Idril wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:27 am It is so annoying. I guess shipping damage is one thing but to have the ears stuck back on. That's criminal.

I hope you get a replacement quickly.

Yep, first time I have scene that, usually they just paint over the missing parts (have that on a few Weta pieces). Not 100% sure if I want to deal with a replacement yet or just do a partial refund. Don't get me wrong it's a wonderful piece and I'm happy to have it as all the defects are fairly minor and not noticeable on a shelf with other pieces.

A very impressive piece! I hope you can get things sorted to your satisfaction.
On a side note, it's a little strange not seeing the usual Dungeon backdrop. Still great pictures though!

Arwyniel wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:42 pm A very impressive piece! I hope you can get things sorted to your satisfaction.
On a side note, it's a little strange not seeing the usual Dungeon backdrop. Still great pictures though!

Me too! I know, it's going to be strange for a while as the rest of the house has priority getting done before I get to work on the display room. Hopefully the wait will be worth it. And your being too kind on the quality of the photos, rushed with a cell phone. I need much better lighting and a cool setting and bring out the better camera.

Congrats on receiving your MoS, N2. I guess it sure helps that you are just three hours away from the warehouse. I am too but attesting to the mind-boggling inefficiency of shipping logistics, Weta's US warehouse insists on taking all of my statues over to San Francisco, so they can then be flown into Vancouver, so that it takes about a week to get them, rather than using ground service to get them to the border in the same day, and into my hands the next. Now that would be too simple and smart, wouldn't it?

Well, I haven't even gotten a shipping notice for MoS so... but I'm sorry to see yours came damaged. I'm not sure what the Weta factory has been doing with their bases of late but the warping has become a very common problem. Both my Dain and Galadriel have it, but not so bad that I would send them back. As for the breakages though, if I had gotten your MoS, it would already be on its way back. For $700 plus shipping, I expect nothing less than a blemish-free statue, so you can bet I would take Weta to task over this. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and I don't think we should be handing them so much money and then just quietly swallowing some lazy factory worker's badly covered up accident.

Deimos wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:06 pm It is by far one of the best statues Weta has lately produced.
Details are spot on....and I think the static pose captures the "contemplative" moment perfectly.
Price is very attractive, but for a variety of reasons, I won't be getting it....

Ha-ha...quoting oneself....how often does that happen on the forums?

Anyway, the more I looked at the Isildur statue the more I realized it presents one of the defining moments from the story.
(Had Isildur followed Elrond's command to cast the Ring into the fire of Mount Doom, the story would have ended right there.)

Decided I wanted it and pulled the trigger.
First major LOTR purchase in a long time...years , I think.
$380 (USD) will hit my credit card sometime during/after January 2018. :-p

It was certainly one of the most pivotal points in the entire history of Middle-earth. I'm glad you decided to get this statue, Deimos, I think it's going to be awesome.

On that note, I couldn't help but think about your other comment. What has brought about your marked decrease in LOTR collectible purchases? Increasing prices? Nothing new that appeals to you personally? Lack of space? General disinterest? Vowed to stopped collecting altogether?

Just curious, so feel free to give me a circuitous answer if you don't feel like sharing too much.

I also noticed you made the distinction to say "LOTR purchases"... does that mean you are still collecting other stuff then? Or you were just talking about purchases in general? Inquiring minds want to know!

That certainly is a turnaround Deimos. Congrats. I think it will be a great piece. Also, if after a year or so you don't feel you need it I'm sure you won't lose money on your purchase. It is bound to sell out on pre-order.

Let's see.....first, I guess, "major purchase" needs to be defined.
If I were collecting the Peter Lyon swords, I guess anything under $5K would be a "minor purchase" , but I'm not, so it's not.

Arbitrarily , meaning for me, personally, anything starting around $350 -$400 is a major purchase.
I.e., anything that makes me stop and think "do I really want to spend that kind of money this", whatever "this" may be.

So, while John Lowe's screen accurate "glo-blue" palantir was a major purchase, N2's plinth/stand for it was not.

The reason for the decrease in purchasing was a combination of almost every reason you (Val) listed, the most significant being lack of space.
A close second is, of course, money/cost.

Consider this (and Buckeye and a few others may think what I'm about to say is blasphemy) : if/when Weta ever produces Eomer on Firefoot, I won't be getting it. Not because I don't think it will be ever so awesome, but because of space and cost, both of which have to be warranted by the collectible presenting a defining moment or something that is just so ME related, I have to have it. The Argonath comes to mind , for an example.
But Eomer on a horse is, well, just that; very cool, but it doesn't make me think of the world of ME, or some specific and important event in the story.

