Lynx

Is there any reliability to the information you posted, i.e. did the original poster cite her/ his credible source, or is this just speculation? Neither of the sets would be a surprise, so either way, it is conceivable to see at least the first two sets (brick-build balrog has been officially shown as part of the video game, Orthanc has been seen on the shelf of a LEGO office worker (I presume that's where it was.). I'd buy the bridge of Khazad-dûm although I'd prefer a molded balrog over a brick-build one. However, having seen the balrog from the video game, I expected as much. Orthanc is a must-buy for me if the set depicts the tower rather than a compilation of disjointed pieces as so often the case with previous LotR and Hobbit sets. I'm not a big fan of brick-build creatures, and an ent with minifigures that I already have from the first wave at a price of roughly 100 AUD would be a definite no for me.

Great, thanks for that!

Forgive my ignorance but how do you save youtube videos to your hard drive?

I stumbled upon some incredibly well done and humerous LEGO LotR stop-motion videos. Enjoy! Here are two more:

Thanks for posting about the update, Ardelon! I love these CGI pictures! Deathleech, here's the link:

It is blue? It looks green to me, but blue would be delightful for the reason you mentioned! Thorin would look twice as good with a blue cape! I could use more green capes, though, since my Eomer capes (two of them) went straight to the Rohan soldiers. On another note: There is a new LEGO LotR Video Game video on the facebook site. Amongst other things, a battle between orc warg riders and Rohan soldiers is shown. Interestingly, the warg model looks exactly like the actual LEGO models in "Attack of the Wargs" but is brown coloured. It's not hard to imagine this being turned into an actual set.

No reason to apologise, LegoLotRGuy! In my mind, the purpose of posting anything in this topic is to share excitement and provide information to other LEGO and/ or Tolkien nerds. I've never cared much for being the first to post something or "internet credit". The more people mention the update, the more likely it is that other Eurobrickers will read it and get a chance to marvel at the beautiful photos/ watch the video or whatever else they are interested. As for Gandalf, I agree with you that he is crucial to the scene, and firing burning pine cones without the wizard is something that we won't even see in Peter Jackson's movies (I hope). But then, Gandalf comes in three sets, one of which is fairly cheap (Gandalf Arrives) and one of which I expect to be the best selling LotR/ Hobbit set of them all (An unexpected Gathering), so I am glad not to see the wizard in yet another set at the possible expense of an orc.

The official site has been updated. I love the scenic photos - particularly that of Thorin fighting Yazneg. I was looking forward to the character description of Yazneg, but only Thorin has been added (Bifur is missing, as well). Most interesting about the video: the warg tails contain rubber and are bendable.

The Riddles for the Ring set is still the most recent one. It was uploaded rather late last week, too. I think today will show the Attack of the Wargs, rather than the Mirkwood set, though.

Here's the info regarding Frodo and Uruk-hai polybags with the Sun. There are other LEGO figures, too, so lucky if you live in the UK. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/affiliates/lego/

Soooo much better, deskp! However, the main problem I have with Kili is his printed beard. It has a weird angle since it doesn't cover his complete cheeks. The way it is, it does not even resemble a beard but ... something else.

Bifur is a cousin of Bofur and Bombur, not their brother. So you didn't separate any brothers! :)

Hi-res pictures: Goblin King Battle: http://ow.ly/i/116YC/original Riddles for the Ring: http://ow.ly/i/116Yo/original

Here's a link to the designer video of An Unexpected Gathering. The sketch model of Bag End is shown in it, so I can recommend watching it.

Excellent. Love the different colour of the mane and forehead printing. Yellow eyes also look fitting. It's better than the original.

I'd already be happy to see more grey wargs to have a good leader (white warg) to soldiers ratio. Speaking of the video game, for everybody in Australia: JB Hifi Preorder Bonus: The One Ring (physical bonus), Character Pack with Corsair, Mini-Balrog, Glorfindel, two hobbits (digital bonus) EB Games Preorder: Elrond Minifigure (physical bonus), DLC characters (digital bonus) JB is 10 bucks cheaper, but I preordered at EB who said they'd match the price.

Thanks for the pics, deskp! Fili looks so much better than I had expected from the blurry pics! He's now right up there with Bifur and Balin as the best adaptations in my mind. Now, I hope for a close up of Balin with his alternate (smiling) face to update my avatar. Edit: Never mind. Found it via google. I had completely forgotten that somebody had posted about the update on the official LEGO site. Now we have Bilbo, Fili and Balin. Anybody else wants to join Thorin and Company in avatars? So excited about that movie! I don't know if everybody is aware of it, but there's a massive update on thehobbit.lego.com ! It is now set out in the same style as the Lord of the Rings with map and detailed set description (so far, only one set up). It has a designer video, scenery and action photos as well a section about the characters, including CGI images. Balin's mace is represented as a sword in LEGO. I'm ok with that since it looks reasonable sword-ish and there's no way to make a new model for a weapon of a secondary character. Bombur's CGI looks great with more LEGO food than I've ever seen in one place.

I pre-ordered from EB Games where you get downloadable characters and the Elrond Minifigure.

I feared that LEGO Saruman would like too much like Gandalf. Glad to see this is not the case. If the actual minifigure is turning out that way, there's nothing to complain about. As for the Hobbit, I would be really disappointed not to see all 13 dwarves in the first wave.

Amazing MOC! However, how mean of the king to take the Arkenstone after burying it with Thorin's body!

Do I spot "Glorfindel" on that list? I'd love to get him as a LEGO figure after the treatment he received in the movies. Also hoping for that axe head to end up as a LEGO piece!

Please ignore my previous comment about Thror's Key. I re-read the passage, and Gandalf gave it to Thorin in Bag End. So a sliver of hope for Orcrist as far as I'm concerned. :)

Thanks for the Barriss Offee tip. I'll look into it. Regarding Orcrist, Thror's Key shouldn't be open in Bag End (Gandalf only mentioned it to Thorin after the Trollshaws, if I remember correctly), nor should Sting be included in the set "An unexpected Gathering", so I don't think Orcrist would be held back if it existed in LEGO form. I hope to be wrong, though.

Thanks for the photo. Disappointed that we won't get Orcrist, after all, and just the generic sword instead. Nori looks much better than I would have imagined after the first blurry image surfaced! Happy to see Thror's key included! I'd prefer Thorin with a blue cloak and minus the printed braids.

Thanks for posting! I think Oin looks great. Still mostly looking forward to Thorin and Ori in LEGO form. Also thanks to deskp for the update!