Balrogofmorgoth

The first nine to buy it become Ringwraiths. ”nine sets were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else, desire Lego”

And into this set he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate the lego market

Nine companions…so be it. You shall be the Fellowship…of the Brick!

Don’t forget Hogwarts had four minifigs. This has 15 plus 5 statues. Gotta count for something. Plus a lot of new accessory molds. Clearly this set had more invested into it

After perusing Brickset’s review, I did some digging and it turns out the one painting is indeed Ost-In-Edhil and not Gondolin. Learn something new every day. For some reason I always thought that Alan Lee piece was Gondolin. It does bear striking resemblances.

I’m not sure about this, most LOTR fans and LOTR collectors are used to very expensive collectibles. Many people in some of the Tolkien communities I’m in that don’t buy lego have expressed serious interest in the set already

Yeah, I’ve made lists for CMFs that aren’t accompanied by anything else and I’ve made lists for CMFs that go along with possible sets and it’s a lot of fun to come up with the lists

I’ve mapped out so many CMF series concepts for LOTR it’s ridiculous. It would be hard to narrow it down to one series of twelve figures. But knowing lego, four slots would most likely be the Hobbits. I think the best CMF options would be variants that wouldn’t appear in sets. For example, the most likely version of Eowyn to appear in a set down the line is a Dernhelm version from the Battle of Pelennor Fields. So maybe a Helm’s Deep version or an Edoras version would be perfect for a CMF

Same, about 25 years of Tolkien reading here. I’ve read everything, most of it multiple times, some a ridiculous amount of times. I’m certainly no stranger to the deep lore, to put it lightly. And I had a blast with the show, even if I hated some things. Do I wish they stuck more closely to the writings? Of course. But so I wish the showrunners had a bit of a different approach? Yes. But they also had so many incredible things in there that blew me away. They didn’t have to have to have the Bough of Return on the prow of the Númenorean ships, but they did. Things like that really impressed me, even if the actual story was mostly original for the first season. Not to mention the music and the visuals. And I’ll say it, there was plenty of moments with bad writing but there were also a lot with excellent writing. Same with acting. Overall I thought it was beautiful, even though there was a lot I would have done differently. And to bring it back to lego, I would prefer Peter Jackson film sets, but I think Rings of Power earned some recognition in lego as well.

I do feel that any Tolkien fan that is familiar enough with his work should be able to appreciate the great aspects of the show (there are plenty), regardless of the terrible aspects (there are also plenty of these). Just saying “the show is trash” is objectively untrue. I’m really not sure why so many people can only see things in black and white these days

I agree with this completely. It always seems so black and white to people these days. Either something is amazing or it’s terrible. Why can’t something be just fine? I think the show had some really great aspects and some really bad aspects. But I think it is certainly worthy of the lego treatment either way. I think it’ll come down more to licensing than anything else. Merchandise for the show has been absent because of the transition and acquisition of merchandising rights but it’s coming

Best we’ll ever get are Easter eggs and small references to the books, like the Gondolin, Vingilot, and forging of the Rings stickers, which are all based on unused Alan Lee artwork that were going to be featured in Rivendell in the films but didn’t make it, if I recall correctly. I’m terrible at getting images to post here but you can look them up, they’re based directly on those pieces by Alan Lee

Dioramas would be fine but I hope they stay away from the brick built sculptures. They’re cute for HP but they’re intentionally unrealistic and cartoony and always disproportionate. Wouldn’t fit LOTR

I think there are some things that are a good sign in favor of more possible sets. But it would be a terrible idea to assume any of it means it’s happening. Just speak with your wallet, that’s all we can do right now

It’s definitely not included. I do hope they make one for the future though

I would even say the Eiffel Tower falls into that category too. I know people who see it as a dream come true. That’s one reason I’ll always vouch for the same setting being released as a massive D2C and also as a smaller scale playset later on. Some people are in love with the massive scale sets and some prefer smaller sets (I love both). So for example, if they start making LOTR playsets, and we eventually get a much smaller Rivendell set, I wouldn’t complain at all, I welcome that. Plenty of people can’t afford or can’t fit the big one so make a small one available. Works for me, I’ll get both. I would never want them not to make massive scale sets like this just because some people don’t have space. But I also think making smaller versions of them down the line would be good for those people.

I’ve never minded sets that are “too big”. I’d much rather have an impressive set than a scaled down one for the sake of space. I can always make space one way or another, like taking apart other sets

I’m giving both Merry and Sam nougat hair.

Hopefully we’ll get a Boromir with molded horn and dual molded arms eventually

An updated Galadriel with a dress piece instead of the brick slope piece is a must

I’ve always wanted a D2C Barad-Dûr to focus on the prologue. I don’t even care that the timeline of the Eye wouldn’t make sense. The Eye from the films already breaks book canon so who cares. For all I care, make it represent multiple films. I’d love specific versions of Frodo and Sam from the destruction of the Ring scene. And maybe include a Ringwraith or two and fell beast to represent the ending shot of Two Towers. But I primarily want Sauron, Elendil, Isildur, Gil-Galad, and I guess an updated Elrond, although the old one is perfectly fine. Gil-Galad probably wouldn’t happen though, he’s only seen for a second or two on screen. Noldorin Elven warriors and Second Age Gondorian soldiers would be awesome too, although those would be better suited to battle packs

I definitely agree that there are way too many massive expensive sets being released. It’s way too much. I usually keep up with Star Wars UCS sets but I didn’t get the Razor Crest because I’ve had to get pickier since there are too many options. Also didn’t get Hogwarts Express. Wasn’t worth it to me. But I would buy any large scale LOTR D2C sets, even if it means skipping other themes I like

I don’t think it’s up to any of us to tell people why they should or shouldn’t buy a lego set. Lego looks at numbers, so naturally, the more people buy it, the better it looks to the company. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to continually keep the message going that we want LOTR sets. Especially if you’re like me and will buy any LOTR products they put out anyway, so you’re getting the set you want and you’re keeping the message going strong

Yeah I hate the black void of death. This set could have had remarkable box art but nope. Instead they chose the Timeless Void where Morgoth dwells until the end of days. I’m torn on this. Mid legs are definitely too tall for Dwarves, it makes them way too tall compared to Men and Elves. But they should be taller than Hobbits. But I do think it would best if Dwarves and Hobbits all just had short legs. The Dwarves with mid legs are just way too tall