Deathleech

Apparently Beorn's scene at Dol Guldur was cut and it will most likely be in the Extended Edition version of the film when it's released. The necromancer was most likely based on his image we see in the first movie, AUJ.

That's basically just sanding the print off? Albeit it is a super fine grain. I am not sure some perfectionist would love this method, lol...

Ya but what is left that we haven't seen already seen in the first two films? Dain? I seriously can't think of ANY other characters from the book. We already have seen Beorn both in human and bear form, we saw Bolg and Azog, we saw Smaug, we saw Bard, we saw Sauron. There is like no one left who's design is a secret. And the sets themselves won't give away any major plot spoilers or anything either. We have already seen Erebor and the ruins of Dale so a set based on the Bo5A would literally give away NOTHING. You can't tell who lives or dies based on a set (though it might give some hints depending on the dwarf selection...).

Is Frodo crying because you made him yellow instead of leaving him a fleshie?

Lol, that's pretty neat. Any chance we will be seeing a better front view of Han?

Are you sure about that? Wouldn't the movie be called "The Desolation BY Smaug then, instead of "The Desolation OF Smaug"? Also if the movie was referring to the area being desolated surrounding Erebor, wouldn't it of actually showed that more in the present? AIt should of also happened in THIS film, not in the first film where we see the flashback of Smaug when he first came to Erebor and destroyed everything? I thought it was pretty clear Smaug flew off because he had hot molten gold on him and needed to do his little flying twirl move in the open to get it off. Obviously he couldn't fly and move around too much inside Erebor because it was cramped for his big big behind. He probably didn't go back in because he was so fed up with chasing the dwarves around and not getting anywhere so he figured he would quickly fly over Lake-town and torch it to take out some frustration.

Not really. I think almost everyone would prefer something new, like a 2000 piece Smaug perhaps? lol

Well regardless we don't know the official release of the TABA wave. Someone said that Hungary site is usually a few months behind so that means the wave very well could be around a July release like the movie was supposed to be and the wave release would of lined up perfectly.

No, other pieces are as well. Usually they are specialty pieces such as hair or hats that will only be used in one set for a specific (often licensed) figure. You can usually tell because they are soft rubber instead of hard ABS plastic, and they usually come in their own sealed bag. Almost all of the CMF pieces are from China though, including the minifigure bodies, accessories, etc.

Ya, the Mirkwood Elf Guard title was just Lego giving them an exciting name though. In the movie we see them with the olive green shirts wandering around Thranduil's palace. They never have the dark green hoods nor are they seen in combat. Lego tried to use the existing torso and give us a "new" elf polybag since they probably didn't have the scout printing done yet and wanted to save it for the Mirkwood Elf Army set.

Which makes me wonder if Lego decided to only change the release schedule when two Hobbit movies turned into three, and after that kept everything else as planned. When the TABA release date was pushed back maybe Lego DIDN'T alter any plans around that. It would explain the Hobbit advertisement and the extremely small last two waves. Maybe they took the 2013 waves, cut them in half and added a set or two to the two resulting waves. Now we are getting the 4 TABA sets around Aug-Oct when TABA was originally to be released, and maybe we will get 4 LotR sets in the winter instead? It would make a lot of sense and explain everything that seems so weird to us atm. Maybe the 3-4 set LotR wave has some big Gondor set and a Gondor Army builder add on so Lego obviously didn't want to break them up and hence no Gondor as of yet. I mean obviously Lego wouldn't release Uruk-hai Army and Battle for Helm's Deep in two different waves, it wouldn't make sense. It seems like a decent possibility...

That was pretty random. It looks like Lego got the Brotherhood Workshop to do it though, the same guys who do all the other great Middle-Earth stop motion stuff.

If we never got some of those figures in any other sets but a CMF series, like the Gondor Soldier, I could EASILY see myself buying a 100 or so. That's not even that many considering some people like the two guys who did that HUGE Helm's Deep MOC had well over several hundred Uruk-hai. I think it would be a HUGE hit too. Everyones gonna want at least a few of EACH CMF for army building, unlike the current CMF where one or two max is all people want of some of the figs.

Maybe because the Simpsons minifigures are yellow so they can be used with a majority of the other Lego themes, where as LotR/Hobbit are flesh colored? Probably not the reason considering people could still use the brown pants and flesh feet for a lot of different things I am sure, especially with the increasing amount of flesh minifigs available.

I agree, the colors look really good here and the wolf outcropping for the entrance of the cave is a nice touch. What are those chest pieces the orcs are wearing from?

Wow that's a really nice price for this set. Just under 8 cents per piece. Plus it has all those unique head molds. I have to say though, Marge, Lisa, and Bart look wrong. Why do they all have sleepy looking eyes and duck faces? Ned and Homer look by far the best, which is ironic considering everyone complained about them when they were first spotted. I really like the modular home, but overall I will pass on this as I am not a big Simpsons fan at all.

