REVIEW: The Battle of the Five Armies

[MAB]

As for Dains helmet, I guess the designers thought the extra sales from a helmet with a removable plume wouldnt balance the costs of making an extra mold for the plume.

A separate plume would also have an advantage that the colours wouldn't be painted on. The painting looks pretty bad. There is gold leaching onto the top of the helmet, and a red splodge corner on the gold.

[Blazej_Holen]

A separate plume would also have an advantage that the colours wouldn't be painted on. The painting looks pretty bad. There is gold leaching onto the top of the helmet, and a red splodge corner on the gold.

I agree, most of those paintings especially on hairpieces are very bad (flesh ears vs elven hair, Thranduil´s crown...) I guess that helmet is made from rubber, so therefore they create it as one big piece with plume. It would be definitelly better if the helmet had a separate plume. Therefore we will (and TLG as well) be able to use it on differetn minifigs... (perhaps Dwarven army...)

[Blakstone]

Thanks for the great review. I will buy the set at retail, though it is not a day on purchase for me.

[Missing Brick]

Thanks for the very thorough review. Speaking as someone who bought all the 1st wave LOTR sets (even Weathertop!!), this is a definite pass for me: 2 bald orcs, a bunch of unposeable fixed-leg figs, another Legolas, another Uruk Hai Army Ballista and some uninspiring buildings. No thanks.

[Alcarin]

Thanks for the very thorough review. Speaking as someone who bought all the 1st wave LOTR sets (even Weathertop!!), this is a definite pass for me: 2 bald orcs, a bunch of unposeable fixed-leg figs, another Legolas, another Uruk Hai Army Ballista and some uninspiring buildings. No thanks.

+1 :D

Literally the only good things is torso from Dain (and his beard) Bards torso and legs and thats pretty much it..... Disappointing!

Edited September 29, 2014 by Alcarin

[HawkLord]

Great review!

Unfortunately I will pass hard on this one. The price is too high and feels like a bit of a grab on a near dying line. As an MOCer, I also can't justify it as a brick buy. The dwarves are nice and that's about it.

At least it didn't come with another Gandalf...

[TheGreyPilgrim]

Thank you for the thorough review. I agree with you, the value here us in the minifigures.

I will be purchasing the entire third wave, but I do not think this will stay built for very long. Just have to wait for the double VIP points in October. It's going to be an expensive month!

[Deathleech]

I don't think the value is quite that bad. It's true the price per piece is a littler high (almost 13 cents instead of the golden 10), but this set also has an decent sized molded eagle and 7 minifigures. All past $60 LotR/Hobbit sets have only had 5 minifigures.

As for your minifigure price predictions, I find them a little high. You say $12-15 each for Thorin, Dain, and Azog, but the previous Azog (which was only found in a single set that was $10 more expensive) is currently sitting around $11.50. Radaghast and the Necromancer from the same set are only $8 and $3.50. With another, cheaper set offering Azog and based on other sets I would say they all MIGHT start off at $12-15, but quickly will fall down to the $8 mark a few months later.

With Dain's plume being removable, I guess it would be nice but it wouldn't really be practical. Who is going to spend $8+ per minifigure on a bunch of Dain's to try and make an army of Iron Hill Dwarves? It's just not ideal or really feasible unless you are loaded with cash. Personally I think this is the hands down worst set of the third Hobbit wave, and possibly one of the worst sets in the entire Middle-Earth theme. Azog is barely different, the two orcs have new face prints but lack hair or helms which I HATE, the ballista is waaaaay to big and the bridge/tower are to boring, and Gwaihir isn't really a huge sell at this point with similar eagles being in Black Gates and Orthanc. The only highlights for me are Dain and Thorin, who look good.

If not for being a completionist I might actually have passed on this set. As is I will pick it up on deep discount, but it will be the last set from the third wave I bother building.

[ZCerberus]

You sure have an odd way of pricing figures Deeth. Average sale price in last six months of Azog was $14.05 and Radagast was $10.15 you'll also need to pay shipping on those so toss in another $2.00 a figure unless you can get them in one spot. So my feeling is the initial value will be in the $15.00 range, but it will drop to more like the $12.00 as Radagast and Azog have now. Looking at the figures from the Black gate set- which also cost $60- Mouth of Sauron, Gandalf the White and Aragorn, average sale price of them in the last six months has been $9.15, $8.17, and $7.04. Adding in the shipping costs, they are currently at 11, 10 and 9ish dollars. A year from now then, who knows- $8 "landed" might totally be right on for the price for these figures, but $12 is also quite possible depending on any number of factors.

Still my point was the same, the pure price to parts ratio is not a true indicator of "value" here as there are 7 figures, at least 4 of which will be highly sought after. You seem to agree with me on that point.

