LDD - Wave Three LotR Set Ideas

[Deathleech]

Hey guys, since it doesn't appear like we will be getting a third LotR wave I decided I will be making some sets in LDD that could have theoretically been made into real sets. Keep in mind these are just my dream sets done in a similar style to what Lego might give us at each price point. I will be posting a few more in the coming weeks. To start off with I decided to do a Minas Tirith Gate set.

This set would have roughly 1770 bricks. The ideal price point would be $129.99, but with a large molded Fel Beast and a high piece count I don't know if that is feasible. If not $149.99 would work. Alternatively, Lego could probably make the walls and towers slightly smaller to hit the $129.99 price point. If need be they could also use 3-4 pieces and add catapults to the small towers and some pieces that could be thrown over the walls like in the films. Chunks of the tower could also explode to further add play features (though I don't think they are that needed with all the cool minifigures and Fel Beast).

As I am sure you guys have noticed this build focuses more on the gates and towers that jut out around the gates than on the actual walls on the side. My reason for doing it this way was because I thought it made a pretty good display and stand alone set. I know this set loses the tiered Minas Tirith look that is so iconic, but without having a 5,000+ piece set or multiple $100 sets it just isn't realistically possible to do a proper Minas Tirith. Also, I found this makes a pretty decent looking castle for castle fans while still being incredibly movie accurate to RotK. It's not just another flat wall or gate likie Black Gates or Dol Guldur Battle. The gates and surrounding towers have a pretty distinct look.

As for the minifigures, I included Faramir in Ranger attire, Eowyn w/o helm, 2 Gondor Soldiers, 2 armored Mordor Orcs, Gothmog, the Witch King, and a Fel Beast. I could see Lego losing one of the Gondor Soldiers and Faramir (who I might place in another set later on) in place of Denethor, Gondor Pipping, or Rohan Merry. If this set was to be $149.99 it could easily have 9 minifigures instead of 8. Anyways, without further adieu, here is the first set in my dream wave three for LotR, the Gates of Minas Tirith:

The inside is a little bare. There are just weapon stands that can be filled and ladders leading up to the next level.

Here is my first attempt at this build, but this version was proving to be much to big. With only half of one side done and the main gates it was already over 800 pieces so the final set would have easily topped 2,000 and been a direct set at that price point. Next up are an add on army builder set to this one...

Edited September 7, 2014 by Deathleech

[Darth Caedus]

This is the first LDD that's sold me on the "Minas Tirith First Circle" concept. I still really would rather just have an Osgiliath based armybuilder and a larger scene of some other iconic location, but this isn't bad.

The armybuilder expander "wall chunk" set is essential. Given that those would be purely armybuilderriffic, I'd recommend a slight adjustment to the characters in this set. Swap the 2 basic Orcs with Guritz (skull hat orc) and Murgash (long hair 'nothing can breach it' orc). Normal Orcs can be armybuilt in an expander set.

I also think for an armybuilder, the Orcs should be based on the most memorable random Orcs of the battle. Only true diehards are gonna be in this thread anyways, so you know these ones I'm talking about. The Darth Maul skinned orc who bites a Gondorian. The pale, mohawk Orc with a ring-like flat nose who looks ridiculously happy while firing a bow at the charge of the Rohirrim. The big, scale-armored Orc who Pippin kills while defending Gandalf. Diversity is key with the Orcs - something Lego failed to pick up on. Uruks are standardized, it's okay for them to look identical. Orcs are inherently slipshod and ramshackle - that adds to their weird, chaotic fearsome aspect.

[Steph 104th]

Beautifully done, this would make a great set.

[TheRedViper]

Nicely done, I would buy this in an instant.

[Deathleech]

This is the first LDD that's sold me on the "Minas Tirith First Circle" concept. I still really would rather just have an Osgiliath based armybuilder and a larger scene of some other iconic location, but this isn't bad.

Ya, I agree with you. I think Osgiliath would make for a better scene to base a flagship Gondor set and army builder off of. The thing is though, Osgiliath doesn't have some of the big named characters appear there like Eowyn, whom we still need. Eowyn vs the Witch King needs to happen in the same set as it's such an iconic duel. Anything besides Minas Tirith with them would be nothing but a field which leaves no build if the Fel Beast is molded. Lego would need to put minifigures in Osgiliath that are never actually seen there in the films to cover everyone. That was a problem I kept wrestling with. Do I make a big Osgiliath set that doesn't have all the main characters but could have a more "complete" looking build, or do I go with Minas Tirith which is a perfect set to include all the missing characters in but is hard to really build anything coherent and do justice to? Lego could do a big Osgiliath set and army builder and then throw the Witch King and Eowyn into a separate set, but considering the past three waves have all only had four sets each I think the number of sets is pretty limited (and this is something I am trying to stay true to with my dream wave).

