Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[Lordhelmet]

3 hours ago, BitByBrick said:

What Lego should do is scrap any build and  just give us a $400 Gondor battle pack and call it a day. That would be a massive army building set of minifigures. We can all build our own MOC scene(s). Everyone wins. Any takers? 

I would be up for a massively set, would still prefer three to four battle packs that I could buy $400 worth of to build an army the way I would want to but I agree the minifigures are my general priority as MOCs work so long as I have the minifigures (I am not a customs fan unless made with LEGO parts)

11 hours ago, MAB said:

 

I don't know if this will work as imgur is now blocked in the UK, but this is mine from about 10 years ago. The cape is custom but works just as well with plain black.

This looks great,

1 hour ago, hikouki said:

When Rivendell was released, Minas Tirith (MT) was one of the ideas that many were presenting as the possible set. But Barad-dur came, then the Shire, but MT kept getting mentioned here and there.

Now that it is finally coming out, what could be next???

Hoping for loth Lorien trees, or grey havens next.  Expecting helms deep or edoras (would prefer edoras to a lot of things)

 

 

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/challenges/58660122-6eea-44ec-bfb4-a0d26f4015fa/entries/d947fb2d-e741-45ce-bc26-7d1b8cf89187

I saw the other ideas set mentioned but I thought the micro scale winner of this challenge could align to a strong minis tirith set. (Then have it open to show minifigure scaled scenes)

[Roebuck]

1 hour ago, Lordhelmet said:

edoras (would prefer edoras to a lot of things)

Would be interesting, also how few horses they manage to include, my guess is maximum 2

[Artanis I]

Denethor minifig without tomatoes is not Denethor

 

6 hours ago, BitByBrick said:

What Lego should do is scrap any build and  just give us a $400 Gondor battle pack and call it a day. That would be a massive army building set of minifigures. We can all build our own MOC scene(s). Everyone wins. Any takers? 

Absolutely.

[MAB]

7 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

Minifig scale won't happen. That would be like $2,000.

Well, its precisely what they did for Barad-dur.

Minifigure scale is perfectly possible for under $2000. They have done Rivendell and The Shire as minifigure scale sets. They just need to be selective about what is represented.  It doesn't have to be the whole city to be Minas Tirith, just like Rivendell and The Shire are a small part of the named location. 

[Blazej_Holen]

3 hours ago, Lordhelmet said:

I would be up for a massively set, would still prefer three to four battle packs that I could buy $400 worth of to build an army the way I would want to but I agree the minifigures are my general priority as MOCs work so long as I have the minifigures (I am not a customs fan unless made with LEGO parts)

This looks great,

Hoping for loth Lorien trees, or grey havens next.  Expecting helms deep or edoras (would prefer edoras to a lot of things)

 

 

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/challenges/58660122-6eea-44ec-bfb4-a0d26f4015fa/entries/d947fb2d-e741-45ce-bc26-7d1b8cf89187

I saw the other ideas set mentioned but I thought the micro scale winner of this challenge could align to a strong minis tirith set. (Then have it open to show minifigure scaled scenes)

Lorien wouldnt be as appealing as other locations I guess. And Grey Heavens? Its a minor location showed at very end of ROTK. Helms Deep, Edoras, Moria...there are plenty of other more important and significatn areas to depict...

[MAB]

57 minutes ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Lorien wouldnt be as appealing as other locations I guess. And Grey Heavens? Its a minor location showed at very end of ROTK. Helms Deep, Edoras, Moria...there are plenty of other more important and significatn areas to depict...

Although we'll probably get a remake of the pirate ship ambush! :-)

 

[Altair1]

1 hour ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Lorien wouldnt be as appealing as other locations I guess. And Grey Heavens? Its a minor location showed at very end of ROTK. Helms Deep, Edoras, Moria...there are plenty of other more important and significatn areas to depict...

I beg to differ. Lothlorien could be beautiful and very appealing if done properly. Grey Havens is not such a minor location as it concludes the trilogy and it could look great too. There are already two sets on Moria (including the recent Balrog) so I don't think we will see that location again any time soon. A new bigger version of Helm's Deep would be welcome, although I am happy with the one I already have. I am personally hoping for Edoras as the next set after Minas Tirith.

[Cyprinus]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

Minifigure scale is perfectly possible for under $2000. They have done Rivendell and The Shire as minifigure scale sets. They just need to be selective about what is represented.  It doesn't have to be the whole city to be Minas Tirith, just like Rivendell and The Shire are a small part of the named location. 

