LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Mahtion]

Well it's possible that Lego has put the TABA sets on hold. As soon as the announcement was made they could have received new footage from DoS since PJ filmed most of it. That would give them just about a year to create some sets and keep some they designed for the third movie.

Either that or they will release more spoilers like the Hobbit first wave where two sets will be "preview" sets. Then when TABA comes out they can release some sets they designed more recently kinda like a mixed theme from all the Hobbit films.

I'm not sure what sets we would see since we already got Barrel Escape and Spiders. Would Lego release another spider set featured around Bilbo?

Hobbit wave 2 version A: AUJ and DOS

Trolls scene-$30 3 trolls and dwalin, Balin and bilbo and some ponies

Eagles nest-$40 the carrock with two eagles, Gandalf, Thorin, Kili, Fili

Sting Attacks-$15 Bilbo and two spiders with a cave or trees

Hall of the Elvenking-$25 Small throne and pillars with Thranduil, Thorin, 2 elf guards, and Bilbo

Laketown-$90 Bard, Master of Laketown, Oin and Gloin and Bilbo and some guards, maybe some more dwarves with some wooden structures

Awakening Smaug-$70Smaug and bilbo in the treasure room of Erebor

Hobbit wave 2 version B: All DOS

Sting Attacks- same as above

Beorns House-$25 Beorn, Bilbo, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur and a wooden lodge

Hall of the Elvenking-same as above

Laketown-$40 a smaller version of above

Awakening Smaug- same as above

Dol Guldur- $110 necromancer, Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, two elven soldiers, 4 orcs, huge tower structure representing battle of dol Guldur and White Council, lots of play potential

Hobbit wave 2 version C: DOS and TABA

Sting Attacks- same

Hall of the Elvenking- same

Laketown- same as smaller

Awakening Smaug- same

Dol Guldur- smaller version of above

Battle of Five Armies- huge set with gates of Erebor as backdrop, 2 elves, 2 dwarves, 2 orcs, 1 eagle, 1 giant bat, bard, Thorin in armor, Bilbo

Maybe another set or switch out Laketown to have Smaug fight Bard? That is an important scene for sure! We could get two sets of Smaug. Definitely a Laketown on fire would be a better action piece than having just a plain Laketown.

Need a small set or exclusive to get all 13 dwarves in their armor. Also need at least ONE battlepack for Battle of Five Armies! Maybe it could include one of every facton.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Mahtion

[Elander]

LEGO will certanly extend the range of LotR and Hobbit sets.

I hope we will see the first pictures of Treebeard and the Balrog at least on the upcoming Toy Fair in NY. Because I can not believe that the third wave will include just 4 sets.

I just wondering when LEGO will release the first special exclusive set a la HP's Diagon Alley? I thougt Revendell would be a suitable opportunity, but since I have seen that little council set (including Elrond and Arwen) is that opportunity already missed.

[Faefrost]

I'm not sure what sets we would see since we already got Barrel Escape and Spiders. Would Lego release another spider set featured around Bilbo?

Hobbit wave 2 version A: AUJ and DOS

Trolls scene-$30 3 trolls and dwalin, Balin and bilbo and some ponies

Eagles nest-$40 the carrock with two eagles, Gandalf, Thorin, Kili, Fili

Sting Attacks-$15 Bilbo and two spiders with a cave or trees

Hall of the Elvenking-$25 Small throne and pillars with Thranduil, Thorin, 2 elf guards, and Bilbo

Laketown-$90 Bard, Master of Laketown, Oin and Gloin and Bilbo and some guards, maybe some more dwarves with some wooden structures

Awakening Smaug-$70Smaug and bilbo in the treasure room of Erebor

Hobbit wave 2 version B: All DOS

Sting Attacks- same as above

Beorns House-$25 Beorn, Bilbo, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur and a wooden lodge

Hall of the Elvenking-same as above

Laketown-$40 a smaller version of above

Awakening Smaug- same as above

Dol Guldur- $110 necromancer, Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, two elven soldiers, 4 orcs, huge tower structure representing battle of dol Guldur and White Council, lots of play potential

Hobbit wave 2 version C: DOS and TABA

Sting Attacks- same

Hall of the Elvenking- same

Laketown- same as smaller

Awakening Smaug- same

Dol Guldur- smaller version of above

Battle of Five Armies- huge set with gates of Erebor as backdrop, 2 elves, 2 dwarves, 2 orcs, 1 eagle, 1 giant bat, bard, Thorin in armor, Bilbo

Maybe another set or switch out Laketown to have Smaug fight Bard? That is an important scene for sure! We could get two sets of Smaug. Definitely a Laketown on fire would be a better action piece than having just a plain Laketown.

