Ultimate Collectors' Forums

Anyone else get the notification that Treebeard is up for pre-order on 25 October.
Number is limited to 333. No price info, tho'

The countdown is on!

Idril wrote: Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:29 am The countdown is on!

Tick, tock!

Guess they are teasing us and making sure we have a doctor and/or priest ready in ten days' time when they reveal the price.

Some minor observations on the new high-res pics:

- I really wish someone had pointed out to the sculptor that Treebeard's third forehead 'eye' is very off-putting and distracting. I really can't un-see it after it was pointed out and it detracts from his face because it makes it look so weird. I know it's just a wood knot, but if I never noticed it in the movies, it shouldn't be so prominent now.
- Some folks are already poo-pooing Merry and Pippin's likenesses. I'm usually one of those folks as I hold Weta to the high standard they have placed themselves in, but some of their attempts lately have left me cold (Boromir, Haldir, Gamling.) In this case, however, I think people are wrong and Merry and Pippin look great, certainly 100 times better than the old SSW Merry, and 1,000,000 better than the SSW Pippin abomination. Plus, he's finally wearing Fellowship clothes. Where I do agree with the criticism is that as good as I feel they are, they fall a tad short of Masters Collection 'Wow' factor. I know Treebeard is the showpiece and he's definitely top notch, but the hobbits could be a bit more... I don't know... enhanced?
- Not a huge fan of the overall pose. Didn't notice before but with Treebeard half turned as he is walking and looking to the side, it presents a challenge in angling him just right to show off all the main features: his face, front of his body, and the two hobbits. Not a fan of the awkward angle one bit.

Well, I guess it wouldn't be Weta if it was 100% perfect.

I am borderline on this whole thing as of a few days ago. Emotionally and financially drained by my little kitty's failing health and faced with the hardest decision I will have to make one day soon now that it's confirmed terminal. Times of grief and loss like this really make one stop cold and question what we are doing and where our priorities are. The spark that is the joy of collecting is very dim for me at this moment. I guess I'll see where I'm at when this thing is priced out but if I do get it, it could be the piece to close out my collection for good. Seems like a fitting place to stop.

Val, I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. I've been there myself -- twice -- and it's awful. Truly the hardest thing a pet owner ever has to do. Sending along my best thoughts as you navigate those turbulent waters and emotions.

So sorry to hear about your cat. I know how hard it can be.

I like what I see with the high res photos, but he is huge. Price is going to be the biggest decision with this as I'll find the room. I think anything more than $2400 then I'll be out and even then it will be hard to swallow.

I feel for you Val, having gone through it myself it is extremely difficult and I think those of us without children have a little more attachment to our animals. I hope it goes smoothly, but won't be easy. Only time will heal the pain.

Sorry to hear of your pain Val. I hope the numbered days are memorable for you both in a wonderful way.

I have had a total sh!t year. I lost my aunt - who was like a 2nd mother, my mother (who I cared for till the end) and my long term job - I’m hoping Treebeard will bring some joy into this year. Even though I hope he doesn’t ship till next year.

Idril, I'm so sorry for your losses and pain-filled year. No one should have a year like that. Sending my best thoughts your way.

Thank you all for the kind words.

Idril, I had no idea you'd been through so much recently. You'd previously hinted at a great deal of stress in your life but I didn't want to pry as such personal information is best shared voluntarily when the person is good and ready. My thoughts are with you.

Back to Treebeard, what do you guys think of those statues and the silhouette seen in the size comparison photos? Are the visible orcs old SSW statues? I wonder what the invisible one could be. It definitely looks like an orc.

Thanks Val and Buckeye. I don’t like bringing down the vibes with my soap opera life. . But I am still working at my old job - Just part time, so have to watch my pennies till next year.

Going by the sword - it is an orc. I guess we are due one and it would be cute to include the one big T squashed.

Around 40 hours to go. I wonder how many will hesitate because of the price. I don’t know what it will be but I hope lower that what is being discussed on FoU. At 26kg shipping is going to be awful.

Idril wrote: Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:41 pm Around 40 hours to go. I wonder how many will hesitate because of the price. I don’t know what it will be but I hope lower that what is being discussed on FoU. At 26kg shipping is going to be awful.

