Elrond

I was really surprised when I read the news. Like pretty much everyone, I thought Kreo got the licence. Of course I'm glad TLG did though, Hasbro still is new to the construction toys business and I don't think they're ready to handle such a big licence yet (also the Kreons look terrible). I wonder if TLG also got the rights to produce more JP sets or if that's a different licence.

I really find it sad that we're not even able to army-build the good guys (unless you're willing to pay a fortune on BL to get the same Rohan soldier multiple times...). Helm's Deep ends up looking a little empty. Something like a reversed "Uruk-hai Army" set would have been nice. It's also a real pity that TLG completely ignored one of the 4 main factions. It's especially frustrating when you get a pirate ship but no Osgiliath or Minas Tirith.

While I of course understand why they do it, I still feel like it's a shame TLG has to focus on the Hobbit instead of LOTR. It really looks like they struggle to find new set ideas for the Hobbit. Half of them seem redundant (such as Dol Guldur Ambush or the future Elrond/Galadriel set), like they should be part of one of the other sets . Meanwhile, there would still be room for at least half a dozen original LOTR sets. A shame really.

It sure looks nice but God, the price!!! I would probably have bought it for half the price but €220 is just way too much for me. I guess I'll have to bricklink the minifigs. Well to be fair, the Tumbler does look like a pile of scrap metal welded together... so I guess the set is accurate.

Agreed, but I think the blandness of this set is due to the fact this idea wasn't submitted and supported for its creativity or originality but for the political message it carries. I don't want to start a discussion about feminism here but I just don't think TLG should tolerate (let alone release) submissions like these for the same reason they don't tolerate set ideas based on politics, religion or race. A toy company shouldn't be dealing with ideologies which are dividing the society into different classes or groups. Well at least they were smart about it and apparently erased all mentions of feminism and genders.

Just got my CUUSOO/Ideas Ecto-1. Can't wait to build it.

For the time being, prices on eBay generally vary between 20 and 40€. It's hard to tell if it will become cheaper in the near future considering how popular the character is.

Thanks a lot for all the positive comments, guys. I really appreciate it, especially considering this is my first review. It's already been available in some American and European online shops for like 1 or 2 weeks. Yeah, I wasn't a fan either at first but I guess it's due to all the black details on the mask. True, but I'm pretty sure most (if not all) of the promotional/exclusive figures offered in polybags are now made of Chinese plastic.

Darth Revan, probably one of the most (if not THE most) famous and beloved characters in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. For those of you who are not familiar with the EU, Revan first appeared in the hit role-playing video game Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) released in 2003. Acclaimed by both the critics and the fans, KotOR is still to this day considered as one of the best Star Wars video games ever made. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to talk about this character without revealing too many spoilers, so let's just say Revan and his friend Alek were Jedi and war heroes during the Mandalorian Wars (between 3976 and 3964 before the Battle of Yavin). After the defeat of the Mandalorians during the Battle of Malachor V, Revan and Alek pursued the surviving enemy vessels into the unknown regions of the galaxy and disappeared. When they came back a year later, they were leading the forces of the Sith Empire as Darth Revan and Darth Malak... If you want to know more about this character, I suggest you watch this video (watch out, it contains spoilers) or simply play the game... Following the 2013 Hoth Han Solo minifig, this year's May the 4th promotional polybag is most definitely a great and surprising choice from LEGO. Basic Information • Set name: Darth Revan • Set number: 5002123 • Ages: 6+ • Number of pieces: 7 • Minifigs: 1 • Theme: Star Wars / Expanded Universe (EU) • Price: Free (offered as part of the "May the 4th" promotion with every LEGO Star Wars purchase of at least 55€/75$ between 28/04 and 04/05/14) • Year released: 2014 The Review The polybag Let's first take a look at the polybag itself. The front features the same logo design as the regular 2014 movie sets. If I'm not mistaken, the background in front of which Revan appears is based on the corridors of the Invisible Hand, the separatist command ship from Episode III. There isn't much to see on the back aside from some multilingual words of caution and a picture of the minifig's actual size. Unlike some of the older polybags, the back isn't translucent, which makes it impossible to see any of the pieces it contains. 1 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr Here it is now compared to an older polybag. As you can see, Revan's bag is slightly bigger although the difference is barely noticeable. However, due to the small amount of pieces it contains, the polybag does look quite large and feels a little empty. 2 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr The minifig The bag only contains 7 pieces. Unlike those found in bigger sets, the cape is not protected by the usual little cardboard box. As you also probably have noticed, the parts are made of Chinese plastic (which is pretty much the norm now for the polybags). The minifigs comes with one single accessory: a regular red lightsaber with a silver hilt. 3 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr There is no printing on the back of the head (which is normal since Revan never reveals his face) but there's also no backprinting on the minifigure's torso. Even though some details on the back would have been nice, I suppose it is not really a big deal considering he always wears a cape. 4 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr And here's a nice look at the complete minifigure in all its glory... Revan definitely looks better in person than on all the other pics I've seen. The details on his torso look fantastic. 5 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr 6 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr The fallen Jedi next to other Sith lords of the Old Republic era. Definitely a nice addition to any EU/KotOR/TOR fan's collection. 7 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr And errr... well this is for those of you who always wondered what's behind the mask... 8 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr 9 par Elrond Half-elven, sur Flickr Ratings Let's admit it, rating this polybag isn't easy. You can't really evaluate the quality of the build or its price. I also imagine your opinion on this minifigure will probably depend on whether or not you enjoy the EU, and more precisely the Old Republic era. If you don't, I can understand why you can't find anything exciting about this figure, unless you plan on using some of the parts for a MOC minifig... or unless you want to sell it. For those of us who do enjoy it however, this exclusive minifig appears as a unique opportunity to get a LEGO representation of a fan-favourite character. This is probably the only chance we'll have to get a Darth Revan minifigure (unless Disney decides to adapt KotOR at some point but for now this seems rather unlikely) and I believe those who like the character should seize that opportunity. The minifig is nothing special as far as parts are concerned. It doesn't have any special or new fancy armour piece like Malgus but it still looks great nonetheless. I'd give it a 8/10, the only real disappointment being the lack of backprinting.

