Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[TheDoctor]

One thing that really bugs me is that horrible black candle bar holding the eye (LEGO seems obsessed with that piece at the moment)
It's really visible from the front, especially when the light is on.

I'll be switching out for the combo below using 2x 6L Pearl Gold bars. (I know it's illegal )
Tested the parts and there seems to be sufficient friction for the eye not tilt downwards.

Edited May 15, 2024 by TheDoctor

[BigJudge]

22 hours ago, upliftingbricks said:

They should do extension packs or at least functionality on Pick a Brick to add the correct bricks too. Not just specific for this set either. Seems like easy money for Lego

Use the Brickhunter App for uploading a partslist in XML, CSV or whatever format, then use Brickhunter to fill a Pick-A-Brick basket on legos site with one click. Knowing how to use these documents is really useful when building MOCs or buying pieces in general.

Also maybe just wait for a Rebrickable MOC of the section, I bet someone is going to do a more accurate looking replacement compared to what one would get with a repeated section. The set doesn't even look that much improportionate, doing a quick comparison with the movie model and a statue I would have rather expected an add-on that is one third the height of what appears to be the tower module they speak of (minus the top with the eye of course).

[BigJudge]

Did nobody yet notice how Saurons helmet and shoulders appear to be fused? I know the design isn't the most practical for head turns but is an odd choice when the characters most iconic pose is with the head slightly turned in the beginning of the movie narration.

The set looks nice, it's pretty much what I expected. Next to Rivendell it just isn't as exciting. I hope they continue the line further and faster though. I really wonder what they are going to do, especially with how the line hasn't yet repeated builds from the first line.

[CallumPears]

Solid Brix has a review out. 

Not watched the whole thing yet but I'm a bit disappointed that the Mouth of Sauron has almost exactly the same head as before (just with yellower teeth). I was really hoping he'd get multiple facial expressions since that's basically what he's known for and the crown would easily cover an alternate face. 

[RichardGoring]

39 minutes ago, BigJudge said:

Use the Brickhunter App for uploading a partslist in XML, CSV or whatever format, then use Brickhunter to fill a Pick-A-Brick basket on legos site with one click. Knowing how to use these documents is really useful when building MOCs or buying pieces in general.

Also maybe just wait for a Rebrickable MOC of the section, I bet someone is going to do a more accurate looking replacement compared to what one would get with a repeated section. The set doesn't even look that much improportionate, doing a quick comparison with the movie model and a statue I would have rather expected an add-on that is one third the height of what appears to be the tower module they speak of (minus the top with the eye of course).

I'm new to BrickHunter and it's so amazing. Saves a vast amount of time ordering things for MOCs.

Definitely agree that a custom addition to the tower to increase the height will be better than just repeating a section. Looking forward to seeing all the talented builders come up with something!

2 minutes ago, CallumPears said:

Solid Brix has a review out. 

Not watched the whole thing yet but I'm a bit disappointed that the Mouth of Sauron has almost exactly the same head as before (just with yellower teeth). I was really hoping he'd get multiple facial expressions since that's basically what he's known for and the crown would easily cover an alternate face. 

Tiago Catarino has one too.

 

[mirkwoodspiders]

20 minutes ago, CallumPears said:

Solid Brix has a review out. 

It's a very helpful review. The little throne room and gate features are great. I like it even more having watched the video. However, SolidBrix can't proprerly pronounce Rivendell to save his life 

[Lordhelmet]

The more I look at the model I want to change the orange and brown in the middle tier to black.  I think I like it around the eye and at the base (reflecting lava and the eye, and I have liked it in the videos). The middle section I think is the part that is distracting to me.  Anyone able to decipher what parts they are using?  I will probably pick up the black parts to replace it after I buy but I think that will be a for sure modification for me.

 

Also surprise that there are sections where the blue shows through (I might change those too).

[Arjo]

Barad dur vs Rivendell, which one takes the cake for you? Would an extra handful of orcs change your mind?

[mirkwoodspiders]

6 minutes ago, Arjo said:

Barad dur vs Rivendell, which one takes the cake for you? Would an extra handful of orcs change your mind?

It'll be hard to tell until I build Barad-Dur and see it on display. I think Rivendell has the edge for now - minifigs and aesthetic are all better, and I'd imagine the build for Rivendell will end up being more interesting. But, Barad-Dur is still an all-timer from first impressions!

