Fives

Interesting. So it sounds like we're only getting one more Laketown building. That's kind of a shame, but at the same time, it'll mean getting Smaug won't be too expensive. I really wish there was more info on the BO5A set. I have a strong feeling it will be the ruins of Dale, but that's just my guess. I also fear that it may be too big to be a reasonable army builder. Perhaps the order in which he listed them isn't necessarily in order of smallest to biggest? Let's hope that's the case.

I'm most excited to see how they've updated Vader. From the sounds of it, his helmet is the same old piece, but he'll have all new printing. It would be clever if they gave him a black waist cape along with his normal cape, since he has one.

Don't feel bad. There'll be plenty of people there taking photos, and the Nuremberg fair sometimes likes to release little videos showcasing certain themes (the did it last year for the new Castle theme). If the displays are set up the same as the past few years, they'll likely have the sets set up on a cool, detailed table made to look like the terrain the sets are based on, and then have the figs standing in a circle on a spinning turntable. Plus, FBTB and The Brick Show will give us plenty of coverage from the NY fair in February. FBTB always gets tons of pictures, and The Brick Show does a good job with video coverage.

I think the choice to avoid the Moria Orc design was partially Del Toro's influence. But also, while they live in the same mountain range, they aren't necessarily related. They wanted to make Goblin Town a gross, sickening mockery of a town, which the Moria orcs weren't like at all. Also, the orcs in Moria (we can assume) are descendants of Azog's folk. They have a sense of organization about them, and even went out of their way to forge armour that matched. They adapted and evolved in the halls of Moria, and thus looked drastically different than how they were back during the Battle of Azanulbizar. It makes more sense that the Moria orcs and the Gundabad orcs are the same, and that this is just an example of a creature adapting and evolving due to its surroundings. I personally love the 1977 cartoon version of The Hobbit, just the same as how I love the Ralph Bakshi LOTR. But is never really let one version or another become the one I envision. I never really had a decent idea of how the Great Goblin should be because he really lacked a personality or any real character development. He was just an obstacle that the dwarves had to get past. PJ successfully made the Great Goblin a memorable character with a unique personality, while not making him feel like too prominent of a villain. Sorry if I'm rambling and not making sense.

Feb 16-19th. We should expect FBTB to give us extensive photo coverage, as they have for the past few years, by the end of the fair. Essentially, we have a month to wait before all of our questions will be answered. The. Again, keep in mind the the Nuremberg fair is a bit sooner (end of this moth, I think), and they also allow pictures. So we may get some decent shots of the sets by next week.

Like I kinda said before, it sounds like whoever organized the display at the toy fair did a terrible job. It just sounds like the display wasn't very clear, still included some prelim aspects of the sets. And as someone stated before, it was the the last display in the tour, meaning that they may have rushed past it due to timing. When is the Nuremberg fair? The 29th?

It does look amazing, but it's definitely not a realistic LEGO product. It's like how the video game versions of the Ents and the actual Ent LEGO released are completely different. I bet the designers just couldn't find a way to make a Balrog that A) looked like the character, and B) allowed playability. I'm fine with not getting a Balrog. I would much prefer sets that cover the Battle of Pelennor, and give us the essential new characters and outfit variations of existing characters (the Hobbits in armour).

Oh, I see. Yeah, any new molds made for Smaug will be exclusive to that character. His face is unique, so they probably couldn't use it again. The body could maybe be used, but it would force the dragons using that mold to be Wyverns. I strongly believe that Smaug will be completely new and unique, and never be used again. Trying to reuse Smaug in future themes would be like trying to recycle the Cave Troll in future fantasy style castle themes. Man, I feel like half the things I've been saying today have been redundant. Sorry if it's annoying anyone.

The Gondor shield should be a new mold. It needs to be a longer shield (like the troll shields from Castle), but the handle needs to be placed vertically rather than horizontally. That's how the shields are held in the films. Then again, knowing that LEGO is sometimes cheap on new molds (at least where they feel they can be), then the Roman shield is the best choice. Sure, there's a stupid stud in the middle of the shield, but the shape matches the film best.

Hmmm... weird. Billy Connolly is a comedian, and has never really had experience on a production like this. For all we know, he could've been seated on one of those green screen horses, so he may have just been guessing and joking as to what he's actually riding. I remember seeing him being interviewed a while back, right after his casting was announced, and he seemed to have no idea what Tolkien was about, and essentially said he mocked fans back in the day. So I doubt much that he says won't have a touch of comedy in it. So I'd say its safe to assume no boar or any type of steed for Dain, at least in LEGO form.

Keep in mind that the Horntail is a ten year old mold. The advancements in LEGO's molding technology is enough of an indication that Smaug, while smaller than hoped, will be full of detail and as much articulation as possible. He's by far the most important creature in al of the Middle-Earth sets, so if LEGO doesn't go balls to the wall with the molds and details, they won't have done their job.

Well that's confusing... Does anyone think we could get Tilda and Sigrid figs? They'll be in Esgaroth during Smaug's attack, and I can't think of other figs the set will have. Maybe we'll get Bain, Alfrid, Tilda, Sigrid and Braga, along with Smaug. Hopefully we get the Windlance tower/the Master's quarters (his portrait would be a great detail), Bard's house and maybe the Tall Gate. Regardless, the Esgaroth set will likely be the best set of the wave, and sell the best, just because of Smaug alone.

Lonely Mountain. And based on how PJ and Co. have designed the valley in front of the mountain, much of the battle could take place in the ruins of Dale. We've seen footage of Thranduil fighting in the ruins, so my assumption is the battle will take place there, for the most part. Also, there's been so much talk of this boar that Dain rides. I haven't read the book in a while, but when was this mentioned?

