LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Blazej_Holen]

I saw the movie yesterday, and DGB looks not good in legoform. The Gundabad orcs are WAY to orange, and why don't we have a Bolg minifig? He plays a quite big role in the movie. But the elves are nice and accurate to the movie. I have made a custom armored elf soldier, here is the pic:

I think it looks like the version in the movie, but offcourse the armor doesn't have printing. Let me know what you think of this armored elf!

Sorry but this doesent look like an elven warrior...

Considering the Arkenstone was given quite some weight in DoS (alongside corresponding foreshadowing), I think there's a high probability we might see in in LEGO form. This leads to two questions: 1) How are they going to represent it? The current gem/crystal moulds (diamond, classic crystal and Monster Fighter moon crystal) don't do it justice since it's shaped like an ellipsoid and 2) What kind of set would it be part of? We don't know how that part of the book is going to be portrayed in TABA, but the Arkenstone surely isn't going to be featured in an action scene... Of course TLG could just ignore it, but I really hope not

Perhaps it will be part of Erebor set - the main hall with gold and jewels... :)

I just hope we get armored Dwarfs, armored elves and preferably armored lake town soldiers vs loads of orcs ....

Lake towns soldiers are allready armored :)

[Fives]

I think the Arkenstone should be done by using the 1x1 round tile (recent piece), in trams clear, with a. No of bluish and copper colored printing to represent the glow of the stone. Then it could easily be held by a fig, or fit snug into the throne.

[Faefrost]

I just got done seeing the film and all I can say about the Lego adaptations is... WTF?! Some things people might consider spoilers so just to be safe...

Beorn isn't at Dol Guldur AT ALL. In fact he is in the movie less than 10 minutes total in his human form. Honestly I feel like given his limited screen time Lego should of just waited until TABA to do him, and done his two versions for that wave. DGA should of been combined with DGB into one set, or at the very least had Radagast so it made sense.

DGB seems to be based on the section where Gandalf uses his magic to cast off the illusion, but it wasn't that recognizable. The stairs are barely seen and there is no statue. Dol Guldur looks like multiple levels filled with cramped corridors and tall ruined towers. I didnt get the ruined open wall feeling of DGB AT ALL. I am not really sure how either of these Dol Guldur sets will appeal to kids. For DGA they prolly won't care enough about Beorn yet, and DGB just doesn't look like the Dol Guldur in the film. Also DGB would of been the perfect opportunity to give us Sauron instead of the crappy Necromancer version we got.

As for the Mirkwood Elf Army set, it seems to be totally made up by Lego and deskp's version would of been vastly better. I understand now why they used the scout armor elves, they are featured quite a bit more fighting the orcs. The armored elves mostly just stand around guarding the few times we see them in the palace and at the gates. Still, if Lego had done deskp's version we could of gotten 2 scouts and an armored version and it would of been perfect. Thranduil I am sure was just stuck in so Lego could give us him.

Lastly there is Laketown Chase. This is the only set that actually makes sense and looks the part from the movie. The boat could of been a bit wider but overallthe set as a whole was fairly accurate. I think its worth noting the Mirkwood Spiders and Barrel Escape sets we got last year seemed fairly accurate to the movie.

Why Lego chose to do DGB instead of a Smaug set is beyond me. They could of easily done DGB and DGA as one set, cut Beorn and saved him for later, and then gave us a huge Smaug set. There was so much more action with Smaug than there was in Dol Guldur it just makes little sense. Overall I feel even less interested in the Hobbit sets than before I saw the film given how little recognizability they have.

I think you are being a little too critical. I saw the movie, and things did seem to mostly match up for me.

Re Beorn and the DGA. I suspect it is more a scene got cut from the theatrical release that will re appear in the Extended Edition. Beorn followed the Orc pack and was able to tell Gandalf a great deal about them. I suspect that a missing Beorn scene shows him trailing them to Dul Guldur.

DGB is probably as accurate as they could have made it, while mostly working off the art and footage from TUJ. The characters seem right. It looks like parts of DG we have seen. And it is doubtful that Lego saw the final Sauron reveal designs any sooner than we did.

MEA, I'm actually surprised at how well it lines up. The only flaws are it really should have been the Water Gate, and technically it should not have Thranduil. But we've been screaming for him. Where else could they stick him? I consider it a reasonable compromise for play and collectors vs screen accuracy.

LTC, matches up astonishingly well.