I bought the DM minas Tirith [used, and before the Weta one came out] because Minas Tirith is the "City of Kings" and has just a ton of ME history behind it.
Orthanc is one of my most-est -favorite-est environments because it looks so spectacularly imposing, and also has a ton of history behind it.
If Weta ever came out with a Grey Havens Enviro (as the GH were depicted in the movie) I'd go for that immediately
And If Weta comes out with a really good Treebeard, I'd get that ... I think Treebeard is one of the best characters in the story... and I loved the description of Wellinghall.
Say "Ent" or Fangorn and ME comes immediately to mind.

I'd still collect weapons if any more LOTR ones are made (like a certain one we all want).
I'd probably get Faramir's sword, if UC ever makes one, which it won't.
But I'd go into hock for all four of the Barrowdowns Hobbit swords if someone made them truly like Daggers of Westernesse and NOT the "rusty things found in a ditch" ( I believe that was your description of the movie swords, Val, and I couldn't agree more).
No Hobbit [Movie] stuff except for Bard's sword because it is so cool looking.
If I didn't despise the PJ version so much I might feel differently, but as it is, almost any collectible out there from The Hobbit makes me think of the movie, and I don't want to think of the movie.

The "low dollar" stuff (a relative phrase if ever there was one) like Shire Post coins, scrolls, pipes etc, ususally don't present a problem.
And some things that are canon, but not in the movie I'd spring for (or commission) like I did with Galadriel's little box for Sam, and even Bilbo's [$12] silver spoon with it's [$45] monogram engraving that was swiped by Lobelia Bracegirdle (of Hardbottle) .

So I haven't lost interest... I just have to be selective. l

And...AND ...I've spent quite a bit of money ( and will continue to spend it) on tools, materials, and classes all aimed at making some of my own props some of which are now "works in progress" .
(Retirement is great...all the time I need; but fixed income requires some financial juggling)

So, there you have it--- a long (but not circuitous) answer.

Edit: Oh, wow....forgot to consider the three Rohan Helms (and a 4th upcoming maybe?) by Thrandy ...definitely all major purchases and at least one within the last year. So not quite NO major purchase in years, ....only no major retail/official collectible purchases in a 2 or 3 years.

Deimos, loved reading your replies for the insight, and thank for all the explaining - I did ask, didn't I?

Your thoughts echo a lot of mine, but my willpower is much weaker and I have a higher tolerance for the Hobbit movies, though there are a whole host of things about them that I cannot stand. Mainly, when I collect stuff from the Hobbit, I tend to disassociate it from the movies and envision the items as being from the book. This gets tricky with things like Tauriel's gear, but to me, they are labelled as "Mirkwood Elf bow and knives." Problem solved.

My complaints about Weta prices are legendary and rambling so I won't get into that again, but yes, the threshold has been reached. I value all of the main and secondary character's place in the varied tapestry that is Middle-earth and that is why I await Eomer with anticipation. Show me a nameless orc like Weta's Dol Guldur Orc Soldier and you've completely lost my interest. Similarly with all the hootin' and hollerin' for an Arwen and Frodo on Asfaloth statue. Sorry, but to me that represents a moment of movie sacrilege. Go back to the delusional and silly hell from whence you came.

Anyway, glad to hear you are still in the game, just being extra selective. Also glad you are getting into prop-making. With N2 taking a long sabbatical due to a new house and being busy, and Thranduil being pretty much AWOL, we are left with pretty much no craftsmen here to delight us with new projects. Buckeye showed us some very cool stuff also, so maybe you two ladies are looking to fill some big shoes around here?

By the way, Idril: I've been going back and forth with Anthony about the payment plan and the Weta dollars and he confirmed that you are supposed to get Weta dollars for each payment made toward the cost of the statue (shipping and taxes excluded, of course.) However, in that case, I am still missing the WD I was supposed to get on my two pre-orders made with the new plan, Trying to get him to sort that one out; what a headache. Why did they have to monkey around with the website and this system? It worked perfectly before and we could track all of our Weta dollar earnings with each transaction. Now it becomes a guessing game unless you write it all down each time.

I suggested to him in my email that he implore their web team to reinstate this feature for the sake of their customers and his sanity, but he didn't even acknowledge the subject. I really don't get what's so hard about this, or is this his way of remaining busy and employed???

That's interesting Val.

It probably isn't possible because it is a whole new website and developers I believe.

