Brickadiergerard Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Brown and green works as a Wood Elf colour scheme for me. It worked for Tolkien too of course - "There were many people there, elvish-looking folk, all dressed in green and brown and sitting on sawn rings of the felled trees in a great circle." And as for their armour, it has echoes of other PJ eleven designs but with a slightly more organic and woody feel to it, and that's fine for a group who are very far removed from the Eldar in the glory days of the First and Second Ages. And apart from the missing helmets, I think TLG have done a fine job of giving us tiny plastic elvish warriors ready to take up arms against dwarves who try and gate-crash their barbecues/giant spiders/orcish hordes. Quote
Lord Vladivus Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Brown and green works as a Wood Elf colour scheme for me. It worked for Tolkien too of course - "There were many people there, elvish-looking folk, all dressed in green and brown and sitting on sawn rings of the felled trees in a great circle." Thank you, I was looking for that quote. Tolkein, whether he liked it or not was influenced by a lot of common mythology, from Nordic and Teutonic themes, through to Celtic tones. Quote
Darth Punk Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Never knew elves were so controversial. Of course they wore all types of armor, but that doesn't mean the run around the forests wearing full plate. We have no idea how the,elves end up at dol guldur, maybe they were not expecting to have to battle. But hey guess what there will still be a battle of the five armies and I'm sure at least one elf will show up in plate armor. Funny how a single book called the hobbit gets turned into 3 movies yet you rarely ever hear about poor bilbo. I think people should consider themselves lucky to be getting additional movie thus wave at all. Think what sets we would have ended up with if only two had been made. It's even more amazing since a fight at gol guldur is barely mentioned in Tolkiens work, let alone the hobbit. Yes I know the sets are based on the movie, but without the amazing world Tolkien created none of this would be possible. Quote
Deathleech Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) And since it is immediately recognizable as what most people think of as Elvish Style, it gives the set a certain "shelf appeal" that plate armored Elves wouldn't have. A kid or adult strolling through the aisles of the toy store will take one look at this set and say, "OMG, there's Elves in this one! Let's buy it!" where many people would have trouble even recognizing that the plate armored Elves were in fact Elves. I think most people unfamiliar with LotR or the Hobbit would have to look pretty close to even realize they are elves in the set. I mean with the hooded elven warriors there is nothing to differentiate them from humans. They could just as easily be seen as some sort of rangers or woodsmen. I might be bias here because I already have a ton of the Mirkwood Elf polybags from last year, but the elves in the MEA set just look boring to me. An elf in shiny gold or silver armor with a new helm and new shield mold would be INFINITELY more interesting to me than the boring green hood we have already seen, or the same elf hair/ears we have gotten dozens of times already. But there is a much larger group of people even amongst AFOLs who just want some Elves. Plate armor wouldn't work for them. It is that much larger group that TLG need to take care of before they try to sell a minifig that only a few people want to have. Well Lego COULD have made 1 or 2 of the elves in armor and then left the others in the leather? That way they appeal to both groups at the same time? I am sure some people do want the traditional elves as you say, but I am sure an elf in bright shiny armor would be absolutely gorgeous and appeal to all sorts of people too, not just the "armored elf fan boys". The armor could be used in tons of MOCs and for normal human soldiers and the elves would look fantastic in their own right. I would also point out that this set may very well go with a specific scene in DOS that does NOT show any Elves in plate, so it would look silly in the appropriate context. This is what's most important above all else; how the actual scene plays out. Both Alcarin and myself linked pics that appear to be the elves at their outpost. In both screenshots they look to be in their armor, not the leather. Now we could be totally wrong and this might not be them at the outpost Lego is depicting at all. However, if it IS them at the outpost then Lego should of went with the armored versions. It really doesn't matter if Tolkien never described elves wearing armor once and were always in brown loin clothes, what matters is how they appear in the film since that is what the set is based on and licensed from. Edited October 22, 2013 by Deathleech Quote
Dr.Cogg Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Didn't the lady on the M-tv video say there were 5 sets, so we might be missing a store exclusive. Quote
