Sideshow Collectibles » The Lord of the Rings Q&A

Hello everybody, I am a huge fan and a collector of the Premium Formats and my question is do you intend to do more Lord of the Rings Premium Formats, and if you do what characters will be?

news — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:04:32 +0000

Keep an eye out for mysterious, dark, hooded figures with lovely singing voices. They see me rollin’, they hatin’.

The Boromir maquette looks stunning and the only thing I can possibly think of to make this masterpiece even better would be the addition of a 2nd headsculpt. A closed-mouth headsculpt that more resembles the conceptual artwork the maquette is based on. A headsculpt that most collectors believe would go perfectly with the ‘sword down’ switch-out arm. What do you say SS…is a 2nd headsculpt something you would consider adding to this marvelous maquette?

news — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:54:04 +0000

What you see is what you get, with regard to the Boromir Statue. We agree, it’s a LOT of fun to have the different emotive options, with heads and arms, and we’re in the midst of a very active conversation about how to provide the best options within each product.

Hi, could you tell us is there any chance of Rohan Royal guards will ever be made in any scale?

news — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:36:49 +0000

That’s a tough call. They’re maybe a little too obscure for the PF line, and we’ll have to see how deep fans want to go with the Statue series. We love them too. The costume work is INCREDIBLE.

Hi, I was looking at your pre-orders for Legolas / Gimli / Gandalf Maquettes and had an idea. Unlike a lot of previous LOTR items that sell out very quickly, why don’t you do more characters that haven’t been done that collectors would love to see made? For instance, I can’t believe that your not even considering statues like Haldir/Denethor / Skully, and with nothing of Gondorians or Rohirrims. What about Wargs riders and any other riders? I would just like an answer as to why not? Are you prejudice against such statues?

news — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:15:34 +0000

We are, in fact, considering MANY characters for the LOTR statue line! Especially the Rohirrim dudes, we’ll be taking a ride with them at some point. We start off new lines with strong, well known characters, so that the line can seed and sprout and grow, and have the best shot at longevity.

Hi, will you be making any Uruk Hai Maquettes in a Helms Deep style pose?

news — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:11:40 +0000

We are brewing some rad designs for more Orcs, both Uruk and regular.

I would like to know if in the new LOTR statues line, Eomer and Mouth of Sauron are being designed with or without steed. Thanks!

news — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:28:58 +0000

Designed, yes, Eomer without Steed, and Mouth… we cannot state definitively yet.

Will you make some more busts (small ones) of the LOTR ? So many other characters left to make – Denethor, Faramir, Eowyn, lots of orcs, battle troll (who almost killed Aragorn in battle on black gates), Celeborn, Smeagol (hobbit version), etc. Do you have plans make any? If yes…when?

news — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:14:46 +0000

No plans at the moment, although we agree that there is some rich territory yet to cover.

Any insight in regards to the production peek video#24 when is he coming out? He looks great, can’t wait to see the final results!

news — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:01:05 +0000

Gobby will be menacing you in time for San Diego Comic Con!

If I keep asking the same question will the squeaky wheel get the grease? Where, oh where, are the LOTR 12″ Merry and Pippin????? I know all those things about viable sales and understand, BUT now with The Hobbit coming out it should renew interest in the whole series since it is a “prequel” to the other three and viola! Merry and Pippin become stars again. Remember, without them the Ents would never have been instrumental…you know the story.

news — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:17:17 +0000

Where oh where are the Lord of the Rings 12-inch figures, eh? Hobbitses, sneaky filthy hobbitses? Rest assured, we review Lord of the Rings product planning regularly, and there IS a contingent within Sideshow that is dedicated to returning to Middle Earth in Sixth Scale at the earliest opportunity. That day is coming, but it’s not here yet.

Regarding your upcoming Sauron piece in collaboration with Jerry Vanderstelt, I was wondering if you could comment officially on whether it will fall into the Premium Format category (even if not officially 1/4 scale), or if it will in fact be one of the first (if not the first) baddie in the new maquette line? This is easily my most anticipated piece, and I know everyone is eager to know more!

news — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:02:32 +0000

It’s going to be BIG. It will be done in approximately 1:4 scale, true to the Premium Format line. If all goes according to plan, this will be a major centerpiece for the LOTR line, a very singularly impressive statement piece.

LOTR fans have begun a campaign in an attempt to convince Sideshow we want a complete Fellowship in Premium Format and that includes ALL REMAINING HOBBITS! What kind of response have you received? -AND- Is it enough for SS to finally relent and give us a complete Fellowship in PF?

news — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:11:03 +0000

Our Creative Director and design teams have heard you. We’ve received a very healthy response to our challenge, and the Shire has been heard. The Hobbits will see release in statue form, and we will be moving forward with designs for PF versions as well. We’ll be updating you from time to time as things become more concrete.

Seeing as the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of sculpting LOTR maquettes is capturing the likeness of human characters. Can we expect to see LOTR “creature” maquettes to be produced more quickly than their human counterparts?

news — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:07:30 +0000

Hmmm… the likeness work does take time, but it’s not necessarily the most time consuming aspect. The LOTR costuming may be the most time consuming aspect, as the majority of characters wear a number of layers and have some complicated strap and harness situations that take significant effort to reproduce correctly. Legolas quiver, for example, is an engineering feat with straps that work through his cape and other fabric layers. Creature maquettes are a bit less complicated, true, but much depends on whether we’re talking about a Troll or an Orc or a Ringwraith. Our team seems to approach the development as ‘all things equal,’ so they all benefit from similar time allotments. In the end we take your question as a strong endorsment of ‘we want more LOTR, the sooner the better’ – and we will take that to heart.

Concerning a future Samwise Gamgee maquette – would Sideshow consider a composition based on his encounter with Shelob with the phial of Galadriel in one hand and Sting in the other? Also, since the dio. line has been incorporated into the new maquette line could a Sam vs Shelob maquette be a possibility?

news — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:01:23 +0000

Current plans pair the hobbits as Frodo with Sam and Merry with Pippin. A Sam VS Shelob is possible, but not part of our current planning.

Is it possible to change the Gandalf the Grey polystone statue / maquette and bring it out with a removable hat? Also, are you planning to bring out a companion piece (for example the Balrog)… then Gandalf would work better hatless, as in the movie.

news — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:18:21 +0000

It is possible that we will release a hatless Gandalf at some point in the future, but the current Gandalf Statue is much more of an iconic realization of Gandalf the Grey’s essence than it is meant to capture the specific film moment on the Bridge of Khazad-dum.

While the new Strider maquette looks amazing, I’m disappointed that you decided to go with yet another FOTR Aragorn. Is there any chance of future Aragorn collectibles (whether it be maquettes, premium formats, etc) to be based on his other appearances, like the Black Gate costume or Helm’s Deep armour?

news — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:17:30 +0000

Certainly. It is certainly possible that we’ll bring Aragorn back from one of his other appearances, but it’s hard to argue with the Strider Aragorn – he IS the iconic ranger.