naf

I'm not a huge super hero fan in general, but having just rewatched the Tim Burton Batman movies I started looking at some of the batman sets. I ended up getting the Riddler Chase set since it has a nice looking batmobile, and I'll probably get a couple of the other smaller sets in the line. This set is very tempting, but the price point keeps me away. Last year I bought the Haunted House, Ewok Village, and Orthanc, so I really don't think I can fit this one in my budget since I'm not a die hard batman fan. I really like the figures, I hope some of them like Poison Ivy and Scarecrow show up in smaller sets down the road. The little details in this set are outstanding. I really like that front gate.

While I do think Lego monorail as we know it is dead and never coming back, I'm sure at some point Lego will produce some sort of "space train of the future." It will just be a completely new design, the mag-lev mentioned above would be neat.

I don't agree. We most definitely have to reduce the gap between boys and girls in terms of how we treat them. Parents almost instinctively bring their daughters into the pink aisle at the toy store because as a society we have determined that girls like pink things. Take a look at the toys that are available there, they are basically saying that girls only care about dressing up dolls in clothes, homemaking, they even have glittery toy smart phones so you can pretend to text your friends. The "boys" aisle isn't much better, it's full of monster trucks, toy weapons, basically saying that boys like tough things like cars and guns. When pretty much every store has their toy sections set up like this, it gets ingrained in people's brains that this is how life is. I really don't have a big problem with the Friend's line. I think the characters in it are pretty strong, as they own bakeries, pet shops, one has a science lab, etc. What I don't agree with is how every set is an explosion of pink and pastel. I love that Lego has embraced these colors, and I don't mind them being used where it makes sense, but Olivia's microscope in her lab set is pink. I don't think we need to do this in order to sell to girls. An interesting thing that I've noticed is that when we go to the toy store, my step daughter is drawn instantly to the Ninjago and Creator sets, and has never once shown any interest in the Friend's line, even though we've walked past it quite a bit, seen commercials on TV, and even watched a Friend's animated show. I work in a techical field, and there are just as many talented women at my company as there are men. I went to a technical university, where I was tutored in math by a fellow female student, and the top students in my class were women. I don't buy for a minute that men and women are wired differently when it comes to their ability to learn. What I do believe is society setting up certain social norms that are imprinted on children at a young age, so we really need to take a look at what message the pink aisle sends to girls.

Unfortunately it sounds like the seller is being less than honest, especially given the fact that they won't respond to your email. What's strange is that the parts missing are cheap, it's not like he took out the minifigs or some other rare part. If the seller doesn't respond soon, I wouldn't hesitate to leave negative feedback. The feedback system is the only tool on bricklink to determine how trustworthy a seller is. It may not even be the sellers fault, but they should at least get back with you to work out a solution.

I'm confused, the seller was selling the item as "mint/new" but did not include the box since it was destroyed, or did the package itself get wet and destroy the box? If the seller was selling this as new, mint, and complete but without box, those bags definitely should have been sealed. Perhaps you could contact customs with your customs number and see if your package was inspected? You might be able to make a claim since they caused parts to be lost. I'd also contact the original seller to inquire about the opened bags, and to ask them to assist you with getting the missing parts, or providing a partial refund. It's not fun as a seller to give a refund because something got damaged through the mail, but I always give a full refund in these cases because if this happened to me as a buyer I would want a refund myself. Did you look in the shipping box? The missing pieces could have become lodged between the flaps in the box. Those parts aren't expensive or rare, so I doubt someone took them out to scam you or sell.

Lego produced light and sound sets in the past using a 9 volt battery box, and a simple sound brick. My brother had this set when we were little, and it wasn't that expensive. I know that if it doesn't have light and sound, I'm modifying it using this set! I doubt it, the two sets kind of support each other seeing as they're both iconic 80's movie vehicles.

I tried this out last night, works great! I bricklinked a few sets that have long since retired, and decided I could live without the decals since they are selling for $20 a sheet. This method actually looks better than the official decals since those are on the white paper backing, while these are on clear tape. They look great on the model. Thanks for showing us this tip!

I'm against Osgiliath for the same reason, I really don't want another set that's just ruins. We basically got that with the Mines of Moria, Riddles for the Ring, and the Dol Guldor sets. I'd like some sets that aren't a big mass of gray.