The armybuilder expander "wall chunk" set is essential. Given that those would be purely armybuilderriffic, I'd recommend a slight adjustment to the characters in this set. Swap the 2 basic Orcs with Guritz (skull hat orc) and Murgash (long hair 'nothing can breach it' orc). Normal Orcs can be armybuilt in an expander set.

I also think for an armybuilder, the Orcs should be based on the most memorable random Orcs of the battle. Only true diehards are gonna be in this thread anyways, so you know these ones I'm talking about. The Darth Maul skinned orc who bites a Gondorian. The pale, mohawk Orc with a ring-like flat nose who looks ridiculously happy while firing a bow at the charge of the Rohirrim. The big, scale-armored Orc who Pippin kills while defending Gandalf. Diversity is key with the Orcs - something Lego failed to pick up on. Uruks are standardized, it's okay for them to look identical. Orcs are inherently slipshod and ramshackle - that adds to their weird, chaotic fearsome aspect.

I have gone back and tweaked this set a number of times, and plan on continuing to do it as I flesh out more sets in the future. The minifigure choice is something I really want to come back to. I think the perfect minifigure line up for this set would be Denethor, Eowyn, Rohan Merry, Gondor Pippin, Gothmog, and the Witch King on Fel Beast. Those six seem the most necessary and like strong contenders for sure. Faramir will probably be moved to the army builder set since he can easily serve as a generic soldier much like Eomer did in Uruk-hai Army set. Guritz could definitely be another possibility in the big Minas Tirith set. I am just not sure how likely Lego would be to do special prints for all these lesser named orcs that don't get a ton of attention in the film. I do plan on having at least three distinct looking orcs in the army builder set. I just wish the prints available in the LDD were a little better. They don't seem to have even most of the official Lego prints. I might end up taking some minifigure templates and doing my own up inPhotoshop or something. I am just starting to get into working with LDD so I have a lot to learn about it still.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Deathleech

[SMC]

If this was the only set we got I would be happy the the lone ended well and mostly complete. See Lego its not that hard really you can even make it a bit smaller.

[Alcarin]

Its a great set, but I would rather it was smaller aka, no fell beast 2 gondor archers Gandalf the white and then Gothmog, Grond 3 Orcs and a Troll possibly.......... and a tad smaller thant that..... to put it within about 1600 pieces (with Grond) and 140$ price point

Its kinda pointless to have Gates of Minas Tirith without the main thing to destroy it, which woudl be the main feature for playing with....

Fell beast should have its own set with Eowyn, Witch King and Theoden in it...........

And then as before me was said, a white wall expansion army builder with Faramir in gondor knight attire on horse (and helm ofc) Gondor soldier (with shield and spear) and 3 regular Orcs with Catapult from the Pirate Ship Ambush............ or maybe 2 Orcs and 1 Haradrim/Easterling if no Oliphant woudl be planned :P

Edited September 7, 2014 by Alcarin

[Blazej_Holen]

Hey guys, since it doesn't appear like we will be getting a third LotR wave I decided I will be making some sets in LDD that could have theoretically been made into real sets. Keep in mind these are just my dream sets done in a similar style to what Lego might give us at each price point. I will be posting a few more in the coming weeks. To start off with I decided to do a Minas Tirith Gate set.

This set would have roughly 1770 bricks. The ideal price point would be $129.99, but with a large molded Fel Beast and a high piece count I don't know if that is feasible. If not $149.99 would work. Alternatively, Lego could probably make the walls and towers slightly smaller to hit the $129.99 price point. If need be they could also use 3-4 pieces and add catapults to the small towers and some pieces that could be thrown over the walls like in the films. Chunks of the tower could also explode to further add play features (though I don't think they are that needed with all the cool minifigures and Fel Beast).

As I am sure you guys have noticed this build focuses more on the gates and towers that jut out around the gates than on the actual walls on the side. My reason for doing it this way was because I thought it made a pretty good display and stand alone set. I know this set loses the tiered Minas Tirith look that is so iconic, but without having a 5,000+ piece set or multiple $100 sets it just isn't realistically possible to do a proper Minas Tirith. Also, I found this makes a pretty decent looking castle for castle fans while still being incredibly movie accurate to RotK. It's not just another flat wall or gate likie Black Gates or Dol Guldur Battle. The gates and surrounding towers have a pretty distinct look.