[RichardGoring]

Tiago Catarino has them both together in his review and Rivendell just looks so much nicer to me. Tiago also said the build experience was better on Rivendell, which I can believe, because that is hard to beat. Even an army of orcs wouldn't change my mind as it's not something I particularly value. I prefer the build, playability, and aesthetics over figures. I do like the look of Barad Dur, but the conflict between nanoscale exterior and minifigure scale interior gives the playability a slight ding for me.

If I could only choose one, it would be Rivendell. But fortunately 'both' is an option for me, and I will choose that.

[Ruthin Road]

I saw the films in the cinema when they were released and read the book over 20 years ago therefore my knowledge is much less than most others here and I am not really the target audience. However my recollection is that we never saw or had a description of the interior of Barad Dur and that Sauron did not have a fixed physical form, so the interiors and minifigures seem a bit jarring to me. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I do not think it was a canteen with tongue in cheek in-jokes and a study for Sauron to put his feet up! I guess unrelenting grimness doesn't really fit the Lego aesthetic and would not be very commercially viable in terms of sitting in the corner of the average living room. Nonetheless a smaller display model without interiors would seem truer to the source material, fix the problems with proportion and be significantly more affordable.

Edited May 16, 2024 by Ruthin Road

[Balrogofmorgoth]

And now we’ve got all these reviews coming out by people who know absolutely nothing about LOTR and can’t pronounce anything to save their lives because lego gave them a free set. Lol

[Agent Kallus]

9 minutes ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

And now we’ve got all these reviews coming out by people who know absolutely nothing about LOTR and can’t pronounce anything to save their lives because lego gave them a free set. Lol

Hey to be fair, I mispronounce a lot of words when I read them before I hear them and as LotR was a book first I'm sure I'd mispronounce a ton, I read the books at least thrice and seen the movies even more times but I don't think I'd pronounce everything right, even things they say in the films.

[Lordhelmet]

This set really makes me want an orc battle pack.  With the new helmet pack and shields that would be an excellent battle pack to fill out Barad Dur with (like the snowtroopers with the ATAT)  They could redo the four orcs (or slight variations to distinguish them and make more variations) and there could be a solid orc army quick.  I’d buy at least four if not ten to fill out the set.  Would just need a small rock encampment or something like that for the build.

[Balrogofmorgoth]

27 minutes ago, Lordhelmet said:

This set really makes me want an orc battle pack.  With the new helmet pack and shields that would be an excellent battle pack to fill out Barad Dur with (like the snowtroopers with the ATAT)  They could redo the four orcs (or slight variations to distinguish them and make more variations) and there could be a solid orc army quick.  I’d buy at least four if not ten to fill out the set.  Would just need a small rock encampment or something like that for the build.

I still say battle packs are the absolute perfect sets for LOTR

Just imagine:

Gondorian BP

Rohirrim BP

Mordor Orc BP

Uruk-hai BP

Helm’s Deep Rohan BP

Helm’s Deep Elves BP

Last Alliance Elves BP

Last Alliance Númenorean BP

Moria Orc BP

Dead Men of Dunharrow BP

Easterling BP

Haradrim BP

Ithilien Rangers BP

Lorien Wood Elves BP

Dunlending Wildmen BP

Edited May 16, 2024 by Balrogofmorgoth

[Mandalorianknight]

On 5/14/2024 at 1:03 PM, R0Sch said:

The included sticker sheet, for anyone wondering...

  Reveal hidden contents

...and the paper based bags galore for the Enthuggers ;)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

That sticker of Sauron goes hard.

 

 

I'm biting the bullet and getting a LOTR set. Which one do you think I should get? Here's what I've got so far.

Rivendell: More figs, more aesthetically pleasing/relaxing design

Barad-Dur: Cheaper, Fell Beast GWP, more iconic design

I'm leaning towards Barad-Dur at the moment. I might end up getting the other one some time later, but that'd likely be around this time of year in 2025, so Rivendell assumably would still be hanging on if I get Barad-Dur now.

[Space Coyote]

30 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

That sticker of Sauron goes hard.

 

 

I'm biting the bullet and getting a LOTR set. Which one do you think I should get? Here's what I've got so far.

Rivendell: More figs, more aesthetically pleasing/relaxing design

Barad-Dur: Cheaper, Fell Beast GWP, more iconic design

I'm leaning towards Barad-Dur at the moment. I might end up getting the other one some time later, but that'd likely be around this time of year in 2025, so Rivendell assumably would still be hanging on if I get Barad-Dur now.

If it were me I'd go with Rivendell for the reasons you already mentioned but depending on what your display space situation is Rivendell would take up a lot less vertical space. BD will be just as likely to be around next year if not moreso. I guess it depends on how bad you want that GWP.

