mirkwoodspiders

Are we done with large HP D2Cs after this one? I would lean slightly no, but I'm having trouble thinking of anything else worthy of a large D2C slot. Maybe Hogsmeade?

Oh I absolutely would love more location sets. I guess it's hard to envision what a place like Kamino would look like, but places like the landing pad, or even portions of the clone factory would be cool to see. In fact, the landing pad would be a perfect way to re-release Jango's slave 1 at system scale...

Yeah, I'm hoping for something closer to minifig scale that has the bulk of the pieces dedicated to the actual home. Minifigs should be pretty good, too. I don't think I ever actually saw the leaked survey image, though, so I'm really anxious to get just the initial details like the dimensions, piece count, etc.

Haha for sure. And yeah, I think all three are extended versions. So, 10+ hours of LOTR goodness. I'll enjoy building Barad Dur while watching the movies again at home.

That's definitely my hope. Any ship nowadays gets me excited, though. I bought Pirates of Barracuda Bay and didn't think twice about displaying it as the regular ship instead of the shipwreck.

Hopefully we see it int he near future. That's really the only HP set I'm hyped for this year. I'm getting out of the system scale sets - just can't keep up with all of the new releases, especially with this new modular castle. D2Cs only from here on out.

Yes, this would be greatly appreciated! I still feel confident every area of LEGO Star Wars - system sets, midi-scale ships, UCS sets, even dioramas if they aren't done - will get a healthy amount of prequel sets in the near future. Just a gut feeling but there's so much to mine from it all.

Anyone else going to see the LOTR re-releases in theatres next week? I have to think releasing Barad-Dur the week before isn't a coincidence! If only I could build the set in the theatre while watching the movies.

It'll be hard to tell until I build Barad-Dur and see it on display. I think Rivendell has the edge for now - minifigs and aesthetic are all better, and I'd imagine the build for Rivendell will end up being more interesting. But, Barad-Dur is still an all-timer from first impressions!

It's a very helpful review. The little throne room and gate features are great. I like it even more having watched the video. However, SolidBrix can't proprerly pronounce Rivendell to save his life

Yeah, I can see both sides of it, too. So, I just take what LEGO gives and gladly accept something free lol.

I have a hunch LEGO might be releasing these giant sets to prime buyers for smaller, more affordable ones. Not that interested buyers wouldn't get smaller sets anyway, but I've seen so many responses to these in the vein of "This is wonderful, but I can't afford it, please release cheaper ones", which gets people excited for the theme and also has them craving more affordable sets. And, presumably many of those who can buy the larger sets would then be doubly excited if smaller ones come out. I'd argue they did something similar with Star Wars (and LEGO in general) withIthe UCS Falcon in 2017. Releasing an $800 set pushed the limits of most imaginations and reservations about what's ok to spend on a LEGO set. Prior to that, $300 was my ceiling. Then, the Falcon comes out, and all of the sudden I'm saving and saving and saving to purchase it. It is such a fantastic set, I found a way to talk myself into purchasing it. Then, sets in-between $300 and $799 start getting released, and the mindset is: "Well, I got something worth $800... $500, $150, etc. aren't exactly out of the question." I dunno - this is all to say I hope releasing Rivendell and Barad-Dur is in some way, shape, or form a preliminary step into a full-blown revival of the LOTR theme. If it is, I'm all for it.

Yes, big missed chance with no new clothing prints for Sam and Frodo - quite lazy when they could have presented them in their tattered clothing on the way to the Crack of Doom. More figs would be great, but that does not deter me. I think the building itself is phenomenal, my most important factor. Here's hoping smaller LOTR is on the way to populate the tower and surrounding areas.

I'm not sure how people feel about the price, but $460 seems pretty good with bang-up figs, 5,000+ pieces and a light brick. I don't think the GWP will be as valuable as many thought with only 1 figure, but it'll offset a little of the cost if people want to sell it.

Stunning model! I take back what I said about the brown bricks at the top - I think they look fine and add nicely to the Eye of Sauron glow-effect. The Fell Beast build is about as pedestrian as I expected. Not terrible, but not blowing me away. Someone said it's a tougher sell with only one minifig and I agree, but I still want the Nazgul! Still a day one purchase! What a set!

I would agree. If it's 2026 before a "wave" of LOTR sets, that's fine. It'll take that much time to recover financially from buying Rivendell and Barad-dur lol.

As would I!

It's crazy how the wait is most difficult (for me at least) the day before versus, say, over a year ago when this thing leaked initially. For those going to a LEGO store for a day one purchase, how early are you planning to arrive on June 1?

Oh to be a market researcher for LEGO. I'd be so interested in seeing how they gauge interest in themes and price ranges. Probably a lot of different things - social media, forums like this, random surveys, actual sales, year-over-year trends, etc. It would be so fun surveying the public to see what their interest in LOTR LEGO is. I'm honestly not sure I'd put much stock into the reply. It said, "Keep your eye this way" which to me says 1) check back here for the reveal of an upcoming set, and 2) they're only referring to the Barad-dur reveal, considering the "eye" and "fire" emoji's they posted. I feel like the response would have been something like "stay tuned" or "I wouldn't say no to that" or something if they were referring to other future LOTR playsets. Or, I'm completely misreading it and they're teasing upcoming LOTR playsets - this is my hope!

No kidding! They really are keeping it secret and safe.

I wonder what the wider public would think of LOTR playsets? I'd personally probably be a completionist with the theme if they produced them. Like, I'd borderline consider collecting all LOTR brickheadz if they continue the line, even though I've never bought a brickheadz set before. My hunch is there would be a great market, as lots of older collectors grew up with LOTR and have some income to invest in the theme for LEGO. But, I just don't know if the theme would have the same appeal as evergreens like Star Wars and Harry Potter.

It's good to see fans clamoring for playscale LOTR sets on the thread for the Barad-Dur teaser. I hope LEGO sees LOTR as the goldmine that it is. I feel like a positive response from the market to Barad-Dur is all the convincing they would need. As in, if a healthy amount of people are willing to pay for giant sets, imagine what they and all the fans who can't afford the giant sets would do if there were more affordable sets.

Yeah, same here. I think it's just a lighting effect in the teaser to be honest, but no way I leave them brown if that's the official model.

I don't think there are any special offers with points. It really comes down to 2 things: 1) Do you want the GWP of the Fell-Beast w/3 minifigs? or 2) Do you not really care about a GWP? If 1, buy ASAP! If 2, hold off until a general 2x VIP points day. Both should be in stock plenty of time for you to wait on that. I'm also not entirely sure if you can get the GWP with either Rivendell or Barad-Dur, or if it us just Barad-Dur. I wouldn't say foolish by any means, but I'm going forward assuming the worst and that these are the only sets we'll get (just the pessimist in me). Optimistically, though, with the new film set for 2026, it makes all the sense in the world from a marketing standpoint to release some sort of batch of LOTR sets around the time of the film's release. Add the continued presence of the Rings of Power, coupled with the December release for War of the Rohirrim, LOTR has a strong presence in the wider culture. I feel if there were ever a time to re-visit/re-boot the theme full blast it's now.

It went from day one to second one purchase when the GWP was mentioned lol. I feel like even if the fell-beast build is awful, just getting 3 LOTR minifigs makes the thing worth it.