With little rest after returning from Comic-Con Weta’s hit China as part of the Shanghai Int’l Film Prototype Exhibition. Forum member vigshane gives us a great photo report from the exhibit where she met up with Richard Taylor and Greg Broadmore. On display are original Lord of the Rings and King Kong props aplenty, right alongside Dr. Grordbort’s creations.

There is also an exhibit of workshop artist David Meng’s sculptures that I am curious to see. Click through and check out her pics!

(14 photos)

The flow of Prawn contraband is nigh unstoppable now as alarming reports of Weta’s Arc Generator surface outside the confines of South Africa. Forum members thx217, LOTR Fan, Mongoleone and JESTER have provided a plethora of photographic evidence detailing this dangerous life-size weapon. MNU stock has dropped 84 points today in light of this news.

Do you dare enter District 9?

(25+ photos)

Weta’s first character depiction since their return to LOTR is finally here– Gollum. Primarily conceived for Weta Cave visitors based on feedback (no doubt heavily influenced by the life-size displays there), this marks the third time Gollum has made an appearance as a Weta statue– and the first time he’s done so on a ‘proper’ black oval base. An exclusive will feature a Weta Cave plaque along with a little weta bug crawling on the rocks. Caveat? Only available to aforementioned Weta Cave visitors!

The regular version is expected to be available sometime soon for the rest of us. In the meantime see our pics from Comic-Con and fresh pics from New Zealand forumer JacKo of the Weta Cave exclusive!

ES: Open | (Weta Cave) Exclusive: $79.99NZD | Regular: TBD

9 pics posted in our forum! Click through!

If Bag End alone wasn’t enough to quite signal a trend, the resurgence of LOTR environments can now be firmly acknowledged as Weta confirms pending commencement on Rivendell.

Thanks everyone for your input

Now is the last chance for any further suggestions / thoughts

We will start work on Rivendell very soon

Thoughts / suggestions? Add them to our on-going Rivendell thread, brimming with stuff like this popular fan photoshop mock-up by forum member Indiana Fett:

Daniel Falconer was kind enough to drop by our forums for another update on the progress of the much salivated Art of District 9 Book– click through to see the cover art and projected release window!

[Update] Daniel’s shared some actual page spreads with us! Click here to see them!

A treasure trove of in-hand Weta and John Howe’s Smaug the Golden images have been posted on our forum! The great dragon awakens in style as forum members Jen, LOTR Fan, and N2darkness have posted over 50 pics of this hotly anticipated piece newly seated in their collections.

Still on the fence? Weta’s Tim Launder tells us that the price on this piece will soon increase– a good incentive to presently make up your mind. In the meantime–

Click through and see for yourself!

(50+ photos)

On the top of many Comic-Con attendee’s best lists, Weta’s District 9 Exosuit has made waves in the high end collecting circles.

At the same time, complaints have surfaced concerning its $599 price tag, which, no matter how you slice it, isn’t cheap. Here are some thoughts from yours truly:

Lots have been said about the size– one of the first things that struck me was that it’s actually quite large. It’s shorter than Weta’s Christopher Johnson and Son– page has it listed at about 12-inches (would’ve guessed taller) but it is much much bulkier and imposing– if you’re just comparing the height you’re missing the whole story.

Weta’s shot posed with (Exosuit designer) Greg Broadmore is probably the best providing context for those who haven’t seen it in person. Then again that’s right around the size I like my collectibles, and acknowledging that the general trend is for the absurdly big these days. If 3ft. tall statues are your thing, you may find its size legitimately off-putting.

To put it next to something pretty apt for comparison like Sideshow/Legacy’s A.M.P. suit: It’s about half as tall, and costs half as much. The complexity counts for a lot (speaking of both)– a big blobby Hulk this ain’t. Dave Tremont spent three months building this. Nuff said

The base is quite plain, then again I’m not sure adding more stuff would be an improvement either. I do wonder how it would look if the sand was flush with the surface. I think it’s wonderful that they didn’t slap on a District 9 logo here or with CJ.

The more sort of intangible qualities are that this is Neil (who Tim says provided feedback and approvals) and Greg’s baby. And in this particular case, most definitely Dave’s as well. And of a property that won’t be infinitely abused (licensor: Wingnut Films)– how many other District 9 toys or collectibles have you seen so far?

If you’re wishy-washy on it, maybe, maybe not. If you’ve wanted an Exosuit since you’ve first seen it launch a flying pig, oh yes, it’s worth it.

More from Weta manager Tim Launder posted on our forum:

This is our most complicated collectible ever. Dave Tremont and the Workshop team worked on it for 3 months. There are more than 50 different molded pieces which go into the construction.

From the start of the District 9 license, Neill Blomkamp and Greg Broadmore made it clear, this was their number 1 wish. This is their baby !

Sell out time: TBD
ES: 600 | $599.99

10+ pics posted in our forum! Click through!

It’s WWII time and a continuation of what appears now to be a Comic-Con tradition as Weta reveals their Raygun new one-of-a-kinds: Der Adler, The Iron Tiger, and The Divine Ray.

Judging by the reaction from our esteemed panel of forumites, the leafy Iron Tiger seems to be a clear early favorite. Hope the perspective buyers have got their running shoes: priced at the usual $1250, each will be sold exclusively at Comic-Con. Stay tuned right here for our pics of these one of a kind beauties!

Weta has announced a new license to be, well, announced before this year’s SDCC–

From my mental tally of what Weta has revealed on our forums, we can expect the following at the show:

• The new District 9 range, including the recently announced Christopher Johnson and Son statue
• The debut of The Art of District 9
• The fourth as-of-yet unknown LOTR shield
• News or possible a reveal of something from the LOTR character line (!)
• At least one or more unrevealed Dr. Grordbort’s offerings
• 3 New OOAK Rayguns
• Something quite large as teased in this mystery photo which may or may not have anything to do with the above
• And of course this ‘new license’ forthcoming

Much of this is detailed in Weta’s daily Comic-Con updates.

In addition to this there will be quite a few discounted show specials as out lined in this PDF, and a surprising amount of on-hand stock for existing product. I’m impressed already!

While Weta’s District 9 efforts thus far have focused on the more mechanical in the form of prop weaponry, their first statue ironically delivers not just the alien Prawns, but humanistic emotion as well, with Christopher Johnson and his son.

As with many of their best pieces, the Weta connection rings resplendently true as the statue is sculpted by David Meng, who designed the creatures for Neil Blomkamp’s film. (Need proof? Check this this post card)

Stay tuned here for live pics of this from SDCC!

Sell out time: TBD
ES: 600 | $249.99