Darth Caedus

Money. Also, I feel like AA is less substantial - the facade aspect just doesn't do it for me. It's also not a particular iconic location, since it's just gothic-y buildings.

Just in the box. Not the invoice, and wasn't charged for it.

Thoughts on what Alcarin and others have brought up: Galadriel is in The Hobbit, so she should appear in a Destruction of Dol Guldur set in the TABA wave. No Gondorians would indeed be a *major* failure on Lego's part. But I'm sadly prepared for it at this point. As for a Prologue set...that would be incredible. Sauron, Gil-galad, Elendil, Isildur, Noldor Elves, Numenorean Warriors...any Silmarillion content is extremely valuable since there will likely never be a Silmarillion film (at least for decades). But it's barely more than a pipe dream.

We discuss theories and proposals for future sets in the 'Future LOTR sets?' thread.

My Orthanc arrived with Jor-El, a poster, and this: http://www.brickset....il/?Set=70113-1 Happen to anyone else? I'm confused but pleased, not gonna turn down a free set - they didn't charge me for it!

Jelly knights, lol. The Bear warrior - I forget his name - his breastplate is actually useful for Game of Thrones MOCs, you can use them to make Mormont Bannermen (Alysane, Maege, etc.). Anything with Jayko's sigil is actually well colored and decorated for Arryn troops of the Vale. Danju would be good for the Starks, but he's just too goofily purple. The green fellow - Rascus? - well, he's pretty pointless as well, though I could see him showing up as a Mercenary in Essos. Those two sets were great, I remember buying them in-store way back when. As for acq's, I ordered Orthanc like every other devoted AFOL on here, hopefully it arrives tomorrow.

If you're just getting into the LOTR and Hobbit line, make sure you only order from Amazon.com whenever possible. It's way cheaper that way. (Goblin King only $75 instead of 100, for instance. http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Hobbit-Goblin-King-Battle/dp/B009TCYK2E/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1371758887&sr=8-8&keywords=goblin+king)

Which is incredibly annoying, since the only reason Conan Stevens left Game of Thrones after season 1 was to play Bolg. Ugh. He was such a good Mountain. /rant I think Azog should be a white minifigure as well, or a very, very pale cream color if Lego can pull that off. But unless they go gung ho with a unique maxifig treatment, Azog and Sauron are never going to be done properly.

The LOTR sets are definitely superior the The Hobbit ones. TDOS has potential though - I look forward to a lot of Mirkwood Elves. I'm not expecting a particular spectacular wave, but hopefully the Flagship set will be something Smaug-ly spectacular (unlike the crappy Gobbo King Battle). I don't think even the die-hardest armybuilders like Alcarin or myself can expect any battle packs from this wave, though it would be an instant win if we got a Mirkwood Elf battlepack (with Elf hair, not just cop-out hoods). That's a long shot though. I think it will be a major failure on Lego's part if 2014 is not the Year of the Army Builder, however - we need a Gondorian battlepack for the (possibly final) LOTR wave, and the final Hobbit film/wave is all about the Battle of Five Armies - the FOCUS should be army builders aplenty (one for good and one for evil, at least) to do justice to the Goblin horde and the forces of Good (the Iron Hills Dwarves, the Mirkwood Elves, and the Men of Laketown). It would be very clean if we got a Mirkwood Elf/Orcs battlepack for TDOS, and a Iron Hills/Laketown battlepack for TABA.

Placed my order for this gem today. Hope it gets here by the weekend! Excellent review.

So do we expect to hear about Thor sets at Comic Con? When will the first rumors leak out? Seems like it will be in the next month, presumably.

I have a little under a dozen, I believe. Also, thread updated!

Were you able to do that with only pieces that game in the set?

I guess when we're talking Gondor, we're really talking Pelennor. Mounted Rohirrim, all Gondorians (Citadel Guard, Warriors, Knights), Witch-King, Eowyn, Mumakil, Haradrim, Easterlings...I suppose if I were forced to choose between either getting a battle pack of Gondorians or one of Easterlings, I'd pick the latter. They're hands-down the coolest design of all the film's factions. Of course, since we're in wild speculation mode, the 'ultimate' for those with armybuilder tastes like myself would be: Osgiliath Invaded: $24.99 Set: Modular Osgiliath Archways/Ruins - multiple peg holes for lots of possible arrangements. (in reality, a grey parts pack) Minifigs: 1x Gondorian Warrior (with gladius and new shield) 1x Gondorian Knight (steed, gladius, lance and banner) 1x Gondorian Ranger (elven bow and quiver, green hood and cape) 1x Easterling Pikeman (pike and repaint of roman tower shield) 1x Easterling Swordsman (tower shield and scimitar) 1x Morgul Orc (blue/grey hue as opposed to the current tan/brown orcs, includes hammer) Do we see Easterlings at Osgiliath? Who cares? Haradrim I think belong en masse in a Mumakil set - though they could be smart and turn the Eowyn/Witchking fight into an armybuilder like so: The Witch-King's Hour Set: Fellbeast and some Pelennor debris. Head armor is removable for the Fellbeast. Minifigs: 1x Eowyn with gladius, roundshield, and swappable helm and hair. Make the helm 1 single design for Merry and Eowyn - a flatter, less ostentatious version of the current Rohan helmet. Can be turned into normal Rohirrim by keeping the Dernhelm hat and simply swapping in a male head. 1x Rohirrim Merry with gladius and new Rohan helm. Can be turned into normal Rohirrim by swapping in long legs and an alternate face. 1x Haradrim Warrior w/ spear (to fight Merry, a la Extended Edition) 1x Witch-King with sword and flail. Keep it the normal Nazgul minifig, just add removable shoulder armor, and an alternate unique molded hood/helm piece. Can be converted to normal Nazgul simply by swapping out for a normal hood and removing the shoulder armor and flail. This is an example of something Lego could EASILY do - make an ICONIC scene that appeals to ANY fan, but secretly make it a quick 'n' dirty armybuilder for AFOLs. You can get the epic showdown, and then buy more to pad out your Rohan ranks, while getting a full complement of Nazgul on Fellbeasts, as well as a Haradrim to boot.