Has anyone heard from Thranduil at all? It feels like ages since he was last here. I hope he is ok.

Heard from him yesterday. He is well now but has had a bad back.

Idril wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:29 pm It probably isn't possible because it is a whole new website and developers I believe.

Oh I totally get that, but my point is that if you are going to have a points reward system as part of your business, it should be fairly obvious that this is an important piece of functionality to include in your new website's software features. Forcing your customers to rely on memory and not providing that information on each invoice receipt is a serious flaw that should have been addressed long ago, yet two years after that site went live, the Weta dollars system continues to be a confounding cluster-eff for people.

Sorry, I feel as if I sound like Balder and Goldring, and that is one of the reasons I refuse to join the Weta forum. Only so many hard truths you can speak over there before you become a persona non grata.

Idril wrote: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:41 pm Heard from him yesterday. He is well now but has had a bad back.

Yes....his back problem knocked him out of commission (literally) for months.
I just got my Eowyn helm a few weeks ago....he had emailed me in the spring that it would be delayed because he couldn't stand for more than a few moments at a time.
Took 6 months of chiropractic help to get him back on his feet.
He says he is OK now. I hope so.

Yet another new polystone statue... the Ringwraith of Forod. LE 500.
https://www.wetanz.com/shop/figures/the ... h-of-forod

I saw.

I think numbness is starting to set in.

The Nine in 1/6 with classic poses for a $349? I would make an effort.

The Nine in 1/6 Cirque du Soleil Ninja poses for $499? No way I could be that insane.

Besides, by the time the next one comes out, it will be $649, and so on, and so on, and so on...

I was actually thinking of getting the Witchking if it is in the BF sales. But this release has put me off the idea. It is all a bit much.

In regards to the Script to Screen book, my card was charged for it tonight so hopefully will have that soon.

Arwyniel wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 2:44 pm In regards to the Script to Screen book, my card was charged for it tonight so hopefully will have that soon.

That's good news. I was beginning to wonder about the book's status. I'm looking forward to it.

Mine was charged too, can't wait.

Idril mentioned the BF sale coming up for this year. Anyone else hoping to pick something up, and if so, what?

Not much left on my list, and BF is usually a good time to pick things up that you were on the fence about before and the deal is too good to resist. Personally, I'm hoping for a small discount on a 2-1 deal with the Gimli and Moria Orc minis. I know chances are small since those are relatively new items, but you never know. Of the 1/6 line, like Idril, I was mulling picking up the Witch-king. If the price was right, I could try and get over the ridiculous pose, but with the rising costs on subsequent Nazgul, this is a quest doomed to failure from the start. I might try and sneak one more dwarf in, but none of the remaining ones really appeal to me. One thing I would go after are the 1/30 figures as I feel there is a good chance since they were giving them away in those Weta boxes. I think this will be the only affordable way to one day own the Nine. As for replicas, Thranduil's Ring or Gandalf's Hat might be it for me.

My MoS arrived today.

Stunning and breathtaking piece, everything about it just oozes 'coolness'... except maybe his mouth, lol. Such a memorable passage for me in the books as a teenager, and so very glad they included it in the EE version of the movie, even if PJ couldn't resist putting his own spin on it.

Happy to report zero problems, breakages, chips, etc, despite it being obvious that the box took a bad tumble on one corner. The base has the tiniest of wobbles along the long axis but it is barely perceptible. Something must be happening with the molds when these bases are cured, but Weta is not paying attention, it seems. Still, at least in the case of mine, it is barely there.

Despite the horrendous price - which is becoming borderline justifiable no matter what - Weta has definitely stepped up their game in terms of complexity, detail, and paint. I know these improvements can't be had for free, but it just makes me all the more sad at the awesome pieces still to come that will no longer be affordable at this rate. Pick and choose very carefully is now the name of the game. All I can say is that when Eomer arrives, if he is one half of what MoS and Thorin on Throne are like, he is going to blow us away. Even better, by the time my payments on the War Troll and Isildur are done, I will have roughly $700 Weta dollars saved up. Should help take the sting off the Third Marshal of the Riddermark.

Glad he arrived in good condition Val. I bet when you saw that corner of the box you were cringing.

I agree on the price aspect. I think perhaps Weta had to decide to go more up market or more towards toys. I think we know what they decided.