Need a small set or exclusive to get all 13 dwarves in their armor. Also need at least ONE battlepack for Battle of Five Armies! Maybe it could include one of every facton.

Some great set ideas, although I fear your pricing estimates run well past the realm of optimism and into the land where Hobbits dwell. Although it is a nice dream.

The biggest problem is the Three Trolls set. Look at any set we see where we have one of those large custom figures. The Hulk, the Goblin King, Mines of Moria, any of the Dino sets etc. if we look at the piece counts vs the price it quickly becomes clear that each large custom figurine adds about $10 US to the price of the set (at a minimum). Yes there is some variation, but overall that seems to be about where it falls. And it is good enough to illustrate where the problem lies with the troll scene. The trolls alone would price the set at $30, before they added a brick or yet another Bilbo Baggins. Now remember Lego is licensed as a construction toy company for this line. The focus must be on the bricks. So they need to hit some rough numbers of building vs figs. They can't just release a $30 set of trolls and a handful of parts. Their normal set design budgeting seems to fall somewhere between 75 and 150 parts per minifig. At 10 to 12 cents per part. Even if you don't count the trolls in the fig/part rationing, at 30 standard Minifigs you are at a 300 part $30 set before you add the trolls, and with no ponies. With the trolls and a pony or two? Probably a $79 set. The same as Moria. And we would go BALISTIC over paying $80 for a 300 piece set.

See the problem?

(Please note my rough napkin calculations probably do not accurately reflect actual Lego calculations. They are just an estimate based on observable factors to be used for this little mental exercise. There are a lot of assumptions used, but I would bet they aren't that far off. At least in the mid to upper priced sets. The formulas and part calculations for the smaller impulse sets may differ.)

[Krulis]

I want just one more set from H:TUJ

Radagast's Investigation:

Figs: Radagast and ghost with Morgul Blade

Includes: Dol Guldur courtyard, 2 stone statues and Radagast's rabbit sledge

It should be similar size to Shelob Attacks.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Krulis

[sup2yous]

Im really hoping for a dol gudur set, they could include bolg and his torture room, the goblin spider riders, galadriel, radagast and his bunny sled. It would be such a good oppurtunity for bolg and radagast, because (spoiler alert)

Now that azog is not killed in the battle of azanulbizar he will probably replace bolg in the battle of the five armies if he isnt killed before then. And I just know that theres gonna be an epic battle scene between thorin and azog at the end.

[Infernum]

Sorry I'm late, but I think each of these sets are great. However it isn't a strong wave overall, no really iconic scenes.

[deskp]

We know that Lego takes about two years to put together a line

They use 6 monts to make one set, and several sets are being developed at the same time. 2 years before lego released their hobbit sets the movie hadn't even started filming...

the 2 years you speak of could be development time for original lego themes, I though the "friends" range was the only theme was was spend that much time on?

[Darth Lurtz]

Sorry I'm late, but I think each of these sets are great. However it isn't a strong wave overall, no really iconic scenes.

What defines iconic? One could argue The council of Elrond is for it is the gathering of the Fellowship.

[Mahtion]

Yes the trolls set was very underpriced and most of my set ideas are off but it was a very quick and rough sketch of what may be. I spend less than ten minutes on it. Maybe I will revise it to fit more in line with the patterns of price and piece count for the other Hobbit wave.

[Lordof theBricks]

I really want to recomended to LEGO to never again before movie make sets,because it can happen the same thing as with Azog,Now they have really good opportunity to make sets from Lotr trilogy or The Hobbit An unexpected journey.They can really make a lot of sets from Te Hobbit 1.st movie and Lotr,so why risk with The Hobbit second movie?So next year at the summer time they can make The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug sets after they saw the movie

[Infernum]

why risk with The Hobbit second movie?So next year at the summer time they can make The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug sets after they saw the movie

Well I think they are counting on the advertising and fans from the new movies to buy the sets, and they wouldn't get as many buyers once the craze dies down.

What defines iconic? One could argue The council of Elrond is for it is the gathering of the Fellowship.

