Deathleech

It seems Lego does this a lot with the LotR/Hobbit waves, but it's not usually stuff we want, lol. I think most people were expecting the biggest set in the third Hobbit wave to be based on the Bo5A with a $30 army builder add on and a 60-80 dollar set between those with Smaug in Lake-town. Instead the biggest set seems centered on the end of DoS with Erebor and Smaug, Lake-town is the cheaper $30 set, and the Bo5A is a $60 set. Pretty much nothing anyone was expecting and it doesn't seem as ideal either. I mean if the minifigures in the Erebor set are just the dwarves in rag tag clothing is anyone going to be excited to get them? I know I'm not. And who is going to be in Lake-town? Bain and who else? His sisters? Taurial? Fili and Killi? Also not the most robust selection of figures. My excitement for the third wave has actually gone down significantly after hearing the toy fair reports. I know it's probably premature and I should wait for pictures, but just based on what we heard (which could be totally wrong considering it's sketchy info at best) I am much less excited than I was a few weeks ago for the wave. I was imagining a really big cool Erebor gate and statues for the Bo5A set, a cool army builder with several factions all decked out in armor for the $30 army builder set, and finally Lake-town with the epic showdown between Bard and Smaug with some nice add on buildings.

Well everyone wants a number of things but what is the top on your list and why

This thread is about the ONE thing you want most from the LltR line guys, not a wish list of a dozen you want... Lol

Right now it doesn't appear we will be getting a 2014 LotR wave and the theme may possibly be done. I am hopeful we will get a wave next year as there is just too much missing. If not though, what would be the ONE thing you want to see come from the LotR theme? This can be anything not done yet.. a minifigure, a structure, a creature (brick built or molded), etc. Basically what is the one thing you would want to see before the line ends? Personally I think it's a Gondor Soldier for me. A nice Gondor printed torso would all me to make my own Pippin and Faramir in Gondor attire as well as obviously covering the one big faction still missing from the Middle-Earth Lego universe. Eowyn can be created using existing parts and a Balrog/Fel Beast/Mumakil can all be brick built and MOC'd. Really the only major character that can't easily be re-created is the Witch King, though technically we could have him in his normal Nazgul hooded form and we will get his ghost form with the Hobbit wave. I feel like Lego not making a Gondor soldier does not leave us with any easy options to make our own since the white tree print and helm are so unique.

Ya, it would be nice if SOMEONE would cover the other themes. Even some accurate set descriptions would be great if we can't get pics. All the reporters had so much info on the Star Wars sets but when it came to other themes there was next to nothing. Most haven't even seen the Hobbit films

It's the 2014 catalog. It says so right on the cover and there are a number of new sets being released in 2014 that are listed inside and weren't available last year (Disney Friends, Mixels, etc.). I am not sure where the confusion is coming from. The catalog should have all the sets available this year. That means ALL 2014 sets coming out as well as some from the later half of 2013 that are still in production and that retailers can order. Lego doesn't stop selling 2013 sets the second the new year rolls around. Lone Ranger isn't listed because that was available early 2013 (April) and was a more limited run (8 months or so rather than a year+) centered around the movie release.

"So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five Armies, and it was very terrible. Upon one side were the Goblins and the wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves." Tolkien names the battle and then lists five races, but doesn't specifically name them as the five armies. Obviously he wouldn't list the eagles here because their coming is one of the major turning points of the battle. If he listed them it would give a big surprise away. Sorry if it seems like I am being argumentative, but I think this has a pretty big impact on what the Bo5A set will include. I was trying to check around for a definitive answer and there doesn't seem to be one. It's another example of Tolkien being vague. It doesn't help the armies are contradictory (why is one species of animals considered their own army but not the others?) Even on this site it lists the five armies as the dwarves, men, elves, orcs, and wargs, but then later on it says the orcs and wargs are only one army: "Soon the Orcs and Wargs arrived (and now the fourth army was on the field)". In the cartoon version the wargs and orcs are listed as one army and the eagles another.

I would guess the one page is just the 2013 summer LotR sets. The eBay description says the catalog lists every 2014 Lego set available so that obviously means old sets as well. The 2013 LotR wave is not even a year old yet so they probably are still offering it to retailers to order? That would also explain it's one page compared to the other themes.

Yup, great use of the white snake piece...

LOL! Oh no indeed, now wealth adviser Alcarin is going to tell you how to manage your finances and save so you CAN afford it! But in all seriousness, I don't really get your line of thinking Alcarin. So you fully acknowledge Lego cannot possibly make a minifigure scale Minas Tirith to your standards (given their piece and budget constraints), but at the same time you don't want them to make a scaled down version either? And you don't want to MOC your own? So basically you love Minas Tirith so much you don't want to ever see it in Lego form unless it's some ridiculous MOC by someone else?