Im thinking nearly everyone has to be careful in what they get now. I doubt there are many completists around. I don't collect much of the bad side - unless I consider it a magic piece. Which is what I thought of MoS. I'll get the new Gollum too as I don't have a Gollum and I think it is another level of art

Glad your Mouth of Sauron arrived safely Val

I'm seriously considering picking up Radagast before he sells out completely. What do the owners of the Radagast statue think of the piece? It's either Lindir's ring or the Radagast statue that I'm currently deciding between

It is likely to be on sale in the upcoming Black Friday sale so hang out till then.

I would definitely follow Idril's advice and wait and see if the price drops on Radagast come Black Friday. The only caveat with that is that he might be part of one of those sales where you have to buy two 1:6 statues in order to get the discount.

As for choosing between Radagast and Lindir's ring, that's a tough one because they are very different collectibles. I think I would have to go with Radagast, simply because he is a Tolkien character, and this is a very well done representation of him. The ring is nice also, but it belonged to a very minor character (sorry, Lindir.) Then there's function: you were planning to get the ring to wear, whereas the statue is just going to sit on a shelf and look good, so you have to decide which of those two purposes will be more fulfilling for you.

On the other hand Lindir - which would be the hardest to obtain in say 5 years? - definitely the ring.

Idril wrote: Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:20 am On the other hand Lindir - which would be the hardest to obtain in say 5 years? - definitely the ring.

Gotta agree with the lady yet again.

Nearly all of the original LOTR rings are next to impossible to find these days. Lindir's ring is from the Hobbit but the Noble Collection stuff has a way of going out of production fast and without warning.

HAha I’ve been debating what you have both said and I made the decision to go for Lindir’s ring as we are all in agreement that it’ll be very hard to find once Noble Collection stops production. I ordered it today so it should be here within the next few days.

As much as I love the Radagast statue I fear if I did purchase it I would be tempted into purchasing more statues which I have neither the funds nor room for

Thank you Val and Idril for your assistance

Great choice I think. I gotta order two more of Thranduils rings before they disappear.

Thanks for reminding me I still have three rings to order, Idril.

A trifecta of Weta goodies was announced today: 1/4 Erebor Helm, King of the Dead mini, and Farmer Maggot's Hobbit hole. I'll likely be ordering all three, but man... I wish they would slow these releases down a little. Between all those months when there wasn't a single item to be seen, to a non-stop barrage, surely they can find an equilibrium somewhere???

I think still the Gollum we saw at SDCC to be released before Xmas.

How's that King of the Dead. Pretty sure it glows in the dark!

Which of Thranduil’s rings do you own, Idril?

I wanted to get the crystal ring for my collection however I’m not sure it’s very accurate and it looks undersized from what I’ve seen of it.

The crystal ring is one i still have to get.

I also don't have the snake ring.

The Gollum piece is gorgeous, but I'm not nearly interested enough to shell out the kind of cash I know they are going to ask for it. I have the TT EE Gollum which is a fairly substandard representation of the character, but I also have the newer Gollum Enraged from the Hobbit line, which is an excellent statue. That's enough Gollums for my house. If another character comes out in this new premium format that simply blows me away, I will consider it then, but not Gollum.

For the Thranduil rings, I think I am going to stick with the NC versions (I already have the snake one.) The Weta version of the branch ring is just too shiny and would not fit in with the rest.

Script to Screen book finally came today. Impressive book, but I get so annoyed that companies don't package books for shipping well. The bottom of my book by the spine has an enormous ding in it. I like my books to be pristine. Quite annoying for such an expensive book.

That's sad to hear, Arwyniel.

Mine isn't due to arrive until next week, but as I will be away, I won't be holding it in my hands for until almost two weeks.

That's usually my number one fear when ordering something - that it will arrive damaged (number two being getting lost in the mail altogether.) It also doesn't seem to matter what lengths sellers go to protect things, as postal workers and courier companies typically handle parcels with all the grace and concern accorded to a hunk of raw meat being thrown into a pit of ravenous hyenas. Not saying that Weta couldn't have packaged a fragile book better, but the odds are stacked against us buyers, unfortunately.

That is such a shame the book is damaged. Is this direct from Weta? I've usually found Weta's packaging on books to be custom made for the particular book and as such pretty good.

My book arrived today as well. It's simply massive... and will take a while to work through. With a quick glance, I already like what I see.

Yes, it came from Weta. I've tried massaging the cover and smoothing out the affected pages (about 1/3 of them). It's looking a little better.
There is no protection for the book. It's wrapped in plastic and then a cardboard mailer. With as heavy as the book is, I would think super corrugated cardboard would be better than the thin type they used. Even better, double box it.
I hope you have better luck, Val.

Buckeye wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:29 am My book arrived today as well. It's simply massive... and will take a while to work through. With a quick glance, I already like what I see.