  The issue is that the single most iconic element of Minas Tirith is the shape of the whole city.

10 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

Well, its precisely what they did for Barad-dur.

Barad-Dur, unlike Minas Tirith, basically had no scenes that mattered. Even less so with characters.

[Altair1]

47 minutes ago, Cyprinus said:

 The issue is that the single most iconic element of Minas Tirith is the shape of the whole city.

Correct. The Minas Tirith set must cover the whole city or there will be a backlash as big as for the SW Death Slice... I still think it is feasible, either in microscale or minifig scale, but it will cost at least 500 EUR (and hopefully more - the more expensive, the more complete it will be).

Edited October 15 by Altair1

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Cyprinus said:

  The issue is that the single most iconic element of Minas Tirith is the shape of the whole city.

It is one feature but not the only feature. But focussing only on that aspect would be fine if they decide to go for an Architecture style set and not bother with minifigures. There are also important scenes based on characters that happen at Minas Tirith, such as the lighting of the beacon, breach of the main gate, the crowning of Aragorn, or even just the architecture, courtyard and the white tree of the top level. None of those can be represented very well in microscale at the same time as being combined with minifigures. I would prefer to see either a minifigure scale top level or a microscale whole city done well, than a hybrid trying to do both done badly. And that IDEAS submission is done badly. If we end up with a minifigure based set of the whole city where each level is about the height of a minifigure, I'll skip it.

Minas Tirith suggests different things to different people. To some it is the city itself, to some it is what happens there, to others it is the whole region including the Pelennor Fields. Just like when I think of The Shire, I think of rolling green hills with hobbit holes and not just a single building and a tree. Yet they still called the set "The Shire", instead of "Bag End" or "Bilbo's Birthday Celebrations".

Edited October 15 by MAB

[Altair1]

30 minutes ago, MAB said:

If we end up with a minifigure based set of the whole city where each level is about the height of a minifigure, I'll skip it.

I don't really understand how a true Lego LOTR fan could skip a Minas Tirith set, whatever its format... if it is not designed to your wishes, you could always use it as a base for a MOC, rather than skipping it. 

[Lordhelmet]

3 hours ago, Altair1 said:

I beg to differ. Lothlorien could be beautiful and very appealing if done properly.

I agree with this, I think with the architecture of Lothlorien and the trees, Lego could actually have something on par and unique like Rivendell.  I love other locations from LOTR, but things like Moria are dark or specific.  I think Rivendell intrigued buyers who may not love LOTR but think the set looked good.  I think Lothlorien has this same potential.  

43 minutes ago, Altair1 said:

if it is not designed to your wishes, you could always use it as a base for a MOC, rather than skipping it. 

I modify sets, or moc from them all the time, I suppose collectors who aren't willing to do this would think they wouldn't get a particular set, but I even make small update - on the shire, I took out the clothesline, I added flowers in the garden areas, changed the garden in the front, and then added some small farm land leading up to bag end.  On Barad dur I replaced all the brown and orange in the middle level with black, on the Balrog I am replacing the teeth with black (so the horn elements, and the teeth on the top).   Helms Deep, I bought two, and then two of the wall section sets and combined them all (with some other legos to raise up the base by about three bricks and expand the ramp) now I have a significant helms deep display that has the same feel as the set.  I am sure I have done more, but I am totally on board with this approach.  

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Altair1 said:

I don't really understand how a true Lego LOTR fan could skip a Minas Tirith set, whatever its format... if it is not designed to your wishes, you could always use it as a base for a MOC, rather than skipping it. 

If it doesn't do what I want it to do, I'd skip it. I don't care what badge is on the box. If it was just a lot of white bricks to build the city in architecture style, I'd definitely skip it. I have enough white bricks that I don't need more for MOCs. If it doesn't give me the minifigures I want, I'd skip it. If it only gave a couple of characters I want, I'd skip it and buy the ones I want on BL. For me, what we are really missing are the characters rather than the microscale location. I don't mind too much about Aragorn as king, but getting one would be nice. A decent Gondor torso (in multiples ideally) would be great, and official armour even better. A Faramir would be nice. An official Witch King (really just his helmet) excellent. If the set came with decent minifigures and parts that I don't have (especially LOTR themed decorated parts) I'd get it. But if it was just a parts pack with not much in that I don't already have, I'd skip it.

