LOTR & The Hobbit 2012

[Darth Caedus]

At this point everything is pure speculation. We don't know if they are going to mix LotR and Hobbit waves, if they are going to pull material from the extended editions of the films, how long the line will last... heck we don't even know what the next wave will contain besides the Bag End. The other leaked sets still aren't confirmed and the source isn't terribly reputable. The best we can do is make educated guesses but even those could be totally off.

I think we can do better than pure speculation (which is why I posted at length on the previous page). LOTR/Hobbit is set to follow a similar initial release structure to Indiana Jones - the acquisition of the license and the release of the first wave of "greatest hits" from the original trilogy, followed by a wave consisting solely of sets promoting and hyping scenes from the new movie, then followed by more greatest hits from the classic trilogy (with only one odd-man-out cemetery set released from KOTCS after the first wave). Lord of the Rings has much more material than Indiana Jones, and 3 new films instead of one, I think it's a strong bet we can predict the general contents of most of the waves through Summer 2014: LOTR classics, AUJ, LOTR classics, TDOS, and TABA. I wouldn't discount the exclusive 7th set, or a random odd-man-out in each wave overlapping (e.g. an AUJ or TDOS set in the TABA wave, or an extremely iconic LOTR scene showing up in a random August slot in the vein of Zombies and Spiderman). But by and large I think this is a model that makes the most business sense and is consistent with Lego's treatment of non-Star Wars licensed themes (heck, it even is like the original 1999 Star Wars schedule, with the initial release of the X-Wing, Landspeeder, Tie X-1 etc. followed by a wave only of Episode I stuff). I also note a similar treatment with lego SuperHeroes, the first wave of the line was a 'greatest hits' for the superhero world - essentially Batman only - followed up by a strong second showing of Avengers-centric sets with a small smattering of non-sequitur releases (the extremely random but extremely awesome Magneto set and the August Spiderman interlude that wisely caught the tail end of The Amazing Spiderman film hype).

Lego is not run by drunken monkeys like Hasbro, where you never know what absurd and ineffective assortment of releases they're going to clog the shelves with. Lego is increasingly a logical, sharp-eyed business, and that makes their strategies more predictable. So many licensing opportunities were missed in the early 2000s - the original Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. - and Lego has done a great job over the past four years of securing franchises that will make them money, make kids happy and please AFOLs of all creeds and fandoms. Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and now BOTH Marvel AND DC - it's really a new golden age when Lego is the most exciting stuff previewed at Comic Con.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Darth Caedus

[Pulp Detective]

Yep Caedus is right this is the Golden Age for Lego we have to admit it,about the hobbit sets this is the last news we have http://brickfanatics.co.uk/lego-hobbit-set-names-prices/ ,it anit confirmed but we cant say this is just rumor I bet that is actual sets but I dont see were is the set with the 3 trolls.The price for the barrel set isnt listed.

Btw you can pre-order now the new hobbit figures http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_so_33?rh=n%3A165793011%2Ck%3Ahobbit%2Cp_4%3AThe+Bridge+Direct&bbn=165793011&keywords=hobbit&ie=UTF8&qid=1346562707

Edited September 2, 2012 by LOTR343

[Darth Caedus]

Yep Caedus is right this is the Golden Age for Lego we have to admit it,about the hobbit sets this is the last news we have http://brickfanatics.co.uk/lego-hobbit-set-names-prices/ ,it anit confirmed but we cant say this is just rumor I bet that is actual sets but I dont see were is the set with the 3 trolls.The price for the barrel set isnt listed.

Btw you can pre-order now the new hobbit figures http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_so_33?rh=n%3A165793011%2Ck%3Ahobbit%2Cp_4%3AThe+Bridge+Direct&bbn=165793011&keywords=hobbit&ie=UTF8&qid=1346562707

Amazon.fr isn't 100% solid, but it's a strong likelihood that this is what we will get. Reactions:

Only 5 sets at the outset, which is acceptable, and leaves the possibility of a Lego-store exclusive like Wave 1. Or we could just have 5 sets for Wave 2 - still reasonable.

79000 – Mystery of the Ring: I'm guessing 12.99, since Lego tends to restrict the <$10 to non-licenses (e.g. Monster Fighters swamp thing). Bilbo and Gollum only.

79001 – Fleeing From The Mirkwood Spiders: $20 to $30, hard to tell. I'm imagining Bilbo + a couple dwarves + 2 spiders and forest debris.

79002 – Attack of the Wargs: $40-$60, this sounds like the Weathertop slot. Hopefully it will be a better value. I think we'll get perhaps 2, if we're lucky, 3 wargs, Gandalf, Bilbo, a dwarf or two, a large tree, and quite possibly an Eagle.

