Virginia_Bricks

Did we get confirmation that Arcanine, Rayquaza and Munchlax are 18+ build-able Pokemon and not Smart Brick sets? If so, I missed it but I am excited. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but I think Eevee and the Trio are great. Pikachu is good, just not good enough with every other Lego set I want this year and next. Those three just seem like odd choices for the next 18+ sets with being less recognizable than the first set of 18+ Pokemon.

It comes down to the breakdown of flame retardants used in plastic. ABS plastic (what Lego uses) uses brominated plastric retardents so what you are seeing in the yellowing is the bromine. Clearly the lighter the color used, the more obvious the bromine becomes. But effectively the same reaction happens in black bricks as white bricks, you just can't see it in black because the dye is stronger. The reaction occurs most commonly from UV light and heat. Where you live in the world greatly impacts this because UV light is the strongest around the equator and weakens as you head north or south. Also depends on where windows are in the room Lego exists because UV light is strongest during the middle of the day.

If we are getting Eevee in the Pokeball set it feels safe to assume there will be at least a few in that set alone. Pikachu seems like a no brainier. If this is off the original anime, the eevee could be Gary's so each trainer will get their iconic Pokemon. Onyx for Brock seems easy enough and gives some size variety to the moulded Pokemon.

UV glass is expensive, but it does the job and what museums use on artwork. I don't think any of the acrylic cases would help the same way unless they have built in UV protection.

Absolutely. I don't own many solid white sets for this reason. Yet, my 2007 Imperial Landing Craft is relatively untouched. Sure its yellowed, but not to the point you would quickly notice without close inspection. I just bought Gringotts and have the Ghost from a few years back so we will see how they fare. Is it going to stop me from buying Minas Tirith? Not likely, but I went down the rabbit hole earlier this year about Lego changing their white to see if anything they did was to solve yellowing. The new white is a whole lot less opaque so it won't let light through as much, but that makes it almost feel like it will absorb more itself. There is a redditor who has been sun exposing a piece of the new white so we might soon have an answer.

I hope they keep the upscaled carts going for a while. There is a lot to do and I think they look great.

But they follow patterns because when people can leak information is not totally random. D2C sets is harder, but a lot of the retail sets leak because the information was shared with retailers who have less care about keeping those things secret. They get that information on a regular basis from Lego in advance of set releases. Sure the Minas Tirith leak happened early because of a mistake, so something could happen with the GWP, but most GWPs leak about a month before release. Another example besides Smeagol and Deagol was HP's GWP 40770 which leaked on August 7th before a September 1st release. Yet the SW May the 4th GWP leaked a few months ago.

Smeagol and Deagol leaked March 7th, 2025 which was released on April 2nd. So a month in advance. Therefore May is the best bet since Minas Tirith doesn't release till June.

So the exact same mini-figure. Great for those who want him and not buy a now retired, but not sure anyone is really itching for more bell and fossil prints given you always get a spare in each set with them.

Not to continue almost a page of discussion on just GWP practices, but I wonder what having a new distribution facility and production facility in North America allows Lego to do. Its only the second distribution center in the US so adding 2,000,000 sqft of space is significant. Don't think it would be used to store more GWPs, rather growing existing product lines and maybe new product lines (Smart Brick).

Any chance we get another Insiders Reward Mario Kart item? So many options: Red or Green Shell, Banana Peel, Mushroom, etc... Lego has to be seeing the crazy prices that is getting on the secondary market and thinking another one might do well.

There has to be a production run limit. Like they can only run 2,000 copies per production run. So increasing the # of copies would require it be stepped (10,000 to 12,000 to 14,000). Also these decisions have to be done before the set is "released" so they aren't always sure on reception. Last year the Shire GWP lasted forever because the set had a mixed reception. This accidental leak might give them a chance to prepare better because they can tell general sentiment on the set. Also fair to note, that the Fell Beast GWP was the first true LOTR GWP so they were still figuring out how many copies to produce. It ran out fast, but they prepared better for the Shire. I think the only GWP in the US that sold out on Day 1 was the Star Trek Shuttlepod. So a theme debuting and therefore difficult to predict demand.

That wouldn't accomplish their goal: Incentivize day 1 full retail sales. If I knew I could get the GWP later, I would just wait for a good sale or at least 2 VIP. If they made the GWPs more substantial for these large sets it might still work. You would need roughly a $35 GWP to make up for not getting 2x points and honestly probably $50-60 because during Insiders Weekend you can get 2x points and a GWP or two. Personally I think all the large LOTR releases since Rivendell have been on the same par as far as design goes. A lot of people judge the Shire because of its price, but is a really well designed set for its budget limitations. You can't clearly add more interior without increasing the price substantially or evening fixing the trees would cost a decent bit of budget.

