Ardelon

Nice work! I especially like the technique you used for the sandbags, and the artillery piece is nicely done too. But I have to agree with Hive that Gallipoli is among the better known campaigns of the war...

Indeed a celebration of all that Valentine day stands for!

Nah, I dont think there were only a few guys who thought it could be Scooby series, and this rumor was shot down pretty quickly. I think a bigger controversy was whather it was going to be a Monster Fighter series (equally inlikley) or a full-on horror series (no costumed kids); I even half-jokingly suggested a full-on halloween series (no real monsters). The answer was somewhere in between - TLG managed to surprise us all, I guess.

Theres a new Peter Pan movie coming out this year: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_(2015_film) I guess its too late to hope for a LEGO license or we would have heard about it by now, but it seemed like a good opportunity for kid-friendly pirate sets. Im not really complaining, its better that we got an in-house theme. Edit: Huh, somehow the 2nd parenthesis isnt recognized as part of the link. Well, it still suggests the correct link, so one should be able to get to the correct webpage.

What Im afraid of is that TLG wouldnt want to provoke the Political Correctness Police by presenting scenarios like „cowboy“-Indian conflict, Mexican bandits, etc. Though I am a bit miffed that we get the sombrero in green and red but not in a more natural color.

2 members actually - BrickJagger as the OP and Sammael in post 126. And Im prety sure there would be almost as much posts in a Castle thread without any rumors - there would be preferences, wishlists, complaints about TLGs priorities, and the like. It just goes to show how Castle-starved we are here.

I dont have an issue with the problem as stated, because instead of Castle becoming subsumed in a Historical forum, I feel its more like the rest of history is being subsumed in the de facto Castle forum! Point being - whats in a name? Its still some 90% Castle. One remedy to the original complaint could be renaming the forum as Castle and Historical, which is rather redundant. Huh? There were Kingdoms waves in 2010 and 2011, the joust set in 2012, and the newest Catle theme in 2013...

Isnt there a topic with a poll about voting for your favorite subtheme (or faction)? Im too tired to lokk for it now, so Ill just post that after some deliberation, my fave post-2000 subtheme would be Fantasy Era and my fave pre-2000 faction is Dragon Masters (that last one is purely for nostalgia, though). KK2 is at the bottom of the pile, by a landslide, even if the Shadow Knights were cool. @ Eru Magnus Valar: The "Crusaders" name is kind of official, at least in North America (or the English-speaking world), as seen on this pic of a LEGO catalog on this guys Flickr: (eh, its the first relevant pic on google)

Another way to look at it ais as "releases" by year, which is how I classify them, for the sake of simplicity. So, for example: 1984: Crusaders and Black Falcons 1992: Wolf Pack 1998: Ninja (wave 1) 1999: Ninja (wave 2) 2000: KK1 2004: KK2 (wave 1) 2007: Fantasy era (wave 1) 2010: Kingdoms (wave 1) 2013: Castle (Crown Lions and the other dudes) But I admit, it does get tricky with defining factions vs.subthemes.

Considering the low status of historical and non-action themes, Id be surprised to see Wild West sets anytime soon, with the Pirates line just availabe, and a Castle 2016 line rumored. Id expect a WW theme only after one of these two other historical themes has ended. I would definitely not mind being wrong, though. @ Geno: As a European, I dont think the Wild West is significantly less popular than in the US, thanks to the works of Karl May and Morris (author of Lucky Luke). If WW is currently unpopular, Id say its a global phenomenon.

Im looking forward to any Castle theme, whether more fantastical or more realistic. The kind of realism Im looking for would be to steer clear of the jellybean knights aesthetic. I guess thats how I would put it - the aesthetic of both the Fantasy subtheme and, say, Kingdoms was pretty similar (and somewhat more realistic) between them, versus the KK2 aesthetic. As for wish lists, I dont mind them - sometimes I find them inspirational, sometimes not, but in those latter cases theyre easy to skim or skip.

