Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[MAB]

7 hours ago, hikouki said:

Is a CMF really out of the question?

I think so, partly down to the distribution of characters. They seem to be quite firm on the 12 figures per series now (Muppets, Looney Tunes, Marvel 1 and 2, D&D, series 21 onwards, I think only Disney 100 has broken it recently). I think the problem with LOTR is that The Fellowship has 9 characters, which is high compared to the core characters in other themes - HP having Harry, Ron, Hermione or Simpsons having Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie. If they do those 9 in a series of 12, it leaves little space for anything else. Of course, they could two series to give 24 characters, but would they really use two CMF slots for LOTR? I doubt it, when it is not likely to be as popular as HP, Marvel, etc.

[RichardGoring]

6 hours ago, Roebuck said:

Probably, kids would not have much interest in that I think

And yet there is an F1 CMF that doesn't even include the drivers. Kids probably like the cars if they get them, but are they actively asking to collect the whole series like they might with other licenses CMFs? The Marvel S2 CMFs also didn't feel like they had broad kid-friendly appeal.

Although I agree that LEGO would likely choose more lucrative topics for future CMFs than LOTR.

2 hours ago, Artanis I said:

Kids like race cars though, and they are warming the shelves right now.

Most likely it would be out of the question for the same reasons as a battle-pack.

Oh, missed this in my reply, but yes, exactly! If they had specific drivers then it might stand a better chance.

[BitByBrick]

Many people would appreciate a less expensive LotR battle pack. The current one, Barad-dûr, is way overpriced 😉

[MAB]

22 minutes ago, BitByBrick said:

Many people would appreciate a less expensive LotR battle pack. The current one, Barad-dûr, is way overpriced 😉

I really wonder how many people do want a LOTR battle pack especially if it is generic orcs or soldiers. It seems to me it would only really sell to either people that have the original sets or people that have bought the new sets. It is not the type of thing people will buy if they don't have any other LOTR sets. In that sense, I imagine more people would like smaller LOTR sets rather than a battle pack.

[Moexy]

Wasn’t it known last year around this time that we would be getting new LOTR sets in 2025? For 2026 it’s still unknown.

[Roebuck]

6 hours ago, Artanis I said:

Kids like race cars though, and they are warming the shelves right now.

Probably because most adults do not buy a single one I could be that Lego missed the mark with this, if so that is fine by me 
 

4 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

but are they actively asking to collect the whole series like they might with other licenses CMFs?

Probably not, however I do not think most kids get more than a few figs from each series anyway. We get 3 series a year so it is a very short time to collect a series as impulse gift etc and it would cost a lot of money to get them all (not counting duplicates if they do not scan them). 

[Black Falcon]

13 hours ago, Roebuck said:

Probably, kids would not have much interest in that I think

Well to be honest, I don´t see much difference between a LotR CMF and the D&D one in that matter ;)

8 hours ago, MAB said:

I think so, partly down to the distribution of characters. They seem to be quite firm on the 12 figures per series now (Muppets, Looney Tunes, Marvel 1 and 2, D&D, series 21 onwards, I think only Disney 100 has broken it recently). I think the problem with LOTR is that The Fellowship has 9 characters, which is high compared to the core characters in other themes - HP having Harry, Ron, Hermione or Simpsons having Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie. If they do those 9 in a series of 12, it leaves little space for anything else. Of course, they could two series to give 24 characters, but would they really use two CMF slots for LOTR? I doubt it, when it is not likely to be as popular as HP, Marvel, etc.

If they would make two, they wouldn´t be one after another and some characters like Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf would have to be included in both, so there would still be no 24 charactes with two series - but otherwise I do agree but that is generally a problem I see with the decreased amount of figures per series. For something like the Spiderverse series, or unlicensed ones it might be no problem, but for other licensed series, there isn´t just that much left if you make the main characters and the most important/famous/popular side characters.

5 hours ago, MAB said:

I really wonder how many people do want a LOTR battle pack especially if it is generic orcs or soldiers. It seems to me it would only really sell to either people that have the original sets or people that have bought the new sets. It is not the type of thing people will buy if they don't have any other LOTR sets. In that sense, I imagine more people would like smaller LOTR sets rather than a battle pack.

