LOTR & The Hobbit 2012

[Saruman the White]

Its cool to see they divided the Fellowship over all of the sets, and that will surely be the case in future waves, Im very curious about the Fellowship of The Hobbit.. 13 Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf (on some parts of the journey). 14 halfling / child minifigs with different beard and hairstyles!

Oh, And to add my thought about the Isengard, multi part tower / playsets, which was posted a few pages back, Maybe a impulse set of Saruman and the Palantir, but no tower... how about this: UCS Orthanc. Measuring a full 1,5 meters of pure black bricks, and a little grey miniminifig (from those Heroica games) on top, and a white one on the balcony! Maybe even a few baseplates around the tower which you can turn over to switch between green and peaceful Isengard, and the orc forges and wargpits.

I'm very excited to see what Lego sets are made for isengards underground. A set containing about 3000 pieces could make a great isengard.

[Artifex]

On the side:

I love seeing all this Lord of the Rings action in here, but it really got me wondering: does any of you play The Lord of the Rings Online?

The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) based on The Lord of the Rings -- and it's great! The Epic Storyline follows the story of the trilogy and there's also the MANY, MANY quests and sidequests that take place all over Middle-Earth. It's one of the most accurate LotR games lore-wise, taking the players all through the history of Middle-Earth.

I know there's a Lego Lord of the Rings game coming out, but I really think you guys should at least give LOTRO a try. The original game (with no expansions) is called Shadows of Angmar and it's completely free-to-play. With Shadows of Angmar only you can play in many, many regions, doing both Epic Quests and all the other quests and go from level 1 to level 50.

There are many worlds (serves). I play in one called Meneldor. I have been playing LOTRO since 2008 and although I've played games like Ultima Online (which I love), World of Warcraft and many other MMORPGs, my free time always takes me to LOTRO.

If you are interested, you can register, download the game and play for free in here: www.lotro.com.

If you are ever on Meneldor, send a tell to Calamis, the Elf Hunter! :thumbup:

[Saruman the White]

On the side:

I love seeing all this Lord of the Rings action in here, but it really got me wondering: does any of you play The Lord of the Rings Online?

The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) based on The Lord of the Rings -- and it's great! The Epic Storyline follows the story of the trilogy and there's also the MANY, MANY quests and sidequests that take place all over Middle-Earth. It's one of the most accurate LotR games lore-wise, taking the players all through the history of Middle-Earth.

I know there's a Lego Lord of the Rings game coming out, but I really think you guys should at least give LOTRO a try. The original game (with no expansions) is called Shadows of Angmar and it's completely free-to-play. With Shadows of Angmar only you can play in many, many regions, doing both Epic Quests and all the other quests and go from level 1 to level 50.

There are many worlds (serves). I play in one called Meneldor. I have been playing LOTRO since 2008 and although I've played games like Ultima Online (which I love), World of Warcraft and many other MMORPGs, my free time always takes me to LOTRO.

If you are interested, you can register, download the game and play for free in here: www.lotro.com.

If you are ever on Meneldor, send a tell to Calamis, the Elf Hunter! :thumbup:

I couldn't possibly play that game after playing it last year because it was so dull. You can't be a great LOTR fan without reading the books which are masterpieces. Have you read them? If not then stop playing the game and read the books and learn the true facts about middle earth and it's tremendous array of characters. Honestly I can't praise them enough. They're better than any lord of the rings game or film you could get.

[General Magma]

I couldn't possibly play that game after playing it last year because it was so dull. You can't be a great LOTR fan without reading the books which are masterpieces. Have you read them? If not then stop playing the game and read the books and learn the true facts about middle earth and it's tremendous array of characters. Honestly I can't praise them enough. They're better than any lord of the rings game or film you could get.

Facts? Middle-Earth is fictional. Great, but fictional. No need to create a large fuss over 'facts' and what's true and what's not.

But aight.. I'm actually a big/great fan of LOTR, but I haven't read the books yet. You can't determine whether someone's a true fan or not by standards like that.

The movies count heavily too, so don't act like they don't. Also, bear in mind that the movies are what made this theme possible - the books made the movies possible, but oh well...

Let's get back on-topic before some Balrog jumps in and whips us off a bridge. (No reference to anyone but any Balrog... I suppose.)

So, regarding the goblins in the Mines of Moria set;

I don't think they're adding armored (or rather, heavily armored) goblins with helmets 'n all, we have seen both goblins that will be in the set, but they both had hair showing, and no helmet.

And TLC is not going to make them look exactly like the orcs of Sauron's army - that would just count as laziness, and it would be inaccurate.

~ General Magma

Edited January 29, 2012 by General Magma

[Nightshroud99]

On the side:

I love seeing all this Lord of the Rings action in here, but it really got me wondering: does any of you play The Lord of the Rings Online?

