TheLegoDr

I don't think a mini Minas Tirith would be a bad idea at all. Obviously it wouldn't be minifigure scale, but as an architectural piece that is probably the only way they could go about it. The full scale model is too grand. I don't see how they could do it justice in a scaled set outside of giving a little pond and the white tree with some guards maybe. It wouldn't be very substantial (but I'd still buy it).

I know nothing about the technical aspects, but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews with the 48 fps. I'd almost want to see it because it is different (like watching TDKR in true IMAX, not digital). But then again I'd probably not want to spoil the viewing if it was distracting. Go see it twice, once in each format haha. I'll probably just see it in regular 2D. I'm not a firm believer in the additional charge for 3D. I have really good stereopsis, so that doesn't bother me, but I don't think it really adds much. Is this filmed in 3D or converted afterwards? If it was filmed in 3D it might be worth seeing that way.

That is awesome. I would love to have one of these on display in my LEGO room! Keep up the brilliant work. I haven't seen anything like it! Any plans for releasing instructions? Not that I'd be able to build it.

Nice little diorama. I really love the details packed into this, just with the furniture, flooring, walls.. For some reason I never thought to use the sock 1x2 tile as a stocking, brilliant. I've never seen any displays at my local TRU. They just have boxes of sets, nothing else. I assume they don't have any local people (let alone corporate people) doing that. Oh well, it still is neat.

I didn't understand at first, but thanks to LT I see it is Green Lantern. Very well done. I'm not a huge follower of Green Lanterns so I didn't catch the symbol at first. This will be interesting to monitor the progress. Keep up the good work.

Interesting, it looks like CMF is winning. I do love the CMF elf and I didn't get into CMFs until after he came out so it was tough backtracking a bit. He does have awesome printing, shield and long bow. I do love the hair/ear piece combo. However, it doesn't mesh well with the other Elves due to silver instead of gold. I voted for Haldir. The dark red/pearl gold combo is beautiful . I have him waiting in my closet for Christmas. I can't wait for that. I do like Elrond, but the more I look at him, the more I am turned off for some reason. I like the color scheme, but I don't love the dark blue on torso and dark green on pants. I think if they kept it more fluid, I may have liked him more. But I love the hairpiece coloring and the new mold. I think TLG got the elves down right though. The Mirkwood elves look perfect. Nice greens/browns to give that woodland feel.

I do some rearranging+ stacking when I sort, but I like that idea of just turning them to face the other way. I may have to do that the next time because it doesn't take up any extra room! Thanks for the idea.

I don't love the yellow windows/wheel fenders, but I do like the idea of the yellow window panels. Obviously there is something unique and interesting about the dark red roofing, but the black works here quite well. I'd almost want more color in the middle section (similar to how the original has)

I like that LEGO is going to smaller boxes to help "save the environment" or at least save money in the process. I do like larger boxes so you feel you are getting more for your money and when the cover art is nice bigger is better. However, you don't always feel like you are getting what you are buying with some of these smaller boxes. I don't remember what set I bought recently that was bulging because the box was way too small for the set contents. No rattle at all. I think I had to pull the bags out instead of letting them slide out onto my table...

That's a really good idea. I will probably do something similar once I own the set. I should do that same mod with The Burrow from HP.

I love that tree! The rock work and the bridge is brilliant too. Well done!

I don't own any Hobbit sets currently, but even my wife stated she wanted Unexpected Gathering. So I guess that says something. Edit: Fixed errors in typing. My computer must be glitching.

I just watched 12 Dates of Christmas on Netflix. It was actually a cute movie. Very Groundhog's Day only switch with Christmas and not as laugh out loud funny. But cute nonetheless. And I haven't seen Mark Paul Gosselaar in anything in a long time.

I do believe they can coexist quite well. The only thing I could think of Kingdoms getting discontinued so quickly was to allow consumers to only buy LOTR at first? And then once it got established they would bring back regular castle? I really don't know. I wouldn't believe it replaced it either.

Very good point. Being released in the summer might impact overall sales, compared to the holiday season and/or The Hobbit actually being released. Yes, Hobbit sets themselves will probably sell better since the sets are based off of the actual movie coming out, but to people who were unaware there are also LOTR sets available, they might be picking them up now instead of when they were first released. As far as I can tell in stores there are a LOT of Shelob Attacks, but very little of every other set. I personally love Shelob Attacks though. I did notice in the new LEGO catalog that Weathertop was missing from the LOTR line-up. Makes me wonder if that set isn't selling very well with the higher price point and repeat characters. I haven't seen it on shelves either. And earlier I did mean a return to Kingdoms with other factions to continue the Kingdoms line but mix it up with something different than what we've seen. Maybe a Black Falcon return??? under the Kingdoms banner. That'd help give something to the people missing Kingdoms, missing Black Falcons, and wanting something new. I have zero insider information, so that's all speculation. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for the pictures. It only confirms my lack of interest in this theme (I've never been huge into Ninjago). Although I do really like the Kimono outfits and the stone warriors. I may have to pick them up, but the sets as is isn't really my cup of tea. I think this will be a good farewell wave for the theme though after seeing everything that has been available.