I agree. Cape and hood vs just hood version: The cape makes them look significantly better. On the bright side at least they don't look as bad as the polybag version where they lacked a cape AND the shirt color clashed with the hood color . I hated that look so much I took all the elf hair pieces from the MEA set and put them on the olive green shirt guards and gave all the scouts in MEA all the hoods. Why Lego didn't include capes is beyond me. Those capes probably cost them a few cents? Or heck, why not include a set of hoods AND ears/hair for each elf so people have options? Again, it probably cost Lego a few extra cents to include the extra pieces. I know, I know, it adds up when you are mass producing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of the same set but come on! How much more appeal would the set have then? Elves without hoods look like nothing more than humans or rangers to most people, but at the same time not everyone wants elves and they actually PREFER ranger type figures. Personally the hood itself doesn't bother me, even if it wasn't shown in the film. I mean do we ever see Mordor Orcs wearing Uruk-hai helmets like in the Black Gate set? Heck, do we even see them with that print when they are doing battle? Lego obviously takes liberties when it comes to certain stuff if it will save them money.

I have 60 Mordor Orcs, 20 Goblin Town goblins, 40 Moria Orcs, 20 Orc Hunters, and 50 Gundabad Orcs so 190 total? I would like to get about 20-50 more Mordor Orcs, but want to wait and see if we will get a third LotR wave with any, and what the orc situation looks like in the third Hobbit wave. As for the Lake-town guards, I thought I mentioned why I had so many in my previous post. Whoops, I guess I forgot! It's for a few reasons actually. First off they are my fill in Gondor army in case we never get a third LotR wave. I know they don't look like Gondor soldiers but they are better than nothing. The other reason, as Infernum points out, is to use them with the Bo5A. I know the human army is made up of only a few guards and mostly rag tag militia men, but I doubt Lego is going to give us many human soldiers so I figured I would bulk up on the guards while I can.

According to that link ABS plastic can withstand temperatures up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit (and starts melting at 221)? After doing a quick google search it looks like iron heaters can get over 200F, but generally the only fabric setting that would even remotely harm a Lego piece is the 100% cotton one which is around 190 degrees. The other settings are well under the 176 degrees (acrylic setting, nylon/silk, rayon, cotton blend, wool). Couldn't you just get transfers made for other fabrics like mkeller points out, or try to do a transfer on one of the other cloth settings?

Hey Alcarin, sorry but all the Lake-town Guard polybags have been spoken for. The only thing I have left for trade or sale are a few Thranduils (3-4). If I manage to pick anymore up I will let you know.

Just curious Alcarin, why are you so worried about Minas Tirith being minifigure scale (or close to it), but nothing else in the Lego range? A Fel Beast would definitely use more than 150 pieces if it were minifigure scale, as would pretty much all the large creatures. Thwy would be at least a few thousand pieces and most of the structures would be 50k+.

I always thought the meeting of the goblins and wargs earlier in the book was kind of like them forming an alliance in it's infancy. By the time the Bo5A took place they had already formed up and been working as one. They arrive at the battle together ready to fight, not separately in two different forces like the other factions. It's pretty clear the elves, dwarves, and men are all their own armies since they are ready to fight each other before the goblins come. Then we see the goblins, wargs, and bats arrive, and finally we get the eagles last. Obviously the eagles are not aligned with anyone nor considered a part of the army of elves, men, etc. I guess it's just confusing because you don't tend to view a small group of eagles as an "army". And why are eagles (or wargs) considered their own army, but not the other large intelligent group of creatures? This is why I think Tolkien was referring to the alliances when he laid out the armies in the Bo5A. Otherwise it should of been called the Bo4A (dwarves, elves, goblins, and men.. no animals) or the Bo6A (all the previous mentioned plus the large creatures - wargs and eagles).

I'm doing my own LDD Minas Tirith and it should be well under 10,000 pieces. In fact it's only around 5k so far, but it's still missing the top level. Sure that's only 3 levels, but add 4 more and you are still WAYYYYY under 50,000 unless you want to just go insane minifigure scale like those two guys who did the Helm's Deep MOC. Some buildings like Minas Tirith will be WAY more pieces, but they are generally pretty easy to build. It's not terribly hard to make a wall and then just repeat it a bunch of times. An organic creature done in Lego bricks is much harder to design, despite being on a MUCH smaller scale imo.

I wonder what her favorite theme is and what the contest guidelines are. It all seems very non-descript lol

I always welcome important characters appearing in at least two sets, like Theoden and Boromir who were only in a single high priced one each, but I just don't see them as essential. I'd rather see Lego try to keep the set as cheap as possible and plus, like Darth Caedus points out it would be super easy to BL a black hood and some different heads or helms and make all the characters in the Fel Beast set soldiers.

Here are pictures of my "good army" I promised last week: Mirkwood Elves, named elves, Thorin's company, Bilbo, and a few miscelaneous characters (Master of Lake-town, Beorn, Radaghast) The Greater Eagles sitting atop Helm's Deep The Rohirrim on horse led by Eomer, on foot led by King Theoden, Lake-town Guards, a (small) Army of the Undead led by their king, and of course the 9 Fellowship members with Gandalf the White And finally a picture of everything together. I tried to keep alternate versions of characters to a minumum (Elrond, blue coat Bilbo, etc.). My good army isn't nearly as big as my evil because I have tried to keep the numbers similar to the movie where it's 10 to 1. Right now I am at about 3 bad for every 1 good. Sorry it took a bit longer to post my good army but I was waiting on my order of 4 more Mirkwood Elf Army sets to arrive before throwing everything together. I always feel like I am waiting on orders to come. Even since the last evil army pictures a week ago I got 4 more Brown Wargs and have 10 more Moria Orcs and 10 more Uruk-hai on the way But WAIT! That's not all! What is that off in the distance...?

