AFOLguy1970

Where I live in the US, the sets did not appear until December, which was just short of the movie. If you wanted to get Lego Hobbit sets for someone as a Christmas gift, you had about 1-2 weeks to do it if you could find the sets. When it was announced that Hobbit sets would appear in October, I was puzzled because Lego had not previously released them so soon. On the bright side, perhaps this gives Lego more time to "get it right" and not have Yazneg lead the orc armies

Minas Morgul

I like the look of the Smaug image. It is certainly different than the castle dragon and seems large enough to serve the purpose. Since the image is from the video game, are we sure that this will match the actual version that comes out in Lego?

I am relieved as well. While the figure looks interesting, it is not something that I must have. I already have the two normal versions of Bilbo and that is well enough. Thank goodness that it was not something like Thror, Thrain, or Sauron only appearing in this promotion and nowhere else.

Minas Morgul

I promised my wife if we moved to Colorado, I would buy a lot less Lego because there are more outdoor activities there. I do have other hobbies and interests, but they are not as readily available as Lego. I basically just have to make a priority list and a budget. It can be difficult when you have a MOC project and like a lot of the sets that are coming out.

An interesting thought. I wonder how much it costs to make a glow in the dark brick as opposed to a normal brick? So far, glow in the dark pieces have been used rather sparingly for features such as Army of the Dead heads, spider eyes, and on mushrooms in the Mirkwood spider set. I am going to assume that phosphorus is needed within the element to give it the glowing appearance. If those bricks could be produced on a larger scale without inflating the cost, a Minas Morgul made largely out of those bricks would certainly be an attractive purchase to many. It would definitely be different, and would make the set stand out even among other themes.

This is a pretty nice little set. The Gundabad orcs are the best ones in all the sets, because these allow you to choose to have the hair pieces if you so desire. Beorn is well designed. As for the fortress wall, the booby traps are very interesting. It makes me want to someday design something that has a lot of traps and other related contraptions, sort of like the 1980's movie The Goonies. The double catapult is unique, and we actually have the skulls as ammunition.

If he tried to build me a bag out of bricks, that would have been great. A free baseplate and all those wall pieces would have been fantastic. If he had tried to open my box and count bricks, I would be getting another box off the shelf. Otherwise, you would have a bag full of loose bricks, some of which could easily go missing. There was probably a Lego employee not visible in the video who was there to make sure that quality was not compromised and that everyone involved knew it was a gag before they left the store, ie. the lady whose set was unboxed probably got another one after the big reveal.

LDD certainly is useful for creating a large MOC. I am trying to build a modular MOC that will have 5 levels, probably in excess of 8000 pieces. I do not have a lot of spare bricks lying around, therefore there is not really much of a chance to use my own bricks for trial and error to see if the structure works. My design is also based on a real building. My hope is to bring the competed MOC to the actual building and get a few photos of both of them. Without LDD, I would have never thought to try and do this. With a limited budget, I have to be sure that any part ordered will be used in the project.

I would imagine the scenario you described is unlikely due to the probability that a non detailed K.I.T.T. in competition with a better one would not get 10,000 votes. If there were two to choose from on the site, it would seem like most of the votes would go to the obviously better one. In the case of Ghostbusters, both designs were good. Neither one of them seemed substandard to me. The only big difference seemed to be that one of them had the fire station in addition to the car and minifigs.

Making a mistake is one thing. How the seller resolves the mistake is another. I think the neutral is appropriate in this situation. In many Bricklink orders, there have been a few mistakes. Sometimes the parts were not the same or the color was different. Thankfully, all of the sellers responded by sending the appropriate pieces. Your situation is unfortunate, because now you have to pay more shipping costs to get those tiles from elsewhere.

That really got me thinking. Does anyone wonder if Wave 2 was in part an attempt to get people to buy the extended versions of the films? I literally had to go on Youtube to see what the Mouth of Sauron scene was all about. Then when I saw it, I was really surprised that it was made in Lego form due to the way that the Mouth met his end. Then you have the Pirate Ship. It literally gets mere seconds of coverage in the regular version. You do not see Peter Jackson as the pirate of Umbar unless you buy the extended version. It is certainly no shock to me that people would point fingers at these sets and minifigures as missed opportunities to have Gondor represented in their place.

