Lordhelmet

Do we know if there is a rumor for a gwp yet? Obviously we had the big leak with the set but no rumors if there is a gwp at this point. if the rumored prices are correct this will be a rare day one buy without a gwp for me if there is not one. Been waiting too long for Gondor.

This can be fun, lots of Lego fans (normally for whatever big set is releasing) standing around talking about Lego. It’s normally a pretty good time. Now I mostly order online too but occasionally do enjoy waiting in line at the store. Store also are pretty good about having enough gwps for people in line. I am good with this. GWP is just about value for the money to me. Having a gwp (and a decent one) makes me more likely to pay full price as it is better value. If there is no gwp or it’s not special/unique (looking at you Death Star) then I prefer to wait a few years to see if things go on sale (or get double vip points with a seasonal gwp). I think exclusivity helps increase value, and having it available for the first month or something like that would probably increase their sales at full price.

Oh good call, and seconded I am for GWP, I think the production should be for a time period (if you order in first day you are locked in to receive a gwp - beyond that as supplies last). That way you don’t feel a crazy rush if you want one and they won’t sell out before the first day is over. I am also good with a limited amount but recognize how that enables scalpers (not resellers) this production discussion is interesting because barad dur had the fell beast which had the only prints show up in another set and on PAB. My complaint there was how the scalper crowd bought out PAB very quickly of the torso, a handful of bricklink stores had like 50 of them. So production was enough over time that anyone who wants it can get it relatively easily. I suppose the risk of over production is the PAB selling out. no good way to do it, I am for gwp though. It is really just a calculation of value. If you want a set do you want it at full price with a gwp or at 20% off before it retires. Gwp needs to be good enough to forgo the potential discount later on.

My preference is for the doors of durin unless we get another cave troll big fig. i think with minas tirith coming out my new wishlist is the following (in order) 1) Edoras 2) grey havens (really just the ship) 3) Loth Lorien 4) watcher in the water 5) helms deep 6) prancing pony 7) orthanc 8) black gate 9) ent moot This is assuming we are just getting the big sets and not play sets. Play sets and a small but stand alone theme would change this list and order.

Thanks, I just think the color chosen is too orange (not bad that it's a color, but I will probably grab a tan one). What a great year for sets - Suaron looks great and has the minifigure then Minis Tirith looks almost perfect, hopefully the prices are correct. Only thing we could have to make it all better is a CMF/Battle packs and a few small sets but for what we are getting it is great.

Anyone know which part is used for faramirs hair? I plan on fixing it. Thanks in advance.

I have liked them all, Rivendell was definitely special but all of them have been good Which was the worst gwp possible because hardcore fans had already bought the brickhead and ended up with a second one which wasn’t even a good one. I would be good with the retail set if it was already on shelves or if it at least interacted with the set in some way. An ideal gwp would be something like a battle pack, gives you a few extra mini figs with the option to buy more if you want.

I prefer they mix it up to get all of these complaints. The opposite opinion is also present for these where some fans love the opposite of the complaints. So I am good with a mix to make everyone simultaneously happy and unhappy. my personal thought is I would prefer a gwp that has something exclusive without a further release. The brickheadz for Rivendell were so stupid. But I am sure some people liked that. that said a micro grond to match the gates would be awesome with an orc or two (obviously the orcs wouldn’t be in scale) but grond could be at the gate and it wouldn’t take away from a future set where they did grond better justice. would also like some extra soldiers, maybe with the weapons pack from Rivendell and a weapons rack/room or isildur

Could use the Princess Leia skirt or a similar one as an alternate (mine will be on shadowfax though)

Wow, just saw it (late to the party). Looks awesome, love the idea to make the inside one big grand looking throne room. Denethor has his tomatoes. Outside looks great (is that a reuse of the Neuschwanstein windows on the exterior windows - made a post recently about how much I loved that set). this will look awesome in person in ways I suspect pictures and video won’t do it justice. love the mini figures, finally after 12 years, hoping there is a way to get more Gondor soldiers soon. I like the Aragorn crown too day one purchase, it looks awesome now just hoping for a cool gwp (even an extra guard would be cool) doesn’t feel real after expecting Gondor 12 years ago to the disappointment of not getting them and the theme being canceled.

