Deathleech

Sales tax in NYC is 8.875%. That would make the $200 Simpson house come out to roughly $217.75 after taxes.

In the U.S. you can definitely return any Lego set in store or ship it back, regardless of how you originally purchased it. This is pretty common practice with large retailers that have brick and mortar stores as well as online ones. See Lego's return policy here.

Or you can save the pictures to one of the many other photo hosting sites where you can post your pictures without requiring people log in to see them.

The thing is the DoS Hobbit sets aren't even four months old. They were officially released Dec 1st, 2013 and it's now March 12th, 2014. That's just under three and a half months and really it's shorter than that because they have been sold out for awhile now at most stores. ALL the Targets and Wal-Marts around me (about 7-8 of each, I live roughly 25 minutes from Chicago, the third largest city in the U.S.) have the wave completely out of stock and no spot or tags for them on shelves. This isn't just for me either, there were several other members from around the U.S. reporting the EXACT same thing. Can you tell me ANY other wave or theme that only lasted three months in Target and WM? Most last AT LEAST six months in stores before being phased out, even if they are poor sellers. Ya these stores will regularly clearance and put new sets on sale but please tell me how often they stop carrying a Lego wave after only three months? You keep bringing up points to try and strengthen your argument, but you are missing the real reason for these things . Yes Toys R Us has wave two Hobbit sets in stock but look at their website and stores, they also have Mines of Moria and some other wave one LotR sets because they jack their prices up so much (20%+ over MSRP with MoM). The first LotR sets were released almost two years ago and have been out of production almost a year but TRU STILL has some in stock. Does that not tell you something? They obviously take forever to move their inventory due to their over pricing. As for Target and WM online, sure they still have the DoS Hobbit sets because those are huge warehouses that have thousands of each set and send them out to every online order, they aren't an individual store that only gets a few shipments of each set. I am sure they will have them online awhile longer before they can sell through everything in their warehouse for online distribution. Once it's gone it will be gone for good though, unless they order more sets. I mean you have to be logical about this and not let emotions and blind hope get in the way. Sure there is a lot of Lego product on shelves right now, but look at past Middle-Earth waves. The first LotR wave was in Target and WM stores for over six months. The first Hobbit wave was too. The second LotR was slightly shorter but still was there several months. Now we have the second Hobbit wave and it's not even in stores for three months? After a less than stellar wave two LotR? Only four sets in a wave and most barely even given any attention? Does it not seem obvious what happened? I am all for being optimistic and was the first to defend the line when we got poor sales reports after the first LotR wave was released. When virtually every WM and Target, two of the largest retailers in America stop stocking a wave after a mere three months (when they usually have them for 5-6 months minimum) that should tell you something though...

If you live in the U.S., Toys R Us is currently running a sale on Barrel Escape. You can get it for $25 which is almost 40% off. It includes Oin and Gloin.

Really nothing is confirmed. The people who attended the London Toy Fair had little to no interest in the Hobbit and they weren't very knowledgeable on what was or wasn't in the sets. Add to it most of the stuff seemed to be prototypes or stand ins and it's hard to say for sure what we are getting. It SEEMS like Smaug will be in the big Erebor set and Dain will be in the $60 Bo5A set, with Bain in the $35 Lake-town add on set. Other than that nothing was really reported...

The past two reveals were also the second largest sets in their respective waves though, not the largest. I would tend to agree Erebor would be the set shown off because they would want to show Smaug, but who knows with Lego...

Lego almost never announces sales for individual themes unless they are one of the top three or four talked about on an earnings report. If a line is doing bad Lego isn't going to say anything about it nor announce the line is ending soon when they still have sets on shelves. This would hurt current sales. We talked about this awhile back. The ONLY way we know how well a line is doing is based on our own observations. By the time we know a line is ending it has already ended (no new waves for 2015 would be an obvious indicator the theme is done). Right, but the thing is I still see dedicated space in these stores to other themes like TMNT and Superman all from last year and all released waaaaay before the DoS Hobbit sets. What explanation is there for having old sets like this still on shelves but all the Hobbit: DoS sets are gone without space to be re-stocked? The Hobbit sets aren't even 3 months old compared to those others I mentioned which are well over 6 months old. The ONLY logical explanation is poor sales and/or stores didn't order much stock because they didn't expect many sales. Sorry, I am not trying to be a downer but it seems pretty obvious... We aren't talking about a few sets clearanced here. I understand even the best selling theme will go on clearance or sale or have some sets that tank. Heck, Amazon will usually discount new sets 20-25% within the first month or two of them being released. We are talking about a three month old wave already disappearing from most stores with no space to be re-stocked though. Even Lone Ranger from last year lasted 6-8 months in stores. I am sorry but there is NO excuse for only having a brand new wave in stores for 3 months, especially when it was barely stocked to begin with. Please tell me any current or past wave (not set, an entire wave) that was only stocked 3 months that wasn't a total bomb? I am sorry guys, I hate to be such a downer but we can't be naive about things either. It's one thing to hear a few isolated Lego store manager reports about sales. It's another when two of the largest retailers in America only carry a line for 3 months and pretty much EVERYONE is seeing the same thing.