79003 – Bag End: We know from CC that it will be $59.99, so there seems to be a 20 euro upscale on the French Amazon.

79010 – Cave of the Goblin King: $100 is a fair guess. I hope it's more impressive than Mines of Moria, and we can expect the Goblin King, probably 3 other Goblins, Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and perhaps a dwarf.

The previous lists have also included the Escape in Barrels set, which sounds like it could be the Lego exclusive if it does not appear in the French Amazon initial listing. I'd put money on that being the female LOTR lego that was promised - strong chance of Tauriel.

The most notable theory we can put forth based on the existing information is that Bilbo has a strong chance of reaching oversaturation if not carefully placed throughout the lineup. LOTR Wave 1 was devilishly clever in spreading out the Fellowship over the whole line, giving us distinct versions of repeat heroes wherever possible, and not treading over the same ground very much (Frodo appearing only 3 times, and in two different outfits + cape variation). They still bungled a few things (Gimli's two appearances are acceptable since it's likely he won't appear again in an LOTR wave, but Aragorn needed his proper Helm's Deep attire, and the peach hand overload was dumb (everyone wears gloves!!!). Thus far, every scene selected for AUJ includes Bilbo, so I hope that he will only appear in a maximum of 3 sets so the Dwarves are properly represented.

One other interesting idea pertains to how fervent Lego is willing to be on Thorin's Company. It's a lot of Dwarves to cover, but looking at the number in Bag End, I think they may be committed to producing the entire Company for AUJ alone. This is VERY promising, since it means it will eliminate the demand for Company Dwarves in the TDOS and TABA sets, allowing Men of Dale, Iron Hills and Elves galore. If all goes well.

[deskp]

Amazon.fr isn't 100% solid, but it's a strong likelihood that this is what we will get. Reactions:

Only 5 sets at the outset, which is acceptable, and leaves the possibility of a Lego-store exclusive like Wave 1. Or we could just have 5 sets for Wave 2 - still reasonable.

79000 – Mystery of the Ring: I'm guessing 12.99, since Lego tends to restrict the <$10 to non-licenses (e.g. Monster Fighters swamp thing). Bilbo and Gollum only.

79001 – Fleeing From The Mirkwood Spiders: $20 to $30, hard to tell. I'm imagining Bilbo + a couple dwarves + 2 spiders and forest debris.

79002 – Attack of the Wargs: $40-$60, this sounds like the Weathertop slot. Hopefully it will be a better value. I think we'll get perhaps 2, if we're lucky, 3 wargs, Gandalf, Bilbo, a dwarf or two, a large tree, and quite possibly an Eagle.

79003 – Bag End: We know from CC that it will be $59.99, so there seems to be a 20 euro upscale on the French Amazon.

79010 – Cave of the Goblin King: $100 is a fair guess. I hope it's more impressive than Mines of Moria, and we can expect the Goblin King, probably 3 other Goblins, Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and perhaps a dwarf.

The previous lists have also included the Escape in Barrels set, which sounds like it could be the Lego exclusive if it does not appear in the French Amazon initial listing. I'd put money on that being the female LOTR lego that was promised - strong chance of Tauriel.

The most notable theory we can put forth based on the existing information is that Bilbo has a strong chance of reaching oversaturation if not carefully placed throughout the lineup. LOTR Wave 1 was devilishly clever in spreading out the Fellowship over the whole line, giving us distinct versions of repeat heroes wherever possible, and not treading over the same ground very much (Frodo appearing only 3 times, and in two different outfits + cape variation). They still bungled a few things (Gimli's two appearances are acceptable since it's likely he won't appear again in an LOTR wave, but Aragorn needed his proper Helm's Deep attire, and the peach hand overload was dumb (everyone wears gloves!!!). Thus far, every scene selected for AUJ includes Bilbo, so I hope that he will only appear in a maximum of 3 sets so the Dwarves are properly represented.

One other interesting idea pertains to how fervent Lego is willing to be on Thorin's Company. It's a lot of Dwarves to cover, but looking at the number in Bag End, I think they may be committed to producing the entire Company for AUJ alone. This is VERY promising, since it means it will eliminate the demand for Company Dwarves in the TDOS and TABA sets, allowing Men of Dale, Iron Hills and Elves galore. If all goes well.

Bilbo does not need to be in the goblin vset. heres why:

Bilbo is split from the group, this is where he meets gollum.

Yes Lego seems comitted to get all the dwarves done in the first wave, like they did when the 9 fellowship characthers in LOTR. I hope they all get to wear their normal outfits we've seen in the promo stills.

