bachamn

I replied and forgot that I'd actually come by to share this unboxing video of the Target DoS blu-ray with the Legolas polybag that someone just posted. I couldn't get it to embed...does the Special BBcode 'Media' not work with a Youtube link? I frequent another forum running this same software and it works fine.

My point was that the LEGO version is going to vary slightly from the movie version because it's adapting the charcter from a full-scale CG masterpiece to a toyline that is known for having limited details and form factor. In the same way the movie version was bound to be different from the original sketching that Tolkien provided, which was of course an interpretation limited on his ability to illustrate what he pictured in his mind to be Smaug when he was writing it. With that in mind, it seems silly to me to gripe about how one of the horns is proportionally longer than it was in the movie. It's gone through multiple artistic interpretations and creative processes to get to that point. As long as a consumer can look at it and say "Oh, that's a LEGO version of Smaug from the Hobbit", they've accomplished their ultimate goal. I don't get that impression from the other LEGO dragons. Also, I know you probably meant it in a different way, but to say that what Tolkien did doesn't matter in a thread about the Hobbit is blaspheme ;)

Back when I was picking up my LEGO LotR/2nd Age Elrond minifig I asked the store clerk what they usually do with the extra figures. He said once they take care of all the preorder customers, if they have any left they usually just give them away to other customers buying the game, or take them home themselves if the manager isn't working. I hinted that I'd buy some extras from him "under the table" but he just kind of laughed. I'm sure you could find one on BL or eBay; I think at the onset of the Elrond figure release they were averaging something like $20-30 each and now you can get one for close to $10. I'd imagine the same thing will happen with this version of Bilbo. Unless you're approaching this from an uber-PJ/Weta loyalty perspective, who cares? Movie Smaug is just an interpretation and also differs from the book (legitimate/canon) version. If you want to split hairs, you could point out all the many ways that movie/LEGO Smaug doesn't look like this: I think they did a decent enough job based on these CG renderings.

looks like he's holding it in his right hand. Since it appears to be a 'dinner' scene, maybe he was using it as a utensil in LEGO-comedy fashion ;)

I'm assuming you meant the Mirkwood Elf polybag figure or one of the elves from the MEA set? I see absolutely no problem with either of those figures; just curious why you would think either is crap?

Personally I'd like to see a Henneth Annûn / Ithilien set. Would be the perfect opportunity to include Faramir and Haradrim soldiers.It will really be a shame if they finish the series without creating a Faramir minifig, he's pretty damn important to the canon.

Well, tbh I haven't been on this particular forum long enough to really know how things are done here, but yes it seems like a good idea ;)

Pre-ordered my copy for PS3 from Gamestop yesterday, all the while trying to hide the fact that I was more excited about the promo minifig than the game itself ;)

Seems you're not familiar with amicable discourse; I was disagreeing with your assertion that it didn't matter if the quote was shared or not because I felt that was an incorrect statement. Not sure how that's "grilling you", but whatever.

Well, it matters because this thread is basically all speculation and disagreements about speculation; if there's an actual quote that can be put up and evaluated by the community, it seems valid to suggest it be posted for that purpose, rather than another "I heard this and I think this about what I heard". After deskp posted it, it sounds much less like what you had described initially so I'm glad he took the time to do it. I'd agree; this would serve to drive character development in a meaningful way (if you're familiar with where the storyline is headed). I get what you're saying, but I don't see how this would contribute anything to the storyline. Empathy for the LT people and a resulting fissure between Thorin and Bofur in the face of Thorin's greed would serve as a more significant plot development than Bofur simply understanding what Thorin went through with Smaug previously. The dwarves all already look up to Thorin and feel reverance for what he and Balin went through (remember the campfire scene in AUJ?), so what would be the point in furthering that specific perspective through a first-hand experience? Much more likely that Bofur having a fresh experience of Smaug destroying an entire city will give him the proper perspective on the circumstances, while Thorin's greed prevents him from remembering it as clearly as he should, since his people went through the same thing but long ago. We'll just have to wait and see when the film comes out though, since all the dwarves not going to Erebor together is a complete departure from the canon anyway.