Simple answer for me as well, yes! IMO they make a castle much more interesting, unique and substantial,. All the castle you named on raised baseplates seem a lot better than the ones not on raised baseplates, which look like gray squares with a courtyard.

@ Bobbtom None of the AFOL-observed evidence actually points to the sales of the line being "terrible". For all we know, it sold as well as expected, and is ending as and when expected. (Though I do think the change from 2 to 3 movies messed up the plans to some extent.) Now whether the sales were strong enough to support a Minas Tirith, probably not, but we cant know that based on inconclusive AFOL experiences. The pattern of previous Cuusoo/Ideas sets is probably a stronger clue, as discussed these past few pages. @ Dr. Cogg There was a Sauron in DGB. Probably not the one Sauron you wanted, but still Sauron. Otherwise, I agree with your reasons.

Im also indifferent to Chima, whether it be continuing or ending. But I do remember, before it launched, how someone quoted a TLG guy saying once we see Ninjagos replacement (which turned out to be Chima), we wont believe it hadnt come sooner (or something like that). Well, look how that turned out. I guess we will see a new actio theme, since both Chima and UA are being retired, if im not wrong. Though what with Ninjago, Bionicle, Elves and Scooby Doo, I really dont think the Action crowd would have been left hangning without a new theme.

Why would TLG make a Minas Tirith if a new Castle line is coming (assuming all other obstacles could be overcome)? Well, simply because a sizaeable Ideas set would not compete with the smaller Castle sets that would be available much more widely in stores. I doubt any prevous Cuusoo/Ideas set competed with any regular set. Now, the other arguments against MT passing review are strong, but this one isnt. Would it tie up the license for two years though? Cuusoo/Ideas sets have a much shorter run, dont they?

Youre assuming a large chunk of customers would buy repeats of army builder case, which is unlikely. The majority of LEGO is bought for kids by their older relatives, or by kids themselves with their pocket money. Why would parents buy multiples of one set for their kids? Maybe you come from a wealthy crowd, but for me LEGO sets were few a far between, one-off presents for birthdays and christmas, and maybe a tiny set for a treat once in a while. If I had whined for a repeat of the same set for army building, my parents would have called me out on being a spoilt brat, and they would hae been right. And I bet precious few kids have the money to sustain the profitability of army building sets for TLG. So who would these sets sell to? In the general population, there is a very small amount of AFOLs, among whom there is an uncertain amount of LotR/Castle/Fantasy fans, among whome there is a small amount of dedicated army builders. Not much of a market. As for why should collectors buy different sets from the lines even with multiple Gandalfs (Gandalves? ) or Gimlis, well, because another Gandalf or Gimli is a small price to pay for the rest of the unique parts of a set. I seriously doubt that someone who bought the Moria set would have passed over the Council of Elrond or the Pirate/Corsair Ship, is they wanted the other figs or elements, just because these sets had another Gimli.

I agree that this is a golden age for LEGO, though not for me personally, since my perferred themes are getting a back seat to various action and licensed themes that Im not a fan of. But objectively: no. 1 toymaker in the world, succesful movie with more on the way, Ninjago cartoon, etc, etc. All that speaks for itself. But its an interesting notion that with the movies, series, video games, apps, and tabeltop or card cames of whatever else they are producing, whether TLG isnt repeating the same mistake with diveersification as in the early 2000s, or what measures are they taking to ensure it doesnt happed again.

