Arjo

Nope, I am not in the secrets of the gods but I follow leaks left and right and there is nothing in the pipe (at least that anyone has heard of thus far). The one GWP I am eager to see is the Galileo tribute but the last update on this was a Sept/Oct release date. There is also a rumoured Majisto remake which might hit at some point this Summer but in terms of truly pirate-specific GWP... there has only been the kids' playground slides from earlier this month:)

Thanks, tis a nice one:)

Yep I saw them too but picked up printless ones instead, first time I see them so I imagine they are from a fresh batch. I would love to get some of your torsos though!!??!!!

I hear you… seeing the pics I didn’t think omg lazy/crappy minifigs due to lack of boots. I actually quite like them in plain white. Having the opportunity to get some dual molded legs being relatively cheap and convenient, it hyped me up to go get a few before the set is released. I understand it might be more important to others for whom supply is scarcer. Also agreed that it is an extra cost, one chooses whether it is only a nice to have or one’s requirement.

GameTime, I respect your point of view and I am sure many might share it. However, I for one was VERY disappointed in PoBB: the boat was alright and might have been enough for many, but the island was a mess compared to the Ideas project. In hindsight, I should have bought many sets I eventually passed on given current pricing of new sets. Provided close inspection is not a turn off exposing how shallow and/or limited interiors are, I will be happy to get this set with the boost of 2x VIP and/or GWP of interest to me. That will be reasonable value in my eye, for a set the features of which have not been seen in a long time and might not be available again. Bonus, it will help me not overstretch to other sets I like but which are even more expensive. ps: hit the store this morning and scored dual molded legs for the Imperials, am good to go now and hope others who wish their soldiers will boot up will be able to get some as well.

Well… let me share what may or may not be a well kept secret… if you are fortunate enough to have a lego store close enough that you can regularly visit (a double edged sword when you try not to overspend), you should check out the BAM stations. I ignored them for the longest time as it is always under assault at any time of the day but no longer. The one interesting part I have consistently found there are dual moulded legs of all kinds of colours. Compared to the cost of PAB on the website, you basically get the other four elements of each of your 3 minifigs for free. I bought a dozen white/black legs for my “Spanish” imperials (all made up of BAM parts) and many more in red/black for lion knight soldiers (once I overcame the “santa” mental block, I found these legs to be the best vs. Printed ones or worse still the blue/red dual molded which are too spidey for one and in my imagination less appropriate though I know some soldiers had to try and survive in bright colour uniforms). Now I hope none of you live next to me so that arbitrage opportunity does not dry up. If it does I will save money I guess:) Separately, I am very glad to see this thread so lively (I have never been that active myself which makes me realise where my lego priorities really are, as important as ever facing a constant stream of tempting but expensive set released), and I am impressed by how knowledgeable some of you come across. As far as the Eldorado revamp is concerned, having firmed up my appetite by reading and exchanging with you, I only worry about the size of interior spaces. The “admiral office”, or whatever they call it in the description, only has a single stud to place a minifigure (and the picture is misleading because the close shot conveniently makes this sad reality disappear). Likewise, in “spread out” formation, the jetee turned walkway is at best two studs deep (sometimes one!). Long story short, I suspect quite a few of us inclined to use the modular feature of the set will need many extra bricks to make the set shine with all its potential (and meet AFOLs’ expectations, audience to whom the set is targeted).

Early review of spiderman final battle on ytb... tempting though steep asking price, a bigger chunk of lady liberty would have been fantastic... but on sale why not I guess. Other regret of mine is that bar for Andrew, the likeness of the other two spidermen isn't really there (imo).

Well, early review of Yavin now available on ytb... and I believe it will be an easy pass for many. Very average build (and I think I am being kind saying this) if it were half the price. For what TLG want for it, no way, even accounting for minifigs. That's coming from someone who likes location playsets the best... Hopefully it floats others' boat...

Well in a world where controversy can (rightly or not) arise from anything big or small, I am even surprised Lego is giving us imperial soldiers at all. I am personally pleased but current trends suggest this might become off-limit before we know it so I see it as my one chance to get a few… decades after those I took for granted as a child.

speaking of buying two... my imagination easily runs wild (and my wallet and flat can't keep pace)... with the spread out configuration of the set, if one was to mirror build a second copy, I can easily picture in my mind's eye how it would form a nice access/check-point/lock to a marina/harbour of some sort. Onto securing the perimeter and the land with thousands extra bricks of course:)

Thanks for the script from the old box! re. Swapping head/hair to change gender… in my imagination some males wore wiggs/long hair back then (might not be history accurate for all soldiers but to each one’s own) so I think the hat hair combo is in fact versatile enough.

