Ardelon

I think the staff gave good enough reasons why to put LotR in this forum. None of the Castle themes are actually "historical" anyway. I would say we got orcs in the Moria set. Is there any difference explained between "Moria goblins" and "Mordor orcs" in the movies or books? I had the impression that they were simply generic orcs, and only Uruk-hai were in a class apart.

Unlike the prelim pics from other 2012 themes, these are pretty disappointing for me, maybe except the hospital (I'll need to see whats itside). It seems I won't even get the minig sets for parts, except maybe some small one for the helmet. I guess what puts me off is that it's more about mining vehicles than the actual mines and mining.

Most of the sets look pretty "meh" to me so far. I'll treat it as a parts and minifgs and accessories pack. I wouldn't mind if TLG reused the CMF monsters, though I didn't like the CMF mummy, they should "borrow" a PQ one if they won't design a new one. And the werewolf looks pretty so far, it reminds me of some Fabuland fig. I wonder if there will be a minifig head underneath, like a guy that transforms into a werewolf. Otherwise, I would have preferred either the Studios or the CMF werewolf, if not a new mold. The swamp monster, on the other hand, looks . I was hoping he?/she?/it? would appear in the CMF line, though I would have preferered sand green. The vampyra/vampiress is also a fig I thought could be in the CMF line; I need a closer look at her to decide if I like her. Seems the mummy's horse will be glow-in-.the-dark?

I'm pretty content, if the pics are legit. They will only get better. I'm glad they didn't do the balrog scene together with Balin's tomb, since as I said earlier, they would have to cram in too much and focus on quantity instead of quality. Now we can hope for a decent balrog set in 2013. I'm just a bit disappointed TLG didn't make dwarf skeletons with short legs, but oh, well. Funny that the mysterious "Orc Forge" set wasn't shown.

As I wrote in the Kingdoms 2012 thread: „... I am excited about LotR/Hobbit. I see it as an opportunity to breathe some innovation into LEGO, with parts and pieces and minifigs that otherwise wouldn't have been made. And maybe some new ideas for structures and techniques. Though I will say I take yellofigs over fleshies anyday. Boo on TLG for putting those irritating fleshie triangles on the torsos.” I would have preferred an original Castle theme, because of the fleshies and the price, but in the end, a LotR theme just needed to be done. I am apprehensive about the Moria set. There are two memorable scenes set there – the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul and Gandalf and the Balrog. I think these could be two great seperate sets, and Im worried we will get an average single set instead. And what does „multi-year license“ actually entail? Does it mean TLG has all the sets for a certain number of future waves already planned out and OK-ed by by the Tolkien people? EDIT: So far, over 200 posts on 14 pages in this thread in the 18 hours since the the license was confirmed...

That's the answer I didn't want to hear. Damn the marketing/sales schemers! (semi-sarcastic)

Seems like this thread is now just about a condolence thread for Kingdoms. Well, here's my eulogy: Kingdoms had a good life. Popular (at least with AFOLs, dunno about the kids), with a longer run than many subthemes before the KK2 era, and went out with a bang – the joust set – while still fresh and exiciting. Its the best way to go, isn't it? While I would have preferred this or another „original“ theme, I am excited about LotR/Hobbit. I see it as an opportunity to breathe some innovation into LEGO, with parts and pieces and minifigs that otherwise wouldn't have been made. And maybe some new ideas for structures and techniques. Though I will say I take yellofigs over fleshies anyday. Boo on TLG for putting those irritating fleshie triangles on the torsos. And castle being dead/gone/over/... or just "on a hiatus" amounts to the same thing – no castle sets in the forseeable future. I can't imagine them running alongside - and against - LotR/Hobbit. Unless a few tiny Kingdoms sets are released until June?

Why only three Romams per box? Didn't TLG think there would be army-building demand for them? I myself see the minotaur as more of a unique monster than a army-builder, though I understand why others see it differently. The Roman was one of the most anticipated minifigs by me, but I'm pretty disappointed, for the following reasons: - The helmet seems too bulky, a helmet the thickness of a classic knight/sports helmet would have been better. If it was possible to get that much detail on it, that is. - As for the "thong", TLG should have dunked the top part of the Roman's legs into red dye, it's probably not a process they use, but it doesn't seem too complicated and it would improve the look of this and other figs with short pants/skirts. Or even all-red legs with a small yellow band below the "knees" would have been better. - I would also have liked to see back printing, and preferably a red basic torso color rather than light bley; with silvery or even light blay armor printed on the red, just for authenticity. - I'm also disappointed we didn't get a specialized pilum instead of a regular CMF spear (I don't mind we didn't get a gladius, though it would have been cool to get a gladius with a PotC-style sheath). I feel a pilum would have been more relevant for the Roman than the broadsword for the highlander (while a nice touch, the Scots used all kinds of swords, anyway). That's not to say the Roman is a bad fig, I still see him as one of the most useful, just not as cool as he could be.

If LotR/Hobbit is true, and sets will come out in september as AllanSmith says, I think LotR would be more likely, as the movie will only come out in december. While the sets would probably be instantly recongnizable to anyone who read The Hobbit, it makes more sense to release the Hobbit sets after the movie comes out, so people can relate the sets to the movie scenes. It also has a precedent in SW, HP and Indy, where older sets were releaed first. (Though I cant remember whether the set pics of PotC 4 came out before the movie, or simpy before I myself saw the movie). If the world does get attacked by aliens, then one taboo (humans vs humans) would simply be replaced by another (humans vs aliens). LEGO might then stop making space conflict themes, but the human survivors might finally get a military theme . Every cloud has a silver lining! Not that I know of, but the claims of LotR are getting thicker...