They are made out of real LEGO parts and they are printed. They also make some WW2 bodyparts. I've ordered some from them and I'd say they are probably the best on the market, they really look like the real deal.

Damn, I really can't believe we got a LOTR theme without the Gondor faction. How can this happen?

Finally bought my first Lego Movie blind bags and got the Mexican guy, Shakespeare, Wild West Wyldstyle and Larry. They're all pretty nice.

I do hope so but unfortunately they said they won't be creating new pieces for CUUSOO sets and I doubt they'll make him out of bricks. The little Hutt would be a nice replacement but it's a Star Wars design and I don't think they can reuse it for a completely different licensed theme.

Wow that's absolutely fantastic. The amount of details is just incredible. Really impressive! (I also love the construction worker minifig sleeping on the balcony)

Why would we get two different sets based on the exact same car and characters? The Lego designers will make their own version anyway. Brent can confirm this but I'm pretty sure the firehouse was never part of the project and was only used as a background image. However, if sales are good, maybe we'll get more GB sets, who knows?

They answered that on the CUUSOO blog: "We had a special case during this review period: two projects based on the movie Ghostbusters reached 10,000 supporters within the same review period. At the time, we hadn’t fully considered a case like this. Our team looked both at both the immediate choice at hand and also at the precedent our decision sets for the future of the LEGO CUUSOO community. Ultimately we chose to base this LEGO CUUSOO set on the Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary project for two reasons; this project reached 10,000 supporters first, and our designers decided to base our upcoming set on BrentWaller’s car model. To clarify future cases, we’ve added a Guideline that states if two projects are based on a similar concept, we will consider the project that reaches 10,000 supporters first." Congratulations and thank you for allowing one of my childhood dreams to come true. (I wonder if they'll include parts and stickers to build the Ecto-1A from GB2)

Ow yes!!! Ghostbusters was one of my favourite movies when I was a kid and I've been waiting for an ECTO-1 set since then. I'm so happy with this result and this set will probably end up at the top of my 2014 wishlist. Thank you CUUSOO and thanks to the MOCers who submitted those amazing models. I don't think the firehouse was ever supposed to be included in the set. It was just used as background. The description of the set clearly focused on the car and the minifigs. http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/36088

A few precisions concerning TOR. I'd especially love to see: - Sith Inquisitor (Sith pure blood) - Imperial agent/Sith officer - Nico Okarr (the smuggler from the game intro) - Bounty Hunter - Vette - Sith Emperor

I bought the Jedi Defender-class cruiser. I wasn't originally planning on getting it but I found it for a good price.

This month I bought: - Raptor Chase (Dino) - Tower Takedown (Dino) - Loader and Tipper (City) - Mining 4x4 (City) - Stunt Plane (City) - Dirt Bike Transpoter (City) - Mandalorian Speeder (Star Wars) - Death Star Troopers (Star Wars) - Scorpion Pyramid (Pharaoh's Quest) I generally don't buy so many sets but this is a special month.

Absolutely brilliant, the amount of details is stunning. It looks so inviting, I almost want to become a LEGO minifig so I could explore this MOC.

- the Vampyre Castle (a bit late for Halloween but oh well...) - Vladek Encounter (an older set I might review at some point) - Ambush Attack (Dino) - Kingdoms Advent Calendar (2010)

It's just a piece you can push to reveal a book hidden under the bed. I guess they chose to make it blue so that kids will be able to easily spot the play feature.

Maybe they're based on the books rather than the movies. I remember Mattel did something similar when they released their toylines for the first movies. Some of the toys and figures looked more cartoonish. Same with the first video game adaptations.

But seriously that would be much easier for TLG, especially since the focus of this theme is obviously not the princes.