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Darth Caedus

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Everything posted by Darth Caedus

  1. Darth Caedus
    Really? I have no problem with it, especially since there's always a wealth of substitute weapons to swap in - spears, swords, whatever. I am disappointed that he doesn't come with one of those awesome Laketown shields from LTC, though.
  2. Darth Caedus
    I would've purchased 10 on the spot had I been awake. Alas. Hope they hit brick and mortar soon - as long as it's not on Black Friday.
  3. Darth Caedus
    When I saw that these had gone up and then disappeared so quickly, I unleashed a torrent of furious expletives. Wish I had woken up earlier. The polybag could not have been a more perfect choice and is my most anticipated item this wave by far. Alas. Will have to stay vigilant. The hunt continues. Did anyone order them in time?
  4. Darth Caedus
    MEA's just better IMO. But I value minifigures over the sets themselves. LTC is a very nice model.
  5. Darth Caedus
    Ordered 1x of everything plus an extra MEA from TRU.com with the SAVE15 code. Order is shipped and on the way; only cost $180, which is pretty sweet.
  6. Darth Caedus
    That Bolg is 99% confirmed to be excised; Vlog footage reveals that Blog will look like Azog + bloodstains and ruined helmet pieces.
  7. Darth Caedus
    Looking at the side-by-side comparison of the Orcs and Beorn in the catalog that I just got, his eyes ARE higher than theirs. This printed theory is plausible. Glad to confirm officially 100% that USA prices are $19.99 DGA $29.99 MEA $49.99 LC $69.99 DGB This makes it the most affordable wave yet at a a mere $170. I'll definitely be getting two MEAs, which brings it to an even $200. That beautiful LDD vision of the four MEAs makes getting 4 quite tempting, though. Here's something we can speculate on. How much will the asking price for the new minifigs be? -I'm guessing Thranduil will be pretty dirt cheap because he's not a useful armybuilder (although his robes are simply enough that they could be repurposed for Lorien elves). -Radagast, the Necromancer, and Azog will remain the most expensive for sure - I'd guess Radagast will be the highest since he's the most unique, but it's hard to say. The Necromancer is the first "Lego Sauron" so I could see there being some appeal there. -Beorn will be a cheap minifig if the printed theory is true. -Gundabad Orc prices interest me greatly. This is the best armybuilder Orc we've gotten yet (better than the generic Orc, and less specific than the still-excellent Moria Goblin). Hairless Gundabad Orcs sans armor will go for real cheap prices, and I would guess that haired armored Gundabad Orcs (GOs) will cost about 150% as much as the basic version. -Laketown Guards are the biggest wildcard. A superb armybuilder with fullbody printing and unique helmet, that's limited to one in a $50 set. I hope we get more in the TABA wave, because otherwise this is one expensive armybuilder! -BARD will be quite pricey as well, I think, given that he's a big name character only available in a $50 set. The Master of Laketown will hold value longer than Bard, though, since we are guaranteed to get another Bard in the TABA wave (too crucial a character), but there's not much reason to toss in a redundant Master of Laketown later on. -Casual Friday Thorin? A minor costume change, so who knows. It might knock down the price of Original Thorin later on though. Note, however, that Warg Attack now guaranteed to be the only set with Original Thorin, since he loses that outfit in this movie and gets new attire in TABA.
  8. Darth Caedus
    Fair enough. I'm buying my hardcopy this week, but I downloaded it a couple weeks ago and have rewatched it many times. The EE is definitely better, though the additions are still limited compared to the 'original trilogy.' Rivendell really gets expanded upon, which is great. Waiting for a boxset of the three extended editions is reasonable, though, I suppose. Personally, I dream of a super-extended 6-film saga-set when all's said and done, reincorporating even more old footage (Eowyn defending the caves, for instance) and maybe even some new stuff (glimpsing the battles of Lorien and siege of Erebor with Brand and Bard II in ROTK is a fantasy, but it'd be awesome). More likely we'll just get a superset of all the extended editions with a deleted-scenes reel and even more extras. Grey Necromancer is an interesting change. Still irksome that Azog is a weird shade of tan.
  9. Darth Caedus
    Tsk tsk Deathleech, the EE's been out for weeks now, any self-respecting Tolkienite has acquired it by now ;) In all seriousness, there's a short bit where a Man of Dale fires a ballista, but the projectile glances off Smaug's hide harmlessly. They keep showing it in the trailers because there will be a flashback to Girion, Lord of Dale halfway through TDOS (proven by the leaked listing for the TDOS soundtrack, which has a track called Girion halfway through).
  10. Darth Caedus
    Lego's names for stuff are very often slapped with generic conflict titles to make them sound more action-packed, so I would not read too much into that. Remember "The Wizard Battle" is just Gandalf and Saruman. Battle should imply a larger scale, but for Lego, it's just a hot-button marketing tool.
