Lord of the rings sets returning? *Updated for 2023

[wesker]

On 11/27/2022 at 9:50 PM, Agent Kallus said:

There is the problem that usually they reuse figs from system sets but if we ignore that for the time being and look at other licensed fig scaled location sets. ( As we don't know the £ price I'll have too do it in dollar)

Death Star ( the 2016 one as it's more recent) 27 figs - $500

Cloud city (2018) 21 figs - $350

Daily bugle (2021) 25 figs - $350

Diagon Alley (2020) 17 figs - $450

Mo's eisley cantina (2020) 21 figs - $400

So I'd say between 20 and 30 figs is a reasonable estimate.

I was not fortunate enough to get all the old sets so .

Unfortunately reusing existing parts is the reason why those sets are able to include as many figures as they do. Often it also comes at the expense of detail such as leg printing and dual molding. The only way I can see Rivendell coming with anywhere close to 20 figures is if additional LOTR sets are going to cover the budget for half the characters in the way 2021's Spider-Man sets did for the Daily Bugle.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

40 minutes ago, wesker said:

Unfortunately reusing existing parts is the reason why those sets are able to include as many figures as they do. Often it also comes at the expense of detail such as leg printing and dual molding. The only way I can see Rivendell coming with anywhere close to 20 figures is if additional LOTR sets are going to cover the budget for half the characters in the way 2021's Spider-Man sets did for the Daily Bugle.

The good thing is there are really only 12 essential characters for this set: Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Elrond, Arwen, and Bilbo. Any additional figures could pretty much only be some background Elves, Gloin from the Council scene, maybe other random people from the Council, or Ringwraiths if they choose to include the Ford of Bruinen scene, but any of those would be merely bonuses for me. I would welcome them gladly! But those first 12 are the only ones that I would deem “essential” for a $500 Rivendell set. Now if they choose to make this set represent both The Hobbit and The Fellowship Of The Ring, that’s a different story entirely, but I do find it unlikely.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[The Stad]

I'd love for the "background elves" to include at least one of the smiths who reforge Narsil into Anduril, in a little vignette tucked off in a corner somewhere.  There should also be new molds for both the shards and the re-forged sword, and one of the rooms needs to include the statue that holds the shards in front of the awesome painting/fresco image of Isildur with Sauron (obviously Legofied but still done with the ethereal elvish Art-Nouveau styling).  Is that too much to ask?

[mirkwoodspiders]

Not going to get excited about this or even mull it over until I've seen some other leakers/Promobricks or someone else verify the info about it being Rivendell. Nothing against the initial leaker, but it's only one person's info at this point.

[sahidko]

Would love to get Glorfindel minifig even though he is not in the movies. But LEGO made him for their game so why not.

[Agent Kallus]

12 hours ago, Wardancer said:

I would appreciate a shield mould which resembles the Elven leaf-like shield, an Elven helmet and an Elven sword. Many clone companies and customizer companies have tried, to some success, but I would like to see official versions.

Oh that's a good point. I hadn't really thought about that because Rivendell isn't a battle scene but they could easily include some on a armour stand and reuse it for potential helm's deep, prologue Mordor battle, and battle pack sets.

I know the shield well as I always play as the elves in LotR Risk.

Though I would rather they budgeted for more figures and prints than focused on new parts.

12 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

In my opinion, old Bilbo is a MUST for this set. Gloin would be a cool bonus. I’d love to see an alternate scary face for Bilbo

I definitely agree about a hat/hair mold for Gandalf, that’s a must. My biggest one is still a specialized mold for Narsil/Anduril, I remember being so disappointed that we didn’t get one in the Black Gate and Pirate Ship Ambush sets. A dual molded Sting would be cool, but I don’t think I would want the blue blade to be the only option. If blue and non blue were both available at the same time (not necessarily in the same set) that would be pretty cool to have both of those options

Yeah, I didn't mean for a blue sting to replace the normal sting, both along side each other please.

 

10 hours ago, wesker said:

Unfortunately reusing existing parts is the reason why those sets are able to include as many figures as they do. Often it also comes at the expense of detail such as leg printing and dual molding. The only way I can see Rivendell coming with anywhere close to 20 figures is if additional LOTR sets are going to cover the budget for half the characters in the way 2021's Spider-Man sets did for the Daily Bugle.

I mean we all want additional LotR sets don't we, maybe in the summer we might get some...