Yeah, the guessing is all over the map, with most settling in between the 2k~3k range, which is what I suspect it will be. I'm 100% positive Weta did the 10-day delay to spy on the FoU forum and gauge reaction and speculation on the price. I'm willing to bet my life they are using this information to settle on the fine line between making this affordable for a few of us or pricing it so far out of range that it will be a flop like the overpriced Gollum. Thankfully, most people seem to be bowing out of this collectible and I hope Weta is taking note. This might... *MIGHT*… just tell them to not be too greedy about this and surprise us with a price that is still reachable for some. Like you, I'm dreading the cost of shipping just as much as the cost of the actual statue. This will have to be a UPS delivery for sure as it will be too big and heavy for normal post delivery, which will only increase costs. If I do go for this thing I might have to work something out in terms of delivery... if only I knew someone who lived close to the border...

If the chatter is to be believed, Treebeard's price was leaked early by some overeager online retailers. They've since pulled the mistake, but if you put the unpriced pre-order into your cart, it appears as $2350 or $2400, depending on where you go.

Very expensive but around what the majority of folks were expecting, myself included. Got a couple of hours to decide what to do as I don't think he will last the day, to be honest.

As an outside observer with no intention of purchase, I have to admit that's a hefty price tag. But it really does look like a grail item. Unique and beautiful, it could easily be a centerpiece of a collection. If I did collect LOTR statues, this one would probably be a must-have for me.

I do have some concerns for those of you buying...this looks like it'll be a beast to ship, but moreso I'm worried it'll be a tough item to receive undamaged. Looks like a lot of fragile and thin branches and the like...

Weta Site crashed (no surprise there) ...but... SCORED A TREEBEARD!
Man, that was a harrowing 5 minutes

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered as well. Super frustrated that I didn't see the "Earlybread" email with the $300 discount till after ordering as I was watching the countdown and refreshing to get in. I sent in an email to support to see it they will apply the credit.

Ditto on missing the code and ditto on sending an email. Saving $300 would have been nice ...hope they apply it.

Same on missing the code. Also, when the ordering first went up, there was no payment plan available, but because it was taking so long, I went through with it thinking that they had just decided to not give us one. Five minutes later and the option is now up?!?

Also sent an email to Support as well begging for a cancellation/redo on the code and payment plan. Got a feeling they will be busy today.

N2darkness wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:23 am Well, I bit the bullet and ordered as well. Super frustrated that I didn't see the "Earlybread" email with the $300 discount till after ordering as I was watching the countdown and refreshing to get in. I sent in an email to support to see it they will apply the credit.

I just did the same. I'm furious that 1) I was given no payment plan option at all, even after refreshing to try to find it (it showed up after I completed my order), and 2) like you, I was on their website, not in email. If it was a small discount I'd let it pass, but at $300 I have also requested that they honor it and apply the credit on my purchase that was made within the first 10 minutes or so.

The whole thing was a hot mess, IMO.

Val, how does one cancel and order? I looked at my "order page" and there is no cancel button option at all.

Deimos wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:31 am Ditto on missing the code and ditto on sending an email. Saving $300 would have been nice ...hope they apply it.

Me too! Actually I'll be a little mad if they don't. The time on my email is 12:55 PM, I'm sure there will be quite a few emails into Weta about this.

Either way I'm happy and a little shocked I ordered with it being so much, but hey you only live once and I'm pretty sure this will increase in value (so it's an investment).

N2darkness wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:39 am

Deimos wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:31 am Ditto on missing the code and ditto on sending an email. Saving $300 would have been nice ...hope they apply it.

Me too! Actually I'll be a little mad if they don't. The time on my email is 12:55 PM, I'm sure there will be quite a few emails into Weta about this.

Either way I'm happy and a little shocked I ordered with it being so much, but hey you only live once and I'm pretty sure this will increase in value (so it's an investment).

If they receive enough emails on it, I can't see why they wouldn't honor the requests. I mean, this isn't just one person that missed it.

Weta page says it has already sold out in the EU. Those EU folks must have money to burn....it doesn't appear anyone there thought twice about spending that kind of money.

