Fives

I picked up the Cloud Cuckoo Palace set today. I'm very pleased with it. It's just one big pile of cute and happy! And Unikitty is amazing! Also, the Emmet and Wyldstyle figs are really cool. Wyldstyle is particularly neat. I can't wait to start collecting the rest of these sets!

I don't think I'd want to have to MOC my own Minas Tirith. I'm not very much into MOCing, and LEGO tends to always produce sets better than anything I could make on my own. Also, with a proper Minas Tirith set, we'd have potential of getting Denethor, Gothmog, and Pippin in armour, and even perhaps an attack troll. If LEGO wanted to take this four set wave formula they've been doing, I'd rather they just give us three sets: the Witch-King with Fell Beast and Eowyn and Merry in armour, a Gondor army builder (either Osgilaith of Minas Tirith wall extension), and a Minas Tirith set the size of Helm's Deep. Sure, no Balrog or 'proper' Treebeard (the one from Orthanc does just fine), but those are easier to MOC than a large fortress, especially for collectors who are less inclined to do so. Plus, characters like Galadriel are likely to pop up in TABA sets next year, so the lack of any Lorien sets isn't that big of a deal. Three sets: $180, $35-$40, $25-$30. Five new molds (Gondor helmets, Orc helmets, Eowyn's helm, Witch-King's helm, Gondor shield), pretty much all new prints. I truly hope LEGO will surprise us and fulfill our wishes for Gondor sets.

You may be right when it comes to the Hobbit sets, seeing as they are the best source for Elves we've ever had, and its a major cash cow for LEGO. But what we don't have is any Gondor soldiers. If LEGO confirmed a third LOTR wave that will have some sort of Gondor army builder, they will retain many of their current customers, and insure that they will sell lots of those sets due to the lack of Gondorians. Honestly, every time I watch ROTK or listen to the soundtrack (the latter is quite often), I practically salivate over the idea of Gondor sets. Having a decently sized Minas Tirith with a solid army builder to accompany it is probably my biggest hope. Even if that was all we got, I would be content. Take notes, LEGO! Give us Gondor!

Perhaps a Glorfindel fig and a Theodred fig. Glorfindel (If white hair is possible, that would be amazing) http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1678060_md.jpg Theodred http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131207153459/lego/images/6/6a/Screen_Shot_2012-11-28_at_5.03.42_PM.png

The Bridge of Khazad-Dum Attack at Osgiliath Amon Hen Ambush Duel with the Witch-King The Siege of Minas Tirith Mordor Orc Army (the Minas Tirith equivalent to Uruk-Hai Army) The Mirror of Galadriel Edoras War Mumakil Men of the East Battle Pack

If I remember correctly, it was some time around Nov-Dec last year that we got our first news of the second LOTR wave (we got a rumour list with some sets that never happened, but a couple turned out to be true). While all the evidence seems to be pointing to there being no new LOTR wave next year, I think that LEGO is far too aware of how badly us fans are craving Gondor sets and the Witch-King, among other things. Perhaps there is an ambassador from Eurobricks who could get in contact with someone from LEGO and maybe shed some light on the subject?

Over in the Decal Wish List thread, Floundie made me some SourceFed decals I requested. I've never made any customs myself, and was planning on figuring it out over the Xmas break. But if you could make figs of them, I would be ridiculously grateful. Here is the page that Floundie posted his decals on: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12403&st=2425