But one thing to consider is that this will be a much larger more expensive set than the bugle so it can probably get away with more new figs, especially if most of them aren't intended to be exclusive.

I mean I would rather they budget for more new figures than msketge ones we get hyperdetailed, none of them need arm prints for example.

I hope we get to see the CMF elf maiden hair recoloured for this set. And if we get a few background elves they can share prints.

10 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

The good thing is there are really only 12 essential characters for this set: Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Elrond, Arwen, and Bilbo. Any additional figures could pretty much only be some background Elves, Gloin from the Council scene, maybe other random people from the Council, or Ringwraiths if they choose to include the Ford of Bruinen scene, but any of those would be merely bonuses for me. I would welcome them gladly! But those first 12 are the only ones that I would deem “essential” for a $500 Rivendell set. Now if they choose to make this set represent both The Hobbit and The Fellowship Of The Ring, that’s a different story entirely, but I do find it unlikely.

Whilst I would love for them to include the company of Thorin, I understand that they probably won't, they'd all need Thier specific molds brought back and new prints. But I'm expecting old Gloin at least, well I say expecting, I'm not even 100% on it being Rivendell yet.

But I can see them including the white council without the company of Thorin. As Lego does that sort of thing sometimes and Galadreil and Saruman are popular characters, especially with Galadreil in the rings of power at the moment. And of course Gandalf and Elrond are basically a given if it is Rivendell.

7 hours ago, The Stad said:

I'd love for the "background elves" to include at least one of the smiths who reforge Narsil into Anduril, in a little vignette tucked off in a corner somewhere.  There should also be new molds for both the shards and the re-forged sword, and one of the rooms needs to include the statue that holds the shards in front of the awesome painting/fresco image of Isildur with Sauron (obviously Legofied but still done with the ethereal elvish Art-Nouveau styling).  Is that too much to ask?

Whilst I'd like this, I'd still say to to prioritise new prints over new molds, and I understand have the hilt with the broken blade as new part but don't really get have the sword shards as new parts otherwise, I think a clear 1x2 with printing would work. Or if they wanted to go all out a dual molded part with clear plastic and silver to have the broken sword as one piece. Or they could just print black cracks onto a sword part.

7 hours ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

Not going to get excited about this or even mull it over until I've seen some other leakers/Promobricks or someone else verify the info about it being Rivendell. Nothing against the initial leaker, but it's only one person's info at this point.

Whilst that is true, often if @Falconfan1414 knows it to be false he will out right say so on Instagram and he hasn't yet.

3 hours ago, sahidko said:

Would love to get Glorfindel minifig even though he is not in the movies. But LEGO made him for their game so why not.

I think technically he is in the films anyway, more of a named extra than anything, cause he doesn't lend Frodo his horse or anything but there would reason to include him as a ' background' elf here.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

8 hours ago, The Stad said:

I'd love for the "background elves" to include at least one of the smiths who reforge Narsil into Anduril, in a little vignette tucked off in a corner somewhere.  There should also be new molds for both the shards and the re-forged sword, and one of the rooms needs to include the statue that holds the shards in front of the awesome painting/fresco image of Isildur with Sauron (obviously Legofied but still done with the ethereal elvish Art-Nouveau styling).  Is that too much to ask?

Yes I think the Narsil display AND the Sauron and Isildur mural are essential things that need to be included

[Agent Kallus]

Sometimes the big sets was relavent GWPs like the forestmen hideout or Eiffel's apartment or the brick build lightsaber hilts. Do we think a LotR gwp for this set ( exclusive or not) is likely?  

(Regardless of whether it ends up being Rivendell or not)

[Balrogofmorgoth]

7 minutes ago, Agent Kallus said:

Sometimes the big sets was relavent GWPs like the forestmen hideout or Eiffel's apartment or the brick build lightsaber hilts. Do we think a LotR gwp for this set ( exclusive or not) is likely?  

(Regardless of whether it ends up being Rivendell or not)

This set is such a wildcard at this point, and is raising so many questions, that it’s hard to say with any confidence whatsoever. That would be cool though. Some people would probably be mad because exclusive GWPs tend to be controversial. But I plan on getting this day 1 so I’d be happy to get a freebie with it. IF there would be a GWP, I wonder if it would have something to do with Rivendell or if it would be unrelated to the set itself. Honestly though, for a D2C releasing three months from now, I would think the existence of a GWP would already be known

Edited November 29, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Balrogofmorgoth]

42 minutes ago, Agent Kallus said:

I mean I would rather they budget for more new figures than msketge ones we get hyperdetailed, none of them need arm prints for example.