As for the minifigures, I included Faramir in Ranger attire, Eowyn w/o helm, 2 Gondor Soldiers, 2 armored Mordor Orcs, Gothmog, the Witch King, and a Fel Beast. I could see Lego losing one of the Gondor Soldiers and Faramir (who I might place in another set later on) in place of Denethor, Gondor Pipping, or Rohan Merry. If this set was to be $149.99 it could easily have 9 minifigures instead of 8. Anyways, without further adieu, here is the first set in my dream wave three for LotR, the Gates of Minas Tirith:

The inside is a little bare. There are just weapon stands that can be filled and ladders leading up to the next level.

Here is my first attempt at this build, but this version was proving to be much to big. With only half of one side done and the main gates it was already over 800 pieces so the final set would have easily topped 2,000 and been a direct set at that price point. Next up are an add on army builder set to this one...

It is working as a nice MOC but it doesnt working like set. It has too many bricks and almost no interesting building technique, not much colour variation or bricks variation and no function. Its only big white gate with detailed doors, nothing special, so only figs are interesting. Dont take it personaly, but If that would be a set, I wont buy it.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Blazej_Holen

[Sir Gareth]

I would rather a smaller scale Minas Tirith, like this https://ideas.lego.com/projects/36275, than just a minifig-scale gate.

My wave three ideas:

The Battle of Pelennor Fields - $129.99 (similar in size to Helm's Deep)

Minas Tirith main gate, 2 outer wall segments, the Citadel, the White Tree, 2 inner wall segments (The build focuses on the gate, the Citadel, and the 2 inner wall segments.)

Fellbeast, Witchking, Shadowfax, Gandalf the White, Gothmog, Denethor, Faramir, Gondor Pippin, 2x Mordor Orc

Gondor Soldier Army - $29.99

Outer wall segment with trebuchet (Adds on to Minas Tirith. This sets focuses on expanding the outer wall.)

3x Gondorian Soldier, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 2x Armored Mordor Orc

Mordor Orc Army - $39.99

Siege tower, trebuchet

Armored Mordor Troll, 4x Armored Mordor Orc, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 1x Rohirrim

(The Real) Witch King Battle - $14.99

Scenery (grass and rocks)

Witch King (Helmet + hood. Army build the 9 Nazgul), Eowyn, Rohan Merry

My wave three idea focuses on the Battle of Pelenor Fields and army-building. The more Gondor Soldier armies, the larger your Minas Tirith defense. The more Mordor Orc Armies, the larger your opposing orc army. The more Witch-King Battles, the more Nazgul. The idea is that while the sets are initially small, the more you buy the larger they become.

I included the Riders of Rohan in both army sets to appeal not only to those army-building Gondorians and Mordor Orcs, but also to those still trying to army-build Rohirrim.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Wildspeaker

[Blazej_Holen]

I would rather a smaller scale Minas Tirith, like this https://ideas.lego.com/projects/36275, than just a minifig-scale gate.

My wave three ideas:

The Battle of Pelennor Fields - $129.99 (similar in size to Helm's Deep)

Minas Tirith main gate, 2 outer wall segments, the Citadel, the White Tree, 2 inner wall segments (The build focuses on the gate, the Citadel, and the 2 inner wall segments.)

Fellbeast, Witchking, Shadowfax, Gandalf the White, Gothmog, Denethor, Faramir, Gondor Pippin, 2x Mordor Orc

Gondor Soldier Army - $29.99

Outer wall segment with trebuchet (Adds on to Minas Tirith. This sets focuses on expanding the outer wall.)

3x Gondorian Soldier, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 2x Armored Mordor Orc

Mordor Orc Army - $39.99

Siege tower, trebuchet

Armored Mordor Troll, 4x Armored Mordor Orc, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 1x Rohirrim

(The Real) Witch King Battle - $14.99

Scenery (grass and rocks)

Witch King (Helmet + hood. Army build the 9 Nazgul), Eowyn, Rohan Merry

My wave three idea focuses on the Battle of Pelenor Fields and army-building. The more Gondor Soldier armies, the larger your Minas Tirith defense. The more Mordor Orc Armies, the larger your opposing orc army. The more Witch-King Battles, the more Nazgul. The idea is that while the sets are initially small, the more you buy the larger they become.

I included the Riders of Rohan in both army sets to appeal not only to those army-building Gondorians and Mordor Orcs, but also to those still trying to army-build Rohirrim.

Those ideas was there at least thousands time before in future LOTR Thread so I thing that this list is just waste of time my friend :)

[Godless-Mimicry]

Nicely done Deathleech, nicely done. Unfortunately none of my LDD's would be set worthy as I build them solely for displayability, so they are usually very large with little to no playability.

