Mahtion

Very cool and interesting MOC. I am not familiar in Medieval daily activities but I know there are a lot of popular misconceptions regarding the Dark Ages. Makes sense that as the inheritors of Roman civilization, European medieval society maintained some of the practices such as communal bathing and hot/cold baths. Also removing infected teeth while at the bath house is similar to the multi use practice of seeing a barber and having him perform basic surgery. I will definitely have to research more into this intriguing subject. Thanks for the cool design and sparking interest in a relatively unknown subject.

Better question is why don't the Hobbits have painted flesh squares (feet) when the CMFs have plenty of legs with feet painted?

Do you think you could make a Mirkwood Elf Army model with 4 gates all connected in a circle? Thanks!

That sounds like a good idea! Would love to see the MOC when it is finished. I will try to make a circular wall with 3 or 4, I will have to create a gateway and make some towers and increase the height of the wall so I may need more bricks. After seeing the high res pics and knowing about the modular aspects of the wall I am excited to improve upon the basic design. I am also working on getting some Lego and Brickwarrior pieces to make my own Armored Mirkwood Guards.

I only bought one Uruk-hai army and I plan to buy maybe 2-3 MEAs. I will initially get 1 or 2 and build it and see if I can make something out of it or use multiple Thranduil torsos for some purpose. Like others I bought 20 odd Mirkwood Elf Guard polys last year so I am on the deciding on how many of the new Mirkwood Elves I would need or want.

Reading the Silmarillion is almost academic but if you like those kinds of pseudo historical narratives then you are in for a treat. There are a ton of names, much more than LOTR and many sound alike. It is very easy to confuse characters! I think it took about three readings to let the story and events really sink in. The first read through was almost a blur, it was that dense with names and characters. The Seven sons of Feanor, all the Elf Chieftains who became Kings who have multiple names. Then you can have Quenya and Sindarin versions just to really make things hard for first time readers. Despite the flaws and questionable canon within, the Silmarillion remains my favorite of the Tolkien works.

I like the attention to little details like the young stable boy feeding the templar's horse and the layers of wooden planks to suggest ramparts. The foundation of the tower looks hollow and weakly supported. Maybe create some cavelike structure to mimic a cellar? Another way could be to add some support pillars so the underside doesn't appear so empty. Great job on the story, I want to see more! My imagination runs wild regarding the travels of the Templar. Is he on his way to the Holy Land or has he returned and is trying to find lodging on his way back from a prolonged war campaign? I see Gollum!

So normally if one related Wave doesn't have polybags then the next Waves wont either? Is it normal to get polybags in a second wave? At this point it seems like it is unlikely we will get anymore polybags in the Hobbit. I was just hoping that Lego suspended the LOTR polybags due to it not having a current movie. Also what's the possibility of seeing an exclusive at this point for Wave 2?

It's no big deal. We have all been getting into some heavy Tolkien lately. I think we all confuse certain elements of the movie as being the same in the book. It doesn't help when some lore is hard to find or has multiple versions. Sometimes there is no definitive answer. Ian Mckellen is a great actor and his height is ok around the bunch of 6ft actors. If PJ went with a 5'6" Gandalf, it would look odd to many of us to see such a below average height for a mighty but humble wizard. Just curious where we all get the information from when dealing with Middle Earth legendarium. Also does it seem like Beorn's hair is wrong in Lego? It looks like a sandy brown or dark blonde but in the movie stills it looks almost grey and speckled.

It sounds like we are all in agreement on what we would like to see and what will likely happen in Wave 3. After seeing DoS we will have a better idea of what to expect. Does anyone know the likelihood of getting any polybags this year or the next? When should we expect some information and is it possible?

Tolkien said: ...a figure strongly built and with broad shoulder, though shorter than the average of men and now stooped with age, leaning on a thick rough-cut staff as he trudged along... Gandalf's hat was wide-brimmed [...] with a pointed conical crown, and it was blue; he wore a long grey cloak, but this would not reach much below his knees. It was of an elven silver-grey hue, though tarnished by wear - as is evident from the general use of grey in the book... But his colours were always white, silver-grey, and blue - except for the boots he wore when walking in the wild...Gandalf even bent must have been at least 5 ft. 6... Which would make him a short man even in modern England, especially with the reduction of a bent back. Direct quote saying 5'6", not sure where you got your information. So Gandalf was shortest of the Istari and was no where near 6ft or the 7ft of the Noldor including Galadriel. Ian McKellen was actually too tall to play the canon Gandalf if following a purist stance.