I think you are underestimating the demand for such packs and more importantly, you are forgetting a whole group of people that would buy them: The Lego Castle community ;). And personally, I would totally buy such a set for Armors and Shields alone (not for full price though).

 

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Black Falcon said:

I think you are underestimating the demand for such packs and more importantly, you are forgetting a whole group of people that would buy them: The Lego Castle community ;). And personally, I would totally buy such a set for Armors and Shields alone (not for full price though).

Rather than doing a licensed set battle pack to feed Castle demand, they might as well do a Castle battle pack. 

[Black Falcon]

25 minutes ago, MAB said:

Rather than doing a licensed set battle pack to feed Castle demand, they might as well do a Castle battle pack. 

Which they would only do if they would have a castle theme on the shelves ;).

But anyways, a LotR Battlepack would suit for both castle and LotR fans, and among the latter, I am pretty sure there are enough aswell that do Armybuilding and/or can need some figs for displaying battle scenes etc.

[hikouki]

13 hours ago, MAB said:

I think so, partly down to the distribution of characters. They seem to be quite firm on the 12 figures per series now (Muppets, Looney Tunes, Marvel 1 and 2, D&D, series 21 onwards, I think only Disney 100 has broken it recently). I think the problem with LOTR is that The Fellowship has 9 characters, which is high compared to the core characters in other themes - HP having Harry, Ron, Hermione or Simpsons having Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie. If they do those 9 in a series of 12, it leaves little space for anything else. Of course, they could two series to give 24 characters, but would they really use two CMF slots for LOTR? I doubt it, when it is not likely to be as popular as HP, Marvel, etc.

Hmm, do they really have to feature all 9? And in one set? They could either split the 9 between two CMFs, or just feature some of the 9 and fill the rest of the roster with other characters.

11 hours ago, BitByBrick said:

Many people would appreciate a less expensive LotR battle pack. The current one, Barad-dûr, is way overpriced 😉

 

10 hours ago, MAB said:

I really wonder how many people do want a LOTR battle pack especially if it is generic orcs or soldiers. It seems to me it would only really sell to either people that have the original sets or people that have bought the new sets. It is not the type of thing people will buy if they don't have any other LOTR sets. In that sense, I imagine more people would like smaller LOTR sets rather than a battle pack.

I would not mind a battle pack in place of a CMF. Or a battle pack (a la Star Wars) alongside a regular set.

8 hours ago, Moexy said:

Wasn’t it known last year around this time that we would be getting new LOTR sets in 2025? For 2026 it’s still unknown.

I'm really curious if they will be taking a gap year to re-evaluate the market? Or we are finished with the theme???

[The Stad]

I’d love to see a CMF but don’t think that the Fellowship should be featured. For one thing, we already got them in their most iconic looks in Rivendell, and for another, there are so many interesting characters that we’ll likely never get in a set but could be collected in pairs/trios or as a whole set:

Eowyn as Dernhelm + The Witch King at Pelennor + Merry in Rohirrim gear

Faramir as a ranger + Haradrim

Denethor + Pippin in Gondor gear + Fountain Guard

Gil-Galad + Elendil from the Battle of the Last Alliance

Arwen + Aragorn in coronation outfits

I think the beauty of a lineup like this is that they cover a lot of important movie scenes, most could be massable on their own by general castle fans or pulled into a DnD game with the figures from that line, and they all fill gaps that any future sets likely will miss.

[MAB]

37 minutes ago, The Stad said:

I’d love to see a CMF but don’t think that the Fellowship should be featured. For one thing, we already got them in their most iconic looks in Rivendell, and for another, there are so many interesting characters that we’ll likely never get in a set but could be collected in pairs/trios or as a whole set:

 

A CMF needs to be attractive to huge numbers of buyers compared to the big sets like Rivendell.  Relatively few people buy the huge sets and so won't have the Fellowship minifigures from Rivendell or the original sets.

40 minutes ago, The Stad said:

Eowyn as Dernhelm + The Witch King at Pelennor + Merry in Rohirrim gear

Faramir as a ranger + Haradrim

Denethor + Pippin in Gondor gear + Fountain Guard

Gil-Galad + Elendil from the Battle of the Last Alliance

Arwen + Aragorn in coronation outfits

All good ideas but if people that would buy the CMF don't have access to the core characters at similar prices, would they buy the more specialist figures?