[Deathleech]

It is working as a nice MOC but it doesnt working like set. It has too many bricks and almost no interesting building technique, not much colour variation or bricks variation and no function. Its only big white gate with detailed doors, nothing special, so only figs are interesting. Dont take it personaly, but If that would be a set, I wont buy it.

I understand this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I am not really sure what you expect from an official Minas Tirith set? The entire city is nothing but white with some very light gray here and there so why would I have a lot of color variation? I copied the front gate almost exactly using this model as a reference. As such I couldn't really use any interesting building techniques unless I made up my own version of Minas Tirith. While it might not be exactly thrilling, I thought the gates made for a much more interesting set than the 2013 Castle which was just a square with some towers. It didn't even have much detail or anything, just bright splashes of blue and lots of large molded wall pieces. I also thought it more interesting than several of Lego's "official" LotR/Hobbit sets like Dol Guldur Battle or Mirkwood Elf Army. Is your issue actually with the source material itself or something? Do you not like the way PJ made Minas Tirith? I am just not sure why you would make comments about the build and color when both were ripped right from the movie.

I will say the piece count is rather high and play features are a bit lacking, but I already addressed both. I am probably going to come back and make the exploding wall feature, the gates bust open, and throw in some catapults (the catapults would literally take 5 seconds to add if they were to mimic Lego's style). I might also try to further reduce the size. The problem I was having with that is the set starts to look kind of lame when it's not very tall. I will probably try to cut back how much the walls jut out by 2-4 bricks and knock out another 4-6 bricks worth of height which should bring the piece count closer to 1400.

Its a great set, but I would rather it was smaller aka, no fell beast 2 gondor archers Gandalf the white and then Gothmog, Grond 3 Orcs and a Troll possibly.......... and a tad smaller thant that..... to put it within about 1600 pieces (with Grond) and 140$ price point

Its kinda pointless to have Gates of Minas Tirith without the main thing to destroy it, which woudl be the main feature for playing with....

Fell beast should have its own set with Eowyn, Witch King and Theoden in it...........

And then as before me was said, a white wall expansion army builder with Faramir in gondor knight attire on horse (and helm ofc) Gondor soldier (with shield and spear) and 3 regular Orcs with Catapult from the Pirate Ship Ambush............ or maybe 2 Orcs and 1 Haradrim/Easterling if no Oliphant woudl be planned :P

Well the problem with having Eowyn,the Witch King, and the Fel beast in a separate set is it would be pretty expensive in it's own right. It would have to cost at least $50 to cover the large molded Fel Beast. There is also nothing that could be brick built in a set like that. Is Lego going to have us build some dusty plains? They COLD make the Fel Beast brick built, but then you run into the issue of it not looking as good and being out of place when used alongside everything else considering Smaug and several other creatures are all molded.

As per the rest of your comments, I agree that Grond should probably be with the Minas Tirith set, but it's easily another 200+ pieces to get one that doesn't look ridiculous. This is why I was playing around with the idea of making it a separate $20 set. As is, the only realistic set I can think of for a $20 price point set is Treebeard and he really isn't needed that much considering the Ent with Orthanc looks fine. Of course I would love to just do a small battle pack, but that's totally unrealistic. That's why I think Grond might be pretty interesting, even though it's making the wave extremely Gondor/RotK heavy. I already have the Gondor Army builder set done so I will be posting that later on. I am still considering a Mumakil set.

[Mr. Cube]

It´s nice. But it has too much bricks. You should include some panels to reduce the price.

[Alcarin]

Well the problem with having Eowyn,the Witch King, and the Fel beast in a separate set is it would be pretty expensive in it's own right. It would have to cost at least $50 to cover the large molded Fel Beast. There is also nothing that could be brick built in a set like that. Is Lego going to have us build some dusty plains? They COULD make the Fel Beast brick built, but then you run into the issue of it not looking as good and being out of place when used alongside everything else considering Smaug and several other creatures are all molded.

As per the rest of your comments, I agree that Grond should probably be with the Minas Tirith set, but it's easily another 200+ pieces to get one that doesn't look ridiculous. This is why I was playing around with the idea of making it a separate $20 set. As is, the only realistic set I can think of for a $20 price point set is Treebeard and he really isn't needed that much considering the Ent with Orthanc looks fine. Of course I would love to just do a small battle pack, but that's totally unrealistic. That's why I think Grond might be pretty interesting, even though it's making the wave extremely Gondor/RotK heavy. I already have the Gondor Army builder set done so I will be posting that later on. I am still considering a Mumakil set.

