Statue Weta Workshop Smaug the Terrible Statue

[SurlyJ]

Is shipping to North America really expensive on these WETA pieces ?

Not if you order early enough. Weta has warehouses in NA to ship from.

 

[Gates70]

Not if you order early enough. Weta has warehouses in NA to ship from.

Cool, thanks for the info !!

 

[The Josh]

Que??

Over on S&F Megan from Weta said there are big plans in the works.

Thank God I'm done with superheroes.

If that's the case I gotta be real selective though Balrog & Smaug are hard to not want.

Middle-earth > Super Heroes

Gonna be that way for lots of folks.

Lots of them according to Megan. Personally I have reserved the 50cm scale for iconic characters thus if they keep bringnig things like Azog my wallet gonna be pretty safe.

Treebeard or Gwaihir -> wallet will cry

My impression there are lots of great and big things to arrive in our collections.

 

[DEADDACK_33]

Is shipping to North America really expensive on these WETA pieces ?

I'm paying $168.48 USD shipping on Smaug to Alberta. Plus the fees UPS dishes out, I'm probably looking at another $200 or more on top of that.

Josh, I also saw Megan's comments and I'm very excited! I'm guessing since Sideshow took a step back from Middle Earth Weta is going to really start cranking out statues and other collectibles since the market is now theirs to lose.

 

[Texxen]

Hmmm. I've just checked my credit card. For some reason, I have the whole amount pending for Smaug and not just the $100 NRD.

 

[Stampe]

Hmmm. I've just checked my credit card. For some reason, I have the whole amount pending for Smaug and not just the $100 NRD.

https://www.wetanz.com/why-do-you-take-my-credit-card-details-when-i-place-a-pre-order/

 

[El Mule]

Hmmm an example of great things? Which characters do you suppose we'll see?

 

[theguru1]

I can see it being the standard for statues this big. Especially ones as detailed and attached to something as awesome as The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.

My minor concern and I'm not saying they are doing this, but it's almost as if they are pricing it with secondary market in mind. That is setting the price high enough that it is already in the price range that anyone looking to make a quick $ is out of luck. With an ES of 2000 and a pre-order price of $700 (plus postage and any local taxes), then if you buy it now, you're "stuck" with it.

 

[SurlyJ]

An epic Treebeard would be amazing. Beorn could be great but is so minor a character might not sell well. It's a shame we'll likely never get a Carcharoth. Though if Peter Jackson does any more ME movies, I think the story of Beren and Lúthien is the best ME story outside of Hobbit and LotR that should be told.

 

[Adolfo]

My minor concern and I'm not saying they are doing this, but it's almost as if they are pricing it with secondary market in mind. That is setting the price high enough that it is already in the price range that anyone looking to make a quick $ is out of luck. With an ES of 2000 and a pre-order price of $700 (plus postage and any local taxes), then if you buy it now, you're "stuck" with it.

They are trying to make the most money that they can. I just bet they thought $700 1000ES Barad-Dur was going to sell out quickly, but it took 2 years, so they made Azog Still $700 and ES of 500 and were probrably shocked it sold out in a mere 4 weeks(I bet they wished they made a few more of them). Anyway they now introduce two heavyweights again(Balrog and Smaug) with a $50 discounted price to lure folks to preorder knowing full well that the ES and price are high here. Smaug now is their most expensive reg statue to date and the NRD is also a little insurance policy too. Flex should be considered even more so now. With larger pieces on the horizon (so says weta) I think it would be in their best interest to do thàt. You think a 1/6 Eomer on a Steed or any other large piece( folks we can think of a few I'm sure)is gonna be cheap? Nope look for a lot of $600+ pieces in the future. I bet at least twice a year IMHO . Like everything else we just have to wait and see. Just remember it's business

 

[The Josh]

My minor concern and I'm not saying they are doing this, but it's almost as if they are pricing it with secondary market in mind. That is setting the price high enough that it is already in the price range that anyone looking to make a quick $ is out of luck. With an ES of 2000 and a pre-order price of $700 (plus postage and any local taxes), then if you buy it now, you're "stuck" with it.

Possible and its something to think about. I guess if you're buying it at this price you're most likely going to keep it. However, it will limit lots of collectors if a bunch of super expensive pieces get churned out in short bursts. Gonna be an interesting to watch.

 

[Gurthang]

Possible and its something to think about. I guess if you're buying it at this price you're most likely going to keep it. However, it will limit lots of collectors if a bunch of super expensive pieces get churned out in short bursts. Gonna be an interesting to watch.

For many it will also become a matter of space. Assuming most are normal ppl with no spare rooms for the collection. How many big-a$$ Smaugs or Balrogs will you be able to put there without making it look like a storage room?

