MAB Posted March 16 Posted March 16 (edited) 13 hours ago, chris6507 said: Does anyone else feel aprehensive at all about spending so much money on Minis Tirith as a nearly completely white set?..... No, but then I display sets in a room that doesn't get intense direct sunlight (north facing in northern hemisphere, and away from windows) so I don't really have that problem. My Saturn V and Steamboat Willie for example are still nice and white, and my castles are still pretty decent LBG not yellowed. I saw a Steamboat Willie for sale a few months ago, and it was horribly yellowed on one side. No doubt it had been left on a window sill, but it shows even here we get enough sunshine to sun damage bricks quickly if they are not properly cared for. Edited March 16 by MAB Quote
hikouki Posted March 16 Posted March 16 On 3/15/2026 at 1:47 PM, chris6507 said: Does anyone else feel aprehensive at all about spending so much money on Minis Tirith as a nearly completely white set? I've wanted this set for over 10 years now. But now i'm getting worried. I bought the Star Wars republic Gunship in round 2012 (which is mostly white) and while that used to be my favourite set, it's near completely yellowed (this set never, ever even got sunlight and lived in a mostly dark room) to the point I can't even look at it anymore. Combine this with the fact that i've been rebuilding sets i've built and taken apart over the last 10 years and have been finding the last decade of LEGO bricks has very short lasting clutch power that rebuilding the LEGO treehouse the other day, pieces were literally falling off each other while I was trying to build. Not sure if this is just my experience, but just wondering if other people have had these same experiences and whether the yellowing and brick quality affects your desire to purchase this set? I really want it, but hoping some other peoples thoughts might help me to feel more confident in either my decision to purchase or not to purchase when it's released! Cheers! I do wonder if there is such a display case that can protect it against enough light so as to slow the discoloration process? Quote
Virginia_Bricks Posted March 17 Posted March 17 15 hours ago, hikouki said: I do wonder if there is such a display case that can protect it against enough light so as to slow the discoloration process? UV glass is expensive, but it does the job and what museums use on artwork. I don't think any of the acrylic cases would help the same way unless they have built in UV protection. Quote
MAB Posted March 18 Posted March 18 17 hours ago, Virginia_Bricks said: UV glass is expensive, but it does the job and what museums use on artwork. I don't think any of the acrylic cases would help the same way unless they have built in UV protection. You can also get UV film to put on windows. It depends on the window size, but that can often be cheaper than a bespoke UV filter acrylic case. Quote
Roebuck Posted March 19 Posted March 19 I do not know anything about the science behind yellowing, but my guess is that it's affected on where you live in the world in addition to how much sunlight the parts are exposed to. It also seems that some batches of plastic is worse than others and colors like white, blue and light grey seems most problematic. I have a white horse I got from a flea-market lot, that one of the sides are extremely yellowed on one part, but the other side and the head parts is white. If it only was the sun that was the problem at least half the head should be affected in addition to inside of the legs on the other side.. Quote
Altair1 Posted March 19 Posted March 19 On 3/15/2026 at 9:47 PM, chris6507 said: Does anyone else feel aprehensive at all about spending so much money on Minis Tirith as a nearly completely white set? Not at all. I have various white sets on display and none of them has yellowed at all, even after 10 or 15 years. I always make sure that they are not exposed to direct sunlight. On 3/15/2026 at 9:47 PM, chris6507 said: Combine this with the fact that i've been rebuilding sets i've built and taken apart over the last 10 years and have been finding the last decade of LEGO bricks has very short lasting clutch power that rebuilding the LEGO treehouse the other day, pieces were literally falling off each other while I was trying to build. I do not have this problem as I never take sets apart after building them. I bought a big house especially to have all the space that I need to display my sets indefinitely. Quote
Virginia_Bricks Posted March 19 Posted March 19 11 hours ago, Roebuck said: I do not know anything about the science behind yellowing, but my guess is that it's affected on where you live in the world in addition to how much sunlight the parts are exposed to. It also seems that some batches of plastic is worse than others and colors like white, blue and light grey seems most problematic. I have a white horse I got from a flea-market lot, that one of the sides are extremely yellowed on one part, but the other side and the head parts is white. If it only was the sun that was the problem at least half the head should be affected in addition to inside of the legs on the other side.. It comes down to the breakdown of flame retardants used in plastic. ABS plastic (what Lego uses) uses brominated plastric retardents so what you are seeing in the yellowing is the bromine. Clearly the lighter the color used, the more obvious the bromine becomes. But effectively the same reaction happens in black bricks as white bricks, you just can't see it in black because the dye is stronger. The reaction occurs most commonly from UV light and heat. Where you live in the world greatly impacts this because UV light is the strongest around the equator and weakens as you head north or south. Also depends on where windows are in the room Lego exists because UV light is strongest during the middle of the day. Quote