Beautiful house! The one thing I dislike are the slide doors, otherwise it's perfect.

So far, I would say the butcher, since I hoped for such a fig to appear and I didnt think TLG would actually do it. I thought a butcher with a cleaver and meat would come off as gory; luckily I was wrong . The cleaver, steak and cap are neat parts, though I was hoping for a straw hat. I might revise my opinion when I get a closer look at the legionary and the bandit. Right now I find the legionary's helmet to be too bulky. All in all, I'm in a similar situation as TheLegoDr above - a castle guy that prefers the butcher - a testament to the butcher's iconic appeal.

A new generic wig pice would be better. We're badly in need of period wigs. If a new PotC film is coming out, I would expect TLG to capitalize on it. Shame if so, I'd like to see the Imperial Armada revisited.

single-faction sets, much less themes, don't seem to be TLG's MO anymore. In this respect, I could actually imagine these sets being done in the 80s and 90s rather than now. So I'd say one of the big questions to consider before making this theme would be: who would the soldiers fight? I can't really imagine TLG making a tank and captioning it only with "Defend the borders of LEGO City with this all new battle tank! Turret really turns!" I expect that nowadays, TLG would give us some backstory. I think our best hope for now are useful and MOD-able parts from the city theme, like the twin-rotor helicopter and tan hats from the forest police theme. I could imagine TLG doing an air show set and sneaking in a realistic fighter jet, for example. Though as time goes on and memories of WW2 fade, TLG might soften its stance?

I dont really like this idea - imagine a group of people discussing one rumor, with their posts interspersed with those of another rumor, and maybe a third in between, etc. Chaos. The LotR discussion, for example, works well enough, according to me. The LotR thread is a rumor thread, by virtue of the question mark in the thread name. I simply presume that when LotR is confirmed, a new thread will be started. (If the staff decides that the new evidence isnt definitve, they can merge the new thread with the rumor thread.) A similar system could exist for any other license rumor - a speculation thread at first, and a "regular" thread if confirmed.

I didn’t...

To add my two cents to the already pretty one-sided debate, I think feeling the packets is OK. As far as depriving others of their choice fig, any shop generally works on a "first come, first served" basis, so "the early bird gets the worm". Plus, if someone is willing to pick and buy a fig at random, without feeling the packet, they probably don’t want their chosen fig as much as those willing to put in an effort to find out if they actually found the one they're looking for. On the other hand, taking all of a certain fig does seem unsporting to me. Although it seems the fingerers are actually helping many people to find their preferred fig, rather than depriving them of it. And yes, I regularly feel fruit and bread before buying it, with plastic gloves. And, as many specialists would attest, feeling your packets is good for your physical and mental well-being.

Reading the thread, i found this bit from Klaus-Dieter on page 2: So does anyone know whether Playmobil will release this Mexican theme next year? And I know it's a tiny straw to grasp, but maybe the "new action theme" next year could be a Western theme?

Here's what Derfel Cadarn had to say on the matter in the "Kingodms 2012?" thread in the History forum, page 17: Sounds promising...

Brilliant! Exactly what I was thinking!

I tend to see the Lions (and any other faction with kings, even unseen kings, such as Crusaders or Black Knights) as stereotypical reactionary monarchists, with the outsider factions as simply a lighter shade of gray. A classic grey and gray universe, with the villagers caught in between. Fight the power!

I wonder how someone would try out the skeleton disguise Keep 'em coming!

I would prefer Johnny Thunder, as it already had fleshed out characters and an epic storyline. I was sad to see it go, I wanted them to visit other locations, like an ancient Greek ruin, under the sea (with old fashined diving suits), safari with animals, etc. That said, it's ancient Egypt that excites kids, and it would be weird to send JT and company back, so naturally they had to introduce new characters. I'm afraid that TLG will keep milking the Egyptian idea like this, introducing a completely new cast of characters fighting mummies every few years. I do think the PQ mummies and Egyptian pieces are much better than the Adventurers ones. In the end, I don't really mind which way TLG goes, so long as we get another theme with an antique and/or vintage feel.

Is there a percentual breakdown of LEGO sales by age group somewhere?

This one does. The tower seems disappointing to me, but the DF figs and the fountain make up for it somewhat.

I see the use of Black Knight shields here and in the 6078 Royal Drawbridge as a kind of final shout out to the Black Knights. I presume the Black Knights were off the shelves at that point, so there was no other way to get Black Knights shields in a legit set anymore - I myself got my only big ovoid Black Knight shield from the Royal Drawbridge set, and I won't complain about that. In-universe, I treat the Dragon Masters as a faction that split off the Black Knights and decided to follow Majisto. The dragon crest suiting their new name and allegiance just fine, they decided to keep it, only recoloring the dragon to a more "realistic" green, to show they deal with real dragons. The few Dragon Masters above maybe simply didn't have time to adopt the new shields. Back to the set, I like the exclusive baseplate and the more realistic brown trees (though this isnt such an issue, the black trees of the Forestmen were ok too), as well as the fact we get all the DF figs in this set. I prefer these minifigs to the Forestmen, these new guys look grittier and more realistic (OK, maybe I take realism a bit too seriously ) next to the rather cartoonish forestmen. Shame TLG only made 3 sets. As I wrote recently in respons to SirSven7's Wolfpack review (to those who haven't done so already, check it out!), I see parallels with Wolfpack, "which was also scrapped after three sets to make way for a fantasy-style faction with dragons and a magical character..."