  11. Darth Caedus
    Humanity begins with Ramesses the Great and ends with Paris Hilton. Heh. Very nice MOC. Potential additions you could consider for an expanded version: Prehistory: A volcano, a jungle tree Baby T-Rex. A monkey. The Gorilla Suit Guy. A Caveman and Cavegirl. Feudal Japan: A Japanese shrine or temple A ninja. A Samurai. A Geisha. A sumo wrestler. A Sensei. Upcoming figures you definitely want to add when they are released: Abe Lincoln & William Shakespeare!
  12. Darth Caedus
    I'd like an armored Balin. He's a super important Dwarf and important to FOTR as well. But I wouldn't shed tears if we didn't get him. Dwalin is a badass so an armored version of him would be quite cool. Fili, Kili and Thorin are the crucial ones, though, since they all SPOILER come to the end of their characters arcs at the BO5A SPOILER END.
  13. Darth Caedus
    If budget's an issue, skip the rest of Barrel Escape and just try to snag Oin & Gloin on eBay. Or, I might recommend waiting 12 months til we get pics of the TABA wave - there are likely to be armored Dwarf characters in that wave. However, I don't see Lego making another Oin or Gloin, so you might wanna just go for the Barrel Escape versions. (I can see Lego making armored Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin, Thorin - all high profile Dwarves - and maybe Bofur, since he's also a big presence. Other than that, I don't see another full 13 being produced)
  14. Darth Caedus
    It's definitely a compromise - they probably conceptualized the armored Elves, but cut back to save $ and left the printed shields which aren't a financial burden. The set has multiple flaws as well, like the silly PoP dagger and a broadsword for Thranduil - they could have just used katanas, which would've been much closer to Elven weaponry. I'm only consoled by the fact that we have a good shot of getting armored Mirkwood Elves in the BO5A wave. At least we'll have more than enough shields from MEA if and when we get Armored Elves (and please, Lego, have the good sense to make the Elven spear in bronze to match their coloring!)
  15. Darth Caedus
    Well, let's look at this pragmatically. I'll estimate 5 sets, since this is the big final wave, so it can be a bit bigger than TDOS's small wave. We'll get a giant - perhaps the biggest of the wave - for Smaug. Smaug vs Bard plus the thrush and whoever else is involved. It's a no-brainer. Some kind of big White Council set is in order, I think - a reuse of Saruman's mold, as well as possibly Galadriel. Hopefully. Though I'm not sure how that would play out, since I doubt we'd get a second large DG set. Who knows. I'm betting on a set involving the armored Dwarves. No way we get all 13 again (I give that a 5% chance of happening), but Thorin, Fili, and Kili are likely a lock due to their importance in the BO5A. Maybe we'll get an armored Bilbo, or a blue-outfit Bilbo, who knows. What I'm hoping for is at least 1, if not 2, sets that can function as armybuilders. This film is about the BO5A, and it'll probably be bigger than Pelennor (or close to it, regardless of the textual size). So we need armies. I'd guess we'll get more Gundabad Orcs, given how much Lego loves to reuse Orcs. That's fine, they're a decent enough design, though I'd love the greenish armored Orcs from the trailer for TDOS. Lego would be fools to not reuse the Laketown guard printing and helmet (why print a new helm and use it once in one set and not make armored Elves with helms), so I'd bet we'll get a couple of those in some set at least. And Iron Hills Dwarves, including Dain, are crucial to the battle, so I can't see them being skipped (Lego also seems to like making short characters because it's a smaller, simpler part that full legs - see the overflow of Frodos, Bilbos, Gimlis, etc.). If we speculate...a great potential set 29.99: ruins or rock formation/encampment/whatever, maybe some Dale ruins or outer Erebor stonework with 2x Armored Elves, 2x Laketown Men, 2x Iron Hills Dwarves and 2x Greenish Orc Warriors from the TDOS trailer. Maybe swap out an Orc or a Laketown man with a horse or warg, or unique character - another Bard, or maybe Dain instead of 1 of the Dwarves. My ideal set? 12.99 - small Orcish War Engine, 1x Greenish Armored Orc, 1x Armored Mirkwood Elf, 1x Laketown Soldier, 1x Iron Hills Dwarf. Expand it to 14.99 to throw in a Warg (light brown this time please), or 19.99 to add another Armored Mirkwood Elf.
  16. Darth Caedus
    I agree with Deathleech. Arguing whether people would see them as Elves is moot, the set title is Mirkwood Elf Army. They see Thranduil, they see the word Elf, they're gonna see them as Elves. And the end of the day, for me it's more about generic vs. distinct - the MEA Elves at least have a new, accurate torso, it's just that the armored characters of PJ's world as much more memorable and striking than the standard rangers. Contrast which is more popular among the fandom (and having transformed from a child to an AFOL over the course of LOTR, I can attest that I felt the same way back then, as did my peers then and now): Gondorian Warriors vs Gondorian Rangers: distinct, shining silhouettes with astounding helmets and sigil design vs. green/black dudes in hoods Galadhrim Warriors vs Lothlorien Elves: bronze/silver armor with cool blue cloaks and elegant helms vs. basic light green archers in tunics Mirkwood Elf Warriors vs. Basic Mirkwood Elves: strikingly bulky armor with flair and poise and artistic shields vs. basic dark green archers with brown light armor. The former are all much more memorable and capture the PJ version of Tolkien (which is what these sets are based on) - while the others are pretty generic (only Faramir's ranger outfit has a particularly distinct look). So, all in all, I'll still gladly armybuild some of these accurate Mirkwood Elf Archers, but not nearly as much as I would the more iconic designs that characterize these films in particular. And those who say, wait for the BO5A sets - a fair point, I suppose. Essentially, if we get a battlepack (12.99-29.99) including Armored Mirkwood Elves and Laketown soldiers or Iron Hills Dwarves in Dec 2014, all will be well. Too big to do properly, and it's just rehash characters anyways (we have all Dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo). We have Radagast, so I'm pretty much over wanting his house at this point. Though I do wonder about the choice to give him a molded beard/hat rather than just using Gandalf's beardmold and a new hat.
