CMF LotR and Hobbit wish list

[MAB]

Possibly, but you also have to remember all the kids buying them.

Hasn't that been the problem with LOTR and the Hobbit sets - kids don't buy them. I cannot see kids wanting to buy into a LOTR / Hobbit CMF line when the characters supplied are just add-ons to sets that haven't been in stores for three years. Yes kids, you can have Denethor, but not regular versions of the Fellowship.

Apparently kids aren't interested in army builders and they make up a huge portion of Lego's sales. I could see the army builder numbers being bumped up per case by even a few more, but people are also going to want all the other characters to. You can't make them so rare no one is ever going to get them because only one Denethor came in a box of 60 CMFs. If you do that, then you have a whole nother issue. The army builder prices would be fine but the one per case figures would fetch like 20 bucks a piece. Its a fine balance.

I think that is exactly the type of problem Lego addresses with availability. They have to cater for multiple audiences and have done reasonably well in the last few CMF series to make the army builder ones come in higher numbers. No doubt they do this not primarily for the good of the fans, but because lego wants them to remain fans and keep buying future series.

If you think of the questions that need to be asked about a CMF line:

Characters - you need the Fellowship in there if it is going to sell to anyone that hasn't already bought into LOTR lego, bearing in mind the amount of time between wave 1 of LOTR and now. Otherwise, they are restricting this series to a small subset of possible buyers already. It's interesting to see what they did with the Simpsons. The complete family is in the House set. The complete family is in the Series 1 CMF. The complete family is rumoured to be in the Series 2 CMF, in different outfits. If they did LOTR, it wouldn't surprise me if they did something similar, so no matter when you start collecting, you can always get the Fellowship as a minimum. Which really cuts down places for the extras.

Distribution - go for a lot of popular characters so general fans can get what they want, or go for larger army builders so existing fans can cherry pick the armies they have been calling for, or try for balance?

Past sales - based on assumptions on how many times LOTR and Hobbit sets have been discounted, and the availability of wave 3 of The Hobbit, they haven't been that great. Why produce a CMF line for a series that hasn't been that good in the past?

With the problems highlighted above, I'm not sure I'd release a CMF line if I was in charge. Sure, as a fan I'd love it. But financially, I'm not so sure.

[Deathleech]

Hasn't that been the problem with LOTR and the Hobbit sets - kids don't buy them. I cannot see kids wanting to buy into a LOTR / Hobbit CMF line when the characters supplied are just add-ons to sets that haven't been in stores for three years. Yes kids, you can have Denethor, but not regular versions of the Fellowship.

Well if kids WERE to buy a LotR CMF line then surely they would have been interested in the LotR sets released and bought them already? I doubt many kids would just pick up the CMFs if they didn't have any interest in the original sets. Regardless, I brought this up because apparently that is the reason we didn't get more army builder type sets like Uruk-hai Army or Mirkwood elf Army with the normal LotR/Hobbit set releases. Tons of people claim kids don't buy army builders or army build.

Personally? i think the LotR line NEVER should have been mass distributed and marketed towards kids. It's based on PG-13 movies that were released over a decade ago. The target age range for Lego with kids is what, like 7-12? That seems like a recipe for disaster, especially when there is no other cartoons or anything to help sell them. Sure there were the Hobbit movies, but they came out a year apart and were pretty meh. I think the Simpson approach would have been PERFECT though. Give us one or two big sets with each CMF release and then just give us tons of characters. Honestly most of the Middle-Earth sets don't have that great of builds anyways and people just buy them for the minifigures so why not focus on the selling points of the sets.. the figs? A business model like that would allow Lego to give the adult fans what they really want while keeping production and distribution costs down. I know other toy companies have done this where they make higher priced sets and market them strictly to adult collectors.

I think that is exactly the type of problem Lego addresses with availability. They have to cater for multiple audiences and have done reasonably well in the last few CMF series to make the army builder ones come in higher numbers. No doubt they do this not primarily for the good of the fans, but because lego wants them to remain fans and keep buying future series.

And that is precisely why I picked the numbers I did. I tried to be realistic. Lego has NEVER released a CMF series box of 60 that has 20 of one single minifigure type. They probably never will either. Usually the most they have for the more popular characters is 4 or 5...? I went even a little above that with 6. Of course Lego could do some testing or take polls and see what the optimal ratios would be. Maybe they would only have 2 Denethor and 2 Gamlings per box and have 8 or even 10 Gondor Soldiers instead? Who knows.