Deathleech and Darth Cadeus both have great points. No disrespect Ecc or to the Lego designer but why did the Castle fans need 3 traditional green ranger elves? Would a compromise have been that bad with 1 armored elf and 2 of the ones we got in the set? I think it is more realistic to believe that Lego simply did not want to make a new armored design print when they had no intention of making a new helmet mold in this wave. I have hope to believe that they will make a mold for Wave 3. The helmets worn by the armored Elves in the trailer have very complex designs compared to the Mirkwood infantry we have seen in the Prologue of AUJ and we will see again in TABA. I still feel that the inclusion of the shields in MEA is just a sad reminder of what could have been and seems incomplete in the current set design. I do wonder what the designer of MEA was thinking when he (?) gave Thranduil a plain dark grey broadsword.

Thanks! Yeah maybe Azog should have 1 armored Orc and one regular to help balance the battle. I am just trying to capture the major events of BoFA. I do not aside from the war tent of Thranduil and Bilbo's giving the Arkenstone what else he does. I believe that Dain fights Bolg so that was the rationale behind that set. Also good place for some Iron Hill dwarves. Azog fights Beorn in bear form maybe (?) and we know that Thorin should be there along with his two important nephews. This set could come with some Erebor attachment. I'm not sure which set could have some Dale ruins included. I placed Smaug with Bard because Bard should be in a Wave 3 set and if he takes down Smaug in TABA he deserves a great action piece set which Lego would find hard to resist. I love the idea of Bilbo in the treasure room with Smaug and it could work with some hidden play features. I just think keeping Bilbo with Thranduil keeps the characters together and allows for the importance of the Arkenstone. Who knows maybe Bard will come to the ruins of Dale to fight Smaug and the set can have Dale buildings so we don't need more Laketown pieces.

We have certain possibilities to consider. If Smaug is not an exclusive set for Wave 2 then he will have to take up a slot for Wave 3. Also most likey the White Council rescuing Gandalf will occur in TABA so that could be another potential slot for Wave 3. I hope that we get an Erebor exterior set because the dark green malachite color is unique in Lego and we could use more dwarven architecture. The remaining sets will probably be dedicated to the main event: BoFA. I expect maybe 2 or 3 slots used for heroic set pieces between the factions. If we are lucky we will get a small army builder set with one of each: Dale soldier, Mirkwood Infantry, Iron Hill Dwarf warrior and an armored Orc. It not it could be the factions will be peppered across the BoFA sets. Here are some ideas/possibilities: Smaug vs Bard w/ Laketown building White Council Rescue Galadriel, Armored Elrond w/ Horse, Gandalf wounded print, 2 orcs Erebor set of entrance w dwarf company? Dain on boar vs Bolg and 1 armored orc Beorn in bear form, Azog, armored Thorin, Fili, Kili The Arkenstone Bilbo new print, armored Thranduil, 2 Mirkwood infantry, small tent with Arkenstone The Five Armies Iron Hill Dwarf, Dale soldier, Mirkwood Infantry, armored orc on warg, eagle I like your thinking zylek! Erebor is chiefly important and deserving of at least one set that captures its unique architecture and colors.