[Blazej_Holen]

I think that Fellowship has to be included in CMF (if we get one)... These character are the core of the story. But it would be great opportunity to give them unique and never before seen outfits and accesories. 

For example:

Frodo - Mordour outfitt (to fill the gap in Barad Dur set)

Sam - Mordor outfitt

Merry - Rohan outfitt

Pipin - Gondor outfitt

Legolas - from the Helms Deep battle (with chainmail and leather pauldrons) or in grey outfitt from Rivendell

Gimli - noble outfitt

Boromir - Gondor armour

Aragorn - Coronation outfitt / Battle at the Black gate outfitt

Gandalf - new grey robe print and hat+hair combo or in white outfitt

 

The remaining three characters could be either "legacy ones" - Elendil, Isildur, Gil-Galad or random folk from the trillogy such as Barliman Butterbur, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and Bilbo (but not likely), or Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond... 

This approach I can see and have peace with it for CMF 1st wave. The second one could expand to other characters such as Gríma Wormtongue, Theodén, Éowyn, Faramir, and other long craved figs :)

 

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Frodo - Mordour outfitt (to fill the gap in Barad Dur set)

Sam - Mordor outfitt

Merry - Rohan outfitt

Pipin - Gondor outfitt

Legolas - from the Helms Deep battle (with chainmail and leather pauldrons) or in grey outfitt from Rivendell

Gimli - noble outfitt

Boromir - Gondor armour

Aragorn - Coronation outfitt / Battle at the Black gate outfitt

Gandalf - new grey robe print and hat+hair combo or in white outfitt

Yes, they'd be great as they work for both new collectors and people that have the new big sets, or the originals, or both. The other good thing is that most of those could be used as army builders by switching out the heads or hair as the torsos and legs would be generic enough for battle elves, Gondor rangers, Rohan soldiers, etc. So more useful than their usual recognizable outfits.

[mtrsteve]

1 hour ago, Blazej_Holen said:

I think that Fellowship has to be included in CMF (if we get one)... These character are the core of the story. But it would be great opportunity to give them unique and never before seen outfits and accesories. 

For example:

Frodo - Mordour outfitt (to fill the gap in Barad Dur set)

Sam - Mordor outfitt

Merry - Rohan outfitt

Pipin - Gondor outfitt

Legolas - from the Helms Deep battle (with chainmail and leather pauldrons) or in grey outfitt from Rivendell

Gimli - noble outfitt

Boromir - Gondor armour

Aragorn - Coronation outfitt / Battle at the Black gate outfitt

Gandalf - new grey robe print and hat+hair combo or in white outfitt

 

The remaining three characters could be either "legacy ones" - Elendil, Isildur, Gil-Galad or random folk from the trillogy such as Barliman Butterbur, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and Bilbo (but not likely), or Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond... 

This approach I can see and have peace with it for CMF 1st wave. The second one could expand to other characters such as Gríma Wormtongue, Theodén, Éowyn, Faramir, and other long craved figs :)

 

I think you could get away with just Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas as the fellowship core and leave 7 figs open for options.

[Blazej_Holen]

29 minutes ago, mtrsteve said:

I think you could get away with just Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas as the fellowship core and leave 7 figs open for options.

Hobbits are the main focus of the story ;)

[MAB]

1 hour ago, mtrsteve said:

I think you could get away with just Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas as the fellowship core and leave 7 figs open for options.

Almost certainly there would be complaints that "LEGO have locked important characters from the Fellowship behind a £430 / $500 paywall and given us minor characters instead. Who asked for this?"

I think we have to remember that while buyers of the big sets are likely to buy the CMF (if they ever did them), buyers of the CMF are not likely to buy the big sets. The CMF give a relatively cheap entry point. I would imagine the Venn diagram is a bit like this, with B shown larger than it really is for clarity:

A: buyers for LOTR CMF.

B: buyers for the big LOTR sets.

[Moexy]

14 hours ago, hikouki said:

 

I'm really curious if they will be taking a gap year to re-evaluate the market? Or we are finished with the theme???

