Algernon Posted February 13, 2012 Holy cow, these sets are expensive. Although the price-to-piece ratio isn't even all that bad, they're just huge models and the parts often quite small I don't have the kind of budget where I can spend $400 on one theme, so I'm going to have to skip an unfortunate number of these sets... which is a shame, because I like them ALL. Gandalf Arrives - My first thought: $12.99 for 83 pieces?! I suppose you're really just paying for the minifigures, which I'll not deny are well worth the asking price. I believe this is the only way to get Gandalf, so I'll definitely be adding this little set to my collection. I appreciate that they're using a different torso for Frodo, as well. It really adds to the collectability. Shelob Attacks - Without a doubt, the best brick-build spider LEGO's ever come up with. Nice price-to-piece ratio, especially for a licensed theme. This set is tempting, but I think I'll ultimately wind up passing it over, mostly because I'm less interested in the minifigures included here than I am in the more expensive sets. And besides, even if Shelob is nicely done, did anyone really want another LEGO spider? Uruk-Hai Army - To me, this set looks like a glorified battle pack. Once again, it looks like you're paying for the minifigures, and the actual "set" is a total throwaway. Since I'm not really interested in army building, this is an easy pass. (which is good - I need the money for the other sets!) Attack on Weathertop - At a lower price, this set would be a must-have for me. I loved this scene from the movies, it's probably one of my all-time favorite LotR moments (besides YOU SHALL NOT PASS). But $59.99 for a medium-sized lump of rocks and foliage!? The minifigures, yet again, appear to be the only selling point here. It is a nice lineup though, since you get two Dark Riders with the heroes. The interior details are also a nice touch. Alas, I wish I could pick this up, but that price... The Mines of Moria - I actually like this set better than many people seem to. You get a lot of attractive minifigures, a cave troll ( ) and the design of the mines is actually quite attractive and notably movie-accurate. I really love how the atmosphere of the movie is embodied here. LEGO is definitely marketing this theme towards older LEGO fans, so naturally I'm appreciative of their efforts. However, for $79.99, this set is a REALLY tough sell. The price-to-piece ratio seems fair at first, especially with a cave troll, but it's basically all small elemetns and stickers. Still, it just might be worth it for those figs. The Battle of Helm's Deep - HELL YES!! This is my absolute favorite set of the line. I'm not a castle fan, so I've never been this excited for a LEGO castle before (I'm primarily a Space guy) but as a fan of the LotR movies this set is a must have. So much to love - the incredibly movie-accurate detailing and little details like an awesome interior and the suicidal orc guy. It's expensive, but worth every penny. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surrideo Posted February 13, 2012 Definitely have to wait for the price on Attack at Weathertop to come down It would be nice to collect the whole fellowship, but I can't justify it with the prices I've been reading various websites. Amazon will hopefully be my friend...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Haltiamieli Posted February 13, 2012 Can anyone tell if the arrow lops are made out of a new 1x thickness (or width) panel piece? No, those are normal 2 studs wide panels, as can be seen in this picture of the backside of the Uruk-hai Army wall structure, in FBTB's photostream. I hope at least parts of the Hornburg walls are simply two studs thick so that the panels would look natural also from the inside. If not, it's probably not hard to mod. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Artifex Posted February 13, 2012 No pics of the inside of the walls of Helm's Deep? I don't mean the Great Hall with throne, table and weapon racks, but the outer walls. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir_Basil_Ashton Posted February 13, 2012 No pics of the inside of the walls of Helm's Deep? I don't mean the Great Hall with throne, table and weapon racks, but the outer walls. Just to clarify. Are you looking for pics of the inside of the outer wall where the beserker runs in? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Haltiamieli Posted February 13, 2012 Just to clarify. Are you looking for pics of the inside of the outer wall where the beserker runs in? I think he means the insides of the outer wall of Hornburg itself, the longer curved wall with the gate. I don't think I have seen any pictures of that either, though FBTB has so many pictures that I could have simply forgot. But it would be interesting to see how the side door exit looks from the inside, and the window holes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BTappel Posted February 13, 2012 I think he means the insides of the outer wall of Hornburg itself, the longer curved wall with the gate. I don't think I have seen any pictures of that either, though FBTB has so many pictures that I could have simply forgot. But it would be interesting to see