  17. Darth Caedus
    Nah, bigger disappointment is not getting 3x Armored Elves in the MEA. That would have been an incredible builder. Beorn's hair is goofy but not a huge deal, and that's the movie's fault, not Lego's.
  18. Darth Caedus
    This. It would make no sense to break the momentum of the past four waves by having an empty summer before what will surely be a spectacular TABA wave, with all the final merchandising push and fanfare this final PJ Tolkien film will muster. 2014 is not the question, 2015 is the bigger one.
  19. Darth Caedus
    This. Tan Azog is okay, but he's supposed to be the PALE Orc. He *is* very bone-white in the actual film, not tan at all (someone on an earlier page claimed otherwise, after a quick rewatch of his scenes, they're very obviously wrong).
  20. Darth Caedus
    So good. Easily the second best wave of the Tolkien line, if not the best. I take back any slander, the Gundabad Orcs are CHOICE. Couldn't appreciate in low res. Gonna be happy to armybuild them, they are way more hardcore than the normal looking orcs.
  21. Darth Caedus
    My thoughts: DGA: Underwhelming, given that the Orcs are still the same darn rehashes as always. Where's the green Orcs? Grey orcs? Lego, you're messing up. Still, a solid enough set, depending on the piece count. Cheapest way to get a red foliage tree, though. And I do like Beorn. DGB: I really, really dig this. Affordable price, and better laid out than Balin's Wall And Door. This looks a lot better, the tower was a solid choice. Buffed with the door from DGA, this will look even better. Can't comment on figs yet, too small. MEA: Standout of the wave. Elf minifigs are underwhelming, since we needed armored warriors, but at least they have new torsos. The Orcs are whatever, but the brown warg is awesome. Can't wait to get him. And surprisingly, the actual building in this set is surprisingly good, with an extensive wall and a big, cool tree-fort which I was *not* expecting. This really seems like you could buy a few and make an "elven fort" with tree towers. Very very cool.
  22. Darth Caedus
    "Sand of Time dagger" is the funniest phrase I've heard all day. Never stop, Durinsbane. Also, so would this list be correct? If so, that's freakin' awesome (for US buyers, at least). I needed a breather after blowing so much on the summer wave (Orthanc!). These are well priced mid-range sets, something that Lego hasn't done in a long time. It's a smart choice, people are more keen to buy if they can score stuff for prices under 100 or 130 bucks. 79011 Dol Guldur Ambush $19.99 79012 Mirkwood Elf Army $29.99 79013 Lake Town Chase $49.99 79014 Dol Guldur Battle $69.99
  23. Darth Caedus
    Hoping DGA is a $19.99 set. 3 minifigs is too few for $29.99 set. Mirkwood Elf Army had better be good if it's gonna be $39.99.
  24. Darth Caedus
    If DGA is a great parts pack and is modular with DGB, then it will be a strong potential multiple-purchase - I can see getting 2 at least due to the low price and the unique Beorn hairpiece that can be reused elsewhere. But that Darkbrown Warg in MEA makes it reallllly appealing. Armybuilding Warg cavalry and Elves at the same time is a hot prospect.
  25. Darth Caedus
    Reuse is only an issue when it becomes pervasive. Let's take a look at the history of the Lego Orc: The Lego "orc" has been done to death - originally a design only really applicable to the set it was featured in, The Orc Forge. All other enemies in the original LOTR wave were set appropriate: Uruks at HD, Moria Gobbos at Moria. Then you had AUJ, with these Orcs showing up essentially the same as Azog's warg riders. Disappointing. Then it got egregious - identical Orcs, minus the hairpiece that made them at least passable, as baddies in the Corsair Ship and Black Gate. Uruk-hai look the same, that's the point - Orcs should not. Lego also never even gave them different helmets or armor, just recycling Uruk armor and shields. According to Durinsbane's description, there is some variation in the Gundabad Orcs, and that's good enough for me - variation has been sorely lacking in Lego's Orcs to date. Now, if we got 3 *more* sets with identical Orcs to the ones that come in this TDOS wave in the TABA wave next year, I could see some cause for complaint. But that will depend on how good the Orcs in the TDOS wave look, so until we get pictures, we can only speculate so much.
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