[quote=""RevAnakin""]I would contact Weta, they aren't supposed to take the payment out until the day it ships.[/quote]

I have done that, just waiting for a reply. Hopefully I don't have to end up ringing them, international calls are e xp ensive. They'll probably resolve it for me though

Has anyone else pre-ordered it then?

Does the Weta or UC Gandalf staff have the nail on the bottom of it where he used it to scratch the rune on Bilbo's door? I have yet to see any pictures if it does.

No worries, Andrew. That's just a pre-authorization charge check. The Bank of NZ does it to make sure your card is legitimate. An inconvenience, but the funds should be back soon. There was a lot of gripe about it when Barad-dur came out...$700 missing from your account! I can understand the tension.


For the record, I still haven't preordered Radagast's staff...all depends on how much I like UC's GtG staff and whether or not Weta's staffs run out real fast.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]No worries, Andrew. That's just a pre-authorization charge check. The Bank of NZ does it to make sure your card is legitimate. An inconvenience, but the funds should be back soon. There was a lot of gripe about it when Barad-dur came out...$700 missing from your account! I can understand the tension.


For the record, I still haven't preordered Radagast's staff...all depends on how much I like UC's GtG staff and whether or not Weta's staffs run out real fast.[/quote]

ahh, thanks for letting me know Fin. Weta will probably reply informing me of this soon, I'm looking forward to seeing how these staffs turn out. I love the green/blue stone in the top.

Arwyniel, I can't see any nail in the photos shown of the weta version or UC's, maybes Kit could let us know when he drops by next?

I just did a comparison shot of GtG's pre-Isengard capture Staff (the one he has in the beginning of FotR that holds his pipe) and Radagast's Staff...definitely the same thing. Gandalf must just remove the stone and replace it with his pipe. Something to mull over for the next movie.


Also, anyone check these out yet? They look real good. A tad pricey, but very cool:

http://www.wetanz.com/pipe-of-thorin-oakenshield/

http://www.wetanz.com/pipe-of-fili-the-dwarf/

This has actually come up over at the S&F forums and someone also posted a picture of Gandalf riding off with Radagasts staff. I'm sure there will be some sort of e xp lanation over the next 2 films.

I'm just praying that PJ won't be so stupid as to completely break lore and kill off Radagast, then have Gandalf ride off with his staff to honour and avenge his friend. Talk about cheesy and unnecessary drama. What I hope will happen is that Gandalf will simply lose or break his current staff, like he has a knack for doing, and because his mission is urgent, Radagast lends him his.

Forgot to mention, having your purchase charged on your card when an item is not even close to shipping is not standard procedure for Weta. I can say this with certainty because I've bought tons of stuff from them and they've never done it to me, not even when I ordered Barad-dur. Perhaps this is a new card number you have, Lindir, or a new account with them? I'm sure there's a reason for it.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]I just did a comparison shot of GtG's pre-Isengard capture Staff (the one he has in the beginning of FotR that holds his pipe) and Radagast's Staff...definitely the same thing. Gandalf must just remove the stone and replace it with his pipe. Something to mull over for the next movie.


Also, anyone check these out yet? They look real good. A tad pricey, but very cool:

http://www.wetanz.com/pipe-of-thorin-oakenshield/

http://www.wetanz.com/pipe-of-fili-the-dwarf/[/quote]

You're right Fin!

I always assumed that it was Gandalf's moria staff as it has the branches on it but now I see that its actually the pipe staff. It even has Radagast's mark on it





So I guess that the branches end up being snapped off at some point. I'm with Val on this, I don't want them to kill Radgast off. It would be very hard to have the whole avenge me plot without it becoming cheesy, as Val also said.

Val, I got a reply from Weta saying that it was a pre-authorisation check from paystation. They told me that the money would be back in within a few days. I ordered one of Weta's steampunk guns last year with the card, and it was validated then. So I guess with it being a year since I've ordered anything they just wanted to check again.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Forgot to mention, having your purchase charged on your card when an item is not even close to shipping is not standard procedure for Weta. I can say this with certainty because I've bought tons of stuff from them and they've never done it to me, not even when I ordered Barad-dur. Perhaps this is a new card number you have, Lindir, or a new account with them? I'm sure there's a reason for it.[/quote]

[quote=""Lindir""]
Val, I got a reply from Weta saying that it was a pre-authorisation check from paystation. They told me that the money would be back in within a few days. I ordered one of Weta's steampunk guns last year with the card, and it was validated then. So I guess with it being a year since I've ordered anything they just wanted to check again.[/quote]


Well, all I can say Val is there was about 20 pages full of posts from really ticked off customers on the S+F that first $250, then $700 was missing from their accounts with the release of the last two environments. A lot of long time customers in that list. There were quite a few complaints that people were forgoing buying groceries for a week because they suddenly had no money in the bank account that they usually withdraw from. It was an ugly sight; some people had all that missing for like two weeks. It seems to have become a standard procedure for the Bank of NZ to do this with purchases over like $100, roughly.

