Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[Balrogofmorgoth]

23 minutes ago, Alegrispa said:

Yikes, dude. All that dust is disgusting.

I mean, you couldn't even just blow on it before you took the pictures? Geez.

Oh I blew on it. You know, sometimes working full time and parenting the rest of the time just makes it difficult to prioritize something as trivial as dusting lego consistently. If that triggers you, feel free to not look at it

Edited December 4, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[natesroom]

Nice balrog. I applaud you taking a stab at actually creating one. i dont have the skills to just up and try and build one, lol!

[Balrogofmorgoth]

4 minutes ago, natesroom said:

Nice balrog. I applaud you taking a stab at actually creating one. i dont have the skills to just up and try and build one, lol!

Thanks! It’s far from perfect and I’m definitely continuously finding ways to improve it, but overall I’m pretty happy with it. It looks good on the shelf! And it’s a good size compared to a Gandalf minifig

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Photos aren’t the best, it really does look better in person, I promise. It sort of all blends together in the photos and I’m certainly no photographer 

It's not bad. I personally am not a fan of massive parts on non-bionicle builds, but they work fairly well here. The face is especially good, as is the fire.

1 hour ago, Alegrispa said:

Yikes, dude. All that dust is disgusting.

I mean, you couldn't even just blow on it before you took the pictures? Geez.

Jeez, dude. I sincerely hope this is a joke. (Though IIRC you were the guy who wanted them to stop making lego harry potter for some reason, so perhaps it's not) If a picture with dust on someone's plastic toy offends you, you need to stay off the internet.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Mandalorianknight

[Balrogofmorgoth]

12 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

It's not bad. I personally am not a fan of massive parts on non-bionicle builds, but they work fairly well here. The face is especially good, as is the fire.

Jeez, dude. I sincerely hope this is a joke. (Though IIRC you were the guy who wanted them to stop making lego harry potter for some reason, so perhaps it's not) If a picture with dust on someone's plastic toy offends you, you need to stay off the internet.

It’s such a tough balance. If lego makes a Balrog, I think their best bet is to have a molded head, cloth wings similar to the 2022 Horntail, and most likely a new whip piece. I just don’t see any other way that would work well for an official set. They could probably brick build a fiery sword, if they include it at all, and then the rest can also be brick built

Edited December 4, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Balrogofmorgoth]

3 hours ago, Bugbot20082 said:

This has been debated lots before about exactly what went wrong, i don’t think it’s as simple as that in Lego’s case although it was definitely true for all the other hobbit merchandising. 

My theory is Lego had planned early on for 5 waves of sets: 3 Lotr and 2 Hobbit, one for each movie roughly. But then after production had already started for the first wave(s) the film studio made the decision to make the Hobbit 3 movies. Lego didn’t add more resources to the middle Earth theme, instead they swapped the budget allotted 3rd lotr wave for a 3rd hobbit wave, perhaps thinking that a present movie tie-in would sell better. Then once that 5 wave plan was finished the theme was not renewed due to poor sales overall. Creative decisions in the 2nd wave of lotr sets also hurt it a lot no doubt (pirate ship). 
 

 

Gotta be honest, I’ve never understood the hate for Pirate Ship Ambush. It’s a great set

[natesroom]

2 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Gotta be honest, I’ve never understood the hate for Pirate Ship Ambush. It’s a great set

I miised that set... i really wished i got it.

[wesker]

5 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

If the theme gets a real revival with real waves of sets, Minas Tirith is inevitable. The question is whether it would be a D2C or just a $150ish normal scale set. I like both options so it would be great to see both at different times in different scales. I think for this to be a successful reboot, it has to start with some more familiarity like the Fellowship. And my ideal Faramir figure would be an Ithilien version in his Ranger garb, but a “retaking Osgiliath” version would be awesome as well

I'd prefer another D2C for Minas Tirith. Its the only way to truly do it justice with its scale and the amount of detail.

Faramir in the ranger outfit is my preferred version as well. I feel like a Mumakil would be the best set to include him in as it hits all the right notes. The beast itself is a highly recognizable part of the films due to its role in the Battle of Pellennor, Faramir covers a highly desired character who was missing from the previous line, Frodo and Sam fill the required Fellowship quota and you have an instant way of reintroducing Gollum to newcomers. Throw in a Haradrim or two and you've got yourself the perfect set.
 

32 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Gotta be honest, I’ve never understood the hate for Pirate Ship Ambush. It’s a great set

The set itself is fine. The problem lied in the ship not being something people wanted that early into the line when there were still many more iconic options still to cover. And that was really a problem with the second wave as a whole. The line had barely scratched the surface of the trilogy yet everything felt too niche in comparison to the first wave, or in the case of the Wizard Battle redundant when we were already getting the Tower of Orthanc that very year.

