Ardelon

Like others have said, I would wager the designers had the black gate set on the table, and the MoS was a cool fig that fit the scene. And as for a scary character that gets decapitated, well, we got Lurtz... Its not like I cant imagine more appealing figs or sets, but the MoS is one of the best we got, IMO.

Nah, that would be too big for Sauron. Its not like he was 4-5 times taller that the Elves and Men. This would make him taller than a troll or around the size of an Ent.

Someone on this forum already suggested that TLG made the sets fom the EE of LotR because kids from the current target audience are too young to have seen the original nonextended version in movie theatres, so they would only be familiar with extended versions from DVDs and other media. I think this is a plausible reason.

I, for one, want to thank you for the EE clip links, legofreak86! As for a Sauron with Woody legs, I think that would look pretty goofy. I dont really know how to make a cool Sauron apart from a specialized bigfig mold. Edit: Removed part of post to the more appropriate "Future LotR Sets" thread.

What LEGO has joined together, let no man pull asunder. Wonderful idea (and a great cow), congratulations! And good for TLG for helping you out!

Nice little set. My favorite "sub-set" would be the Astronomer, because of the useful parts making up the telescope and stand, and the limited-use but still cool blackboard. But every module has someting going for it. No chance getting it where I live, of course. I think the original submitter made her point quite well. I have no issue with any gender-related criticism, or with the plain torsos. I do find it a bit funny that LEGO is about a simplified and stereotyped look at the world, with minifigs aiming to be instantly recognizable. Like scientists wearing lab coats and glasses. And now here come a set meant to show that the stereotype is wrong. I wonder what TLGs reaction would be to a set that would try to portray a less romanticized/stereotyped and more realistic take on medieval´or piratical life... Anyway, hopefully the set plays its own little role in nudging showing girls (and boys) towards STEM fields.

Guess I havent commented on this review yet. Top notch as usual. But its missing a pic of the Jesters quartered cap, and the Swashbucklers back printing. And I take it the Wizard and Hun dont have any back printing? As for the other stuff revealed by the review, the kissy face on the Princess is fabulous, and the hennin is very impressive. Otherwise, Im not really a fan of the multicolor Space Miner helmet – 2 colors would be enough. But the design is cool. Not sure about the the dark tan sleeves, either. One thing that occcured to me after seeing the golden underwear of the Battle Goddess is that it would be great for Xerxes in a 300 MOC... And it really is a shame the Genie girl doesnt have an alternate face print, since the hair would obscure it just fine. I wonder why - maybe the designers hit the ceiling on the number of available prints they could use? Might go and see tomorrow if my toy stores have them.

Really neat! Looking forward to your other models!

Well, even if the list was real, we would have a Confederate officer, snake charmer and ghoul as historical/fantasy minifgs (and maybe the army man and thief?). But yeah, that seems a bit low for a CMF series, especially with no sci-figs. I guess a toy soldier which is different from the Toy Story version (in dark or olive green? or with a beret instead of a helmet?) is not out of the question, so army man in this sense is not really a giveaway for a fake list, so much as, say, a confederate officer. And I dont see why a hobo or tramp would be such a no-go fig. So long as TLG spins him as as a carefree traveller who prefers roaming the country istead of settling down (and bathing), they should be fine. Yes, it might be romanticizing the plight of the unemployed and the socially excluded, but there were and are plenty of hobos who actively chose and choose this lifestyle. And TLG is all about the romanticizing and stereotyping and simplifying.

What a beautiful ship - it took me a few seconds to realize it was made of LEGO! Nice photography too! A great way to keep the memory of your dad alive.

I would prefer 6103; I would take two minifigs over a horse any day. Especially when a peasant is involved. Even though I prefer Wolfpack over Forestmen, and I grew up with the Dragon Masters.