Alcarin, I feel like when it comes to Minas Tirith, you forget that LEGO is first and foremost a children's toy. While LOTR has been a theme geared more towards an older demographic, they've still needed to produce sets that fit their standards. Take Helm's Deep for example. That is by far the best LOTR set yet, and could very well be considered one of the best Castle sets ever. While scaled down, it achieved everything a Helm's Deep set needed to achieve: the gate, the curved walls, the Horn of Helm Hammerhand, the culvert with exploding function, and lots of cool details inside. It is purely a beautiful set, and did justice to one of the most memorable locations and battles in LOTR. That said, Minas Tirith should be treated no differently. Sure, Minas Tirith is a city, but from a kid or teen's point of view, it is most importantly a castle with two factions battling. Something like Nuju Metru's CUUSOO project would be perfect, especially if we got an army builder to supplement the armies of both sides. I think a big Minas Tirith set, roughly the same size and price as Helm's Deep,would be fantastic, and have a $30 expansion set available to expand forces. Now on the topic of there being no news: the fact that we haven't heard or seen any evidence of a new LOTR wave is unsettling me very much. I tried to see if I could get any sort of info from Jordan Scott via his tumblr page, but alas he is unable to confirm or deny anything. Part of me wants to begin a petition of sorts and bring it to the attention of LEGO, in the hopes of securing a final wave of LOTR sets. While that may seem a bit much, it might come to that, lest we never see any more LOTR sets again.

Just picked up Gatehouse Raid and Dragon Mountain form the new Castle line. I wanted to see how the sets are in comparison to Kingdoms. The figs are flippin awesome, especially some of the new baddie face prints. The dragon is nice, but I haven't gotten a chance to compare him to my green dragon from the 2007 Castle line. The new horse barding and helmet is also cool, but its a shame its all red. Dark metallic silver would look far more menacing, and also be very versatile within different factions. I haven't gotten a chance to build the sets themselves, but from the looks of it, Gatehouse Raid looks pretty decent (I've always had a soft spot for gatehouse/ambush type sets), but the mountain looks pretty lame. That one is likely just going straight into the spare parts bin.

That'd be great.

How did you get this info?

I think you're right about the love story, LEGO-Freak. I think that Tauriel's compassion towards Kili was more of a way to show that she is younger and therefore has experienced less of the feud between dwarves and elves. She realizes that the dwarves and elves have a common enemy, and that the feud is pointless.

Yeah, you make a good point. When it comes to TABA accuracy, I care more about getting accurate figs than sets. They should be able to do Erebor well anyway, since we've seen lots of it. Smaug is the one thing they have to do right. If they mess him up or don't make him at all, they'll have committed a disservice to the fans.

So I've been thinking more and more about the inevitable extended edition of DOS, and I've been trying to figure out what scenes would make sense to be expanded. Here are my ideas: Beorn: add at least one little scene, perhaps with either Beorn talking alone with Bilbo, or talking alone with Gandalf about Dol Guldur. Perhaps some more bits added to the Mirkwood scene. I remember seeing a bit from the production clogs that showed Thorin being filmed shooting something with a bow. That would be neat to see. In the Woodland Realm, I'd love to see the Feast of Starlight. There was a completely different costume and crown designed for Thranduil, and I think it may have been for that scene. It just makes sense. Plus, it would bring the whole 'These Elves like their wine' part of the book more into the movie. At Dol Guldur, we gotta see Thrain. The Citadel Miniatures company that makes the LOYR and Hobbit strategy games have a new Thrain the Broken figure, which confirms that Gandalf should've fought an insane Thrain at Dol Guldur. In Laketown, I'd like to see the celebration that caused Bofur to sleep in and miss the boat to Erebor. They could perhaps expand on the Master's motives in that scene. Past that, I can't think of anything that needs to be added.

I would've honestly preferred getting waves of sets based on the films after they are in theaters. That way, TLG may have been given some more knowledge about how to design things. Plus, sales likely would've been better, because people would say 'Wow, that movie was amazing, and these sets look great!', rather than say 'When did Thranduil fight?' Then again, a lot of design choices were made during production, on the fly. So pinpointing details would be tough, due to the productions' fluid nature. At least we're getting the figs we need, and then we can use them to inhabit our own creations and expansions of the LEGO Middle-Earth world.