But for some people the hobby is Lego being a toy and a collectible, not just a toy. You might not interact with it that way, but plenty of people do. I mean look at Funko Pops, Pokemon Cards, Hot Wheels, and so many more toy brands. Be thankful grading and protective sleeves have so far stayed away from Lego. For some people the collecting brings as much as joy as the building. Or as a hobby it could be even worse like concert tickets or other limited release drops where you have to be on at that time and the secondary market is even more insane. Sure Lego and their marketing tactics take a little while to learn if you are trying to maximize your budget, but they are predictable. I prefer to buy directly from Lego because in the US its not uncommon for someone to return a set with the mini-figures or key pieces missing. Therefore, I know to save my Star Wars purchases for May and its promo season, Harry Potter for September, and most everything else for a 2x points event which happen 4 times a year unless I'm buy a D2C on release. I'm a planner by default so this is the way I would handle it even without the promos. I also just accept I can't buy every set I want so if I miss a promo I like, I'm confident down the road another one I will like will show up.

Really rough estimate is: Width: 64 studs, Height 60 bricks/72 studs, Depth 32 studs. Used the gate which is about 8 by 12 studs to do the width and height.

I should have just bought Gringotts during Back to Hogwarts. I had budgeted for it but was buying other sets during that time and told myself to wait till Insiders Weekend and 2x points. But I stopped staying up to midnight to buy sets on release (though I might now with Minas Tirith not to risk it) because typically GWPs don't sell out that quick. I've learned my lesson on D2C sales though typically I don't wait till they are near EOL. Last year was just my second back as an AFOL so wasn't even thinking about Gringotts when it released.

Since the consensus is these are still preliminary mini-figs, what are the odds Arwen ends up with skirt printing? Just feels odd to have arm printing and cheap out on skirt printing.

Finally heard back from Lego on Gringotts. In the US, the set is officially sold out and retired. I believe they are going through final inventory and seeing what backorders they can fulfill with inventory left, but there are no future production runs. I don't think they expected the # of purchases on Insiders Weekend and it would last longer.

Can they do Erebor under the current license? Sure you could do Khazad-dum, but during the timeline of the LOTR it really isn't the home of the dwarves.

One of my favorite things Lego has started doing in the design of all their large sets is modularity. Not in the sense that you can swap things out, but so when building it is easier to combine a large set together. Barad-Dur did this, the new Death Star did, and Minas Tirith does. Even Rivendell does to a point where the three sections are separable.

8000+ pieces in a licensed theme. Even in architecture price per piece ratios that is a good deal.

Fell Beast was a clear relation to Barad-Dur and the Nazgul. Smeagol and Degaol might not seem related to the Shire, but they were hobbits. Rivendell was before they designed real GWPs and just gave out the BrickHeadz set. It will be Minas Tirith related. But that is a wide scope from something from the Battle of Pelenor Fields to a small interior scene. I'd expect they choose something not likely to be done in a large set so King Theoden/Rohirrim is out of the picture since Edoras/Rohan is still possible.

Yep, they need to verify it before further posting. Consider yourself lucky that you saw it before it got taken down. EDIT: Its legit and on reddit. WOW... Also surpise Arwen in the mini-figure line up. This was already a likely Day 1 buy for me, but if the price point is rumored right at $650 USD this might surpass Rivendell for me.

Send it into BrickTap. I think that would be your best bet. Tips&Bricks show pictures of real sets, but a lot of MOCs as well so they could verify if it is legit or not. In another news, while the east coast of the US was being pounded with snow I finally watched all the LOTR movies. I kind of get why play sets don't make sense in this revival. The majority of LOTR is grand places (Rivendell, Minas Tirith, Lothlorien, Barad-Dur, Orthanc, etc...) or battle/travel scenes. It doesn't lend itself easily to small sets without a lot of compromises. Sure they could do it, but the massive 18+ sets pull off the grandeur better. If I could get one wish for a future set it is Edoras. Helm's Deep or Orthanc in new versions would be nice, but I understand waiting on them. Minas Morgul has so little screen time, though it could be a cool set. Lothlorien would be cool, but not sure how easy you can create that design in budget constraints. The Prancing Pony could be a $200-300 set. As for the GWP, I don't think Grond makes the cut because the exterior is microscale and they would be out of scale with each other. The Witch King vs Eowyn also seems unlikely since there was the Fell Beast GWP. I think it would be a small diorama set (like the WSQK promo) of the interior of Minas Tirith. Something they just couldn't fit inside it and I would put good money on it to include Eowyn.

Yeah, this has been what I based my calculations on. Basically once the Main Tower image leaked it seemed highly likely the Viaduct Entrance would be handled this way. I truly believe they planned out the main portion of this modular castle in advance and set it into 3 parts for 3 years. And then built additional sets around those that would be nice to have but not necessary for the iconic facade. I was hoping you were referencing another traced image of the East Wing set like we got for the recent castle sets. It would have been early for that, but you never know.