[just2good]

Yep Caedus is right this is the Golden Age for Lego we have to admit it,about the hobbit sets this is the last news we have http://brickfanatics.co.uk/lego-hobbit-set-names-prices/ ,it anit confirmed but we cant say this is just rumor I bet that is actual sets but I dont see were is the set with the 3 trolls.The price for the barrel set isnt listed.

Btw you can pre-order now the new hobbit figures http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_so_33?rh=n%3A165793011%2Ck%3Ahobbit%2Cp_4%3AThe+Bridge+Direct&bbn=165793011&keywords=hobbit&ie=UTF8&qid=1346562707

Yea, that is basically the list from a few months back. I'm still confident that the Escape from Barrels set is a store exclusive. Additionally, I'm still mad that the Spiders of Mirkwood Forest set is $30 for one figure.

Edited September 2, 2012 by just2good

[deskp]

Yea, that is basically the list from a few months back. I'm still confident that the Escape from Barrels set is a store exclusive. Additionally, I'm still mad that the Spiders of Mirkwood Forest set is $30 for one figure.

There will be more figures. No websites has the real info of what figures will be included, They have just been guessing that Bilbo is in all of them.

[Darth Caedus]

Bilbo does not need to be in the goblin vset. heres why:

Bilbo is split from the group, this is where he meets gollum.

Well, he doesn't *need* to be, but he is present

to see Glamdring flash out of the darkness to slay the Goblin King, after Gandalf kills the lights

I hope we get an "invisi-Bilbo" for one of the sets, since he uses that power so often. It can be done!!!

[deskp]

Well, he doesn't *need* to be, but he is present

to see Glamdring flash out of the darkness to slay the Goblin King, after Gandalf kills the lights

I hope we get an "invisi-Bilbo" for one of the sets, since he uses that power so often. It can be done!!!

I just hope lego is smart enough not to release the same bilbo in too many sets. He would wear the same clothes in the goblin cave as the gollum set. Leaving him out is easy and makes room for another dwarf or something.

I think a transparent variation would be a waste of a minifig, in my opinion "invisible" figures never looks good, seeing all the support srtuctures and such inside the figure. looks like a mess and technicaly you shouldn't be able to see an Invisible minifigure anyways.

[Pulp Detective]

I just hope lego is smart enough not to release the same bilbo in too many sets. He would wear the same clothes in the goblin cave as the gollum set. Leaving him out is easy and makes room for another dwarf or something.

I think a transparent variation would be a waste of a minifig, in my opinion "invisible" figures never looks good, seeing all the support srtuctures and such inside the figure. looks like a mess and technicaly you shouldn't be able to see an Invisible minifigure anyways.

Well bilbo can have many variations if we use our imagination,until now we have his bag end uniform(1 exclucive variation),his normal adventure clothes(I expect he will have different head printing like frodo and I bet we'll get this variation at least in 2 sets) and what if we get his battle damage variation something like this http://screenrant.com/galleries/the-hobbit-pics/ (if you dont get me I mean his mirkwood uniform with web of the spiders,that would be an exlucive variation),I dunno what to do you guys think???

[Deathleech]

I think we can do better than pure speculation (which is why I posted at length on the previous page). LOTR/Hobbit is set to follow a similar initial release structure to Indiana Jones - the acquisition of the license and the release of the first wave of "greatest hits" from the original trilogy, followed by a wave consisting solely of sets promoting and hyping scenes from the new movie, then followed by more greatest hits from the classic trilogy (with only one odd-man-out cemetery set released from KOTCS after the first wave).

I dunno if I would consider the first LotR wave a "greatest hits". I know they have limited wave spots to fill, price ranges, and there are TONS of iconic scenes in the LotR trilogy.. but Orc Forge over a Treebeard set? Gandalf Arrives over the Balrog encounter? And almost nothing at all from RotK other than Shelob Attacks (which wasn't even in the RotK book, it was in TTT)? And then to top it off we get three sets centered around Helm's Deep (it makes sense since they are meant to be used together, but still). I mean I understand why they did it all (set interaction, price points, etc.),and I am sure Minas Tirith will be like Helm's Deep where it's the huge flagship set of the next LotR wave, but I just wouldn't consider the first wave a "greatest hits". There are too many FotL sets and not enough epic RotK scenes.

But by and large I think this is a model that makes the most business sense and is consistent with Lego's treatment of non-Star Wars licensed themes (heck, it even is like the original 1999 Star Wars schedule, with the initial release of the X-Wing, Landspeeder, Tie X-1 etc. followed by a wave only of Episode I stuff).

