Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[Kaijumeister]

Count me in as someone equally baffled about exactly what the interior could contain, the brief scene of Gollum’s interrogation is literally all we see during the films. I could see the eye having an interior for Sauron to ‘sit’ in as an easter egg of the deleted scene with Aragorn, Sauron, and the palantir perhaps?

But really, the sheer height and intricate detail of the tower alone could easily consume a ton of pieces, and let’s not forget Sauron’s eye needs to be fairly detailed too. I do concur with some of the thoughts here that some microscale fell-beasts and nanoscale Nazgûl would make sense to include flying around the tower. They can even reuse the nanoscale dementors from the D2C Hogwarts set.

I know I’m stating the obvious, but I do wish Lego would try to find a way to make LotR sets more accessible to those without the budget and space befitting of these Icons sets though.

 

[mirkwoodspiders]

5 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Nobody said it had to be minifig-scale  Microscale is of course the only way to reasonably do it, and they can still easily include all the necessary characters

I remember reading about an initial "draft" of Rivendell LEGO made as a microscale model. It looked amazing but was too massive to be a reasonable D2C set. I wonder if they wouldn't take a well-known portion of Minas Tirith from the movie and make a set of it, similar to what they ended up doing with Rivendell? Full microscale would be incredible though, and I can't say I would't consider paying $700-$800 for it...

[hikouki]

19 minutes ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

I remember reading about an initial "draft" of Rivendell LEGO made as a microscale model. It looked amazing but was too massive to be a reasonable D2C set. I wonder if they wouldn't take a well-known portion of Minas Tirith from the movie and make a set of it, similar to what they ended up doing with Rivendell? Full microscale would be incredible though, and I can't say I would't consider paying $700-$800 for it...

Give us several sets from Minas Tirith that could eventually be combined!!!

[Lordhelmet]

43 minutes ago, hikouki said:

Give us several sets from Minas Tirith that could eventually be combined!!!

This would be incredible if done well.

[RichardGoring]

8 hours ago, Cyprinus said:

I know this idea keeps popping up, but I don't see any realistic way of getting a Minas Tirith set that looks good and isn't a monstrosity way and above the budget of 99,9% of people. I guess the palace and White Tree courtyard could work, but that would suffer from limited space for interiors...

Agreed. I think the best approach for Minas Tirith would be to do the citadel and white tree, with the platform raised up just a little to give the sense of things below. It could be minifigure scale and include lots of detail.

2 hours ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

I remember reading about an initial "draft" of Rivendell LEGO made as a microscale model. It looked amazing but was too massive to be a reasonable D2C set. I wonder if they wouldn't take a well-known portion of Minas Tirith from the movie and make a set of it, similar to what they ended up doing with Rivendell? Full microscale would be incredible though, and I can't say I would't consider paying $700-$800 for it...

Doing something modular would be great, but I don't think it could happen, as they'd have to make each component standalone, and I suspect that at least some would need to be less than stunning, so why not just make it a single set. If you go down the route of microscale, then the vast majority of it is going to be mountain and you lose the fabulous detail that I imagine most people want from Minas Tirith.

However, I think it's the reverse for Barad-Dur, where most people probably want the full tower with the eye atop it. Similar to Orthanc, the full shape is iconic, and the details inside are nice, but non-essential.

Edited January 7, 2024 by RichardGoring

[kuzyabricks]

was looking at the leaked picture again. Most of the set isnt even the tower its the terrain. Maybe there wont be much of an interior at all who knows

[neithan]

7 hours ago, Kaijumeister said:

But really, the sheer height and intricate detail of the tower alone could easily consume a ton of pieces, and let’s not forget Sauron’s eye needs to be fairly detailed too.

 

The Eye is just a sticker, no need for a detailed build.

 

(jk, I´m very excited to look at the first pictures)

[MAB]

7 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Agreed. I think the best approach for Minas Tirith would be to do the citadel and white tree, with the platform raised up just a little to give the sense of things below. It could be minifigure scale and include lots of detail.

.....

I think they could also add the beacon tower. Things like that don't need to be to scale, as in Rivendell. Place it higher than the courtyard by maybe 8 or 10  bricks high of rocks with some steps and a small bridge to it and it gives the impression of being much higher. It adds play and display value for an iconic scene with minifigs for Pippin and a soldier standing guard. Similarly they could do some wall or the main gate if they wanted to do a fell beast or Grond, respectively.  It doesn't really matter which level of the city those scenes happened.