For the most part, I only MOC with new Lego, so I have my old greys in plastic bins that I keep separated from the rest. The only time I get it out is when I want to build old classic space sets.

I was thinking more about the crowning of Aragorn. Of course, there is a distinct lack of flick fire missiles in that scene, so it probably won't be made! I hope the fell beast is brick built, I think the large molded dragons look a bit too cartoonish for the LotR line. There have been several brick built fell beast MOCs and they all look fantastic.

Looking at the newest Hobbit wave, Lego is definitely not afraid of producing boring walls I think they are looking at it like they'd look at a typical Castle theme. They already have the big castle with Helm's Deep, so a Gondor "castle" would be redundant in their eyes. I don't know who really gets the final say, Lego or the studio, but this seems like typical Lego decision making to me. They can still do Gondor without a castle, they could do the courtyard with the white tree, among many other scenes without a full blown castle.

Check Walmart and Target, I've seen it pretty low there. My local target had them for $45 as well, they are sold out now. They also have An Unexpected Gathering for $40 and Warg Attack for $30, lots of stock on each. I already have these, but might buy more if they get even lower just for the parts and extra wargs.

I've seen Goblin King all the way down to $45 at Target in the past, that's what I paid for it. Quite worth it for all of the brown parts for historic MOC's, plus the nice minifigs. If you're vigilant you can find a good deal on it. Got 2x 7948 Outpost Attack sets for $35 total, used with no box but pieces in new condition. Also had a lot of extra parts that look like they come from the Kingdoms line.

Really, the Witch King is important from a lore standpoint, but from the standpoint of the action that takes place in both the books and the movie, he's not a huge character. He shows up, tries to beat up Gandalf, and then dies. While I would love to have him, I can understand why he isn't on the priority list for Lego to make. Eowyn and Faramir - Lego has never been about exact interpretations on things, use some imagination. All I'm saying is that out of all of the characters people want, these two are the most easily MOC'ed. I stand by my point that Faramir is not that important, when you take into account the 100's of characters in the story. He was actually given a more important role in the movie than the book (providing some "gray" area for a character and some extra drama, all the characters in the book are pretty much black and white). So, given this, I can see why Faramir is not a priority as well ... still would love to see him though.

The Witch King was dead before the Battle of the Black Gate, so he couldn't have appeared there. We really aren't missing that many of the main characters if you think about it: Witch King - really only missing his special helm, we already have nazgul Eowyn - not that distinctive of a character, could take the Rohan soldier from Uruk Hai army, put a female head and hair on him, and you have an instant Eowyn. Galadriel - it's not out of the realm of possibility that she appears in a Hobbit set Faramir - Not a hugely important character in the grand scheme of things, more of a nice to have. And, like Eowyn, can be easily MOC'ed. Really, the Witch King and Gondorian soldiers are the main missing "must have" figures in my opinion, so basically two new molds for the helms. Not out of the realm of possiblity for Lego to make one last set and include these elements in it.

I don't know why the Mouth of Sauron is getting so much hate around here. I know he's a minor character, but I think it's cool that Lego decided to not only include him, but made a new mold for him and everything. It gives me more hope that Lego will make a Gondor set, even if it's just a D2C set. If they were willing to mold a part for a one-off character in a smallish set, why wouldn't they do a mold for some Gondorian helmets for a larger set? I don't think there's a specific rule that Lego must follow where they can never include brand new molds in a D2C set. Mouth of Sauron is one of my favorite minor characters in the story. I'm a sucker for humans who become corrupted and evil in my fantasy stories, plus he looks awesome in the movie. I'm glad I have him in minifig form.

He wears a long cape in the movie.

This is most definitely what happened. I'm sure they are trying to strike a balance between what appeals to kids, and covering the material. There is already a castle set in the LotR theme (Helm's Deep), they probably saw a 2nd castle set (Minas Tirith) redundant, even though they are two very different and distinct locations. I'm sure if you sat a kid down in front of the pirate ship and Helm's Deep, they'd probably play with the ship more. What I don't understand is why they must focus on kids with this line. Yes, Lego is a toy, but there are plenty of Lego sets targeted at adults. I doubt many small children are putting the modular buildings, tower bridge, or architecture studio on their wish lists. The LotR movies are not kid friendly, they are PG-13, and have a lot of violence, so I don't see why they couldn't have focused these sets with teens and adults as the target audience.

