Blakstone

Alcarin is passionate about this theme like most of us. I have to disagree about a D2C Gondor set. LEGO never makes such sets with new molds. The Ewok Village used the CMF Forest Maiden for Leia and Orthanc used the eagle from the Black Gate and Sauran's hair / beard from the wizards duel. There are never any new molds for such expensive sets (though they do existing molds in new colors) since they know they won't move a large volume of sets like the cheapter sets. The only way we could get a D2C Gondor set is if it had no new molds or it came out shortly after smaller sets that introduced (and paid for) the molds. I think the tell of the Second Wave is that it literally paved the way for the Orthanc.

I don't know if I mind a simple build if I found the minifigures and bricks useful. I only bought one of the latest wave, Forest Ambush, but I bought three of the Lone Ranger's Calvery Builder Set. I bought those because if I ever wanted to build a Civil War or any Indian War MOC, I would be ready. I had not seen the Lone Ranger movie. I don't know if the US Calvary fights the LR or helps him. The set is neutral in that regard. As a kid though, I would make them fight. I hope that LEGO continues to make more of the Castle sets easy to connect. They should make sense to do so as well. The Gatehouse Raid looks to weak to be attached to a Castle wall. But Prison Tower Rescue and Outpost Attack don't. Imagine what kids (and AFOLs) could do if there as a Castle version of Uruk Hai Army.

I think it is Fire Brigade for the win. I was in the same boat as HenryLEGO and now really enjoy FB. I am considering skipping Grand Emporium for the Pet Shop or the French Restaurant. The Orthanc (Lord of the Rings) is also high on my wish list. Does the Grand Emporium end up growing on you as well as the Fire Brigade?

Here is my reply from LEGO Customer Service As to the large collections that some are listing here, I probably come in about middle of the field. I have duplicates of most LotR sets but those were generally found on clearance after buying the initial set full price. I think that LEGO makes less money on clearance sells. My list is: Helm's Deep - one regular price and one clearance Uruk Hai Army - three regular price and one clearance Mines of Moria - one regular price and one clearance Gandalf Arrives - bought one and gifted one Shelob Attacks - one regular price Orc Forge - one regular price Weathertop - one regular price and one clearance Council of Elrond - one regular price Black Gate - one regular price Pirate Ship Ambush - one regular price Wizard Battle - one regular price Attack of the Wargs - two regular price Mirkwood Spiders - one regular price and one clearance Goblin King - one clearance Unexpected Gathering - one regular price Barrel Escape - one regular price Riddles for the Ring - one regular price Mirkwood Elf Guard - Bought 10, some were buy one get one 50% Gandalf at Dol Guldar - Bought one clearance Dol Guldar Ambush - bought one regular price and was gifted one Mirkwood Elf Army - bought one regular price Lake-town Chase - bought one regular price Lake-town Guard - Bought 5, some were buy one get one 50% Right now I am considering getting another Bagend as Target has one $10 off. But it is not a good army builder but I do like those green curved bricks. Very frequently, I haunt local stores during my lunch hour looking for a good deal on LEGO. It is a fun game for me.

This is encouraging. While it confirms that there will be no Lord of the Rings in 2014, there remains the possibility that more sets could be coming some time. I doubt that The Hobbit schedule change is the only factor here. The LEGO Movie set production has disrupted other themes and seems to be a significant focus this year. It also hints that the Lord of the Rings license does not end at the end of this year.

As a kid first getting into castle LEGO, I knew nothing about heraldry but you could tell there was a depth behind it. My mom was able to give me more background on what they meant and which real life groups they represented. Why are dinosaurs so popular? Because they are based on something real. Even Lord of the RIngs is based on a lot of ancient myth and the films looked great because they were grounded in reality. Jelly Bean knights and cartoonish shield designs kept me from buying any of the the Castle 2013 (except for the cheapest set). If Castle 2014 or 2015 is more grounded in reality, I would support it.

This is fourth week of Middle-Earth Madness. We had a new champion last week: Mount Doom. If you had to pick only one Dream set, which would it be? Mount Doom OR Lothlórien Just like last week, these are dream sets so there is no hard or fast rule on what has to be included in either. Imagine you had a chance to greenlight just one LEGO Lord of the Rings set based on a simple description. Which one would you want? Summary from previous week(s): Week 3 - Mount Doom defeats the Rohan Battle Pack 14 to 11 Week 2 - Rohan Battle Pack defeats the Watcher in the Water 14 to 7 Week 1 - Rohan Battle Pack defeats The Green Dragon 23 to 4. [Moderators, can you convert this thread into a poll please?]