SMC Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 ^ she didn't seem too sure but said 5 yes, a store exclusive would not be a big surprise Quote
Mutant Orc Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Let's hope if there is one the appearance will be good- Radagast's house would be perfect- enough action, enough detail. Quote
Darth Caedus Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 I agree with Deathleech. Arguing whether people would see them as Elves is moot, the set title is Mirkwood Elf Army. They see Thranduil, they see the word Elf, they're gonna see them as Elves. And the end of the day, for me it's more about generic vs. distinct - the MEA Elves at least have a new, accurate torso, it's just that the armored characters of PJ's world as much more memorable and striking than the standard rangers. Contrast which is more popular among the fandom (and having transformed from a child to an AFOL over the course of LOTR, I can attest that I felt the same way back then, as did my peers then and now): Gondorian Warriors vs Gondorian Rangers: distinct, shining silhouettes with astounding helmets and sigil design vs. green/black dudes in hoods Galadhrim Warriors vs Lothlorien Elves: bronze/silver armor with cool blue cloaks and elegant helms vs. basic light green archers in tunics Mirkwood Elf Warriors vs. Basic Mirkwood Elves: strikingly bulky armor with flair and poise and artistic shields vs. basic dark green archers with brown light armor. The former are all much more memorable and capture the PJ version of Tolkien (which is what these sets are based on) - while the others are pretty generic (only Faramir's ranger outfit has a particularly distinct look). So, all in all, I'll still gladly armybuild some of these accurate Mirkwood Elf Archers, but not nearly as much as I would the more iconic designs that characterize these films in particular. And those who say, wait for the BO5A sets - a fair point, I suppose. Essentially, if we get a battlepack (12.99-29.99) including Armored Mirkwood Elves and Laketown soldiers or Iron Hills Dwarves in Dec 2014, all will be well. What about Beorn's house. Too big to do properly, and it's just rehash characters anyways (we have all Dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo). Let's hope if there is one the appearance will be good- Radagast's house would be perfect- enough action, enough detail. We have Radagast, so I'm pretty much over wanting his house at this point. Though I do wonder about the choice to give him a molded beard/hat rather than just using Gandalf's beardmold and a new hat. Quote
Speedza-Demon Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Let's hope if there is one the appearance will be good- Radagast's house would be perfect- enough action, enough detail. I hate to be a pessimist, but I honestly don't see Radagast's house ever getting made. It appeared for only about two minutes onscreen, and there's not alot of figures you could do for it that couldn't be done more efficiently somewhere else. It would look beautiful, sure, but it's not iconic like Bag End or Rivendell. However, there still might be hope for Beorn's house at some point. Quote
aiori Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 speculations about a 5th set, great: If there is a 5th it is probably exclusive to S@H and brand stores. Retailers need pics and set infos to prepare brochures etc for christmas business. So I think all retailer sets are public right now. So why keep one set secret? Because the stuff it represents is secret? And what's more secret than the look of smaug!!! Ok, I'm just dreaming, but Lego did a very good job in keeping pictures and set list hidden for a very long time. So why not having one more in the closet that will be revealed just one or two days before it hits the brand stores? I keep my fingers crossed... Quote
Bubble Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) Prices for the 4 new hobbit sets: 79011 Dol Guldur Ambush $26.99 79012 Mirkwood Elf Army $39.99 79013 Lake Town Chase $56.99 79014 Dol Guldur Battle $79.99 I got this information from the Brick Fan Edited October 22, 2013 by Bubble Quote
BrickQueen Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 speculations about a 5th set, great: If there is a 5th it is probably exclusive to S@H and brand stores. Retailers need pics and set infos to prepare brochures etc for christmas business. So I think all retailer sets are public right now. So why keep one set secret? Because the stuff it represents is secret? And what's more secret than the look of smaug!!! Ok, I'm just dreaming, but Lego did a very good job in keeping pictures and set list hidden for a very long time. So why not having one more in the closet that will be revealed just one or two days before it hits the brand stores? I keep my fingers crossed... I hope they make Smaug! He's too important not to. I'm thinking it probably is going to be some special exclusive type of set that everybody is going to want. Quote
