Balrog

Hey Guys. I have a little problem with a build and might need some help. But let me tell you a little story first to introduce my problem. As a kid, I was totally obsessed with 8858 - Rebel Wrecker. But I never got it. I really loved the way, the front suspension was built. One day, a friend borrowed me the building instructions. I was sooooo happy. Well, that was until I realized, that I'd run into problems. I was missing parts. I didn't have any idle gears (still I have none today) to make the motor functions work. Nor did I have that "Technic Gear Rack 1 x 2.4 with Towballs". Oh... and not the fitting wheels. Anyway, I was somehow able to finish the build with motor and steering working. In the last few days, while looking at older models, I thought I'd get out my old Technic collection and build it again. Finding a way again to not need the idle gear was easy. I simply used a chain. It works, though not too good. I guess I will replace it by rubber bands. But that is not my problem. I need to solve the problem with the steering. I have various styles of classic steering elements and the mounts and hubs needed in this model. So I first build it. this is what it looks like right now: I put on the wheels from the Formula Flash and that is where ich got the steering hubs and mounts from. I kinda like it, though the wheels look pretty small. And I made some direct modification to not have the crane part, but keep the rear suspension intact. Now for the steering I thought, I could use a different approach than with this: Pic from Peeron I used a cam part to make the movement from left to right, which should basically work and wanted to attach this part with the flex steering as in the Formula Flash. But the elements are one stud too wide. I don't have any 5L Flex parts instead of the 6L. Currently the steering would look like that (still broken): On the picture you see my chain mechanic as well. At least the bottom part. So, I just want to know, if anyone has an idea to make this work? I already though of widening the whole front construction from the 6L technic bricks to 8L, but then the middle suspension won't fit anymore. I know I had this working once before, but I have no idea how I did that (that was like 15 or 16 years ago when I built that).

I want the Balrog! As a set! Right now! GIVE IT TO ME TLG!!! *rooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaar* *flamewhip*

Wow this topic brought up so many opinions. But I think we will never get to a true consense that fits everyone. I personally think, that Lego is all about building with Lego. MOCers want to build stuff that looks like fantasy or like real things like cars. The challenge - to me - is, that reproducing something from the real world with Lego. There are great possibilities, building techniques and problems to solve. With Lego. The rules are given by the bricks. What you can build with them, should be allowed. The limit is, how far you can bend the rules of connecting bricks. Though bending bricks is generally no so good, but as long as the connection is stable and nothing breaks it should be ok. Glueing or modifying bricks is not bending the rules, but breaking them, thus shouldn't be allowed. Whereas coloring bricks (as long as reversable or purchased) should be ok. Some people have limited colors and need some bricks in a special color. Why not paint them. The same goes for chrome bricks, which are basically just colored. I think they are ok and add to the MOC in terms of feel and realistic looks. Cutting hoses or string is of course ok, as they are designed to be cut. Third-party bricks is another topic. I don't like them. It's really like cheating if another producer of brick toys has a brick that is not produced by Lego, yet compatible, and that is used by a MOC. But why not use some MegaBloks for a base landscape under-structure, as long as these are basic bricks? Where do you draw the line here?! As for wheels on Technic MOCs, I guess for your own use and internet presentation (like Crawlers), using different tyres should be totally allowed. Because you want to drive the thing through the wilderness, thus good performance is everything, as long as it is compatible to Lego rims. Other RC components are not compatible, thus shouldn't be allowed. For presentations on conventions, if it is just for display and for looks - chrome rims and 3rd party tyres should be ok. If you want to enter a contest, stay with Lego tyres. And one more thought on tyres. If the tyres are turning on the rims, why not glue them. Could be a rare case to allow it. I find it somewhat pervert, that people are willing to use a 3rd party part over strengthening the connection between official parts. Now my thoughts on some special things. Pneumatic hoses first. As you cannot get them bulk stocks of those hoses from Lego, using a 3rd party substitute should be allowed. Many MOCs require long distances of hose and they cannot be provided by Lego sets I think. The same goes with string. You cannot brickbuild it of course. Allowing string should be totally legal. Building a metal stand like for that huge Venator MOC, should be allowed too, though, there it supports the structure of the MOC. It's a rare case though. One more thing I thought off: Imagine you have build a really cool pirate ship. You will need sails for that. Using Lego sails is somewhat cheasy, as they are probably too small or whatever. Brickbuilt sails look strange, but it would be a possibility. So you still have the choice to make your own sails from a fabric, that is somewhat similar to that of Lego. It would definately add to the detail. Still, I would say that the MOC is completely from Lego. With rubber bands it is somewhat the same as with string here. So these are just some of my thoughts on this topic. I will stay with my own rules. Thus, going with hoses, string and rubber bands as I need them, but elsewhere keep my MOCs as pure Lego as possible. If I may ever be taking part in a contest, the contest makes the rules.

