Fives

Like the Gungan shield from a few years back?

I saw them film the gas station blowing up, and saw Chloe Moretz in her costume. I have to see it!

I have a feeling that the two Dol Guldur sets will combine together to make one large structure. It's a clever way to give us a big Dol Guldur set through two smaller sets. If you were to combine the two sets, we'd have something similar in size and fig count as Helm's Deep.

Well that's stupid. A silver samurai sword would be WAY more appropriate.

One last question: what weapon does Thranduil have? Is it the same old Elf blade, or do we get a new sword? I really hope it's something new.

Well, you must've gotten access to them somehow. Do you know someone at LEGO? Or did you find them online? Without a definitive reason, I'm really skeptical. The info you have seems official, and makes sense based on the prelims we've heard of, but without a how or why you got access to this info, it's hard to put absolute faith in your claims.

You posted this after my post. The fact that you can confirm the fact that there are new printed shields, the fact Thranduil has more armour, and that the Warg is a new colour means these MUST be the official images. How did you see these?

DurinsBane, it sounds like these images you saw are the official LEGO images likely to be released this week at LEGO World in Amsterdam (fingers crossed that it happens). We were told that the prelims specifically had two characters, one from each Dol Guldur set, with red hair/beards. If this has changed, then it confirms the exclusion of a Bolg originally planned for release, and that Beorn's prelim fig used red hair as stand in for the new mould. Were any of the images you saw blurry or watermarked?

Shame there's no Bolg. He was the one I was most excited for. Regardless, I think this wave will be epic.

We have gotten a lot of Gandalf the Grey figs, but it's nothing compared to Harry Potter, Indy, or POTC. Sure, two of those themes have the name of the main character in the title. But Gandalf is an integral main character, so I'm not surprised or upset we've gotten him so often. It's just necessary. And new orcs would be spectacular. That would mean this wave would be the first with completely new figs (except Bilbo), which is awesome.

If LEGO focused more on the famous locations and scenes from the book, we'd be given really boring sets. Beorn's house would make a beautiful set, but it isn't really something that would sell well. Sure, people would say 'Oh, it's like Bag End!', but it isn't because it is WAY less iconic to a wider audience. As long as LEGO provides us with official figs of all the important characters, fans can MOC till they're blue in the face. It isn't LEGO's job to service the fans, but to make sets based on the FILM ADAPTATIONS of a book that, without the additions and PJ-ifying, doesn't have that many epic action sequences that lend well to sets. I understand why some people want the locations and scenes from the books (like Beorn's house or Carrock), but those would make excruciatingly boring sets. Without some sort of conflict or action, the sets would be boring (Gandalf Arrives and Bag End aside, as these were 'introductory' and extremely necessary sets to get the ball rolling and spark interest a larger market). Also, it almost seems like people forget that Mirkwood Spiders and Barrel Escape are out. Those are two major sequences from the book that have already been covered. So that leaves Thranduil's Halls (Mirkwood Elf Army), Beorn's house (MOC away), Laketown (Chase), and the scenes with Smaug. And it is no surprise that we aren't getting Smaug this year, if you really think about it. The number one thing PJ and Co. have been working super hard on not having leaked is Smaug's appearance, and I really doubt they would even risk allowing toy manufacturers to get a glimpse at the beast, fearing that he would inevitably get onto the internet. So LEGO isn't gonna risk making a dragon because they simply have no idea what he looks like, just like the rest of us. Once DOS is out and Smaug is everywhere, LEGO will probably jump right into working on how they will produce the terrible beast as part of the TABA wave. When I first heard that we were only getting four sets, I was worried that LEGO would be hard-pressed to cram way too much material into a short wave. Then when news spread that we were getting two Dol Guldur sets, I feared the worst. But after having read some theories about the story and the Necromancer's involvement in the films, my opinion has completely shifted. Now, I cannot wait to get these four sets, knowing that they will be jackpots when it comes to secondary heroes and villains that we've been desperately needing for a year now. EDIT: just a quick note. I just noticed that Jordan Scott posted on his tumblr page saying that he's headed to Amsterdam on Wednesday for LEGO World. From what I know, he's still part of the design team for the LOTR and Hobbit sets. I'm not saying there is any concrete evidence (he may just be going for fun), but perhaps he a few of the other team members plan to unveil something? We'll see!

^ I agree that Dol Guldur Battle could become one of the top selling toys this Xmas, due to the fact that it will have Radagast (a fig we've been wanting since AUJ), likely Azog (another much-needed fig), and the Necromancer (the second chief villain of DOS). Then again, the reason Bag End sold so well is because, well, it's Bag End. It makes sense that one of the most iconic locations from fantasy literature would sell like crazy during the Xmas season.

Yeah, this is him. http://elmatpe.tumblr.com/post/51218889510/alpacasama-i-found-bolg-son-of-azog-in-the

Images of Bolg have been around for over a year now (look at my picture), plus he was seen in AUJ for 2 seconds during the Battle of Azanulbizar. And an image of Beorn human form surfaced thanks to someone taking a pic of a calendar or something for DOS. So, really, the Necromancer is the only one we haven't truly seen (although we did 'see' him in AUJ thanls to Radagast's recount of his trip to Dol Guldur). So truly, anything this wave has in store for us is old news.

I was reading about why LEGO won't be going to NYCC this year, and it's apparently because they spent most of that budget for the big X-Wing reveal in NY a few months back. Had they not done that, we'd likely be getting some new pics. But alas, LEGO had their priorities.

No new pics till November. Later than I'd hoped, but at least we now know when to expect them, and can rest our minds a bit. But the suspense is killing me!

So I'm assuming that if LEGO were to release new images today, they would've done it by now. Lets hope by the end of this weekend the reveal pics.

The site is working for me. No new set. I looked at the date of that Gizmodo article from last year about the AUJ sets, and it was Oct 13th. Maybe this weekend will be when we get new images? I mean, it is Thanksgiving this weekend in Canada, so it'd be like 'Thanks for giving us new pictures!'

Oh, yeah. I forgot about those. Honestly, I'd be happy with any kind of official images at this point.

I remember the one set per week thing on the site. And by white background, you mean the pics of the sets out of box, like the one we now have of Laketown Chase?

Yeah, but that was because of the board game. No board game this year. So hopefully tomorrow will be the day!

Yeah. Necromancy has always been the power to bring back the dead. And it now kinda makes sense of Thrain attacking Gandalf at Dol Guldur. Zombie Thrain. Makes a whole lot of sense.

Last year on the 10th of october did they release images of all the sets? I can't remember. But if its the same case this year, well... the 10th is tomorrow.

Now that is some nice box art! Love it! And that image looks pretty damn official if you ask me! Perhaps a sign of more pics to come? Also, its a shame it is such a tiny image.

Found an interesting article over at TheOneRing.net that analyses the Necromancer's role in DOS. It contains slight spoilers thanks to the action figure descriptions of the Bridge Direct toys. http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/09/10/78684-analysing-the-role-of-the-necromancer-in-the-hobbit/