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Well you could always put dead brick built Oliphont (half of it or something) near it..... 300 pieces + creature Witch King, Eowyn (with hair) Merry and Theoden on ground dying............ 350 pieces set with 3,5 figs (or 4 but i could hobbits and dwarves as 0,5 fig due to missing normal legs) for 70$ or maybe even Mines of Moria price point which I think was 79.99

As for Minas Tirith, I personally think Gates of Minas Tirith + wall should only be slighly (maybe 2-3 extra bricks higher) than Helm's Deep deep wall......... to save on bricks, you really made a majestic gates which I like, but its probably 20% too big for a good 140$ set.....

My personal dream wave would be liek that:

Gates of Minas Tirith with Grond, 8 figs --- Gothmog, Mordor orcx3, Gandalf, Pippin and Gondor archers x2 140$ - 1400 pieces

Witch king set with dead brick built Oliphont 4 figs --- Witch King, Eowyn, Merry and Theoden 70$ or 80$ - 350 pieces

White City wall 6 figs --- 3(or 4) mordor orcs (2x armored) 2(or 1) Gondor Soldier with shield and spear and Faramir in Gondor knight attire on a horse! 40$ 180 pieces roughly

Balrog set - Brick built Balrog similar to the one on some posters....2 figs --- Gandalf the gray with new face print and Boromir(since we only got 1) 20$ 120 pieces (or make it 27.99$ and add another Moria Orc archer)

Now the eye glaring is 4 figs for 70 or even 80$ but considering we would get a whole Fell beast and Witch King helmet I think its a fair price for a set that would otherwise cost around 40 or 50$......

And then such wave could open a beatiful D2C set that would roughly look like this:

[Blazej_Holen]

I understand this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I am not really sure what you expect from an official Minas Tirith set? The entire city is nothing but white with some very light gray here and there so why would I have a lot of color variation? I copied the front gate almost exactly using this model as a reference. As such I couldn't really use any interesting building techniques unless I made up my own version of Minas Tirith. While it might not be exactly thrilling, I thought the gates made for a much more interesting set than the 2013 Castle which was just a square with some towers. It didn't even have much detail or anything, just bright splashes of blue and lots of large molded wall pieces. I also thought it more interesting than several of Lego's "official" LotR/Hobbit sets like Dol Guldur Battle or Mirkwood Elf Army. Is your issue actually with the source material itself or something? Do you not like the way PJ made Minas Tirith? I am just not sure why you would make comments about the build and color when both were ripped right from the movie.

Deathleech, its nothing personal, just my point of view. I have nothing against PJ´s Minas Tirith, on a contrary, that recreation of the White City is marvelous. BUT!

If u wanna propose some set ideas, try to think like Designer, not a MOCer aka Master Builder :)

As Alcarin said, you have to make it smaller, around 2-3 bricks higher than Helms Deep (deeping wall) and majestic gate but not in that scale as you presented. And even then those towers and walls which you create are not the same as PJ´s model of MT in the movie. There are some differences, but thats not important right now.

As good example I can use Helms Deep set, originaly it is a grey, stony fortress (acording to the movie) nothing else. But in Lego version, there are some sand green bricks in the texture of the wall, some brown elements, black pieces, blue for water, and gold in the throne room..Together it looks beautiful - small but in the Lego condition - acurate. Everybody can recognize Helms Deep even its small fort, with little rocky base.

And this experience u can put into your ideal set of MT gate. Smaller but detailed, add some walls to each side, and some functions. Like exploding gate, Grond etc. After all it could be "siege of MT set" and how can you siege some walls without siege weapon? You have to crerate set that will sell those new molds and possibly new or rare bricks as well. To be aimed for KFOL and AFOL together.

Also the minifig selection, I propose this (to be realistic and its based on our previous experience with figs)

1x Gondor soldier (full armour - printed breastplate with tree and leg protection, helmet, shield with tree and spear (metalic dark grey),

1x Gondor archer (with printed body, helmet bow and quiver),

1x Ranger of Ithilien, with light green cape, hood, printed body and longbow,

1x Faramir, with breastplate with tree, aragorns hair, horse and sword,

1x Pippin in gondor attire, with cape and new helmet,

1x Gandalf the White

3x Mordor Orc (breastplate/new printing armour and red arms...)

1x Gothmog on warg

The set itself could include Main gate and small side walls (togehter 900-1000 pcs)

and brick build grond (300 pcs)

The set itself can cost around 140-150 bucks since there will be 10 figs and two molded animals (warg and horse(possible two horses)

Funciton could be:

1) exploding gate

2) exploding part of the wall

3) for sure a little catapult OR brick built trebuchet which means around 50 pcs more

4) pot with "warm oil" at the top of the main gate

To that set there could be another (army building set) which will extend those side walls.