Keep in mind that pretty much all of the events taking place in Laketown are deviations from the lore; specifically, Bolg never went to Laketown with a band of orcs and fought Legolas (who of course wasn't even in the book to begin with) so there's really no telling what we should expect, but keeping that in mind, it's reasonable to assume there might be more fighting going on in Laketown in TaBA that was not in the books. I'm hoping they don't go with a Laketown army builder unless they add some variety to the outfits, since they already released the polybag with the solider. Having said that, I totally agree that a B05A army builder would be ideal, just throw in two of each elves, dwarves, and orcs, maybe a warg somewhere and I'd be through the roof. I'd assumed that the Mirkwood Elves set was intended to be loosely based on the skirmish that takes places after the barrel escape in the movie, where the orcs ambush the elves at the river gate. Just figured we didn't get those sweet armored elves or the river gate because these parts of the film weren't fleshed out yet; assuming TLG just got some vague info about a "orcs attacking mirkwood elves near a wall" scene and went from there. As far as a burnt LakeTown set, I mean if we're blue-skying, yeah...but considering there are some iconic scenes that didn't make it into production (Carrock/Beorn's home being the main one for me), I don't see the need to have any more sets for LakeTown. I'm assuming the Laketown set in the upcoming wave will just be an expansion of the normal Laketown buildings we got with the last wave with the black arrow tower somewhere in it, probably with a few LT soliders, Bain, and Bofur (maybe Tauriel in another outfit, but honestly I could take or leave her character...maybe if Evangeline Lily could quit hamming it up so much)

"Blaine is a pain, and that is the truth."

Ugh, until now I had no idea they even made LotR Minimates. After seeing what they did after purchasing the Battle Beasts name, that's painful. Why does DST have to tarnish everything I love with their ugly minifigs? :(

hah yeah, I read that in the Hobbit sets forum literally 30 seconds after posting this. thanks though :)

What is this based on? I've seen two comments claiming this, and it seems plausible so I'm not contesting that it is, I'm just curious how you know?

Hah I love the style on that, complete departure from Tolkien-style obviously but it's fun. A few interesting screenshots: (ok well, here's one. 58k file upload restriction? ouch...) Anyone know the IDs on these guys? Assuming one is Dain? In the trailer it appears they're playable characters.

I'd have to go with Osgiliath on this one, because we need some Gondor! Plus there are specific structures from the literature that could be built, and a "ruins" set could double as a normal, cityscape with a little modification..

Speaking as a collector of the Bridge Direct series, that line for sure has been a total nightmare. The first wave was great, and the Goblin King/ Thorin pack is one of my favorite toys to be released recently, it just went downhill after that. They've had the remaining dwarf sculpts completed and showed them at Toyfair in 2013, but still they weren't released with wave 2. Only a single new sculpt, Thranduil, was included in a five pack with four re-released figure from the first wave. That's it for 3.75" scale in the US. Luckily I have a friend in the UK who picked up the 3.75" Azog and Radagast figures that for whatever reason were only released in 6" scale here. Their excuse for the others not being released was due to the "production changes when the movie was split again" but really, the dwarves were done, and the idea that they released two sculpts in different scales only in Europe shows it's a distribution/production issue, not a design issue. I think some companies have been using that as a scapegoat with the exception of TLG as they went ahead and released the 'preview' sets with Wave 1. Clearly shows the whole Mirkwood spiders & elves captivity plots were originally scheduled to happen in the first film.

Amazing. I really love the minimalist design and usage of 'token' pieces to represent enemies and weaponry at a different scale.

Very cool! I was one of likely few who was hoping for a Prancing Pony Inn set, but this little scene is a great look into what could have been. :)

Dol Guldur has a special role for me in Tolkien fandom. Years ago I acted as a developer for Tolkien MUD and one of my major projects involved writing descriptions and scripting code for the Dol Guldur zone. Really great work here, and I like the storytelling element you bring to it rather than simply posting photos (which you could get away with when it looks this good) :)

Wow some really impressive LotR armies here. I thought my army was respectable with something around 20 uruks, but this definitely puts things into perspective. Deathleech in particular... your collection is staggering!

Minas Morgul would be a perfect set to include a Witch King/Flying Nazgul combo so I'd have to go with that one. As much as I love Fangorn and the Ents, I don't think it'd translate as well into LEGO format.