TheLegoDr

I have heard lots of good things about the new series, but since I don't have cable, I won't be watching it unless it comes to Netflix instant. With that said, I don't have any interest in the new villains when it comes time to buy a set. I only remember the old TMNT so those will be the figures I will get. I think maybe that is how a lot of AFOLs are and that's why they haven't taken a huge shine to this theme just yet.

I would act quickly. It really is a beautiful display piece. This was one of my first SW sets and I was very pleased.

Thanks for the pictures! I definitely want that Rancor. The figures look nice. I like the idea to combine playsets. It makes some people feel they get better value for their money and it is a win for TLG to make us buy more sets to combine them. The set does look bigger than expected, so that's a plus. I will probably wait for a sale, but I will definitely pick this up.

Thanks for showing us! I was interested in this set mainly for the figures. I have no intention of building it, but I know it'll be just as cheap to get the figures and the set compared to just the figures. The build looks really simple, which can be nice. The figures do look amazing though. I wonder how many Hans I really need? The pilot looks spot on to the source material I've seen. And Ackbar will be much needed for my collection. I don't apply stickers either, but I don't know if I'll use these pieces as anything else anyway.

That is definitely viable. I still love how they turned out in the video game and all that would need is some nice printing to give the illusion of bones and whatnot. I mean, the females look like they have curves with a little printing and it differs from the men easily enough. I do like the idea of GITD for them though, but just regular sand green might work depending on how they did it. And I didn't realize there were any other versions other than the Extended editions. I've only watched those and I don't know why I would want to cut out almost an hour of footage on each movie (30 minutes, 42 minutes, and 50 minutes extra). So in that case, I would love a Mouth figure. He'd be awesome.

Thanks for the review. I was planning on getting this set (the whole line) once it was mentioned. I didn't even need to see pictures to know I'd want it. I do agree having stickers isn't the most ap-peeling...anyone? anyone? Anyway, stickers aren't ideal, but they are a necessity for the target audience I'm sure. I haven't been using stickers for quite some time, so the sets never seem complete. It is interesting which sets have printed pieces and which ones have stickers. I think the ballista in Uruk-Hai army had a printed wood piece, but then the wood pieces in Mines of Moria were stickered?? Or something. The Haunted House has stickered records, but the CMF DJ had a printed one. I don't think they are going away, but I'd prefer to have more printed pieces, even though I am a MOCer. I don't think the parts value would take that big of a hit just because of stickers though. I do like the parts list and this will be one of the few sets I will actually build/display. I don't think the price is terrible, but I will still wait for a sale. I thought it was originally listed at $59.99 but then got switched to $69.99 when it became available. At $60 it was a steal, but somehow that 10 makes it more questionable. The figures of course are the driving force for this theme. I know nothing of the Hobbit, but since it is Middle Earth related I love it. These figures especially are really neat. It is funny how a lot of the dwarves have double sided faces even though their giant beards cover up their entire face (evident in the other sets). The torso printings are really neat, even though they are covered up for the most part. I will definitely pick this up for a deal, but it was nice seeing it more close-up.

I guess we will wait and see if those come to fruition, but I am very pleased with the idea. I wasn't expecting that big of a ship to incorporate that many figures. I would be disappointed if they made the army of the dead into skeleton bodies. I probably would go on strike then. Especially with how they looked in the video game. And I agree, a witch-king figure would be awesome, but I would expect it with Eowyn as everyone else has stated and I'd much prefer the Mouth at the Black Gate (that'd make more sense anyway). After seeing the video game version, I hope they do it similarly (or better). Unfortunately, looking at the scene in the movie, it will be all the same figures we've had outside of Gandalf the White and Mouth/Witch-King...So hopefully some nice new prints or something to incorporate that line-up. But more than likely Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli would be there, but they could/would also be in the ship set too, unless they had a whole bunch of corsairs and only 1 or 2 of the opposition.

I remember that set! You did a fantastic job reinventing it here. I really love the canopies. What piece did you use??? The tree is nice as well. I love the overall scene. The spectators enjoying their ale and everything. Keep up the good work. I wish I knew about this contest earlier. I always wanted to do this on my own accord.

Thanks for the link. I always partake in these surveys. I think there is a group trying to get a LUG here in Nebraska, so that'd be neat, but so far only can be involved through EB! We spent a lot on LEGO in the last 3 months, but that was because of double points in October for Christmas..so that number is surprising for sure...

In the movie, the eagles are about the same size as the Fell Beast, so if one is molded the other will be too. At that large of scale, it's tough to say, but I would assume they are molded since the dragons were molded in the earlier fantasy line. But I still like the looks of that creator Eagle set. I second the idea of more lower end sets to round out the collection instead of mid/high priced sets. It isn't that it is tough to complete, just you can't complete all at once and not having a $20 set seems weird. Almost all waves have something around there. It seems like a good price point for gifts.

That does make sense being 30 years. And I would image it would be bigger or more detailed than the previous version with less other things to worry about. But with so few figures, I wonder what the cost would be. Good thing I'm not too interested in most of the sets this next year, I may actually be able to afford everything I want to pick up. Edit: To further assess the potential Sail Barge, with the few number of figures, I wonder who they will be. If the figures are nothing new/exciting, I am not seeing the appeal of this potentially expensive set.

That would make more sense since they said no fantasy elements would be included and to have a dragon mountain without a dragon seems silly. But to have it for a dragon faction makes sense.

