SDCC 2007: Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant had some beautiful offerings this year in the area of Lord of the Rings collectibles. I even spotted Richard Taylor admiring them. Okay, I can't exactly make that claim, I have no idea what he thinks of it all, but I did see him. In the pic to the left, you can see the backs of the new busts, Sauron and Orc. I think the orc is Snaga, though I have been told otherwise. I have better pictures (of the fronts, imagine that!), but there are obvious "No Photography Please" signs on them and I'd rather not get into too much trouble. :P These are both beautifully done. However, there are several Sideshow Weta incarnations of The Lord of the Rings, and while you can certainly make a case for this one being different enough from the others, I am not buying it. The Orc, however, is a "new" character in polystone form. I don't feel that it fits in with my existing orc busts, which are more facial studies with classically styled bases. These busts are like half-statues, really. They could turn out several different orcs, I'm sure, but I doubt they would be nearly as popular as the Star Wars clones. Still, these might be a nice collection, especially for those who didn't hop on the Weta wagon soon enough.

Strangely, I don't have many pictures of their products, probably because we were always being shooed away from the area. The line for exclusives was ridiculous, often snaking in and out of the displays. Sometimes people would be waiting in line hoping to join the purchasing line. Bizarre. I was fortunate enough to find my friends at the right time, themselves being in the right place at the right time. The fastest seller was probably the Glorfindel bust, no doubt due to the 500 piece edition size. I got one! More on that later.

Above are the "Classics" busts which debuted at Comic Con. I have to say, I am not very impressed. They are a bit larger than a chess piece, and seem similar in quality to a Bust-Up. I'm not sure what the difference is between a $6.99 Bust-Up and a $30 Classics bust, but seeing as how I balked at $7 for a Harry Potter Bust-Up, I'm sure as heck not buying these things. The Gimli is the best of the lot, but I am partial to Gimli. Legolas is average, the likeness is no better or worse than a Toybiz figure (Gentle Giant supplied the scans for Toybiz, I believe). The Eowyn, though, is awful. I think it actually looks worse in person than in pictures. Considering how beautiful their regular busts and maquettes are, I don't understand why they are bothering with these. I seriously think the only good use for these would be as chess pieces, but for the money, I'd rather have a Noble Collection one.

SDCC 2007: 300 Special Edition DVD

So I was one of the lucky 4,000 to buy a 300 Exclusive DVD set with an Immortals mask at SDCC last weekend (for $50!). Well, since I already have the full-size Neca version, I decided to sell my exclusive and buy the Best Buy Special Edition with the Spartan helmet (see pic) for $35. Well, Tuesday morning the DVD went on sale. I checked online and saw that my local store was out. Opting not to drive 15-20 miles to the next store, I paid the $1.99 shipping on the IN STOCK item. I had to deliver the DVD set to it's new owner today, so last night I started wondering what was taking so long. Two days is a long time, people! :P Come to find out, Best Buy has BACKORDERED me. It may take 2 weeks to get my new set, if I get it at all. I'm a gal of my word, so that SDCC version went to a good home, but I don't think I would have sold it yet if I knew my Spartan helmet was not on its way. Boo on you, Best Buy!

SDCC 2007: LOTRG

So, thanks to our devoted forumite, Blackthorpe, many LOTRG members were sporting these uber-cool laminated badges. Contact Blackthorpe for more information on how to obtain one for yourself (if you’re a member, that is). Of course, it’s not like I need any help identifying our good members! Heck, I’ll even remember your real name for free. ;) We had a good number of members in attendance, though we were not all together at the same time. Dunedain87, choopie, fritz, and radagaster were the mods representing. We also caught up with Ithilethiel, cco805, abandonada (and her friend asilomarworks), jedichef, and diane. Forgive me if I’ve gone and forgotten anyone. I’m sure there were other members lurking about...

…Oh yes, that ever-elusive Gothmog. I do have a picture of his face, but I think the Lord of the Balrogs would fry me to a crisp if I posted that! Such a spoil-sport. Keep your eye out for that shirt and you should have no trouble spotting him! :P

We hope to have a strong contingent at SDCC 2008, so feel free to contact me via PM on the boards or my email: marybluefairy[at]lordoftheringsguide.com (cross fingers it doesn’t end up in the junk mail) if you need more information or assistance.

SDCC 2007: Weta-thon!