[RichardGoring]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

I think they could also add the beacon tower. Things like that don't need to be to scale, as in Rivendell. Place it higher than the courtyard by maybe 8 or 10  bricks high of rocks with some steps and a small bridge to it and it gives the impression of being much higher. It adds play and display value for an iconic scene with minifigs for Pippin and a soldier standing guard. Similarly they could do some wall or the main gate if they wanted to do a fell beast or Grond, respectively.  It doesn't really matter which level of the city those scenes happened.

Nice idea. The impression of Minas Tirith, with some greatest hits, and the feel of it would likely give the best value to everyone, even though some of the compromises might be hard.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

On 1/6/2024 at 11:26 PM, hikouki said:

Give us several sets from Minas Tirith that could eventually be combined!!!

Honestly I think that’s what they should do. Several playsets that can be combined, but each including enough iconic locations and figures and creatures to have individual value

[Triceron]

On 1/7/2024 at 12:17 AM, kuzyabricks said:

was looking at the leaked picture again. Most of the set isnt even the tower its the terrain. Maybe there wont be much of an interior at all who knows

I have a feeling it might be designed with 3q exterior and 1q open to access an interior, similar to this:

 

[Cyprinus]

On 1/7/2024 at 3:03 PM, MAB said:

I think they could also add the beacon tower. Things like that don't need to be to scale, as in Rivendell. Place it higher than the courtyard by maybe 8 or 10  bricks high of rocks with some steps and a small bridge to it and it gives the impression of being much higher. It adds play and display value for an iconic scene with minifigs for Pippin and a soldier standing guard. Similarly they could do some wall or the main gate if they wanted to do a fell beast or Grond, respectively.  It doesn't really matter which level of the city those scenes happened.

The beacon tower would be easy enough. The wall, I'm less sure about. You'd probably want it to encircle the whole thing (or at least the front) which would inflate the piece count and block the nice view of the courtyard (unless it got raised even more - but that would be further piece count bloat).

1 hour ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

Honestly I think that’s what they should do. Several playsets that can be combined, but each including enough iconic locations and figures and creatures to have individual value

I wouldn't count on LotR playsets.

[Khargeust]

On 12/1/2023 at 6:15 AM, Minishark2000 said:

1414 Falconfan on youtube stream said "there are plans for Lego LOTR"

 

On 12/1/2023 at 6:21 AM, Something_Awesome said:

LOTR Leak information:

I was in live stream that featured FalconFan, a reliable leaker of LEGO information. My interest was Ninjago, but he dropped a nice side piece of information. He said "there are plans for Lord of the Rings." Whether this means a full-fledged theme, or more high-priced sets BEYOND Barad Dur is unknown to me. But, essentially, if not a whole theme, you can expect at least another set BEYOND the Barad Dur in 2024. This is a good sign for those of us wanting a playscale theme. The stream was already winding down as this got revealed, but my personal interpretation of this bit of information is that we will be getting a LOTR theme. 

Did someone ask him to elaborate ? Do you think it is just to tease people for the simple (and evil) pleasure to tease or can he really know something big, something he can't reveal ?

[Cyprinus]

I wouldn't be surprised to get  some more Brickheadz...

[Black Falcon]

1 hour ago, Khargeust said:

Did someone ask him to elaborate ? Do you think it is just to tease people for the simple (and evil) pleasure to tease or can he really know something big, something he can't reveal ?

You should ask @Falconfan1414 directly. Only he will be able to answer your question.

There are plans can mean anything from more Brickheads, over more Big Sets to a theme with playsets.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

7 hours ago, Cyprinus said:

The beacon tower would be easy enough. The wall, I'm less sure about. You'd probably want it to encircle the whole thing (or at least the front) which would inflate the piece count and block the nice view of the courtyard (unless it got raised even more - but that would be further piece count bloat).

I wouldn't count on LotR playsets.

No one is counting on it. But it’s definitely what I’m hoping will happen. It deserves a full blown theme

[Minishark2000]

How well do you guys honestly think LOTR being rebooted in the near future would sell?

Like I'm not making an opinion saying it would sell good or bad, but what is the general feeling of how much demand there is? Presumably LOTR ended in 2013 due to the Castle 2013 theme coming around? (like how Kingdoms ended in 2012 when LOTR theme came out) but was it also due to poor sales of LOTR sets? I'm not sure but is there any sales data or remarks made by anyone e.g. former employees, designers? 

