Mahtion

I have collected only Mirkwood Elf Guard polys and now Lake town Guards, I have no interest in legolas that I got from Mirkwood Spiders. I suppose its a cheap way to get blonde elf hair pieces? If you are right Deathleech about the split is it really that difficult for Lego to make extra polys? Or does it go through the extensive development and production cycle detailed in the interview? My suspicion poly bag will be Dol Guldur Orc and Dain/Thorin. Second guess Iron Hill Dwarf and Bolg/Azog

We could also get an orc polybag, we haven't had a villain in a poly bag for since Uruk-Hai in LOTR. I hope you have good news from your friend Atreyu once New York Toy Fair occurs. It would be great just to get a detailed description of minifigs and sets if pics are unavailable.

Unexpected gathering was 89.99 at Toysrus, looks like I will get it on Amazon for $65.45. Thanks for all the suggestions! I can't believe I never got this set, looks really good in review vids.

Yes it would have some appeal and it would look great in any collection. It wouldn't look too much like orthanc with the walls and color differences. It could work.

Let us hope for more information on sets

My local toysrus still had Laketown poly bags so I finally went down there and picked up 6 at $5 each (they had about 5 left on pegs after). I thought about picking up a couple sets but the prices were 89.99 for Unexpected Gathering and 69.99 for Lake Town Chase! Checked target.com, they have buy one, get one 30% off select LEGO construction sets.*

At least orcs have helmets......one day the Eldar will don them as well, Varda willing.

I have Council of Elrond on display along with Wizard battle and Dol Guldur a Ambush. I cannibalized Mines of moria long ago. Weathertop I have in storage. What about black gate or lake town chase? Good point Deathleech. I'm thinking about buying a bag end without figs but is that sacrilege?

Out of these three sets which would you pick? Black gate Lake Town Chase Bag End I'm thinking of adding one to my Middle Earth Lego collection.

As long as the Elf is a Mirkwood Soldier with a helmet you can have 10 dwarves for all I care in BoFA despite it not being a very accurate ratio.

Based on Lego past actions and marketing. Only 4 possible TABA sets. We have enough DoS from wave 1 preview and wave 2. Erebor or lonely mountain needs to cover more than just end of DoS. Bolg could appear in BoFA set but Lego usually uses expensive sets for molds like Azog in Dol Guldur Battle. We do not know how PJ will change the location of battle anyway. Most of it occurs in Dale but maybe some could happen in Erebor while Thorin is held up to avoid the lake men and Mirkwood elves from taking some treasure. Also other than Smaug no other villains would appear, I haven't seen that happen much in Lego. It is all conjecture, guesswork but based on probability and established patterns/behavior.

1.White Council Assault Galadriel, Elrond, Witch-king Help the White Council climb the broken steps to confront the dark magic of Angmar. Galadriel pulls out a platform that has fallen to reach him. Elrond leaps on the newly revealed ledge and engages in a duel of skill and might. 2. Lake-town Bell Tower Bain, Alfrid, Guard, Villager Bain has retrieved the black arrow needed to defeat Smaug. Now he must reach the top of the bell tower to load the arrow into the legendary Wind lance. The Master's servant Alfrid has stationed a guard to block Bain. Fortunately Bain has an idea: by swinging the golden bell the guard will fall safely in the water below. 3. The Battle of Five Armies Dain, Iron Hill Dwarf, Villager, Mirkwood Elf Soldier, 2 orcs The armies have assembled in the ruins of the city of Dale. The men of lake-town and elves of Mirkwood have agreed to ally with the dwarves to together defeat the large Orc host. While the orcs march in the valley, the Elf archers send arrows on top of them. Dain and the tough Iron Hill dwarves smash through a wall and attack the orcs to save the Villager. Help the free peoples defeat the armies of Sauron! 4. The Lonely Mountain Thorin, Bilbo, Dwalin, Balin, Bombur, Kili, Fili, Bolg, Orc, Smaug Thorin has finally reclaimed the halls of Erebor and is ready to be king. First he must stop the great dragon Smaug to recover the glowing Arkenstone. Help Bilbo and the dwarves start the forge fires to fight Smaug. Kili and Fili have returned to defend Thorin from the ruthless Bolg. Together they will fight in the throne room of their fathers. Explore the dwarf halls to find the hidden treasure left by Smaug. *speculative of course but based on what we know and how Lego operates*

Well reports did say Elrond was like polybag gamestop version so that means he will be in similar armor to AUJ.

I keep forgetting that! I wonder why Toy Biz dissolved the company? Bankruptcy or something else?

And we got lots of generic soldier types and even fleeting characters like Gil-galad!

