I thought UC had an official product outlet through BudK, unless their relationship precludes things like this. Still, I totally understand the reason why you say this will never happen, not to mention the massive stumbling block that is Warner Bros.

More's the pity, but thanks for enlightning us as usual, Kit.

BudK and about a thousand others dealers. United's official product outlet is their whole dealer and distributor network. The same person owns both BudK, United, and a few other companies, but they are all separate companies. BudK is a HUGE dealer though. I'm sure they are the #1 catalog/website company in the US now. It used to be Smoky Mountain Knife Works.

Even though I know it can't happen, I did actually mention this to the folks at United, and someone from here or over at Shadow and Flame sent them an email about it as well. They still have inventory from trying things like this in the past, so no dice. But, like I said, I don't think it would be allowed anyway. It could not even be sold as a generic product. Even though I designed the display, and it is not in the films, it is part of that licensed product line and includes the G rune in the design.

Sorry, I don't mean to carry this on longer than necessary, but what happens in the case of damaged or missing parts? I've heard of UC replacing damaged display plaques or missing COAs. Could a confirmed purchaser of Gandalf's staff theoretically get a replacement wall mount? This would mean, in principle, that UC would carry a small amount of extra mounts in their inventory just to deal with eventualities like that, right?

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating this course of action for anyone seeking an extra mount for their Radagast staff. It doesn't seem honest to me.

Probably a few, but a broken display would be extremely rare. I think they require the damaged component to be returned for exchange, but as I understand it, they usually replace the whole product.

Again, thanks for clarifying how these things work. Extremely valuable to have an insider such as yourself stop by and inform us of the small, behind-the-scenes stuff.

It just occurred to me that I may have my own personal solution to this bracket problem, aside from trying to modify it like you did.

I'm planning on replacing my old metal-crown Gandalf the White staff with the newer one that came out recently. That means I'm going to have an extra wall mount for the old staff that I'm not using. Do you have one of those old metal mounts from that staff lying around, and can you confirm whether it is fit to hold Radagast's staff? It is metal, but at least the little arms are curved and protected by clear plastic tubbing so as to not damage the staff. I can't believe I didn't remember this until now.

No, unfortunately it won't. The radius is too small.

[quote=""Nasnandos""]No, unfortunately it won't. The radius is too small.[/quote]

Dang it!

I had a suspicion this might be the case as the White Staff is very thin. Well, thanks again for the detective work.

I think we are going to just have to make our own awesome Radagast wall mount. I'll try to come up with something after my tests next week.

I'm getting really anxious about this staff. Most of what I've seen is customers reporting their staff has chips and cracks. Some are small but some go all the way through

How long was it for you guys from payment being taken from your account to the item being dispatched? I got an email the other day saying that it had been processed and sent to the UK warehouse for dispatch but the payment wouldn't be taken until it was ready to be dispatched

However, the money was taken out sometime yesterday afternoon so I thought that it would be getting dispatched but I didn't receive any email saying so and I haven't received an email today. I wonder maybes if with the problems they are having, they might be giving them another check to make sure they aren't cracked or damaged before they leave the warehouse

my staff arrived today.....and thankfully in perfect condition, no scratches no breaks etc.

All good in the hood

I'll post some pics soon

[quote=""Lindir""]I wonder maybes if with the problems they are having, they might be giving them another check to make sure they aren't cracked or damaged before they leave the warehouse[/quote]

Lindir, I hate to make your fears any worse as I share them as well, but I highly doubt these problems are occurring at the point of origin. My guess is that all these cracks and broken tips are happening due to careless handling by couriers like UPS, and by the poor packing choice that Weta made. They may well be leaving the warehouse in good condition; what happens in transit before it gets to our doors, that's another matter.

[quote=""Khal1993""]my staff arrived today.....and thankfully in perfect condition, no scratches no breaks etc.

All good in the hood

I'll post some pics soon[/quote]

My Radagast staff (#313) also arrived today. I'm happy to report that it is damage/blemish free... even after a 5-day journey by truck and three shipping point transfers.

I hemmed and hawed for weeks about whether or not to buy this staff, but now that I have it in hand I am VERY happy I did. It's a beautiful, meticulously crafted piece. Absolutely no regrets here.

Always nice to hear of a happy ending, or two I should say, including Khal.

My staff was dispatched today and should be here tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be fine. I'm looking forward to getting it, I just hope it's not damaged

I'll post with some photos when it comes

My staff just came and its amazing

Like others have said, the wall mount is awful. I'll try and bend it to shape later on so that it fits on the wall. I'm gonna have it high up so that no one can catch it as they go past. I wanna get a display case made for it though.