Did yours arrive undamaged? Congrats if it did.

I received my book last week as well, only a small dent in the spine ( I also too like my books pristine). With the shear size of this beast they should have actually made the cover a little more stout to hold up to the volume of pages. I could see it tearing over time if handled too much. Have only thumbed through it though and first impressions is some of the photos should have been much larger to capture the details better of some of the rarer items.

Also still waiting on my MOS replacement - they seem to take forever as communication between Weta and the shipping company is horrible. They received my damaged statue on Monday and still waiting for confirmation. This only fuels my lack of ordering pieces from them and may stop me all together if this continues. You would think the price of a piece this expensive would warrant a little more urgency.

I agree! Especially so for you folks buying the statues. These prices should demand service that excels.

Arwyniel wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:37 am

Buckeye wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 11:29 am My book arrived today as well. It's simply massive... and will take a while to work through. With a quick glance, I already like what I see.

Did yours arrive undamaged? Congrats if it did.

Yes, I was fortunate to have mine arrive undamaged. I'm really sorry to hear that your book was so badly dinged. I hope you ask for a replacement.

If I keep working on it, I think I can live with it. The hassle of dealing with their CS is a headache I would prefer to avoid. I'm so glad you didn't have an issue.

Ok. Hold onto your hats and make sure you are sitting down

I'll give you a minute to prepare

I had dinner with Dan Falconer last night (not just me but still a great and informative evening)

Anyway, earlier while talking to him and flicking through the new book (which contains an excellent shot of Gil-Galad's Last Alliance props) I asked about the clothing in the shot. We spoke about that and then Dan said to me "we should think about doing a Gil-Galad shield."

I was a bit stunned and stared at him opened mouthed. I was trying to work out what he was actually meaning when I remembered the mini GG shield they did 8 years ago. So he can't mean that! So I said. "1:1 scale?" And he said "yes, maybe it is time"

Oh man - I was dancing on air, so much so I embarrassed myself by saying "I have the United one on my wall if you need some close ups of the handle or anything". Dan's response - "we've got the real thing - it's ok". .

So what do you all think?

I'm so glad you had the opportunity to share in such a great social event with some of the Weta folks. That had to have been pretty awesome.

On the Gil-galad shield: that's about as left-field as it gets, a hundred times more so than the unexpected Isildur statue. I say this because despite the utter beauty of the prop, it wasn't even seen in action in the movies (we only get a brief glimpse of it in Rivendell), it belongs to a character that got two seconds of screen time in a movie from nearly 17 years ago, and for those reasons, it won't have a lot of recognition except with the most diehard fans. Now, this isn't to say - me being one of those diehard fans - that I'm not super excited about it, but that I find it a massive surprise that Weta would even consider a 1:1 version of that particular prop at this time, especially when they've ignored more recognizable shields and other props in these intervening years. But if they are seriously considering it, one does not question such things. No sir!

Would I buy this in a second? You betcha! Do I have the space? Who cares! Sign me up for one now!

While you guys were on the subject, I don't suppose Daniel dropped any hints about a possible Gil-galad statue? Because I mean, c'mon... how can you not at this point?

You know in speaking to Dan about the shield, he either has an amazing memory or, and I hope it is this or, he has been looking at it recently. He waxed on about the stars, their placement and the changing colours within the shield with the blue and silver. Saying it was a lot more detailed than you would think.

He was tight lipped about any new releases but earlier on he had mentioned Gil-Galad when talking about future possibilities and I definitely think I caught a slip up. My money is on them producing one and I'd even put odds on it being in the next 12 months (but that is going out on a limb a bit I guess).

I also spoke to him about producing the Rivendell murals that Alan Lee did in Art Print form. He agreed it would be good but that they would likely start with Sauron/Isildur and see how that goes

Yes, the shield is a work of art, which is why I find it the more tragic that all that amazing work was lost in one very brief camera pan, and in a dimly lit location at that. It deserves to be brought back and truly appreciated for what it is. Just astonished they are willing to take what I feel is a massive risk. I'm guessing if they do go ahead, it will likely be a very limited run, and command a hefty price tag for that reason alone. I certainly don't see a MSSC-type replica coming out of this - gods, I hope not!

As for the statue, that's a good sign, and I really can't see how they would ignore GG at this point. Without revisiting a bunch of previously released characters, the lists is growing ever smaller as to what is left to produce. Gil-galad and his pal and confidant, Elendil, have got to be somewhere near the top of the to-do list. Pity Anarion never made it into the script.