Ppl will start picking -> items sellling out slower -> more items available on primary market + high price -> secondary market dead

 

[The Josh]

For many it will also become a matter of space. Assuming most are normal ppl with no spare rooms for the collection. How many big-a$$ Smaugs or Balrogs will you be able to put there without making it look like a storage room?

Ppl will start picking -> items sellling out slower -> more items available on primary market + high price -> secondary market dead

I agree its a roll of the dice you play as a company for sure. As a collector you're then put into a position of having to make tough choices (as tough a choice as this hobby can give in comparison to real world issues).

 

[Gates70]

I'm paying $168.48 USD shipping on Smaug to Alberta. Plus the fees UPS dishes out, I'm probably looking at another $200 or more on top of that.

Josh, I also saw Megan's comments and I'm very excited! I'm guessing since Sideshow took a step back from Middle Earth Weta is going to really start cranking out statues and other collectibles since the market is now theirs to lose.

That'll be a pass for me then !!! Even Sauron only cost me $60 from SS and he's huge.

 

[JediSword]

I can see it being the standard for statues this big. Especially ones as detailed and attached to something as awesome as The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.

Fully agree this guy is super detailed!

I was contemplating whether to wait for Balrog to ship first before ordering Smaug, so that I can use the WETA dollars from Balrog on Smaug order. Too much waiting around imo so I just went ahead and ordered Smaug

Cant wait to get these 2 in hand

I didn't even realize that was a possibility. So the points are given as soon as it ships or do we have to wait like with SSC?

Same here, on all counts. Given the ED size I might wait until after the holidays. I doubt it'll sell out but let's see if batch one gets sold. I'd still like an expected ship date though.




That only makes me wonder what Weta has on the horizon. Quality is there all the way but price is gettin high.

That's my plan probably too. To wait it out til after the holidays and the good thing is the PO price is still good till well into January

I would like to get in on the first batch. I will probably order in December. Just have too many statues coming out this month. Already canceling a few things so having to throw down the $100, while not awful and certainly workable, throws a little wretch into my plans since I wasn't expecting the NRD.

Lol I've picked a lot of things recently and have been holding off on a few things but man this fig has me so tempted and if I can use the RP I might just cop this guy sooner lol

I'm paying $168.48 USD shipping on Smaug to Alberta. Plus the fees UPS dishes out, I'm probably looking at another $200 or more on top of that.

Josh, I also saw Megan's comments and I'm very excited! I'm guessing since Sideshow took a step back from Middle Earth Weta is going to really start cranking out statues and other collectibles since the market is now theirs to lose.

Wait, another $200 or so? Wtf? I'm in Toronto and this makes me rethink both this AND the Balrog

An epic Treebeard would be amazing. Beorn could be great but is so minor a character might not sell well. It's a shame we'll likely never get a Carcharoth. Though if Peter Jackson does any more ME movies, I think the story of Beren and Lúthien is the best ME story outside of Hobbit and LotR that should be told.

Dude Treebeard would be SOOOO BOMB!

Sent from the Cockpit of the Millenium Falcon

 

[Fremen]

I was so shocked when my Weta Bow came to the door via UPS. It cost soooooo much at the door plus the amount I already paid to ship it to Canada. Came to close to $300.
You can phone UPS and tell them you want to do your own paper work. Look it up. I can't remember the details. It will save you a ton. Problem is you have to run around and do it.

 

[finarfin]

An epic Treebeard would be amazing. Beorn could be great but is so minor a character might not sell well. It's a shame we'll likely never get a Carcharoth. Though if Peter Jackson does any more ME movies, I think the story of Beren and Lúthien is the best ME story outside of Hobbit and LotR that should be told.

I would go for the Children of Hurin first myself, but any ME story on the big screen would be most welcome!!! Just imagine the collectible possibilities.

 

[Gurthang]

I would go for the Children of Hurin first myself, but any ME story on the big screen would be most welcome!!! Just imagine the collectible possibilities.

Publicity would just slaughter PJ for "milking a cashcow" and fully disregard that CoH or BaL were stories close to Tolkien's heart.

 

[Enthus]

Lots of them according to Megan. Personally I have reserved the 50cm scale for iconic characters thus if they keep bringnig things like Azog my wallet gonna be pretty safe.

Treebeard or Gwaihir -> wallet will cry

Same here. I had Azog on pre-order but cancelled it before it released. I just don't feel any need to own the character, definitely not iconic enough. Smaug and Balrog are very tempting, however.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

I would go for the Children of Hurin first myself, but any ME story on the big screen would be most welcome!!! Just imagine the collectible possibilities.

It would be almost endless. I'll take Utumno or Angband environment, right after Minas Tirith.