Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[MAB]

26 minutes ago, ToaDraco said:

Man, I really, really hope we start getting some regular retail sets for LotR again. I can't afford this or Rivendell and I so badly want a large $30-$50 brick-built Treebeard. It really sucks we've only been getting massive d2cs and brickheads thus far.

Why not build the original one? The eyes are expensive but there are similar other eyes such as those from the T-rex or Sanctum/elves available at much lower prices. The build is a bit random, so vary with whatever leaf parts you want.

[Artanis I]

Set seems good, won't skip this one. Give-away isn't something I need to scramble for, for which I'm pleased. It means I can purchase the set at a better financial moment.

[MAB]

22 minutes ago, Blazej_Holen said:

He just copy & pasted previous statements and rumors. 

I tend to avoid reading comments on such speculation but after the event, some can be quite funny. People saying they are going to flip it for $200 to get 40% off Barad-Dur, how LEGO know exactly what they are doing putting sought after figures in a price-locked GWP,  so much hate for scalpers charging too much for it, why people are going to be at tge store early to secure it, etc. All based on someone making something up.

[LegoThomas85]

If the pictures i saw were real, i have to say: the GWP for me is one big disappointment. Especially if you have 10+ years this one in mind:

[Yoggington]

4 hours ago, kris kelvin said:

Figs are great but the structure is just awful. For that kind of money? No thanks.
Most expensive battlepack ever :D

I think this is the camp I'm in, and I'm not usually a minifig guy, but the quality of these is what sticks out most to me.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it's a bit of a big black blob, and even then, not quite big enough.

Not exactly a hard pass, but I'm in no rush to get this. Buying Rivendell is certainly a higher priority and even then I wouldn't hate to miss that.

[Lordhelmet]

I think the tower looks great, the eye specifically looks awesome (I do like the browns highlighting the fire, will have to look in person).  If it is a hair shorter then expectation I am good with that too because I won’t have to adjust anything for it to sit next to orthanc (also orthanc is rather chunky proportionally so I think this fits).  Love that we got gothmog, which the set had its own wraith, wish Frodo and Sam had Mordor prints (either torn dirty or orc outfits).  Sauron has joined the party 10 years late but is welcome to see and looks great.  I don’t remember an orc with a red hat, not sure what the story is there.  The orc prints and amor is incredible.  Will be a day one for me.

 

The fell beast is pretty good.  It feels sized correctly (for the normal Nazgûl).  Also this is our first Gondor set that I am aware of (looks like it’s from the osgiliath scene).  Outside of a big fig type of fell beast (like dinosaurs) I think this is pretty good (I do like the wings).  Happy to get one and a Nazgûl.  

[MAB]

10 minutes ago, Yoggington said:

I think this is the camp I'm in, and I'm not usually a minifig guy, but the quality of these is what sticks out most to me.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it's a bit of a big black blob, and even then, not quite big enough.

Not exactly a hard pass, but I'm in no rush to get this. Buying Rivendell is certainly a higher priority and even then I wouldn't hate to miss that.

It's funny what people see. For me, I am almost the opposite.

The tower is pretty much exactly as I expected. It is very similar to Orthanc, good looking exterior and out of scale to the exterior but minifigure scale interiors. The top section with the eye looks particularly good.

I'm not that impressed by the figures. Mouth of Sauron, Gollum, Sam and Frodo, I already have and these don't look any better. Sauron looks great. Gothmog is also good. The orcs are so-so. Nice new torsos but the thick groomed hair looks more like goblins from Harry Potter than LOTR orcs, but nice new helmet.

 

I know some people are unhappy with the height of Sauron. I wonder if this is in part due to the height of rooms in the interior, and that having him a little higher caused issues with scale.

[Yoggington]

Hah yes, one man's treasure and all that.

I do feel like seeing this 'in the brick' might elevate it for me. For now, it's kinda neat, but not €500 neat.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

8 hours ago, zoth33 said:

It was said they are working on 2 gollum films.  I think if that's true it would be a mistake as we need stories like Beren and Luthien.  Stories about Morgoth or anything from the first age would be great. 