I don't disagree that a different figure line-up may have been nice- generic soldiers would have been awesome for adult collectors- but we didn't get that. I said the set was not a good choice for army building, or as a parts pack but I still feel if you want the 4 "main" figures, you should buy "a" copy of this set, just not several copies.

[Alcarin]

At start all figures combined will go for about the price of the set.... but all the pricey figs will drop to 8-12$ range pretty quickly.....

Who is going to spend $8+ per minifigure on a bunch of Dain's to try and make an army of Iron Hill Dwarves? It's just not ideal or really feasible unless you are loaded with cash.

I am no way loaded with cash, but in the last 2 days I just spent 12-14$ per Rohan soldier and bought 7..... to slowly finish my Helm's Deep display........

[MAB]

With Dain's plume being removable, I guess it would be nice but it wouldn't really be practical. Who is going to spend $8+ per minifigure on a bunch of Dain's to try and make an army of Iron Hill Dwarves? It's just not ideal or really feasible unless you are loaded with cash.

A removable plume was perfectly practical for the CMF Roman Commander. Part collectors / sellers could well be interested in spending that much on sets to get an army. Selling off the excess minifigs to people that don't want to buy the set, and the bricks to people that don't want the minifigs. It happened with Helm's Deep, Dol Guldur battle, Weathertop, Mines of Moria, ...

[Deathleech]

You sure have an odd way of pricing figures Deeth. Average sale price in last six months of Azog was $14.05 and Radagast was $10.15 you'll also need to pay shipping on those so toss in another $2.00 a figure unless you can get them in one spot. So my feeling is the initial value will be in the $15.00 range, but it will drop to more like the $12.00 as Radagast and Azog have now. Looking at the figures from the Black gate set- which also cost $60- Mouth of Sauron, Gandalf the White and Aragorn, average sale price of them in the last six months has been $9.15, $8.17, and $7.04. Adding in the shipping costs, they are currently at 11, 10 and 9ish dollars. A year from now then, who knows- $8 "landed" might totally be right on for the price for these figures, but $12 is also quite possible depending on any number of factors.

I suppose if you just look at the average you are right, but that seems to be a poor indicator because it includes so much inflation. Someone payed almost $24 dollars for an Azog when Dol Guldur Battle was first released, yet a few weeks later the set got discounted to $50-60! Why pay almost half the price of the set for a single minifigure? People are crazy sometimes and as such I tend to find the average prices misleading. I NEVER have paid the "average price" for any minifigure I bought on BL. I usually just watch the prices and wait till someone puts the figures up for a decent price. For example there are 11 Radaghast's up right now, all for $9 or less. The cheapest is $8.10. Why would I buy from anyone else or pay the average which is almost $2 higher? I suppose if you don't live in the U.S. where there are abundant sellers, or you have no patience things are much more difficult.

Finding the average is also tricky because some minifigures in the same set are much more desirable than others. For example Azog is $14 average and Radagast is 10, but the Necromancer is barely over $5 and the Orcs and Gandalf in Dol Guldur Battle are $3. That's $38 total for them in a $70 MSRP set. If you look for deals and combined shipping you can probably get them all for around $25. I don't include shipping in the price because that can vary so much just based on your location. Plus most people don't include sales tax or anything in the MSRP of a set so why include shipping? The part about army building using Dain's was directed at other posters mentioning it and wanting to army build with them if Dain's plumage would have been removable.

A removable plume was perfectly practical for the CMF Roman Commander. Part collectors / sellers could well be interested in spending that much on sets to get an army. Selling off the excess minifigs to people that don't want to buy the set, and the bricks to people that don't want the minifigs. It happened with Helm's Deep, Dol Guldur battle, Weathertop, Mines of Moria, ...

The CMF Roman was a $3 polybag though, not in a $60 set. It was easier to find and mass. Don't get me wrong, I am sure people still would army build with Dain's though. Everyone is just acting like a Dain with removable plumage from his helm would fix our lack of Iron Hill Dwarf soldiers. I know personally it wouldn't for me. I am a hardcore army builder, but even I draw the line somewhere. I am not going to spend $8+ per minifigure to get an army of Iron Hill Dwarves. I would want at least 50. At $8 a pop that would $400, I could almost buy the entire third Hobbit wave twice over for that price (and COULD once sales hit!). Even $8 might be on the low side and not be realistic if you want different heads, beards, torsos, weapons, etc. on them. I'm just saying is it really going to help THAT much? I mean if you only wanted 5-10 soldiers it may be ok, but for people who want large armies it is super impractical and expensive.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Deathleech

[MAB]

Don't get me wrong, I am sure people still would army build with Dain's though. Everyone is just acting like a Dain with removable plumage from his helm would fix our lack of Iron Hill Dwarf soldiers. I know personally it wouldn't for me. I am a hardcore army builder, but even I draw the line somewhere. I am not going to spend $8+ per minifigure to get an army of Iron Hill Dwarves. I would want at least 50. At $8 a pop that would $400, I could almost buy the entire third Hobbit wave twice over for that price (and COULD once sales hit!). Even $8 might be on the low side and not be realistic if you want different heads, beards, torsos, weapons, etc. on them. I'm just saying is it really going to help THAT much? I mean if you only wanted 5-10 soldiers it may be ok, but for people who want large armies it is super impractical and expensive.

