Re: Weta Balrog
Not a fan of this one, personally.
It's an impressive enough pice, but I am sure most of You could think of other potential LOTR reveals, that would make for more sought-after collectibles.
I find the original Balrog statue, to be much more imposing and elegant.
First we have the sculpt itself. The pose is a little underwhelming, a little awkward even. The original had a more imposing look to it. There were so many potential poses WETA could have chosen, to make this 'Rog, stand out in a positive way, compared to the original. Balrog cracking his whip, drawing his sword, or that impresive, peacocky, burning chest display he performed before Gandalf. Instead they went with this slightly awkward, twisted pose, one that makes this statue look more like a Sideshow offering, rather than Weta. Again, this is all just impressions based on few photos, so I hope I am wrong on this one.
Then there's the simple fact, that we allready seen him in statue form. Twice. Not to mention all the different figures and busts, by other manufacturers. Balrog allready had a decent standing in collectible world. Seems a strange choice when there are so many fan-demanded LOTR items yet to be made.
And then add all of it to the issue of price, which I am sure will be quite steep. Despite 'Rog's popularity, I doubt this will be a big earner. I just can't really see the reasoning behind this release. Seems like a counter intuitive move, when they could debut a LOTR item with more bang, by showing something we haven't yet seen before, but shown interest in. Especially now, that LOTR has been largely overtaken by Hobbit.