Characters - you need the Fellowship in there if it is going to sell to anyone that hasn't already bought into LOTR lego, bearing in mind the amount of time between wave 1 of LOTR and now. Otherwise, they are restricting this series to a small subset of possible buyers already. It's interesting to see what they did with the Simpsons. The complete family is in the House set. The complete family is in the Series 1 CMF. The complete family is rumoured to be in the Series 2 CMF, in different outfits. If they did LOTR, it wouldn't surprise me if they did something similar, so no matter when you start collecting, you can always get the Fellowship as a minimum. Which really cuts down places for the extras.

I agree with this, and maybe for the first wave they could remove some of the lesser characters I listed like Gamling, Denethor, the Ithilien Rangets, etc. and replace them with Fellowship characters in different outfits? I already listed Merry in Rohan attire and Pippin in Gondor gear. Boromir could also be in his Gondor garb, Aragorn in his ceremonial king outfit, and Sam and Frodo in their orc disguises. Gandalf with a new hair and/or hat combo. Finally Legolas and Gimli would be a little more difficult as neither has a ton of distinct outfits, but they could also be in their ceremonial/Rivendell outfits. A second wave could have the lesser characters that got replaced. I don't see the entire Fellowship in every wave as being feasible considering the Fellowship has 9 members which is almost double the 5 Simpson family members and over half a wave taken up. They would have to do them every other, or every third wave if they wanted to get any other characters out.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Deathleech

[Borador]

The size of the Fellowship is the main problem. My thinking is since they split in the story, they could split them among multiple waves, but I don't think it would work like that.

What we would end up with is the nine members of the Fellowship, with updated prints so even if you already have them, you have to buy them, and then only seven other characters. Well, one would have to an Uruk Hai, probably an Orc, too. And I'm guessing they wouldn't let this go without at least one Elf (probably Elrond or Arwen. Probably Arwen so they can maintain, to the best of their ability, their typical gender ratio). Which leaves us with four spots. Eowyn is likely (as I said before, the gender ratio), so I'm guessing there isn't a ton of room for army builders...

Furthermore, if we were to get a second wave (totally hypothetical since 1 isn't even happening) I think it would be The Hobbit. And how many main characters does that have? 13 Dwarves + Bilbo + Gandalf = 15. I'm not sure how they'd make that work... Maybe axing Gandalf (they wouldn't do that) or something along those lines. But worse yet, I assume that last spot will be filled either by Legolas or Tauriel.

Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic for a wishlist thread...

[MAB]

Well if kids WERE to buy a LotR CMF line then surely they would have been interested in the LotR sets released and bought them already?

Probably not. It has been a while since they were available in retail stores. Kids interests change as they change age, much more than adults. My interests are pretty much as they were 1, 3, 5 or 10 years ago. Could the same be said for a teenager? In the same way, some kids interested in Harry Potter now probably do not know of the existence of Harry Potter lego, if they were not interested in either lego or Harry Potter or both it when the sets were out.

[Ql97]

Really though, this thread is a wish list, as we all know these minifigs will never be made.

Here is are the lists of General Magam, along with mine, with the new parts that would come with the minifigures. Any suggestions are welcome.

Also, I did not really list recolors.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS:

1. Sauron (Armoured) --Helmet, armor, mace and cloak

2. Bilbo Baggins (old, travel outfit)

3. Moria Orc (Armoured)--Helmet, armor, shield

4. Frodo Baggins (Mount Doom outfit)

5. Uruk-hai General--Uruk-Hai hair piece

6. Celeborn

7. Gondorian Soldier--Helmet, shield

8. Faramir

9. Hama--New hair piece, like Thorin's, but less 'billowy'

10. Gothmog--Head cowl to represent disfigurement

11. Morannon Orc--Armored pauldrons, helmet

12. Sméagol (Pre-Transformation)

13. Rosy Cotton--Hair piece

14. Éowyn (Dress)--Hair piece

15. Aragorn (Helm's Deep Chainmail)

16. Denethor--Same hair as Hama

Second series:

1. The Witch-King of Angmar (Armoured)--Armor, helmet, flail

2. Gollum (Smiling Facial Expression)

3. Guritz--helmet

4. Samwise Gamgee (Mount Doom outfit)

5. Rohan Commander

6. Ithilien Ranger

7. Arwen (Queen)--Hair piece

8. Wild Man of Dunland

9. Morgul Orc-- Hair piece

10. Haradrim Soldier--New headgear

11. King Théoden (Brown Edoras Clothing)--Herugrim (his sword)

12. Pippin (Gondorian Armour)--Helmet from Gondor soldier

13. Merry (Rohirrim Armour)--Helmet

14. Isildur--helmet, hilt of Narsil

15. Elf Soldier (Second Age)--Helmet, shield

16. King Aragorn--Hair/crown, Anduril

Third series:

1. Elendil--Helmet, Narsil (same piece as Anduril)

2. Shagrat--Same hair piece as Uruk-Hai general

3. Gloin (old)

4. Gil-Galad--Hair/crown, Ring of power

5. Armoured Elf (Helm's Deep)--Helmet (different from second age helmet)

6. Numenorean Soldier--Helmet, shield

7. Uruk-hai Crossbowman--Helmet

8. Éowyn (Dernhelm)--Helmet, sword (Same as Theoden)

9. Sharku

10. Easterling--Helmet, Polearm

11. Barliman Butterbur

12. Gollum (Scared Facial Expression)

13. Lurtz (Armoured)--Same hair piece as Uruk-hai General, bow

14. Madril

15. Corsair of Umbar (Captain)

16. Gondorian Citadel Guard--Helmet

Fourth series:

1. Boromir (Gondor Armor)

2.Theoden (Cursed)--Hair/crown/beard piece

3. Theodred--Hair piece (same as Hama), sword (Same as Theoden)

4. Aragorn (Rivendell)

5. Legolas (Casual)--White knives

6. Gamling

7. Cirdan the Shipwright--Ring of power

8. Merry (Party)

9. Pippin (Party)

10. Farmer Maggot

12. Arwen (Helm's Deep) (Deleted scene)-- Hair piece, Hadhafang (sword)

12. Grishnakh

13. Gorbag

14. Haradrim Chieftain

15. Uruk-Hai Berserker --Greatsword

16. Peter Jackson (Bree)

THE HOBBIT:

1. Bilbo Baggins (Yellow shirt, no coat)

2. Thranduil (Armoured)--Hair piece

3. Master Worrywort

4. Bolg--Head piece, mace

5. Elrond (Red Armour)--Hadhafang, hair piece, ring of power

6. Fimbul--Armor piece

7. Lobelia Sackville Baggins--Hair/hat piece

8. Witch-King (Second Age Armour) Helmet

9. Azog (Armoured)--Armor, mace, blade hand

10. Alfrid--Hair/hat piece

11. Iron Hills Dwarf (Armoured)--Helmet, shield

12. Mirkwood Elf (Armoured)--Helmet, shield, sword (same as Hadhafang)

13. Gundabad Orc (Armoured)--helmet

14. Lake-town Civilian

15. Thorin Oakenshield (Final Battle Gear)--Orcrist

16. Sauron (Flame Version)--Helmet and armor, same as LotR version, but recolored

Second series:

1. Bilbo Baggins (Mirkwood, ripped clothing & spiderwebs)

2. King Thror--hair/crown/beard piece, Arkenstone

3. Erebor Dwarf (Armoured)--Helmet, shield

4. Dwalin (Young)--Hair piece

5. Mirkwood Elf (Throne guard)--Helmet

6. Lindir

7. Bombur (Armoured)--Horn

8. Belladonna Took--Hair (Same as Rosie)

9. Thrain (Armoured)--Hair/beard

10. Narzug--Hair piece

11. Orc Dungeon Keeper--Hair piece

12. Thrain (Dol Guldur)--Hair piece

13. Goblin Mercenary

14. Otho Sackville Baggins--Hair/hat piece

15. Sigrid--Hair piece

16. Galadriel (Evil)--Hair piece, ring of power

Third series:

1. Bilbo Baggins (Return Journey outfit)--Cloak

2. Gandalf the Grey (battle damaged & regular face)--hair/beard, Glamdring, Ring of power

3. Tilda--Hair piece (Same as Sigrid)

4. Girion of Dale--Hair piece (same as Hama)

5. Percy--Hair/hat piece

6. Grinnah the Goblin

7. The Old Took

8. Dale Soldier--Helmet

9. Dwarf Woman--Hair piece

10. Laketown Fisherman

11. Braga--Hair piece (Same as Hama)

12. Elf Musician of Rivendell--Harp

13. Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took--Hair piece

14. Hilda-Bianca--Hair/hat

15. Rivendell Elf (Armoured)--Helmet, sword (same as Hadhafang)

16. Bilbo (old, regular)

Fourth Series:

