Altair1

I fully agree with your order of priority. I would just add the Argonath to the list.

Indeed! We already have two inside builds, the initial Moria set with the Troll and the recent one with the Balrog, so it would be nice to get an outside set showing the battle against the Watcher in front of the Doors of Durin.

The two most logical options for the Minas Tirith GWP are: - GROND, GROND, GROND! - Lighting of the beacon(s)

Same impression here, still can't believe that it is true, and that we will be building this wonder in just a few months :-)

Ah yes, saw the video too now, much better quality! There is the throne room behind. Well then it looks perfect to me, except for the green domes but I can always change the color if needed :-) And when you see the big entrance door you can't help thinking that Grond would be a great GWP !

Just also saw the Minas Tirith leaks on reddit! Looks great, except for two things: - The round green building tops a bit everywhere bother me a bit. I don't remember that color in the movie (weren't they more like greyish?) - Doesn't look like there are any interior scenes in the back ?

As someone else already clearly explained a few messages above, the thing with Orthanc is that it was already large and very well detailed. Helm's Deep on the other hand was relatively small (even with its extension) and probably deserves more a UCS remake. But again, only time will tell what comes next...

According to Brickset, 8550 of its members own Orthanc. Not bad for the most expensive set of the initial LOTR wave. I think Edoras and Lothlorien also qualify as ''main missing locations'', even if they may not be as iconic. But there is indeed a good chance that Lego continues to alternate between new sets and remakes, and in the case of the latter the most likely next one is Helm's Deep.

Yes that's what I did, bought two Black gates 79007 to build a full one. I find the result actually decent, and fitting pretty well in front of my Barad'Dur :-)

Of course it is understandable that those who missed the initial wave of LOTR and Hobbit sets have different wishes and expectations on the future of the theme than those (like me) who did buy all these sets at the time. Anyway time will tell, hopefully Lego will find the right balance between new sets and remakes to please as many fans as possible.

Well, in the case of Rivendell the tiny previous set was really lackluster and definitely needed a remake (and oh boy did they succeed in that remake!). As for the Shire, the previous set although very nice only featured Bag End (with no side scenes) and was actually a Hobbit set with dwarves, so there again a remake was welcome. On the other hand both Helm's Deep and Orthanc were complete and beautiful LOTR sets which do not really need remakes (although I would not mind getting at some point in the future a larger UCS Helm's Deep).

I hope not. We already have very decent versions of Helm's Deep and Orthanc. I would rather that they focused in priority on new locations (such as Edoras, Lothlorien, Grey Havens, etc...). Afterwards sure, why not. Very unlikely, given how disappointing the Hobbit movies were compared to the LOTR movies... my understanding is that the Hobbit sets sales were even worse than those of the LOTR sets at the time.

Why not, but after Minas Tirith I would rather having them focus in priority on releasing the following sets: - Edoras/Meduseld - Lothlorien - Grey Havens/Mithlond - Argonath (could be a book nook or bookend) - UCS Helm's Deep - Map of Middle-Earth

Exactly, I don't think Lego wants to risk getting burned again, unfortunately...

I would love to see that, but I doubt it will happen. The thing with the small cheap sets is that to be profitable, Lego needs to sell a lot of them. But the LOTR theme is not as popular as SW or HP, especially amongst kids. It is mostly adult fans who buy LOTR sets, and these fans are apparently not numerous enough. Lego has realized that the most profitable LOTR sets are the big expensive ones, for which the margin is bigger so even if they sell less of them they still make enough profit.

That would be amazing! As long as it is well done, not like the disappointing World Map from 2021...

I never bought any of the previous helmets from other themes, but I must get this one! And it will be nice to have a spare Sauron minifig besides the one I got with Barad'Dur.

Wonderful! 8278 pieces for 650 bucks means roughly the same $/piece ratio as for Rivendell (which was 6167 for 500), so it makes sense. I do not mind a microscale exterior and miniscale interior, that's indeed the only way they could pull this off at this price. As for the minifigs I also hope we get more than the ones already leaked, but I will be happy in any case. Can't wait for June :-)

I am not sure that's true. And if it is, I don't really understand why. To me it looks really fine, except for one obvious side scene : the underwhelming Party tree, which is the first thing I improved :-)

I could not agree more, the TandNbricks news are really promising :-) The price does not matter to me either, as long as the set is beautiful and represents faithfully the White City. I am not buying any other Lego sets these days, also saving for it. I will buy it even if it costs 1,000 Euros (but hopefully it will not go that high).

Exactly. I love Lego sets, I love books and I also love movies. I own all the existing Lego LOTR sets (except BrickHeadz of course which I can't stand), collector editions of the main Tolkien books (LOTR, Hobbit, Silmarillion) and collector 4K bluray steelbooks of the LOTR trilogy. I also have other LOTR stuff, like a replica of Anduril and of the One Ring, but that's another story. I am now lucky (and old) enough to have a big house to be able to properly display all that.

It is not just about the label. I never bought any ''LOTR'' BrickHeadz for example, because to me they do not really belong in the theme - I find them really ugly and I think they would look totally out of place in a display with all my real LOTR sets. But the upcoming Minas Tirith set is probably the only one we will get in our lifetime, so even if it badly designed (I pray that it isn't), it will still be worth it at least for the minifigs and to be used as as base for a MOC. The situation is very different in the SW theme, for which we are spoiled with countless sets and several versions of all the iconic ships and locations. I skipped the Death Slice because I already own a previous version (75159) which is actually a sphere and which I like much better. I cannot afford to be as picky for a Minas Tirith set, which for me is a dream come true - I still can't believe it is actually happening :-)

Yes it does look pretty good, I am not sure why some people dislike it. Exactly :-)

Only true for Minas Tirith. We already have two sets on Moria and a very decent Helm's Deep. I would not mind new bigger versions of these two locations but it is just incorrect to say that they are missing.

I don't really understand how a true Lego LOTR fan could skip a Minas Tirith set, whatever its format... if it is not designed to your wishes, you could always use it as a base for a MOC, rather than skipping it.