Collection Showcase Challenge: Wētā Hobbit holes

#ChallengeSeason

Challenge Season - Collection Showcase: Wētā Hobbit holes

One of the absolute favourites of my collection of Lord of the Rings related items are my Wētā Hobbit holes. These intricately sculpted and painted pieces faithfully recreate (in miniature) the Hobbit holes from the film set located on the Alexander family farm at Matamata, NZ.

35 Bagshot Row (Christmas edition)

This is the one that started it all. I bought it as my new Christmas decoration for that festive season and then bought new hobbit holes whenever I deemed them affordable …

35 Bagshot Row

And this was the original release of 35 Bagshot Row before it was given a festive makeover …

36 Bagshot Row

26 Gandalf Cutting

In the films, Everard Proudfoot can be seen sweeping the front doorstep of this Hobbit Hole.

40 Bagshot Row

When visiting Hobbiton, this Hobbit hole has an open doorway that you can stand in to pose for photos

31 Lakeside

16 Hill Lane

1 Bagshot Row

This is actually the abode of Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton in the conclusion of the Lord of the Rings films …

The Hobbit holes are scaled such that the LotR table top miniatures seem to proportionately sit along side them almost perfectly. This is a well painted Sam Gamgee figure in front of his and Rosie Cotton’s dwelling …

33 Lakeside

5 Hill Lane

34 Lakeside

13 Apple Orchard

2A Hill Lane

39 Low Road

The depth of this one made it hard to photograph …

15 Garden Smial

19 & 20 Pine Grove

18 Garden Smial

24 Gandalf’s Cutting

The Great Garden Smial

Bag End

Anyone who has visited Hobbiton at Matamata (or, indeed seen the movies) will instantly recognise the iconic residence of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. This, along with the Christmas 35 Bagshot Row, is my favourite of my Wētā Hobbit hole collection. Aside from being the home of Bilbo and Frodo, it has a special place I my heart as a generous gift from the lovely people at Wētā.

And, again, with the tabletop gaming miniature of Frodo almost perfectly scaled, standing at the front door of Bag End …

The these sculptures, designed and crafted by the artists who worked on the films, are small (it’s a criticism from some collectors, while others appreciate how much effort goes into producing such quality pieces). Each Hobbit hole is individually hand painted, so slight colour variations will occur. The intricate and fine detail mean they also need to be handled very carefully as smaller details are prone to breaking off (and some have loose parts - such as trees - that easily fall out). And they are pricy when purchased at retail price, although periodically they are on sale from Wētā or on-sellers (such as Mightly Ape) - I always buy them when on sale. Many are open ended production runs, while a number are very limited edition pieces (and are priced as such).

My collection is not all of the available Wētā produced Hobbit Holes. There were some special edition ones (fan designed), a Halloween limited edition (we don’t really celebrate Halloween where I am from, so it had no significance to me); and some larger (and thus much more expensive pieces (the Green Dragon Inn, a couple of larger Bag End sculpts, Farmer Maggot’s house). Some are now not available. Others I hope to one day add to my collection.