Fives

In comparison to LOTR, The Hobbit has had barely any merchandising for kids. I still have all of my LOTR action figures from back in the day, and remember how there were countless toys and games based on the trilogy. For some reason The Hobbit just hasn't had the same affect, so LEGO has realized that they shouldn't invest too much in a line that likely won't make the return. I bet there are a lot of LEGO designers weeping because of how they've had to cut down the LOTR and Hobbit lines, but alas, the toy market is a fickle bitch. Also, it just dawned in me that this LEGO Smaug will be the first and only Smaug toy out there. Seems strange that there haven't be at least some plushies of him.

Heres an interview with Filoni and Kinberg. The most interesting this is what they have to say about the lightsabers in the show, but its worth watching the whole thing.

Its a pretty good group. The Hun is just amazing, and that shield is soooo cool. But I'd say my favourite is the Spooky Girl. That hairpiece is really interesting, and the white head may come in handy, just because white heads with actual faces are rare.

Unless they have reason to release a Tantive IV set. That would be really great. Something smaller than the last one, perhaps similar in size to the new Star Destroyer.

Does anyone think that perhaps we'll finally get a Bail Organa fig thanks to this show? he was in the visual guide, so maybe he will appear in a few episodes.

I really hope we don't. If it doesn't take the space of Beorn or a warg or something, then fine. But if it ends up taking precedent over something we need more, then I won't be too pleased. Also, do people think the LEGO bear version of Beorn will be a pitch place colour like in the game or dark brown? While black would be more accurate to the book, in the movie he really does look more brown. Whatever happens, my guess is he'll be identical to the game version. EDIT: separate from what I was saying above, here is a behind the scenes video on the making of the Smaug video from Brotherhood Workshop. It really gives you a great look at what Smaug looks like. I love the way the rubber makes the wings look.

They may not be a major power, but who else is other than the Empire? It may not be perfectly accurate, but they could easily say its part of the Kessel scenes.

The current Tatooine Luke Skywalker hair in dark brown would be ideal, but I fear that LEGO doesn't see how perfect it would be.

Exactly my hope. It seems weird to make two identical Wookie grunts and not take advantage of the opportunity. Plus, there isn't really any other 'army' when Rebels takes place that makes sense.

Thats good. Hopefully the price is higher than we expect. I would gladly shell out 100$ for some substantial Dale buildings, the main heroes from the battle, and a few grunts from each side.

Who cares about the functionality and efficiency of it. If it can give us a solid Imperial army building set, I'm happy!

I like the idea of the Battle of Five Armies set having the doors and statues of Erebor is a great idea. However, I would really love to see a set based on the snowy ruins of Dale. It has all of my favourite things about fantasy battle locations: snowy ruins made of stone. So I think I could give up the door and statues in favour of a different location. That means we'd have a wave with four sets based on four different locations, rather than two Erebor, one Lake-Town (which we've already got some of), and Dol Guldur, which we have plenty of. The more variety in locations is better than having something you could MOC is you so wished.

Like I've said before, the Troop Transport would make a perfect battle pack vehicle. If LEGO doesn't make a Rebels BP with this vehicle and four regular Stormies (the Rebels variant, obviously), then its a huge missed opportunity. I would easily buy 4 of them to fill the ranks of my Imperial forces. Even though the Rebels version of the Stormtrooper kinda looks cartoonish, it still looks hella better than the older Stormies we've had until this year. That and a Wookie Battle Pack and I think LEGO would have one of the best years for battle packs since they first conceived the idea 7 years ago.

I really don't expect to see Legolas or Tauriel again. And I hope we don't.

Not only that, but it seems that both Balin and Dwalin have matching weapons and armour, meaning they must've found these sets of weaponry while rummaging through the armouries while preparing for the battle, like in the book. So it could just be that the axe was crafted to match the armour its meant to go with, same with Balin's big red mace.

