Fives

It would make very little sense for LEGO to release only a board game before the first Hobbit movie. Then again, if they wait until after the film is out, they could make sets that actually look like scenes depicted in the movie, and not have the 'innacuarte sets' problem like in past licensed themes.

I could see this as the smallest set of the Hobbit wave. It could have a small bit of Gollum's cave, his little boat, the Ring, Gollum, and Bilbo. It would make a great intro set into the Hobbit subtheme, because it would be a really cheap way of getting one of the most memorable scenes from the book. I also think that if LEGO does LOTR poly bags, they should only include soldiers. All those Harry Potter poly bags were pointless because they were no good for having duplicates. LEGO should save main characters for the actual sets, and have more soldiers in battle packs or poly bags.

I just saw that Whitefang posted a review of the Kingdoms poly bag set Target Practice, and it got me thinking about how LEGO could really do well with LOTR poly bags. Some ideas that popped into my head were things based around Gondor. One poly bag could have a basic Gondor soldier, a small fire pit with some chicken, and a bit of ruins from Osgiliath. It would be a really cheap way of stockpiling Gondorians. Also, there could be one with an Ithilien Ranger and a small tree with a bird or something. Really, with poly bags, the possibilities are endless.

I think having a transparent Frodo would make very little sense. It's not like he turns into a ghost and can still be somewhat seen, he becomes invisible. It would have made more sense for LEGO to release the Nazgul in their true form (how Frodo sees them in the Ring world), with flowing grey and white cloaks and spiky crowns. But seeing as they only appear at Weathertop, the chance of them appearing is very slim.

You mean Merry. I think that that is the more likely place we'll see an armoured Witch-King. If they did that sets, I hope they would do it in a similar size to Shelob (two good guys, on ebad guy, and a big creature = $20-$25). Also, Treebeard could be taken care of in a similar fashion (Merry Pippin and Grishnakh).

Got my order today!!!! The first thing I did was got all the figures from their sets! These are THE BEST Minifigs LEGO has EVER MADE! I apologize for all the capitals, but I'm am so excited! I haven't built any of the sets (except for Gandalf's cart), but I can't wait to get these all built and see them in all their glory!

Finally, another person who shares the same belief as me! I never ruin LEGO, unless I have many extras of a piece I care little for; only then am I able to experiment with altering pieces, but still, it pains me. Also, Durin's Bane, when are we to see updates on your great Helm's Deep endevour? With the release of the sets, you should soon be able to add more figures to your MOC.

This is absolutely stunning! Great work! Any chance we could see a minifig standing by it's feet, so we can see the scale?

Unfortunately, I never got any of those torsos! They are great in representing the Royal Guard, though. If I had the money, I might search for them, but I just spent most of my LEGO funds for now getting most of these sets. Also, if I can make use of all the extra Eomer's I will have, I will. On another note, I wonder when the rest of the sets will show up on the map on the LEGO site. Only now do they have Gandalf Arrives, and if they slowly unveil the sets along the road (which is very clever), then Weathertop is next, then Moria, and so forth. Perhaps once all the sets are revealed, then the site will become more like the other LEGO sites, with a products page, a characters page, and a fun zone, etc.

You may say that brown helmets would look better on the Rohirrim, but if you picture the plain Rohan helm in dark brown, it would look strange. I mean, it works for Theoden, but on basic soldiers, I think it would look weird. Although, it would be nice if we got another Rohan helm mold with no horse on the top, just smooth and round, and in brown. Also, you say that Eomer's torso is too unique to be used for basic Rohirrim, and in the statement I do agree with you. Yet, I plan on having six Eomer's, with only one representing the actual character. One other with be Gamling (Theoden's second hand guy at Helm's Deep), with the use of Thor's head and Loki's cape (to differentiate him). The other four will have other bearded fleshie heads (extra Will Turner, Blackbeard, and the like), and these men will be a more elite group of Rohirrim, much akin to the Royal Guards of Meduseld. They could even represent a made up regiment of Eomer's own personal troop, with armour made in the likeness of his.

The Rohan swords are represented much better by the gladius than the highlander sword. The Rohirrim use shorter swords becuase they are easier to use while mounted on a horse. A longer sword, like Argaorn's or Boromir's, would be too big a cumbersome to be used effectively.