Oh I know it's not perfect and it doesn't give us exact data or anything, but it does seem rather consistent. Look at all the comments in this thread. Almost everyone seems to be experiencing the same thing. There is either little or no space for the DoS Hobbit sets released just three months ago. None are in stock either. And it's not just starting now, it happened like a month after they were released. I get what you are saying though. When the first LotR wave was released we had reports from people who had apparently talked to their Lego store managers and had been told of poor sales. The thing is, we had others who reported great sales and the Lego CEO said sales were strong for the LotR theme when asked about licensed set sales in general. Now though, everything seems to be pointing to the same thing. No DoS Hobbit sets at any WM or Target stores anymore. To me it seems pretty apparent. Lego had a pretty strong 2012 Middle-Earth line up but then dropped the ball. Maybe the first wave didn't preform as well as they hoped (how well they expected on a 10 year old license is anyone's guess), but it still did reasonably well. Then wave two rolled around and sales seemed to really plummet, especially on the LotR stuff due to lackluster sets and scenes chosen.

The sale started Sunday, the 9th.

Sales and clearances are one thing. Obviously if a single set isn't selling well it will be put on clearance. That isn't an entire wave, that is a single set stores have surplus of or hasn't sold as well as they wanted. If a store is running some sort of sale several sets will be included in it even if they were just released. Not ordering an entire wave or re-stocking it is a whole nother issue though. Just look at your local Target or Wal-Mart. Do you honestly think they did really well with 2013 Middle-Earth sets? I don't. What I saw was a lot of sets sitting around warming shelves for the LotR wave (especially Council of Elrond which was deeply clearanced to over 40% and STILL has sets collecting dust), and then the Hobbit wave was slapped onto shelves with seemingly little care at all. They were put on an end cap display with Ninjago and The Lego Movie and there were only 2-3 of each set with DGB totally missing from most displays. There have been few restocks and no dedicated display space for the sets in the Lego aisle.

I think you are being a little too optimistic. Target and Wal-Mart carry a wave for at least 5-6 months. If it is flying off shelves and selling well they will keep re-ordering it. Why do you think the 2014 Lego retail catalog listed LotR sets when no new ones are being released in 2014? Those were obviously the 2013 sets, but Lego is still offering them to retailers. Target and WM are not going to stop carrying DoS Hobbit sets after a mere three months, especially if they are flying off shelves. They had Lone Ranger stuff for what, 6+ months and still have some 2013 LotR sets? The only reason TRU still has anything is because they jack their prices up so high they move way less stock. My local TRU had Mines of Moria, Helm's Deep, etc. LONG after they were retired because no one in their right mind is going to buy those sets for $20-30 over MSRP when they are available elsewhere for much cheaper. I am sorry but I am pretty sure retailers just didn't order a lot of Hobbit to begin with due to poor second LotR wave sales. Even when the wave two Hobbit sets were first released on the end caps at Target I remember there only being like 2-3 of each set and that was a fresh stock. The Lego Movie and Ninjago stuff, on the other hand, was over flowing the shelves.

Those look pretty neat! The only criticism is that Picard is the only fig without the white in his eyes. He looks a little out of place.

I know, but usually they list all the recently released older sets don't they? They have things in the catalog like older Chima sets (even Cragger's Command Ship!), the D2C sets from last year like the Sydney Opera House, and the new Ninjago sets which were released around the same time as the second Hobbit wave. There is no Middle-Earth at all though.

I guess that would make sense since the game is only suppose to cover the first two films and Dain shows up for the Bo5A which is all supposed to be covered in the third movie. The back scenery just threw me off. In the film it's all dark and smoldering with mountains and rocks all over but in the video game it looks like a fairly bright day on a flatter plain and the mountains are all far off in the background, it doesn't look like the battle is taking place right at the base of them like in the film. At any rate maybe those dwarf soldiers will be what we see in the final Hobbit wave?.