There is a 0% chance of any of this still being prelim. I have no issue with the green axe, I actually quite like it. I'm just curious what it will be like in the film, and why trans green was the choice LEGO made.

I think the one thing thats throwing me off most about this set is Dwalin's axe. Why is it green and gold? It just seems too colourful and magical, and doesn't feel right within the rest of the set.

Maybe, but that would really suck. I'd rather they reserve the other fig spots in the rest of the sets for other characters. Being the last wave of Middle-Earth sets we'll likely get, I'd like as much variety as possible, even if it means less grunts. Its a shame that the Lake-Town set from last year had the AUJ Bilbo rather than this one.

Of course the fig is different. The outfit is different. The Blueray fig is Bilbo from the deleted Shire market scene from AUJ, and this new version is Bilbo from Lake-Town onward. Another thing I've noticed which is sad is that Bilbo has no sort of armour at all. Whether this is a hint at Bilbo's lack of involvement in the battle or a choice by LEGO to give us a more popular DOS outfit, I'm not sure. Its just a shame there is no hint at the Mithril shirt whatsoever.

One thing thats a massive sigh of relief for me is that the Arkenstone doesn't have to be attached to that horrid Chima gem. The clear circle plate has printing and it alone can represent the Arkenstone on the throne. So happy about that

That video was amazing! Smaug is undoubtedly the most sophisticated molded creature LEGO has ever made! Definitely worth the price! EDIT: LEGO has updated the Hobbit site with this set, and has an October 15th release date! (literally by birthday ) http://thehobbit.lego.com/en-us/products/79018 Also, on the main page they have three new pictures of the set from Avanaut, and as usual, they are gorgeous.

I also believe that morality has a major part to play in this new trilogy. Lucas himself said that the PT was supposed to be about how societies change, the OT about how people can change (Vader's redemption), and the sequels are about questioning moral standards. This falls in line with the rumour of Boyega's characters being a defected Stormie looking for a new path. Also, it could help support this idea that the war is still raging. For the most part, the populace of the Empire is unaware of the war between the Sith and Jedi, and people rarely make the distinction between the two. Having this rebel group messing up with an already established government system may not sit well with many people, and could plunge the entire galaxy into a moral war: are the Rebels really doing the right thing for the galaxy, or is the Empire doing a decent enough job and people don't care? It's very interesting. I also believe that the Sith, in the traditional sense, will not be the villains of the new trilogy, and we will see many more people like the Inquisitor and Agent Kallus. They said that Rebels would link to EP 7, and I think those may be the links.

While it would be fun to see new bad guys, it actually makes no logical sense. Just because a small organized group of rebels, who represent a very small portion of the galaxy's population and viewpoint, destroy a battle station and kill the two main leaders doesn't mean that an entire galactic government crumbles and something better appears in its place. My guess is that after Vader and Palpatine died, all the other head honchos on Coruscant would've worked together a come up with a plan to keep the Empire in place. A reinstatement of Imperial Inquisitors could potentially be part of this, and also gives credence to the rumours that Gwendoline Christie will be playing a saber-weilding Imperial Commander and would also explain why Luke must've disappeared for his own safety. Like Sidious predicted in ROTS, "If the Jedi are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end." Sorry, this may be better placed in the Star Wars topic. I just felt it was relevant here.

Another video showing a short duel between Kanan, Ezra and the Inquisitor. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/07/24/star-wars-rebels-inquisitor-fight/ The Inquisitor's lightsaber is brilliant and I really wonder if they will try to do something with the inevitable LEGO fig we'll get, or if he'll just get a standard black lightsaber hilt.

Fresh from SDCC, a new trailer that shows a lot more of whats to come, including some old friends and more of the new villains. http://www.starwars.com/video/star-wars-rebels-a-look-ahead Personally, I find that Luminara Unduli's appearance is awesome and if there are more cameos from PT characters, it will greatly help fill the gap between the trilogies.