RichardGoring

I love Rivendell, and think Barad Dur will be great, but a $500 set every year will tire very quickly. Money and/or space will become limiting factors for many, the subject options will be too limited and you'd miss on things that could be great, but wouldn't make a $500 set. Weathertop is an obvious example. I'd love a mix of UCS sets, dioramas, and playsets. Dioramas are great and I love the look, build techniques, and subjects, but they are expensive, so trying to mass figures doesn't work. Some battle packs/playsets would be really valuable for this.

The level of detail on the eye bodes well for the entire model and suggests they've kept it similar to the survey leak.

Ooh, good to know, thanks. That's very tempting at that price. This seems most likely to me. Good call.

It might make a lot of sense for them to do a 'wave' of UCS style set designs at the same time, so the research is concentrated into one slot. Especially for IP sets, where the level of accuracy to the source material is usually important (for consumers and the IP holders), so it means they can watch the movies, review art boards, see props/sets, and get several sets out of that time rather than one. But also it means they can get a lot more out of interaction with the IP owners, who may not be available to work with them annually in line with LEGO's release cycle. Doing all of it up front is probably a lot more efficient, as core set design is probably a relatively short part of the overall process. They may leave them as concept models before they get the green light though, and then go through all the LEGO internal processes of quality, build, production etc, so could still change at a later date.

As Fateful doesn't have that on Instagram, it's probably fake? If not, is that the Black Gate bottom right?

If we're getting a new colour astronaut, why not go all out and do it in sand red, so they brick it back? Would love to get that kind of colour back into the palette. But now realistically, I've been pondering whether they are best to make a colour more closely associated with classic space. Should it be dark grey or earth blue. But I would rather like lavender too. And I really like the azures, but I don't know if that will clash with the standard blue and the CS logo print.

It took a while, but I finally made a goat tree! I do love these bonsai trees. Someone has suggested doing a butterfly one for spring as the remaining season which I love the idea of. Glad more butterflies are coming out!

Yes, true. Saruman certainly, but if Barad Dur doesn't lean into displaying the figures, then it might work. With the exterior not being minifigure scale, I think it might look odd to have figures posed on the outside. Again, stickers make a big difference on the inside, along with a few other minifigure parts, but less impact on the exterior. I doubt I'll do it. Just an idle thought really. Made easy with Brick Hunter.

Out of interest, I used Brick Hunter to calculate costs for Orthanc, without figures. Almost all the parts are available through Pick a Brick, so shipping costs don't really apply, any it came to just under $300. That's not 'do it immediately' money, but depending on what they do with Barad Dur, it might be tempting to piece it together. If you remove Treebeard and a bunch of the interior, it would be a bunch less.

I really enjoyed painting my Warhammer armies, but didn't have time to paint them all. But even then, a limit of 20 or so figures per unit was sufficient for the game mechanics. Finding someone else with a suitably sized army to go against anything bigger could be hard, but more importantly, the time required to complete a game based on huge armies was impossible. I remember once we set up a multi-player game, joining three or four forces together on each side. It took soooooo long and despite the great anticipation for it, it was pretty dull. The MILS plates is a good idea though. Post some photos when you have some of them done!

I've never quite understood the need for huge armies of minifigures. Enough to fill a scene, yes, but not hundreds of them. To me it's not that fun to have to place so many figures, so I usually top out at 8-10. I could see the appeal for more if they did Minas Tirith or a UCS Helm's Deep though. But even then, I likely wouldn't get more than about 20 figures for each group.

They've also dropped the price of the City advent calendar to $33 (from $35), although they've dropped the piece count by 20%, so... Also, these are a lot cheaper in Europe and the UK than the US. Perhaps because there are more advent calendars for greater competition?

The dragon is superb. The temple appears to be really thin though. Not nearly enough depth, which is such a shame. I hope future video reviews, and then seeing it in person change my mind.