Sylvester McCoy should have kept his mouth shut. Anyone notice something added to Gandalf's FOTR version that is not on Radagast's staff ?(not talking about the pipe or broken wood tendrils)

Is that a nail driven through the Staff? Or possibly an arrow head? Seen in the image posted by Lindir...

I always assumed it was a nail. I'm hoping we will get an e xp lanation for it in the next two films.

[quote=""Arwyniel""]Does the Weta or UC Gandalf staff have the nail on the bottom of it where he used it to scratch the rune on Bilbo's door? I have yet to see any pictures if it does.[/quote]
There is no nail in the H1 staff prop.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]Sylvester McCoy should have kept his mouth shut. Anyone notice something added to Gandalf's FOTR version that is not on Radagast's staff ?(not talking about the pipe or broken wood tendrils)[/quote]

Are you talking about the little wooden spike on Gandalf's FOTR?

Also, why does it matter if McCoy said anything? I personally hate Hollywood secrets and would rather everything be said now.

Wouldn't be much point in seeing the film if all the plot and story elements were spoiled ahead of time.

Fin, I don't doubt you at all, or Lindir for that matter. I too saw many of those posts over at S&F. However, just saying that it did not happen to myself, and many others as well, I'm sure. I'm just wondering what causes whomever processes payments for Weta to do that to some customers and not others, that's all.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]Wouldn't be much point in seeing the film if all the plot and story elements were spoiled ahead of time.[/quote]

Oh, I read full synopsis reviews before I see any movie.

[quote=""RevAnakin""]Oh, I read full synopsis reviews before I see any movie.[/quote]

Especially a movie that already exists in novel form. Pretty much almost anything new we are going to see are inventions, and those are the ones that frighten me, such as the possibility of Radagast dying.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Especially a movie that already exists in novel form. Pretty much almost anything new we are going to see are inventions, and those are the ones that frighten me, such as the possibility of Radagast dying. [/quote]

And even worse would be Weta making a sculpt of Radagast dying in Gandy's arms with the little hedgehog crying next to them.

[quote=""RevAnakin""]And even worse would be Weta making a sculpt of Radagast dying in Gandy's arms with the little hedgehog crying next to them.[/quote]

Shhhhh..... don't give them any ideas!!!

We need "like" buttons on here.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Fin, I don't doubt you at all, or Lindir for that matter. I too saw many of those posts over at S&F. However, just saying that it did not happen to myself, and many others as well, I'm sure. I'm just wondering what causes whomever processes payments for Weta to do that to some customers and not others, that's all.[/quote]

Totally understand you, Val. That's another weird thing with the pre-auth system: it seems rather random.

[quote=""RevAnakin""]And even worse would be Weta making a sculpt of Radagast dying in Gandy's arms with the little hedgehog crying next to them.[/quote]


Quick....a dozen vomiting smilies!!!!

:p uker: :p uker: :p uker: :p uker:

(Too bad you can only show 4 smilies at a time)

So, I'm totally nervous about missing out on Weta's Radagast staff, but it will take them a while to go through a 1000 items worth of stock. Also, I would love to wait and see if UC announces one of their own.

I've noticed that when Weta is running low on something, they typically place the words "Low Stock" over the thumbnail of the item in the Shop page. Are we at all confident they will do this with the staff so people have enough time to order one? Has anyone ever gotten a response when asking questions about stock numbers directly from Weta via email?

Can you request special numbers from Weta? Maybe if I buy like 4 items they will let me...

[quote=""RevAnakin""]Can you request special numbers from Weta? Maybe if I buy like 4 items they will let me...[/quote]

Well, I've bought way more than four items from them over the years, so one would hope they would at least give you an answer, be it "yes, we still have a few left" to "bugger off!"

I just want number 427 of everything

Oh, I see what you mean now. lol... sorry, but I think that kind of perk is reserved for the MSSC line only.

If UC announces they are doing one, it will be several months from now, just an FYI.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]If UC announces they are doing one, it will be several months from now, just an FYI.[/quote]

Thanks, Kit, I appreciate that you wish you could tell us more, but you can't. Of course, if and when UC does decide to announce their own Radagast staff, that will probably be right around the time Weta starts to ship theirs.