Who cares about Smaug! At 1:06 we get what looks like our first look at Dain?! And later on some new helms' which appear to be for the dwarven soldiers (or maybe they are orc ones, hard to tell)? EDIT: Nevermind, they definetly look like new dwarven helmets. Look on the right side at 1:14-1:15, it looks like a dwarf soldier with helm and shield.

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I wanted a molded Smaug because I figured it would look more organic and closer to Smaug in the movie in terms of curves and shape. On the other hand I was really hoping for something brick built so it would be larger and more menacing since Lego can't even come close to Smaug's scale with a fully molded creature. I would of loved to have seen what Lego could of done if they mixed molded and brick built parts, like they have with other dragons. I don't think the Lego minifigures or pieces look as good in the video games as they do as real pieces. I will have to wait and see the actual Smaug figure before I make my final judgement.

It says it's the Spring 2014 catalog on the front. Like Blakstone points out, it has all the new sets. Simpsons House, new Star Wars, Chima, Super Heroes, etc. It also has the Mixels. Not a single advertisement for the Hobbit or LotR though, not even a single page like in the past few catalogs.

I got it as well. I am not just worried about Orthanc, I am worried about the line as a whole now. Not having the LotR sets is fine, they were over 9 months old so I expected them not to be in there, but the Hobbit? They came out in December 2013, that's not even 4 months ago. Why on earth would Lego not have an advertisement for them unless sales were terrible? At this point I am not even worried about a third LotR wave, that seems totally unlikely, I am worried about the third Hobbit wave just making it to shelves before it get's cancelled.

Duh! Of course that would of been easier and reduced any chance of cracking. Dunno why I was thinking he drilled into a solider 1x2 brick. Interesting fix. Why not just try super glue or some kind of plastic welding though?

What do you expect when you don't get a new wave for almost a year, and very little info for over six months? It's always been this way though, it's slow until new info comes out. Then we get like 5 new pages a day for a week straight and then it all dies back down again and the cycle repeats.

Interesting. I am surprised the bricks didn't crack or split in half when you drilled into them? Also, I think these would be more classified as shelve supports rather than hangers. When I saw the thread title I thought you had made a clothes hanger out of Lego or something!

Does that hood fit with the elf hair and ears? I know quivers don't so... ?

It's true you can MOD and switch some pieces to make Thranduil serve as a more generic soldier. The problem is that only really works if you want to use him in your own fantasy world and not as something directly taken from LotR/Hobbit (at least seen in the movies). Also, as mentioned, his hair piece is pretty much useless after the first one no matter what you plan on doing with his head, torso, and legs. In terms of the green hoods, I have mixed feelings about them. On the one hand they are great for people who want to use them for other purposes outside LotR or the Hobbit. Even within Middle-Earth they could have a few uses such as being used for Ithilien Rangers. That is both a blessing and a curse though. It's hard for some people (myself included) to imagine the Mirkwood Elves as elves since they have no real defining parts on them to differentiate them from humans (ie the pointy EARS!). Ya they have the printing on their legs and toros and the long elven bows, but at first glance they look just as much like a human ranger as an elf. Lego COULD of given us a new hood mold that has the ears on the side of it. Of course that has it's own set of issues. The ears generally don't stick out of hoods and the hoods would have no use outside being very specific elven hoods (no more using them for Ithilien Rangers, for instance). I think in the end Lego probably chose the best option, even if the elves are never really seen with their hoods up in the films. Two hooded elves and one with hair. MAYBE they could of switched those ratios around, and of course the BEST option would of been one hooded, one with hair, and one tricked out in the water gate armor. As is though, Lego made a fairly decent compromise without having to invest in too many new molds or prints. Personally I still wish the set would of came with another Orc instead and they would of had hair Wow, where did you get all of those? I am guessing you are a manager of a movie theater or got a bunch of left overs for cheap or something? I doubt you went and saw Desolation of Smaug 372 times, especially considering how bad it was (ok, it wasn't THAT bad, just not amazing like the LotR films... )

Osgiliath for me as well. While the structure might not be as unique or translate as well to a set, the minifigure possibilities would make up for it ten fold. Pretty much every unique minifigure in a Minas Morgul set could be included in Osgiliath, and then some. The Witch King, Gothmog, Faramir, Gondor Soldiers, Ithilien Rangers, new Morannon Orcs, etc. Plus they could do Osgiliath several ways and it could be fantastic any of them. A $30 army builder, a smaller $50-60 set or a big $80-100+ set,.