HawkLord

I'm glad you were finally able to find one. I know here the Uruk-Hai Army set has been the hardest to find of the LOTR/Hobbit sets. I myself only have two because I don't want to get too deep into army-building, but I may pick-up more down the line since Lego might be light for me at the start of the year. It might be one of the sets with the highest secondary market price once LOTR is discontinued.

That coat looks a bit too big for him. I wonder where he could have gotten it from...

I'm surprised that they don't count the Probe Droid as a figure. I mean, they counted the B'omarr Monk as one. Still I might have to get this to fill out my Hoth stuff and for the Rieken, but when I do it'll have to be on sale or something. Not a top priority.

That's a great review. Thanks for posting it. I'm not a CW fan, but I'm really tempted by how good that walker looks. I think if it came with a couple more of those 212th troopers I might be sold on it. And though I'm not into Ashoka, her printing is really well done.

That and Ian has always said he prefers Gandalf over Magneto in interviews.

I don't see how calling someone on repeatitive and overly negative posts is "moderating". If a person is trolling just for the point of being negative, then that's not friendly.

Council of Elrond could just be the Dwarves (or more accurately Gandalf convincing the Dwarves) meeting with Elrond and could include mounted Elves and Elrond in armor.

It's already been discussed to death - Lego got prelim info/pics of the Hobbit and couldn't change things after production already began. This is nothing new.

I also remember reading an earlier report where the actor who plays Yazneg was originally cast to play Azog, but that changed at the last minute. For all we know, this set could have been accurate in some earlier version of the script.

Are you upset because you miss your own kind? Quit "trolling" this thread with your complaints about trolls...

The excuse would be size. Lego trolls are big and expensive - three in one set would get pricey. Plus, there's no play feature or much to that set, just three Trolls hanging out by a campfire? Maybe add in a tree or something? No where near enough there to warrant a set.

If we're talking about the CMF S9 Heroic Knight, then yes, one person has posted that S9 is out in their country. It's in the CMF sighting thread.

With Peter Jackson tying LOTR to the Hobbit so extensively, those characters were just added to help bridge the gap and add to audience appeal. Tauriel was added because the Hobbit is missing the quinessential "hot fighting chick" that is popular in today's fantasy stories. Which is funny because I still have to remind people that Arwen didn't raise the water that took out the Ringwraiths in the LOTR movie and that she played a much smaller role in the book.

As far as I know, it has not. Lego's other license themes haven't had movies split like this. This caught at least Lego and Bridge Direct completely off-guard. Now I digress, but this actually says something good about both their lead times. If you look at Sideshow Collectibles (who just announced their own Hobbit license a couple days ago) they have nothing ready or Gentle Giant (who has had the license since earlier this year) who only has one bust that was a SDCC exclusive out there. Weta and Noble Collection have a few Hobbit items out already. However Lego and Bridge Direct really have the most concise and expansive line of Hobbit products at the moment.

Don't forget that a general location for finds could help others in your area. Even if you just list the state. I haven't found any of the '13 Star Wars sets here in WA. I have seen a number of other '13 sets out there, just not Star Wars.

If you check the second page of this Star Wars section, you'll find a review of the A-Wing set that indicates, the pilot does have back printing.

No, Lego absolutely did not know. No one knew till the last minute, that's why Bridge Direct has Tauriel and Legolas in their action figure line. It was very easy for Lego late in the game to add a small red box to the packaging, once they found out about the change in movies. Edit: What will be interesting is how these things play out in the products for next year's Desolation of Smaug. Will we see Bridge Direct offer another version of Legolas and Tauriel in DoS packaging? Will Lego reprint Mirkwood and Barrels in DoS packaging? Or will these examples be the only available versions?

I've seen unopened boxes in stores before - Fred Meyers when they get stacks of them in. When S7 hit, they had maybe 5-6 boxes at each store all out at the same time. Plus, the average buyer can easily get a sealed box from Ebay of new or older series'. I think the smaller boxes get people closer to getting full sets for the cheapest price possible. If you look at collectible games or cards, most of the time the cases are designed to net someone a full set with some extras and a chase item. I almost think CMF could get close to that with this model - you get on full set, some extras, and a couple really hot figures (which almost count as chases, in a way) if you buy a case.

I can't fault Lego for not having accurate figures or depictions of sets when it comes to something brand new, like The Hobbit. Anyone whose ever been into collectibles knows that these manufactures get prelim pics to work off of months (or even up to a year) before the movie hits theaters, so there's no way it's always going to be right at the end. Now getting things right for a license that has already been out, like LOTR is a different story...

The Harry Potter Dementor figures could be pretty cool. Otherwise, I see the classic ghost as a very good option

A local Target has clearanced the Naboo Starfighter ($34.99), Geonosian Starfighter ($20.99), and Series 1 of the Planet sets ($6.99). They had tons of each. No other red-tagged clearanced sets that I could find.

A local Target has clearanced the Naboo Starfighter ($34.99), Geonosian Starfighter ($20.99), and Series 1 of the Planet sets ($6.99).

Easily. I started getting into Star Trek with TNG and have been into Star Wars since around the late '90s. Granted both are from the same sci-fi genre, they are vastly different in many regards.

Anyone know if any of the theaters are giving out or selling any promo material for The Hobbit? I remember this past summer's Avengers had promo 3-D glasses for Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor.

The Fantastic Four is really a great comic and one of my favorites from back in the day. I thought the first movie was good with a weak ending (Doom went out too easily) and the second movie was just unbearable. Everything I've been reading points to an entirely new cast for this reboot. I just hope it goes into a different direction, though. Maybe add in Annihilus, Mole Man, or Blastaar instead of Doom, so it just doesn't feel like a complete do-over.