I would make the case that dual molded printed arms for Boromir would be perfect. But I agree that it’s probably not necessary for many others in this set if any

[MAB]

Extra generic elves should be quite easy to produce without needing new prints. I bought a load of the elf hairpieces from the Hobbit sets when they were plentiful and cheap last time and a load of Legolas heads from replacement parts. They go on just about any torso.

For example, for Lindir from The Hobbit I use this Chinese NY torso (swapping out the hands) and plain dark blue legs:

Even excess Gandalf torso and legs with an elf head and hair look good, and combined with a dark blue cape make a decent Figwit.

They also look fantastic on the S3 CMF elf.

 

Personally, I'm fine with the existing swords. I don't think they can really do much better than what we already have, given the hilts must be much thicker than reality to be held in a minifigure hand. The shards of Narsil are easy enough to make yourself, although the blade parts don't attach to anything and fall off a 2x4 tile at the slightest knock.

 

[Gorilla94]

10 hours ago, The Stad said:

I'd love for the "background elves" to include at least one of the smiths who reforge Narsil into Anduril, in a little vignette tucked off in a corner somewhere.  There should also be new molds for both the shards and the re-forged sword, and one of the rooms needs to include the statue that holds the shards in front of the awesome painting/fresco image of Isildur with Sauron (obviously Legofied but still done with the ethereal elvish Art-Nouveau styling).  Is that too much to ask?

The shards would certainly be a sticker on a tile xD

But no, it isn't too much to ask for at that price point.

1 hour ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

I would make the case that dual molded printed arms for Boromir would be perfect. But I agree that it’s probably not necessary for many others in this set if any

And Dual moulded short legs for the Hobbits as well as a new hat-mould with hair for Gandalf. Besides that the old minifigs are fine.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Gorilla94

[MAB]

I doubt we'd see a new hat/hair for Gandalf, as we already have this, which they would probably think of as close enough. It just needs a recolour and a better beard to use it with. A hat / hair / beard combo like for Radagast might be a possibility. But probably not if it was just going to be used for one set when "good enough" moulds exist.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

34 minutes ago, MAB said:

I doubt we'd see a new hat/hair for Gandalf, as we already have this, which they would probably think of as close enough. It just needs a recolour and a better beard to use it with. A hat / hair / beard combo like for Radagast might be a possibility. But probably not if it was just going to be used for one set when "good enough" moulds exist.

I would not be happy if they used that. Doesn’t work at all. I’ll take the old Gandalf hat over that. Also, your Lindir and Figwit purist figures sound great! But as much as I love making purist figures that work well enough with prints that are available, I would always prefer official prints, especially for something like LOTR where there’s a very particular look that need to be captured. Lego has no excuse to reuse things like Chinese New Year prints for LOTR 

50 minutes ago, Gorilla94 said:

The shards would certainly be a sticker on a tile xD

But no, it isn't too much to ask for at that price point.

And Dual moulded short legs for the Hobbits as well as a new hat-mould with hair for Gandalf. Besides that the old minifigs are fine.

Sure the old minifigs are fine. But all of them can definitely be improved. It’s been ten years

Edited November 29, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Gorilla94]

1 hour ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Sure the old minifigs are fine. But all of them can definitely be improved. It’s been ten years

What would you change? Legolas looks great with viking cmf 20 arms. Gimli could use Arm Printing, too, but looks good without it. I'd like to see him with printed medium legs, but that won't happen. Maybe side printing or Dual moulding for Aragorns legs? He doesn't have the Gondor armour piece until Amon Hen.

Except for the Dual moulded legs the Hobbits are just perfect in my opinion.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

1 hour ago, Gorilla94 said:

What would you change? Legolas looks great with viking cmf 20 arms. Gimli could use Arm Printing, too, but looks good without it. I'd like to see him with printed medium legs, but that won't happen. Maybe side printing or Dual moulding for Aragorns legs? He doesn't have the Gondor armour piece until Amon Hen.

Except for the Dual moulded legs the Hobbits are just perfect in my opinion.