In that there could be:

4 orcs (mordor one with banner, and new printing or breastplate and helmets/hairs)

One gondor soldier with armour (brestplate etc)

One Gondor archer

If there will be necessity for character there could be instead of armored soldier Faramirr in armour, and instead of Faramir in MT set there could be Denethor or regular Gondor archer.

And as D2C set I am with Alcarin - version of MT courtyard with main throne room and white tower will be awesome. And also there is stil pplace to put Denethor in there as exclusive with new printing etc (Like Saruman in wizards battle and Orthanc), also there is option to put Guard of the white tree to that set, possibly Gandalf again with Pippin, or wounded Faramir OR

King Aragorn with Arwen, King Eomer, Faramir with Eowyn in white dress, 1-2 Gondor soldiers and of course Gandalf and maybe Gimli :)

These sugestions depend on what customers prefere, if they prefere battle conflict in every set or some piecefull set which can be really good end of the whole line and story. I prefere both, so MT set with small add ons for battle and D2C set depicting coronation of Aragorn II Elessar. Together these sets could depict a lot of scenes, and for the mocers there is always possibility to create one big MT set in that scale (like Eurolock did with Helms deep).

Edited September 8, 2014 by Blazej_Holen

[Deathleech]

you have to make it smaller, around 2-3 bricks higher than Helms Deep (deeping wall) and majestic gate but not in that scale as you presented. And even then those towers and walls which you create are not the same as PJ´s model of MT in the movie. There are some differences

As good example I can use Helms Deep set, originaly it is a grey, stony fortress (acording to the movie) nothing else. But in Lego version, there are some sand green bricks in the texture of the wall, some brown elements, black pieces, blue for water, and gold in the throne room..Together it looks beautiful - small but in the Lego condition - acurate. Everybody can recognize Helms Deep even its small fort, with little rocky base.

And this experience u can put into your ideal set of MT gate. Smaller but detailed, add some walls to each side, and some functions. Like exploding gate, Grond etc. After all it could be "siege of MT set" and how can you siege some walls without siege weapon? You have to crerate set that will sell those new molds and possibly new or rare bricks as well. To be aimed for KFOL and AFOL together.

This is bit contradictory, no? You say I should shrink the size and add more color than Minas Tirith actually has, but then critique it for not looking exactly like it does in the movie? I did make the gates much brighter than they are in the movie to make it pop a little more. It has no walls on the sides because that is going to be the main build in the army builder set.. walls that connect together and to the big gate set much like the UHA sets connect to one another and Helm's Deep. If you look at this picture taken directly from the movie, my Minas Tirith gates are almost exactly the same. Obviously there are some small difference like the tall skinny towers at the ends of the walls that come out from the gate are much smaller, but that was because the set was already massive and some things needed to be downsized big time. The overall shape and color are almost dead on.

Also the minifig selection, I propose this (to be realistic and its based on our previous experience with figs)

1x Gondor soldier (full armour - printed breastplate with tree and leg protection, helmet, shield with tree and spear (metalic dark grey),

1x Gondor archer (with printed body, helmet bow and quiver),

1x Ranger of Ithilien, with light green cape, hood, printed body and longbow,

1x Faramir, with breastplate with tree, aragorns hair, horse and sword,

1x Pippin in gondor attire, with cape and new helmet,

1x Gandalf the White

3x Mordor Orc (breastplate/new printing armour and red arms...)

1x Gothmog on warg

The set itself could include Main gate and small side walls (togehter 900-1000 pcs)

and brick build grond (300 pcs)

The set itself can cost around 140-150 bucks since there will be 10 figs and two molded animals (warg and horse(possible two horses)

This doesn't seem that realistic really. When has Lego ever giving us three different good guy soldier types in a single LotR set (that isn't an army builder)? Lego LOVEs to give us main characters. Even Helm's Deep didn't have a single Rohan or Lothlorian Elf soldier in it. I don't see them packing a set like Minas Tirith with three orcs AND three Gondor Soldiers and only having a few minor main characters. By their logic this would have no selling points with kids when it comes to the big names.

At any rate, I am already working on smaller version of my Minas Tirith gates set as this seems to be a popular issue people have with it and I agree. It's too large. I have managed to get it down to around 1500 pieces from the 1770 and am still working on cutting more. I also am adding the extra play features I talked about in my original post. I will post the updated version soon.

