DragonKnights Posted June 1, 2013 Posted June 1, 2013 Lego Store in San Antonio, TX had all three sets but the pirate ship. Place was a zoo today! Quote
8BrickMario Posted June 1, 2013 Posted June 1, 2013 No Corsair ship at my LEGO store either. This is very odd.... Quote
targeting Posted June 1, 2013 Posted June 1, 2013 I'm hoping to pick up Wizard Duel and Council of Elrond tomorrow at the Lego store...will have a report back. I already picked up the other two sets and was pleasantly surprised with the Corsair Ship. It has a lot more display value than the Black Gate (in my opinion) and the Black Gate is nice because of the minifigures alone. In my opinion the black gate has a lot more display value when you have at least 2 of them combined. It looks a little unfinished when you only have one. Quote
Str0ngbad Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 I picked up the Rivendell set today (two actually). It is every bit as wonderful as I had hoped. The arches are beautiful as are the leaves and figures (the new face for Frodo is welcome). Even though it doesn't have a great price per piece, I think it is an incredible parts pack when you consider the quality of the pieces it contains. I may end up with as many or more of these than Uruk-Hai Army sets. A Lego store employee told me they would have the pirate ship in next Monday. I didn't plan on getting it today anyway. I'll probably wait until I have gotten Orthanc to buy the ship. I think I'm going to try and just buy the figures from the Black Gate from someone who gets two sets for the full gate. I think the set looks great but I really want Orthanc and I'm going to have to cut back somewhere. Quote
BlueberryWaffles Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Picked up the Black Gate along with my last Hobbit set. I love it, much bigger than I thought. Quote
8BrickMario Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 I have to say that with the reveal of 10236, Orthanc isn't as impressive to me anymore. Ewok Village is eye candy and highly playable, but architectural exclusives like Orthanc and Arkham pretty much sacrificed playability for detail. I appreciate that, but MOCs are for display. SETS were originally for play. Because 10236 is a nature scene, it can have both. And I know that the Tower sacrificed minifigures for display, too, which is a problem in hyper-detailed sets. It looks good, but aside from posing the minimal minifigures in the structure, there's not too much else you can do. Quote
Gryphon Ink Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 I have to say that with the reveal of 10236, Orthanc isn't as impressive to me anymore. Ewok Village is eye candy and highly playable, but architectural exclusives like Orthanc and Arkham pretty much sacrificed playability for detail... It looks good, but aside from posing the minimal minifigures in the structure, there's not too much else you can do. It's not really a fair comparison in my opinion. The Ewok Village has lots of action elements in the movie to play with. Orthanc doesn't have any real action associated with it, since anything to do with the Ents attacking Isengard would have added even more to the cost. But I think it makes a great dollhouse. I don't really expect sets at this price point to be play sets, except for trains. They are generally made for AFOLs, I think. Quote
Artanis I Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 New sets are also available on S@H for Oz. Good. But $100 for the Black Gate is making me rethink buying 2... to start with... Damn, I know it: I'll get 2 eventually. Quote
Lynx Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Building instructions are now available. For instance, Council of Elrond: http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/6053112.pdf Quote
Fives Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 New sets are also available on S@H for Oz. Good. But $100 for the Black Gate is making me rethink buying 2... to start with... Damn, I know it: I'll get 2 eventually. While the set is shown to just be connected at the technic bits at the sides, I did a little modding on my set and found that its really easy to that the two doors of one set and combine them to one door, so if you do the same with a second set, you can have one long, larger Black Gate. Quote
LegoThomas Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 (edited) I need to buy a second black gate... While the set is shown to just be connected at the technic bits at the sides, I did a little modding on my set and found that its really easy to that the two doors of one set and combine them to one door, so if you do the same with a second set, you can have one long, larger Black Gate. Can you upload some pics? Edited June 2, 2013 by LegoThomas Quote
deskp Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 New sets are also available on S@H for Oz. Good. But $100 for the Black Gate is making me rethink buying 2... to start with... Damn, I know it: I'll get 2 eventually. Thats what bricklink is for. buy the 2. one without any minifigs and get it dirt cheap! (mind you i'm not aware of shipping costs for oz) Quote
