Ardelon

Just like many others here, I used to build rainbow builds because of limited color availability. Also, I didnt really care about color so much as about shape. As I got older, I tried to add more method to the madness and used colors so that both/all sides of a MOC would be symmetrical, or building floors/storeys of one color etc. Then as a tween, the OCD kicked in and now I try to build in realisitck color schemes, unless its just a trial build.

The Islanders from the old pirates theme had a animal hide drum, though that wasnt a specialized molded piece, just a round 2x2 tile - it was meant to be seen as a drum piece, though.

Before pictures came out, I was rather hoping the army of the dead would come with transparent yellow-green helmets and weapons. That much at least would have been doable and more accurate IMO. Transparent heads would also have been neat, but these skeletal heads are nice enough. Of course I didnt know back then that tranparent arms are also an option...

Now that I think about it, having color-coded uniforms according to battle tactics doesnt seem very smart. One look at the GS uniforms/vehicles and the Bugs would know what tactic to expect and how to adapt and exploit their weaknesses...

Out of curiosity, are statistics on membership by country available somewhere for ordinary users? Not that it would reveal that much, since a lot of members dont include their country in their sig (or are there more tech-savvy ways to find out?), but still, it would be interesting...

Well, since I wasnt expecting much from these sets, Im not disappointed... But really, I am warming up to them. Its good to see the Dragon guys dont all share one torso. Are the coins new? These coins show single-digit numbers, while I only know of coins with values of 10, 20, 30, 40. Yeah, but all this was years before the current generations of kids grew into their LEGO age. I would expect TLG to recycle their themes faster, especially since forestmen are part of the modern clichéd view on the middle ages which LEGO Castle draws on for kids.

Wow, this is a really stunning set. Cant say I intend to get it, though. I expected no interior and a fully enclosed tower, and like some posters Im also wondering whether this set is aimed for kids or AFOL collectors. As for the Ent, considering that I usually dont like brick-built creatures, I think it turned out pretty well. Anyway, its still a much better looking Ent than the one from the 1978 Bakshi movie (shudder). Im Also hoping this means a Treebeard set later on. The mushroom is a cute touch. I wont complain about the figs, since I expected none. I think they could have captured Grímas beady-eyed look better, but I do ôlike the fact that he has no fleshie triangle on his torso. As for the reusd Orc, well after all, this is the set where he fits in most (along with the Orc Forge). Its a shame PJ didnt do a cameo as a Dunlending, we might have gotten another fig!

I wonder whether TLG would do an Amon Hen set, since its a bit of a downer scene. What would the sales pitch be? "Recreate the scene where Boromir is shot to death and the bad guys win the day, dragging Pippin and Merry off to face their doom in Isengard!"

Speaking for myself, it bugs me to use yellows and fleshies together, or yellow heads with fleshie torsos. But what irks me even more is that it tends to be the fleshies that have triangles or patches of skin exposed so all-fleshie supporters dont have such a big problem. The current castle theme compared to LotR is a case in point. I guess its because licensed figs are more realistic, while TLGs own themes are more simplistic. Just a random thought. On the subject of torsos, it seems the dragons all share only one. Shame.

Just wanted to say, Ive checked out the new designs on another monitor, and the parchment is yellowish enough... So no more complaints from me!

Yep, this pic and the rest of the series are on flickr courtesy of kockamania.hu. The link has been posted here (page 18 of this thread) by CM4S. Hmm, actual gold, then? Well, 1 down, 4999 to go! Or is it an April Fool prank? Edit: Yes, it is...

I prefer the old sharks for this very reason. Maybe a new print (or no print at all) for the new shark would make things different, but until then Im glad the new shark isnt taking over just yet.

To me the color is too pale, more like marble than parchment. I would expect more yellowishness. I think the old skin was closer to what i see in my minds eye. But I did notice that that my sceen color saturation is toned down compared to others i know, so maybe it really is just flawed perception on my end...

My top 3, in no particular order: centurion, bluecoat, sea captain. I wonder whether we will have to wait until some wider release date for bios to appear on the LEGO site. What do you guys think?