Oh wow, how did I not see that? Yes, great idea, although I wonder if it will hinder play, having to remove everything. Also, will that mean you can't see much of the interior when it's all folded up, but it will still be open backed? I assume it will all come together nicely.

The temple city looks pretty amazing at first glance. Definitely need to see the other side and how deep it is though. Whilst it may look good from the front, too many Ninjago sets lack the depth they need. And I wonder how this will look compared to the Temple of Airjitsu? Will it seem small and less detailed, or hold up well. Hmmm...

Try another set that doesn't even remotely tempt me. It's not even that it's because it's 4+, because Friends do amazing 4+ sets. Oh well, there always the eternal hope that next year will be good!

Superstar, thanks! Thought I'd tried him, but clearly not. I agree, but small, but actually looks really good. It probably gives you everything you need very efficiently without it being a $250+ set. The dimensions and proportions give it a lot of drama.

Reminds me of a chateau, and I love it. Really looking forward to seeing the interior. Might be another really good example of putting two together to form a complete building, that also won't feel too cramped, given the size.

Can't see it anywhere yet, but that's a very tantalizing post to read!

Although the shape and structure of Minas Tirith is a lot more iconic and well-known than Rivendell, so it would likely be a lot harder. I think they could do a great nanoscale version of the whole thing or a wonderful minifig scale of the top. But trying to blend the two, whilst keeping under about $500, seems really hard and might be too many compromises. Especially as it doesn't lend itself that well to using the inside of the mountain for scenes. Maybe microscale exterior with throne room/great hall interior? But it does seem like a great candidate and I hope they've at least given it a go.

The reviewers don't have to pay anything for the sets they receive, but they also don't get paid anything, other than getting the free LEGO set. While I suspect most can give a fair review of the set that they have in hand, the two things that they possibly don't, or can't, take into account is whether they would pay to have the set if they didn't have a platform to review it for (would you buy it for being purely a fan of the set for only you to enjoy), and do you like it after three months, six months, a year? However long you might keep something on display for, or for how long you (or your children) might play with it. They very rarely, if ever, consider that with limited funds, space, and time, would you prioritise this over other sets? This might be unfair, but it's a real world consideration. They very rarely, if ever, follow-up six months later to say whether they've enjoyed it, whether it still feels good, whether it's been played with. Not critising reviewers for this, as it's hard, if not impossible. But it's why you always have to think and use their opinion as one of many data points. I try to not buy sets until six months after release, when all the hype has died down and you consider whether you're still excited for it. With the Batcave shadowbox, it's a nice build and I'm sure a lot of is it fun to do, but for me there are many things ahead of it in the queue for time, space, and money, so I won't get it. And I don't think my children would enjoy playing with it, so it doesn't really appeal in any of the ways that lots of other LEGO sets do.

None of them really appeal that much. I also don't really understand them. None of them are particularly substantial builds - at least not for what I think they are. And yet none of them really cater to the launch game mechanic they have. Robotnik's drill can get hit. You can chase the fish badnik with Tails. It all just seems a bit half-hearted, which is a shame.

I like the new starter packs. At first glance they seem smaller with less stuff, but actually, it seems like each component is more substantial and works better for a game, with less reliance on just spacing out very simple things. I like all of them and the expansion packs, although I don't know if the prices are as they have been, so that could spoil things.

For what it's worth - not being a huge Star Wars fan at all, having a couple of sets, and falling firmly into the adult collector sets of they're interesting camp - I think MandR's videos over the last few months have been really good. For quite a while over the last couple of years he's generally come across any entitled and whiny, with smatterings of insight. I think he's married a lot over the last year and started to produce some really excellent content, with a level of enthusiasm for the subject that's appealing, and seemingly the right level of criticism. I don't think that's LEGO's Star Wars portfolio has improved dramatically, and has been fairly consistent, so it's probably him that's changed, and for the better.

The team who does set names gets paid by the letter...