1. Thorin (Moria)--Oakenshield

2. Thorin (Prologue)

3. Balin (Moria)--sword

4. Balin (Prologue)

5. Dwalin (Final Battle)

6. Kili (Final Battle)--Hair piece (same as Hama)

7. Fili (Final Battle)--Hair piece (same as Hama)

8. Bofur (Final Battle)

9. Legolas (Laketown)--White knives, Orcrist

10. Galadriel (White council)--Ring of power

11. Elrond (White council)

12. Gandalf (Return journey)--Hair/Beard/hat piece, Glamdring, ring of power

13. Bilbo (Mithril)

14. Dain (Coronation) (Deleted scene)--Beard piece, Hair piece(same as Dwalin)

15. Nazgul (Armored, second varient)--Helmet, mace

16. Azog (Moria)--Mace

Fifth Series

1. Gloin (Armor)--Beard piece

2. Oin (Armor)--Helmet, beard

3. Dori (Armor)--Helmet

4. Ori (Armor)--Helmet

5. Nori (Armor)--Helmet, beard

6. Bofur (Armor)

7. Bifur (Armor)--Helmet, beard

8. Balin (Final Battle)

9. Gloin (Final Battle)

10. Oin (Final Battle)

11. Dori (Final Battle)

12. Ori (Final Battle)

13. Nori (Final Battle)

14. Bombur (Final Battle)

15. Bifur (Final Battle)

16. Nazgul (Armored, third variant)--Helmet, armor

Edited January 16, 2015 by Ql97

[Flieger]

Nice list, QI97! I guess you are right, we will never see them... wasn't there some legal arrangement with Hasbro that Lego produces building toys only while Hasbro gets to do the figures?

What I would like to add to your list:

- Gloin in regal armour

- Oin in regal armour

- Dori in regal armour

- Ori in regal armour

- Nori in regal armour

- Bombur in regal armour

- Bofur in regal armour

- Bifur in regal armour

- and, of course, Bilbo in regal armour (Mithril shirt)

Seriously the Erebor regal armour versions we already got (Thorin, Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin) are amazing and I want more, especially with the great helmets some of them were wearing.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Flieger

[Ql97]

Nice list, QI97! I guess you are right, we will never see them... wasn't there some legal arrangement with Hasbro that Lego produces building toys only while Hasbro gets to do the figures?

What I would like to add to your list:

- Gloin in regal armour

- Oin in regal armour

- Dori in regal armour

- Ori in regal armour

- Nori in regal armour

- Bombur in regal armour

- Bofur in regal armour

- Bifur in regal armour

- and, of course, Bilbo in regal armour (Mithril shirt)

Seriously the Erebor regal armour versions we already got (Thorin, Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin) are amazing and I want more, especially with the great helmets some of them were wearing.

I already added Bilbo with his Mithril shirt, look in the fourth list. Bombur is also in there somewhere.

That means there are seven more dwarves. Add the eight dwarves in battle armor, and that leaves us one short of a complete series. That slot can be filled with another Nazgul.

I'll be back in a few minutes with the finalized list.

Edit: It's up. That leaves the Laketown and Erebor casual costumes, and the six remaining Nazgul, a total of 32 minifigures. That's exactly two more series.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Ql97

[General Magma]

Where did you hear it from? If from brickforge, then it could be true. If it was the discussion however many pages back about wishing they would do it, then it is probably false.

I heard it quite a long time ago, somewhere early last year, I believe.

Somebody spoke to one of the people responsible for BrickForge (if I'm not mistaken), and it was said that they were planning to do more LOTR stuff

*if* the line were to be discontinued, because they didn't want to interfere with things that may possibly end up being released by LEGO themselves.

But by the looks of it, they won't have to worry about that anymore... so let us look forward to new LOTR BrickForge items.

No, it's not her Rivendell dress. The one we got is her riding dress.

http://www.alleycats...ornLon_medf.jpg

Why she doesn't have legs instead of a dress piece, I don't know, but if you compare the printing, it is the same costume.

By 'Lake Town Woman,' I assume you mean Hilda-Bianca?

http://vignette1.wik...=20141106034130

Hmm, you seem to be right - strangely, though, the colour is off. I've seen it appear as blue here and there but when she first appeared in the film,

her outfit was darker than that sand blue colour. Should've been dark grey-ish or maybe even a shade of green, not sure though.

And yes, I wrote that with Hilda-Bianca in mind, I've never known her name until now, though. But I guess they could call it "Lake-Town Woman", anyways.

[Ql97]

Hmm, you seem to be right - strangely, though, the colour is off. I've seen it appear as blue here and there but when she first appeared in the film,

her outfit was darker than that sand blue colour. Should've been dark grey-ish or maybe even a shade of green, not sure though.

And yes, I wrote that with Hilda-Bianca in mind, I've never known her name until now, though. But I guess they could call it "Lake-Town Woman", anyways.

They probably chose the shade of blue to add more color to the figure. Dark gray might have ended up being too dull and colorless.