Well you could always put dead brick built Oliphont (half of it or something) near it..... 300 pieces + creature Witch King, Eowyn (with hair) Merry and Theoden on ground dying............ 350 pieces set with 3,5 figs (or 4 but i could hobbits and dwarves as 0,5 fig due to missing normal legs) for 70$ or maybe even Mines of Moria price point which I think was 79.99

If you are going to have a dead Oliphant.. why not just make it a normal live Oliphant + Witch King duel set? If it's 70-80 bucks it would have around 7 minifigures so Lego could easily make a live Oliphant (not sure they would want the emphasis of the set being a dead animal anyways...) with a few Haradrim plus the other minifigures you suggested. Kill two birds with one stone, no?

[Blazej_Holen]

This is bit contradictory, no?

Its not :)

I meant that the shape on the top of the walls doesnt fit to close to the real MT. Its not bad in overall, but as set its simply doesnt works. Maybe you´re right with those soldiers in the possible set. I agree that after all experience with TLG we can expect maximum 1 soldier in the set (but if they put there new mold for helmet and shield I expect at least 2 of them.

More colour means detailed texture. There is nothing but white. Nothing extra, nothing unique or special or interesting. Only bunch of white bricks, with no function. Only gate is detailed properly. So ask yourself if you buy such a set in wide range when there is nothing interesting accept the figs. (no new elements, new building techniques etc.)

also if u noticed, there is wide variety of bricks as it possible in every set because, they count with the option that you dispatch the set and create something else. So more colourt (light bley, sand green, or tan) will be good, and of course pearl gold, light blue, dark tan, brown is also good choice. Yes main structure is more then less white, but you can play with those details in the texture, maybe do some demaged part on the walls, and also tiles on the gate door,, stone pathway (small rounded and 2x2 rounded tiles, and maybe the horse statue (in small version) on the courtyard behind the gate, some nice armory (dark brown, reddish brown, black, pearl gold).

Besides to the main shape - the "tips" of the walls with the small towers are originally little bit sloped, not straight but tahts only a small detail. Overall , pay attention to those small things and playabilyty and I think that you can recreate some serious proposal for the possible MT set.

[Alcarin]

Well Wall of Minas Tirith was white..... not fugly with sand green forgotten like fort....

Actually if I recall from book the 1st wall of the city was black like Orthanc right? Unbreakable.......

If you are going to have a dead Oliphant.. why not just make it a normal live Oliphant + Witch King duel set? If it's 70-80 bucks it would have around 7 minifigures so Lego could easily make a live Oliphant (not sure they would want the emphasis of the set being a dead animal anyways...) with a few Haradrim plus the other minifigures you suggested. Kill two birds with one stone, no?

You alone said brick built fell beast would look ''crap'' compared to Smaug and other molded creatures, and I believe it would go the same for Oliphont then or double standards?

And even if we keep the brick built Oliphont, there is no sane expectation in expecting Fell beast Witch King, Theoden, Merry, Eowyn Oliphont and possibly two Easterling soldiers (commander + archers) too big and diverse for 1 set.....imo...

[Blazej_Holen]

Actually it wasnt black (like Orthanc) there is no reference to it. (If we spekaing about Minas Anor/ Minas Tirith).

But I am curious why Minas Morgul looks like glowy spider when it should looks like as the copy of Minas Tirith? Morgul was originally Minas Ithil, Tower of the Moon, and it was a sister city to Minas anor, Tower of the sun. This question is out of topic but never the less its bit interesting.

My apology Alcarin - you were right acording to wikki org and Unfinished Tales with the Return of the King :)

Edited September 8, 2014 by Blazej_Holen

[MAB]

I like the fell beast, although I'd probably find the build boring. It is essentially an empty box built twice with a gate between. Nice looking, but a bit boring.

For the build itself, I'd prefer something like a smaller wall part that the fell beast can attack and maybe a small rock part with the beacon on it for the lighting of the beacons.

[Blazej_Holen]

As I posted some time before: THIS is best Minas Tirith set Idea I´ve seen so far. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/58745

[Mahtion]

Actually it wasnt black (like Orthanc) there is no reference to it. (If we spekaing about Minas Anor/ Minas Tirith).

But I am curious why Minas Morgul looks like glowy spider when it should looks like as the copy of Minas Tirith? Morgul was originally Minas Ithil, Tower of the Moon, and it was a sister city to Minas anor, Tower of the sun. This question is out of topic but never the less its bit interesting.

My apology Alcarin - you were right acording to wikki org and Unfinished Tales with the Return of the King :)

I would much prefer a set of the Tower of Ecthelion than a micro scale Minas Tirith. I know it is strange that Minas Morgul looks so odd in PJ films but if you look at the model it is bright white mostly. It is the very tips of the walls which are blighted and darkened. This is likely due to the corruption of Sauron or the WK. Then the orcs could have easily added wrought iron pieces to Mordorize the once proud city of Minas Ithil.