That is incorrect. From the LotR Wiki: "Soon the Goblins, Wargs, and a cloud of Bats "like a sea of locusts" arrived (and now four armies were on the field)" - the other three obviously being men, dwarves, and elves "As the battle was turning fully against the Free Folk, a number of Giant Eagles of the Misty Mountains arrived (the fifth army), led by Gwaihir, Lord of the Eagles" If the Wargs and Orcs were considered two separate armies, then why weren't the bats like I said before? Sauron's forces are almost ALWAYS referred to as just one single entity despite usually being made up of several factions. For instance the War of the Last Alliance refers to the alliance between men and elves, and to a lesser extent the dwarves. It doesn't refer to the alliance between orcs, Haradrim, Easterlings etc. who were there.

Probably Mordor battle pack since we now know we are getting Galadriel in a Hobbit set. A Lothlorien would probably have a better build with a nice structure in a tree, but a Mordor Orcs battle pack would have way better figures with new armor and prints for the Mordor Orcs so my vote has to go there.

First off why are we arguing if the Mirkwood Elves in the MEA set should have hoods or not? Have you guys seen the set..? The hoods are the least of it's problems. I don't remember Thranduil being outdoors fighting orcs, brown Wargs at an elven wall, or heck, that gate AT ALL in the movie. Seriously, the hoods are the least of our worries. It's like the Mordor Orcs in the Pirate Ship and Black Gate set, they are totally wrong but Lego didn't care, it saved them money. I'm guessing Lego had hoods in the set so they could use a quiver with them like Seaber points out (which is another issue in itself, elf hair that can't accommodate a quiver? Really Lego...?). Just throwing 3 hair pieces in wouldn't of worked either since they need bows and quivers. As for the Bo5A, it refers to the five separate armies BEFORE the battle began. That was 1.) elves 2.) dwarves and 3.) humans. They were all separate armies. How would they be considered one army when they were literally ready to do battle with each other before the evil forces showed up? They banded together when the 4.) orcs, wargs, and bats came. The evil forces are all considered one army since they were working together from the start and never separate armies that formed together to combat the enemy. The Eagles were the fifth and final army. They weren't aligned with anyone and just helped the forces of good since they hated the orcs and wargs. They are described as neutral good. If the Wargs and Orcs were considered two separate armies, why wouldn't the bats considered a third separate army? Technically then it should be the battle of seven armies by that logic, no? Dwarves, elves, men, orcs, eagles, bats, and wargs... I actually feel the opposite as others do in regards to the new info about the TABA sets. I feel like it's going to be a pretty lame wave. Just based on Lego's past Middle-Earth offerings, I don't see the $60 Bo5A set as an army builder at all. I mean to be a good army builder it would need like 12 minifigures and 2 molded creatures (twice the price of the $30 set so twice the minifigures..?). I have a feeling it is going to be more along the lines of Black Gates where it only has 5 figs and is loaded with unique characters (Bolg, Dain, etc.)/ No one is going to want to buy more than one even if it includes several armored soldiers. The $30 Lake-town set sounds pretty boring and Erebor with dwarf rehashes is rag tag gear is very unappealing to me. The ONLY bright side from all of this is the higher possibility of a Gondor Soldier army builder? It seems like Lego has given us an army builder every other Middle-Earth wave. If the waves were split, that means the second LotR wave didn't get an army builder so the third should hopefully? If it get's released that is...

They could potential do it as long as the Fel Beast is brick built and the main build in the set. I wouldn't consider Shadowmane or Theoden essential, just Eowyn, Merry, and the Witch King. That's 3 minifigures and would fit the $20 price point. Of course if it's a molded Fel Beast that's gonna drive the price up for the mold alone PLUS you need a substantial brick built component. I can't see them doing a Fel Beast set for under $50-60 since if they go that route since the only structure they could build would have to be something from Minas Tirith.

I would guess Dain is the most likely candidate to fill the unique character slot in the army builder. He leads the Iron Hill dwarves and can probably double in a dwarf army as a common soldier pretty easy. That would basically give us two dwarf soldiers in the army builder which would really help get their numbers up. We already have elf scouts and Lake-town Guards from the previous wave to help fill the human and elf ranks so one of each of them in the army builder should be plenty. If Lego gave us any main characters (Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Bolg) I think it would seriously hurt the army builder/multiple purchase potential of the set. Bolg might work, but definitely not the other three. They will probably be included in the Erebor set anyways, at least Bilbo and Thorin. I am hoping we get another wave like the second where we only get two main characters between all four sets so Lego can focus on the secondary characters and the soldiers.