Much to ponder and decisions to be made.

I know. Hard decision, but only 1000 pieces world wide. Of course there are a lot of Radagast haters too, and most don't know this is going to be handed on to Mr. G later, so maybe it won't sell out so fast.

lol... good points there.

I don't know how anybody can hate Radagast. If there is issue to be had, it would only be with the slightly dumbed-down version we get in the movie. Then again, Tolkien never described him in any depth, so maybe PJ got him right... mostly.

I was eyeballing that staff as well, at least there isn't bird poop stuck to the side of the staff.

Oh, many do hate him. The most common reference is that he is the jar jar of TH. I don't see it myself.

He is a little goofy and eccentric, but that could be a part of his "act," the hobbits thought nothing more of Gandalf than a pipe smoking, firework setting off, trouble maker. Radagast is supposed to be in touch with nature and without actually talking with the animals, I thought they achieved it very well in the movie.

I think many are e xp ecting one of the Istari to be just as grave as Saruman, or at least as serious as Gandalf, with a lighter side, just like the Grey Wizard. What they don't understand is that Radagast is neither, and had strayed from his original mission long ago. This is not to say he was not faithful to the Valar, but he was always more concerned with protecting birds, beasts, and plants, rather than people. This caused some to think him simple-minded, Saruman foremost among them. But, that is a discussion for another time...

[quote=""Nasnandos""]Oh, many do hate him. The most common reference is that he is the jar jar of TH. I don't see it myself.[/quote]

The immediate way I can disprove that theory is the following. In the battle of Naboo Jar Jar is only effective in battle by accident. He fumbles around and luckily doesn't get killed and ends up destroying a couple droids. Radagast on the other hand, goes to Dol Guldur and actually fights off the Witch King. He distracts the warg goblins away from the company. As I said in my review, he is the cat lady at the end of the street, but most cat ladies I meet are hella smart.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]I know. Hard decision, but only 1000 pieces world wide. Of course there are a lot of Radagast haters too, and most don't know this is going to be handed on to Mr. G later, so maybe it won't sell out so fast.[/quote]

.??? I haven't yet seen the movie, but does radagast give his staff to gandalf in the hobbit 1 or is this for the late movies?

It'll be in later films, Aragorn

[quote=""Aragorn""].??? I haven't yet seen the movie, but does radagast give his staff to gandalf in the hobbit 1 or is this for the late movies?[/quote]
No, he does not do this in TH1. All I can say is Sylvester McCoy leaked that his staff is in LOTR, and people have figured out by looking at photos that it is remarkably similar to Gandalf's pre Orthanc staff, which also includes Radagast's mark.

[quote=""RevAnakin""]The immediate way I can disprove that theory is the following. In the battle of Naboo Jar Jar is only effective in battle by accident. He fumbles around and luckily doesn't get killed and ends up destroying a couple droids. Radagast on the other hand, goes to Dol Guldur and actually fights off the Witch King. He distracts the warg goblins away from the company. As I said in my review, he is the cat lady at the end of the street, but most cat ladies I meet are hella smart.[/quote]
It's because of the comical silliness of his character, the rabbit sled, and the fact that people have this need for something to complain about. I thought he fit The Hobbit perfectly, especially since what is on screen is almost entirely invented. Beyond The Quest for Erebor part of these films, The Hobbit part is a children's story, and should be geared to a younger audience, just as the book was. I actually e xp ected more juvenile, young adult material than what we got, but Radagast should have been a lighter, comical character. He servers a very critical function in the story, as people will see in the next 2 films, so I'm sure opinions will change.

I see. That is very interesting folks! Cheers

[quote=""Valkrist""]So, I'm totally nervous about missing out on Weta's Radagast staff, but it will take them a while to go through a 1000 items worth of stock. Also, I would love to wait and see if UC announces one of their own.

I've noticed that when Weta is running low on something, they typically place the words "Low Stock" over the thumbnail of the item in the Shop page. Are we at all confident they will do this with the staff so people have enough time to order one? Has anyone ever gotten a response when asking questions about stock numbers directly from Weta via email?[/quote]


I'm in the same position. I left a message for Tim from Weta on the S+F board, asking if we'll get a "Low Stock" Notice, even though it's a pre-order. I sure hope so, because I'd kinda like to get it, just to compare UC's Staffs to Weta's.


Also, I'm really glad to hear that Radagast plays a part in the next two films. I was worried we weren't going to hear much from him anymore.

