Nuju Metru

My price points, I know, are oftentimes somewhat idealistic... I wouldn't think they'd include just Rohirrim in the Warg set - that is, unless it was designated as the "Rohan/Isengard battle pack" - because TLG always includes a hero or two in their sets. Since this wasn't intended as a battle pack, just as a small set, I decided I'd better put in Aragorn and Gimli. And it's not a really active enough scene, or one with varied enough scenery, to justify a $30 set. As for set range of sizes, yes, I agree that I should have perhaps made some more mid-sized sets. If Treebeard (who, for the record, is far bigger and more substantial than Shelob; I found $20 to be a realistic price) had included an orc and perhaps a few forest pieces, then his set could have justified $30 very fairly; I should've done that to make more varied price points. The fact of the matter is that I was so focused on the larger sets that most of my energies went to them. Treebeard was built in his initial form a long time earlier than the rest of the TT stuff, actually; the two small sets were the ones built closest to the publication time of my "The Two Towers." To address your point about making more sets: originally, when I wrote up the basic ideas for my line of LOTR sets, before the official LEGO ones were announced, I did plan to make a 100-dollar Helm's Deep as part of the set of six TT sets. But, since TLG's Helm's Deep was so fantastic, I figured mine wouldn't be able to compete, and I gave up on it; Edoras became my flagship set. I couldn't think of anything really suitable to fill the void that Helm's Deep had left in the lineup, and so I only made 5 sets. There should be another line of six sets for "The Return of the King." Perhaps, once ROTK is done, I may make supplemental sets; for now, though, I only intend to do what I've planned. Thank you for the in-depth critique!

I sanded down the top of the hood piece until the stud in a disposable minifig head I was sanding it with was visible. After that hole was made in the hood part, I enlarged it with a circular file so that the neck of the skull could fit snugly between the stud of the head below it and the hood part, and then sanded down the hood a little bit more so that the skull could attach fully onto the bottom head's stud.

Actually, that was so awesome!

Soon, hopefully - I'm trying to find the time to photograph my first set this week. It's fully completed. I'm glad to hear I was an inspiration for your own project! It's immensely flattering. I'm sure our Osgiliaths will be different, considering we're doing totally different scenes from that location.

Hey guys, As you may or may not know, I embarked last summer on a project to make my own series of LOTR set MOCs. So far I have completed my "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" sets. This custom figure is a preview, if you will, of what is up-and-coming: "The Return of the King" sets I am making. Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated.

These are some cool ideas - I can see we have many similar set concepts, so I look forward to seeing how our executions differ. I also look forward to seeing the more ambitious ideas realized, especially Minas Tirith. The way you work around the lack of official parts available is nice; I particularly like the bear-wargs... if only they really did come in tan. Your box art looks good, too; you integrate the movie-accurate backgrounds very well, though I think that the backdrop of the Witch King set is perhaps a little busy. Overall, keep it up the good work! I will definitely be checking this topic for updates.

Thanks! As for Gollum's face... I was going to buy the SW Clone Wars Palpatine face, but then I got impatient, and took photos of the set without.

I found a solution to that problem in one of my own MOCs: You can see that behind the portcullis is a line of teeth, which will move the gate up or down when the gear whose own teeth are in it is spun. Obviously this gearbox can be as complex as one would like - mine is simple for playability's sake - and the design is adaptable, but there's the basic idea! Hope it helped!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked my creatures. It was difficult to try and capture such distinctive creatures into a small enough scale, and with suitable poseability for my tastes. Yes, Gollum could be in the set, as could Sam, another three Gondorians... I had to limit the figures at some point. Since Gollum doesn't play a crucial role in this particular scene, and already appeared in "The Dead Marshes," I decided not to include him. Indeed, I am in the process of making my "Return of the King" sets right now! As for instructions, I would be delighted to offer them; however, making instructions is really an endeavor, especially with larger and denser models and without a virtual brick program at my disposal. I always seem to price my stuff optimistically. Hopefully, that's the least realistic part about my products. "The Two Towers" chapter of this project is over. Keep your eyes peeled for the final installment with my "Return of the King" sets! Thank you everyone for your feedback!

It's the one I used. I agree, good source material. Well, in the way of suggestions, I'd say to make the thing modular, if it's possible - makes the building process easier, when you're working on smaller sections rather than an entire Golden Hall. Also, it makes adding an interior easier. As for the roof, nothing works better than plates - lots of area covered, relatively little brick support needed. Hollowness uses less bricks, too.

Lookin' good! Instantly recognizable, and you've managed to pack so many architectural details and so much variety into the rings of the city. However, by contrast, the rock shelf jutting out seems really plain and flat - if that were more textured, and extended less far out at its tip, I think the whole model would seem more cohesive and completed. Overall, great work. I especially like the top.

5th set, "Ruin of Osgiliath," has been added to the first post! Go check it out!

Well, the torsos I used on my figures were custom-printed, not made by LEGO. I designed and applied the decals, because TLG didn't have anything that suited my desired degree of accuracy. It's a huge compliment though that you mistook them for actual LEGO torsos! Addressing the swamp bit - indeed, in real life swamps aren't so colorful. However, TLG usually makes things more colorful in set form than they are in real life/movie version in order to make such products more visually magnetic and interesting. In the LOTR movies, many of the locations on the screen are basically greywashed - the dead marshes being one of those locations - and as such I found it necessary to give my set incarnation more of a color scheme. The flames were part of that goal, as well as the execution of my desire to introduce and uphold a certain sense of unity through motifs. He's coming, he's coming... Just you wait.