I will add my wow here. Although I really like what LordofDragons said "holy brick!" I love the details like anyone else, but I love how seamless the wood/stonework looks. And the giant rock base is brilliant. I should try my hand at this sometime, but I doubt I will ever complete it nor will it look anything remotely this interesting. Keep up the good work!

Nice dioramas. That is a lot of Mirkwood archers and Elronds you have there. I do think the back of Elrond's torso is fitting for other people in the same "unit" without looking too identical. It seems to be one of the better backs to use as a front. I still prefer the front though. I tried using the Rohan soldier's back as a front on another person. It doesn't look awesome by any means, but it doesn't look as bad as it could. Just adds some variety. I like the tree scene with Mirkwood the most. Odd that the Mirkwood set has black tree pieces with dark red leaves and the Mirkwood archer polybag has brown and green trees. Keep up the good work.

I was about to say how are there still PoP sets around?? The only sets I bought were clearanced last year.

It sounds like most people want a return to more classic castle instead of a return to Kingdoms. I really enjoyed Kingdoms when they came out and thought they had some nice sets. I was a little disappointed when it finished so abruptly, but wasn't heartbroken. I love LOTR, but mostly because of how awesome the figures are. I agree it may limit your creativity, but at the same time it is neat seeing those characters in minifigure form. I would imagine they would either continue KingdomS (emphasis on the plural "s") with new factions or just create something new all together. I would imagine they could live side-by-side, but only time will tell. At the very least, I like how most LOTR torsos can be swapped to non-Licensed skin tone for those who are opposed. Gives more variety for your other castles anyway.

Deathleech I would assume it is dependent on where they were produced? Maybe LEGO has a good deal on the soft rubber and used it to save some costs on this new theme? I really have no idea why they do anything. I think some molds probably are just easier to form using hard plastic vs flexible rubber. brodey1 I don't know about the website, but I know in-store The Hobbit sets were on the sale, at least here in Nebraska, USA. They may have appended their original sale. Stores are known to do that to avoid selling their actual wanted sets....business is business. I'd check with a local store if you can. Otherwise, you may have to wait for another sale sometime for those sets at a discount. Edit: When I wrote this I didn't see any of these other posts. Now there is a flood of them. Very odd. I think you have your answer Deathleech, sorry I was of no help. But that does make sense about breakage.

I only use free instructions online. It saves money mostly and I don't mind looking at the computer screen. Although you can print them off yourself from the LEGO website as noted above. There are two different versions depending on where you live/what paper you will use to print them off. I've heard of some people saving the file and taking it to a FedEx Office location to have it printed professionally. Might be pricier than just normal paper, but saves tons over the actual thing (depending on set of course). There really isn't a need to import a piece list into Bricklink since you can use Bricklink for that very purpose. Create a wanted list by set number and it will give you all of the pieces the set has. Then you go through and see which pieces you want and which shop has the cheapest/most items available. Sometimes one store may have a lot of what you want, but another store may be cheaper on certain elements. So it all comes down to shipping/location probably. I'd recommend looking and comparing a few different shops to see what will be the best deal.

I think you need the Element ID and they can check to see if they are available. I believe they can only deal with 50 items over the phone. Find old instructions and figure out which pieces you need and write down the ID numbers. Probably best to have a list. Every time I've spoken with a Rep over the phone they rush to get you off of the phone. I don't know if I've ever gotten everything taken care of over one phone call because they don't seem to want to place orders. Or at least, that is my experience.

Those are really neat robots for sure. I especially love the middle-right 3. If you don't mind my asking, where are some of these pieces from? I can recognize some of the torsos, but not so much the heads or pants. And where is the stove-pipe hat from? Brilliant work.

I think marketing has to decide between releasing sets when they come out in theaters vs when they are released on DVD/Blu-ray. The Dark Knight Rises premiered in the summer, but the set will be coming out at almost the exact time the DVD will be sitting on shelves. That might make easier purchasing, especially right before the holiday season. If they released it during the summer when they movie came out, they would have had a lot more competition (within their other lines, or other toy companies in general). As for Thor, I did hear a rumor about them releasing sets in November, but maybe I read it wrong and that is when the movie was releasing only. I do believe with Superman sets coming out next summer, they might release the Thor sets later in the year to balance out the waves, although I think the Iron Man sets might balance out the Marvel/DC line. So I could imagine Thor being released in January with the rest of the waves (most likely when it comes out on DVD).