So, Fin... as our resident mole on SF and in the darkest dungeons of Weta, any word on what the next enviro might be now that the dust has settled on Barad-dur?

Any comments from those poll threads from Weta? Will they make a Minas Tirith? Maybe the Lonely Mountain? What's the latest buzz, if any?

Lastly, did you ever get a response about the low stock warning on the pre-orders for Radagast's Staff?

Never did hear anything regarding low stock warnings on LE items. I may PM Tim at Weta about that one, but I hate to bother him. They're quite busy these days.

Weta hasn't said anything about the next environment. They seem to have had one ready to launch for The Hobbit last fall, but pulled it back when PJ announced he was switching to trilogy format. I'm guessing this means it's something we'll see in the next film; I'd bet it's Beorn's Hall or some part of Erebor, although I have no idea if we'll see that far into Wilderland by the end of Desolation of Smaug. Judging by the movie's title, it's likely. There's a crap ton of polls going on over on SF, people (new members especially) are absolutely pining for more LotR environments but I don't think we'll get any. The polls from the last two years indicate we'd see Grond, Minas Tirith, or Minas Morgul next, but I don't think Weta has anyone seriously working on those, not with The Hobbit in the works.

I do know that Richard Taylor offically "Greenlighted" The Green Dragon and Bywater Bridge environment, but production design has stalled. It's slow work as is with the team working on pieces from the new movies, and Daniel Falconer and Dave Tremont are still trying to figure out the best way to get both of the parts-the Bridge and the Inn-on one base without making the footprint too large or losing detail in the process. It should be something we'll see in the future, but it might be awhile.

Come to think of it, Weta has been very quiet lately. I'm assuming they're pretty heavily hit with workload right now, and I think they're just watching public opinion; the Weta forum is "What would you like to see" poll Hell right now. No doubt they're working up a lot of goodies for SDCC 13. I wouldn't e xp ect a shortage of polystone statues and prop replicas in the future; that seems to be the direction they're heading lately.

Good to know, yet disappointing to learn there's nothing actively in the works for the LOTR line. I certainly understand why all their efforts are on Hobbit stuff at the moment.

Thanks, Fin.

There seems to be a huge surge of interest in staffs right now. I don't know if they can even get the LotR license but based on overwhelming poll results, I wouldn't be shocked if (in the coming years) we get Weta versions of all the staffs. There's a poll for Gandalf's Pipe Staff from the beginning of Fellowship, Gandalf's Moria Staff, Gandalf the White's Staff, and Saruman's Staff.

Meh.

Not interested in reissues of things I already have, and with Radagast's staff coming out, it appears that we will be getting a two-for-one deal with one of Gandalf's staves anyway.

I don't know why they wouldn't be able to get the license for LOTR. They clearly have it at the moment, and they are Weta after all, so they will probably have it for as long as WB owns the rights to these movies.

Since I'm pretty much done with statue collecting (except maybe Smaug may be too hard to pass up,) I really just want more enviros of Middle-earth from Weta. There's too much from LOTR that they missed, but now The Hobbit is taking up their attention. Bummer.

Well, on the bright side, they've made it clear that they want to continue the LotR enviros and will do so, as long as the pieces are bought. They are just too busy atm to work on them, I suppose. In recent developments, the latest newsletter dropped a hint that the MSSC Orcrist is likely coming soon, and about time. Also, the next book in the Chronicles series is up for pre-order: http://www.wetanz.com/chronicles-creatu ... haracters/

I will have to latch on to your optimism and hope for the best then.

I'm not really big on the enviros of fairly mundane buildings, like the Green Dragon Inn or Bucklebury Ferry. I'm of two minds on Amon Hen and Weathertop, and the only two I really regret not getting are the Argonath and the Golden Hall, though the latter can be had fairly cheaply on ebay. There's also Moria, which I don't have, but I don't like the interior location cutaway enviros.

I guess I will pick up Bag End and be content with it for now. I'll continue to dream about Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul, Mt. Doom, the Black Gate, and the Grey Havens. Caras Galadhon would be nice if done right also. From The Hobbit, I just hope they do Erebor.

Caras Galadhon is very high on the poll. It's one I'd e xp ect to see in the coming years. I wouldn't worry too much about an Erebor environment, either. It's pretty much inevitable at the rate they're pumping out Hobbit products.

Speaking of The Hobbit, I just bought the Key to Erebor and Thorin Oakenshield statue. Super excited for them to arrive, seeing as Gandalf's Staff is the only collectible I have from The Hobbit so far.