Last order was 9476 - Orc Forge. Still need Uruk Hai Army and Weathertop. Which should I get next ... hmm.

Interesting build. I think you could either call it leaf spring or flat spring. There is multiple words for it. Though you built it different, the approach for a suspension is the same. Very interesting.

What clever use of our beloved bricks!

I bet that will look really cool. It would just add the kind of detail that makes it look even more "realistic". You could pose it in front of a real Sawmill and phtograph it from a very low angle, so it looks like a real log delivery :D But that is just me having ideas ;)

The modifications are cool. And I really like the trailer. I'd love to see some pics with real logs of wood :D

Just got a deal on ebay. I bid on an auction that had all the parts for the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 set. And I got it. It was literally a steal. No electronics, but all parts. Great upgrade for my NXT set. Now I just need a color and a touch sensor. Recommendations on where to get them? Or which to get in the case of the color sensor?

This MOC is awesome! Well done. Great interior.

I really like the Snot water. Good details already. And I really like the Gate-Tower. Looks like face with opened mouth :D

At first I thought, that the one who did this shall burn himself. Until I found out it was a clone brand. Anyway, as much as I really do not like the various clone brands, I think this is wrong. But that is just due to my respect for toys :D Instead of burning the blocks, send them to some children who really might get happy with them.

Well in that context, you are right. I would have just wished, that the staff is more like in the movies. Right now it is like a simplified version, but they could have made a new one anyway. I hope they do it for Gandalf the White.

My latest acquisition are the following: Gandalf arrives Shelob Attack Finally I got the one ring - my percioussssss. Though, 3 sets to go!

Thanks for the review. I got this set yesterday. It is quite a nice set, though the price seems pretty high. The build is straight forward and quickly done. The minifigures are great, though I would have wished for a proper staff for Gandalf. I really like the details of the cart and especially the fireworks, though the cart is not very movie-accurate. What I really liked are the new parts. I really like these 2x1 plates with click holder thingy. I have not seen them before.

First: Thank you for the great review. I got the set today. I really like the minifigs (as always), except for Gollum. Gollum could be a little more "playable", though designed pretty good. I really like the spider build. Though building the legs is a bit repetetive. But it's the result that counts. I put it on the wall to hang down. The only thing, that I really hate, is, that I only got one spare "The One Ring". So now I have two, where others have three

Thank you for the thorough review. I really appreciate the work and I love the sheer amount of detail shots. Very well. Oh, and I laughed a lot. So thanks for amusing us! I'll keep my thoughts on this set, as I have already shared them in the other review.

This looks interesting and I already have a brilliant idea for a wall section. Have to check if I got enough Bley first, since my collection is ok I guess, but I don't want to already tear down my Helms Deep.

