LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Robert_88]

Just look at how his eyebrows are done. There's no printing there, it leads right into his hair and the dark tan edges around the entire face.

Maybe you're right. The position of the standard head would be quite high.

[Darth Caedus]

Looking at the side-by-side comparison of the Orcs and Beorn in the catalog that I just got, his eyes ARE higher than theirs. This printed theory is plausible.

Glad to confirm officially 100% that USA prices are

$19.99 DGA

$29.99 MEA

$49.99 LC

$69.99 DGB

This makes it the most affordable wave yet at a a mere $170. I'll definitely be getting two MEAs, which brings it to an even $200. That beautiful LDD vision of the four MEAs makes getting 4 quite tempting, though.

Here's something we can speculate on. How much will the asking price for the new minifigs be?

-I'm guessing Thranduil will be pretty dirt cheap because he's not a useful armybuilder (although his robes are simply enough that they could be repurposed for Lorien elves).

-Radagast, the Necromancer, and Azog will remain the most expensive for sure - I'd guess Radagast will be the highest since he's the most unique, but it's hard to say. The Necromancer is the first "Lego Sauron" so I could see there being some appeal there.

-Beorn will be a cheap minifig if the printed theory is true.

-Gundabad Orc prices interest me greatly. This is the best armybuilder Orc we've gotten yet (better than the generic Orc, and less specific than the still-excellent Moria Goblin). Hairless Gundabad Orcs sans armor will go for real cheap prices, and I would guess that haired armored Gundabad Orcs (GOs) will cost about 150% as much as the basic version.

-Laketown Guards are the biggest wildcard. A superb armybuilder with fullbody printing and unique helmet, that's limited to one in a $50 set. I hope we get more in the TABA wave, because otherwise this is one expensive armybuilder!

-BARD will be quite pricey as well, I think, given that he's a big name character only available in a $50 set. The Master of Laketown will hold value longer than Bard, though, since we are guaranteed to get another Bard in the TABA wave (too crucial a character), but there's not much reason to toss in a redundant Master of Laketown later on.

-Casual Friday Thorin? A minor costume change, so who knows. It might knock down the price of Original Thorin later on though. Note, however, that Warg Attack now guaranteed to be the only set with Original Thorin, since he loses that outfit in this movie and gets new attire in TABA.

[deskp]

Beorn should be real cheap if peope buy lots of the set to get the orcs with hair.

My favorite minifig this wave is the Laketown guard, he's just fantastic.

[wookiee582]

I'm definitely gonna pick up Dol Guldur Ambush and Dol Guldur Battle. Azog and Radagast look great. Not that excited about lake town chase though :/

[Deathleech]

Glad to confirm officially 100% that USA prices are

$19.99 DGA

$29.99 MEA

$49.99 LC

$69.99 DGB

Ya, I got the catalog yesterday and saw those prices. They are what I was expecting and I am glad to see they are confirmed now. Dol Guldur Battle would of seemed like a rip off at $80, what with only 6 minifigures. I dunno if piece counts have been officially announced, but this is what they are for each set (as well as the price per piece):

$19.99 Dol Guldur Ambush - 217 pieces, $0.09 ppp

$29.99 Mirkwood Elf Army - 276 pieces, $0.11 ppp

$49.99 Laketown Chase - 470 pieces, $0.11 ppp

$69.99 Dol Guldur Battle - 797 pieces, $0.09 ppp

Here's something we can speculate on. How much will the asking price for the new minifigs be?

I touched on this a little in my "How Many Mirkwood Elf Army Sets Will you Buy" thread. I pretty much agree with your speculations. I think the Gundabad Orc will be a lot like the Mordor Orc or even the Uruk-hai. The prices will vary greatly based on what it has. The base one with no hair and no shoulders will probably be under $3 relatively quickly much like the Uruk-hai with no armor and hair or the Mordor Orc with no armor/hair. The Gundabad Orc with shoulders will hover 50 cents to a dollar more, and the one with hair and armor might catch around $4-4.50? It's hard to say because the hair ones are in the cheapest set, but it's not really an army builder like the Mirkwood Elf Army set so people won't be buying as many in theory. I think the shoulders will also bump the price up a good bit because it looks like a nice, useful piece that is brand new(?). I don't see the Mirkwood Elves bringing in much at all. The hooded ones will probably be lucky to fetch $3 apiece and the hair one will be the big winner from the MEA set (other than the brown Warg), going for around $4.