Shame this thread isnt more active. So Ill contribute by posting my opinion on the third film. Most of it is criticism, but that only means the rest is good. At least I was able to get immersed in it, unlike TDoS, where i I was always aware of sitting in a theatre. I didnt like the Dol Guldur sequence – whats the deal with the Nazgul being stabbed but surviving – theWK was stabbed and destroyed in RotK. I would expect a Maia to be far more powerful that an Elf, even Galadriel. JRRT even said that Sauron withut his ring wasnt diminished. Now it it had been the collective power of the White Council, even Radagast and Gandalf, that drove him out, with the Maiar revealing their full power, that would have been more plausible. Glad that Radagast survived. I didnt see the need for him to be killed of as was speculated. Though I wish he had actually taken part in the DG battle. I missed some development of Sarumans arc. Maybe in the EE? On to the main plot. The Smaug sequence was fun, and the method of his killing was quirky. Didnt need that much Bain, though. I dont really understand why his role was expanded so much. Same with Alfrid. Too much Legolas – it seemed PJ and co were conciously trying to top the Mumak-surfing scene from RotK. Surprised that Tauriel survived. It seems like a loose end since they didnt resolve her relationship with Legolas. Maybe in the EE? Not enough Beorn. While not my favorite character, he should have gotten his due by doing more in the battle. Maybe even kill Bolg, as revenge for destroying his people. Cant see him being in the EE, since there is nothing important left for him to do. Maybe save some of the other Dwarves from being overrun? Not enough Dain. In the book, he had plenty of street cred by killing Azog. Here, all he does is yell. And they didnt have to make him so obviously Scottish. Maybe in the EE? How the heck did Azog get to Ravenhill, before his tunnelling army and withouth anyone of the good guys noticing him, especially when the Orcs had to set up the signalling device. The Orcs were too easily killed. Not threatening enough. The Gundabad subplot was interesting though I find it hard to believe Bolg and Legolas crossed the distanced so quickly. Hoped that Fili and Kili would die defending Thorin, as in the book. Would have been more poignant. As it was, it felt a bit forced. The giant bats didnt actually do anything, except serve as an ersatz eagle for Legolas. The scenes with Thorin and Erebor in general were very well done. We really need an epilogue about the rebuilding of Dale under Bard and Erebor under Dain. Not sure how I would rank it among the three films, or (the six). So far, my favorite Hobbit film remains AUJ, but I will wait to see all three extended editions to make a final judgement.

Hmm, the ghost wave does not seem as good as the current Chen/ancondrai wave. The ghost color scheme is too disjointed and all over the place. No interest in the airjitsu flyers/spinners or the glow in the dark gimmick. But that DB looks pretty darn awesome. On par with the original, if not better. Funny reusing the genie lamp as a teapot, since the spout is completely impractical for a teapot. Im also amused by the chainsaw tail on the Wu dragon. Almost as funny as Kais first fire dragon spouting fire from its tail... So, thanks to the video Aanchir posted, we now know for certain the female ninja is dark red. So, another piece of evidence (apart from the similar emblem and the extra hairpiece in the DB) that points to Nya. Shame, I was hoping for Skylor, as Nya already has her Samurai minifig. Eagerly anticipating more and better pics.

It is speculated that the skeleton hows head is switched out for another figure. Hopefully this is the case. That could mean a ghost fig is among the missing five.

Lets not overdo it with the female torsos. Apart from the negative space around the curves looking ugly, its a 1-size-fits-all minifig toro, not human, so theres no need for it to copy the human form so pedantically. Apart from that, Its actuallly a "female" torso, not male, because of the feminine dress print. Not sure what the style is called, but it is a stereotypical japanese womans garment, as seen in media or even on civilan Nya from Ninjago, for example. As for back printing,Im from a time where back printing was nonexistent, so Im perfectly fine with no printing and see any back printing as a special treat rather than the norm. It actually feels greedy to me to demand more back printing, which shows me how much like my parents and grandparents I have become .

Well, I think their brightness is just right for LEGO. From the comparison pics, I see the new Redbeard actually does have a red (well, orange) beard, not brown as I thought. Well, now I can sleep easier for some reason.

The CMF Shakesperean actor has a good torso+legs combo for a green Dragon King. The governors daughter and the captains daughter from the 2009 Pirates line have blue-white-gold dresses that would fit well with the Crown Lions for their queen.

It looks like the Necromancer has worked his dark magic! But my opinion is that the MT outer wall is just a pet project of some LEGO designer, or at best a very preliminary attempt at seeing if and how NujuMetrus MT can work. Nothing to fuel any hope, really.

Ooh, A corroborating rumor! Good to hear. But now Artanis´s suggestion/warning of a KK2-style theme makes me worried all over again...