Nice work, but shouldnt Redbeards hair and beard be... red?

Looks really neat and captures some of the feel of the period, but Im missing the tan/beige color of old maps and yellowed parchment - thats the one color I associate most with pirates...

First things first... What I'm looking forward to right now is White Fang's review!

Id like to point out that the announced (or still just rumored?) exclusive new Bilbo minifig looks perfect for an 18th century civilian, with his cravat and waistcoast. Though I dont suppose this will be of much value given the nature of the figs distribution. I think the Frodo and Merry torsos would work just as well, if you dont mind flesh triangles on the torsos...

I too am glad at the news of a December 2014 Hobbit release, as it gives us hope for an extra LotR wave. As for any minifigs in the Orthanc set, I assume the set would be expensive as it is, without needing to jack up the price with figs, though I would like to see a Grima fig. I dont intend to get the set either way.

I think a theme of conservationist good guys vs poacher bad guys could work. The poachers wouldnt even have to be trying to kill the animals, just capture them for a private collector (think Sam Sinister / Baron von Barron) or a circus. Even so, the minifigs would probably be all yellow with all the positives and negatives of that. Another criticism might be that Africa would be depicted as nothing more than an animal reservation. And while there are monuments to African civilizations (Timbuktu, Great Zimbabwe, the Nubian Pyramids and Ethiopian churches, etc), these dont have the pop-culture recognition necessary to push an instantly recognizable kid-oriented theme - another reason why we havent seen an African theme, apart from the minifig skin color and the small African market.

Now that weve seen the golden minifig, Im not too impressed. Its not an outright bad or useless fig, but I dont know what I would do with one if it somehow came my way. It looks like more of an investment than a play fig. Funny thing is, its neither a gold version of one of the other figs, nor a plain fig, so TLG managed to surprise us with this one...

I picture a fireman with a new helmet mold that incorporates a badge or number at the front, similar to the new police helmet. Not really something Id like to see though. AFAIK, the collectable minifigs series were meant to give us figs whose production wouldnt be possible or justified in a mainstream theme, and and fireman (or a policeman) dont really have this problem.

Really, where? All I remember is a distiction between fighter and tracker Orcs. To me, this talk of breeds or varieties of Morgul/Morannon Orcs only signifies the location where these (entirely generic) Orcs were posted. On a related note, as someone has already said, the Moria Orc torso is remarkably similar to the what the Orcs at Harlond wore (layers of jagged armor over dark red): http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121127120507/lotr/images/4/4b/Crew_of_Guritz.png And since many Orcs were green, I say go ahead and and use the Moria torso. You can even use it with a brown head and think of the green bit as an undergarment, Id like an alternative orc as much as the next guy, but as others have noted, other main characters and Gondorians are a priority. On to the wizard duel, its a shame the palantír wasnt the smoky trans clear color. I think I prefer that the Eagle comes with studs instead of claws, this way it can be securely posed on a branch or cliff, which would be harder to do if it had claws. As for the undead, I would have preferred something like trans yellowish green helmets and weapons, and maybe heads too. That would have better caprtured their ghostliness. Glow in the dark parts seem to be a pretty useless and purely gimmicky feature here, since both scenes where the dead fight take place during the day, and I cant see kids playing with their corsair ship in the dark. But I guess they can reenact the Dunharrow scene better, Looking forward to better pics of PJ the Corsair (wish he was black instead of gray) and the Mouth of Sauron!

A generic galleon then. I always wondered whether political correctness stopped TLG from developping the Imperial Armada subtheme. Too similar to the Spanish/Portuguese, bad memories for the people of Latin America, etc. But the CM conquistador gives me hope that TLG might look again to this era. A galleon full of conquistadors in more realistic-colored armor than the golden conquistador would be nice, as the pirates and imperials already got their upgraded big ships.

Hmm, is the chinstrap really any different from the one on the wide-brimmed kettle helmet still in production (even in this very theme)?