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Vindice

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by Vindice

  1. Vindice
    Heck yeah! good call, I think it's inevitable that they will design him as he plays a major role in the whole Avengers storyline and the new Spiderman cartoon.
  2. Vindice
    good ideas although I'd personally rather them go down the LOTR route and give us a character we hadn't already seen. It might well depend on the theme of the game. if we are getting 8 iconic storylines then it could be anyone unless there is one overriding theme to the whole game. A minifigure Galactus would be pretty cool or maybe Kang. I don't think we'll get Cyclops as he would be part of what must surely be an inevitable X-Men set. There have probably been enough Iron Mans.......Iron Men??? Iron Spider should show up in a future Spiderman Set once series 2 begins.
  3. Vindice
    When i was on here yesterday most people seemed to think it was fake, now all of a sudden its the new Death Star!! I think it's genuine because TLG would definately want to have one of the main pieces of architecture in the second wave and Orthanc is at once the easiest (compared to Barad Dur and minas Tirith) and probably the most recognizable! What also interests me is that the image doesn't appear as detailed as some of the incredible mocs out there which is likely the road TLG would choose to go down. To do an ultra realistic version would cost the buyer far too much and they will probably want to squeeze it into a £130-150 price range. Colelctors can mod it easily enough but the little ones have an Orthanc to play in that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount of money. I don't think there will be many figures. I would expect Saruman and Grima with possibly an Orc and an Uruk Hai. treebeard is a possibility but like some others i think it would be betterprice wise to have him in his own set. It may not be the sign of a wave of D2C sets (even if it is confirmed) in the future but as Gandalf said "Hope is kindled!"
  4. Vindice
    Time will tell. It would certainly make sense for them to build it. They've released one huge playset from Two towers already in Helm's Deep and I would be amazed if they passed up the opportunity to build this so soon into the theme. Makes more sense than Minas Tirith or Barad-Dur I think it could be true.
  5. Vindice
    interesting ideas. incidentally, does anyone know who instigates the exclusive sets? in the line of business i'm in a retailer usually has a fair amount of input on what they want in a retailer exclusive. I wonder how much input TRU or Target have.
  6. Vindice
    I think TLG may be goign in for smaller waves. The super heroes line would kind of bear that out too as it limits there exposure if a theme is not successful. I could see there being a TRU exclusive perhaps in the £40 range. If that's the case i would expect something like the Balrog or maybe even a last alliance set that features Sauron. We could also get a D2C set. if that were so I'd expect something like Orthanc with treebeard. Similar in price to the Arkham Asylum set just released. Although i refuse to ever get my hopes up until i see pictures, I can't believe TLG would produce a mouth of sauron figure without any plans to include such characters as Sauron, the Witch-King, a Balrog or Faramir. I'd even expect Elendil and Isildur first.
  7. Vindice
    Peter Jackson convinced new line to make the Hobbit movies into 3 rather than 2 at a very late stage for a movie. At that point TLG's wave of releases would have been set. Probably also explains why there are some scenes in the first film that aren't covered.
  8. Vindice
    I think these 4 sets look excellent so far. The black gate looks amazing! The build really seems to capture the imposing design very well. I would be surprised if there were only four sets, it doesn't seem to match the TLG business model unless they are splitting with Hobbit sets which I'm not sure of considering they would want most of those to conincide with the Hobbit movie release. Considering they want to establish the theme well, I would've expected slightly more iconic scenes. They love vehicles so the corsair ship is not a surprise. I still think we might see a Balrog set and possibly a D2C Orthanc.
  9. Vindice
    It would be awesome to get him but honestly i would be very surprised. He was cut from the theatrical release of the film and I can't think of a less likely to be included in a kids set. i think the blackgate will be more about the battle and therefore not likely to onclude him. I think a King Aragorn, Gandalf the White, Pippin in Gondorian armor, a troll, 2 mordor orcs and if we got a fell beast i would be pretty pleased. Just for the record i'd be very pleased if the Mouth of Sauron was in it but i think it's highly unlikely.