Updated face prints, molds, updated more detailed printing, there’s alway ways to improve, especially after ten years. I was unsure how much improvement could be made for Harry Potter when we found out about the reboot but look how that turned out, the minifig designs are incredible. Lego is always updating printing, molding, and parts usage. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Moexy]

4 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Updated face prints, molds, updated more detailed printing, there’s alway ways to improve, especially after ten years. I was unsure how much improvement could be made for Harry Potter when we found out about the reboot but look how that turned out, the minifig designs are incredible. Lego is always updating printing, molding, and parts usage. 

Like the quality of plastic used back then for the LOTR range (dark brown, dark red, pearl gold, …).

[Shroffy123]

1 minute ago, Moexy said:

Like the quality of plastic used back then for the LOTR range (dark brown, dark red, pearl gold, …).

How many of us have broken mini figs because of the poor quality plastic. I know I am afraid to move my uruk and Haldir arms for fear of them snapping 

[Balrogofmorgoth]

36 minutes ago, Shroffy123 said:

How many of us have broken mini figs because of the poor quality plastic. I know I am afraid to move my uruk and Haldir arms for fear of them snapping 

I recently broke the arms on my Rohan Soldier. Luckily I had other dark green arms lying around. I’ve definitely broken a handful of LOTR pieces over the years. Luckily nothing that’s broken has been irreplaceable 

[Agent Kallus]

Rivendell has bern confirmed by a reliable source. @Falconfan1414 put on Instagram that stonewars has backed up the Rivendell rumour and that it will include minifigures.

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Agent Kallus

[BTappel]

The set number suggests it will be a lego icons set and not part of a wave of lotr sets… still cool tho

[Balrogofmorgoth]

30 minutes ago, BTappel said:

The set number suggests it will be a lego icons set and not part of a wave of lotr sets… still cool tho

Lego would be insane to release this and then do nothing else for the theme knowing the demand for it. It could be they’re using this to gauge interest in the theme and if it does well they’ll make more. I would be crushed if this is all we get. But the fact that there are Brickheadz too show that maybe they really want to do something with it. Still, releasing  Brickheadz and a $500 D2C before any normal sets sure is the strangest way to test the waters. All we can do is spend our money on it and hope enough other people do the same to send lego the right message 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[mirkwoodspiders]

17 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Lego would be insane to release this and then do nothing else for the theme knowing the demand for it. It could be they’re using this to gauge interest in the theme and if it does well they’ll make more. I would be crushed if this is all we get. But the fact that there are Brickheadz too show that maybe they really want to do something with it. Still, releasing  Brickheadz and a $500 D2C before any normal sets sure is the strangest way to test the waters. All we can do is spend our money on it and hope enough other people do the same to send lego the right message 

Yep. Have to speak with our wallets. I have never bought a Brickheadz set before, but I am seriously considering buying all three of the rumored ones just to support the theme's comeback

[Balrogofmorgoth]

2 minutes ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

Yep. Have to speak with our wallets. I have never bought a Brickheadz set before, but I am seriously considering buying all three of the rumored ones just to support the theme's comeback

I will definitely buy all three to support it. I’m not into Brickheadz at all really. I have a couple Star Wars ones and a HP one that was a GWP I just held onto. But I don’t generally buy them, they’re not my thing. But I will absolutely get all three of these!

[Kaijumeister]

24 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Lego would be insane to release this and then do nothing else for the theme knowing the demand for it. It could be they’re using this to gauge interest in the theme and if it does well they’ll make more. I would be crushed if this is all we get. But the fact that there are Brickheadz too show that maybe they really want to do something with it. Still, releasing  Brickheadz and a $500 D2C before any normal sets sure is the strangest way to test the waters. All we can do is spend our money on it and hope enough other people do the same to send lego the right message 

Fully agree with you. As much as a massive Rivendell set is a dream come true, gauging interest in the theme based on a massive Lego Icons set just seems so utterly ill advised. How many fans will want to spend that much money, let alone have the space for such a set? Demand will be there for sure, but I’m holding out hope we’ll get a system-scale wave in the summer, even if it’s a small one.

I’ll be buying Brickheadz for the first time as well just to support the theme’s comeback, although it’ll just be Gandalf vs. the Balrog for me. I feel Brickheadz would be much more fun to collect if Lego got more creative with making textures and patterns out of pieces rather than just depend on prints, but that’s not a discussion for this thread.