Can’t do it. The Tolkien Estate holds exclusive rights to the First Age material. WB has no access to it whatsoever

Ok. So here are my thoughts. I LOVE the tower. It’s almost perfect although I’m really still unsure about the brown prices for the glowing effect. The figures are where a lot of my disappointment comes from. Only one new mold for Sauron is frustrating. This is a figure that should gotten full attention and detail. Having the shoulder armor and helmet being one piece is fine but they should have done it without making the neck look too thick. And no mace SUCKS. No Ringwraiths in the actual set is also a big L, with the only one being locked behind the GWP. Gollum looks great but he should have had pupils, the blind looking Star Wars eyes don’t look great. However, my biggest disappointment is Frodo and Sam. Reusing the Fellowship versions is cheap AF. These absolutely should have been new Mordor versions of them, no excuse. I like the Orc helmet and shield but no new weapons at all for this set really sucks

[kris kelvin]

37 minutes ago, Yoggington said:

I think this is the camp I'm in, and I'm not usually a minifig guy, but the quality of these is what sticks out most to me.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it's a bit of a big black blob, and even then, not quite big enough.

Not exactly a hard pass, but I'm in no rush to get this. Buying Rivendell is certainly a higher priority and even then I wouldn't hate to miss that.

And another thing. There are only 7 "good" minifigs. I don`t count hobbits and Gollum. It should be - Sauron, Nazgul King, 2 more Nazguls, Mouth of Sauron and at least 10 orcs. For that price is really poor quantity.
But if someone likes it? Well, good for him :)

[MAB]

50 minutes ago, kris kelvin said:

And another thing. There are only 7 "good" minifigs. I don`t count hobbits and Gollum. It should be - Sauron, Nazgul King, 2 more Nazguls, Mouth of Sauron and at least 10 orcs. For that price is really poor quantity.
But if someone likes it? Well, good for him :)

I have nine of he original Nazgul, so maybe I am biased but getting extra Nazgul is not that big a deal for me. I'd prefer to see new figures with new parts that are hard to make with existing parts. It is really easy to make variations of Nazgul by using either a traditional hood or the newer SW open hood, a plain black head, a plain black torso or pretty much any black SW torso with robe patterns (or maybe the reverse side), black legs, and a black cape. If you are not purist, it is simple to make a tattered cape, or cut a LEGO cape, or recolour a tattered cape made in a different colour.

[mirkwoodspiders]

55 minutes ago, kris kelvin said:

And another thing. There are only 7 "good" minifigs. I don`t count hobbits and Gollum. It should be - Sauron, Nazgul King, 2 more Nazguls, Mouth of Sauron and at least 10 orcs. For that price is really poor quantity.
But if someone likes it? Well, good for him :)

Yes, big missed chance with no new clothing prints for Sam and Frodo - quite lazy when they could have presented them in their tattered clothing on the way to the Crack of Doom. More figs would be great, but that does not deter me. I think the building itself is phenomenal, my most important factor. Here's hoping smaller LOTR is on the way to populate the tower and surrounding areas.

[arianrod9]

Great disappointment.

Very good minifigures, but the set overall seems to be maybe 6/10.

And this GwP... No comments 

[Lordhelmet]

Do we know if the release will be on June 1st, or will it be a few days early for VIP?

[sebastian666]

Wow. This is an incredible build. The design and the scale of it is perfect - anything bigger would have made display difficult. I don’t love the brown bricks at the top of the tower, but I’ll reserve final judgement until I see it in person. Overall, the tower is beautiful. 

I’m so happy with how it turned out - this is a Day One, Minute One purchase for me (even though I’m disappointed with the fell beast gwp - but, as they say, don’t look a gift fell beast in the mouth).

The one unforgivable sin of this set for me is the Sauron minifig. Sauron has been one of the most highly anticipated minifigs in LEGO history… LEGO could not afford to skimp on his design or production. That minifig should have been one of the main selling points of this $450 D2C set. 