I just ordered Gandald Arrives, Shelob Attacks, two Uruk-hai Army sets, Weathertop, and Moria, from the LEGO shop online. I should expect to see them by Tuesday, but I paid for express shipping, so maybe Friday! Can't wait!

I'm glad to see that so many agree with the need to update the banner, but unfortunately, it is not within my ability to change it. I am not sure who is in charge of that sort of thing, but whoever they are, they are the ones to be told about this want for an update.

The sets are available! This has just made my day! No, my YEAR! I will definitely be picking these up as soon as possible!

Wow, those Mordor orcs are better than I expected. The back printing on the head of the orcs more than makes up for the fact that it is missing a second face and another hairpiece.

With the recent release of the Kingdoms Chess Set, I got thinking about how epic a LOTR chess set would be. Now, we have never seen a chess set based on a licensed theme before (yet the SW license only allows for sets with an actual building component, not just figs; and no other license has been good for a chess set), but LOTR would be the perfect theme to make an amazing chess set. I could see it being done at a similar scale as the big Fantasy Era chess set was, with the buildable board and the individual bases for all the figs. Good team could have 4 Rohan soldiers and 4 Gondor soldiers for the pawns. King and Queen could be Sam and Frodo (Frodo as king, Sam as queen (not that that is a comment on Sam as a character, but the strength and usefulness of the Queen is far more than that of the King)), the bishops could be Merry and Pippin, Knights would be Gandalf and Aragorn, and the Rooks Lelgolas and Gimli. Evil team could have 4 Mordor orcs and 4 Uruks for pawns. King and Queen could be Sauron (king), and Saruman (queen). The bishops could be the Witch-King and the MOuth of Sauron. Knights would be Nazgul, and Rooks are Trolls.

I know asking this is probably pointless, but has anyone seen or heard anything about the LOTR sets anywhere in Canada? I know they are all over the US, but have they possibly shown up north of the border?

Thanks for getting those pics up, sidersdd. The Nazgul look much better when looked at in detail. The cloaks are exactly how I imagined them. It's unfortunate that the cloaks stick out that far from the Wraith's backs, but oh well. Also, I just realized that the dark pearl grey gladius included in the set could represent the Morgul Blade that Frodo gets stabbed by.

I found another review by DoctorBrikDaddy for Uruk-Hai Army.

Well, sidersdd said that he would be taking pictures of the figs and adding them to his flickr folder, so if you asked, he may be willing to take a few of the set itself.

With the release of the LOTR theme so close, and the discontinued Kingdoms theme, I just thought that it might be time to update the banner for the Historic Themes. So far, the banner only covers classic Castle, Western, Ninja, Vikings, and Fantasy Era Castle. It might look good to spice things up with a bit of Kingdoms flare, and possibly some LOTR (although that one is only kind of a castle theme). I'm not sure who is in charge of the banners around here, but this is just a suggestion.

Those figs look great! Aragorn, despite the (somewhat) inaccurate pants, looks perfect. Both Theoden and Haldir are just plain beautiful. The berserker is good, but could have been better (dark red rather than reddish brown, new helmet, berserker sword). Can't wait to see the Weathertop figs. Also, when you do the Weathertop figs, could you possibly take a few other pics as well: Eomer with Elizabeth Swann hair (you did Gandalf before ), and Theoden (mad face) with dark tan Aragorn hair, if possible?

I called the Sherway Gardens Toronto LEGO Store today, and they said that they haven't heard anything yet about a release for LOTR. But, they did say that if sets have started showing up early in places like the US, then it is likely that the release date has been moved to an earlier date. The person i was talking to said to call back on friday, because that is when they usually get news of upcoming releases and new shipments of sets. I know that this news is kinda pointless, but I will definitely report back on friday with any news I find.

Well, yes, but LOTR could be the reason for you to start collecting castle related things, if you wish to create such scenes. I collected castle because I was trying to imitate LOTR, but now I don't think I will ever buy castle sets again. Castle isn't necessarily the gateway theme to LOTR; it could be the other way round.

Well, that should mean that it is true, but what I'm curious about is whether the new release date pertains to both the US and Canada, or just the US.