[General Magma]

I saw the movie yesterday, and DGB looks not good in legoform. The Gundabad orcs are WAY to orange, and why don't we have a Bolg minifig? He plays a quite big role in the movie. But the elves are nice and accurate to the movie. I have made a custom armored elf soldier, here is the pic:(snip)

I think it looks like the version in the movie, but offcourse the armor doesn't have printing. Let me know what you think of this armored elf!

Well that doesn't look anything like an Elven warrior if you ask me. Comes closer to a Gondorian soldier, if anything (or a mix between a Gondoran and a soldier of Rohan).

Look up "mirkwood elf soldier" again and see if you can find the one from the movie... looks very different.

[Fives]

For those who have seen DOS, I'm trying to figure out how to make a decent representation of Bolg's weapon. It has a very unique shape, and I can't quite figure out what pieces would represent it best.

[deskp]

For those who have seen DOS, I'm trying to figure out how to make a decent representation of Bolg's weapon. It has a very unique shape, and I can't quite figure out what pieces would represent it best.

Lightsaber blade piece, a cone, 2 small cogs. Perhaps..

Edited December 16, 2013 by deskp

[Fives]

Lightsaber blade piece, a cone, 2 small cogs. Perhaps..

I'm not sure what you mean by cog pieces.

This is my recent solution for Azog's mace:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/legoman-1/LOTR/photo-3.jpg

I think it is as accurate you could get.

[deskp]

I'm not sure what you mean by cog pieces.

This is my recent solution for Azog's mace:

http://www.brickshel...OTR/photo-3.jpg

I think it is as accurate you could get.

I think He'd be more accurate without the spyglass. http://images.onthee...nd=notavailable the "handle" is barely existing, and its hidden under the hand, so adding it is far too much.

http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=10928

Bolg's mace:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=10928

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3647

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=93080&colorID=95

Edited December 16, 2013 by deskp

[Fives]

Oh, I see. That looks good. I'm really excited to see what LEGO does, but I feel like it will be disappointing and I'll come up with a better design.

And I plan on switching out the spyglass for a black lightsaber hilt. Even though the handle is less noticeable, the head of the mace is on its own, so the cone on LEGO's official version looks weird. I basically wanted to get rid of the cone, but make the weapon still look 'finished'.

[greeny]

I saw the film yesterday and I have some thoughts on the set designs:

Dol Guldur Ambush- This set is just random. We could have gotten a Berons house set or a Lonely Mountain door set, but instead we get some scene that never happened in the film! I guess it's nice to have Beron minifigure and some orcs though.

Beron looks just like his film version.

I have no problems with the orcs either.

Mirkwood Elf Army- I guess this scene could represent the part of the barrel chase with the water gate. I have no idea what Thaundrail is doing here but it's good to have his minifigure and the set wouldn't be as good without one named character. I might just buy two copies of the set and modify them to make some kind of palace structure. Maybe for this price point we could have gotten a proper barrel chase set. (With Bombur in his barrel being a play feature ).

Lake Town Chase- A very accurate set. You get Bards boat so you can smuggle the Dwarfs in along with two fantastic buildings. The taller one could be the Masters house and the small prison could be the one that Bard is trapped in at the end of the film. All minifigures match up to this scene as well. I wouldn't have minded sacraficing another Bilbo for a different Lake Town minifigure but the wave needs atleast one set with Bilbo.

Dol Guldur Battle- This set must be based on the scene were Gandalf battles Azog and the Necromancer. Radagast does appear at the start of the scene so it makes sense for him to be in this set. The actual structure of this set is a dissapointment. I think I'll just make my own Dol Guldur set that is more accurate than just a wall.

[Alfadas]

Well that doesn't look anything like an Elven warrior if you ask me. Comes closer to a Gondorian soldier, if anything (or a mix between a Gondoran and a soldier of Rohan).

Look up "mirkwood elf soldier" again and see if you can find the one from the movie... looks very different.

Yeah I know, now I have a closer look at it, I will take it apart and wait impatiently for a real armored elf.

[Deathleech]

Spoilers ahead...

I saw the film yesterday and I have some thoughts on the set designs:

Dol Guldur Ambush- This set is just random. We could have gotten a Berons house set or a Lonely Mountain door set, but instead we get some scene that never happened in the film! I guess it's nice to have Beron minifigure and some orcs though.

Beron looks just like his film version.

I have no problems with the orcs either.

