LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[hench]

Can't wait to get them

[Kez]

From what l can make out these sets look great IMO, l certainly can't wait to get them too, and the biggest set looks the best

[SMC]

^ cant wait to get better pictures, I was going to say now they are out Lego might as well release them but the £12 batman set has been out for some time and no better pictures yet.

[legofreak86]

I would say this wave is just as good because, other than Gandalf and Bilbo, every fig is new. The first wave was pretty much all dwarves, and the the other characters necessary to accompany them in the sets. This time around, we're getting more secondary characters, and completely new orcs and Elves.

One thing I noticed is that Beorn looks to be the same size as a normal minifig. That's a major missed chance for LEGO. Just reuse the Toy Story arms and legs. Simple.

I really think Gandalf has a new hairpiece. In the box image you can see a grey caped figure running from the right near the statue with grey hair flowing behind him. Unless it is just the grey hair from the tower of orthanc. It looks much more curved and seems to be connected to the beard piece.

[Fives]

I really think Gandalf has a new hairpiece. In the box image you can see a grey caped figure running from the right near the statue with grey hair flowing behind him. Unless it is just the grey hair from the tower of orthanc. It looks much more curved and seems to be connected to the beard piece.

That's the cape, I think. And if LEGO had ever intended to give Gandalf a distinguishing hairpiece, they would've done it already.

[Deathleech]

I think the wave looks about on par with the first Hobbit wave, if not a little better. It's hard to say though because I love waves with army builders and sets that connect together so this wave gets props for that. The first wave had way more sets and Bag End was absolutely gorgeous so it gets points there (except for Goblin King Battle which was pretty bad).

I'm looking at the Mirkwood Elf Army set and can't help but wish it would of bad 3 orcs, 2 elves, and Thranduil instead of only 2 orcs. I wonder why Lego makes the "army builders" so lopsided? The Uruk-hai Army set could of also used one more Rohan soldier instead of 4 Uruk-hai IMO.

[Lynx]

Thanks for the pictures. Initial impressions:

Mirkwood Elf Army: Very reminiscent of Uruk-hai army in size and minifig inclusion. I'll buy one and save money in hopes for a similar Gondor set next year - of which I'd purchase multiple.

Dol Guldur Ambush: Beorn with short legs is a surprise. Very limited army builder appeal due to very limited utility of having multiple Beorn figs. Ranked second-to-last among low-cost Middle Earth sets so far (Wizard Battle -> Gandalf arrives -> Dol Guldur Ambush -> Riddles for the Ring).

Dol Guldur Battle: Another grey wall section. The blurry images don't allow further evaluation.

Overall, I'd so far rank this wave bottom of the Middle Earth waves - and it's not even close.

1) LotR 1st wave: Recognisable structures, combination of sets, all new minifigs, highly detailed Rohan faction, army builder, complete fellowship....

2) LotR 2nd wave (not counting Orthanc): The pirate ship was a wasted slot, but Black Gate and Rivendell section instantly recognisable and nice for display. Great figures all around.

3) Hobbit 1st wave: Bag End alone put that wave over the current one, in my opinion. Most dwarves were stunning with new molds all around.

4) Hobbit 2nd wave: A collection of play sets lacking display value due to absence of recognisable buildings. I'm crossing my fingers for a great Radagast figure, and better pictures could change my initial impression.

[cullmancreations]

Is there any reliability to the information you posted, i.e. did the original poster cite her/ his credible source, or is this just speculation? Neither of the sets would be a surprise, so either way, it is conceivable to see at least the first two sets (brick-build balrog has been officially shown as part of the video game, Orthanc has been seen on the shelf of a LEGO office worker (I presume that's where it was.).

I'd buy the bridge of Khazad-dûm although I'd prefer a molded balrog over a brick-build one. However, having seen the balrog from the video game, I expected as much. Orthanc is a must-buy for me if the set depicts the tower rather than a compilation of disjointed pieces as so often the case with previous LotR and Hobbit sets.

I'm not a big fan of brick-build creatures, and an ent with minifigures that I already have from the first wave at a price of roughly 100 AUD would be a definite no for me.

I like the look of the laketown set it just looks like alot of fun. I hope Lego will release some more sets under the LOTR and Hobbit line.

[Kez]

^ cant wait to get better pictures, I was going to say now they are out Lego might as well release them but the £12 batman set has been out for some time and no better pictures yet.

Yes thats very true, but at least we got pictures which beats descriptions anyday although we may need the descriptions to coincide with the pictures in this case , luckily that website will probably post better images on the 1st November (l hope), although it would be to great if these sets get "unveiled" at a lego convention ASAP, we either need better images or official images, either or I will be completely happy with but from what I can tell most of this wave is an instant buy

[SMC]

I'm looking at the Mirkwood Elf Army set and can't help but wish it would of bad 3 orcs, 2 elves, and Thranduil instead of only 2 orcs. I wonder why Lego makes the "army builders" so lopsided? The Uruk-hai Army set could of also used one more Rohan soldier instead of 4 Uruk-hai IMO.