So, truth be told, I don't even remember how it started. I found myself blabbering on and on about cupcakes. With trilobites on them. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I can't help but take a joke from the hypothetical to reality. Thus there I was on Wednesday afternoon, putting chocolate frosting on chocolate cupcakes. I topped them with gummi centipedes and tarantulas because I couldn't find any trilobites. Imagine that. I very nearly ordered a trilobite mold so I could make them out of chocolate. Crazy. Anyway, I popped by the Weta booth at the close of Preview Night with 2 dozen gooey chocolate cupcakes (a half dozen were chocolate-butterscotch ones) and that's what they looked like. They got a little melty in the San Diego heat. Wetabug was kind enough to take the cupcake carrier back to her hotel and wash it, how nice, right?! Apparently, I started some sort of cupcake avalanche at the Weta booth...how terrible. ;) *oh, btw, I stole these pics from the wetaholics site.

Well, since they wouldn't sell me anything on Wednesday night, I was desperate to get there as early as possible on Thursday. First, I made sure to beg Greg Broadmore to sign my "The Battery" calendar. Four Weta artists contributed artwork to it, including Broadmore. I got this from Warren Mahy about a year ago, it was awesome of him to send it to me. :) Mahy was also at Comic Con this year, so I stopped by to say "hi" to him as well. Oh, and yes, I rock. Hahaha...I also bought both Raygun prints. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get there in time to buy #1 of each, but I got #4 and #5, so I shouldn't complain. I picked up a Mahy print as well. When I get a chance, I'll take pics of all these and post them.

While Broadmore was signing my prints, I picked up my pre-ordered mini-Manmelter raygun. I have it in a little plastic case (forgive the crappy lighting in the picture). It's a bit larger and heavier than I had expected. For $30, it was a steal. If you didn't know better, you could easily mistake pictures of it for the full-sized one. I was so busy chatting with someone about something that I didn't realize I should have asked Broadmore to sign the box (fabu design, btw!), so I had to trek on back Sunday like a fool to ask him. I'm a dork. Heh.

More SDCC musings on the way!

SDCC 2007: Iron Man

So I think this little guy will end up being the story of SDCC 2007. That's the Iron Man armor from the upcoming movie. The buzz coming off what we saw at San Diego Comic Con is going to be huge.

I just got back from San Diego a few days ago and all I can talk about is Iron Man. We were treated to two presentations, one on Thursday by director Jon Favreau and one on Saturday with Favreau and cast. Stars Robert Downey, Jr. (perfect Tony Stark, btw!), Gwyneth Paltrow, and Terrence Howard were in attendance. The footage was incredible, especially considering that almost everything we saw was pre-CG, in-camera shots. The origin story is addressed in the footage, which was cut to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." We did get to see the iconic red and gold suit on screen and a flying Iron Man.

Attendees scored some sweet Iron Man swag: a t-shirt (which Favreau himself sported on Saturday) and poster. A second t-shirt could be made on the spot if you visited the Paramount booth. The huge Stark Industries crate was opened on Saturday at the Marvel booth, revealing the OG Iron Man above. Eagle-eyed fans also spotted the Stark 4 license plate on Tony Stark's Audi, parked in front of the nearby Omni Hotel.

This is one comic book movie that should NOT disappoint.

There was so much to see and do at SDCC that I will probably spend the next few months blogging about each one!

My PhotoSite

Oh woe is me! My PhotoSite is going to be shut down. :( Well, the whole site is actually shutting down, but still, I must be the one most affected by this! ;) Ah, how I loved my PhotoSites...I had 2 or 3 of them. So easy to use, so nice and professional-looking. I even paid for one of them. Well, go on and enjoy the gallery, relive the good ol' days, until September 27, I'm not moving over to Snapfish. Sigh.

Harry Potter Bust Up

I must apologize for being such a very bad blogger! All work and no collectible hunting has made me very cranky. Grrr.

So, in honor of the new Harry Potter movie and of course, the book, I present a little bauble. I picked this up at the mall last week while I was searching for Harry Potter treats (for some goodie bags I made for the movie). Anyway, it is the Timeless Collection Harry Potter Bust-Up by Gentle Giant.

Little Potty comes in six pieces, and is very easy to assemble. At about 2.5" tall, I have to say it's not quite worth the $6.99 and tax I paid, and I probably won't be getting any others, but I do like it. The likeness is fair and the quality is consistent with something this size, though I wish the shirt was a bit more white (it's kind of peachy in real life). I found the box a bit confusing, what with all the pictures of other Bust-Ups. I feared it was one of those "randomly inserted" things, where you have no idea what figure is actually inside, especially since the box was taped up.

While I'm on the subject of Harry Potter, I'm actually hunting for a good spice cabinet, preferrably one with glass doors. Why, you ask? Well, I am wanting to put together a potions display for a class I might possibly teach next year. Something like this (for under $30, I forgot to bid on this one on Ebay) would be ideal. Even better if it comes with bottles. Let me know if you find one! Otherwise, I suppose I'll haunt the flea market. Ooh, and a birdcage! Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself again...

I might be dressing up for the book party Friday night, you all should too! Happy Deathly Hallows-Eve!