Journey through Middle-earth
Just over twenty years ago, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, played on the silver screen and catapulted New Zealand cinema onto the world stage. Since then, Wētā Workshop has made countless props, costumes, prosthetics, dressed entire armies and more for an illustrious range of films. Now, we thanked you for the support you’ve shown us over the years.
We dusted off the keys and opened the vault to some of our most precious hero props and armour. You can experience first-hand, original pieces that were used on set while filming The Lord of the Rings Trilogies. Find various costumes in the Wētā Cave in Wellington and Auckland. For those of you that can't come to see them in person, there's some information about some of the hero props and costumes from the movies below.
Shards of Narsil
On display at the Wētā Cave
Cornered and unarmed, Isildur lay beneath the ever-imposing figure of the Dark Lord, Sauron. To create the shards, a full sword was forged, then weakening lines were etched into the blade. This allowed the blade to shatter, as a normal steel blade would do no such thing.
King Isildur's Armour
On display at the Wētā Cave
The Ithilien Rangers were Men of Gondor, tasked with patrolling the lands between the River Anduin and the lands of Mordor. Captained by Faramir, brother to the slain Boromir and son to the corrupted steward Denethor, they were masters of the wildlands with a proclivity in stealth. Finessed in both close and ranged combat, they bore green and brown leathers to blend into their forested surroundings.
Uruk-hai
On display at the Wellington Airport
The Uruk-hai scouts led by Lurtz were played by performers over six foot tall. They marched with straight backs and were unafraid of the sun unlike the smaller, hunched, dark-dwelling Orcs of Mordor and other parts of Middle-earth. The actors and stunt people, who portrayed the Uruks wore yellow contact lenses, dentures, long, lanky wigs, foam latex prosthetics and leather and fibreglass amour.
Mace of Sauron
On display at the Wētā Cave
Facing down the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Sauron sought to defeat them once and for all with his own might. With every swing, swathes of combatants were blown away, crushed beneath the vile pressure wrought by the Dark Lord’s chosen instrument, a blackened
mace as cruel as its master. Sauron’s mace had many variations made, due to the size differences between characters. A full-sized mace was cast from aluminium, but most maces used on set were cast from urethane, for weight and safety purposes.
Rohan Royal Guard
On display at Wellington Cable Car
The Royal Guard stand at the entrance to Meduseld, the Golden Hall of King Théoden. Within, the poisonous work of Saruman and his agent was all too clear, for the king was now a husk of the man he had been. Adorning the top of the Royal Guard’s helmets is the form of a horse’s head with a luscious mane draping down the back. The Rohirrim, or Horse-Lords, kept a close relationship to their horses, with the equine form embellished on many of their arms and architecture.