^ yeah I don't need as many elves as I do Uruk-hai so I wont be getting as many sets as I did with Uruk-hai Army but I think 2 Rohan and 4 Uruk-hai did work as the Uruk-hai did outnumber the Rohan if anything that set could have done with a elf so.

[Fives]

The Dol Guldur Battle seems very reminiscent of the Balin's Tomb set we got in the first LOTR wave. 6-7 figs, large grey walls, with some functions that shoot things or blow stuff up. Balin's Tomb, IMO, is one of the best LOTR sets we've gotten, so seeing a set similarly designed is exciting.

[Mr Breden]

Dol Guldur Ambush: Looks nice, I like the look of the new orcs. A little dissapointed that Beorn isn't tall though.

Mirkwood Elf Army: The figures looks amazing, and I really like the look of that wall too.

Dol Guldur Battle: My personal favorite, I love the figures, and the price seems very fair.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Mr Breden

[Alcarin]

I think the wave looks about on par with the first Hobbit wave, if not a little better. It's hard to say though because I love waves with army builders and sets that connect together so this wave gets props for that. The first wave had way more sets and Bag End was absolutely gorgeous so it gets points there (except for Goblin King Battle which was pretty bad).

I'm looking at the Mirkwood Elf Army set and can't help but wish it would of bad 3 orcs, 2 elves, and Thranduil instead of only 2 orcs. I wonder why Lego makes the "army builders" so lopsided? The Uruk-hai Army set could of also used one more Rohan soldier instead of 4 Uruk-hai IMO.

Thing is there was PLENTY of sets with Orcs and not so many elves (especially generic ones) around.... so its logical decision....

I loved the Uruk-hai Army... it had perfect ratio fo good vs bad the only thing I did not like is the fact 1 uruk-hai had no helmet (or/and 2 without armor as you prefer :P)

So far after blurry ones I would say 1x Mirkwood Elf army and possible Dol Guldur huge battle ... both must be atleast 25% off!

[legofreak86]

That's the cape, I think. And if LEGO had ever intended to give Gandalf a distinguishing hairpiece, they would've done it already.

The light grey bit looks really curved and a different colour to the cape though. I suppose it is probably just a grey hairpiece from the 2013 lotr sets though most likely. I have to say it would be cool if they change the face as the Gandalf in the trailer has some scarring on his face in the scene.

[Blakstone]

4) Hobbit 2nd wave: A collection of play sets lacking display value due to absence of recognisable buildings. I'm crossing my fingers for a great Radagast figure, and better pictures could change my initial impression.

I am pleased with what we have. As for a lack of recognizable buildings, the movie these sets tie to has not been released yet. That makes it pretty difficult. I think it will increase in the movie is a hit. I found the last Hobbit movie a bit disappointing but there is always hope.

[Alcarin]

The Dol Guldur battle is DEFINETLY showing connection to some set to make a bigger structure like HD

[Brickadiergerard]

I'm really pleased with the sets - they all look as though they work well together, and there's a clear distinction in the minifig selection between wave 1 and wave 2, something that wasn't quite the case in LOTR. Apart from Bag End, which really is an iconic set, I wasn't too taken with the others in wave 1 but loved the minifigs. For me wave 2 looks much better - more exciting locations, better looking sets. The play features that seem to appear in Dol Guldur sit more comfortably with it than they did in Balin's Tomb (which always suffered from seeming like it was 1/2 a set, but is great when 2 of them are spliced together), and it has more appeal than the Goblin King Battle (chase around a triangle) or the smaller Barrel Escape (roll down a very slope) sets from wave 1.

So well done TLG. Gives me great hope for wave 3 for Hobbit (Iron Hills and Smaug) and LOTR (Gondor!)

[Deathleech]

Thing is there was PLENTY of sets with Orcs and not so many elves (especially generic ones) around.... so its logical decision....

I loved the Uruk-hai Army... it had perfect ratio fo good vs bad

That's true. If you only buy one of every set this wave you get 3 generic elves and 7 generic orcs which is a good ratio (there should be way more orcs than elves, humans,or dwarves). It just sucks if you buy multiples of the Mirkwood Elf Army because then the numbers start getting really skewed. If you buy 5 MEA sets that's 15 generic elves and only 14 generic orcs for them to fight. Kind of lame.

As for the Uruk-hai Army I agree there should be more orcs. I just wish they would of had more than one Roban Soldier. Including Eomer in Helms Deep instead and having an extra soldier in the Uruk-hai Army would of been the perfect solution.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Deathleech

[Alcarin]

That's true. If you only buy one of every set this wave you get 3 generic elves and 7 generic orcs which is a good ratio (there should be way more orcs than elves, humans,or dwarves. It just sucks if you buy multiples of the Mirkwood Elf Army because then the numbers start getting really skewed. Of you buy 5 that's 15 generic elves and only 14 generic orcs for them to fight. Kind of lame.