The fact that PJ has caused such trouble with this trilogy change kinda makes me wish that LEGO would wait until film 3 is released, and then make accurate sets based on what we see, rather than making haphazard sets with amazing figs. Dol Guldur is likely the best example of toy designers having so little to go off of (production sketches and the few scenes in AUJ), that they had to fill the gaps with their imagination. Not only that, but LEGO seems to really be trimming the fat with this theme. With inly four sets, the biggest of which is set at a $75-$80 price point, makes it outrageously tough for the design team to make sets that do justice to the movie. If each Middle-Earth wave was treated like any other theme, with at least 6-8 sets per wave, we would see substantially more accurate sets, and a fairer distribution of figs. It seems that above all the other troubles, LEGO's lack of commitment to the theme is becoming this themes' untimely demise.

I for one prefer larger army builders rather than smaller battle packs. In the end, you're likely getting more figs and pieces if you buy 4-6 $30 sets instead of 4-6 $16 sets. It makes more sense for my wallet, and also feels like I'm getting more out of it (which I ultimately am).

The beauty of it all is, with this wave, we got all of the secondary characters that are important, and those who want more accurate versions of the scenes that badly are free to MOC to their heart's content. I myself am mostly in it for the figs, and basically have huge battles at Helm's Deep with all Free Peoples vs. all Sauron's Servants.

Think realistically. If they made him close to scale with the figs, he'd be as long as Orthanc, if not a little longer. But if they make him in system scale (think of the Venator Cruiser from 2009), then he's still big enough to be a huge creature, bigger than any dragon ever made by LEGO, yet still have realistic playability. Perhaps the neck and tail could add some length, and the wings will make him feel huge, but overall, a Gunship/Venator sized Smaug could do the trick. Although, he would be the main and likely only build in nah set he's in.

Maybe if Smaug could be similar in length and wingspan to the Republic Gunship, and have the handle to lift him and swoosh him about. Also, a light brick that could light up his belly and his mouth.

WOW! That looks SO GOOD! I cannot wait to get that! Then again, it'll just make me wish that LEGO would put as much detail in their minifig designs as the game designers do. I'm really excited to see how that animate Smaug. And the barrel scene as a level will be crazy!

I feel like LEGO became a bit too aware of the wider scope of the AFOL world in terms of Mirkwood Elf Army. Rather than focus on a set that represents the film, they made something for people looking to bulk up on Elves. Jordan Scott even said that they made a point of not having the flesh neckline on the new torso, so as to allow for more versatile use. LEGO could have easily had the same group of figs, but in a river gate set. Sure, the sets would't be as modular and make some random fortress, but thats fine. It would've made a whole lot more sense, but still given us the means to build up our forces. Either LEGO didn't get a good enough look at the material the were basing the set on, or they just let the notion of 'army builders will buy lots' take over.

The Lake-men polybag isn't as accessible to everyone around the world, so a BP would be a miracle. And I really hope they give Bolg a brown Warg, rather than anything special. That way I can give him my one grey Warg, so then Azog and Bolg's steeds match a bit better. I also think that, rather than having multiple BPs that focus on one army each, they could make one or two bigger army builders that give us a mix of all three good armies, as well as some orcs and various beasts. As with Erebor, perhaps a smaller set focused on the gate and battle could be made, and then added on to a larger Erebor, perhaps with Smaug.

Yeah, he'll be done the same as Azog. The iron spikes will be interesting to see, since they are literally part of his body. Overall, the mold will require more detail and colours, whereas Azog is pretty simple. I feel like Azog, especially after seeing DOS, has a very Vader-esque presence. He's this huge, imposing warrior who still has a tactical mind, and has a personal vendetta against the main heroes. Bolg is far less of a compelling character (although, we haven't seen much of him yet).

Oh, I see. That looks good. I'm really excited to see what LEGO does, but I feel like it will be disappointing and I'll come up with a better design. And I plan on switching out the spyglass for a black lightsaber hilt. Even though the handle is less noticeable, the head of the mace is on its own, so the cone on LEGO's official version looks weird. I basically wanted to get rid of the cone, but make the weapon still look 'finished'.