[Shroffy123]

38 minutes ago, wesker said:

 

The set itself is fine. The problem lied in the ship not being something people wanted that early into the line when there were still many more iconic options still to cover. And that was really a problem with the second wave as a whole. The line had barely scratched the surface of the trilogy yet everything felt too niche in comparison to the first wave, or in the case of the Wizard Battle redundant when we were already getting the Tower of Orthanc that very year.

Agree

[Altair1]

2 hours ago, wesker said:

The set itself is fine. The problem lied in the ship not being something people wanted that early into the line when there were still many more iconic options still to cover. And that was really a problem with the second wave as a whole. The line had barely scratched the surface of the trilogy yet everything felt too niche in comparison to the first wave, or in the case of the Wizard Battle redundant when we were already getting the Tower of Orthanc that very year.

Exactly that. To make a set featuring a scene which only lasts for a few seconds in the movie instead of Minas Tirith or Edoras for example felt incomprehensible to many... But the King and Soldiers of the Dead look great!

Edited December 4, 2022 by Altair1

[Bugbot20082]

10 hours ago, Altair1 said:

I wish that were true, but from what we have heard this D2C is apparently just a one-shot LOTR set as a part of the Lego Icons brand, and not the first of a new LOTR wave...

Wouldn’t it require moulds for the elvish ears/hair? Would the originals still be in existence? 

[Alegrispa]

26 minutes ago, Bugbot20082 said:

Wouldn’t it require moulds for the elvish ears/hair? Would the originals still be in existence? 

Unlikely.

8 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Oh I blew on it. You know, sometimes working full time and parenting the rest of the time just makes it difficult to prioritize something as trivial as dusting lego consistently. If that triggers you, feel free to not look at it

C'mon, I wasn't being serious. No need to take it so personally, it's a great build.

7 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

(Though IIRC you were the guy who wanted them to stop making lego harry potter for some reason, so perhaps it's not)

Valid reasons. And frankly it's weird for you remember that and to bring it up here.

Let's stay on topic.

[wesker]

1 hour ago, Bugbot20082 said:

Wouldn’t it require moulds for the elvish ears/hair? Would the originals still be in existence? 

I assume they will at least bring back Legolas's old hairpiece. The mold was still active in 2015 when they did Dimensions and was used pretty extensively across both the LOTR and Hobbit sets. Same goes with Gimli's helmet and beard.

I can't really see them bringing back Arwen or Elrond's old molds given how minimally they were used, but honestly I'd be okay with that. The Second Age Elrond figure still looked good using the same standard hairpiece as Legolas and they can always print his crown on the head like DCEU Wonder Woman. In Arwen's case I actually think the Legolas hairpiece is a better match for her FOTR rider appearance than her original hairpiece was.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

42 minutes ago, wesker said:

I assume they will at least bring back Legolas's old hairpiece. The mold was still active in 2015 when they did Dimensions and was used pretty extensively across both the LOTR and Hobbit sets. Same goes with Gimli's helmet and beard.

I can't really see them bringing back Arwen or Elrond's old molds given how minimally they were used, but honestly I'd be okay with that. The Second Age Elrond figure still looked good using the same standard hairpiece as Legolas and they can always print his crown on the head like DCEU Wonder Woman. In Arwen's case I actually think the Legolas hairpiece is a better match for her FOTR rider appearance than her original hairpiece was.

If the theme really gets revived, I hope to see multiple versions of Arwen. She has so many gorgeous costumes in the films, I’d love to see a handful of them in minifigure form

[wesker]

14 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

If the theme really gets revived, I hope to see multiple versions of Arwen. She has so many gorgeous costumes in the films, I’d love to see a handful of them in minifigure form

I don't mind getting her other costumes down the line but an official Eowyn minifigure really needs to come first - especially in her battle armor from ROTK. I'm still dirty she got shafted big time during the theme's original run.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

32 minutes ago, wesker said:

I don't mind getting her other costumes down the line but an official Eowyn minifigure really needs to come first - especially in her battle armor from ROTK. I'm still dirty she got shafted big time during the theme's original run.

The annoying thing is that the helmet for the 2020 CMF Viking is a very close match to Eowyn’s “Dernhelm” helmet. They just like to tease us

[Trunkbass]

4 hours ago, Bugbot20082 said:

Wouldn’t it require moulds for the elvish ears/hair? Would the originals still be in existence? 

Forgive me for my ignorance but why it would be an issue to re-introduce pieces for which moulds already exist? Does LEGO completely get rid of certain moulds if they aren’t used in say a 5 year span? That seems a bit unlikely. And if they do, wouldn’t it be relatively easy to recreate the moulds again as the design and technical specifications already exist? Seems a bit backwards that all those incredible moulds would be forever lost now because they haven’t been used in sets for the past 7 years or so.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

33 minutes ago, Trunkbass said:

Forgive me for my ignorance but why it would be an issue to re-introduce pieces for which moulds already exist? Does LEGO completely get rid of certain moulds if they aren’t used in say a 5 year span? That seems a bit unlikely. And if they do, wouldn’t it be relatively easy to recreate the moulds again as the design and technical specifications already exist? Seems a bit backwards that all those incredible moulds would be forever lost now because they haven’t been used in sets for the past 7 years or so.