That is another issue, lack of Bridge Direct action figures. It seems like LOTR merchandise was better handled and widely more available. I have no idea why the action figures are being released at a slow rate. I doubt that this is related to Lego's lack of showcasing sets but it makes you wonder what is going on. I would take Lego over Bridge Direct any day based on what they have produced for the fans/customers.

This ^ 100% Most of these journalists are looking for Star Wars and Chima or Marvel. We need a vested party present at these fairs on behalf of LOTR.

I did read the books and Thranduil has many more scenes with Bilbo and Gandalf than say Bard or Dain especially. In fact Bilbo stays in Thranduils camp throughout the aftermath of BoFA. Now if you go through the book you will see mention of Thranduil's army being larger than the all the other armies expect the goblins, wargs and giant bats. I know Beorn is important in BoFA but I was mentioning the lack of a bear model mentioned at Toy Fair in London. Lego could still add a bear but who knows at this point since we have scant details. I for one would like a bear form Beorn but I would also like a Thranduil due his equal importance in the original narrative. I would also like all of the armies to be represented! “As soon as the host of their enemies was dense in the valley, they [Elves] sent against it a shower of arrows … a thousand of their spearmen leapt down and charged.” “… many are gathering hither beside the birds … Already a host of the elves is on the way …” “… Dáin and more than five hundred dwarves, hurrying from the Iron Hills …”

True there is still a small hope that we get some set info but at least New York shouldn't disappoint. Maybe the reason for the lack of hobbit stuff is due to the incomplete prelims? A lot of the other lines like Chima and Star Wars had complete models and I think a lot of them are releasing in the summer. Hobbit on the other hand is set for October and I think the models and figs are just not produced yet so Lego needs a little more time before New York to showcase them. I like your BoFA but take out Bard who could go in Laketown again and Beorn since no one saw a bear and only one dwarf warrior. More elves we're at BoFA than men and humans! Add Thrandui in armor carrying two swords and an eagle and maybe warg. Everything else sounds good including the two Dale buildings which would look great in a beautiful terra cotta color but then partly grey and black from being blasted from dragon fire and ruined for almost a century. I am really excited to see the color choices in this set along with more snow pieces!

Actually, the Chima lion temple set would work pretty well for Erebor. It's big, imposing and around the same price point. Too bad reports said it was mostly interior based and open rather than a 'complete' set like this you referenced. Also it could work for other locations like Minas morgul, Minas tirith courtyard or even Osgiliath.

Nice work! I'm glad someone else designed a set too. I hope Lego gives us something we didn't even think about and captures the epic feel of the confrontation with the Witchking scene. Have you worked on any other LDD of the other sets? I'm working on them and I think Erebor layout is the hardest and most puzzling.

If we do get pics, hopefully we get them along with some much needed info in a few days. Very true, many of the sets are vaguely accurate, meant to capture the elements of the scenes or spirit of the movie. I guess we should be more realistic, I still like imagining what the Lego designers imagine. ;)

Honestly I don't think we will get a bear form for Beorn which is a shame. I'm sure the attendees at the London Toy Fair would have mentioned something like that. I mean they are pretty clueless about LOTR/Hobbit but they should be able to note a giant bear! A giant bear would be cool to have but I hope we get some kind of animal, Eagle or warg or even a giant boar like Dain is supposed to mount. I agree Deathleech. By knowing how PJ and Lego define the BoFA will determine which minifigs we would likely get. Eagles are definitely considered one of the armies in most versions or interpretations. Lego would love to reuse them from Black gate but I wonder why nobody mentioned them. Either way I am really excited to see what Lego designs for this most important and iconic of battles in the Tolkien legendarium and especially in the Hobbit.

I made a LDD version of the smallest set "White Council Attack". Let me know what everyone thinks. I only used 148 bricks total so it should be a good size for the smallest set lego will design. Keep in mind Wizard Battle had 113 pieces and Dol Guldur Ambush had 217. Elrond should have a cape, but his hair prevents that and certainly the Witchking will have different head/hair molds. The bluish flame is supposed to make the scene have a dark energy feel, I understand if the flame piece is too large or it could be replaced with another iron spike or some metal. Galadriel has Nenya on her, but it is difficult to see from the image size and angle. I wanted to give her either her ring or some kind of magic. The side of the stairs should have a familiar spiky vine like those found in the Wave 2 sets but I could not find the item in LDD. I plan on making set designs in LDD of the others over the week including Lake Town Tower, BoFA, and the Lonely Mountain.

I hope we get info on most if not all the minifigs and some better details on the sets. At this point pics would just be a bonus.