LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Bilbo Baggins]

I don't know about the sales in your countries, but at least here in Mexico most stores have run out of the Hobbit Sets.

[deskp]

I thought the reason for why barrel escape and mirkwood spider sets came out when they weren't in the movie was common knowledge but apparently not.

What I read was that originally they weren't going to follow Gandalfs side of the story where he deals with the Necromancer. That part is only briefly mentioned in the book and the story stays focused on the main group of Bilbo and the Dwarves when Gandalf leaves.

But they owned the rights to the appendix in the return of the king where more of the info on the necromancer is discussed. It was decided to tell more of the story than the Hobbit book actually covers as we all know and thus decided it had to be 3 movies to tell it all...and it makes more money that way as well...

That is also why we have Lego sets that are "Sneak Preview" sets. The spiders and the barrels were originally going to be in the first movie when the toys were planned. The way they added the necromancer content and broke up the movie into thirds was an after thought.

I read an interview with peter jackson where they actually called the actors back to film the necromancer parts after the original first 2 movies were completed.

That was rambling thoughts but hopefully it made some sense...

You got alot of your information wrong. The necromancer stuff was always in the movie before the 3 movie split. The extended it to 3 movies cause they ahd already shot so much footage, and to make it 3 movies they found even more content from the appendixes to justify it.

Just for people get get a somewhat clearer view:

Edited January 24, 2013 by deskp

[General Magma]

Wait, are those arms some kind of GITD or something? And the heads are indeed light grey like I thought...

But I do wonder what the silver thing on #3's torso is. It actually looks like some kind of medal to me..

They even gave all undead figures individual leg prints, yet we get the same Mordor orcs again and again..

Edited January 24, 2013 by General Magma

[Kez]

Heres an un watermarked picture of the LOTR Helms Deep game

(I hope it hasn't been posted before )

[CupIsHalfEmpty]

Heres an un watermarked picture of the LOTR Helms Deep game

http://www.flickr.co...N00/8409005969/

(I hope it hasn't been posted before )

Haha! There you guys go. You get a "mini" minifigure of Eowyn!

[deskp]

They even gave all undead figures individual leg prints, yet we get the same Mordor orcs again and again..

I think the legs are the same on both the soldiers atleast, the kings legs seem to have some red on them.

[Kez]

Haha! There you guys go. You get a "mini" minifigure of Eowyn!

I suppose no one can complain now, that board game includes a lot of uruk hai

[deskp]

Heres an un watermarked picture of the LOTR Helms Deep game

http://www.flickr.co...N00/8409005969/

(I hope it hasn't been posted before )

Well they spared no expenses in printing the microfigures....

[wesker]

Haha! There you guys go. You get a "mini" minifigure of Eowyn!

Hobbit size Eowyn isn't as good as the real thing.

[Archer]

It seems we've marched forward a bit, but in regards to the former discussion about sets made at the same time as the movies here's my two cents.

1. They shot all the movies at the same time so I would assume that 95% of the designs will be more solidified, earlier in advance so that Lego has more time for acuracy. the exceptions being CG stuff that may not be completed.

2. Even if this isn't the case by the second movie, it surely will be for the third, (as lond as TLC still makes sets)

[Erikur]

Haha! There you guys go. You get a "mini" minifigure of Eowyn!

Wouldn't suprise me if thats the only one we're ever gonna get, as the witchking encounter probably won't work as lego-set due to moulded fell beast... there is Meduseld but then we won't get Eowyn in battlegear

[ramjarjamjar]

Haha! There you guys go. You get a "mini" minifigure of Eowyn!

We also get a dark green Aragorn which I think is interesting.

Edited January 24, 2013 by ramjarjamjar

[just2good]

Heres an un watermarked picture of the LOTR Helms Deep game

(I hope it hasn't been posted before )

Looks pretty fun!

[lego the hutt]

You got alot of your information wrong. The necromancer stuff was always in the movie before the 3 movie split. The extended it to 3 movies cause they ahd already shot so much footage, and to make it 3 movies they found even more content from the appendixes to justify it.

