LEGO LotR - general discussion

[kabel]

I accidentally bumbed into a Lego rep today who was checking all toystores in town on the same path that I usually take. He was asking the clercks for customer feedback so we ended up talking for about 15 minutes. To make a long story short, he was dead sure that there will be no more LOTR wave to come. I'm really sad now.

[Venkefedo]

…if the license doesn't expire, maybe we could get an LOTR-themed CMF wave? Should be ridiculously simple to knock out 16 characters. Half of 'em could be army-builders (Gondor! More Rohirrim! Orcs! Lorien Elves!), the other half new characters (Faramir, Eowyn, Galadriel) and/or new prints of existing characters (Rohan-armored Merry, Gondor Pippin, etc).

[Faefrost]

Sad but not surprising or particularly unexpected. 5 Middle Earth waves tied to three current movies sounds about what we expected. We've gotten less than we wanted, but at the same time more than we ever hoped for.

And sadly there is probably no chance of a Middle Earth or LotR CMF wave. The subtle earth tones of ME characters mixed with the often gibberish seeming or similar names makes them fairly incomprehensible for the general public. I hate to say it, but Tolkien as a whole is not overly "toyetic". Lego has probably had the best success of any merchant with the properties as a toy product. But at its heart it does skew older and into the more specialized collectors market.

[Robert_88]

This is very sad but i'm not surprised anymore.

Unfortunately I have to say that TLG can't really be proud of what they made out of this theme when I think about the huge potential of Lego LotR.

[herostand]

I wonder if horses being available on pick a brick walls is the result of LOTR being cancelled.

[naf]

I wonder if horses being available on pick a brick walls is the result of LOTR being cancelled.

Never thought about it like that, but quite possible. Was hoping for at least a big exclusive Gondor-themed set at least, if we couldn't get a full 3rd wave. If this is indeed the end, they made some pretty odd set choices, namely that pirate ship. Would have much rather had a brick built fell beast or something Minas Tirith related.

[AFOLguy1970]

If they made that many horses for LOTR, then they probably had a lot of other stuff prepared for the much hoped for wave 3. Now, if we start seeing a lot of white "castle builder" type pieces in those PAB bins, then it will would a big clue. Also, watch the build-a-minifigure bins and see if swords, axes, and pikes start showing up in the utensil section.

[wesker]

I wonder if horses being available on pick a brick walls is the result of LOTR being cancelled.

I don't think so. The new style horse has already appeared in 12 sets outside the LOTR theme. I believe the reason its available is simply because its a widely used mold.

[Master_Data]

I wonder if horses being available on pick a brick walls is the result of LOTR being cancelled.

What? Where?!

[Venkefedo]

What? Where?!

It's been reported for a couple weeks now, I think (in a PAB bucket thread in the…General section? I think?). Also in PAB on S@H, but you can Bricklink 'em for a lot cheaper than the $5-each they want. I think someone said they managed to get 12 into the large PAB bucket? Gotta try to hit the store this weekend, see if my local shop has 'em… now if only they'd throw Rohirrim torsos, helmets, and heads in there, too

[SirBlake]

That sucks.

No Gondor = Lego fail.

Such a missed opportunity. So much potential money lost because they didn't have the sense to build out wave 2 correctly. What a disappointment.

[Venkefedo]

That sucks.

No Gondor = Lego fail.

Such a missed opportunity. So much potential money lost because they didn't have the sense to build out wave 2 correctly. What a disappointment.

I agree… from the start I was hoping they'd do "Armies of Middle-Earth" battle packs akin to SW since there's soooooo much potential there for wave after wave of sets (an Osgiliath Attack set would've been so nice; heck, they could've done two! One w/ ranger defenders and orc attackers, one w/ mounted knights vs orc defenders)… the only "riders" of Rohan we got were Eomer & Theoden… Haldir as the sole representative of Lothlorien… Black Gate Aragorn & Boromir as the only shreds of Gondor attire. Only 2 Ringwraiths, nary a sign of the Witch King (the Mouth looks great, but…come on! Witch King, fell beast, Eowyn, Rohan-garb Merry--BEGGING to be a $20-30 set! It could've been the Lex Luthor's Power Suit of the wave! Tho a Treebeard w/ Merry, Pippin, and an orc would've been a great set in that price range as well, all the more reason for more waves)

[SirBlake]

Yup, all of that. We can all see it, where is TLG's brain?

[Hepitos]

TLG? brain? ha...very good joke

[Faefrost]

I wonder if horses being available on pick a brick walls is the result of LOTR being cancelled.

I would suspect that LR would have more to do with it at this point. That is a recently canceled/EOL'd horse theme. Now if the black Nazghul horse shows up on PAB...?

[Alcarin]

I am still waiting for official news.... as in list of 2015 sets.... if there is no LOTR there its good bye.....

Such a wasted opportunity really....

Time to write TLG an email :)

[Bugbot2008]

The horses have been in the pick-a-brick selection online for a while, so this may just be a bit of stock rotation of sorts or maybe an invitation to get more people to buy more of the tubs in store, especially girls perhaps. But I agree it is quite bizarre for them to appear in the in-store tubs where lego could potentially make a loss on them compared to online for how many you can fit into a tub :/

To be sure if this is the result of canceled sets I would look out for saddles. Saddles exist alongside every horse in a set when they are not pulling a cart/carriage, and they are not available online. If saddles appear in stores we can be sure that we are seeing stock salvaged from canceled historic themes.

[Bugbot2008]

I accidentally bumbed into a Lego rep today who was checking all toystores in town on the same path that I usually take. He was asking the clercks for customer feedback so we ended up talking for about 15 minutes. To make a long story short, he was dead sure that there will be no more LOTR wave to come. I'm really sad now.

I hope he is proved wrong :(

[The_Chosen_1]

What an utter disappointment if the news is true. So many wasted opportunities on Lego's part with the LOTR theme. :-(

[KristofBD]

Well no wave, that is as most of us expected. I'm happy we get a Witch King and Galadriel in The Hobbit sets though. And let's hope there will still be a final D2C set. Who knows...

[wesker]

Seems like a waste to just end the line now. The DVD release of the final Hobbit film (plus the potential Hobbit/LOTR box sets) will still keep the franchise in the public eye a little while longer after the theatrical release, plus all the sets everyone's demanding (Balrog, Gondor, Treebeard, Witch-King) would sell out MUCH faster than what we were given in the second wave.

[SMC]

Seems like a waste to just end the line now. The DVD release of the final Hobbit film (plus the potential Hobbit/LOTR box sets) will still keep the franchise in the public eye a little while longer after the theatrical release, plus all the sets everyone's demanding (Balrog, Gondor, Treebeard, Witch-King) would sell out MUCH faster than what we were given in the second wave.

100% agree and this is why I still have just a little bit of hope

[LegoThomas]

100% agree and this is why I still have just a little bit of hope

Yup. Me too.

[KristofBD]

Yes, if the second wave did poorly, that's most likely because the sets were far weaker than the ones from the second wave. Plenty of potential left, e.g. Gondorian Army Builder

[atreyu2112]

If they put another wave out, I will buy it all. It's that simple.