Because we know even though the adult market for Lego is increasing each year, primarily they are still catered to kids, would they like stuff such as LOTR? Especially since the films aren't out I feel like it's hard for kids to make a direct connection to the toys they see on shelves if it isn't instantly recognizable e.g. a fire truck or something they've seen recently in media.

 

I just wanna say though if a full theme came out... as an adult I'd buy every set of the wave, and I suspect alot of other adults who love the films are of the same opinion

 

Perhaps 2012 was too early for the theme to come out, I know they only did it because of the Hobbit coming out that year, and otherwise it might not have ever happened, but me like a lot of people grew up with LOTR in early 2000s, but still were youngish/college aged with little money when this theme came out- the generation that had the deepest connection to the films had the least financial means to purchase the sets. This isn't the case anymore though, as generally as you grow up you become more financially stable settle down etc, now with many of us in our late 20s/30s I think it's a great time for the theme, for adults

Edited January 9, 2024 by Minishark2000

[kuzyabricks]

24 minutes ago, Minishark2000 said:

How well do you guys honestly think LOTR being rebooted in the near future would sell?

Like I'm not making an opinion saying it would sell good or bad, but what is the general feeling of how much demand there is? Presumably LOTR ended in 2013 due to the Castle 2013 theme coming around? (like how Kingdoms ended in 2012 when LOTR theme came out) but was it also due to poor sales of LOTR sets? I'm not sure but is there any sales data or remarks made by anyone e.g. former employees, designers? 

Because we know even though the adult market for Lego is increasing each year, primarily they are still catered to kids, would they like stuff such as LOTR? Especially since the films aren't out I feel like it's hard for kids to make a direct connection to the toys they see on shelves if it isn't instantly recognizable e.g. a fire truck or something they've seen recently in media.

 

I just wanna say though if a full theme came out... as an adult I'd buy every set of the wave, and I suspect alot of other adults who love the films are of the same opinion

 

Perhaps 2012 was too early for the theme to come out, I know they only did it because of the Hobbit coming out that year, and otherwise it might not have ever happened, but me like a lot of people grew up with LOTR in early 2000s, but still were youngish/college aged with little money when this theme came out- the generation that had the deepest connection to the films had the least financial means to purchase the sets. This isn't the case anymore though, as generally as you grow up you become more financially stable settle down etc, now with many of us in our late 20s/30s I think it's a great time for the theme, for adults

afaik LOTR sold not too hot. A lot of clearance and I'm talking BIG clearance. I was far too young back then to collect all the sets but unfortunately I don't see a full on theme coming any time soon. A harry potter treatment ofr LOTR would be beautiful to see. Also if I'm remembering correctly the designers said Rivendell was a one time set and if it sold well we might get new stuff. That’s why we’re getting baradur. (My store sold 10 rivendells out of 30 in 5 minutes lol)

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, kuzyabricks said:

afaik LOTR sold not too hot. A lot of clearance and I'm talking BIG clearance. I was far too young back then to collect all the sets but unfortunately I don't see a full on theme coming any time soon. A harry potter treatment ofr LOTR would be beautiful to see. Also if I'm remembering correctly the designers said Rivendell was a one time set and if it sold well we might get new stuff. That’s why we’re getting baradur. (My store sold 10 rivendells out of 30 in 5 minutes lol)

I agree that a full-on wave/s just like what we see with Marvels, etc for LOTR will not be too realistic. The market is indeed smaller. LOTR does not quite cater to the masses. However, someone earlier pointed out (pardon me, I am too lazy to find that quote), that LOTR fans now have grown up and have more income. Case in point, Rivendell sold, and still sells well despite the steep price. Lego ought to release a large set or two small ones each year and I think people will buy those - slow but steady.

Edited January 9, 2024 by hikouki

[MAB]

7 hours ago, Minishark2000 said:

How well do you guys honestly think LOTR being rebooted in the near future would sell?

Like I'm not making an opinion saying it would sell good or bad, but what is the general feeling of how much demand there is? Presumably LOTR ended in 2013 due to the Castle 2013 theme coming around? (like how Kingdoms ended in 2012 when LOTR theme came out) but was it also due to poor sales of LOTR sets? I'm not sure but is there any sales data or remarks made by anyone e.g. former employees, designers? 