Some people have armies of soldiers of the dead, 3 in a $100 set. Sure it is still expensive to buy an army but having the possibility gives it more practicality than not having the possibility (without taking a dremel to the helmets).

[MontyPython]

Outstanding review, ZCerberus! The set itself is very nice, but maybe it could give a piece or two more for its price. But ofcourse it's main attraction are minifigures which are great.

[Mr. Cube]

On dwarf army-building using Dain (with removable plume): People would buy Dain minifigs from BL sellers (who sell sets as separate bricks and minifigs), so it would be much cheaper than buying multiple complete sets. I think that nobody is that crazy, that he bought multiple BoFA for army building. OK, maybe, if I had some spare diamonds or millions in a bank, then maybe, yes )))

[ZCerberus]

On dwarf army-building using Dain (with removable plume): People would buy Dain minifigs from BL sellers (who sell sets as separate bricks and minifigs), so it would be much cheaper than buying multiple complete sets. I think that nobody is that crazy, that he bought multiple BoFA for army building. OK, maybe, if I had some spare diamonds or millions in a bank, then maybe, yes )))

Agreed. That is why I said the figures were too varied for army building. If that set contained 7 dwarves- you'd still have to be crazy... just slightly less crazy!

[MAB]

On dwarf army-building using Dain (with removable plume): People would buy Dain minifigs from BL sellers (who sell sets as separate bricks and minifigs), so it would be much cheaper than buying multiple complete sets. I think that nobody is that crazy, that he bought multiple BoFA for army building. OK, maybe, if I had some spare diamonds or millions in a bank, then maybe, yes )))

Or alternatively buy multiple sets and sell off the other minifigs that are not wanted on BL. And maybe the bricks too.

[Mencot]

Thanks for the review Zcerberus.

Not really impressed with this set, the minifigs are really awesome but the rest is meh.

What it needs is that you buy multiple of these and try to make something of it, but who wants to do that because the price isn´t really cheap and this isn´t an armybuilder with all the exclusive minifigures.

[pathas]

Thanks for the review Zcerberus.

Not really impressed with this set, the minifigs are really awesome but the rest is meh.

What it needs is that you buy multiple of these and try to make something of it, but who wants to do that because the price isn´t really cheap and this isn´t an armybuilder with all the exclusive minifigures.

Agree. I have this set and have to say that expect minifigures its horrible set...

Comparison to 9473 Mines of Moria for same price its really bad...

But still all of us need this set:-)

[Mencot]

But still all of us need this set:-)

Sad but true becuause BL the figs would be expensive any way so that isn´t an option, for me atleast.

[Deathleech]

Comparison to 9473 Mines of Moria for same price its really bad...

Here in the U.S. Mines of Moria is $20 more than the BoFA set. It still is a vastly superior set though, almost every minifigure is exclusive except Legolas and Gimli, the Moria Orcs come with hair, and it has the super cool exclusive Cave Troll.

[TheWorldAhead]

Here in the U.S. Mines of Moria is $20 more than the BoFA set. It still is a vastly superior set though, almost every minifigure is exclusive except Legolas and Gimli, the Moria Orcs come with hair, and it has the super cool exclusive Cave Troll.

Actually, I have to disagree. I just got the BoFA this morning, and even though the piece count is much lower, I think the minifigures are far better (if you care about Hobbit characters, that is), and the structures are much more innovative, not to mention colorful. But they are the RIGHT colors...I never thought much of a sand-blue Cave Troll with a plain tan belly and dark grey spots on his back. The Mines of Moria structures were really just facades, especially the main gallery with the falling pillars, whereas the BoFA ballista seems much cleverer, IMO, with gear-teeth, unique pieces, and even poles for the Orcs to wheel it into battle.

Anyway, Mines of Moria is a great set, and I would certainly be sad had I not gotten it, but for those on the fence about BoFA, it is purer awesomeness...with a low piece count.

[sahidko]

whereas the BoFA ballista seems much cleverer, IMO, with gear-teeth, unique pieces, and even poles for the Orcs to wheel it into battle.

The ballista might be a clever build but its size makes rest of the set look funny. And without ballista BoFA is a below average set for me.

Edited October 11, 2014 by sahidko

[The Indecisive Clutch]

Great detailed review. It really does bother me how Bolg wasn't included in this set that could have really used him.

[The geeky kind]

Thanks for the review, I love a good honest opinion...