Leave it to this forum to nay say against what Peter Jackson said in an interview. The necromancer stuff wasn't totally absent originally, but it wasn't a main story line. I expect similar to how it was in the Hobbit literature, probably elaborated on for the movies a bit. They have owned the rights to the 100 pages, or however long it is, in the appendices of the return of the king ever since they were purchased for the original movies 10+ years ago. They didn't just "find more content." But yes, I'm sure it is a given they used as much footage that was previously shot as possible. They did actually have to call actors back for more work who had gone home thinking they were finished with the project.

Edited January 24, 2013 by lego the hutt

[Gryphon Ink]

Honestly, this whole thread has become one big "complain about how TLG is not making your personal dream LOTR sets" session, alternating with "LOTR is doing terribly, no it's not it's doing great". No offense to the guys who are posting realistic comments, suggestions and pictures - thanks for keeping it positive. But the rest of it is a bit depressing.

Personally, I'm thrilled with the line and happy for every set we get. While it's a disappointing that there are no new orc printings yet, let's try and remember that there are legions of orcs in Lord of the Rings, and most of them look almost as similar as Stormtroopers. Take your same-old-same-old "Mordor Orcs", swap out the legs for a different shade, substitute a couple of weapons, give some of them the greasy-looking Thorin hair and use a few different helmets on others, and you've got a perfectly decent orcish rabble ready to fight.

For the rest of it, come on! Look at what we're getting here! They said TLG would never make LOTR, and here we are. They said Helm's Deep would look terrible in minifig scale, and it turned out to be one of the greatest Lego castles ever. They (including me) said there was no way we'd see a corsair in LOTR, and look at that ship! We've got Corsair PJ (and he looks great)! We've got undead warriors! We've got Saruman, the Mouth of Sauron, Arwen, White Gandalf... the list goes on. And Orthanc. How many times did I predict TLG would not attempt to make Orthanc? But there it is.

Another Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? Oh, boo hoo. Guess what, not everybody has those minifigs already. I still haven't bought Helm's Deep, and I probably won't ever buy Mines of Moria. Here's my second chance for Green-Shirt Legolas. And another chance for the millions of kids who just discovered LOTR through the Hobbit movie to get three of their heroes. This is not "a wasted opportunity". It's a WONDERFUL opportunity for new fans and old to get into this theme.

Sorry to be all shouty, but would you guys all rather still be trying to MOC LOTR settings and heroes using the Fantasy-Era trolls?

[deskp]

Personally, I'm thrilled with the line and happy for every set we get. While it's a disappointing that there are no new orc printings yet, let's try and remember that there are legions of orcs in Lord of the Rings, and most of them look almost as similar as Stormtroopers. Take your same-old-same-old "Mordor Orcs", swap out the legs for a different shade, substitute a couple of weapons, give some of them the greasy-looking Thorin hair and use a few different helmets on others, and you've got a perfectly decent orcish rabble ready to fight.

The problem isn't lack of variety, its the fact that are not giving us the correct orc to fit the sets. In TTT and ROTK the orcs wear a specific armor. The orc they keep giving us only works for Isengard and prologe stuff.

The orcs that are almost as similar as storm troopers isn't the ones we got basically. The heads are fine but not the body.

Leave it to this forum to nay say against what Peter Jackson said in an interview. The necromancer stuff wasn't totally absent originally, but it wasn't a main story line. I expect similar to how it was in the Hobbit literature, probably elaborated on for the movies a bit. They have owned the rights to the 100 pages, or however long it is, in the appendices of the return of the king ever since they were purchased for the original movies 10+ years ago. They didn't just "find more content." But yes, I'm sure it is a given they used as much footage that was previously shot as possible. They did actually have to call actors back for more work who had gone home thinking they were finished with the project.

The extra filming will happen this summer wich was always planned, its just been expanded to shoot more than they initially intended.

The necromancer stuff was always going to be the secondary story in the hobbit films. It was never in the "hobbit litterature" only in rotk appendices.

They did indeed find more content, stuff they wanted yes, but stuff that wasn't intended to be there in the first place. I know its from the appendice dude.

You are messing up what you heard in the interview.