Oh, I agree completely that we can make good educated guesses. Speculating the way the waves will be structured based on past Lego offerings definitely gives us a great idea what to expect with the LotR/Hobbit lines. I just see a lot of people talking about specifics like they know for a fact what's coming out, when really we have no idea. For instance someone was saying they know LotR and Hobbit waves will never be mixed, and someone else was claiming they know exactly how long the line will last. This isn't directed at you or anyone else in particular, just as a whole. Like I said before, when Lego first announced their LotR Lego line I doubt many people expected an Orc Forge set, or a wall set to attach to Helm's Deep an act as a battle pack. What happens over the next few years is anyone's guess.

Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and now BOTH Marvel AND DC - it's really a new golden age when Lego is the most exciting stuff previewed at Comic Con.

I couldn't agree more. Personally I hope the LotR/Hobbit themes last for as long as the Star Wars one has, that would be amazing. There definitely is the material for it so I don't see a problem there.

[wesker]

The previous lists have also included the Escape in Barrels set, which sounds like it could be the Lego exclusive if it does not appear in the French Amazon initial listing. I'd put money on that being the female LOTR lego that was promised - strong chance of Tauriel.

Seeing that beautiful artwork of an armored Eowyn than reading Tauriel will likely be our first female minifigure is so depressing.

[deskp]

Seeing that beautiful artwork of an armored Eowyn than reading Tauriel will likely be our first female minifigure is so depressing.

umm. You were never gonna get Eowyn in The Hobbit lego.

[Pulp Detective]

umm. You were never gonna get Eowyn in The Hobbit lego.

Well Galadriels lego version of the video game is a failure,I'm cmon this is the worst addaptation of movie character to an lego fig,her face is a generic female lego face,I know it's a kidish video game but still cmon lego youre getting lazy some times(yea I'm also talking about Aragorn's lego version)

[wesker]

umm. You were never gonna get Eowyn in The Hobbit lego.

I know that. I just find it disapointing that of the female characters, its the made up Mary Sue character thats likely to be done first over someone more iconic like Eowyn and Galadriel.

Edited September 2, 2012 by wesker

[The_Chosen_1]

It makes perfect sense to me. The next wave will focus on The Hobbit (which leaves Eowyn out), leaving Tauriel and Galadriel as possible female characters. So they go with the warrior Elf who will probably be more popular among the younger crowd.

[deskp]

It makes perfect sense to me. The next wave will focus on The Hobbit (which leaves Eowyn out), leaving Tauriel and Galadriel as possible female characters. So they go with the warrior Elf who will probably be more popular among the younger crowd.

Also it is very likely the dwarves will never meet Galadriel, and it seems lego is focusing on their journey this wave.

____

The lego game's loose translation of the two towers poster as a laoding screen: http://i48.tinypic.com/34436vc.png

Sauruman can be seen on it.

Edited September 3, 2012 by deskp

[Philip Robin]

Also it is very likely the dwarves will never meet Galadriel, and it seems lego is focusing on their journey this wave.

____

The lego game's loose translation of the two towers poster as a laoding screen: http://i48.tinypic.com/34436vc.png

Sauruman can be seen on it.

Pretty cool, but I notice they left Arwen out of it.

[deskp]

Pretty cool, but I notice they left Arwen out of it.

Well she has zero action in Two Towers.

[Bilbo Baggins]

It looks great but I would be more excited about it if it had included Arwen

[BrickG]

Okay, I'm new here but my first thought is... "Lego Historic" lol?

I must not have paid attention in school enough.

[deskp]

Okay, I'm new here but my first thought is... "Lego Historic" lol?

I must not have paid attention in school enough.

Not to worry, its just the forum that isn't named the right thing yet.

Some day it'll say historic/fantasy

[Pulp Detective]

Also it is very likely the dwarves will never meet Galadriel, and it seems lego is focusing on their journey this wave.

____

The lego game's loose translation of the two towers poster as a laoding screen: http://i48.tinypic.com/34436vc.png

Sauruman can be seen on it.

Thanks for shring the pic,but I bet thats Gandalf not Sauruman,because Gandalf has white staff Sauruman had a black staff.And btw whose the guy with the short hair and the beard,and I dont want to believe thats Aragorn

[Ceroknight]

Thanks for shring the pic,but I bet thats Gandalf not Sauruman,because Gandalf has white staff Sauruman had a black staff.And btw whose the guy with the short hair and the beard,and I dont want to believe thats Aragorn

Sauruman is at the bottom right

[Pulp Detective]

Sauruman is at the bottom right

Wow how come I didnt noticed,yea I can see him any way thanks for the heads up but whats wrong with Aragorns hair???

[Omicron]

Makes me wonder where he heard that...

The managers within the district.

-Omi