And LEGO had the resources to do this minifig justice. The long legs - which they just used in a standard release Harry Potter set for a half giantess who is a foot shorter than Sauron - were mandatory in my opinion. Sauron should have also had a long unique cape to add to the feeling of height. And his mace should have been a new mold. I can understand the need to make helmet and upper body armor one piece, but longer legs would have made the whole thing feel less squat and chonky.

As I said, this is still a Day One, Minute One purchase for me - but I can’t overstate how disappointed I am in LEGO’s execution of Sauron. I’d love to hear any ideas folks have for how they are going to customize their Sauron minifig to improve him.

[BrickBob Studpants]

More pictures have been released! The orc helmets worn by Sam and Frodo are two unique new moulded pieces!

[Agent Kallus]

The meat on the menu sticker is a fun reference to cannibalism.

£400 and yet the spiel is saying you can combine multiple... Well I certainly won't

 

Edited May 14, 2024 by Agent Kallus

[Lordhelmet]

I think I see a palantir in the lego website pictures.  is that the white tree burning?

Edited May 14, 2024 by Lordhelmet

[Agent Kallus]

Okay yeah, I'd rather have the helmets than torso prints but both wuld have been cool. also Gollum is cursed, I think it's the combo of too short arms and the strange eye print choice.

[HothFan1987]

Official reveal video is fun 

[Agent Kallus]

6 minutes ago, Lordhelmet said:

I think I see a palantir in the lego website pictures.  is that the white tree burning?

Yes 

Spoiler

 

[mtrsteve]

2 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Can’t do it. The Tolkien Estate holds exclusive rights to the First Age material. WB has no access to it whatsoever

Ok. So here are my thoughts. I LOVE the tower. It’s almost perfect although I’m really still unsure about the brown prices for the glowing effect. The figures are where a lot of my disappointment comes from. Only one new mold for Sauron is frustrating. This is a figure that should gotten full attention and detail. Having the shoulder armor and helmet being one piece is fine but they should have done it without making the neck look too thick. And no mace SUCKS. No Ringwraiths in the actual set is also a big L, with the only one being locked behind the GWP. Gollum looks great but he should have had pupils, the blind looking Star Wars eyes don’t look great. However, my biggest disappointment is Frodo and Sam. Reusing the Fellowship versions is cheap AF. These absolutely should have been new Mordor versions of them, no excuse. I like the Orc helmet and shield but no new weapons at all for this set really sucks

I 1000% agree regarding Frodo and Sam. Should have had some new printing on them for this price point. No conceivable reason not to.

[legofan126]

This was probably my most hyped set of the year…and I really don’t love it. I want to, but I think the proportions look awful. I also think because of that, the grey and brown really take away and make it look messy. If it was taller with more black, the grey towards the bottom wouldn’t bother me. 
 

I don’t really care about the long legs because those sometimes look awkward and lanky, Sauron should be bulky. But his molded helmet/shoulder piece isn’t doing it for me. I really don’t like the gollum face and the reused Frodo and Sam, so lazy. The GWP is alright and doesn’t have any impact for me. 
 

The more I write this the more disappointed I am. I thought it was going to be a day 1 cop, now I’m not so sure…

[brimbolet]

29 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

More pictures have been released! The orc helmets worn by Sam and Frodo are two unique new moulded pieces!

There seem to be even more new helmets inside the forge, but I'm not 100% sure.

[Lordhelmet]

I get a lot of the criticism of this set (Sam and Frodo without unique prints, longer legs for Sauron, the mace, could have used one or two extra mini figs, etc.). I really don’t understand the taller part.  It is very tall, I have to adjust my shelving to fit it next to orthanc.  I get that it looks a little chunky but so does orthanc?  It seems to fit the theme well and keep the Lego LOTR look which to me is key to keep it feeling like it is the same theme despite the added detail.  I really don’t think I would want it taller but if I do when I build it, it also looks easy to mod with some extra height on the main tower portion anyway.