Artifex

Wow, nice car! :thumbup: Seems like a mean machine to have tailing you around Heartlake! Good to see some Friends MOCs around EB!

Reading the reviews and watching the videos, the UCS Lego sets seem to shine. They are big (if not huge!), they are beautiful and... They have a gazillion bricks. So I was wondering: do owners of UCS models (who have actually built them) ever disassemble the UCS sets to use the bricks for other MOCS? Or do they just leave the UCS models alone? Unfortunately, I don't own any UCS set, but if I did, I guess I would never disassembe it. That's just me, mind you. I've been thinking about getting a UCS set, mainly because they look so great, and I'm almost 100% sure I won't disassemble it (unless I move to another place, that is). What about you? Did you/would you ever disassemble a UCS set to use the bricks for something else (like a MOC)?

Sadly, I think I'm not smart enough to see the pics of your MOC... :sad: EDIT: Forget it -- I just gained a sudden burst of intelligence and I can now see the pics! Brilliant MOC! It fits perfectly with the other buildings. Nice city you got there! :thumbup:

I agree. The way I see it, we'll have a game for the Trilogy, then two for each or the Hobbit movies (or most probably one for both Hobbit movies) and then a Complete Saga with the Trilogy + Hobbits.

On the side: I really don't know for how long the Lego Lord of the Rings line will endure, and I really don't know what are the specificities of the license. I guess we will have LotR sets this year (after all, the first sets are coming out in the middle of the year and The Hobbit is only coming out by the end of 2012), then 2013 (going strong with the release of The Hobbit in the end of 2012 and the Hobbit pt 2 in then end of 2013), then 2014 (with The Hobbit pt 2 going strong) and maybe -- just maybe -- one or two final waves in 2015. Which would give us about 8 waves. As for the license, I believe that it's about the movies, and the movies only. It does not concern the books* (that's only my belief, mind you -- I have no inside information whatsoever). Nevertheless, that is a lot of options -- from army building Battle Packs to all types of buildings, scenery and vigenntes. I do hope Lego goes the opposite way it went with Pirates of the Caribbean, with more "complete" buildings and characters (and some opponents) like Kingdoms or Castle than small vignettes (PotC had too many vignette sets IMHO) and "imcomplete" building like that tavern from The London Escape. * The Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG did profit A LOT from its The Lord of the Rings License -- Turbine can only use things like places and characters from the books, but that is just a lot of stuff! For in the books there are many things mentioned, stories told and so on and so forth. I only wish the Lego LotR license was just like this.

I think you are doing great, although the saucer seems a bit big in comparison to the other sections of the ship. It looks great from most angles, and I guess this is going to be a very nice MOC! :thumbup:

Wow, looks awesome! :thumbup: And it's sad to hear about the death in your family. Hope you guys can hold strong.

I always find these discussions about prices kind of funny. I know Lego can be expensive in any coutry or currency, but down here in Brazil Lego costs more than anywhere else. If Brazilians get lucky, Helm's Deep is going to cost something around BRA 600,00, which is about USD 300,00 or UKP 200,00. But that's only if we get lucky -- because it's probably going to cost something like BRA 700,00... Of course Brazilians can always buy from Bricklink or ebay (although not every seller ships to Brazil), but that's more of a collector thing -- the average Brazilian kid will have to choose dearly what to ask for Santa or in his/her birthday. Oh, well. I wish Lego prices went a little bit down. Everywhere.

Thanks a lot! I was very curious about the interior of the outer walls.

I'm pretty sure these sets are coming out on June-July -- just like the Pirates of the Caribbean sets last year.

You are right. This set just got even better :thumbup: EDIT: fixed the math in my previous post. All thanks go to CommanderR

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.

Oh, man... Thanks for another deep class on Lego Castle History! Your posts are absolutely brilliant! I love them all and I keep on twitting them! Thanks so much for putting this blog up! :thumbup:

That. Unfortunately, no pics of the inside of the outer walls on FBTB.

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.

I wish there was a Gamorrean Guard Battlepack...

Did you guys notice The Hobbit poster? It reads: "The Hobbit -- An Unexpected Journey -- Coming Winter 2012" But it's a LEGO poster, not a movie one! You can see it clearly in here -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/fbtbnet/6867232491/in/set-72157629292658099/ Do you think we'll be getting even more LotR sets (a second wave based on The Hobbit movie) for Christmas? It may sound like wishful thinking, but...

Did anyone else notice that the Orc Forge in the preliminary pic in the box is actually bigger than the set presented in the Toy Fair? http://www.flickr.com/photos/fbtbnet/6865915367/in/set-72157629292932379/

I just want to thank you all for the pics and links. There are so many things and details that I have to breath a little -- but I can say the LotR sets look much better now that we have some detailed pics! One thing I did not find are pics from the interior of Helm's Deep outer walls -- the great hall looks very nice, but I'm still curious about the inside of the walls of the Hornburg.

Where did you guys see the interior of the Helm's Deep set? Sorry, but I guess I lost that pics :( Any links?

Great review of a great set! Thanks a lot for it, Rufus! :thumbup:

Wow! Everything is loooking so much better now! :thumbup:

Wow, I don't even know where to start! Looks very, very good! The pumpkin patch and the scarecrow are just great! The house, walls, roofs and everything is flawless! Looks so realistic! Kudos to you, man! Very nice MOC! :thumbup:

So it's finally Feb 12. I'll be hitting the refresh button on this thread the whole day! Pics, pics, pics!!!

RIP Whitney Houston. Very sad to see you go -- especially so early in your (and our) lives. :(