Well I meant they could have chosen more iconic sets. Like the Balrog, that just about everybody knows instead of the Corsairs, that fewer people know about. I think The Black Gates set could be considered iconic though, just not to a scale like Minas Tirith or Orthanc.

For any final thoughts I would like better pictures.

[djmangunz]

They use 6 monts to make one set, and several sets are being developed at the same time. 2 years before lego released their hobbit sets the movie hadn't even started filming...

the 2 years you speak of could be development time for original lego themes, I though the "friends" range was the only theme was was spend that much time on?

You certainly may be correct, I remember reading about Galaxy Squad taking two years to create, but design and story-boarding began in 2007 and finished in 2009 giving Lego plenty of time to outline and brainstorm sets. From The Hobbit Film Series: Completion of the story outlines and treatments ended in March 2009 and the studios approved the start of writing the screenplay.

Anyway, it takes a damn long time to make a Lego set, especially one based on licensed property. I am not even sure when the second film finishes shooting. That being said, I think they might move some of the sets back and try to create a few more to better fit the new timeline of the movies.

For film two I would imagine that we might see:

Beorn's House

The Battle of Dol Guldur with a few members of the Council of White

An expanded version of Thranduil's fortress in Mirkwood

Laketown with Bard

The Lonely Mountain with Smaug

For Film Three:

The Battle of the Five Armies with Dain and his red axe Beron, Thranduil and a few elves or Ironwood Dwarves

Mordor with the return of the Dark Lord

The Hunt for Gollum with Aragorn

And for the rest we would have to see what the film holds

[Cammo]

The Hunt for Gollum with Aragorn

Come again? Is this official or just speculation. Is Sméagol returning in The 3rd movie?

If this is official, you made my day!

That means another Lego Gollum/Sméagol variation.

[Mahtion]

If we get a Thranduil set, a Smaug in Erebor and a White Council attacking Dol Guldur I would die happy. Now if a huge Rivendell were released I would be in bliss.

[wesker]

For skirts they use a simple sloped 1x2x2 brick printed on the flat side. It uses normal studs and does come off far more easily than normal leg pieces. I am sort of surprised that they would use a sloped skirt for Arwen, as it precludes her ability to ride a horse in order to rescue Frodo.

Remember these are still preliminary pictures and that the figure shown is a placeholder using pre-existing parts. We don't know for sure if the final product will have a sloped skirt, or if her costume is even based on the from the chase sequence.

[Mr Spielbrick]

Come again? Is this official or just speculation. Is Sméagol returning in The 3rd movie?

If this is official, you made my day!

That means another Lego Gollum/Sméagol variation.

I don't want to spoil your day, but I believe this is wishful thinking. The last thing I heard about any possible appearance by Aragorn (i.e., tracking down Gollum) , was Viggo Mortensen saying he had *not* been asked to return. Mind you, this was before it was announced that there would be three films. Still, my personal guess is that Peter Jackson and co. are 'merely' telling the tale of The Hobbit in an expansive way. Everyone involved in the production has denied there have ever been plans for a 'bridge film' between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

As for the news of the sets, which I hadn't yet commented on... YES! Saruman! And, I suspect, a Palantír? Gandalf the White, Arwen, Elrond, even the Mouth of Sauron! What an excellent selection of new figs. Of less interest to me personally, but still cool: some of the Army of the Dead. It's very, very pleasing to see how many characters make their appearance as official minifigures.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Mr Spielbrick

[Crownie]

They use 6 monts to make one set, and several sets are being developed at the same time. 2 years before lego released their hobbit sets the movie hadn't even started filming...

the 2 years you speak of could be development time for original lego themes, I though the "friends" range was the only theme was was spend that much time on?

In the Documentary on the LEGO Factory they stated that a set took 1 year to create. (From the initial concept to the finished product.) I suspect this change from 2 movies to 3 really threw a wrench into an already trying situation. I can imagine that more was kept secret and 'under wraps' on these films than any LEGO had worked on before.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Crownie

[Faefrost]

Come again? Is this official or just speculation. Is Sméagol returning in The 3rd movie?

If this is official, you made my day!

That means another Lego Gollum/Sméagol variation.