First: Thanks for the review. I got this set as well and have finally built it. So I will share my thoughts. This build quicker than I thought. I have to mention, that this is the biggest set I ever got. But it was done in several hours. I split the build on two days. On the first day, I build booklet 1+2 and the rest on the second day. Though I first wanted to split it on 3 days. But I was so in building mood, that I pulled through. The build itself features some interesting techniques and approaches, like the headlight with cheese on some corners or the way round walls are constructed with hinge bricks and plates. Very nice. Though, it is not alike the castles that I remember from being a kid. No fixed groundplate or anything. But thats ok. Wouldn't have worked good anyway in my opinion. Another pro for the set is the amount of (for me) rare colours. Lots of dark green cheese plates, big tan plates, sand green bricks and loads of the new brick bricks. Building the whole thing was a lot of fun. Though the brick built walls were somewhat instable at first and I struggled a bit with assembling the tower. But in the end I got it done. I really like the minifigs. Especially King Theoden and Gimli. Mostly because of the printed helmets and the printed armor. Though there are 8 minifigs, it would have been good to have 2 additional generic soldiers. There are only "heroes" for the "good" side. Even the Uruk-Hai Army set (which I still have to get) does not make the situation much better. It's really hard to build a army for the "good" side. I really liked, that there were so few stickers (6!). But it were some big ones (Wedge Wall piece), which I didn't like. In the good old days, there were printed ones available. Even with variation, so they don't look all the same. Another good call goes to the spare pieces. Lots of cheese plates and flames. That is so awesome. The extra cape you get is even mentioned in the pieces list in the instructions, so it seems to be no mistake. But no idea which figure the cape belongs to. Perhaps for King Theoden if he doesn't wear his armor. Doesn't matter - FREE CAPE! Well now that I have the two biggest sets built, I can finally go on to the smaller ones ;)

Currently, I flatten the boxes and store them in a big Amazon box. Instructions are kept in a somewhat smaller Amazon box ;)

The MOC looks really stunning. You could re-enact the action scene with Gollum, too. What I found a little interesting AND amusing is the use of a shark as a wall piece. I have never seen something like that and I really like it a lot.

I want a set "Bridge of Khazad-Dûm" with a Balrog and Gandalf fighting. It would be a great extension for the Moria set already available. But I guess that has already been mentioned. I guess I just have to design my own Balrog until then. Lego started one year too late with these sets. They should have started last year and release a second wave of LotR this year. So they can start releasing The Hobbit sets at the end of this or at the beginning of next year. So they have possibly 2 Tolkien set lines running next year. Which would also be great. I mean, there is so much stuff and scenes in LotR that demand to be made a Lego set. But we will see what the future brings. The Hobbit will take several years until the last film is released. Lots of time to release new sets.

Just got Helm's Deep and Mines of Moria yesterday via Amazon. The Moria set is already built. HD must wait until next week I guess.

First off: Thanks Lego Otaku for the great review. You really pointed out some good things. Or bad things. Depends on how you consider it. What I found strange in the review pictures is on the pic with the spare parts. It seems you forgot to assemble Gimli's Short-Axe. I first thought what a lucky bastard you must be to have a extra axe-blade :D I got the set yesterday, together with HD, but due to the lack of time only could build this. I think this is an overall good set. And if you get it with some discount, it's even better. I got it for roughly 10c/p. Which is ok. What is not ok, as others have mentioned, is the amount of stickers. At least these 1x4 wood tiles could have been used as they are used in other sets, too. Though, I have to say, that the stickers do add a good portion of detail. But I don't want to discuss that. What I really like about the set is the mini-figs. I really like the printings on the torsos and legs, like the design of the figures and so on. Only the Legolas head seems a bit strange to me. They didn't capture the look of him. The others are somewhat resembling their movie actors somehow. Oh and the helmet of Gimli is totally AWESOME. I really like those Heroica weapons, too. Though they are just scattered around. The sword somehow looks like the Zelda Mastersword. I didn't see those before. And I like the copper axe-blade for shutting the door. Cool piece. And there is a good selection of other pieces in this set I really like. Like the 2x1 Snotplate or 2x1 cheese-plate. Really nice. Did I mention, that the cave troll is really cool? And it is huge. But a little bad balanced. But that's what ground-plates are for, right? What I found a bit strange is the extensive use of 1x1 Snot bricks in bag 3. They are used as regular bricks at some points. I guess it is cheaper to have these bricks in one variation instead of adding another bricks, just because the Snot is totally useless. The play features are... ok. The well is somewhat odd, but works. The break parts are ok, even if the pillars just fall over. The tomb itself is very cool, but the flip function does not work out of the box, which makes it useless. All in all, I really like this set, even if it has some drawbacks. And I hope, Lego makes another wave of LotR sets with another Moria set, like "The bridge of Khazad-Dûm". With Gandalf and a Balrog fighting. I'd really love to get that. Not just because of my name.

Just got Helms Deep and Mines of Moria today. Bought them on Amazon. Can't wait to build them, but I guess I have only time for one set today and the other has to wait for next week. And: I can't wait to get the other sets.