I raised the question of the female figs on page 5, I agree that is a weak point of this list. But a CMF series doesnt necessarily have to hav western or sci-fi figs, unfortunately. Its the figs *on* the list that are suspicious, not the ones that are missing. Im actually expecting series 13 to be more town/sports oriented, since series 12 had more historical figs.

Id say continue, because why not? (If it isnt too much work for Mister Phes and other organizers)

Dont forget that the leaked names of CMFs are often vague or even misleading. Sometimes theyre in another language and something gets lost in translation. For all we know, the army man could well be a toy soldier (if the list is real, which I doubt).

Dont leave us in suspense Mister Phes, waiting for bad news is worse than hearing it! Has the project been cancelled?

Id think its the opposite - die hard fans would dislike this set as not bringing enough new stuff (and not faithful to the book; we will have to see if it is faithful to the film - the Azog armor hints not so much), while casual fans would see a interesting play-feature-filled structure, an impressive siege weapon and cool figs of many races/factions, while not too interested in the context, or how it could have been made to be better.

That pic of the 8 minifigs is from Toths portfolio. Word on the forum is that Toth got a job at TLG and indeed went on to design some CMFs. SO we can all see where the idea for a couple of them came from.

1. More Goblin Town torsos increase the appeal of the set, which it seems it needs, as many AFOLs thought the set was pretty weak. 2. Less Orc torsos keep down the costs for the other sets. Sensible enough, if not fan-friendly. But I agree that an armored Orc is sorely missed. If only the Moria Orc didnt have that "fleshie" triangle, he could have been used as a Mordor/Morgul/Morannon Orc, and probably a Dol Guldur Orc. Though a new helmet mold would be necessary.

Color me interested (who wouldnt be? ), though I doubt it would sway me to buy the set.

Im looking forward to the Extended Edition. I thought the Mirkwood and Elvenhalls sequences were too short, so Im looking forward to them being fleshed out. Not a fan of Beorn, but maybe an extended scene will make me warm up to him. At last Lake Town was fleshed out, though of course not like how I imagined it. And Yeah, Tauriel doesnt really fit in IMO, she feels too much like a modern action heroine added to sell the film. Its not that bad; if she contributed to the films success, then kudos to the character, actress and people who wrote her in. The film makers could have forgone the weird love plot, though. In all, I was never really immersed in the film like I was in LOtR or AUJ. Hopefully I wont have this complaint about the third film.

A worthy article on a deserving character. I first came across him back in 98 in a commercial extolling "the bravery of Sam Grant" (shame I cant find this commercial anywhere online), and it took me a while to get used to "Johnny Thunder". I guess you could have mentioned he comes from "the land down under", though I dont know how canon this information is...

I dont think we can say kids ignored LotR - Im prety sure the vast majority of sets were bought by or for kids. If the percentage of AFOLs as part of the customer composition is accurate, then aiming their sets at AFOLs would mean a far bigger loss for TLG. It doesnt have to be just TLG who is responsable for bad sales, it could be simply low demand. I would agree that SW is much better at creating and sustaining demand based on reasons mentioned in the posts above.

To me, this list doesnt sound real, due to the Army man, Confederate, and Bartender (unless its a soda jerk). One way to ascertain this list is by identifying five female figs - which ones would they be? The most probable ones are the tour guide, teacher and doll. The horseback rider could also be female to reuse the Olympic CMF headpiece, though I would like a male rider for a change, if the list is real. Who else? Could the penguin guy be a girl? Or the ghoul - what is that, anyway? The rest are stereotypically male roles, and since TLG is banking on recognizability of stereotypes, I would assume that the figs will be male...

No, I just meant J2Gs imgur pics that Gendren_y above linked to as well.

Having finally seen the hi-res pics, I see the new bandanas dont look so bad. And unlke some, I kind of like the absence of red in the buecoat color scheme. And Im more and more thrilled with the bluecoats being so compatible with their classic counterparts, with the torsos and flags. Id love to see something like this in the Castle theme.