As for the Uruk-hai Army I agree there should be more orcs. I just wish they would of bad more than one Roban Soldier. Including Eomer in Helms Deep and having an extra soldier in the Uruk-hai Army would of been the perfect solution.

Sell the elves :P

Well that would've been much EASIER IF LEGO would've given them hairpieces instead of annoying hoods (imo)

I really hoped for 2 armored Elf soldiers with helmets and shields and 1 archer scout type of thing with hairpiece... instead I got kinda the exact opposite lol

[BlackTiger13]

New sets look great, however now I'm even more impatient to get better quality pictures :D

[legofreak86]

For everyone seeing the Dol Guldur battle as just a wall with some features bear in mind that the back of the box shows the inside/back of the fortress. From the front it may look exactly like the fortress from the films. Plus from the look of the wall system I think it may be able to be folded/rearranged to look different. Regardless I think this will be a helm's deep style set. Looks enough like the fortress at the front with walls and some interior details. In this case I can see a lot of doorways and two ramp's/sloping bridges plus at the front the set might have a smaller version of the bridge like the one radagast is seen walking across to enter Dol Guldur in AUJ. In fact after consulting the banner image for dos and looking at the layout of the set I believe those ramps are sloped steps. Plus there is a grey statue in the banner resembling the one in the set. The statue is of a robed figure holding some sort of grey stone ball. It looks a lot like the one in the set actually. I suppose the statue could be of the witch king or another nazgul like the one in the AUJ movie but until we get clearer pictures we have to go on what we have. Needless to say I'm liking Dol Guldur battle I think for the price range its a good amount of figures and main characters and the fortress looks reasonably large enough for the price.

[deskp]

For everyone seeing the Dol Guldur battle as just a wall with some features bear in mind that the back of the box shows the inside/back of the fortress. From the front it may look exactly like the fortress from the films.

The front shows the same side, The ambush set is the real entrance part.

It does not look like the entire fortress, but the architectural details matches the movie super well for a lego set. It is immediatley recognizable if you have enough interest in the movies.

I do think it would have been cool if lego had mimicked the general shape of the entire fortress with the sioluette tough, wouldn't be hard and it could make more people happy. Just need to move the tower closer to the middle and add some smaller tower-like pillar things to get that sligthly more pointy at the near middle look.

Edited October 18, 2013 by deskp

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. They definitely look awesome. I am excited for this wave. I will probably buy a few extra of the cheaper sets to flesh out some armies, but I never go too crazy with multiples since I have too many themes to make purchases of.

I like seeing all new prints on basically everyone. That will be a nice touch. It doesn't bother me at all to re-use the same hairpiece for elves/orcs, I just wish they would include more of them. The green hoods are fine, but I want more Elf hair with ears personally.

I think the builds are quite nice, at least in the small pictures. I have only built a few of the Middle Earth sets, so I don't know if I'll get around to building any of these since I mostly just want the figures. However, the pieces that will be included will come in handy with other builds I plan on doing in the future. So win-win for me.

[legofreak86]

The front shows the same side, The ambush set is the real entrance part.

It does not look like the entire fortress, but the architectural details matches the movie super well for a lego set. It is immediatley recognizable if you have enough interest in the movies.

I do think it would have been cool if lego had mimicked the general shape of the entire fortress with the sioluette tough, wouldn't be hard and it could make more people happy. Just need to move the tower closer to the middle and add some smaller tower-like pillar things to get that sligthly more pointy at the near middle look.

How do you know the front shows the same? Have there been pictures of the front? I agree though at this price and scale this is quite accurate to the movie. I really think the front of the structure looks different as the inside seems to have a courtyard inside containing the statue which the new banner for the movie depicts. I reckon the front of the box has the exterior of the set resembling the ruin. Most likely with Gandalf and radagast in battle with azog the orcs and the necromancer. That's just what I think it'll show. Unless as you say the front shows the image that is on the back. I await official pictures and a better view of the fortress with great anticipation.

[deskp]

How do you know the front shows the same? Have there been pictures of the front? I agree though at this price and scale this is quite accurate to the movie. I really think the front of the structure looks different as the inside seems to have a courtyard inside containing the statue which the new banner for the movie depicts. I reckon the front of the box has the exterior of the set resembling the ruin. Most likely with Gandalf and radagast in battle with azog the orcs and the necromancer. That's just what I think it'll show. Unless as you say the front shows the image that is on the back. I await official pictures and a better view of the fortress with great anticipation.

The prelim box art showed the inside of the courtyard aswell, this is a mines of moria style set not helms deep style.