I almost hope they don't, just so that my sets will stay unique... but thank you! It was easy to miss. I guess I should advertise better, when the time comes to make my "Return of the King" sets. I appreciate your support. Yeah, the ideal I was striving for was creating definite atmosphere in as - well, I don't want to say stingy - in as conservative a way as possible, to mimic the LEGO style. The more expansive the environments were, the less realistic the sets thereby became.

New set posted - Warg Skirmish! I know it's a small one, but never fear, bigger things are coming!

I believe that a Minas Tirith set is very much within LEGO's grasp to build. But I almost hope they don't make one, because I am already.

Yeah, I try to make my big sets modular whenever possible - not only does it make them easier for me to store and build, but it's also more realistic of LEGO. As for Treebeard, it was difficult to make a somewhat-believable face at such small scale. His eyes used to be in a brighter trans-yellow, but I changed them to the orange/amber color for the sake of movie accuracy. It made them harder to see, but I found the color to be better-looking anyway. Indeed, that would've been more movie accurate if Frodo had fallen in. However, it would've required a far greater depth of that particular pool to make such a mechanism work, and this being a small set, I tried to make the mechanism as close to the ground as possible. As for the elf - I originally planned to have a minifigure popping up out of the marsh, but it unfortunately didn't fit, arms and all. The floppy-armed skellie was far easier to work with for the mechanism's sake. Plus, including a fourth full figure in a small price-point set would've been, unfortunately, unrealistic. Thanks everyone for the feedback! The fifth set of this film is in the works right now.

I'm immensely excited for that game.

Depends on how much you pay me. I had not planned to make instructions, but if there's a high enough demand, it's a possibility, certainly for the smaller models. Well, I'm working on the next one right now, but I'm also half-concentrating on some larger stuff for Return of the King... Hopefully within a few weeks, as soon as possible really. Thanks all for the feedback! And, general question for all y'all: should I try my hand at some kind of Helm's Deep set? It hadn't been in my plans ever since TLG did such a great job with it, but...

Well, the issue is that TLG already did such a fantastic job with Helm's Deep... I would feel silly competing with that. Odds are good that no, I won't be making sets for the second movie that they've already done. First post updated with the next set - Edoras! Go check it out!

I've forgotten if I still have my subscription so... That'd be great, yes please. I hope (probably unreasonably) that with the sets appearing in the May-June issue, maybe they'll come out in early May rather than in June. The sooner the better!

Click the photo above to support! For reference: I. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING III. THE RETURN OF THE KING II. THE TWO TOWERS Howdy guys. This is the project topic for my custom-made sets of The Two Towers. This is the second installment of this project - the first film's sets are complete and can be seen here. As I have clarified many times, I realize that LEGO is making official products of the LOTR movies, too, but this project has been my brainchild since this past summer; having already poured lots of time and money into it by the time LEGO made their announcement, I decided I might as well keep going on mine. The creations below are built to be like sets that TLG themselves would make (ironic, huh?). Each one thus has specific minifigures, and even an imagined price point. My sets are built for stability, detail, playability, and differentiation of sizes. So, without further ado, let's get started! Newest Content is at the Top! 5) Ruin of Osgiliath Captured by Faramir, Frodo has been taken to the ruined city of Osgiliath. But when a Nazgul arrives on its Fell Beast, Frodo risks being taken by an even more dangerous force... Imagined price point: $50 Features include: breaking tower, trap door, Fell beast with 20" wingspan and 30 points of artiulation Includes 5 minifigures: Frodo Baggins, Faramir, Gondorian Soldier (2x), Nazgul 4) Warg Skirmish As they make their way to the stronghold of Helms Deep, the convoy of Rohan is ambushed by the Warg Riders of Isengard. Aragorn and Gimli must hold off the wolves. Imagined price point: $12 Features include: 11 points of articulation Includes 4 minifigures: Aragorn, Gimli, Warg Captain, Warg Rider 3) Edoras Gandalf the White arrives at the capital city of Rohan, Edoras. He must save King Theoden from the evil influence of Wormtongue. Imagined price point: $70 Features include: modular Golden Hall, Includes 6 minifigures: King Theoden, Eowyn, Eomer, Gandalf the White, Grima Wormtongue, Rohirrim 2) Treebeard Encounter While in the Fangorn Forest, Merry and Pippin climb a tree... only to discover that it is not a tree at all. It is the Ent Treebeard, who soon becomes their friend and ally. Imagined price point: $20 Features include: holdable rock, 21 points of articulation Includes 2 minifigures: Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took 1) The Dead Marshes The creature known as Gollum has agreed to help Frodo and Sam travel to Mordor. On the way, the trio passes through the eerie and treacherous Dead Marshes. Imagined price point: $12 Features include: Underwater Corpse Includes 3 minifigures: Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Gollum See the Two Towers Flickr Set for more in-depth pictures of everything, and photos of the Fellowship stuff. Thanks for viewing! Nuju

I am an immense fan of Les Miserables. And, as such, I shall eagerly watch this project develop! (Can't wait to see Thenardier...)

If only technic connectors came in flame-red color... But really that's the main reason why most of the Balrog is dark grey and black; in the way of small clip and bar-type parts, they're dominant colors, whereas trans-orange has a far less diverse/useful range of pieces to its name. But anyway, thank you!

Six? We'll see... my dreams of a Helm's Deep set have been sorta crushed by TLG's excellent rendition, to be honest. A more likely number is 4. Some have already been made - now, it's just an issue of making/completing the rest and taking photos.