Thanks Talon, a minifig like a soldier will do as it is told! They might be French today and British tomorrow;) Looking forward to seeing a built copy at the store, interiors look limited in pics but hopefully it nonetheless has good visual presence. It is competing with Rivendell for my lego money (and in the back of my head I am also benchmarking value against 10305 which was generous in accesdories).

Are the soldiers supposed to be French or British? The latter are known as redcoats but I believe there were times they wore blue. Just curious. To me they are French (though I bet I am wrong :) ) and the handful of cmf nutcrackers I bought in anticipation will be Brits. Also bought some black and gold torsos from BAM last year which will stand in as the Spanish. I am somewhat pleased with the set, then again I start from scratch such that I am less demanding than others. It’s not perfection in my eye but TLG has taught me to keep my expectations in check… I have one concern though: as and when we see people put together multiples of the set, I bet it will be hard to resist the temptation to go down this rabbit hole. In terms of value, the overall volume of bricks might be less than a modular but the scarcity of sets from this theme and being able to get this type of minifigs at retail prices more than make up for it imo.

Almost identical dimensions according to website specs (but we know these to not always be 100% reliable). Couldn’t care less about source material but like you it caught my eye for a medieval setting. I wonder how much the snow white cottage will cost… Sanderson’s exterior is pretty good though that would be a stark contrast to the blacksmith shop colour-wise, and the interior is of little interest to me so not sure I’ll bite unless I get lucky and find it discounted where I live. To your point on scaling nicely, I agree… but it means that village in the making of two or three cottages (BS, HP, SW) will dwarf 10305 even more. Not to mention the hypothetical return of the medieval market set (I would imagine) would be smaller. All in all, glad we have this option, but will patiently wait to see what else hits the shelves to make sure I have no regrets vs spending on another set.

for those of us still on the fence, hitching to pull the trigger during 2x VIP though the price would still be sky high... there is a guy on ytb who elevated the set (literally and figuratively) by adding rock work and expanding the waterfall... it makes a massive impact. He did not change the set at all, but I now realise its one "flaw" is how flat it is vs. landscape of the lore. I already felt it was the most beautiful set I had seen but what this guy has turned into is a work of arts. Just when I thought I might resist temptation, balking at the price, this sends me back to square one: longing for Rivendell even more!

Reporting from my one lego store (again) and to keep the thread alive: not only is Rivendell no longer displayed… but they have no boxes left either. Wouldn’t make sense for it to be the one big set kept off the shelves so could be it has proven popular enough to sell out (which is a rare occurrence at this particular store).

Amz also has the set where I live. However, I doubt it will go on sale… going by the example of the Razor Crest which was left at full retail when all the other SW sets received regular discounts. Half glass full: Sanctum Sanctorum often on deep sales so who knows, maybe we get lucky:) Otherwise best bet will still be 2x VIP with or without gwp.

Bar a last minute change, the next 2x VIP is due 9-13June this side of the pond. No exciting gwp to report though (just a new vip polybag with Summer-related bits and pieces).

Waiting for 2x VIP too... as well as a nice GWP... am thinking the majisto one or the celebration of copernicus. I highly doubt the stars will align but boy that would make me feel much better splashing on Rivendell (which would become my most expensive lego purchase ever). On the bright side, I have slowed down my lego purchases a fair bit since Rivendell as I am trying to save up for it.

Agreed, except in that particular store which has extensive floor space, flagship sets tend to stay on display much longer than Rivendell did. To me, it is beautiful and the epitome of how great a set TLG can produce, I would therefore have liked and expected it to have more staying power. Whether there is anything to read into it, too small a sample, too many uncertainties and other moving parts. Hence why I mentioned it in passing, as anecdotal at best. Your point about the churn stands though, even within AFOLs there seems to be a limited attention span, chasing the next leak and the next set. I get it, many of us are addicted, but some sets should be able to capture one's heart more than a month (in my humble opinion). I for one am still longing for Rivendell, despite its hefty price tag (2x VIP or another retailer discount if I am ever so lucky!).

Anecdotal evidence to report here: was sad to see the set is no longer on display at my local (large) lego store. In fact the boxes are discreetly shelved away from more premium floor space. I havent bought it yet and enjoyed paying Rivendell a regular visit. I thought it would stay longer in plain sight for people to admire (and be tempted to open their wallets).

Great sense of scale!

Good job… and good luck!

Hi, has anyone anywhere found Rivendell on sale other than from Lego directly? It is not clear to me whether it is meant to stay TLG exclusive. Thanks

Well YOU are the king of orcs! That certainly is an impressive bunch you put together!