Those are my thoughts on the Dol Guldur Ambush set as well. Even if the scene ends up being in the EE edition of the film, why did Lego pick such a minor scene to base a set on? I mean it obviously wasn't important enough to make the theatrical cut of the film. Why not do something they KNEW would be in the film like Beorn's house? I Imagine a set like that doing really well, it could of been similar to Bag End with lots of animals and food pieces and a near complete building for relatively cheap ($70-80). It could of even included a few orcs. As things stand now kids will just be confused. They are getting a character hardly in the film, who is in a scene he never appeared in and won't appear in (possibly) until next year.

Dol Guldur Battle- This set must be based on the scene were Gandalf battles Azog and the Necromancer. Radagast does appear at the start of the scene so it makes sense for him to be in this set. The actual structure of this set is a dissapointment. I think I'll just make my own Dol Guldur set that is more accurate than just a wall.

I can understanding not including Sauron(the Necromancer) in this set if Lego didn't have prelims or he was added last second. That's forgivable. What's not forgivable is the completely uninspired design of this set. Even from the first film, which has been out over a year, we could get a decent idea what Dol Guldur looks like. It's full of narrow corridors, tall ruined structures, and multiple levels. With the Dol Guldur Battle set I don't get that feeling at ALL. I get the feeling the keep is a wide open courtyard with walls surrounding it. I think Lego should have really focused on making more of the tall ruined towers and less on one big wall. I also think they should of combined DGA with the set and gave us something with more substance for a higher price.

As for Laketown Chase I think this set is pretty good. It gives the feel of Laketown and the boat is almost spot on except for being more narrow (which is understandable considering they have to scale things down). All minifigures in the set make perfect sense. Sure it could of included Alfred, captain of the guard, or even Bolg, but as is it hits the main characters. Mirkwood Elf Army was obviously just a minifigure dump so I don't have much to say about it. The river gate would of been a better choice and could of had fun play features that make sense like opening gates with lever, a catapult to flip off "hit" orcs and elves, and of course elves in armor.

[Fives]

I feel like LEGO became a bit too aware of the wider scope of the AFOL world in terms of Mirkwood Elf Army. Rather than focus on a set that represents the film, they made something for people looking to bulk up on Elves. Jordan Scott even said that they made a point of not having the flesh neckline on the new torso, so as to allow for more versatile use.

LEGO could have easily had the same group of figs, but in a river gate set. Sure, the sets would't be as modular and make some random fortress, but thats fine. It would've made a whole lot more sense, but still given us the means to build up our forces.

Either LEGO didn't get a good enough look at the material the were basing the set on, or they just let the notion of 'army builders will buy lots' take over.

[Mr Breden]

The new sets are now available in Norway at Toys'r'us.

[Faefrost]

Either LEGO didn't get a good enough look at the material the were basing the set on, or they just let the notion of 'army builders will buy lots' take over.

I think a good portion of the Barrel Chase was added in late in the production process. It was all stuff they had to go back and reshoot or shoot more of after the decision to go from 2 movies to 3 was made. They had to send the principle cast back to NZ, and they were having trouble tracking down all of the local people who played elf characters. They were really scrounging for elves. One of the production videos talks about it.

Chances are any Lego sets are based on scenes and art much earlier than those re shoots.

The same with the DGA set.

In the movie dialogue it is sort of strongly implied that Beorn followed the orcs back to their base of DG, and then reported his findings to Gandalf. There is a good chance that a scene depicting that was shot, but just isn't in the Theatrical cut.

Also don't forget Lego isn't simply making these things up as they go. All licensed sets get reviewed and approved by the license holder. And because of the contentious relationship with the Tolkien estate it can probably be safely assumed that anything Lego makes corresponds in some way to either things appearing on screen or clearly documented production designs. Remember the license is very narrow in some regards. So people will be checking.

Edited December 16, 2013 by Faefrost

[Faefrost]

LEGO could have easily had the same group of figs, but in a river gate set. Sure, the sets would't be as modular and make some random fortress, but thats fine. It would've made a whole lot more sense, but still given us the means to build up our forces.

Either LEGO didn't get a good enough look at the material the were basing the set on,

I was watching some of the bonus materials from the TUJ EE disks last night. One thing that struck me is Jackson is using so much in the way of digital effects that the actual soundstage sets are almost unrecognizable from the scenes they are in. Case in point. The MEA set probably is based on the river gate scene. It just looks too much like that piece of wall. But Lego was working off set designs and production stills. It is likely that the river and river gate portion of it was not in those pictures. So it just would have looked like elves and orcs fighting on the wall.

Watching some of the production video gives a rather good idea of how confusing it must be to be an outside licencee or contractor trying to make sense of it all, while it's till in production. Nothing looks like it will. Jackson changes things around daily on the fly, etc.