I appreciate your kind words. Of course as I said the elves, especially Noldor are described as wearing mail and they carry long straight swords. It is true that plate is rarely if at all mentioned. The Rohirrim are described wearing long mail hauberks as well. This is due to the setting, Tolkien envisioned Middle Earth during the Early to Mid Middle Ages whereas Jackson has gone with a strong Middle to Late Middle period design influence. There definitely exists some deviations from the book material when it adapted to screen. The curved swords used to irritate me greatly when FOTR debuted. I believe that Glamdring and Sting better represented Elven swords than Hadhafang, Celeborn's dagger given to Aragorn and the common Elven great warrior sword. These are stylistic changes and I eventually learned to embrace them. Now regarding my interpretation, I understand that a certain subjectivity surrounds reading but I feel like based on the descriptions I am not far off. If we look at Gildor Inglorion and the elves of Woodhall, they are not depicted by green anywhere. The Sindarin were not described wearing green in Lothlorien. The only faction which may have worn green were the Nandor Teleri and the Laiquendi. Again it is not definitive but to say that Green attire worn by Elves is more commonplace among the works of Tolkien seems unsupported by the literature. So I am not understanding your complaint. First you mention Tolkienian Elves as a defense of MEA. Then you say it is an appeal to popular culture and now you say Lego should pick the most commonly believed depiction to bolster sales? Interesting reasoning but I do not see how this excuses Lego of giving us more green Mirkwood minifigs when the opportunity presented allowed for variety. I think this amounts to Lego reluctant to make new molds and they did not want to create a print of the armored Mirkwood guards without a molded helmet. If you notice the Mirkwood infantry have very similar helmets to the armored Kingdom guards and Lego may be saving this helmet mold for BoFA.

Okay you have a point about some of the expectations but you are way off on the elves wearing armor. First Sauron lost his ability to take a fair form after the sinking of Numenor thousands of years before the Last Alliance. After the Last Alliance in the SECOND age he could still take form as described in FOTR book. Now onto the Elves. They are not the Victorian depictions of small fairy folk nor are they brownies or pixies. These are the Alfar of Norse mythology and they were never depicted wearing green or leaves. Most importantly Tolkien despised these bastardizations of his beloved mythological archetype. In the Silmarilion and LOTR the elves are often described wearing white and silver especially the Noldor High Elves. They are mentioned wearing shining mail and helmets and brandishing long and terrible swords. More elves in Tolkien are described carrying swords than bows. You are conflating contemporary popular depictions of forest dwelling bow wielding elves which are a cliche with the traditional and Tolkien view. Only Legolas was described wearing green as he was Legolas Greenleaf. Lego has the right to produce anything they want as inaccurate and poorly rendered as they need but do not spread misinformation and try to justify popular depictions as an excuse for Lego. The elves are constantly wearing armor even in the Mirkwood Elf Army set, it is just heavy leather and maybe light scale mail rather than steel plate or lamellar. Asking any average bystander what an elf is and I can guarantee you most would think of Santa's diminutive helpers. Using the uninformed masses as a litmus test and justification for elf depictions is misguided. So it is inaccurate to say elves in Tolkien and many forms of fantasy do not wear armor. Going by the movies we see Elves in armor first by the Prologue in Last Alliance, then the Galadhrim at Helms Deep, then Mirkwood infantry in Hobbit prologue and Elrond with his Rivendell cavalry, now various armored guards in Mirkwood and we will see more of the armored infantry in BoFA. So going by the movies we have elves in armor in 5/6 movies made by Peter Jackson.

Well interesting that you mentioned that because I was thinking the same regarding the straight edge swords. This is PJ's Middle Earth so that is the way the Elves have been depicted, but I did immediately think of the book version when seeing Thranduil brandishing a broadsword. Now it is true that Glamdring is elvish being Turgon's sword but Narsil was dwarven made by Telchar, so it was not elven made though it was reforged iby the Noldor in Rivendell into Anduril. Also I wouldnt mind some generic Elves in the style of Lothlorien or Rivendell robes, but the hackneyed green and brown color schemes are becoming lackluster and too generic, it does not seem Tolkien or PJ, more bland Fantasy elf cliche. The trailer elves were great because the provided Elves in new colors and designs we have not seen and thus yield new and stand out minifigs which Lego is all about showcasing.

Smaug may be an exclusive or a larger set in Wave 3, that is a possibility. I think Wave 3 will feature BoFA heavily and some Erebor/Dale locales, also the White Council (Galadriel and armored Elrond?) may rescue Gandalf and that could be yet another Dol Guldur add on set.