Edited January 24, 2013 by deskp

[Lordof theBricks]

Lordof theBricks, you are being a bit childish in your demands of the Lego corp. Releasing Yazneg on a White Warg is hardly a giant "mistake" that needs to be fixed posthaste - The shift to 3 movies happened in Aug/Sept 2013, well after Lego's production cycle had been underway for the sets for An Unexpected Journey. There's a grey warg you can put Yazneg on in the same set, in any case. Criticisms of Lego continually putting out fellowship characters in the same forms and without capes are fine, but calling the developers "screw ups" is unfair - we've all watched the developer videos and seen the care and attention these designers put into the sets and minifigs. They handled the shift from 2 to 3 movies as best they could, and ultimately it's for the best - we'll get an Azog in either The Desolation of Smaug wave or the There And Back Again wave, so as was said earlier, we'll have *both* Yazneg and Azog *and* his white warg. As TFOLs and AFOLs, we share your enthusiasm for Lego LOTR and The Hobbit - there's no need for undue criticism of circumstances that are out of Lego's control. Better to direct constructive criticism towards future waves.

And speaking of the future, please, nobody take into account the rumormongering about "lego LOTR doing terrible because my totally reliable buddy told me at some convention." All that does is waste posts and time on useless worrying. We've been through this before time and again. Sketchy, unconfirmed statements are really not worth fretting about.

Oh, and Basteq was correct. It's technically *3* sets that were from the next movie - Barrel Escape, Mirkwood Spiders, and the Mirkwood Elf Guard polybag.

Look dude,I don't want to fight on this page,nobody doesn't,and it is really unnecessarily detract people on this page. I am just talking what is best for LEGO team.I am not attacking them or nothing just want to best for LEGO and for their profit,and also to mistakes like that never happen again.

1.Putting Yazneg on white warg in set where is Yazneg death IS mistake.whether you like it or not.This happened because nobody didn't know that Azog will be in the movie,and mistakes like that will never happen again if they wait for summer to release The Hobbit sets.I know they will include Azog in some other set,but hey,mistake is mistake.That is like they will put Gandalf in Amon-Hen.

2.I know you're always against me from some reason,and You said that Mirkwood elf polybag is set from second movie,and it is not,Set and polybag are different things

3.Yes,I know Lego will never include just minifigures,even I said it will be great opportunity to make kind of polybags just with 4-5 minifigures:Example battle at the Black Gate polybag (Battle pack) include: 2X Gondorian soldiers,1x Rogan Guard,2x Mordor orcs.

I know Lego will not do that,but I said that because I want the best.I want huge profit for LEGO and great opportunity for us to make armies.Every LEGO Lotr collector will buy at least 3 times this set for maybe around 20-25$ and even people who doesn't collect LEGO Lotr at least one.Yes,Because LEGO will probably never do that,they can also include these battle-packs for maybe 30$ http://www.flickr.co...3/8388703488/�� I am childish,but I want for LEGO great profit,and to continue LEGO Lotr theme for years,and only because of that,I am idiot and childish

I don't know why some people spread hate only because they want to be most important on this page,GUYS,THIS IS NOT COMPETITION.

WE NEED TO BE TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT IS BEST FOR LEGO,and of course keep talking what do we expect for future sets.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Lordof theBricks

[HawkLord]

The problem isn't lack of variety, its the fact that are not giving us the correct orc to fit the sets. In TTT and ROTK the orcs wear a specific armor. The orc they keep giving us only works for Isengard and prologe stuff.

Even with that being true, I'd hope it wouldn't be that big of a deal to the average person. It's a Lego set; not some high-end, limited edition collectible that was designed off of movie-used props or 3-D renderings of actors. This is a kids toy in the sub-$100 price range (for the most part). I'm thrilled with what I got all things considered.

If people start to get upset over the exact shade or color our Orcs are wearing, then we might be going just a bit too far.

[deskp]

If people start to get upset over the exact shade or color our Orcs are wearing, then we might be going just a bit too far.

I disagree, we know what lego are capable of producing and we shouldn't let them do any worse.

And might I say, the large majority of the lego lotr/hobbit figures are top quality!

[General Magma]

One thing that might be worth mentioning as well is that the vast majority of all orcs during the Battle of Pelennor Fields

were Morannon orcs, not mere Mordor orcs. They were mostly shown wearing breastplates with dark red cloth, as well as helmets.