I don't really care about LOTR sets, because I don't consider them as individual sets. I see them mainly as a way to get the minifigures and sometimes other useful parts. I keep very little as the set and typically modify or add to them or just as often redesign them completely.

I think Minas Tirith might be the one location that is more divisive than any other. When people think of Weathertop, or Rivendell, or Helms Deep, Orthanc, Barad-Dur, or even The Shire, I think what most people think a set should look like is pretty similar. Whereas for Minas Tirith there are people on the whole city side and others on the scenes side, and personally I don't think the two can go into one. It worked OK for Rivendell as the building represents the whole location quite well even though the geography of the set is not correct. It worked for Barad-Dur as there are no close up scenes involving people interacting with the tower. But Minas Tirith is both big and has a lot of close up scenes.

[psqidexslizer]

12 hours ago, hikouki said:

When Rivendell was released, Minas Tirith (MT) was one of the ideas that many were presenting as the possible set. But Barad-dur came, then the Shire, but MT kept getting mentioned here and there.

Now that it is finally coming out, what could be next???

Helm’s Deep or Orthanc. Aside from Moria, those are the only locations left that the general public would recognize and maybe buy sets for. And we just got a Balarog bookend set, so they’re not going to cannibalize the sales for that.

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

If it doesn't do what I want it to do, I'd skip it. I don't care what badge is on the box. If it was just a lot of white bricks to build the city in architecture style, I'd definitely skip it...

I think Minas Tirith might be the one location that is more divisive than any other. Whereas for Minas Tirith there are people on the whole city side and others on the scenes side, and personally I don't think the two can go into one. ... But Minas Tirith is both big and has a lot of close up scenes.

Completely agree. I likely wouldn't MOC it, at least not much, so would keep the sets, but I won't buy it if I don't like it. And the idea of buying anything LOTR seems odd because that just encourages LEGO to keep making more of the same. I didn't get any of the BrickHeadz and I don't want them to make more.

Minas Tirith as a location is surely a guaranteed some will hate it, and some will love it. Similar to the Death Slice. I personally really like it, and think it shows off everything really well, but it's obviously not a model of the Death Star. Minas Tirith is iconic because of its shape. Microscale and the figures look bad. Just the top and you lose the levels and majesty. A slice from the middle and it's derided. All of it and it's $10,000.

[Blazej_Holen]

4 hours ago, Altair1 said:

the more expensive, the more complete it will be.

Thats not a correct equasion at all. I thing the Death Slice / Pancake proofs it.

6 hours ago, Altair1 said:

I beg to differ. Lothlorien could be beautiful and very appealing if done properly. Grey Havens is not such a minor location as it concludes the trilogy and it could look great too. There are already two sets on Moria (including the recent Balrog) so I don't think we will see that location again any time soon. A new bigger version of Helm's Deep would be welcome, although I am happy with the one I already have. I am personally hoping for Edoras as the next set after Minas Tirith.

Yes, Lorien could be nice, as well as Grey Heavens. But! There are plenty of other more significant locations. So far we have Rivendell (where Fellowship was formed), then "The Shire" (where the whole story begins) and Barad Dur, possibly the climax of the story (in terms of Lego, not books or movies of course). We are missing the depicton of the big conflicts, such as Moria battle, Helms Deep, siege of Minas Tirith etc. Also other locations such as Amon Sul are important to the story. We are (hopefully) far from the end. So making Grey Heavens, where the whole story was concluded, doesnt make sense, from the storytelling point of view. 

I can imagine Lorien as a great display piece with plenty of trees, part of the river Celebrant, Caras Galadhon... but then what figs we can expect? Full (8) members of the Fellowship, Galadriel, Celeborn, Haldir, 2 elves... so all in all it will be Rivendell vol. 2. SO if we ever get set based on Lorien, I can imagine getting it in many years to come, after other more important and interesting locations will be done. :)

[Renny The Spaceman]

1 hour ago, psqidexslizer said:

Helm’s Deep or Orthanc. Aside from Moria, those are the only locations left that the general public would recognize and maybe buy sets for. And we just got a Balarog bookend set, so they’re not going to cannibalize the sales for that.