Deimos, I believe there is an option to cancel at some point, or it may have to be done via email. Whatever the case, it exists because A) people have done it, and B) there would be no other reason to have a Non-Refundable-Deposit if there was no cancellation available,

Either way, I'm not cancelling mine and risking losing that money. As of right now, I'm guaranteed a statue, just incensed that they pulled this code thing at the last second. I did get the email, but seriously thought it was just a reminder the countdown was nearly over. I think many people missed it. The payment plan was also not there and now it is. That website is so useless.

Thank you for the info....I did at first consider canceling and re-ordering using the code, but then thought the risk was too great of losing out entirely.
And now I see that the EU is sold out.
I'm sure, tho' that when I see Treebeard in my living room, I will forget all about that $300.

Completely sold out in 45 minutes. Wow.

I read that the payment plan would have only showed up if you have credit card on file with your account. I didn't see it personally as i wasn't looking for it.

I think they'll have more than a few orders to change over this. There always seems to some sort of issue with Weta when it comes to these type of things.

SOLD OUT in 45 minutes

I’m glad we all seem to have gotten one. I didn’t see the code till afterwards too. Also emailed.

What a result for Weta. Price was good in my opinion. High but it was always going to be. My shipping was $444au though

I have a credit card on file. Still didn't see any payment plan options until after my order was placed.

I truly hope they do the right thing and apply the discount code to those who requested it. They can easily confirm that any individual buyer was sent that email.

N2, my CC has been linked to my account for years and always shows up at checkout - yet I swear on my life there was no payment plan available. In fact, the payment plan option showed on the main product page after, right above the Buy Now button, but I recall clearly that it was not there at 1:00 PM.

I'm more upset about the code than missing the payment plan. I did realize in my first email to them that I ask them to cancel my order so that it could be fixed to include the payments and hopefully the discount. However, now that the statue has sold out my heart is in my throat that they actually do cancel it and then I don't get one. I sent another email rephrasing my request and emphasizing that I DO NOT want to lose the order, whatever they do.

Yeah... this was badly botched on their part. Let's hope they recognize that and cut people a break.

You know...we all got that teaser email saying to watch you inbox a few minutes before zero hour...etc.
WETA could have said right then...BTW make sure your payment info/CC is up to date. *HINT HINT*
But nooooooooo....they just stumble along in their usual incompetent manner...

On a hopeful, positive note . . . I received an email from Weta Support saying a customer service ticket has been created. Fingers crossed.

Deimos, normally that does cause a problem, but as Buckeye and myself have noted, it was not the issue this time - the payment plan simply was NOT available at zero hour. It only appeared minutes later, after the website crashed several times. For those of us already in the middle of the transaction and unwilling to back out for fear of crashing again, it was too late.

Well, good news (if they follow through)....Alice (whomever that is) just emailed me saying they would apply the discount to my order.
And you better believe me when I say I'm hanging on to that email until I'm standing there looking at Treebeard himself.

Wow... that was fast, and nice of them to do right by you. Let's hope the kindness applies to everyone. For now, I'm just in mortal fear of them actually cancelling my order without first understanding what I was actually wanting. That email can't come fast enough.

Deimos wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:17 am Well, good news (if they follow through)....Alice (whomever that is) just emailed me saying they would apply the discount to my order.
And you better believe me when I say I'm hanging on to that email until I'm standing there looking at Treebeard himself.

I just received a similar email from Alice. Weta Support is working some OT today (actually tomorrow in NZ).

On a related note, Alice said they were verifying that post-purchase Early Bird discount requestors were on that email distribution list. I offered to forward mine to them.

Oh man... now I'm scared. Where is my email? Hope they don't actually cancel my order.

If they are applying the discount post-ordering, I wonder how long it will take before it shows up on the account itself? Also, it causes a bit of mathematical problem as we paid a deposit based on the full amount. I wonder if they will back the $30 (10% of $300) out of what is due today, or just call it a day a leave it?

Buckeye wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:31 am

Deimos wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:17 am Well, good news (if they follow through)....Alice (whomever that is) just emailed me saying they would apply the discount to my order.
And you better believe me when I say I'm hanging on to that email until I'm standing there looking at Treebeard himself.

I just received a similar email from Alice. Weta Support is working some OT today (actually tomorrow in NZ).

On a related note, Alice said they were verifying that post-purchase Early Bird discount requestors were on that email distribution list. I offered to forward mine to them.