As for the rest of the minfigures, I agree with Beorn and Thranduil being the cheapest. They are in fairly cheap sets that people will be buying multiples of for the OTHER minifigs included with them (orcs and elves). I would say Beorn and Thrandiul will end up being around $2.50-$3 a few months after release. Radagast, the Necromancer, and Azog will all be the most expensive, easily fetching $6-8 for awhile after initial release. The Master of Laketown, Bard, and new outfit Thorin will probably be right behind them, being a dollar or 2 less only because the set is cheaper.

That leaves 2 figures I could see going either way. I don't see people really trying to army build with the Laketown Guard yet because there is only one and he should theoretically be released later on in a Bo5A set. That SHOULD be an easier way to get him. I can't imagine people trying to army build with 1 fig only released in a $50 set right now, but who knows. I know some people scooped up the Rohan Soldier in droves (myself included) to army build despite there only being one (technically), and in a $30 set. I would guess, based on the Rohan Soldier who fetches about $5, that the Laketown Guard will be around $6-6.50 just because he is in a more expensive set. Finally that leaves the Warg. Personally, this is the big hit of the wave in terms of army building. If others feel as I do, I can see the Warg fetching a pretty good premium. However, the gray Warg is down to around $8 so I can't imagine the brown being any higher than that considering it's availability in a cheaper, army builder set. I would say the price for the brown Warg will probably be around $6-7 a few months after the sets are released.

[Floundie]

$19.99 DGA

$29.99 MEA

$49.99 LC

$69.99 DGB

So $85 over here for DGB. Eh. I'm glad It's cheaper than Mines of Moria was, but I'm still a little annoyed. $60 for Laketown is a bit on the pricey side... I might pass on that one, or at least wait for a sale.

[Etzel]

I call megablocks on the one-piece Beorn head theory. You are drawing conclusions from one single CG image that has been heavily retouched, and compared to all other images of the minifig I found nothing that suggests that it should be a hairpiece with printed face. When I look closely at the set pictures I see the crease between the hair and head and I find it very hard to believe that LEGO would do anything other then the head+hair combo.

[Floundie]

Here's some close ups on the Bard fig, are they new?

Clicky clicky

[Deathleech]

I call megablocks on the one-piece Beorn head theory. You are drawing conclusions from one single CG image that has been heavily retouched, and compared to all other images of the minifig I found nothing that suggests that it should be a hairpiece with printed face. When I look closely at the set pictures I see the crease between the hair and head and I find it very hard to believe that LEGO would do anything other then the head+hair combo.

Except it's not just the weird printing that leads us the believe the hair and head are one piece. All the pictures showing the lineup of minifigures on the front of the box clearly show Beorn being taller and his head positioned at least half a minifigure head taller than the other figs.

Here is a close up of what I am talking about for reference. Notice the orc on the far right has the shoulders but his head is only SLIGHLTY taller than the middle one?

Edited November 13, 2013 by Deathleech

[deskp]

On the box image the head and hair/beard looks like 2 pieces, but on the image shown on the website shows it as 1 piece.

Things can change one way or another, remember Gandalf's beard, looks how the "sideburn" is alot taller on the picture we saw before release and in box images etc.

Box image beard: http://brick.jamescook.nu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/lego_the_lord_of_the_rings_9469_gandalf_arrives_set.jpg

What we got beard: http://1.bp.blogspot...rrives cart.JPG

Edited November 13, 2013 by deskp

[MstrOfPppts]

I think this is still two pieces here we get. The wierd side color on his face is probably for the head having the beard printed despite having a mold for it. It's happend with some dwarfs in the theme already ... but on the images it does look like his head is at the same height as the head of the orc wearing armor. Maybe the head is not pushed down the whole way. At first I thought they'd use a ring around the neck and then the head, but that is a bit too thick ...