I do really hope we get a set next year. It feels like they were testing the intrest this year with Hobbiton and the book nook. It would be a shame if it ends now …

Anything LOTR I will take (as long as it’s not those brickheads). 
 

For the CMF they can indeed do different costumes for the members of the Fellowship, like they did with the Harry Potter series. A LOTR CMF would be a dream come true.

Edited July 8 by Moexy
Typo

[zoth33]

2 hours ago, Moexy said:

I do really hope we get a set next year. It feels like they were testing the intrest this year with Hobbiton and the book nook. It would be a shame if it ends now …

Anything LOTR I will take (as long as it’s not those brickheads). 
 

For the CMF they can indeed do different costumes for the members of the Fellowship, like they did with the Harry Potter series. A LOTR CMF would be a dream come true.

They were testing the interest with Rivendell. 

[Moexy]

1 hour ago, zoth33 said:

They were testing the interest with Rivendell. 

But when Rivendell released they had already planned the following sets. The fact they branched out this year into a smaller set must be an attempt to measure what the interest is for more smaller sets? And then it was with a set where no interesting/new figure is present.

[Black Falcon]

5 minutes ago, Moexy said:

But when Rivendell released they had already planned the following sets. The fact they branched out this year into a smaller set must be an attempt to measure what the interest is for more smaller sets? And then it was with a set where no interesting/new figure is present.

I don´t think that they tested much more with the booknooks, than if they would sell. In the end you can´t really compare that one with playsets and not even that much with display sets, though they would certainly come closer.

[MAB]

8 minutes ago, Moexy said:

But when Rivendell released they had already planned the following sets. The fact they branched out this year into a smaller set must be an attempt to measure what the interest is for more smaller sets? And then it was with a set where no interesting/new figure is present.

Given they have done three different book shelf sets, I imagine they are testing whether they sell rather than testing ifvthey should they do smaller LOTR sets again. 

[mtrsteve]

On 7/8/2025 at 7:32 AM, Blazej_Holen said:

Hobbits are the main focus of the story ;)

No argument, but I was thinking in terms of which characters are most widely known, because that's likely what moves units. I'm fairly confident Legolas is more recognizable - especially in minifig form - than Meriadoc. Leaving more room for variety of figs within the series would probably be better for marketing too, not to mention you can branch out and do figures that would never have a full set built around them. The latter partially sidesteps the "paywall" issue, because it's better that Merry and Pippin are expensive if the alternative is a great character not existing at all. Give me a cheap Faramir over another printing of Samwise ALL DAY.

[MAB]

1 hour ago, mtrsteve said:

No argument, but I was thinking in terms of which characters are most widely known, because that's likely what moves units. I'm fairly confident Legolas is more recognizable - especially in minifig form - than Meriadoc. Leaving more room for variety of figs within the series would probably be better for marketing too, not to mention you can branch out and do figures that would never have a full set built around them. The latter partially sidesteps the "paywall" issue, because it's better that Merry and Pippin are expensive if the alternative is a great character not existing at all. Give me a cheap Faramir over another printing of Samwise ALL DAY.

Presumably that is from someone who has already crossed the paywall.  I'd also take a cheap Faramir over another Sam, but then I'd also probably go for an expensive Faramir if he appeared in a $100 or $200 set. Whereas I wouldn't go for a Sam in a $100+ set, which is partly why I'm not bothering with The Shire. If they stuck Faramir in a CMF, I'd probably go for a dozen and switch out the heads.

[Cyprinus]

On 7/7/2025 at 9:49 PM, Black Falcon said:

I think you are underestimating the demand for such packs and more importantly, you are forgetting a whole group of people that would buy them: The Lego Castle community ;). And personally, I would totally buy such a set for Armors and Shields alone (not for full price though).

Lego clearly doesn't believe neither Castle nor LotR are viable for a full theme. I doubt they'd consider doing a CMF series catering to the groups specifically (we had the DND one recently, but that one was even more broad, appealing to fans of fantasy in general, Castle and people with a DND/RPG background who could be pulled towards lego.

Also, the original lego LotR theme launched alongside a Castle theme, included battlepacks, and apparently didn't do all that well.