  10. Vindice
    Nice start and the last post is right. A jagged appearance will be more recognisable. There will be building similarities with Mimas morgul and barad-dur. Try using some darker grey pieces for a more menacing look but good start.
  11. Vindice
    Batman did have a UCS set early on but once again it has the same benefits as SW in that all superhero merchandise and material is ongoing and always available. tolkiens universe has had a ten year hiatus give or take with little to no merchandising in that time. Even Potter didn't get a UCS set (had a nice D2C set in Diagon alley very late on) and that was a long standing theme with a decade or so of being in the public eye and many profitable waves. i have to say that LOTR provides a lot more scope than HP did for set ideas but LEGO will still want to know something is going to sell before tying up too much money in it.
  12. Vindice
    I think Mimas tirith could be set out much like Hogwarts castle, as a series of popular locations. I know there is a big difference in that many hog warts locations were central to the story but the difficulty in capturing both buildings is similar in terms of realisation and you could have four locations. Outer wall siege, houses of healing, hall of denethor and perhaps the lighting of the beacon. May not look much like the entire build but then neither did hogwarts really. It could also be expanded further like the last version of hogwarts where they released the battle of hogwarts in a later wave. This could be the main gate being besieged by grond or the showdown between the witch king and either gandalf or downy and merry.
  13. Vindice
    UCS = Ultimate collector series, and is usually reserved as a centrepiece for a long standing theme with good sales history. I don't think people should discount the possibility of a fell beast turning up in the rumoured Black Gate set.
  14. Vindice
    I'm sceptical about the cost calculations being complicated. the set prices are probably decided before they even have a piece count! Each wave will consist of certain price points that they want to target and then the design brief will budget their piece count accordingly. It is probably far more vague that we think to begin with. A lot of people talk about excessive molding prices but I don't believe half of whats printed. New tooling for a new brick or minifig part will be nothing like the 200,000 I've heard mentioned before. relaistically it should be a tenth of that at the most and probably not even that. People charge whatever the local market will bear. Australia is seen as being a flourishing market due to its mining boom and companies are setting their price points to see what they can get away with. 100% mark ups are not uncommon. In the US you need to be a little more subtle as there is a huge number of toys in the market and you have to be competitive. Licenses don't cost as much as people might think but they are a license to print money so somethign that is "branded" so to speak is generally going to be more valuable and more expensive.
  15. Vindice
    I for one am thrilled that the release date has come forward but it's not good news for people who wont have the money until January as it's likely to be on back order by January 1st.
  16. Vindice
    I think the Fell beast will be be molded. I think the Balrog would be brick built if/when we see him. I think the Dino range showed just how good TLG can get the molds now for large scale creatures and i think they're committed to that process. It wouldn't surprise me to see a mixed wave, as they may have been a bit concerned initially that the LOTR range wouldn't sell well enough to not have any support from something that was currently in the mind of children (The Hobbit). Remember LOTR has not been a great license in the past for Toys so history would be on the side of this way of thinking. Having said that I'd love to see a LOTR specific range. Be interesting to see what the flagship set is. My guess is that either the corsair ship will be large with 8-10 minifigs (possibly 12 with some cheap skeletons) or that the black gate set will feature some of Barad-dur and have a good number of Gondorians and Orcs plus maybe a battle troll.
  17. Vindice
    I hate to cast any gloom over the proceedings but do we have reliable evidence that there will be ANY LotR sets next year at all??? March would seem an odd time for LEGO to release them for one, and some of the ideas sound unlikely to capture the imagination of children and more importantly the wallets of their parents.