[Deathleech]

I dunno, maybe I am being too critical but with only 4 sets this year I was expecting at least half of them to be dead on adaptations. Instead only Laketown Chase seemed to be. Heck, even Barrel Escape from LAST year seemed to more closely resemble it's source material than any of the sets we got this year (minus LTC).

Maybe it's just a huge issue with licensed movie themes. I know others have had the same issue like Iron Man 3. Maybe Lego needs to figure out how to speed up their production on licensed themes so they can pump sets out quicker, and so they actually are based off scenes from the films. I totally understand there will be last minute changes on films, and some unavoidable, but Lego seems to take so long to create their sets that they often are lagging way behind and making sets out of stuff long gone from films.

[deskp]

I was watching some of the bonus materials from the TUJ EE disks last night. One thing that struck me is Jackson is using so much in the way of digital effects that the actual soundstage sets are almost unrecognizable from the scenes they are in. Case in point. The MEA set probably is based on the river gate scene. It just looks too much like that piece of wall. But Lego was working off set designs and production stills. It is likely that the river and river gate portion of it was not in those pictures. So it just would have looked like elves and orcs fighting on the wall.

Watching some of the production video gives a rather good idea of how confusing it must be to be an outside licencee or contractor trying to make sense of it all, while it's till in production. Nothing looks like it will. Jackson changes things around daily on the fly, etc.

I think they didnt make it till the pick ups, so that explais the inaccuraes, but they did build the whole wall/gate/tree part as a proper set.

Watching the production vids you'll see the full set of the gate/wall

Next years sets are more likely to be accurate, seing as they are generally finished with all the filming.

Edited December 16, 2013 by deskp

[General Magma]

Does anybody know how well the sales of LOTR & The Hobbit sets are faring generally? I'm wondering about the cut-down of sets in both lines... LOTR got 4 (or 5 if you include the exclusive Orthanc),

and The Hobbit got 4 as well... can we still expect a third LOTR wave?

[deskp]

Does anybody know how well the sales of LOTR & The Hobbit sets are faring generally? I'm wondering about the cut-down of sets in both lines... LOTR got 4 (or 5 if you include the exclusive Orthanc),

and The Hobbit got 4 as well... can we still expect a third LOTR wave?

No we dont know, the only information we have regarding that is people taking about what they ahve seen ns tores themselves and asking store amnagers, but its such a scattershot untrusty information. So don't really trust info that isnt given from the top folks at lego(not store managers)

The cut down in sets might be casue they had anotehr year to spread their sets across. But they might have gotten time to make up more sets for next year.

[Infernum]

One things you guys are forgetting... I'm sure a lot of kids won't care how accurate the sets are, cause' they won't see the movie. I have a 9 year old cousin who wants all the new sets, and there's about a 0% chance of him seeing the movie. He just thinks the sets look cool and fun.

[deskp]

One things you guys are forgetting... I'm sure a lot of kids won't care how accurate the sets are, cause' they won't see the movie. I have a 9 year old cousin who wants all the new sets, and there's about a 0% chance of him seeing the movie. He just thinks the sets look cool and fun.

He would propably like the sets if they were movie accurate aswell, thing is more movie fans might want the sets if they looked more accurate.

[Faefrost]

He would propably like the sets if they were movie accurate aswell, thing is more movie fans might want the sets if they looked more accurate.

I think for the most part Leggo fans of licensed properties mostly want the sets and figs to be recognizable. Those seeking accuracy is mainly a very small very niche subset for the medium or product lines. Ie most LotR fans don't really care if Thranduil or Beorn were in the exact movie scene that may be depicted in the set they are in. They do however want good looking Beorn and Thranduil figs included somewhere.

[deskp]

I think for the most part Leggo fans of licensed properties mostly want the sets and figs to be recognizable. Those seeking accuracy is mainly a very small very niche subset for the medium or product lines. Ie most LotR fans don't really care if Thranduil or Beorn were in the exact movie scene that may be depicted in the set they are in. They do however want good looking Beorn and Thranduil figs included somewhere.

Absolutley, but if the set looks right aswell, thats certainy an advantage. Instead of ahving seomthing to complain about, you'd have another thing to praise besides the figures.

[Fives]

The beauty of it all is, with this wave, we got all of the secondary characters that are important, and those who want more accurate versions of the scenes that badly are free to MOC to their heart's content. I myself am mostly in it for the figs, and basically have huge battles at Helm's Deep with all Free Peoples vs. all Sauron's Servants.