Laketown with a Toilet you can fit dwarves through, plate of testicles for Stephen Fry to eat and an exclusive Alfrid in drag figure

[Altair1]

22 minutes ago, Blazej_Holen said:

We are missing the depicton of the big conflicts, such as Moria battle, Helms Deep, siege of Minas Tirith etc.

Only true for Minas Tirith. We already have two sets on Moria and a very decent Helm's Deep. I would not mind new bigger versions of these two locations but it is just incorrect to say that they are missing. 

[psqidexslizer]

22 minutes ago, Renny The Spaceman said:

Laketown with a Toilet you can fit dwarves through, plate of testicles for Stephen Fry to eat and an exclusive Alfrid in drag figure

I doubt even all these would be enough to convince anyone to buy a set based on The Hobbit trilogy.

[MKJoshA]

I'm hopeful the Minas Tirath set will be able to please the majority of people, but it's going to depend on who the designer is. If they put the Rivendell team on it I think it's going to look amazing. If it's the Shire team... well let's just say my hopes wouldn't stay very high.

I'm really surprised everyone is saying Helms Deep for a next set. It seems like an obvious choice to make Edoras next. Sure, we'd get a lot of remakes of figs. But I'd be fine with that. Have you seen the price of Theoden ?!?

[Renny The Spaceman]

26 minutes ago, psqidexslizer said:

I doubt even all these would be enough to convince anyone to buy a set based on The Hobbit trilogy.

Includes the iconic Dwalin milk

[MAB]

27 minutes ago, psqidexslizer said:

I doubt even all these would be enough to convince anyone to buy a set based on The Hobbit trilogy.

If they had done a small set with Alfrid in, preferably in his black outfit, first time around when they were doing smaller sets then I would have bought it. He is one of the obvious omissions from The Hobbit line (the other being Bolg).

9 minutes ago, MKJoshA said:

It seems like an obvious choice to make Edoras next. Sure, we'd get a lot of remakes of figs. But I'd be fine with that. Have you seen the price of Theoden ?!?

Yep, I have, I sold (a new) one about three weeks ago. It is the second LOTR figure I've been able to sell for £100. The first was Saruman with the skirt piece, who hit that point over a year ago.

 

[kuzyabricks]

1 hour ago, Altair1 said:

Only true for Minas Tirith. We already have two sets on Moria and a very decent Helm's Deep. I would not mind new bigger versions of these two locations but it is just incorrect to say that they are missing. 

This was 14 years ago now. That doesn't matter to Lego. We also had a shire and a rivendell back then. They most definitely are missing, it is very clear that the past waves do not matter, and they shouldn't! A lot of people clearly want those sets and Lego sees their crazy markup. The general consumer has no clue what the Gray Heavens is. Next few sets should absolutely be Helms Deep, Moria, etc if we want to keep this theme alive.

[Blazej_Holen]

Mines of Moria and Helms Deep battle are more than decade out of the shelves, hence inaccesible to the majority of customers nd LOTR fans. If you have them - than good for you. But there are plenty of people who would want them rather than Grey Heavens - a location that average customer dont know nothing about (and to get what? Gandalf, another 5 hobbits and Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond?)...

Rivendell and Bag End are also locations we had previously...Yet they are on high demand. 

36 minutes ago, MKJoshA said:

I'm hopeful the Minas Tirath set will be able to please the majority of people, but it's going to depend on who the designer is. If they put the Rivendell team on it I think it's going to look amazing. If it's the Shire team... well let's just say my hopes wouldn't stay very high.

I'm really surprised everyone is saying Helms Deep for a next set. It seems like an obvious choice to make Edoras next. Sure, we'd get a lot of remakes of figs. But I'd be fine with that. Have you seen the price of Theoden ?!?

I also hope that Mike Psiaki and Wess Talbot would be the design leaders of the Minas Tirith set. They are passionate and true fans of LOTR... Hope that Lego is aware that MT is a very special dream come true for many fans.

Edited October 15 by Blazej_Holen

[mtrsteve]

19 hours ago, Cyprinus said:

I have been saying it every time someone posts that moc - it is the worst of both worlds.

I'm polar opposite. I saw that MOC 10 years ago, and it's still my ideal of a Minas Tirith set (with a touch more interior detailing). I'm 100% OK with liberties around design if it captures the *feel and imagination*. A build of just the courtyard would be OK, could even be great, but it's not what I would prefer. And microscale would be the only scenario that's a hard pass from me (and seems unlikely though not impossible given the minifig leak)