Delta 38 Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 As for a Lego Lothlorien set, I don't think it very likely, especially on The Ewok Village or even Orthanc scale. The scenes featuring it in the movie wernt terribly long or memorable. I mean even Rivendale was reduced to a $30 set and it played. Much larger role. I think the best thing to do would be buy the Ewok Village and mod it into Lothlorien like others have mentioned. The set is specifically called The Council of Elrond. It's depicting that scene only, not Rivendell as a whole. And considering the background in that scene is pretty much just a circle of chairs, there's only so much you can do with it anyway. Yes, it's been downscaled quite a bit and I originally didn't like that, but I suspect a bigger version would be repetitive. Of course, it could have been part of a larger Rivendell set, but again, it's just that scene the set's focusing on. The Ewok Village surprised me because we're so used to seeing vehicles and bases in Star Wars. The Village is more... "civilian", even though there is a fight that takes place there. Lothlórien isn't too unreasonable, I don't think it's any less iconic. The real limitation is what can actually be in the set. Quote
The Joker1 Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Hi guys, I haven't been reading this thread too much over the last few days so I think I have missed a bit. Did we ever establish when the LOTR sets are DEFINITELY coming out at S@h UK? Thanks in advance Quote
thefyfe Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Hi guys, I haven't been reading this thread too much over the last few days so I think I have missed a bit. Did we ever establish when the LOTR sets are DEFINITELY coming out at S@h UK? Thanks in advance Afraid not.assistant manager in Glasgow told me they'd been recalled but should be in in next couple weeks.should have bought the council when they had it out on Thursday.. Quote
The Joker1 Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Aw that's a shame, I hope I can grab a few while the Jor-el exclusive is still on. Was it you who said they had a dodgy part and that is why they were recalled? Anyway hopefully we should see them back soon... Quote
thefyfe Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 That's what the assistant manager said. Nice staff in that store! But why doesn't the rest of the world have it.... Quote
thefyfe Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 Different store employee just told my brother that July 1st for uk. Seems no one has a clue whats going on. Quote
Deathleech Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 It's not really a fair comparison in my opinion. The Ewok Village has lots of action elements in the movie to play with. Orthanc doesn't have any real action associated with it, since anything to do with the Ents attacking Isengard would have added even more to the cost. But I think it makes a great dollhouse. I don't really expect sets at this price point to be play sets, except for trains. They are generally made for AFOLs, I think. That is pretty much why I wasn't very excited about Orthanc in the first place. Sure it's a cool looking structure, but other than that not a lot happens in or around it. Inside we see Saruman making his blasting powder, talking to some orcs/Wildmen, and dueling Gandalf, all scenes combined through the three films last less than a few minutes and that's pretty much it for the indoor action. Outside all we really see is Gandalf being rescued by Gwaihir and the Ent's rolling in and taking over with minimal orc resistance (all of this IS depicted to some extent in Lego Orthanc except the Wildmen). All these scenes together last less than 20 minutes total. Compare this to Minas Tirith. Minas Tirith could of had break open gates and rams, trebuchets, crumbling/exploding white wall pieces, a Denethor launching platform, etc. And don't even get me started on the cool and exclusive figures or builds we could of had.. the Witch King, Eowyn, Merry/Pippin in Rohan/Gondor attire, Faramir, a Fel Beast, Mumakil, Gothmog... the list goes on and on. The set is specifically called The Council of Elrond. It's depicting that scene only, not Rivendell as a whole. And considering the background in that scene is pretty much just a circle of chairs, there's only so much you can do with it anyway. Yes, it's been downscaled quite a bit and I originally didn't like that, but I suspect a bigger version would be repetitive. Of course, it could have been part of a larger Rivendell set, but again, it's just that scene the set's focusing on. The Ewok Village surprised me because we're so used to seeing vehicles and bases in Star Wars. The Village is more... "civilian", even though there is a fight that takes place there. Lothlórien isn't too unreasonable, I don't think it's any less iconic. The real limitation is what can actually be in the set. Yes, I realize it's just the council scene the set is focusing on, but it takes place in Rivendell. As such I don't see another bigger Rivendell set being very likely. We already got one of the big scenes from Rivendell so why would Lego make another huge set based on it? Sure one could argue we got the Wizard Duel set and Orthanc, but I think that is a little different because one set is at the low end of the spectrum and one is at the highest. Lego isn't going to make a