The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) based on The Lord of the Rings -- and it's great! The Epic Storyline follows the story of the trilogy and there's also the MANY, MANY quests and sidequests that take place all over Middle-Earth. It's one of the most accurate LotR games lore-wise, taking the players all through the history of Middle-Earth.

I know there's a Lego Lord of the Rings game coming out, but I really think you guys should at least give LOTRO a try. The original game (with no expansions) is called Shadows of Angmar and it's completely free-to-play. With Shadows of Angmar only you can play in many, many regions, doing both Epic Quests and all the other quests and go from level 1 to level 50.

There are many worlds (serves). I play in one called Meneldor. I have been playing LOTRO since 2008 and although I've played games like Ultima Online (which I love), World of Warcraft and many other MMORPGs, my free time always takes me to LOTRO.

If you are interested, you can register, download the game and play for free in here: www.lotro.com.

If you are ever on Meneldor, send a tell to Calamis, the Elf Hunter! :thumbup:

This is off topic, but I'll add my opinion.

I played LOTRO years ago, it was a stunning game but the classes were underwhelming and the need to be in a group for pretty much all quests after lvl 20 was a major negative point.

Just my 2 cents lol

[Erynion]

If I remember the lore correctly, goblins and orcs are quite similar, but orcs have a master, in this case Sauron/Saruman, while goblins are essentially without masters and are normally found in caves (Mines of Moria, the Hobbit).

The Uruk-Hai were orc-elf hybrids, bred long before Sauron's first reign, it's not like in the movies where they appear to only be bred from the beginning of Saruman going bad.

From what I remember, orcs are mutilated Elves, made long ago (I would guess by Morgoth, the first (?) dark lord, but don't quote me on it. It's been quite a few years since I read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales).

I *think* Uruk-hai are orcs/goblins crossed with humans. I recall there was something special about the Uruk-hai that allowed them to travel under the sun, unlike orcs... maybe that was inbreeding with humans. But I'm not really sure on that point of lore.

In the Hobbit book, the creatures at the Battle of Five Armies are referred to as goblins, but in the LOTR books, they are referred to as orcs, so I think it is safe to say that they are nearly the same, if not the same, creatures. I personally don't see any reason to separate them in the LEGO sets...

As for LOTRO, I would dearly love to play it, but MMORPGs are just too time consuming, especially for someone in university with a huge course load like me.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Erynion

[General Magma]

In the Hobbit book, the creatures at the Battle of Five Armies are referred to as goblins, but in the LOTR books, they are referred to as orcs, so I think it is safe to say that they are nearly the same, if not the same, creatures. I personally don't see any reason to separate them in the LEGO sets...

This theme is not about the books, it's about the movies.

In the movies they are slightly smaller and look different from orcs. Most orcs differ from each other in appearance and armory,

while most goblins (Moria) look the same and only wear different armor in some cases.

~ General Magma

[surrideo]

I couldn't possibly play that game after playing it last year because it was so dull. You can't be a great LOTR fan without reading the books which are masterpieces. Have you read them? If not then stop playing the game and read the books and learn the true facts about middle earth and it's tremendous array of characters. Honestly I can't praise them enough. They're better than any lord of the rings game or film you could get.

You are a delight

The release of the hobbit, possible re-release of the LoTR trilogy and these lego sets I hope will encourage kids to go and read the original books. Keeping the core value of the Lego group in inspiring kids and educating them

[Fives]

All this talk of how the orcs and goblins are reffered to in the books is becoming irrelevant to the discussion of this theme. The sets are based on the films, and all the Minifigs will appear as such, despite how Tolkien used the words Orc and goblin interchangeably.

[Nagyzee]

Facts? Middle-Earth is fictional. Great, but fictional.

But aight.. I'm actually a big/great fan of LOTR, but I haven't read the books yet. You can't determine whether someone's a true fan or not by standards like that.

Wow. Sorry to say that but this is quite odd.

[General Magma]

Wow. Sorry to say that but this is quite odd.

What is odd about it? Do I have to think Middle-Earth isn't fictional and actually exists in order to be a fan?

And for those who do want to continue the discussion over whether they'll separate orcs from goblins or not,

this here is a goblin (aka Moria orc):

They all look the same for most part..

Long, pointy ears and big yellow eyes, all with a green skin and a small nose close between their eyes.

These are some of the many ways orcs (other than Moria orcs (goblins), so for example, the Mordor orcs) can look like:

Moria goblins and "regular" types of orcs have a few similarities here and there,

but can look a whole lot different when compared. Orcs can have tan, green, brown and even sand blue and other skin tones,

while the Moria orcs (goblins) only are green with rather large eyes, unless I've missed something.

~ General Magma

Edited January 29, 2012 by General Magma

[Elander]

Do it alike Games Workshop and you are on the right way.