Ok now that the finished pics are out we can definitely see a better idea of what this wave has to offer. Oddly enough my favorite set is DGA because it is most complete and 'polished'. Sometimes less is more if the details are there and the overall set looks complete and high quality. A large set while nice may lose some details and appear bland or incomplete or poor quality. I think DGA has a great ruins piece with a fun play feature as the axe booby trap allows for some interesting elements. Beorn while small looks distinct and interesting and the two Gundabad orcs actually have hair. Mirkwood Elf army had the most potential but I am now debating on whether to get it. It is not very accurate, detail-less and the Minifigs dont look quite like their movie counterparts. I like others am disappointed in the lack of Elven helm molds and I fear that lego may never make the Mirkwood armored guards we see in the trailer. These Elves are a mix of Legolas/Tauriel rather with strange leaf shaped shoulder wraps which have no resemblance to the movie so far. We only get more longbows and PoP daggers and a typical generic grey broadsword. Just to tease us, we get the heavy tower shields (poorly printed no mold) that the Mirkwod armored guards carried which makes little sense now with these leather clad ranger type Elves. We never see any curved elven swords which are so iconic to PJ's Middle Earth and feature so promimently in Mirkwood carried by almost every soldier type. Thranduil and the orcs are the only redeeming factor of this set sadly.I was hoping for some lanterns or braziers like in the trailer, I do like the storage space inside the tree! DGB is great! I love the minifigs and the amount of play features. The statue is great as others noted and I love the walls, wrought iron spikes and the stairs. I just hope that it will look like Dol Guldur proper once it is folded back as others have suggested as a possibilty. Like some say Lego gives us great and then not so great sets. Sometimes the lack of consistency is sad but we remain hopeful. I just look forward to TABA and the possibility of more armor or helmet molds for the Elven infantry, the Iron Hills Dwarves, and the heavier clad orcs.

This is the saddest news I have heard! This was a chance to finally get armored elves other than Elrond (preorder hard to find) and Haldir ($15 minifig). I was hoping to see molded elven helmets and a new sword mold that could be reused for several elven minifigs down the road. It figures out of all the great looking Mirkwood soldier/guard uniforms Lego would choose the least interesting same green/brown as before. Those Mirkwood elite armored soldiers are one of the best designs ever made by Weta since the Noldorin Prologue armor, such a shame they will never be found in Lego form. I just don't understand Lego's rationale. According to Durinsbane the elves have a new printed shield which sounds like it could be the giant tower shields the armored elves use in the trailer. Why make these and recreate that scene but then insert boring ranger/border grunts? Seems odd but I'm still excited by the design of the wall and elven tower as seen in the trailer. I hope Lego does the set proper justice and looks the part!

That makes sense even if it is not entirely logical on WB/New Line etc part. There may be some elements not seen like Bolg, Beorn human form, and the Necromancer but for the most part the sets do not seem very spoiler like.

Avoid spoilers like the ones we have already seen in the trailers they have released? We have already seen Thranduil, the Mirkwood Elves, Gundabad orcs, Radagast, etc so what is so important to keep hidden in lego form.

Oh well three weeks isn't too much longer compared to the months it has been since we first saw the Laketown Chase set. If we do see some pics before November then that will a pleasant surprise! I wonder if the Mirkwood Elf army set will be very much like Uruk-hai army in that a piece of a fortress wall will be included. We know the set will have an elven outpost but I wonder the size of the building. I think that this set will represent the one in the trailer where Azog's orcs invade Mirkwood and break through some of Thranduil's elite guards only for the Elvenking himself to defend with his sword and later he passes judgment on the orc offenders as seen later in the vblog. So the set will have either 1 or 2 archers and/or 1 or 2 armored swordsmen and then Thranduil. It would be great if the elven outpost or wall can be combined to form a long stone border for the Mirkwood Elven realm. Based on Lego's habits I would think the armor pieces would be given to only 1 or 2 elves not all 3. Even the Uruks didn't all have chestplate pieces in Uruk-Hai army. The Outpost will probably be a curved wall like seen in the trailer with a small covered rampart or balcony which the Elves defend from. Maybe part of the wall be uncovered and the other will have a small roof.

