Arjo

32cm at the deepest point dixit one youtuber (my estimate was around 30 looking at the set in store). Said youtuber commented that unfortunately it was a tiny bit too deep for a certain brand bookcase many AFOLs use.

Great tribe right there, good job!

Most impressive (?) were the people who had already bought a set, and were lining up outside the shop all over again so they could purchase a second copy (as max is 2 per person). It was a long line, inside the store personnel was going back and forth front to storage room to bring more and more copies which were snatched up like hot cakes. I have been to the store multiple time on big release day but have never seen anything quite like it. In fact, knowing I wouldn't buy a copy myself I came a few hours after opening thinking that things would have died down by then but nope still going strong. People were talking to each other and were super hyped. I think the one downside, unsurprisingly, was that these were all AFOLs i.e. no kids. I would expect sales to slow down from then, though some of us are trying to be patient and get a bigger bang for our money later on. Night and day compared to the release of 10305 for what it's worth, and that one had a great GWP to sweeten the deal day 1.

Set flying off the shelves at the store today! Too small a sample (obviously) but if representative then TLG will be rubbing their hands. I did not purchase it myself… though it is only a matter of time. I have never bought such an expensive set and I wonder if I will be able to find it 20% off somewhere down the line. Happy building to everyone who got their hands on one!

Not too bad in the grand scheme of things. Looking forward to seeing pics "in the brick" :)

We’ve seen beautiful troops in this thread but, unless I am mistaken, has no one been amassing cmf orcs for that very purpose? Would love to see how you customized them if you have:)

good job! and good luck:) any idea how much the parts are going to cost you?

I have none of the OG sets/figures so just glad people like me have a shot at getting quite a few in one fell swoop. I am not in love with every single one of them, and yes this or that would make such and such character better but on the whole I like them very much. I am working on putting together/getting my hands on bad guys in anticipation for whenever I get the Rivendell set (i.e. CMF orcs, ring wraiths recycling death eaters and thestrals though I "only" have 3 and probably won't go up to 9 because of cost... I should indeed probably stop spending money and save it for Rivendell instead if I don't want to wait forever before getting a copy... then again I love the nazguls :D).

Bravo! Never heard of this castle before but it is beautiful. Did you work from pictures, videos, memory to design it? How did you determine the scale you would use/number of bricks it would require? Did you wing it and placed orders for extra bricks as you went or you had a rough idea what you were getting into? Most impressive in any case!

Thanks, yes the Rivendell set has sent me down the rabbit hole, it helps that getting source books and dvds is so much cheaper than lego! Being an avid "consumer" of all things lego online (social networks, forums), I have found a bit sad that even the most impressive sets seem to fade into collective memory (or at least from the conversation) so fast because of supposedly "bigger better" sets coming in close succession. If I get around to getting Rivendell, I want to be able to enjoy it longer than the online hype and the source material will help me do just that.

Thanks, will do that. The first two movies are long but felt a bit rushed to me so I went to the books and I am in the process of discovering everything that was left out of the movies or lego sets. I saw Rivendell at the store this morning (again), I wanted to see if the library was truly meant to be removable to get access to the hidden crawl space. The video I watched where this was done made it sound like an untold play feature when in fact I do not think it is by design/made to be. I also have tried to feel my way to a couple more cmf orcs, they dont have the LOTR likeness but still it’s better than no orcs at all.

To Zoth, I have watched the first two LOTR movies, third and last one today. I am also finishing the first book. Not sure if I should move on to RoP or the Hobbit trilogy after that (yes I have read the many thoughts about each so brace myself for less though I am pretty easy). Back to the set, what I like the most about it are all the angles/lines of sight offered by the overall architecture. I find it very immersive, and versatile with the sections that can be separated. This will make for very nice lego pictures, and story telling, as things are moved around, looked from one angle or another, adding (temporarily) a few bits here and there to enhance the experience of play/day-dreaming/picture taking. Whomever dabbles into stopmotion will also have a field day with this one.

If only I had a Rex minifigure to sell (or more likely keep as my precious:) ). Funnily enough, TLG pay for licenses to attract purchasers but for me it is the exact opposite: Rivendell is the latest example of a set that has me cover source material in-depth so I can better enjoy it. I blame lego for turning me into a fan of media that had never reached me before (I live under a rock, I know).

Interesting thoughts! A certain youtuber placed Rivendell and 2.5 modulars (AS and BS if I remember correctly) side by side. They have about the same footprint but not the same visual impact at all. I remember seeing ME cantina at the store and thinking it was absolutely perfect but I didn’t see enough volume to justify the price. I eventually bought it from a third-party retailer at 250 and still felt it was dear. Last Summer, another mental barrier went down when FOMO got the best of me and I bought the 10305 castle (w/ forrest hideout gwp). But now we’re talking even more money, a so so gwp to be kind to it, but the most beautiful set of the three aforementioned imo. TLG is a master at resetting our perception of value. I remember coming out of my dark ages and thinking that 100 (your currency) set was hard to justify… but this time I feel I must trade some of my sets away to make it acceptable to splash on the big LOTR come back. ps: I looked at the ebay prices for helm’s deep, makes Rivendell look like a bargain:)

Hi everyone, in case this belongs to another forum then please disregard, I am curious what Rivendell is worth to you? I am not talking money but how do you rate it compared to other lego sets you own or wish to buy? I am into modulars but don’t love the Jazz Club such that I am considering skipping it and selling an old bnib modular I have to cover the cost of Rivendell. Actual or hypothetical lego maths: what set would you trade or deprioritize to get this one?