I think this is typical. I know I will hold different boxes and think about them and look at them while walking around the store following the little one (it gives me something to do at the same time while she plays with random toys and does her thing). But 9/10 times I will just put it back and let it wait for another day. This next year I am waiting for sales more than the current year, so I probably won't end up buying that many at full value. But it doesn't cost anything to look. I also wonder what the money could be spent on. My wife will buy clothes/shoes, then I feel I should cut back to make up for it so we both aren't spending frivolously, but then there are times I just buy something to get some pleasure myself. Setting up a budget can be tricky with all of these great themes coming out. I think originally I didn't want to miss out on any of the sets so we'd get them when they come out, only realizing they will probably be on the shelf for a while. Point being, here, every set from January is still on the shelf (other than Dino, those were rarely seen around here), so I didn't need to rush out on anything and could have waited for more of a sale. So 2013 will see those sales. However, the problem was Kingdoms summer wave of 2011 was cut really short so I couldn't have waited too long for that. But to make a long story even longer, I typically resist temptation. I like to think out my purchases and see if I truly want everything included or if I should just bricklink figures/pieces I want.

Good topic. I like that motto "spend less, build more." I think I recall seeing that when it was first mentioned and this refreshed my memory of it. I know I did not incorporate that line of thinking this year, even though I should have. I didn't keep track of how much I've spent this year, but according to Brickset I did purchase 73 different sets this year (I only counted CMF series 7 and 8 as one each instead of each individual figure, which was many). So I would say I definitely spent more than expected. This was also the first year I got into LEGO Star Wars, so that ate up some of my budget. With all of these great themes it was hard to pass up, but I think I did find more deals this year than last year including the awesome LOTR deal from Barnes & Noble this summer. But this was also the first year I really got involved in EB contests and even a contest at Toysnbricks. So I would say I built more this year than normal. I had two mini-Modulars, one full sized Modular (as can be seen in my signature) and participated in both Harry Potter and Star Wars community builds. I definitely hope to do more of that in the future. I didn't get as much built as I would like. I still have lots of plans for other Modulars and then key scenes from the Harry Potter universe and now the LOTR universe, so sometime I will get around to building those. And I do have a few creations I need to sit down and photograph to post. I came out of the Dark Ages in late 2010, so 2011 was a catch up year and this was my first real year of buying/building what I want instead of what I need. Only a handful of sets that I am missing out on, so not too bad. I would also like to organize/sort more bricks, which I've done some. We have a huge basement that is basically dubbed "the LEGO room" thanks to my wife, so I have the space to organize and build/display, I just don't have the time with the little one running around. We'll see what 2013 brings with even more great themes/sets becoming available. I will have to think about some goals for next year.

That's interesting. I never considered doing that. I think I'm more worried about messing something up so I don't even bother trying. I don't normally use too many of my original LEGO pieces that are worn/dirty anyway. Thanks for posting.

Interesting MOC. I was wondering what you were going to come up with for those Mirkwood archers. Very well done. I was actually thinking of creating something similar, only not for a contest. And my Elves weren't going to be able to jump across the tree-tops all Crouching Tiger style, but actually have hidden built in ladders/bridges above the tree tops that the people below couldn't see. Either way, this is really clever and I always like seeing what you come up with. I like the trees and the water. I need to come up with a good stream for my layout sometime. Keep up the good work. Good luck with your entry.

That is awesome. Nice woodwork/tree structure. I wish I would have known about that contest before all of these great posts. I love seeing the remakes of the Forestmen sets. Very creative. I love the spear-shooter. A historic version of a flick-fire missile. Keep up the good work.

I do believe sets in the winter wave should be available Jan 1, 2013. Edit: It's weird. There are zero responses to a question, I go to respond and somehow multiples are posted before mine (at much earlier times than mine). Either way, the question has been answered appropriately.

That's funny. I thought it was the same head, but according to bricklink it isn't. But Loki/Bruce Wayne is very similar. And I'm surprised the Superman Head is different too.

Army building isn't always easy with the CMFs, especially with this new Forest Maiden being limited to each box. I love having multiples of the same shield. I don't take traditional heraldy into account because that isn't what I do with my figures. And I've never considered LEGO to be realistic. But I agree, the CMF shields have been some of the best. Almost makes the new crown shield to be a bit boring in comparison.

Have any actors came out saying they don't like their LEGO counterpart? I liked Martin Freeman as Dr Watson, but I first noticed him in Love Actually. That was an unusual job haha. And I agree that eagle looks amazingly "realistic."

Thanks for the review! I plan on getting the full line, but I want to wait for a sale. I know this set probably will never have a sale being a TRU exclusive and Shop at Home never has discounts. The set looks like what I would expect the scene in the movie to look like. And I always welcome more Elves!

Thanks for that. I love how knowledgeable you are on LEGO pieces. But I was meaning historically in real life when labels were first put on bottles. Meaning how well the bottle would work in a historic MOC. And it is weird that they don't reuse them (I realize it is probably the plant they are made in), but the Haunted House for as large/expensive as it is had sticker records, but the cheap CMF DJ had a printed record.

So basically all military uniforms of the past looked the same? They call it a colonial, but it could be French, and now Swedish. Either way, I'm excited for it! I want multiples of the bluecoat.

Or they may have the hairpiece with the hole on top to include a separate hat similar to the Friends vet set.