Sir Gareth

MEC Category A: A Shortcut to Mushrooms

My last entry for MEC. 79020 A Shortcut to Mushrooms, Ages 8-14. 93 pieces. Hide the One Ring away from the evil Ringwraith! US $14.99 Recreate the iconic scene from The Fellowship of the Ring. While Sam is busy picking mushrooms, Frodo senses grave danger coming. The hobbits get off the road and hide underneath the tree roots. A shadowy figure rides up on an undead horse, and it is none other than one of the nine Ringwraiths, a servant of Sauron! Frodo and Sam must think of a way to escape without getting caught. - Includes 3 minifigures: Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and Ringwraith - Also includes horse and spider - Accessories include the Ring, backpack and sword - Features catapult to launch the backpack - Pick mushrooms, a Hobbit's favorite food - Stop Frodo from using the Ring! - Distract the Ringwraith by throwing the backpack Comments and criticism are most welcome and much appreciated! I have less than a day left to make any changes.

Where?

The wings are a rubbery material, so tearing them would be rather difficult. I do worry though, that the joints will wear out over time.

The problem is making the sets appeal to kids, and this is part of it. Pretend LEGO releases four Minas Tirith sets: a $30 outer wall, a $50 inner wall, a $60 main gates, and a $70 citadel. Kid's will buy the $60 set because it most resembles Minas Tirith. Like the Black Gate set, kids don't have the money to buy more than one. Unlike the Black Gate, that means the $30, $40, and $70 will continue to sit on shelves, take up space, and just not sell well. Sure AFOLs will likely buy multiples of all four sets, but they're in the minority here because kids are the ones that count for the majority of sales. Now instead pretend LEGO releases 2 Minas Tirith sets: a $130 Minas Tirith and a $30 outer wall. While more expensive than the other example, kids will feel more obliged to buy this one because it's the only Minas Tirith set on the market. LEGO gets their money and AFOLs can still buy multiples.

Awesome entry, Graham Gidman! I love everything about this. The play features are well done, the build itself's great, and the pictures look just like the official Lego ones. Nice job. Best of luck in the contest!

I'm not a big investor, but I would think the LotR sets would be worth more than the Hobbit sets in the long run. Just look at the current prices of the wave one sets. UHA and Orc Forge have already almost doubled in value, and Helm's Deep is getting up there.

The problem is making sure each set still appeals to kids. They aren't interested in buying a set that's just the citadel or just the front gates, they want the whole thing in one shot. But, most kids don't have the kind of money to buy 2-3 big sets along with several small sets, and few parents are willing to drop that much. I think the best way to sell Minas Tirith is one big set (between Helm's Deep and Orthanc Size) and one, maybe two, smaller sets (UHA size.)

I had a similar idea a while ago. The Battle of Pelennor Fields - $129.99 (similar in size to Helm's Deep) Minas Tirith main gate, 2 outer wall segments, the Citadel, the White Tree, 2 inner wall segments (The build focuses on the gate, the Citadel, and the 2 inner wall segments.) Fellbeast, Witchking, Shadowfax, Gandalf the White, Gothmog, Denethor, Faramir, Gondor Pippin, 2x Mordor Orc Gondor Soldier Army - $29.99 Outer wall segment with trebuchet (Adds on to Minas Tirith. This set focuses on expanding the outer wall.) 3x Gondorian Soldier, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 2x Armored Mordor Orc

Nice little moc, Tomsche! I was literally going to make the same thing after hearing the announcement.

Thank you, soccerkid! I look forward to building them, especially my Category B entry

Thanks, Mr. Cube! It's rather neat to see two different people each have their own take on representing the same thing.

Nice first moc, floed! This is very detailed and well done, especially considering your lack of parts. I particularly like the posing in the fourth picture and Gandalf's staff. Good job and good luck! Keep it up

Thanks, dagger_of_time! The lights are my favorite part. Thank you, Tomsche!

MEC Category A: Bilbo's 111th Birthday

Great entry, Mr. Cube! I really like the flags and the little tent. I actually made the same thing, but at a smaller scale and price point.

This is my entry for MEC: Category A. Enjoy! 79019 Bilbo's 111th Birthday, Ages 8-14. 115 pieces. Celebrate Bilbo Baggin's birthday at his party US $14.99, CA $17.99, DE 14.99 €, UK £11.99, DK 149.95 DKK Gandalf the Grey and Frodo Baggins celebrate Bilbo Baggin's 111th birthday. Sit down at the table and eat some cake. Have a drink of wine. Listen to Bilbo as he gives his birthday speech. Use the Ring to make Bilbo disappear. - Includes 3 minifigures: Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey and Frodo Baggins - Features a tree, birthday cake, table with food, 2 benches, wine barrel, bucket and 3 barrels - Accessories include the Ring, plates, goblets, bottle, chicken, bread, sausage, pretzel and apple. As always, comments and criticism are most welcome.

Sweet little build, Srbandrews! That's exactly how I imagined human Sauron to look. I really like the use of trans plates here and those flames shooting up around the forge are a nice touch.

This is awesome, vitreolum! I would totally buy it if it was a real set.

I heard they're still made in China.

Neat build, Lancethecat! I really like the abstractness of Smaug. Nice use of the Eye of Sauron.

Another excellent build, Wat Tambor! I really like the use of those tail pieces as tree trunks. The little mushrooms are a nice touch too.

Nice build, LegoThomas, but Category A is supposed to be a set LEGO could produce and sell. This is more of a moc

Another nice build, Alfadas! I really like the posing in this one.

Nice build, Alfadas! I really like the texture of the wall, though light bluish gray brick bricks may be more fitting than those grill bricks.