It's a shame that the days of big sets on baseplates are a thing of the past. An Erebor done in the style of the Temple of Akator from Indiana Jones would be stellar. Sure, a big baseplate might not fit with the style of most of the Middle-Earth sets (lots of brick built stuff, very few big pieces), but it would work so well for Erebor. Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall of the design room, just so I could see and hear the process through which these sets are made. Learning what sort of freedom and restraints the designers are given by both LEGO and the film studios might give me more understanding for the choices made.

I think criticizing the Goblin Town scenes is kinda weird. Sure, the Great Goblin is this big leader of terrible creatures, but he's never really had anything to do with the outside world for who knows how long. His eccentric personality comes from the fact that he probably lost his marbles hundreds of years prior. He's cruel, but he has fun with his cruelty (singing songs about mutilating and torturing the dwarves, that's pretty evil). He's a psychopath, having fun with his messed up evil mind. Also, the action scenes, while over the top, are just plain fun! The Hobbit is a much more lighthearted story than LOTR, so PJ obviously wanted to take advantage of the fun side of the story and use it to lighten the mood from LOTR. The action scenes are the best place for this. Unlike LOTR, there are less battle and more little confrontations between smaller groups, usually including all the heroes. If they made Goblin Town more like Moria, then it would've felt too heavy. Gandalf dies in Moria, so it makes sense to have a heavy mood during those scenes. But everyone survives everything in The Hobbit until the end. We know they'll be fine, so let's have some fun and be entertained a bit! I thoroughly believe that the barrel scene is one of the most fun and exhilarating action scenes I've ever seen.

Smaug will be a special mold. While LEGO like to cut costs by reusing molds where they can, Smaug is not a place where this is an option. He's too much of an important character and part of the story to cheap out on. The neck and tail could be reused, but they'll need to create a new head/jaw, torso, wings and legs. His overall colour needs to be dark red. I'm hoping his eyes, teeth and scales get lots of printing detail. His underbelly needs to be tan, with some pinkish scale printing (and the missing scale shown). Since he won't have front legs or arms, his wings will need to be bigger and more posable. The Hungarian Horntail is a good place to start when it comes to how LEGO may tackle the beast, but that's a ten year old creature. LEGO has upped their game with molds, so a combo of the Horntail, current dragon, and the T-Rex is likely what we'll see. Sorry if some of the stuff I said was redundant.

That's true. I just fear that LEGO will have let down a lot of fans and kids who've been desperately awaiting a big mountain set. Perhaps they're hiding a D2C up their sleeves? Unlikely, but one can have hope. Even if it's a fool's hope.

Lorien, in the style of the Ewok Village, would be undoubtedly one of the most visually pleasing LEGO sets ever. It would just be gorgeous. So that's my vote: Lorien!

Well that just achieved a whole new level of disappointment. I was really hoping for a Lone Ranger mine style set.

Since we're getting four Hobbit sets in October, I'd say its safe to assume that LOTR will end on a our set wave (if we get any more at all). My guesses are as follows: Siege of Minas Tirith - much like Nuju Metru's designed, similar in size to Helm's Deep. White City army builder - an extension of the wall of Minas Tirith, with an assortment of soldiers for both sides. Duel with the Witch-King - pretty much what everyone would expect. Osgiliath Ambush - a small bit of rocks, with Faramir and two orcs. Basically the Dol Guldur Ambush of LOTR.

So judging from the mish-mash of info we're getting from the London fair, I think I've been able to discern some stuff. Smallest set - Elrond, Galadriel and Angmar fighting at Dol Guldur. Makes sense, and sounds epic. Esgaroth - includes the Master's tower with the Windlance, likely with another small building or two. Bain is likely there, along with Alfrid and probably some Lake-men (perhaps even Braga). This will have Smaug. It just makes sense. Erebor - the sand green makes sense because that's the colour of the stone around the gate. My guess is the set will have the gate with a statue or two, some rock around it like the frame of a painting, with an interior with a variety of rooms and details. This will likely include Thorin, Bilbo, hopefully Bolg, and likely Beorn in bear form if we get him. He'll be a new mold (the current bear, while the size could work, looks nothing like Beorn.) That leaves the fourth set which we know about from the retailers catalogue. This will likely be an army builder including Dain and other basic warriors to fill out ranks. Either this set is based around Dale or the slopes of Erebor. The reason that people may be so confused as to how many sets we are getting and what goes where is that the display was likely just confusing. The army builder could very well be placed very close to Erebor and looked like part of the set. As for Smaug, if he was represented by a Castle dragon and just placed willy-nilly in the display, then that explains why people may have thought he'd be included with Erebor. These are just my thoughts based on what we've heard, but I feel like my guesses make sense. We'll have a lot more confirmation come the Nuremberg fair, but basic logic can easily discern the info we have right now.

LEGO kinda did that by giving us Nute in the 2012 Jedi Interceptor. That set basically represented the Mustafar scenes. I doubt that we'll see much more ROTS stuff for a while.

And Faramir, Denethor, Merry and Pippin in armour, the Witch-King in armour, and Gothmog.

Just sounds like Erebor. However, ianmrid did mention two village sets, one of which included Dain. That could very well be a Dale army builder, while the other set is Esgaroth with Smaug. Also, it makes way more sense that Smaug is in the Esgaroth set. His attack on the lake will likely be a big action scene that opens the new film. Including him in Erebor would make no sense.

I find it odd that there was no mention of the new Greedo. You'd think that such an update would warrant a comment. I'm just curious to see how much they've changed the character.