Missing Brick, this is absolutely superb. Do you plan to hinge it or make it attachable with studs/pins? Do you have a list of the pieces you used? Once you get Orthanc, is there any chance you could post the adapted version/the changes you needed to trim from the Orthanc set, so others can replicate this excellent design?

I know he *should* have his unique armor and hairpiece, but it's similar enough considering the more important new elements required for such a set. I mean, honestly, I would forego having 2nd Age Sauron (since he could very well come off looking goofy anyways) if it meant more Noldor and Numenorean characters in a set. What Lego really ought to do is recognize that the prologue of FOTR is probably the one thing most seen by fans of the franchise, whether casual or hardcore, and it's a defining, powerful montage that sets the tone of the entire Jackson adaptation. Thus, it totally deserves 2 sets - a "Isildur Confrontation" ~$20 set with a well-done Sauron, Isildur and Elendil; and a "The Last Alliance" battlepack with either of the following (preferably the first option, though the second is sadly more likely) 1: Noldor Archer (w/ Elven Bow in Gold), Noldor Spearman (with Gold Elf Spear and some sort of shield), Numenorean Archer (black bow), Numenorean Warrior (sword and 2nd Age sigil shieldprint) 2: Noldor Warrior, Numenorean Warrior, 2 Orcs (with hairpieces, please)

For a set that will be discounted to $50 in a few weeks, that seems like an excessive measure...you really didn't need King Aragorn or the Mouth of Sauron? I'm waiting til the Black Gate hits Amazon to pick it up.

Minus Sauron, it'd be an excellent armybuilder - Gil-Galad can fit right into a Noldor ranks, and Isildur's garb could be headswapped to be a "Numenorean Captain." It'd be a superb armybuilder - Gil-Galad and the Noldor could have the same body as Elrond, and the Noldor would have the cool hat, while Gil-Galad would have Rivendell Elrond's hair. They could make 1 Numenorean helmet-sculpt and use it for both Isildur and the generic Numenorean to save on molding costs (only Elendil's helm is especially distinct, as it's super-tall) - and the better to armybuild with. Toss in a few rocks with a figure-tossing play feature (knock down the armies from the Sauron shockwave!) and you've got an excellent armybuilder that also provides key story characters.

@Tolkien, while I don't think it would come true, I'd happily pass on any Mt Doom or Treebeard set for a single Gondorian soldier - not to mention any entire wave. Treebeard set is just going to have another Merry and Pippin, nothing interesting there. Mt Doom - a desperate Sam/Frodo would be okay, but we have enough Gollums already, and you can't really do Sammath Naur justice without an absurd amount of pieces. Now, if a Mt Doom set manifested as a 2nd Age armybuilder (Isildur plus some Last Alliance Noldor & Numenoreans), I'd actually put that as an even higher priority than Gondor. Armybuilding those epic Noldor hats, and classic Numenoreans? *swoons*.

Updated with a lot of stuff. Have a lot of Mirkwood baggies to trade. Hit me up!

So a hinge near the bottom really wouldn't work that well? I'd love to be able to build a fourth side on a hinge (wish they had included that instead of the Ent).

Get Black Zero Escape. It has better pieces, and Zod looks a lot better with his cape (the armor is cool too). The Escape Pod is a dumb build but has great pieces (I tore it apart for scrap) - an excellent canopy.

Oh, make no mistake, I know that's a fantasy at this point. If I had the choice, though, I would have rather we had a Lego Lothlorien than a Lego Ewok Treehouse.

Seeing how well they did the Ewok Village, I think Lothlorien could be both spectacular and iconic. It's not so much the specific places as the architectural style - with the new arches and Lego's ingenuity, I'm sure they could capture that. Imagine the current Ewok set, except the main platform is where the Fellowship meets Galadriel and Celeborn. The trees have stairs around them, the forest floor is where the fellowship hangs out/the mirror of Galadriel. You put in Galadriel, Celeborn, a night-clothes Frodo, a Boromir with a sad/dismayed face, a Lothlorien garb Haldir, a bunch of assorted Lothlorien ranger/Galadhrim warrior minifigs, a few other Fellowship members or some Moria goblins on the outskirts. If it was as well designed as the Ewok Village shows that they're capable of, It'd be a great hit for the line.

Just get em as digital downloads from Amazon the next time they go on sale. They're often under $10.