Mount Doom is the new champion after slaying the Rohan Battle Pack 14 to 11.

After a point, you get a lot of the brick you need. It becomes a matter of what the minifigures look like. I think that the licensed sets and the Collectable Minifigure series have the most detailed and impressive minifigs. Castle 2013 and The LEGO Movie tie in failed to impress me because the figures looked too cartoonish. I think a Castle revival needs a more realistic heraldry like the Lions that resembled the British lion and the Black Falcons. As a kid neither of these factions were "the good guys" and since the Forestmen were rebelling against the English king, the Lion faction was mostly a villian. The Black Falcons were just a rival for the Lions. I think Castle would do better if the kids got to decide for themselves who are the heroes and who are the villains. I think Castle 2013 had the right idea with the modular wall segments where the Gatehouse can be attached to the castle. However, the Gatehouse has huge openings making it highly insecure for a fortress. I can see a siege tower and castle wall being a great set. I think the last time they did this was during the Fantasy line. Any sort of Forestman set in the woods would be excellent. I remember enjoying the peasant cart with a hidden compartment for a treasure chest that was buried by hay bales. Kingdoms had a great assortment of civilian and knight sets with the MMV, MVR sets you mentioned but also the blacksmith with a working forge hammer.

Back to the Future was a CUUSOO project. Yes, it counts as a licensed them but CUUSOO projects cannot have any new molds and very unlikely to have any bricks in new colors. This is due to the initial low production run of 10,000 to 30,000 units. From what I see in this forum, most people are wanting new molds for Gondor soldiers, Witch King, fellbeast, and others. Sure, LEGO could give as Frodo avoids a Ring Wraith using the Weathertop version but I expect everyone would scream about a wasted opportunity. The Star Wars license saved LEGO but once there was no more movies or shows to generate interest the company was almost killed off again because they had a ton of sets they could not sell. I think the whole Yoda Chronicles was designed to keep Star Wars in the public eye so they could sell sets. The Hobbit has continued that level of media exposure for the Lord of the Rings. Without it, I doubt will continue this line in 2015 especially as they are concluding The Hobbit line this year. LEGO has established this pattern, one that they did not even break for Pirates of the Carribean which we know exceeded expectations. True they can always do something different. As a business, LEGO wants to maximize profits. In the end, it does not matter if that comes from Lord of the Rings theme or some new theme. They have the sells data for LotR though. They have a strong idea what the sells would be going forward. Sadly it seems they decided that they would make more money if they switched to another theme. We really bugs me is that 2014 has a return of the Agents theme (which I totally don't get) but no Lord of the RIngs. I wish we got that shelf space instead.

The huskies look great. LEGO is really getting the most out of the dog mold.

Cool looking Wolverine. The Sentential, not so much. Still there is a high chance I will buy this regular price.

I used to trade Star Trek Customized Game Cards internationally so I had plenty of experience. Fortunately there were people that advised me on international addresses and there are websites that are useful too. In this day and age, very few of us send international mail.

I have not bought mine yet, but I see the Shop.LEGO.com for Spain has it. http://shop.lego.com/en-ES/The-Tower-of-Orthanc-10237

Indeed there is one with a goat but I don't know of one with a sheep.

Thanks for the great review. This is my only must buy for the DC wave. After seeing this review, I might buy two. I was impressed with the Penguin printing and how reusable it would be. The lack of stickers is also great. I generally wait to buy Superheros when it comes out on clearance. Since I don't MOC vehicles the bricks are not very useful to me.

The Simpson's is the first licensed CMF line for LEGO. Depending on the success of it others may follow. Megablocks was able to do a similar one when they had the Marvel license. There are rumors that the Comic Con exclusives for Superheros came from a plan to do licensed CMF for them. If ever LEGO was to do a Middle Earth CMF, I think they might mix both LotR and The Hobbit. I also think that army builders would not be enough. They would want main characters too. I could see a Frodo variant with this minthril coat exposed or Pippin in his Gondor squire outfit. I am just surprised as the difference between polybags between LotR and The Hobbit. The LotR was not available in the US but the Hobbit has incredible army builders. There are still Lake-town Guards at my local TRU. Wouldn't it be great if LEGO got one more use out of the Rohan helmet with a polybag? I just wish that the retailers catalog showed LotR sets instead of Hobbit ones.