I think the perception of the sets change over time. When LOTR wave 1 first came out, it seemed like there was a lot of love for Gandalf's cart. It was an iconic scene and even at the time the only way to get Gandalf. I remember a lot of ire being directed at Moria because of all the stickers and the way it was in separate sections. For the kids without much money who wanted some action, the Shelob Attacks set was a very good one. You had main characters, the Ring, and a very realistic brick built spider. Wave Two came along and had a lot of people scratching their heads, because the two largest sets apart from Orthanc were based on extended version scenes. AFOLs were very excited about Rivendell, because we got Elrond, Arwen, and some nice new foliage and arch pieces. Now I could get an Elrond without having to hunt down the second age exclusive one. Orthanc was awesome, and Wizard Battle seemed to be selling well due to the fact it was inexpensive with action in it. As for Black Gate and the Pirate Ship, they had their fans, and I think they are nice sets in several ways. I think the big mistake Lego made with the Pirate Ship was making it the most expensive set in the regular wave of four sets. Sure, kids love pirate ships, but judging by the overflow on Walmart's shelves, it does not appear that many could afford it. Perhaps kids would like to be able to recognize the pirate ship in a movie, and 10 seconds of footage in the regular movie might not cut it. Disclaimer: I am not saying I dislike the ship, in fact I bought one due to the design and characters. Wave 2 of course immediately caused everyone to start speculating about Wave 3, because surely there were key sets still not made. I think it is the possibility that there might not be a wave 3 that is now suddenly causing the hate towards certain sets (like Gandalf Arrives). Now , you have people stating "If only Lego had done this or that" regarding inclusions and omissions of certain sets and figures. I still think that when Wave 2 was made, Lego at least had the intention of making more sets. As someone stated, the Ent in Orthanc is not named, because they wanted to leave the possibility that Treebeard might be made in a different set. Hopefully one more wave can come out after the Hobbit. If not, at least we got what we got.

Glad I bought this one for Christmas. It has really grown on me since building it. Even my wife, who generally ignores all things Lego commented on it. She really likes the window washer for some reason.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone read your original message and went through the trouble of figuring out which antique shop it was to hurry up and snatch it. Then again, it could just be the timing. There is a missed opportunities thread on these boards somewhere, and your story would be most appropriate. That yellow castle sure brings back memories If I found out one was available for the equivalent of 15 pounds, I would drop everything I was doing and go there.

Mordor Battle Pack, because right now the Uruk Hai army outnumbers the Mordor orcs.

Wonderful job and such detail! The pediment especially must have taken some time to get the design ready. I had the privilege of seeing the palace once before, and your creation reminds me of the fond memory of Brussels. My hope is to see your model some day.

Nice job! It looks like you freed up enough room to add some seats and have the projector room in addition to not having the screening room subject to the windows. Good use of space.

I was fortunate enough to fly Qantas once. The service was good, and I was very grateful for that, especially since the flights between Australia and Dallas/Ft Worth are so long.

I am looking forward to seeing the set. Indeed, it has to be difficult for the other person who submitted virtually the same thing, except they also had the fire station. It reminds me of school, when you had to do show and tell in front of the class, and the kid that goes right before you brought the same thing you did. Also looking forward to the exosuit, although the sole reason for doing so is to get that classic space guy.

After checking for new pieces, there are a few. Unfortunately, it appears the prices have gone up. For example, clear 1x2x2 window glass panes were .10. Now they are .20. 1x2x2 corner bricks were .20 and now have gone up to .30. Seats were .15 and are now .20. Door frames, cabinets, cabinet doors are all up. It also seems like the selection of minifigure parts, particularly the torsos has actually decreased. Guess Bricklink will be used a bit more in the coming days.

Brickset has some mention of the City trains and Star Wars stuff from Nuremberg, but is totally silent regarding the Hobbit. I am still hoping that some of what we heard from London is not accurate. Smaug needs to be in Lake Town. Seriously, do you really need a windlance to pick off Bolg or Alfrid? Erebor needs to be in the context of the final film, and please no Mines of Moria setup.

If only one set, it would be: Attack of the Witch King This set would depict the Witch King on his Fell Beast flying over Minas Tirith. This would mirror the part in the movie where he picks up Gondor soldiers and drops them from a great height. This way, you could have a set with the Witch King, Fell Beast, and Gondor Soldiers all in one. Maybe you would have part of the Minas Tirith walls for placing soldiers. Yes, that would leave out Eowyn, but she is "MOCable", if that is a word. You could also recreate Farimir as long as you have the White Tree Gondor Soldier torso.

Quite a few of us would love to have something like that. If I tried to make this in my living room, it would be like that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the guy dug up his yard and built a model of Devil's Tower in his living room. Everyone basically considered him to be crazy at that point. The White City would be a tough subject. If it were to be represented in Lego form, perhaps only key areas like the front gate or the Citadel with the White Tree would likely be represented. If Lego made a Minas Tirith that costs more than the Death Star, it would probably not sell too well as it would attract only a narrow audience. As much as I like Lego and LOTR, I probably could not focus so much money on one set. Many people would want it, but far fewer could afford it.