking like.

[quote=""dpegasusm""]i need isildur's helm. ive seen a couple come up on "the site that shal not be named" but they are about $300 starting bid and never sell. the last one i saw sell was for about $250. ive got all other of the limited editon items except that one. other than that im not missing much else[/quote]

Meh, I'll sweat it out. This is one of the one's I need the most, but heck I buy just about everything from the site that shan't be named, so I'll wait until I actually have readily available spending money and go buy it for too much over there.

So I heard back from my seller. Apparently they don't have a large amount in stock of the pieces I want, but they can get some more from their distributor. Which makes me wonder what "stage" this halting of products is in...

I'm sure some items will sell out quicker than others, but I would e xp ect the remaining inventory to take a year or more to sell off. The license period was timed to end before the Hobbit came out, which as I recall was originally 2011, so UC likely planned to have stock to carry up to that period.

Dealers will probably start stock piling up now that they know UC won't be making new inventory, but that does not mean they will be selling out anytime soon.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]I'm sure some items will sell out quicker than others, but I would e xp ect the remaining inventory to take a year or more to sell off. The license period was timed to end before the Hobbit came out, which as I recall was originally 2011, so UC likely planned to have stock to carry up to that period.

Dealers will probably start stock piling up now that they know UC won't be making new inventory, but that does not mean they will be selling out anytime soon.[/quote]

If this was Wall Street the SEC would be all over it.
Are we not blessed to have our honorable member or what?

Thanks for the reassurance, Mr. Rae. Luckily I've recently landed a decent job so I can actually afford a sword every now and then, but I still don't have enough to buy up the rest of the swords I want immediately. If I have a few months, I'll definitely be able to do it though.

I am a bit paranoid this will end up just like the UC is going Bankrupt scare we had. I bought three swords or so when that news cropped up because I was certain they'd never come back.

I've been meaning to nab a few more items but just haven't gotten around to it yet. With the Holidays over now I should be able to slurge a little more. Boromir and Eowyn are next!

love the sword and mace of Sauron! *sigh*.....what could have been......

I wish that UC had released one more grouping of swords. Since they usually offered 4 at a time, I would like to have seen Guthwine, Merry's Weathertop sword, Pippin's Weathertop sword (except for those 2 hobbits, UC produced a weapon for every member of the Fellowship) and finally, the Sword Of Sauron.

I think that a grouping like that would have brought some nice sales for them (especially Guthwine).

Scratch that Sauron sword abomination and substitute it for Haldir's sword, and I would have jumped on that idea.

Why do you hate it so?

Because it's not part of any lore, book or movie. It is a discarded, unused prop.

I agree it is never mentioned, but with all the armouries in Mordor, Sauron would surely have a sword available to him somewhere. I know it was only designed for the movie, but as a centrepiece with the Ringwraiths swords either side, it would be cool for some people. I'd rather have his mace though!

Can't wield a sword when you're a floating, flaming eyeball. You can thank PJ for that silly misconception. For that, and many other reasons, this sword means no more to me than the hundreds of thousands of other nameless weapons in the all the armouries of Middle-earth.

Bring on the mace! That I would buy in a heartbeat!

Did Tolkien ever describe what kind of weapon Sauron wielded, apart from his voice when battling Felagund? I mean he's a maia of Aule originally, a master smith. He had to have some kind of fancy gear that he made for himself (besides the One, of course ).

I don't recall Tolkien describing what Sauron wielded during the battle of the Last Alliance. It could have been a sword; it could have been a mace. I find the mace much more likely and an excellent choice on PJ's part because there is a very important precedent in Middle-earth's history for it, and with the name of Fingolfin, you should remember it well:

Morgoth, Sauron's master, wielded Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, which was not actually a 'hammer',' but a mace of enormous size. It would only make sense that his pupil in all things, Sauron, would seek to emulate and honour his master in this fashion by forging a mace to take into combat as well. In view of this, the sword makes far less sense. Further to that, though neither weapon is mentioned in the books, at least the mace makes it official "movie-canon." The sword was only intended for a scene that was thankfully discarded, and I say thankful because it was a brutal and needless departure from the book.

Of course I know of the Hammer of the Underworld. The nuclear bomb of the First Age, smashing pits into the earth while my favorite elf was slashing holes in the dark lord.

And don't mention that discarded fight scene....I shudder at the thought of it.

Just thought I'd throw the rest of the concepts from that video on here, for you to dream of

That Sword of Theodred looks just like the Sword of Eowyn, only with green leather on the grip instead of brown. That would have been an easy one to turn out.

Steel Servant, take a look at page two of this thread, I mentioned something interesting about that ...

Mmmmm, I love me some Rohan swords.


I wonder why they went with the leaf blade for Grima's dagger...not very elvish by any means.

You know, I never understood why the Rohan blades were such slow sellers. They are amongst my favorites. I love the use of the horse heads in the guards, especially on Eowyn's sword. But, that's just my personal taste. Obviously, that puts me among those who would have loved to see Guthwine's sword!

I would have liked to see Sauron's sword made as well, but I doubt it would have been a fast seller either, even at the the peak of LOTR weapons popularity.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]I wonder why they went with the leaf blade for Grima's dagger...not very elvish by any means.[/quote]
I bet Grima went to some high-class armory and wanted something to splurge on. Must've seen that exotic-looking dagger and went for it!

[quote=""Steel Servant""]You know, I never understood why the Rohan blades were such slow sellers. They are amongst my favorites. I love the use of the horse heads in the guards, especially on Eowyn's sword. But, that's just my personal taste. Obviously, that puts me among those who would have loved to see Guthwine's sword!

I would have liked to see Sauron's sword made as well, but I doubt it would have been a fast seller either, even at the the peak of LOTR weapons popularity.[/quote]

I had always imagined a section of my wall with a Rohan banner, flanked by Herugrim & Theodred's sword on one side and Guthwine & Eowyn's sword on the other.

As to the Sauron sword, I would say that, based on the responses of several collectors that I have shown/sent a pic to, it would have had some pretty decent sales. Of course, why would UC have produced Sauron's sword when they could release something like Gimli's Bearded Axe?

Well Saruman had dealings with the elves in the past when he was good, and probably had all sorts in Orthanc. I bet Grima picked it up there ...

[quote=""Jamie Shakespeare""]Just thought I'd throw the rest of the concepts from that video on here, for you to dream of [/quote]

Wait, what? I'm sorry for my ignorance, I tried looking back in this thread, but is that UC's concept art for Grima's dagger? Did UC actually consider producing it?