Because we know even though the adult market for Lego is increasing each year, primarily they are still catered to kids, would they like stuff such as LOTR? Especially since the films aren't out I feel like it's hard for kids to make a direct connection to the toys they see on shelves if it isn't instantly recognizable e.g. a fire truck or something they've seen recently in media.

 

I just wanna say though if a full theme came out... as an adult I'd buy every set of the wave, and I suspect alot of other adults who love the films are of the same opinion

 

Perhaps 2012 was too early for the theme to come out, I know they only did it because of the Hobbit coming out that year, and otherwise it might not have ever happened, but me like a lot of people grew up with LOTR in early 2000s, but still were youngish/college aged with little money when this theme came out- the generation that had the deepest connection to the films had the least financial means to purchase the sets. This isn't the case anymore though, as generally as you grow up you become more financially stable settle down etc, now with many of us in our late 20s/30s I think it's a great time for the theme, for adults

The LOTR movies also appealed to adults when they were released, it wasn't just teens or youngsters without the means to buy the sets when they were issued a decade or so later. It seems to me that part of the reason sales of the original LOTR sets were not great was that they were brought out a time when not many adults were into LEGO. Adult LOTR fans tended to ignore them because they weren't into LEGO at the time even though they could have afforded them. That changed in the second half of the 2010s onward and LEGO is becoming more accepted as an adult pass time. If you look back at the MOCs in the 2000-10 decade, there were LOTR MOCs. There was an appetite for the sets, but only really from fans of both LEGO and LOTR. LEGO was not a big enough draw for adult fans of LOTR and there were not enough kid fans of LOTR. The latter is probably still true, but the former has changed now that more adults are into LEGO. That is why it also makes sense that they target the mainly adult audience with adult sets (that is, large and expensive!). It was similar for other movies like BTTF and Ghostbusters and even things like the Mars Curiosity Rover. I think most owners of the original sets of those were fans of LEGO that also liked the movie (or the rover), rather than just fans of the movies (or rover) with little interest in LEGO at the time.

I don't think the Castle 2013 range had anything to do with the ending of LOTR. They were totally different products. The production schedule for The Hobbit movies, especially the revising into three movies instead of two, seemed to have much more impact on LOTR than anything else.

 

[Black Falcon]

I have no doubt that a Lord of the Rings Theme with smaller Sets would sell well. When we are looking on past themes that people wanted to see back Lord of the Rings always was one of the ones mentioned often and overall a theme that has many fans, both AFOLs and ones that usually don´t buy Lego (for themselves). I don´t think it would be as successfull as Star Wars or Harry Potter, but still doing good. 

[Balrogofmorgoth]

3 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

I have no doubt that a Lord of the Rings Theme with smaller Sets would sell well. When we are looking on past themes that people wanted to see back Lord of the Rings always was one of the ones mentioned often and overall a theme that has many fans, both AFOLs and ones that usually don´t buy Lego (for themselves). I don´t think it would be as successfull as Star Wars or Harry Potter, but still doing good. 

I tend to agree with you here, and I also really believe that it would do better with kids than most people think. Part of that has to do with those fans that were younger at the time who now have kids that are growing up around LOTR. And that’s not a small number. My son is turning 4 in February and is asking for a LOTR themed party. It certainly wouldn’t do as well as Harry Potter or Star Wars. But I have no doubt it would perform extraordinarily well

[mtrsteve]

Well, here's a Mina's tirith MOC that's pretty decent.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8V7MFd7/

[BrickBob Studpants]

I’m a bit split on how well playsets would do. Sure, the hobby is much more popular among adults than ten years ago and many kids from back then now have disposabe income, but still. The 2012-13 theme had the clear benefit of the Hobbit trilogy getting released.

What would a rebooted theme tie in with? ROP? The War of the Rohirrim?  Whatever stupid cashgrabs WB are cooking?

[mtrsteve]

16 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

I’m a bit split on how well playsets would do. Sure, the hobby is much more popular among adults than ten years ago and many kids from back then now have disposabe income, but still. The 2012-13 theme had the clear benefit of the Hobbit trilogy getting released.

What would a rebooted theme tie in with? ROP? The War of the Rohirrim?  Whatever stupid cashgrabs WB are cooking?

I'm not so sure that it was a clear benefit that the hobbit trilogy was being released. I felt like most of the LotR sets were great, while most of the Hobbit sets were meh by comparison. Theme may have done better in the absence of hobbit material.