[The_Chosen_1]

Even if we simply got some new printing on the Mordor orcs, it would be a vast improvement. I don't think the orcs are quite as cookie-cutter lookalike as Stormtroopers are, so a little more variety would be fantastic.

[Deathleech]

And you heard this from? (Lego employee?) who based this on what?

I can see this happening, LOTR is a theme that is not as popular among the typical Star Wars or Super Heroes fans. But we need facts and reliable sources....

Guys, don't worry too much, Durin's Bane is the SAME person who claimed he heard this line was ending after 1 LotR wave and obviously that wasn't true. Of course after we found out a second wave was coming he suddenly changed his tune and was saying how great the LotR/Hobbit sets were selling in his area. It seems he has flip flopped once more and is now claiming they are selling badly again... *sigh* I don't mean to be a dick, but unless you have actual CREDIBLE sources you can sight Durin, could you please stop spreading rumors that have little to no merit? You are just working people up and at the same time making yourself look really bad like you want attention because everything you have told us thus far seems on the contrary.

Anyways... I don't mind the Corsair ship. I think it would of been a better option down the road when Lego has gotten some of the more important locations and figures out of the way, but all well. It seems like a decent set overall. Not amazing, but not terrible. I do think the figure line up could have been better though. Why are we getting so many Gimli's? Aragorn makes sense since he is one of the main characters, but why not just include Aragorn and Legolas (since he is only in 1 other LotR and Hobbit set). I mean we already get Gimli in this wave in another set and twice in the first LotR so why give us yet another? I would of MUCH preferred the minifigure line up to include Aragorn, Legolas, Undead King, 2-3 Undead Soldiers, and 3-4 Corsairs. If they really felt the need to include another orc, just include the one with the skull helmet? I have a feeling we will be getting these same Mordor Orcs in a lot more future sets and they are in fact both worker and soldier type. This doesn't bother me so much, it just bothers me they were included in THIS set since we only get one Corsair for the CORSAIR SHIP and then we get 2 Orcs? If this was a docks or harbor playset the orcs would make a little more sense but only having 1 Corsair to man an entire ship seems down right stupid.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Deathleech

[The Legonater]

Anyways... I don't mind the Corsair ship. I think it would of been a better option down the road when Lego has gotten some of the more important locations and figures out of the way, but all well. It seems like a decent set overall. Not amazing, but not terrible. I do think the figure line up could have been better though. Why are we getting so many Gimli's? Aragorn makes sense since he is one of the main character, but why not just include Aragorn and Legolas (since he is only in 1 other LotR and Hobbit set). I mean we already get Gimli in this wave in another set and twice in the first LotR so why give us yet another? I would of MUCH preferred the minifigure line up to include Aragorn, Legolas, Undead King, 2-3 Undead Soldiers, and 3-4 Corsairs. If they really felt the need to include another orc, just include the one with the skull helmet? I have a feeling we will be getting these same Mordor Orcs in a lot more future sets and they are in fact both worker and soldier type which doesn't bother me. This doesn't bother me so much, it just bothers me they were include in THIS set since we only get one Corsair for the CORSAIR SHIP and then we get 2 Orcs? If this was a docks or harbor playset the orcs would make a little more sense but only having 1 Corsair to man an entire ship seems down right stupid.

I agree, I would've gladly taken more Corsairs of Umbar over a fourth Gimli. I don't mind another Legolas as we haven't gotten a lot, but this many Gimlis so soon in the line just feels absurd.

[Lordof theBricks]

I wish they include in Pirate ship ambush Guritz,that's orc wo has skull on helmet,and Yea,good thing about The battle at the Black Gate set is that orcs will have helmets :)

And why Lego doesn't make just one new armor printing to Mordor orcs,we doesn't need to see lot of the different printings,just one will be enough,like they do with Moria orcs,and maybe 2 different helmets for them.If they do that,it will be great

Edited January 24, 2013 by Lordof theBricks

[deskp]

Yea,good thing about The battle at the Black Gate set is that orcs will have helmets :)

We'll see what happens, one of the orcs in ship set had helmet in the prelim images, but not anymore.. Same thing could happen to black gate set.