how the side door exit looks from the inside, and the window holes. FBTB does not have pictures of that as I have not seen it either. I would assume it looks similar to the back of the wall section in the Uruk-Hai Army set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Elijah Timms Posted February 13, 2012 Beautiful sets, no question about that. LOVE THE MINI-CAPES ON THE HOBBITS!! But with all of the other themes swirling about, not to mention the exorbitant price of these sets, I think I'm gonna probably pass on just about all of them. Unfortunately, the two sets I was most enthused about, the Mines of Moria and Attack on Weathertop, are ridiculously overpriced. Between these and the Star Wars sets, I'm beginning to think TLG is calling out all the AFOLs to put their money where there begging mouths have been for so long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deskp Posted February 13, 2012 No pics of the inside of the walls of Helm's Deep? I don't mean the Great Hall with throne, table and weapon racks, but the outer walls. no good pictures of that, but it appears there is a doorway from the deeping wall to the castle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Artifex Posted February 13, 2012 I think he means the insides of the outer wall of Hornburg itself, the longer curved wall with the gate. That. Unfortunately, no pics of the inside of the outer walls on FBTB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kayne Posted February 13, 2012 I don't see where these sets are terribly overpriced(other than Weathertop). Moria has 776 pieces at $79, and Helm's Deep 1300+ at $129. Weathertop is only 430 at $59, but the rest seem to match close to what Kingdoms ran at per piece count. And being that this is a licensed theme, I will be getting more for my money that what I expected to. As far as Uruk Hai Army goes, I thought that was perfect. 257 pieces at $29, plus a great array of minifigs. The piece that was labelled as throwaway is actually pretty cool to me. You get the new horse, lots of bley and sand green. The new light bley brick-faced brick(?) has at least 5 appearing in here as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deskp Posted February 13, 2012 I'm very pleased with the design and movie likeness on Helms Deep. but there's one thing thats been bugging me, the top of the tower looks a little messy. image of how it is in the movie LINK Heres how to fix it! all you need is these 9 common pieces! On the left is the lego one and the pieces you need to remove. On the right is my version and the pieces you need to add. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaleDVM Posted February 13, 2012 I agree the prices don't seem too bad to me at all. I did actually expect worse. Gandalf arrives is a little expensive. Weathertop is quite pricey and I'm really not sure why. To be honest I actually find it quite puzzling? At $50 USD it would already be expensive but at $60? Perhaps it has something (easter egg) we have not seen yet that improves its value? Thanks for posting that back side view of the Uruk set. It is so sad that those arrow loops are made with 2 stud wide panels. Why not mold a 1x panel for that use so the back side of the walls don't look so nasty? I'm sure that would be a useful mold for every theme as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fives Posted February 13, 2012 no good pictures of that, but it appears there is a doorway from the deeping wall to the castle. That is awesome! I was curious to see how they had the Deeping Wall connected to the keep. Great work LEGO!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fives Posted February 13, 2012 I realize that I was the last person to post in this topic, but no one has posted here for the last couple of hours, and I have some things to bring up. I have been sitting and drooling over the pics for a while now, and the more I look, the more I notice things or wonder about things in the sets. So, here are the things I've seen: First off, pretty much every fig who could have it has double-sided head printing. Even the Moria goblins. Secondly, after seeing that the neck guard on the back of Eomer's helmet was brown rather than grey like the rest of his helmet, I wondered if the basic Rohirrim rider might have that too, rather than a solid grey helmet. Also, as many others should have seen, on the inside of Helm's Deep there is a rack with two swords on it. I think those are two extra swords, so in total there are four Highlander swords in Helm's Deep. And speaking of Helm's Deep, I noticed that Aragorn has the Evenstar printed on his chest, so that is cool! So ya, that is pretty much what I have noticed in these sets, which are possibly the best LEGO has ever produced EVER! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nagyzee Posted February 13, 2012 No, those are normal 2 studs wide panels, as can be seen in this picture of the backside of the Uruk-hai Army wall structure, in FBTB's photostream. I hope at least parts of the Hornburg walls are simply two studs thick so that the panels would look natural also from the inside. If not, it's probably not hard to mod. Wow, that's quite a messy solution. I doubt that the wall of Helm's Deep is two studs wide so we can expect a similarly awkward solution on the outer wall of the Hornburg too most probably. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Artifex Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) I think the 9471 Uruk-hai Army is a great army builder set. Actually, it's more than just that: you also get a Rohirrim wall extension and an "armored hook shooter" along the 6 cool minifigs. If you get multiples of this set (say, 3-5) and a single 9474 The Battle of Helm's Deep (why not 2 come Christams?), you're ready for some serious siege action. :thumbup: (4 Uruks + 2 Rohirrim) x 3 = 12 Uruks and 6 Rohirrim [who cares it's Éomer? Just give him a new head or something]! (4 Uruks/set + 2 Rohirrim) x 5 = 20 (TWENTY!) Uruks + 10 (TEN!) Rohirrim!!! Not to mention the armored hook shooter AND the horse AND the wall extension. I'm all sold on this set. Multiple times. :thumbup: EDIT 1: Oh, and if you get at least 1 9474 The Battle for Helm's Deep, you can add 4 Uruks + 1 Berzerker to those numbers... EDIT 2: As CommanderR rightfully corrected me, there are 4 Uruks in the Uruk-hai Army, so I just corrected my math. I wish tehre was at least one more Rohirrim to help Éomer hold that wall. Edited February 14, 2012 by Artifex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piemaster1446 Posted February 14, 2012 How about that Hobbit game. does anyone know anything about it or if there will be sets too (i hope ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CommanderR Posted February 14, 2012 I think the 9471 Uruk-hai Army is a great army builder set. Actually, it's more than just that: you also get a Rohirrim wall extension and an "armored hook shooter" along the 5 cool minifigs. If you get multiples of this set (say, 3-5) and a single 9474 The Battle of Helm's Deep (why not 2 come Christams?), you're ready for some serious siege action. :thumbup: (3 Uruks + 2 Rohirrim) x 3 = 9 Uruks and 6 Rohirrim [who cares it's Éomer? Just give him a new head or something]! (3 Uruks/set + 2 Rohirrim) x 5 = 15 (FIFTEEN!) Uruks + 10 (TEN!) Rohirrim!!! Not to mention the armored hook shooter AND the horse AND the wall extension. I'm all sold on this set. Multiple times. :thumbup: You actually get 4 Uruks in the Uruk-hai Army set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Artifex Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) You actually get 4 Uruks in the Uruk-hai Army set. You are right. This set just got even better :thumbup: EDIT: fixed the math in my previous post. All thanks go to CommanderR Edited February 14, 2012 by Artifex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djmangunz Posted February 14, 2012 I hate to ask this but would anyone mind telling me the prices for each set in US dollars? Thanks much in advance! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fives Posted February 14, 2012 I hate to ask this but would anyone mind telling me the prices for each set in US dollars? Thanks much in advance! Here they are: Helm's Deep - $129.99 Mines of Moria - $79.99 Attack on Weathertop - $59.99 The Orc Forge - $39.99 Uruk-hai Army - $29.99 Shelob Attacks - $19.99 Gandalf Arrives - $12.99 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gryphon Ink Posted February 14, 2012 After viewing all of FBTB's pics, I still think Moria is a bit underwhelming for the price. The troll is nice indeed, and I'd love to have Boromir, but there isn't enough there for me to shell out the money. But that's a good thing, because this theme could easily have become way too expensive for me. The Uruk-Hai Army set looked like a total throwaway at first, but not anymore. Eomer and his horse look amazing, as does the "painted" Uruk. And that ballista is probably the most evil-looking siege weapon I've seen in Lego form. Attack on Weathertop looks awesome. Seriously, I don't understand why people are unsatisfied with this. You get a complete structure that looks grand from every angle, a trapdoor (those are always fun!) and an extra room to play with - no, that wasn't in the movie, but it works - and how many times have we heard complaints about how licensed themes only give you the pieces to recreate a specific scene, robbing you of the ability to use your imagination? This set doesn't. The minifigs are incredible, and the Nazgul's horses look especially wicked. This is the first set I'll be buying from LOTR. Helm's Deep, I have nothing to add to what everyone else has said. Damn, this set looks fine. Very much worth the money IMO. Unfortunately, that is a lot of money, even if it's good value. I'll have to save up for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smitty9999 Posted February 14, 2012 None of these sets interest me what so ever, except for Gandalf Arrives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Delta 38 Posted February 14, 2012 Oh wow. Minor complaints... the Orc Forge seems to have two Uruk-hai. I think most of us would have preferred five Orcs. Also, the Moria Orcs have Uruk-hai shields. One major complaint I do have is the Uruk-hai Berserker, which I was looking forward. to. No separate helmet piece? Overall, though, the sets are great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