Oh and yes that sticker is one of the coolest I've seen in awhile!

Edited May 16, 2024 by Space Coyote

[Artanis I]

8 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

Hey to be fair, I mispronounce a lot of words when I read them before I hear them and as LotR was a book first I'm sure I'd mispronounce a ton, I read the books at least thrice and seen the movies even more times but I don't think I'd pronounce everything right, even things they say in the films.

A fair argument most of the time, but Tolkien wrote very specificly about how his words are pronounced, so you have no real excuse!

 

7 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

I still say battle packs are the absolute perfect sets for LOTR

...

Nazgul battle pack

[Balrogofmorgoth]

1 hour ago, Artanis I said:

A fair argument most of the time, but Tolkien wrote very specificly about how his words are pronounced, so you have no real excuse!

I mean even the simplest things that only involve reading at a basic level lol how does anyone with a brain cell pronounce Rivendell as Riverdale??

[Lordhelmet]

8 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

I still say battle packs are the absolute perfect sets for LOTR

Just imagine:

Gondorian BP

Rohirrim BP

Mordor Orc BP

Uruk-hai BP

Helm’s Deep Rohan BP

Helm’s Deep Elves BP

Last Alliance Elves BP

Last Alliance Númenorean BP

Moria Orc BP

Dead Men of Dunharrow BP

Easterling BP

Haradrim BP

Ithilien Rangers BP

Lorien Wood Elves BP

Dunlending Wildmen BP

agreed, and I would spend way too much on most of these.

 

[MAB]

8 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

I still say battle packs are the absolute perfect sets for LOTR

Just imagine:

Gondorian BP

Rohirrim BP

Mordor Orc BP

Uruk-hai BP

Helm’s Deep Rohan BP

Helm’s Deep Elves BP

Last Alliance Elves BP

Last Alliance Númenorean BP

Moria Orc BP

Dead Men of Dunharrow BP

Easterling BP

Haradrim BP

Ithilien Rangers BP

Lorien Wood Elves BP

Dunlending Wildmen BP

I somehow cannot see them doing 15 battlepacks. Even if they paired them up doing two from each faction, that would still be 8 battle packs, and 4 packs if they did just one figure of each type and put four in a pack. But the bigger issue is who would buy and, just as importantly, sell them? Retail stores would not want them if there were no other LOTR sets to sell alongside them, as buyers that cannot afford the ICONS sets would have little interest if they cannot get the core figures. LOTR is being marketed in such a different way to Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel, that what works when it comes to distribution for those themes would not work for LOTR. They would need to change the approach completely if they wanted to sell battle packs to the more general LEGO buyer. Of course, they could do them as LEGO exclusives and sell them only from LEGO stores and online, but that would restrict the volume of sales compared to battle packs from other themes.

[mtrsteve]

9 hours ago, Balrogofmorgoth said:

I still say battle packs are the absolute perfect sets for LOTR

Just imagine:

Gondorian BP

Rohirrim BP

Mordor Orc BP

Uruk-hai BP

Helm’s Deep Rohan BP

Helm’s Deep Elves BP

Last Alliance Elves BP

Last Alliance Númenorean BP

Moria Orc BP

Dead Men of Dunharrow BP

Easterling BP

Haradrim BP

Ithilien Rangers BP

Lorien Wood Elves BP

Dunlending Wildmen BP

I feel like the first half or so of this list are no brainers. The second half I think you get into territory where the people on this sub would be excited, but the wider consumer audience might not be so hype (I.e. might not sell).

[Lordhelmet]

A thought about the brickheadz, why is Gimli’s helmet grey?  I plan on buying because I want to keep all of the LOTR sets (not a fan of brickheadz in general), but I just realized the helmet is grey not the dark brown/reddish brown.

 

 

Regarding the Fell Beast GWP, I am wondering if there are any simple mods to make it look better incorporating the new wing element (print).

 

Edited May 16, 2024 by Lordhelmet

[MAB]

58 minutes ago, Lordhelmet said:

A thought about the brickheadz, why is Gimli’s helmet grey?  I plan on buying because I want to keep all of the LOTR sets (not a fan of brickheadz in general), but I just realized the helmet is grey not the dark brown/reddish brown.

 

Presumably they don't have the budget to print all the helmet parts with gold so wanted something that will look like a helmet rather than hair when being compared to other BH?

[gdugaucquier]

It seems that two of the orc have more femalelike torso's :D. It is just the shaping of the straps and plates, but their waist seems a bit cinched. Anyways, very glad to finally have some extra variation. 

Edited May 16, 2024 by gdugaucquier