Those figures in LEGO style were perfect!

[Fives]

What is odd about it? Do I have to think Middle-Earth isn't fictional and actually exists in order to be a fan?

And for those who do want to continue the discussion over whether they'll separate orcs from goblins or not,

this here is a goblin (aka Moria orc):

They all look the same for most part..

Long, pointy ears and big yellow eyes, all with a green skin and a small nose close between their eyes.

These are some of the many ways orcs (other than Moria orcs (goblins), so for example, the Mordor orcs) can look like:

Moria goblins and "regular" types of orcs have a few similarities here and there,

but can look a whole lot different when compared. Orcs can have tan, green, brown and even sand blue and other skin tones,

while the Moria orcs (goblins) only are green with rather large eyes, unless I've missed something.

~ General Magma

This pretty much sums it up.

Anyway, I just finished watching The Two Towers, and it really is amazing how true to the source material LEGO has made Helm's Deep look, yet still being able to keep the LEGO-ish feel.

[Ash]

I played LOTRO years ago, it was a stunning game but the classes were underwhelming and the need to be in a group for pretty much all quests after lvl 20 was a major negative point.

For what it's worth this certainly isn't the case any more. Any class can easily solo all the way through the game and not miss out on too much content. They've even redone a lot of the 'epic' quest so you can do a great deal of it solo as well if you want to.

In conlcusion. The books, the films, the MMORPG and (hopefully) the Lego... all good :)

[Nagyzee]

What is odd about it? Do I have to think Middle-Earth isn't fictional and actually exists in order to be a fan?

Are you playing dumb on purpose? I think it was pretty clear what I found odd. Namely that you are a LOTR fan who hasn't read LOTR yet. In my books that is really odd. It also leads to somewhat weird situations in the discussion when others are sharing their view based on the lore and you chime in with how the masks differed in the film. Of course technically you are right as the licence is based on the movies and not on the books.

Btw in Tolkien's works the words goblin and orc are interchangeable as far as I know. They mean the same thing.

And yeah, I'm a grumpy old LOTR fan who was quite annoyed by some of the bigger inaccuracies of the film. Worst offender being Haldir and his elven company in Helm's Deep. They had nothing to do there. It was a very cheap move by Peter Jackson.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Nagyzee

[Ardelon]

And yeah, I'm a grumpy old LOTR fan who was quite annoyed by some of the bigger inaccuracies of the film. Worst offender being Haldir and his elven company in Helm's Deep. They had nothing to do there. It was a very cheap move by Peter Jackson.

I would say the worst offender was the anticlimatcic ending to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields . Actually I don't really mind the elves in Helm's Deep, as Jackson explained that it was to show the sacrifice of the elves in the war. And since the battles in Lórien and Mirkwood weren't shown, this was as good a way to do it as any. And their arrival seemed a powerful scene to me.

@ General Magma and Fives and co.: wouldnt you say that goblins simply fall under the diversity of orcs? Both are short and pointy-eared, there are fleshie "goblins" as well as greenish "orcs", its just that some live in Moria, some in Mordor, some in Isengard, etc.

In the end, though, I agree we will see several different face prints for "goblins" and orcs and uruks, but I would guess they would be interchangeable enough to allow any face/head to be used as either goblins/orcs/uruks. (Which could be construed as no difference whatsoever, just a bunch of multicolor orc/goblin/uruk faces.)

Edited January 30, 2012 by Ardelon

[Fives]

Are you playing dumb on purpose? I think it was pretty clear what I found odd. Namely that you are a LOTR fan who hasn't read LOTR yet. In my books that is really odd. It also leads to somewhat weird situations in the discussion when others are sharing their view based on the lore and you chime in with how the masks differed in the film. Of course technically you are right as the licence is based on the movies and not on the books.

Btw in Tolkien's works the words goblin and orc are interchangeable as far as I know. They mean the same thing.

And yeah, I'm a grumpy old LOTR fan who was quite annoyed by some of the bigger inaccuracies of the film. Worst offender being Haldir and his elven company in Helm's Deep. They had nothing to do there. It was a very cheap move by Peter Jackson.

Having the elves arrive at Helm's Deep is not the worst change of the films. I would think Faramir taking Frodo and Sam all the way to Osgiliath was pretty stupid, although it did serve the purpose of showing a bit more character development with Faramir, cause in the books he is not tempted by the Ring at all, which seems strange for a man.

[Artanis I]

Btw in Tolkien's works the words goblin and orc are interchangeable as far as I know. They mean the same thing

From what I have gathered, I believe that a goblin is an orc, but an orc is not necessarily a goblin. Just like a laptop is a computer but a computer is not necessarily a laptop. You can call something a computer or laptop if it is both. You wouldn't call a desktop computer a laptop. As far as The Hobbit is concerned, I think all orcs in that story were the goblin type, hence the sense of interchangeability there. Computer and laptop are not interchangeable terms... and you never read of anything from Mordor or Isengard being referred to as a goblin - it is always orc (or uruk - same word, different language), so I think that suggests possibility of non-interchangeability between the terms orc & goblin.

