mirkwoodspiders

I think I'm in the minority in liking the new hairpiece better...

Haha it is probably written in Elvish on the LEGO One Ring, visible only when the owner makes an additional purchase of at least $2,000.

Dream come true set. Here's what I especially appreciate: 1) Gimli's axes are new molds, and his helmet (I think) is also slightly different than in the older sets. It looks great. 2 New Narsil mold. Insane that they took the trouble to make a broken sword especially for this set. 3) The printed floor tiles are stunning. 4) The statues - they look great and feel basically like 6 bonus minifigs, even though they are static in their role in the set. 5) The fully-loaded armory. I can't wait to see all the swords the set provides. 6) The prints for Arwen/all the elves look solid. 7) Dual molded legs for all the Hobbits! 8) Gorgeous build, and heavily accurate in reference to the movie. 9) So many amazing references to Lord of the Rings lore. Wow. They really did their homework with the graphic design. 10) Bilbo's crazy face. Just awesome. 11) Including the entire Fellowship. It's hard to envision a set like this without them, but still, this is wonderful, as I missed out on the entire wave of sets years ago. Here's what I don't like: 1) Price, but with all the prints and exclusive molds, it's hard to complain too much. $400-$450 would have been perfection. 2) The box art just sucks. Enormous missed opportunity to have a beautiful backdrop for the rest of Rivendell. I've started recycling LEGO boxes because they're so boring - which is probably the idea lol. That's it. I am holding out hope that the Sauron sticker is a subtle hint at a future set with him. People have also mentioned an Easter-Egg. My guess - the floor below the Ring in the Council seating area pops off/is removable, and below the floor is the eye of Sauron, a la in the movie when Gimli tries to destroy the ring and the Eye of Sauron flashes. Please, please, more of this, LEGO!

This. We're so close to the reveal, it's rather pointless debate at this stage anyway.

Amazing how impatient I get at this stage. There are almost certainly going to be pics leaked with week, and I'm going nuts trying to wait. Go back a few months, though, and I was far more patient with just the bare-bones info and no timeline at all for a reveal. Grateful we have anything to see at all - still in a bit of disbelief there is a large LOTR set to be released in a matter of weeks!!!

Yeah, it makes zero sense to increase the size without a movie-accurate interior. The exterior details just aren't compelling enough to justify the size increase on their own. Same with the Razor Crest; without the interior, I don't think I'd but that set and would see it as far less appealing.

Haha that's what I've thought since these things started leaking. Give an EB user some photos to cautiously pass around under the guise of leaks, and get fast-paced, honest focus group feedback lol.

The structure would definitely be different, and yeah, not sure why they'd need to make such a small model for a concept. I'm not a designer, though.

This is almost certainly a concept model - like, the details are tiny to give a general idea of what a bigger model would look like. Or not, I don't know.

Ok, thank you. Yeah, can't imagine they'll be hard to find going forward.

I saw it too - definitely looks more like a very primitive concept than a finished product so I'm not too concerned. Same with the Barad-Dur leak, which makes sense. I think the original leaker said all he'd seen were concepts.

Can't find the pics in the usual place, or anywhere else

A UCS Sail Barge might be the rare time I decide 100% I'm buying a set without even seeing the thing before getting it lol. Geez, this recent flurry of leaks across multiple themes is dizzying. I know - no guarantees for any of it. But if they are true, waiting until 2024 for a lot of them - Sail Barge among them - is going to be agonizing.

I was just thinking this today. I don't think there was ever a guarantee it'd be a March 1st release, but the rumor was March, and some other for sure March 1st sets are being unveiled... QuiggoldsPegLeg is probably right, though. It's a D2C, and those leaks have been pretty tight lately, so I'm not too nervous, yet.

I agree, the Boussh helmet is outstanding. I imagine they picked it to line up with the 40th ROTJ Anniversary. Iconic? Perhaps not. Certainly engaging, though, and I'd argue instantly recognizable for many Star Wars fans.

Same here. I wouldn't put it past LEGO to give us this little taste of a breathtaking model in a much-desired series, only to shut down the line, a la Stranger Things. On the other hand, hope springs eternal. Perhaps this will be the threshold to an era in which LOTR makes a roaring comeback a la Harry Potter and sticks around for awhile. I dunno, I get the feeling a) it's too similar to Orthanc to be of much interest to those that already have Orthanc, and b) it's not as iconic in terms of movie-appearance as Orthanc. We really don't see much of Barad-Dur in the movies - at least, not enough for it to be instantly recognizable to the masses. That said, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if LEGO made one! The MOC is amazing, btw.

Leaks for Commander Cody and Captain Rex helmets are out. The pictures are blurry, but I like them at first glance. Cody's visor looks a little short, though.

I'd say that's a safe bet. $200 seems low for an MBS in comparison with years past, but you could fill out a decent Endor Bunker with 2,300 pieces I suppose. It would definitely make sense with the ROTJ anniversary this year.

If I remember right, the May 4th D2C is $240 this year, and I think there is another set with a $200 price point with about 2,300 pieces reportedly releasing in September, so I'd guess it's taking the usual fall D2C slot. Details are scant at this point, though.

I feel it'd need to be closer to $350-$400 or so to be legit. Hoping there's a higher priced UCS for this fall, but on the other hand, it might be nice to have a break from the UCS Falcon/AT-AT/Razor Crest sort of sets we've been getting recently lol

Yeah, I could see this. The 21,000 pieces makes me wonder where they'd slim it down and still be able to keep that incredible level of detail though. I'm trying to stay away from MOCs for Rivendell as much as possible so my expectations don't get skewed, but this one is hard to avoid!

Woof... a completionist's nightmare. I struggle to think what they'd do to fill such a price point, though. Micro-scale has already been done. Mini-fig scale would need to be so much bigger than system-scale, I don't think people realize the amount of pieces it'd take to make it work. 20,000 maybe? And anything less than mini-fig scale just doesn't make sense to me with all of the system-scale play sets already in circulation.

Have there been any rumored price-points that would allow for a UCS Sail Barge? If I remember right, the highest has been $240, which doesn't seem high enough for a minifig-scale barge - the size I'm assuming they'd do for a UCS Jabba's barge.

That's what I mean. I'd give plenty of feedback via purchases if the theme had multiple sets to buy. But, buying three BH sets and an ICONS D2C doesn't seem potent enough. I WANT this theme and dozens of sets... like really want it badly, and I'm afraid if the message isn't sent with ferocity at the current moment they may never think about re-visiting the theme again.

Ok thanks. Just hasn't seen anything on it yet. I have him from the most recent sail barge and would love a UCS version to replace the old one.