There are a couple LOTR molds that are still in circulation. For example, we got the hobbit hair piece in a Jurassic World set in 2020, and the Uruk-Hai sword has been used in several themes like Ninjago and Star Wars. But the molds don’t last forever so if they aren’t being used, I believe they are typically discarded, because it wouldn’t be worth the upkeep for a mold that isn’t being used. But there are examples of old molds coming back like the Bellatrix hair piece for example, which was only used once (for Nexo Knights) between the old Harry Potter run and the reboot so maybe it’s not so hard to recreate old molds that have already gone through the design process.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

If the theme really gets revived, I hope to see multiple versions of Arwen. She has so many gorgeous costumes in the films, I’d love to see a handful of them in minifigure form

I honestly never thought Arwen was all that iconic of a character, but the second I saw the brickheadz I instantly changed my mind. I think minifigures of her would be great.

As someone who missed out on the LOTR sets (I had a couple hobbit ones as a kid, but I lost them somehow. Shame, too, as I had the Smaug set), I really just want a way to get the Fellowship cheap. The only characters I have right now are Golumm and Gandalf.

1 hour ago, Trunkbass said:

Forgive me for my ignorance but why it would be an issue to re-introduce pieces for which moulds already exist? Does LEGO completely get rid of certain moulds if they aren’t used in say a 5 year span? That seems a bit unlikely. And if they do, wouldn’t it be relatively easy to recreate the moulds again as the design and technical specifications already exist? Seems a bit backwards that all those incredible moulds would be forever lost now because they haven’t been used in sets for the past 7 years or so.

Yes. That is 100% what they do, for some reason, as they've stated in interviews. (I know how absurd it sounds, so I don't blame your skeptecism.) And while you're correct that 3-D part files still exist, it's not the CAD design of a mold that's the expensive part, it's the actual physical molds themselves. 

[Balrogofmorgoth]

2 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I honestly never thought Arwen was all that iconic of a character, but the second I saw the brickheadz I instantly changed my mind. I think minifigures of her would be great.

As someone who missed out on the LOTR sets (I had a couple hobbit ones as a kid, but I lost them somehow. Shame, too, as I had the Smaug set), I really just want a way to get the Fellowship cheap. The only characters I have right now are Golumm and Gandalf.

Yes. That is 100% what they do, for some reason, as they've stated in interviews. (I know how absurd it sounds, so I don't blame your skeptecism.) And while you're correct that 3-D part files still exist, it's not the CAD design of a mold that's the expensive part, it's the actual physical molds themselves. 

If the Gollum mold doesn’t come back, we riot

[Mandalorianknight]

49 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

If the Gollum mold doesn’t come back, we riot

Gollum mold but they work a hinge into the body so he can stand up

[Gorilla94]

16 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

It’s such a tough balance. If lego makes a Balrog, I think their best bet is to have a molded head, cloth wings similar to the 2022 Horntail, and most likely a new whip piece. I just don’t see any other way that would work well for an official set. They could probably brick build a fiery sword, if they include it at all, and then the rest can also be brick built

I really like your Balrog! The sword, whip and legs especially.

There is the perfect face for a Balrog from Bionicle. The piece is a mix of black and orange plastic. Only problem is that it is difficult to integrate into a brickbuild figure. I have it somewhere but had no time trying to make it into a Balrog yet xD the latest Ninjago Fire Dragon has those printed cloth wings that would work well, too. The only thing missing for a perfect Balrog until now are the latest horn pieces in black.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Gorilla94

[Balrogofmorgoth]

56 minutes ago, Gorilla94 said:

I really like your Balrog! The sword, whip and legs especially.

There is the perfect face for a Balrog from Bionicle. The piece is a mix of black and orange plastic. Only problem is that it is difficult to integrate into a brickbuild figure. I have it somewhere but had no time trying to make it into a Balrog yet xD the latest Ninjago Fire Dragon has those printed cloth wings that would work well, too. The only thing missing for a perfect Balrog until now are the latest horn pieces in black.

Thanks! Lego has updated a lot of parts even since I’ve made this, so I’m sure they could design something really good if they just gave the theme a real fighting chance

[Mr. Cube]

Not a fan of BrickHeadz at all, but hey, that Balrog looks cute! :D

I have a minor complaint about Gandalf's hat, it should be blue. I think that sand blue colour could work well.

[Ravenclaw62442]

The Balrog does look cute but I really have no interest in brickheads. It’s always seemed like a poor attempt on Lego’s behalf to copy Funko Pops. I’d rather proper sets!