I have had a look at the crown and I can't see any cracks or chips. Here's a few photos:

Very nice, Lindir! I'm happy yours arrived undamaged.

I'm still waiting a few more days before ordering mine (moving at the moment.) It really makes me wonder if the guys that designed the bracket and the ones that created the staff were even working in the same building. Seems no one bothered to thorougly test whether or not these two things actually functioned together properly.

I forgot to mention I got 340 of 1000.

Val, when you get it I would take the time to open it properly. I think the problem is being caused by the styro strips holding the branches. If you drop the box it will pull on the branches and snap them. But the triangles holding it in place were glued in.

But yeh, the wall bracket is terrible. I hope weta might call them back in and give us a new nicer one.

So I just received my replacement Radagast Staff in the mail from Weta, and it is in perfect condition (#0093 of 1000). Absolutely no hassles with their service; with the exception of having to be home when UPS came to pick up the return. Luckily my roommate was home that day and helped them out the door with it. Though I was initially very unhappy about the damaged item, they couldn't have handled the situation any better in my opinion. A+ for Weta Customer Service.

Glad everything worked out for you as it is a very cool piece. Still undecided on the Weta Gandalf staff.

I'm glad Weta sorted your staff out for you

I ordered the key to erebor with my weta dollars. I'll post pics when it arrives

Glad to hear you got your replacement so fast, Rosere. That seemed pretty quick...Darren is consistent yet again.


I might use my Weta dollars on something soon, I'm pushing $80 right now. Just not sure if I want to drop them yet.

Random question, Lindir: where does that second quote in your signature come from?

[quote=""Fingolfin""]

Random question, Lindir: where does that second quote in your signature come from?[/quote]

Kreia says it in Knights of the Old Republic 2. She's discussing the light and dark side of the force, but I thought it could be applied to other things in our world as well

I have my staff up on the wall now but I just hate that mounting bracket.

Is anyone considering buying another one to snap the branches off so they would then have Gandalf's pipe staff?

[quote=""Lindir""]Kreia says it in Knights of the Old Republic 2. She's discussing the light and dark side of the force, but I thought it could be applied to other things in our world as well [/quote]

Oh it definitely does, that's why I asked.

Weta has just announced the Bombur LE statue for sale.

http://www.wetanz.com/bombur-the-dwarf/

At $249, I can tell you who won't be getting it after a certain rant... *cough* Fin *cough*

You can add me to the list as well. If you were to buy all 13 dwarves at $250 a piece - that's $3250? Weta is a little to rich for my blood these days. I'm picking and choosing my pieces now, no longer a completest.

Oh you can put me right in there with the rest of you guys. I suppose I'm partly to blame for paying the asking price for things like the Barad-dur enviro, but that is a massive piece with a ton of work and detail. They are asking way too much for these statues and getting away with it. Not a good move in this economy. These things should cost around $125, maybe $175 for an LE , but that's it.

I could do even $200 for the LE statues, but yes the prices are getting ridiculous. Everytime I get on the S+F I see the banners advertising pieces and I start counting how many thousands of dollars those statues alone cost. It's just too much!

More photos of my staff, this time its up on the wall:




Ignore that pink wall....

Looks like you did a nice job of altering that bracket. Did you use pliers like Kit, or some other method?

I finally took the plunge and ordered mine yesterday and received the cleared-for-dispatch notice today. Fingers crossed on an undamaged arrival.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Looks like you did a nice job of altering that bracket. Did you use pliers like Kit, or some other method?

I finally took the plunge and ordered mine yesterday and received the cleared-for-dispatch notice today. Fingers crossed on an undamaged arrival.[/quote]

Congrats on purchasing the staff. I hope its not damaged

I used pliers and a micro-fibre cloth to protect the rubber coating. I had to get a little bit of help with it though because I didn't want it to start rubbing the paint away where it would hold it.

[quote=""Valkrist""]I finally took the plunge and ordered mine yesterday and received the cleared-for-dispatch notice today. Fingers crossed on an undamaged arrival.[/quote]

You may have gotten in just under the wire. The web site status has changed to 'Pre Order', so I emailed regarding when more would be available and the reply was that they're not sure, due to the damages that are being seen.