We know that TLG has identified the term "Uruk Hai", (but not "Olog-Hai" - aka cave troll) so it's possible that they will OR won't identify "Goblin". The standard/generic orcs will be just "Orc", it remains to be seen whether the goblin type from Moria will be referred to simply as orc or not. But I don't really care that much either way.

I would say the worst offender was the anticlimatcic ending to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields . Actually I don't really mind the elves in Helm's Deep, as Jackson explained that it was to show the sacrifice of the elves in the war. And since the battles in Lórien and Mirkwood weren't shown, this was as good a way to do it as any. And their arrival seemed a powerful scene to me.

Having the elves arrive at Helm's Deep is not the worst change of the films. I would think Faramir taking Frodo and Sam all the way to Osgiliath was pretty stupid, although it did serve the purpose of showing a bit more character development with Faramir, cause in the books he is not tempted by the Ring at all, which seems strange for a man.

I don't mind a lot of the changes in the movies, but what does bother me is the way it seems like the whole thing took no more than a week. Oh, the beacons sequence doesn't do much for me. Edited January 30, 2012 by Artanis I

[Belchher]

Having the elves arrive at Helm's Deep is not the worst change of the films. I would think Faramir taking Frodo and Sam all the way to Osgiliath was pretty stupid, although it did serve the purpose of showing a bit more character development with Faramir, cause in the books he is not tempted by the Ring at all, which seems strange for a man.

Tolkien tends to spell out the important stuff in the books, and Faramir isn't an exception. The reason he doesn't take the ring is twofold, one he gave Frodo his word and was very much a man of his word, and secondly ( and most importantly imo ), it showed that his Dunedain heritage ran strongly and that not all men had fallen from the old ways. This change, the elves in Helms Deep, Aragorn telling Frodo to leave at the end of the first movie, these are all just some of the stupid changes PJ made for reasons beyond my understanding.

All that being said, as others have pointed out repeatedly, the line is based on the movies despite how we may feel about PJ's interpretation of the books, but ultimately that doesn't matter. The joy of it being Lego is we can take those elves out of Helms Deep and use them in a Lorien MOC or whatever purpose comes to mind. As for the orcs, given the limitation of mini figs, I'd guess some variations in faces and overall colouring is about as much as can be done, and for that ( not being a fan of the movies at all ), I for one would be thankful.

[JackJonespaw]

This change, the elves in Helms Deep, Aragorn telling Frodo to leave at the end of the first movie, these are all just some of the stupid changes PJ made for reasons beyond my understanding.

Now, Aragorn never actually specifically told Frodo to leave the quest. Of course not! And you can't really say that these were stupid changes. The elves in Helm's Deep show that they actually care about the fate of men, and Aragorn telling Frodo to leave shows that Aragorn wants to help Frodo. The forest was being overrun by Uruk-Hai only to kill Frodo! And, besides. You can't say that all of the things Jackson changed were for the worse. I, for one, am very happy that Tom Bombadil didn't make the cut.

[Artanis I]

I, for one, am very happy that Tom Bombadil didn't make the cut.

Lucky it was Peter Jackson and not George Lucas, he would've made Tom Bombadil the main source of slapstick comedy.

"Meesa Tom Bombad! Meesa muoy muoy crazy!"

[deskp]

I don't believe this is the right place for talking about the movie to this extent.

And this is a 10 year old "issue", GET OVER IT.

Edited January 30, 2012 by deskp

[XimenaPaulina]

I don't believe this is the right place for talking about the movie to this extent.

Indeed this is not the proper place to discuss the movies.

A stern reminder to everybody: This is a LEGO Lord of the Rings topic, so refrain from discussing aspects of the movies without any relation or significance to LEGO Lord of the Rings. For everyone's compliance.

[JackJonespaw]

Indeed this is not the proper place to discuss the movies.

A stern reminder to everybody: This is a LEGO Lord of the Rings topic, so refrain from discussing aspects of the movies without any relation or significance to LEGO Lord of the Rings. For everyone's compliance.

Well, I am still glad there is no Lego Tom Bombadil being made. I don't know if this has been posted, but I found some pretty good close-up photos of the sets. Unfortunately, these are early pre-lims. See them here.

Edited January 30, 2012 by JackJonespaw

[surrideo]

Then I am glad there is no LEGO Tom Bombadil. I don't know if this has been posted, but I found some pretty good close-up photos of the sets. Unfortunately, these are early pre-lims. See them here.

Interesting way to reply to a moderator. Thanks for the link gives a reasonable approximation of the bricks and sets