main evil character like Saruman only available in a $200 set and unattainable for most children. Add to it nothing else hugely important happens in Rivendell and I think we have pretty much seen the extent of Rivendell centric sets in the LotR wave. For this same reason I don't think a huge $200+ Lothlorien set is likely. I just talked about the limited action happening in Orthanc, how is Lego going to justify making a huge Lothlorien set when literally half as much stuff happens there as in Orthanc (movie wise anyways)? I mean Lego still has so much LotR stuff to cover it's not even funny. I assume most kids would want a Balrog, With King on Fel Beat, Minas Tirith or Osgiliath, Mumakil, etc. over a huge Lothlorien set. Also it seems like the Lego Ewok Village set is trying to serve as both the village AND battle scene on Endor. I mean look at the swinging log feature, nets, speed bikes, and catapults included in the set. Quote
SMC Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 (edited) ^ agree with most of this but I do think orthanc does have some key sceens that make a great set, remember saruman is killed and falls off the top of this thing. And it is nice to have a great building as this is what Lego is for but yes am the one that wanted more minifigs Edited June 2, 2013 by SMC Quote
metalandi Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 I think what makes orthanc unique i, that it somehow stands for all the evil of LOTR. I mean, look at it, it just SCREAMS "evil". It is a building that everybody instantly recognizes, which makes it popular. And i think there still is a chance for minas tirith, we don't know how many more waves there will be, surely there would be big potential for more. If it's gonna go on like star wars, i think there's a possibility for quite a few more exclusive, big sets. Quote
Alcarin Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 With 2nd wave I am worried we might get the end of LOTR after next.... this is all just half - assed work there.... 79005 The Wizard Battle Ok we get 2 important figures (atleast Gandalf with no hat but hair) except for that and Saurons eye piece nothing important or wanted... 79006 The Council of Elrond Great pieces, minor annoyance = too many plates for my taste, but price point of 40€ makes it too costly in European Union... 79007 Battle at the Black Gate This set screams: ''Buy 2 SUCKER!'' not to even mention the lame Orcs and uruk-hai helmet on one of them... 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush While the ship itself looks cool, we get a ship in a flagship set of the wave... of a movie and trilogy where ships were seen around 10 min MAX and half of those were in extended the other 3.5min were at the end? Not to even start comparing lame NOT EVEN 800 piece count vs nearly 1400 piece count of Helm's Deep. Now Sure Tower of Orthanc fixes some of those sour tastes after seeing detailed pictures, but as a huge LOTR fan I am disappointed in this year sets. Atleast wave 1 sets had Helm's Deep and uruk-hai Army to buy multiples and not feel ENTIRELY ripped off due to piece count and figures, but this year except for some parts (orange leaves especially) in Elronds council there is no set I would rate as ''worthy of repurchase'' Quote
Darth Caedus Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 (edited) Alcarin, there's a difference between you not liking something, and accusing the designers of actually doing a 'half-assed' job on it. Who 'wanted' the Wizard Battle is totally subjective, price points are always higher in the EU, the Orcs are the *one* weak aspect of The Black Gate set (not its defining feature), and you can't compare the PTP of Helm's Deep with the Corsair Ship - one is a $130 set, the other is $100. The Corsair Ship's PTP is still low, but we get some dope minifigures and a lot of extra-large ship pieces and hull components. Furthermore, the prices of the big sets isn't as bad, as they tend to drop off by about $25 pretty fast on Amazon (this is currently true for both Helm's Deep and the Gobbo King Battle). Yes, I feel the pain of not having any battlepacks this wave. It sucks, but we've covered this ground a hundred times. No sense dwelling on it - we'll see what Lego gives us in the next (and possibly last) 3 Tolkien waves (TDOS, LOTR, TABA), and hope for the best. Edited June 2, 2013 by Darth Caedus Quote
BlueberryWaffles Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 At the Lego store they had the Chima game but not Batman or LOTR. I asked an employee and he said he doubted that they would get the latter two games. This plus the fact that they weren't online or in the catalog makes me sad. My only hope is the advertisement in the back of the Black Gate instructions. Quote
Darth Caedus Posted June 2, 2013 Posted June 2, 2013 At the Lego store they had the Chima game but not Batman or LOTR. I asked an employee and he said he doubted that they would get the latter two games. This plus the fact that they weren't online or in the catalog makes me sad. My only hope is the advertisement in the back of the Black Gate instructions. Just get em as digital downloads from Amazon the next time they go on sale. They're often under $10. Quote
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