Darth Punk Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 I hope they make Smaug! He's too important not to. I'm thinking it probably is going to be some special exclusive type of set that everybody is going to want. Smaug would make this wave a home run. Quote
Ecclesiastes Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 I get the excitement, but all the smaug stuff belongs in a different forum! So on topic: I actually talked to the designer, who made the Elf Army set, at Legoworld and it was good to hear they listen to fans. For example, the new gothic arch in reddish brown and the fact that the elves don't have flesh on their torso's was a wish coming from us, the AFOL community. Quote
deskp Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 the fact that the elves don't have flesh on their torso's was a wish coming from us, the AFOL community. The elf they made does not show skin in the movie either.... Quote
BlueberryWaffles Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Prices for the 4 new hobbit sets: 79011 Dol Guldur Ambush $26.99 79012 Mirkwood Elf Army $39.99 79013 Lake Town Chase $56.99 79014 Dol Guldur Battle $79.99 I got this information from the Brick Fan I think this is a bit off. Dol Guldor Ambush is NOT worth $27, and Lake Town Chase was confirmed $50. I'm guessing: Dol Guldor Ambush: $20 Elf Army: $40 Lake Town obviously $50 Dol Guldor Battle $80 Quote
just2good Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 I think this is a bit off. Dol Guldor Ambush is NOT worth $27, and Lake Town Chase was confirmed $50. I'm guessing: Dol Guldor Ambush: $20 Elf Army: $40 Lake Town obviously $50 Dol Guldor Battle $80 The Euro prices aren't that. They translate to... $20 $30 $50 $70 But with the biggest set, a lot of $60 sets like Black Gate were $70 on the site, so it MAY be $60. Quote
Deathleech Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) The Euro prices aren't that. They translate to... $20 $30 $50 $70 But with the biggest set, a lot of $60 sets like Black Gate were $70 on the site, so it MAY be $60. Just based on the minifigure count, these all seem right. Shelob was $20 and had 3 minifigures like Dol Guldur Ambush. Uruk-hai Army is a quasi army builder so it has more minifigures than a normal set, plus a molded creature, and was $30 for 6 (exact same configuration as MEA). Laketown Chase has 5 minifigures like Warg Attack and that was $50 (this price was confirmed?). Dol Guldur Battle has 6 minifigures like an Unexpected Gathering and that set was also $70. Edited October 22, 2013 by Deathleech Quote
Ardelon Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Kudos to the designers for accuracy, in any case. From the minifigs to Dol Guldur, it seems that this time they had enough source material to work from. And it looks like they did a great job in this respect (as seen in the comparison pic of DGA posted by deskp on p236). I guess this time we won't be seeing any mess-ups like Yazneg in last year's wave (though I hope the Necromancer won't look as corporeal and well-defined)... Quote
Bubble Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 I think this is a bit off. Dol Guldor Ambush is NOT worth $27, and Lake Town Chase was confirmed $50. I'm guessing: Dol Guldor Ambush: $20 Elf Army: $40 Lake Town obviously $50 Dol Guldor Battle $80 Seems like you are the most accurate. Quote
deskp Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 Maybe this time the European prices are more fair. Quote
Artanis I Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 I actually talked to the designer, who made the Elf Army set, at Legoworld and it was good to hear they listen to fans. For example, the new gothic arch in reddish brown and the fact that the elves don't have flesh on their torso's was a wish coming from us, the AFOL community. That is actually a really good point regarding the elves. TLG has made available to the AFOL MOCing community forest-dweller torsos for use as either fleshies OR yellowies (pretty sure I made that up, what is the usual word?) instead of one or the other. These minifigs are fan service to the "castle/history" guys, who would probably see elves as being more of the ranger variety - as they are depicted in this new set. It is a compromise to the Tolkien fanboys, (who want very specific designs) but where/when else outside of CMFs would we ever see generic elf minifigs? Never in a set. But they have been wanted for years. Quote
Gabe Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 Haha so much hate. Awesome figures equals awesome Crappy set design equals i dont care New/more parts that im getting nearly free as ill be selling all the cool figs equals A++ Haha nice Legonardo, have to agree with you although i'll be keeping the sweet figs too. Parts are the main thing i care about and while these sets aren't amazing in that regard, there are certainly enough unusual or useful parts to keep me happy. I'll certainly get two of the Mirkwood Elf Army set. Quote
Darth Malgus Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 If there is a s@H exclusive one can only hope it deals with a particular dragon as they are the whole point to the tale really... Quote
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