[quote=""MorgulMike""]You may have gotten in just under the wire. The web site status has changed to 'Pre Order', so I emailed regarding when more would be available and the reply was that they're not sure, due to the damages that are being seen.[/quote]

May not be a good thing for me then because it means they have finally decided to put a stop to further shipments until they figure out a better way to package this thing. You figure they've had to do enough returns and replacements that it is costing them a fair bit of money. So, my staff will likely be one of the last to be shipped with the old packaging, which means it is still highly susceptible to arriving damaged. Having said that, it seems they are on top of taking care of this issue, so if it arrives with a problem, it's going right back. Just means now I will have to wait much longer for a replacement than others have.

Another likely scenario is that they've had to use so many of the original batch of 1000 to replace damaged ones, that they might actually have run out of product, so now they have to wait for the manufacturer to craft more.

Fingers cross for you buddy! I also wonder if it would be possible to get a broken 1 to make into Gandalf's fellowship staff?

[quote=""N2darkness""].... I also wonder if it would be possible to get a broken 1 to make into Gandalf's fellowship staff?[/quote]

N2D, you have a imagination exceeded only by your creative talent...and neither one ever seems to shut down.

You missed your calling ...."Occupation: IC Industry" HA! Who are you trying to fool?

Got my key to Erebor today. I really love it



Sorry if this has already been asked, but does anyone know what scale this is?

Pretty sure it's 1:1...

Yup, it's definitely 1:1 scale.

A fair bit of complaining about the wall bracket on Weta's site under reviews of the staff. I hope that now that they've halted shipment of the staff, that they are not only improving the packing method but also creating a better bracket that actually fits the staff.

If they do that, I sincerely hope they offer some kind of exchange or replacement program for those of us stuck with the old, useless bracket. It's unlikely they will admit to having made a bad design decision at this point, but one never knows.

UPS tracker says mine will arrive tomorrow. Stand by for my brief review. Nervous here.

[quote=""Valkrist""]A fair bit of complaining about the wall bracket on Weta's site under reviews of the staff. I hope that now that they've halted shipment of the staff, that they are not only improving the packing method but also creating a better bracket that actually fits the staff.

If they do that, I sincerely hope they offer some kind of exchange or replacement program for those of us stuck with the old, useless bracket. It's unlikely they will admit to having made a bad design decision at this point, but one never knows.

UPS tracker says mine will arrive tomorrow. Stand by for my brief review. Nervous here. [/quote]

Here's hoping Weta does consider redesigning and/or replacing the bracket. It would help undo some of the bad PR they're getting as a result of the current bracket.

I hope your staff arrives undamaged. I still feel very lucky that mine made it through the shipping process unscathed.

Well, it's a full day late, but the staff finally arrived. I'm greatly relieved and happy to report that it is 100% undamaged.

I had a moment of cringing as I signed for the package and noticed the massive hole that had been torn in one side. Not a good sign. That aside though, when I opened it up, all the protective measures Weta has taken thus far were there: hot-glued triangles and reinforced cardboard brackets to make sure the head didn't move, shrink-wrapped shaft, and branches enveloped in protective foam. Not sure if others came with these measures, but it worked, even if all the foam around the branches had shifted to one side and left the really long branch sticking out.

I got 90 of 1000, so says the COA. The odd thing is, on the outside of the mailer box, with all the Weta info, it says 90 of 500?!? Anyone else have this on theirs?

[quote=""Valkrist""]I got 90 of 1000, so says the COA. The odd thing is, on the outside of the mailer box, with all the Weta info, it says 90 of 500?!? Anyone else have this on theirs? [/quote]

Yes, my box was marked as 313 of 500.

Congrats, Val, on receiving your Radagst staff in 100% undamaged condition!

Could be they produced them in two runs, 500 at a time?

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Could be they produced them in two runs, 500 at a time? [/quote]

That could be why they are not shipping any more as the first run is over. Perhaps it is not due to redesigning the packaging or bracket, as we surmised, but merely that they are manufacturing the second batch of 500? Has anyone here gotten a number higher than 500?

Whatever Weta was doing, it's over now: the staff is back up for ordering, the pre order sign is gone.

My box had 0340/1000 written on it. I'm not sure why your boxes only have __/500

I'm glad your staff arrived safely Val

[quote=""Lindir""]My box had 0340/1000 written on it. I'm not sure why your boxes only have __/500

I'm glad your staff arrived safely Val [/quote]

Thanks, Lindir and Buckeye.

And yes, very strange about the numbering...

My box was also numbered 139/500. Looks like the later you ordered, the lower your edition number is.