I talked about that in my post. Who has the action figure license for LotR (NOT the Hobbit)? Does Bridge Direct hold both since they have the Hobbit one? If so why haven't they released any LotR stuff?

We didn't really have the Elf Scouts before. We had the elf servants in dark green hoods from the polybag. Now we actually have the scouts in proper attire.

Very nice! I didn't even realize it was a family at first, I thought it was a group of orcs from the 70s (with that hair) at a bar, LOL.

I completely agree with this and I know other toy companies like Hasbro have done similar things. They do more limited runs on items and they aim them specifically at adults. They generally are a little higher price, but also much higher detail and available only online. If we look at the sets, the ultra detailed ones aimed more at adults (Helm's Deep, Bag End), and the army builders (Uruk-hai and Mirkwood Elf Army), seem to be the biggest hits? I feel Lego could easily do a few sets a year and market them at adults and still have a huge hit on their hands. They could still make lots of money doing something like that and keep fans happy. Imagine a Gondor Soldier/Mordor Orc Army builder and like Osgiliath, or the army builder and a 2 part Minas Tirith set? I bet AFOLs would eat it up, LotR and non-LotR fans alike. So many nice white bricks and the Gondor Soldiers could make an AWESOME Castle faction if you remove the flesh head and hands. Lego could release 2-3 sets per year. The first could be the Gondor wave. The next wave could be the creatures pack and have a Balrog, Fell Beast, and Treebeard set. I honestly never understood Lego's decision to pick up the LotR theme. The Hobbit makes sense, the movies are out now and the book/films seem to target a younger audience. The LotR though? They are rated PG-13 and came out over a decade ago, most kids aren't the recommended age to even see the films nor were the alive when the films came out. I can just picture kids in a store, they are probably like "I want Lake-town Chase set mom, let me get it! Lord of the Rings.. what the heck is that? No I want the Hobbit! It seems like if Lego WAS getting the LotR license, they should of also tried to get the figure license since no one else currently holds it for the LotR that I am aware of? I know ToyBiz did years ago when the films came out, but now...? Bridge Direct has the Hobbit but I doubt LotR since they aren't doing ANYTHING based on it. Maybe it was a package deal or something. Regardless can you imagine a CMF LotR wave? Gondor Soldiers, Mordor Orcs, Uruk-hai, Rohan Soldiers, Easterlings, Haradrim, Ithilien Rangers, Iron Hill Dwarves, Lake-town Men, Rivendell Elves, Lorien Elves, Wild Men, Erebor Dwarves, Moria Orcs, Gundabad Orcs and Undea. That's 16 seperate figures right there and EVERY one could be an army builder and would be eaten up in droves. Do all their helms in soft plastic like the CMF and you give everyone the faction they want, an easy way to army build, and it's cheaper for Lego. Heck, you could even throw in some great main characters like Sauron, Old Bilbo, etc. that would have trouble fitting in normal sets. Of course Lego could just do real battle packs like they do for Star Wars, but ya...

No, Barrel Escape was $39.99 (40) MRSP. Toys R Us has had the price jacked up different amounts throughout it's life cycle and that's where it was exclusive to here in the US. Always look at Lego S@H for the REAL MSRP though, which is $39.99, the same as Orc Forge which was a Target exclusive. It's not suppose to be. I could of swore I read somewhere that Tolkien wanted his dragons to be more snake like than lizard like.

Yes,I love Radagast on the sled and the sense of action/speed his positioning is giving. I dunno if I am crazy about the rabbits though. They look very mechanical, almost like mousers from TMNT rather than organic rabbits (which I know is hard to do with bricks).

Wasn't it 79017 that was the retailer exclusive? Not 79016? That would make sense since it would be between 35-90 Euro.. probably around $40 US like the last 2 retailer exclusives. Also those prices are in euros so they aren't going to be the same as in the US. The 12€ probably IS $9.99-12.99, €35 is 29.99-39.99, and €90 is $99.99-129.99.

Well the movie is called the DESOLATION of Smaug. It's kind of odd that is the movie title but Smaug is never even killed in it. In the book there is tons of build up to Smaug and then he dies right after he is revealed so I wouldn't expect anything different in the movie. I think a great ending would of been to show Smaug dying, all the armies forming outside the mountain in the aftermath and right before they all start fighting we see the huge orc horde coming in the horizon with war drums and a look of dread on everyone's face before the film cuts to the credits. I am guessing that wouldn't of worked though because the third movie wouldn't be near as long with just the Bo5A and the trip back home after everything happens.

Where? I don't see any at all?