SirBlake, I agree. My point is LEGO would have a good idea how many Gondor sets would sell as they can compare them to the Rohan sets. I think all the talk about LEGO losing money if they don't make a third wave is wrong though. It is opportunity cost. They know what money they would make if they do it, but it is competing with other possible lines for shelf space and production line time. Top Gear is rumored to come. That would not require any new molds at all but it might bring a whole new demographic to LEGO. I fervently hope that there is a third wave. My LEGO purchases would drop as well. I don't like this current Castle line. Superheros, modulars, and CMF would still keep me active. However, if Kingdoms or something like that appeared, I would buy there.

LEGO is a very successful toy company and they have information on sell figures that we don't. I want new molds and prints for Gondor as well. But would that really sell more sets than the new Rohan and Uruk Hai molds? I think at most it would be even... unless there are a ton of AFOLs that have sat out all of LEGO Lord of the Rings because it did not have Gondor. LEGO seems to have a set budget for each wave / line. New prints especially leg prints cost extra as does existing bricks in new colors. New molds cost the most. From the designers videos you can see that they consider a lot of aspects in these sets and minifigures. Fives pointed out the lack of flesh tones on the Mirkwood Elves to encourage Castle fans to buy. They also had the new gothic arches in a new color for Mirkwood Elf Army to draw non LotR fans and Bricklinks to buy. They design their orcs and Uurk Hai minifigs for the maximum amount of variation for the minimal amount of pieces. We also know that LEGO is willing to walk away from a line that exceeds expectations because there is no media support (a la Pirates of the Carribean from the Stockholders Report). I think there is another goal from the LEGO Lord of the Rings line. It was designed to bring another group of fans into LEGO with the hopes that they will stick around after the lien is over. It has done that for me. I buy a lot of LEGO now, for myself and as gifts, after LotR brought me back from my Dark Ages. I love the modulars, Superheroes, and Collectible Minifigures. I bought Kingdoms after the announcement and before LotR hit the shelves. I used to admin a LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO Hobbit pages until LEGO shut us down. So it may really not be in LEGO's best interest to continue the LotR line. We just don't have the financials to know. They are trying to draw in new fan groups with Minecraft, Top Gear, and Simpsons. Still I hope we get more LEGO Lord of the Rings. If anyone wants to start a campagn or petition to save the line, I will join.

If the President of the US won a raffle it would be: Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington, DC 20006 USA That is for the AmeriBricks users that need the help.

The fell beast is the flying serpent that the Witch King is on. The giant elephant thing is not as popular or requested a piece. Many of us want to do the Eowyn vs the Witch King which I would image would also have Theoden, the Fell Beast, Merry in Rohan garb, and possible Theoden's horse. I love the printing in the video game for it.

Only if I came with a River Phoenix Indiana Jones and a snake car, lion car, and a rhino car.

I love the sound of the bike shope and cafe as well. I hope that it is 16 x 32 base. That is the same width of the Pet Shop without the townhome next door.

Blazej_Holen, there might be something in either the LotR license or in their market research but these types of army builders are not limited to LEGO Star Wars. Even the Lone Ranger wave had one. My goal with this tournament is to pit the concept of the sets against each other without going into a lot of detail as to what each contains. Bring More Popcorn's notion of an elaborate Mount Doom set with a lot of play features is just as valid as a $12 set with Frodo, Golumn, and a little bit of gray brick. The same is true with the Rohan Battle Pack. Would it have new helmet molds and new prints on the minifigs / soldiers? Would it be limited to the same prints and molds? Each person voting can decide if they want to be optimistic, pestimistic, or realistic and what that means.

This is third week of Middle-Earth Madness. Rohan Battle Pack was victorious again last week. If you had to pick only one Dream set, which would it be? Rohan Battle Pack OR Mount Doom Just like last week, these are dream sets so there is no hard or fast rule on what has to be included in either. Imagine you had a chance to greenlight just one LEGO Lord of the Rings set based on a simple description. Which one would you want? Summary from previous week(s): Week 2 - Rohan Battle Pack defeats the Watcher in the Water 14 to 7 Week 1 - Rohan Battle Pack defeats The Green Dragon 23 to 4. [Moderators, can you convert this thread into a poll please?]