  18. Vindice
    Although I too think that a fantastic four set is unlikely, there is a FF cartoon coming out next year so they are likely to be seen at some point. they are pretty iconic figures so it would still expect to sell reasonably well. I would think another Spiderman or even an X-Men set is more likely than Malibu Mansion. Makes no sense to release it so far ahead of the movie. Personally I'm hoping for something a bit daring like an X-Men V Sentinel set (i would expect Wolverine to pop up again with Cyclops, Jean Grey and maybe someone like Archangel/Angel to make use of the good new wing moulds.) Either that or FF V Galactus would be awesome!! Think we're more likely to have another spidey though as we haven't had Coulson, White Tiger or Luke Cage yet. Sandman set is possible but I would expect Goblin to be more likely. They may have been asked to keep it under wraps until he made his appearance at the end of the series. Could be set in the school or perhaps even Aunt May's house as they all live there now!
  19. Vindice
    I've been a proud follower of the Utah Jazz for close to 20 years now. Ever since the great Malone, Stockton era. I see great times ahead for us as long as we can get a decent trade before the deadline on Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.
  20. Vindice
    LEgo has SW for ten years but we're not privvy tothe contract so there may be clauses that can lead to an early termination from both parties. A lot will depend on how well Kre'o is selling. If it's a lame duck then Disney/Hasbro could end it compeltely and turn their attention to buying up mega-brands. These things usually take a long time to sort themselves out though as product licensing is a bit of a minefield. No reason to get unduly worried just yet. I'm sure LEGO will watch with great interest and prepare for all eventualities.
  21. Vindice
    I think we can all be fairly confident that these superhero lines are going to be here for at least the short and mid term. With new films, games and TV shows coming out there is a welath of material. unfortunately most of those sets are likely to be concnetrated on the main characters. I think it will be a good 2-3 years until we start seeing obscure minifigures making the jump into sets. Next year will be focusing on perhaps the 4 main comic characters of the moment, Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Iron Man. After that who knows. Perhaps we will see an exclusive set based on Wolverine so that Lego can gauge the popularity of any X-Men sets very carefully without committing much money to a wave of sets. Don't forget the uncanny X-men cartoon should be out next year which would likely result in an X-Men set by september.
  22. Vindice
    I don't think LEGO would want to do Green Lantern sets or young justice. They've made their intentions clear that they will stick to the far more universally popular characters at least until the line is well established. So far this has proven the correct decision. Don't forget that green Lantern has always been poorly supported in toy lines and for good reason.........he doesn't sell very well. And most kids (and their parents) won't even know who young justice are. Also lets quit the Ultimate spiderman bashing. It's a popular show and I must admit I don't have to be forced to watch it with the kids, i find it really funny. And it provides a wealth of characters.
  23. Vindice
    Yeah you can still get almost all the Potter sets everywhere and usually for decent deals. I'm not sure the after market is going to be that great for them this time with nothing remotely Potter-like on the horizon. I'm actually quite surprised how quick our Harry has fallen out of the public's conscious.
  24. Vindice
    Seconded! I was critical at first but the kids love it and actually I find it quite funny too. It brings in a lot of characters that would could eventually see in LEGO form so I'm hoping that ratings gather pace and they renew it for a third season. I'm hoping that if Xmen sets aren't forthcoming then it could provide us with Juggernaut and maybe Sabretooth. There must be sets planned for Luke Cage and White tiger at some point.
  25. Vindice
    Most toy manufacturers like to have something new to release in the build up to Christmas. Although some popular products will sell well anyway there are always a few that make a late run inpopularity due to product reviews and adverts. Those reviews are usually reserved for something new on the market. If TLG didnt release anything in December they would probably lose a lot of ground to someone who did time their release for that time. The marketplace is more competitive for them than ever before and they will capitalize on this time of year. Last year, Hogwarts castle was named in the UK as one of the top 20 toys to get for Christmas. It promptly sold out everywhere. this is a different theme from anything before as it's really two licenses rolled into one. I'm sure they will rationalise the release dates as the line becomes more established.
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