I'm assuming you buy Lego because you love the hobby, so I don't know why a simple decision to end a line would cause so much hearburn for you. Lego surely has a lot of great stuff to offer us in the future, it just might not be in Middle-Earth. Honestly, I think we should be grateful that we have the sets we did get. I was very surprised that Lego would produce sets from a movie that has been out for over a decade. I know they are in the business to make money, but I feel like this was a response to the fans asking for these sets to be made. Will I be disappointed if we don't get more LotR sets? Of course, but I'm still going to be grateful for what we did get.

Looks like a good start! I kind of wish I was out of my dark age when the modulars were first released, because they look like fun builds to collect. However, my wallet is thanking me I can't start collecting them now because I know I'll eventually want to hunt down the uber expensive retired modulars. Have you looked into the Winter Village sets? I've been collecting those, they're cheaper to get into than the modulars, and a quite a bit smaller which makes them easier to display. They are all fun builds.

This. When I was a kid (here I go sounding like an old man), play features were hidden compartments, cockpits, detachable space labs, working anchors, the occasional crane to lift cargo up. None of this ridiculous launching stuff across the room nonsense. In two sets there are mechanisms for launch Gimli across the room, and both affect the aesthetics of the set negatively. I'm starting to think that the Lego designers have some kind of dwarf launching inside joke going on. As for Gondor, they really wouldn't be doing the theme justice unless they did brand new molds for the helmet and shields. 1) Pelennor Fields - similar in size to Helm's Deep. Make the actual structure of Minas Tirith smaller (just the main gate), but include brick built Grond, brick build fell beast, Eowyn, Pippin in Gondorian armor, Gothmog, a couple Mordor Orcs, and a couple Gondor troops. 2) Army of the Shadow - $30 army builder, includes 2 Gondor troops, 2 Mordor Orcs, and 2 Haradrim troops (good way to slip these guys in). Includes a brick built wall that can attach to the Minas Tirith gate structure above. I guarantee this thing would fly off the shelves. Other sets I really don't have a strong opinion on. I still like the idea of having a Mount Doom set, maybe the size of Weathertop. Frodo and Bilbo leaving for the undying lands would also make for a cool set, and would be a nice official "goodbye" to the theme. That way they could include Galadriel (I believe she is in that scene with Elrond?), and an elderly Bilbo figure.

I've noticed the same, but with the ship sails. The sails for my Black Seas Barracuda are softer and more flexible than the sails for my 10210 Imperial Flagship. I feel like I could accidentally tear the sails for the Flagship, although they do hold their shape better than the BSB sails.

I actually like Council of Elrond a lot. It's a nice size for sitting on my work desk, has nice colors/parts, and is pretty recognizable. I think the set ultimately suffers from not knowing what it actually is. The set isn't exciting for the kiddies because it doesn't have any battle aspect to it. That ridiculous play feature makes it less attractive for the adult crowd. So, if the set isn't going to be a kid favorite, Lego should have probably just killed the play feature, and added some more architectural details while keeping it the same size to make TFOLs and AFOLs happy. In it's current state, it's not very appealing to either crowd.

As AFOL's it's easy for us to say things like Rivendell should have been the large flagship set in this wave. I think 20 years ago, this might have been the case. But today, Lego almost always has big conflict set with lots of play features as the flagship. In my perfect world, Rivendell would have been a 700-1000 piece set, the $29.99 set would have gone to a different scene (Amon Hen, Galadriel's mirror, etc), and the pirate ship ambush would be non-existent. But alas, Lego's marketing team has a different idea about how to make the company money, hence we have what they presented us in wave 2.

I don't think leaving bricks together will affect clutch. The act of putting them together and separating them creates friction, which wears the pieces out, and this can cause a loss of clutch power. Also, if any pieces seem to lose clutch, look for tiny fractures, as these can affect their clutch power. This was posted on brother's brick, it shows that the Lego pieces being tested could be snapped together and separated 37,000 times before failing. http://www.brothers-brick.com/2013/04/17/how-many-times-can-you-put-two-lego-bricks-together-before-they-break/