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Collectibles
From Hellgatewiki.com
The Hellgate: London action figures are more correctly called "Polystone miniatures." Four figures are being produced by Weta Workshop, and they are set to go on sale in summer 2007. These are large, high quality figures, they're being produced in limited runs of 1000, and will cost upwards of $200 US each.
- Weta's Hellgate: London collectibles page.
- Photos of all the action figures. Includes product shots and additional pictures from gaming shows.
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Weta Workshop Partnership
The official announcement of Hellgate: London collectibles came in early 2006:
San Francisco, CA ( January 24, 2006 ) Games developer, Flagship Studios today announces its partnership with Weta Collectibles. Weta Collectibles will create polystone figures of characters and demons featured in Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios' highly- anticipated game.
“The chance to work with such creative geniuses is simply unbelievable,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “We've all been admirers of their craftsmanship for years, and the amazing quality and detail in their pieces is just another display of their incredible abilities. We're looking forward to a fantastic collaboration visualizing the characters of Hellgate: London as collectibles.”
“I, along with the team from Weta Workshop, are thrilled to be working alongside Flagship Studios for the upcoming Hellgate: London release. We are very pleased to be involved with this exciting project, and able to bring a range of high end collectibles to the many fans who, no doubt are eagerly waiting the release date. We see this as an exciting opportunity with sculptures based on 3D games rather than movies. As seen in recent times, more and more games are reaching the big screen, showing this is a vibrant area of the entertainment market. From what I have see so far of Hellgate and its design, this is going to be one we will all want to play,” said Richard Taylor, Co-Director, Weta Workshop.
Our first look at any of the figures came at E3 in May 2006, when we saw this ad in the Hellgate: London issue Zero comic book.
The Weta-modeled figures are all lovely; which is Bill Roper's favorite, though?
"That is an incredibly tough question because, to be honest, they are all amazing. I am torn between the raw power of the Male Templar cleaving the zombie and the moment of quiet introspection captured in the Female Templar piece. The one thing that struck us all about the collectibles was how the artists captured a moment in time. It brings an amazing sense of life to the works and makes them very special."
--Bill Roper, November 2006, WetaNZ interview.
Male Templar
- See more photos of this figurine in the merchandise gallery.
- WetaNZ pre-order page.
From the Weta page:
In the year 2038, London lies in ruins. A great rent in the fabric of reality has loosed uncounted legions of savage demons into the city to reap death and destruction upon a terrified humanity.
Templar are the true believers, the keepers of the faith, and the destroyers of evil. They are extremely organized and regimented, their centuries of preparation giving them the best basic footing for waging war against the demons. They also control and defend the London Underground, which serves as mankind's sanctuary.
This is the Male Templar, caught in mid-slice, sending the undead back to the hell it came from.
Sculpted By Weta Workshop's Eden Small, Bill Hunt, and Gary Hunt.
Female Templar
- See more photos of this figurine in the merchandise gallery.
- WetaNZ pre-order page.
From the Weta page:
Templar are the true believers, the keepers of the faith, and the destroyers of evil. They are extremely organized and regimented, their centuries of preparation giving them the best basic footing for waging war against the demons. They also control and defend the London Underground, which serves as mankinds sanctuary.
This is the Female Templar, standing victorious over the corpse of her latest conquest.
Sculpted By Weta Workshop's Brigette Wuest.
Female Cabalist
- See more photos of this figurine in the merchandise gallery.
- WetaNZ pre-order page.
From the Weta page:
This is the Cabalist, summoning one of Hell's demons to serve her in the battle against its own kind.
Delvers of arcane knowledge, students of the dark arts, and explorers on the fringes of science, Cabalists use the powers of the demons against them. Cabalists are spell-casters, and more specifically, summoners and controllers of demons and the primal forces of the netherworld. They seek to study and dissect the essence of the demons to achieve the next evolution of mankind.
Sculpted By Weta Workshop's David Meng, Eden Small, Jamie Beswarick, Shaun Bolton, Greg Tozer, and Dave Tremont.
Female Hunter
The Hunter model costs NZD $311.11, which is approximately $219 US dollars. Item size: approx. 18 inches H (450 mm) x 14 inches W (350 mm) x 10.5 inches L (260 mm)
- See more photos of this figurine in the merchandise gallery.
- WetaNZ pre-order page.
Hunters were highly-trained ex-military operatives and members of secret government agencies most comfortable clinging to the shadows and dealing with threats in their own deadly ways. After the Demon invasion, methods and weapons once held secret were shared as Hunters switched their crosshairs from one another to the monsters that had invaded their world.
The archetype of the Hunter is obscure, cloaked in mystery and subterfuge. In one way they are an Assassin, a Ninja, a knife in the dark. In other ways, they are the Ronin, a highly-trained warrior with no master. In yet more, they are the Destroyer, a force of blazing gunfire and deadly accuracy that lays waste to any foe that stands in their way.
Their weaponry was/is a mix of hyper-advanced technology and theoretical science. Their people are boisterous groups of practical hard-asses who have survived the Demon invasion thus far by remaining a few steps ahead and keeping the Cabalists and Templar a few steps behind. They are also men and women that have been subjected to indescribable horrors long before any Demon touched Earth's soil.
Sculpted and formed by Weta Workshop's Ryk Fortuna, Ben Hawker and David Tremont
Future Figurine Options?
It's not known at this time if Flagship will be producing larger batches of more affordable collectibles at some point. Lots of fans would like these figurines, or others of the Hellgate: London characters, but feel the high cost of these prices them out of the market. Plastic action figure of the type released for Diablo II, for around $15 each, would be most welcome, though it's unlikely we'll see anything like that until the Weta figures have been sold out.
Other WETA Goodies
Nothing is official at this point, and it's probably just Bill Roper being his usual, enthusiastic, PR-god self, but this is an interesting answer to a question from a June 2006 Got Next interview.
What are the chances that the collaboration with WETA could grow to include more than just polystone figurines; perhaps such things life-sized gun and sword replicas?
Bill Roper: We would love to do as much with the extremely talented folks at WETA as we can. When we had the opportunity to visit their workshop in New Zealand at the beginning of the year, we spent a handful of days discussing all kinds of great and grand projects we could collaborate on. Who knows what will come of it, but I know I'd love to have some life-sized Hellgate gear in my office, and the folks at WETA certainly know how to make weapons and armor!