Hi everyone, I went back to the store where the set was still split in two. That said, the 360 degrees video on shop&home shows both sides align, i.e. no awkward angle I could not account for. By my count, the set is only about 28-30cm deep (using stretched fingers and fist to approximate so not hard science). I have no idea how TLG came up with a 50cm depth measurement. In any case, the set still looks brilliant (and unlike other display models, it is continuously guarded by 2 members of staff so it looks like they're afraid someone might run away with parts, or figs, when they can't seem to be bothered by other sets crumbling under their own weight due to poor customer behaviour e.g. Jazz Club). ps: just double checked the 360 video and in fact the right side of the build is indeed "forward" compared to the main build, even so I think 50 is a stretch too far. Split apart (in two sections) no problem whatsoever to fit on a regular shelf a la modular

I’ll try and swing by the store to get a rough idea of depth (if flushed against the wall. Lego’s official dimensions always reflect stretched metrics i.e. max number they can come up with without being utterly and totally misleading (e.g. tip of an antenna on a building). Going by what I saw yesterday, my guess is around 45cm deep so pretty close to official measures. I was in awe with all the details of the set though so could be my mind’s eye is a bit off.

It has a big footprint, but comes across as light and airy. If you compare it to 2 linear modular buildings, this is not a de facto “in your face” flat wall by way of almagamation. In fact, one could display the sets broken down to two parts, within relatively close proximity, and it would still work. Compared to source material, the set is necessarily compressed. Instead of being too big, what it actually calls for is to be split with more terrain added in between… the potential for extension is obvious for anyone who has the luxury of space. For others, split and on deep shelves is the way imo.

Nope, they would probably be worse than those on the website and wouldnt do the set justice. I didnt get to see the set in its full horizontal configuration as the store demo table was not wide enough. Even so, each of the two main parts is of a very respectable size. To each their own of course but compared to the A framed cabin which was on display too, Rivendell is much more imposing (and it’d better be at this price point. Maybe more relevant as a comparison point: Rivendell vs Diagon alley. Leaving one’s taste for source IP aside, Rivendell is in my eye a more striking display.

Hi everyone, I have barely ever posted… but I have good news to report: I have seen the set fully built-up at my local Lego store and it looks even better than it does in pictures. One gets a much better sense of the scale and depth seeing it in the brick. I bought 10305 and kind of regret it vs. Rivendell… I also think that the latter would integrate much better with the Blacksmith shop than the castle ever will. The only disappointment is the lazy/not value for money gwp it will come with.

thanks! won't even bother to try and get your landing gear technic trickery down to pat but I'll def see what I can do with the pics of the canopy. The inside of your cockpit is gold.

Warbinator, you did great! I am one of many who have or will buy the RC and start customizing right away, so far I like what you've done the best! Still waiting for an elusive discount before I eventually buy the set but I'll start looking in my spares see if I can implement some of your ideas (the least flashy of which is, in my opinion, the most effective: the loo!). Cockpit is also deluxe but I'm not sure I'll be able to mimick.

Re. action figures and vehicles, playsets etc., yes I agree with you: Lego offer the major pros of having sets that are reasonable in price (and size!) compared to the likes that come with the vintage collection of a certain brand. That's why I am patiently waiting for the Razor Crest to be discounted (at least a little, please) instead of backing the gigantic one currently being crowdfunded. Looking at my purchasing habits and personal preferences, I've just realised that I've bought countless sets mostly for the minifigures e.g. "oh £40 for this set is pretty good, it has 2 minifigs I am really interested in" and there you can see the appeal of much more realistic action figures "kind of" at the same price. When I try to justify the prices TLG charge, I always take into account building time but through the years my wife has become less and less supportive of my hobby which means that I end up with unopened boxes. On that basis, I feel it will take less space to store action figures away, give me the added benefit of being able to see them through the plastic window, and even open and pose as many as I want before they safely go back to their boxes without my wife freaking out because there are lego builds everywhere in our flat (which is not true by the way, but I guess beauty, and quantity, are in the eye of the beholder). To finish, yes I will still buy the occasional Lego sets, but for someone with a bad completist habit walking away from buying whole waves is probably best. With figures, in Europe at least, it is pointless to try and be a completist anyway because of the numerous exclusives you mentioned. Back on SW 2020 topic: Re. magazine, I'm not sure it will be in the UK this time around (the previous issue didn't show Bespin Luke as coming next; in Europe the magazine comes with different "gifts" country to country and often times in a different chronological order). I'm def. on the lookout though. Re. triple force Friday, there's nothing coming that people know of then? Thanks

Hi everyone, This is my first post (ever) after years of being an avid reader. I usually check the forum several times a day (another crazy AFOL I guess) but I have recently drifted away to look at other SW merchandise. I'm not sure whether we can be specific re. brands but I'm talking action figures. When Mos Eisley was released, I went to a Lego Store to see it with my own eyes and I thought it was perfect... but not worth the price at all (to me at least). I did Lego maths to come up with a price I could justify to myself and the conclusion I reached was that I'd be pretty much paying £15 a minifigure, of those I do not already have. At that price point, I thought I'd look at action figures which retail for 19.99 and can often be found cheaper. Another world entirely, with its pros and cons, but enough pros to make me consider whether I should go back to my Lego dark ages. Before I trade one addiction for another, I am curious to read whether anyone else went down the same path only to come back to Lego with a vengeance after a while? Also, I have been trying to find info. regarding next "triple force friday" event or equivalent to maybe give another shot at Lego if good offers (or GWP) are to be had. I've come up empty so is there nothing at all this year? Finally, I have a thought about the "Mandalorian Heroe Transport" set: could it be the boat from the last episode of season 1? Wouldn't take many bricks but deciding which minifigs to include would be a hard choice (as there is no way they're all there at that price point). If I haven't followed forum etiquette or rubbed any feathers the wrong way, I sincerely apologise, just let me know and I'll adjust as needed. Thank you.