MKJoshA Posted March 19 Posted March 19 I've heard lots of talk about UV light being the cause. But I've bags of loose brick yellow while sitting in a box in my basement. They weren't yellowed when I stored them, but when I pulled them out they were yellowed. Riddle me this, how is that possible? Quote
MAB Posted March 19 Posted March 19 2 hours ago, MKJoshA said: I've heard lots of talk about UV light being the cause. But I've bags of loose brick yellow while sitting in a box in my basement. They weren't yellowed when I stored them, but when I pulled them out they were yellowed. Riddle me this, how is that possible? It is a slow process that is sped up rather than caused by UV. Quote
SpacePolice89 Posted March 19 Posted March 19 2 hours ago, MKJoshA said: I've heard lots of talk about UV light being the cause. But I've bags of loose brick yellow while sitting in a box in my basement. They weren't yellowed when I stored them, but when I pulled them out they were yellowed. Riddle me this, how is that possible? And not all bricks are the same. I have bricks from the 70s and early 80s that are perfect and white while others have yellowed quickly (mostly because of exposure to light). I had the Legends version of the USS Constellation in a window for several years and some of the gray pieces were yellowed and others were not yellowed at all. The pieces were next to each other and faced against the window. It must be down to the material and color ingredients that are used. Quote
RichardGoring Posted March 27 Posted March 27 I'm doing Rebelnini's lusher trees addition for Rivendell and half-way through the council tree. The smaller trees look so much better and the council tree is great too. I was fortunate enough to find the three leaf stem 37695 in the Pick a Brick wall of a LEGO store and got a box full, which will mean full steam ahead on the lusher trees for both The Shire and the Sméagol and Déagol GWP (which require nearly 500 of them together, which would cost $60 through the LEGO website), so I will do the same for those when I build them. I was putting them off as the trees look so bad in the original set and the lusher trees addition make it decent. Not sure if I'll do the other extensions or not though. Quote
BrickBob Studpants Posted April 1 Posted April 1 The Gondor soldier has leaked, plus the Palantir print! The finalised helmet looks awesome! Quote
zoth33 Posted April 2 Posted April 2 3 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said: The Gondor soldier has leaked, plus the Palantir print! The finalised helmet looks awesome! I'll take your word for it as I can't find it anywhere. Quote
McMurder_them_softly Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Can't wait for Minas Tirith. I had my doubts but the set looks amazing. Only second best to Rivendell for me (which I am mid-way building). Quote
kuzyabricks Posted April 20 Posted April 20 Instructions for minis tirith leaked. Nothing interesting shown that we haven't seen but hey less than a month and a half away! Quote
Black Falcon Posted April 20 Posted April 20 12 hours ago, kuzyabricks said: Instructions for minis tirith leaked. Nothing interesting shown that we haven't seen but hey less than a month and a half away! Well you get a better view on the top of the city and the interior from a different angle, so there are some things to see which I didn´t saw in the video. So I guess we will get the official review in a bit less than a month maybe. Quote
Altair1 Posted April 21 Posted April 21 (edited) 17 hours ago, Black Falcon said: Well you get a better view on the top of the city Yes, and I am not sure I like the yellow colour of the ground on the top floor... will see how it looks after building it, but I may need to redo it in white or grey... Edited April 21 by Altair1 Quote
BrickBob Studpants Posted April 21 Posted April 21 The top view looks amazing too! Still, where’s my yeeting-the-flaming-steward play function?! Quote
Black Falcon Posted April 21 Posted April 21 5 hours ago, Altair1 said: Yes, and I am not sure I like the yellow colour of the ground on the top floor... will see how it looks after building it, but I may need to redo it in white or grey... Yes, thought that looks strange too, though might be that it just looks that intense on the picture and it is actually tan - no idea which colour the ground had in the movies there. Quote
Lordhelmet Posted April 21 Posted April 21 Still looks good. I saw the poster of the pictures mention that there would be a GWP, so hopefully we find that out in the next few weeks and get the official reveal/price (I am still worried it will be more than $650) Quote
Legoman123 Posted April 21 Posted April 21 I’m not sure if this has been answered or not but is there any truth to the rumour of LOTR discontinuing after this year due to the sets leaking early constantly. Quote
icm Posted April 21 Posted April 21 I doubt it. That sounds like the false, alarmist rumor that the first Stranger Things set was going to be canceled as punishment for it leaking early. On the other hand, we didn't get another Stranger Things set like that until Season 5. So maybe there was some behind the scenes negotiation before another set could be approved by the license holder, because of the leaks. Quote
hikouki Posted April 22 Posted April 22 Lego has really put a tight lid on this one since the leak some weeks ago. I'm really excited to find out about the GWP. Quote
Roebuck Posted April 22 Posted April 22 6 hours ago, Legoman123 said: I’m not sure if this has been answered or not but is there any truth to the rumour of LOTR discontinuing after this year due to the sets leaking early constantly. Sounds like fake news too me Why would the licenseholder care about leaks from movies that are over 20 years old. Probably more problematic for Lego, with fake Lego companies making copies of the set. I am sure the sales will determine the future of the line like everything else and pretty sure this years set will sell very well Quote
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