After reading your post I decided to gather up every single Treebeard email from Weta and stick them in a "Treebeard" folder.....just to be safe (and not hasty) .

Sounds like Weta will be taking the early bird code $$ off the final payment before shipping. Although not sure what that means if you are part paying plan.

Would be nice to get an acknowledgment by email beyond the 'Ticket Received' automated thing. Just about everyone else I know got some form of confirmation that this would be fixed but me.

Valkrist wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 11:58 am Would be nice to get an acknowledgment by email beyond the 'Ticket Received' automated thing. Just about everyone else I know got some form of confirmation that this would be fixed but me.

I've not received anything either, but if I go into my ticket it says "being processed" for whatever that means. I'd just like a response as well, but I'm sure they are busy.

I’ve not received anything official.

Apparently they are getting A LOT of people emailing caused they missed out.

Not that it will actually happen, but I hope they think this through a little better next time. The whole 10-day wait thing was clearly a drive-up-the-hype/test-the-waters-for-price tactic, and then letting people know at the very worst possible time of anxiety that there is a substantial discount to be had were poor decisions, IMHO. Couple that with the payment plan not being available initially and the website acting like it was built in 1998 and... well, the results are plain to see.

Of course, the statue selling out and people now praising the price and their promise to honour the discount code allows Weta to snatch victory from the jaws of embarrassment... which returns me to my opening point: nothing will change next time. Luckily, this likely marks my first and last Masters Collection purchase, and other statues for that matter. At the current rate, within a year or two, $1k will be the norm for a 1:6 non-rider. No thanks.

Valkrist wrote: Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:50 pm Luckily, this likely marks my first and last Masters Collection purchase, and other statues for that matter. At the current rate, within a year or two, $1k will be the norm for a 1:6 non-rider. No thanks.

I'm probably right there with you, with the exclusion of either Elendil or Gil-Galad and will spend my time and money with props and other 1:1 weapons.

I just received my email from Alice and she gave me an option of either $300 in Weta dollars or the $300 as a refund at the time of final payment. I choose the later. I'm sure you'll be hearing soon as well.

Yes, those two characters would be my sole exceptions at this time. I would love a Beorn as well but I'm not as attached to him. With the Pippin that comes with Treebeard, my Fellowship will be complete at last, so that closes out my wish list.

I got the same email from Alice also, but have not replied yet. I'm torn because I know I can easily use that $300 as Weta dollars when either Gil-galad, Elendil, or Minas Morgul inevitably comes out, but then again, getting $300 off the final payment would be great as well. Time to think fast. Lastly, she apologized for the payment plan thing and confirmed it was an error. Unfortunately, they can't change that now but it's fine... the important thing was getting this rare piece; the discount is icing on the cake.

P.S. - At $190, the shipping was not nearly as horrible as I was fearing. I'll still get nailed a bit with taxes and customs fees on top, but much more tolerable than I thought.

All good then for all by the looks. A lot less expensive than I thought. Now getting the early bird discount, I had $220 WD to use and I effectively get 15% in WD back. I think that makes it about $1600. A bargain really

Congratulations everyone!! I’m incredibly jealous. With only having Weta’s Rohan pieces, it’s been easy to justify the “no” when certain pieces come out. But I had this one in my cart, ready to seal the deal, but just couldn’t. With my wife pregnant with kiddo #2, I just kept thinking about my wife killing me and leaving my kids without a dad, all because of a $2000 statue.

But what a statue it is. If I’m ever in any of your neck of the woods and come by for a visit, I may need a crucial amount of time to stare at Treebeard.

I hear ya, SH. I'd be 6 feet in the ground after my wife found out I bought this statue were it not for the fact that we are both grieving over the loss of our beloved kitty. Nothing like some shopping therapy to ease the pain somewhat, I suppose.

That, plus the fact I will be selling a few things to cover part of the expense. Only real way I could justify this.

If some of those neck of the woods you happen to visit include Vancouver, Canada, Treebeard will be here to be oggle at for as long as you want.

Probably a wise choice SH. #2 - be funny if he/she loves trees.

Sorry to hear your baby is playing in the skies now Val. They never really leave you. I hope you at least had a little fun with the tree shopping.