Edited November 13, 2013 by MstrOfPppts

[deskp]

I think this is still two pieces here we get. The wierd side color on his face is probably for the head having the beard printed despite having a mold for it. It's happend with some dwarfs in the theme already ... but on the images it does look like his head is at the same height as the head of the orc wearing armor. Maybe the head is not pushed down the whole way. At first I thought they'd use a ring around the neck and then the head, but that is a bit too thick ...

If they printed a beard why is there no dark gray color printed the same way they did with the eyebrows, and if they printed a beard why is there thats bit of dark tan going down the side of his face from the eyebrow.

[Eurolock]

The neck post on the minifigure body is certainly long enough to do this. Perhaps the instructions will indicate that the head is pushed into the hair piece first and then the shape of the hair-piece will prevent the head being pushed fully down.

The picture on the website does however clearly look like it is a single piece. I guess we will know soon enough.

[Deathleech]

Everything just seems to point to Beorn's head and hair being one piece as of right now. We have not seen a second face print at all despite seeing both of almost every other characters', the printing looks kind of funky in the one shot, and the head sits higher up than a normal minifigures'. Of course it could just be a weird picture and something raising the head up, and a coincidence we havn't seen the other side of the face print, but it might also be one piece. Personally I would rather the hair and head be two seperate pieces so their are more options for the head in MOCs and facial expressions, but if not it isn't that big of a deal. Thranduil's neck ears are more worrisome than Beorn's hair being connected to his head imo.

[deskp]

Thranduil's neck ears are more worrisome than Beorn's hair being connected to his head imo.

I don't see a problem with them being sligthly ower down than the other elves' ears.

[Eurolock]

Perhaps Beorn has a gray plastic head with flesh printing on the face area. That would explain the lack of a second expression and the apparent gray areas at the edge of the face...

I agree though, the evidence points to a single piece at this stage.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Eurolock

[General Magma]

What if they just decided to print Beorn's face a little higher on the head, so the beard wouldn't cover his mouth (which would be inaccurate)?

The beard would then still function as most other beards on figures with normal head prints - covering the mouth, which wouldn't work on Beorn.

Edited November 14, 2013 by General Magma

[ZCerberus]

I would be quite surprised if it is one piece. Two pieces for sure.

[CMP]

The face is just way too tall for it to be two pieces, from what I can see. His forehead is where the orcs' hairpiece is.

I really hope I'm wrong. One piece for it is just silly.

[Deathleech]

What if they just decided to print Beorn's face a little higher on the head, so the beard wouldn't cover his mouth (which would be inaccurate)?

The beard would then still function as most other beards on figures with normal head prints - covering the mouth, which wouldn't work on Beorn.

That wouldn't be much better than it being one piece imo. I mean it might allow for a second facial expression on the back which would definitely be nice, but without the Beorn hair piece it would look really weird on other figs and wouldn't line up right with most hair or beard pieces.

[csc166]

This is a stretch, but what if it's three pieces. The beard looks a little darker, which could raise the head up enough and you have the top hair? Ideal for MOCing but I don't know how likely it is

[N7LEGO]

European prices have been revealed:

- 79011 DGA: 26.99€

- 79012 MEA: 39.99€

- 79013 LTC: 59.99€

- 79014 DGB: 79.99€

[Deathleech]

The more I look at the picture I posted, the more it looks kind of weird like there is actually something on the neck raising Beorn's head/hair piece. Look at the part in the beard specifically. It looks like the beard is raised up a good bit as it does not seemed pushed down all the way so it sits flush on the shoulders.

[N7LEGO]

Nothing about a secret set on this 2013 Hobbit wave poster

Edited November 14, 2013 by N7LEGO

[Deathleech]

Where did you get that?!

I like how they put the Laketown Guard and Master on the "evil" side too in the poster, lol.

Edited November 14, 2013 by Deathleech