After loving the starship collection AT-AT here is my wishlist for future starship collection sets. 1) Star Destroyer 2) Rebel Transport (bright hope) 3) Sand Crawler 4) Slave 1 (to pair with the falcon) 5) imperial landing craft 6) Naboo Royal Starship 7) Blockade Flagship 8) AAT

We are definitely not experiencing the too similar problem with LOTR, thinking Gandalfs cart is like Lukes Landspeeder is a funny thought though. I do get the sentiment that given the lack of sets we get, it does make any remakes feel significant. We are finally getting Gondor after 14 years which was desperately needed. Still some significant gaps (Lothlorien, Edoras, Eowyn, Witch King, Oliphaunt, etc.) but I think remakes are finally ok given that the most egregious missing part is rumored for later this year. Not having a Gondor set was the equivalent of not having an X-wing, or other similar main ship). So I am good with all the remakes now, and as always wish we were getting some lower cost sets (battle packs, standard sets, etc.)

That Ganon figure is one of the best minifigures I have seen. I don't see any flaws with it, and the cape is special.

It has to have some level of popularity, the generation that grew up loving LOTR are the parents who are now sharing it with their kids. There is just not a lot of stuff for the kids to do with that other than older stuff (like the old lego video games, building Mocs, etc.). It is not every kid, but there are definitely kids who like LOTR. Castle in general is crazy to me that Lego does not have any cheap options for kids. Castles are definitely still popular with kids, the local non official lego shop even has "battle packs" where it combines a bunch of PAB pieces to get different factions. If they had one or two $10-$15 castle sets with a few knights they would sell well.

Autocorrect did not like what I typed :) . Minidoll and Witch King.

I would be good with Art and most of th list your provided. There is a lot of cool Art that they could do for Middle Earth, I do like the map idea. I would even go for a tree beard mech, the original ENT is very similar to mechs today and even has the arm throwing motion. Athelas botanical? Hahaha, we will get a witch king minimill as the only witching.

Hopefully they poke around with battle packs, $10 sets, and regular play sets

It was a fun build, a few repetitive parts but it was nice how pieces came together, lots of good Easter eggs and satisfying angles coming together. Building it after minis tirith was announced as a micro scale got me excited for the possibilities of a micro scale minis tirith, as the end model is nice to look at. Long answer but yes the build was good.

Thirteen years ago I believe. I agree with this, I don't mind the resellers for thinks like Sauron, the scalpers are a different story. Thankfully for LOTR the Wraith had the prints in PAB, and the only unique part of Sméagol and Deagol was the face prints to my knowledge. The resellers are just going off market price for something that is available (yet out of reach for most). I am also good with the set including the minifigure so people can get it cheaper. The biggest problem for LOTR pricing is the lack of affordable sets so every chance we get below $100 to get a minifigure is a good one.

Bust looks good, happy it is under $100 and it has a minifigure

That is funny about the young Jedi set, agreed on the rest, and I did see one of the Star Wars books with on of the hanging tags but could totally see the books with figures there for $3. I will have to keep my eye out for more of the books though.

This is a good point, the clone army building options the last few years have been significant (no matter how many complaints about the helmets and prints there have been it has not seems to hurt the sales). Clones army building has shaped the current landscape substantially.

Agreed, things were watered down too much. We got one strong movie out of five and one and half good shows out of 7 or 8? focusing resources to produce less but excellent content was a better choice. Interesting note on this, there’s a store called Ollie s in the US, they basically collect everything that doesn’t sell at discount at places like Walmart and sell at a reduced amount. I don’t think Lego has ever been in one but there were a ton of last Jedi action figures selling for $2 at one this weekend (they were not selling). Ashoka was also well represented. To note most of the other toys were from wish, black panther two, and random other toys. The over saturation of mediocre shows and movies leads to poor merchandise sales. This leads me to two thoughts. 1) I am curious what Legos negotiating power is with Disney, is Lego bolstering merchandise sales for them now? Or is Star Wars bolstering Lego sales? Probably a combo, but not sure that it is as one sided as it was years ago. 2) Lego should be responsive to the few good things (looking at you tie avengers) more than trying to have a bunch of stuff out for new movies (I think this just means better mix of products each year with a more balanced approach vs. dedicating half of a wave to a new movie) We will see how mando changes the landscape.

Very likely, they did use this in Neuschwanstein for windows in addition to the prints. This was also used in the ideas challenge exploring middle earth (by the winning design which is a micro scale minis tirith). Worth checking out. My assumptions is the actual set will have a bigger city and less rock work and field work than the winning set but this at least gives a good idea of what mini scale can look like

Just built Neuschwanstein and it made me excited for minis tirith, I am hoping and expect it to look awesome. Hoping for a bunch of printed parts like Rivendell had to capture windows or details.