[Deathleech]

As I posted some time before: THIS is best Minas Tirith set Idea I´ve seen so far. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/58745

To each his own I guess. Personally, I think that one looks even more bland and lacking color than mine. Mine is just the gates so there was less to work with, it wasn't the whole city like he did. I also think his Minas Tirith looks a little to condensed. The walls look like they are around 6-7 bricks high which is the same height as the Helm's Deep walls. It reminds me of Lego's Weathertop where they went overboard shrinking it cause they had to so much to make it into a set. I wonder how many pieces he used... I would beat easily over 2,000.

At any rate here is my Gondor Army set. It can attach to the Minas Tirith Gates, as well as other Gondor Army sets. I included ranger garb Faramir with spare hood which can be used to make him into a generic Ithilian Ranger (he has since been removed from Minas Tirith and also would have an olive green cloak but LDD has issues attaching them?). The set has 2 more Gondor Soldiers and 3 armored Mordor Orcs, as well as an armored Mountain Troll as the large molded creature which Lego seems to always include one of in their army builders. I am not sure how much a bigfig eats up a set's budget, but the Spider-Helicopter rescue has one and is $45. That set has almost 60 more pieces too. At an average of 10 cents per piece that means the higher piece count would make that set almost $6 more than my Gondor Army set (though probably even more since the helicopter has tons of huge pieces like the propellers). That puts Gondor Army in the $35 range. Personally I would like to keep it around $30 to mimic the other two Middle-Earth army builders we have gotten so if need be Lego could remove one of the orcs or Gondor Soldiers and only include 5 minifigures this time to compensate, OR nix the Mountain Troll and just give us an armored black or white horse, or a light tan warg.

This build was pretty straight forward and doesn't have a ton going for it if you were to just buy just one. It's really about the figures and attaching it to other Gondor Army sets or my Minas Tirith Gates. It is meant to be an add-on and an army builder. It has roughly 240 pieces. Below is a pictuire of three Gondor Army sets together to give you an idea of what your army would look like after three purchases. You would have 1 Faramir, 2 Ithilian Rangers, 6 Gondor Soldiers, 9 armored Mordor Orcs, and 3 Mountain Trolls, as well as a nice chunk of wall to add to your Minas Tirith Gates!

I have flushed out the rest of the details on this final dream wave and now have all the set ideas finalized in my mind. My Minas Tirith has been condensed and has about 1600 pieces now. It lost 3 brick levels in height and 2 in length. A few other things have also been minimized. It also has several play features including a barricade to the gates that can break when rammed, a wall chunk that can blow up, barrels that can drop hot tar, and catapults. I still would like to get it down another 200 pieces. The minifigures included have been hashed out and it now includes Rohan Merry, Gondor Pippin, Eowyn with hair and 2x helm (one for Merry), Denethor, one Gondor Soldier, one armored Mordor Orc, Guritz, and the Witch King. I am also working on a $20 Grond set that will include Gothmog, Murgash, and possibly Gandalf the White. There will be a $40 Balrog set as well with battle gamaged Gandalf, two Moria Orcs, and possibly Boromir or Frodo. I am playing with the idea of a fifth and final set that will be around the $60-80 price range and either a Mumakil or top level of Minas Tirith if I can keep the piece count down. I will be posting pictures of these in the comming days. Next up will probably be my updated Minas Tiras with all the play features, then Grond, then all three sets together (Minas Tirith Gates, Gondor Army, and Grond), and finally the Balrog Duel.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Deathleech

[Blazej_Holen]

I dont want to compare that Cusoo project and your Idea Deathleech. Its not my purpose at all. Just share a model of whole city for others. You are trying to construct just a part of MT and that makes it more realistic as a set. My criticism some creativity, but you are on the good path anyway. After all it's a long process to design a structure which could work as a set.

[Ql97]

Just search "Minas Tirith" into the Ideas search bar, and see how many results come up. It's kinda ridiculous, and you'd think by now Lego would take a hint and make an actuall set. My personal favorite is thisone, as the asthetic resembles something Lego might actually make.

I do like where you're going with your project, Deathleech, with the connectable walls centered around the gatehouse. I would, however, try to shrink the structure enough that Grond could be included in the main set, as that would allow more play features, something Lego loves including in their sets.

P.S.,

Maybe the $70 set could be a last alliance set, with the gate of Barad-Dur and a double sized Sauron.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Ql97