I know the Silvan elves of Mirkwood are part of the largest elf kindred and so must have a huge population compared to Noldor or Sindar but just how many Mirkwood Elf soldier types are there?? We have the following I have seen from the trailer and vblog: light leather clad rangers led by Tauriel Border Patrol and Scouts? the gold and white medium armored wall sentinels with antler horns (elves attacked by Azog) Royal bodyguards due to antlers? red and brown medium armored soldiers with one handed curved swords (seen from vblog extras) Basic soldiers? Heavy armored troops in silver metal wearing tall curved helms carrying huge golden tower shields and long elven warrior swords (similar to those in LOTR) Heavy shock infantry? I suppose a realm the size of Mirkwood with a vast elven population could have a highly specialized army with regiments, I am just surprised by all the variation! This makes the Elven army lego set even more speculative because it could include any or some of these troop types! The two armored troop types bodyguards and heavy infantry share a sigil design which must be a tengwar rune for Thranduil or his house. I would love to hear Deskp's insight and opinions on this.

Sorry about the long hiatus but I do love the improvements you made! It must be a difficult situation having to make compromises between real history and perceived/popular depictions of inspired historical events. While I agree with some of the comments made on the previous page regarding your lack of business sense and understanding of the Lego model system, I vehemently resent the comments made against you and your field for the sake of elevating the importance of business in all matters of life. Contrary to what Faefrost or others may think, economics is not the defining principle of biological existence or even any level of cultural significance. The only aspect business provides is the monetary bottom line. It would be hilarious if it were not so blatantly pitiful when comments are directed against the "soft sciences" and accusations are leveled against scientists because they do not understand the role of business in everyday life. Corporations are decried by academia because they infringe on science and pressure politics in the form of lobbying and general campaigns designed to discredit or minimize the findings of environmental pollutants, evolutionary adaptation used in genetics and stem cell research, and public health and nutrition. The reason why science and business do not mesh well is because they are diametrically opposite one another. Science values inquisitive and often controversial research, it is not concerned with business acumen or its effect on a company's stock value. Business is by nature exploitative, profiteering, and manipulative via advertisement, legal representation, and community influence. The current Business system is broken much like Healthcare and Government in the United States and globally because it is based on avarice and has pervaded all aspects of civilization. By creating public institutions relying on for profit models it has trivialized and weakened the purpose of these very systems. Medicine is no longer about healing but prescribing medications and performing expensive surgeries, it isn't meant to be affordable in the United States because it is not proper business sense. Government regulations meant to protect our environmental viability increase costs for Oil and Manufacturer industries so they aren't taken seriously or upheld. That said Business has a place currently only because the populace allows it. I can accept the reality but I don't have to enjoy or promote it in its current form. I understand this is an international community but many of these parasitic corporations are multi-national and have continuously vied to undermine local and national governments. The reality which we currently reside does not mean it is the way it will continue as humanity has consistently changed over decades let alone centuries or millennia. We should not praise the fact that corporations have sought and obtained physics, math, and medical professionals only so that they can create derivatives equations which have resulted in trillions of dollars of virtual dividends which only exist in the stock exchange or that the brightest minds who could innovate civil infrastructure or develop aerospace solutions to improve aircraft designs has squandered their talents to fatten the coffers of elitist non essential CEOs. Everything has its place in society but it is maddening to see the extent of self-inflating business professionals who continually need to convince not only the world but themselves that business principles trump scientific progress and human decency. Archaeology has importance based on the significance of documenting the past, it provides social context and illuminates the intrinsic relationship between modern life and ancestral reverence. It is a reflection of our collective identity as human beings and teaches about how civilization and culture change over time yet retain certain characteristics. What does Business provide to the legacy of our species other than it is volatile, promotes income inequality, and artificially creates innovation through heightened competition but stagnates if it interferes with established paradigms? This may be too deep for the topic at hand but it is important to understand that certain fields of science have long term even universal significance even if the short term financial applications are minimal or absent altogether. Lego needs to follow a business model and adopt similar integrity-denying tactics in order to survive in the global market. Cuusoo projects must follow certain trends in order to be viable and attractive proposals for Lego. Therealindy is left to express himself and create models which some see as unrealistic or pointless. It would be nice to see some of these changes to improve the viability of these projects but in the end is it necessary to harass, undermine and personally insult him to get your point across? It is amazing that many public online and in real life forums go to great lengths to protect the sensitivities of religion but care little about the attacks on academia and science which occur almost consistently and consecutively across all forms of media.