There was a throwaway reference in FotR about Gandalf and Aragorn trying to find Golem, but Mordor finding him first. But that should be a substantial amount of time after the Hobbit. Gandalf doesn't begin to suspect what ring Bilbo has until he sees that he hasn't aged at his 111 Birthday. The search with Aragorn should be in that period between Bilbo's party, and When Gandalf shows up at Bag End asking if it is secret and safe? It seems to be a bit distant from even the end of the Hobbit.

[The_Chosen_1]

I don't want to spoil your day, but I believe this is wishful thinking. The last thing I heard about any possible appearance by Aragorn (i.e., tracking down Gollum) , was Viggo Mortensen saying he had *not* been asked to return.

This won't happen. The hunt for Gollum actually takes place during the events of Fellowship of the Ring. In the novels, there is a long gap (14 years I believe) between Bilbo's birthday party and Frodo setting off on his journey; it's during this period that Gandalf tasks Aragorn with finding Gollum. All of this was omitted in the film version, though, and won't be portrayed in the Hobbit films.

Edited December 30, 2012 by The_Chosen_1

[djmangunz]

Come again? Is this official or just speculation. Is Sméagol returning in The 3rd movie?

If this is official, you made my day!

That means another Lego Gollum/Sméagol variation.

This won't happen. The hunt for Gollum actually takes place during the events of Fellowship of the Ring. In the novels, there is a long gap (14 years I believe) between Bilbo's birthday party and Frodo setting off on his journey; it's during this period that Gandalf tasks Aragorn with finding Gollum. All of this was omitted in the film version, though, and won't be portrayed in the Hobbit films.

Things change my friend, as we can see by an inclusion of a third movie. But let's be clear here, I am merely speculating about future Hobbit sets, nothing more.

Quote:

The project had been envisaged as two parts since 2006, but the proposed contents of the parts changed during development. MGM expressed interest in a second film in 2006, set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.^[71] Jackson concurred, stating that "one of the drawbacks of The Hobbit is it's relatively lightweight compared to LOTR [Lord of the Rings]... There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while. – he references going off to meet with the White Council, who are actually characters like Galadriel and Saruman and people that we see in Lord of the Rings. He mysteriously vanishes for a while and then comes back, but we don't really know what goes on."^[12] Jackson was also interested in showing Gollum's journey to Mordor and Aragorn setting a watch on the Shire.^[72]

[HawkLord]

Granted, there are gateway elements to PJ's Hobbit movies that will connect to the LOTR movies, but I don't think scenes of (an older) Viggo chasing after Gollum will be one of them. The main point in the connection with these movies will be establishing that Sauron has returned as the Necormancer and is growing in power.

[Artanis I]

Actually, how does someone get a hold of one of those magazines?

One is a retailer and signs an agreement with TLG to never disclose any information included or show or copy the CONFIDENTIAL pictures inside. The contents only become public if one of these retailers is very naughty.

What I have to wonder about is how these changes will affect this next line of sets. ... What do you think? Will Lego keep the sets they have already created, or will they move some of them to the last movie and hustle create new ones to fit the material in the second movie?

Hopefully the 2nd one... more sets is always better (except when talking about our wallets) when a theme has a likely limited run.

[Darth Caedus]

Things change my friend, as we can see by an inclusion of a third movie. But let's be clear here, I am merely speculating about future Hobbit sets, nothing more.

Quote:

The project had been envisaged as two parts since 2006, but the proposed contents of the parts changed during development. MGM expressed interest in a second film in 2006, set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.^[71] Jackson concurred, stating that "one of the drawbacks of The Hobbit is it's relatively lightweight compared to LOTR [Lord of the Rings]... There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while. – he references going off to meet with the White Council, who are actually characters like Galadriel and Saruman and people that we see in Lord of the Rings. He mysteriously vanishes for a while and then comes back, but we don't really know what goes on."^[12] Jackson was also interested in showing Gollum's journey to Mordor and Aragorn setting a watch on the Shire.^[72]

Sorry fella, Aragorn stuff is 100% not going to happen. The quote you featured is years out of date: The Hobbit film project has been stated time and again to tell the story of The Hobbit and only the events which occur during that timeline - like the Battle of Dol Guldur. Aragorn would be a young man during these events. The "bridge film" idea is half a decade out of date, a pipe dream brainstorm that never got out of the speculation stage. The Hobbit was two full films for the last few years, until the past 6 months where Jackson realized they could film additional footage to stretch it to 3 films. Look at how early AUJ was broken compared to where it used to end - the barrel escape was originally the final scene, and now that will definitely not occur until at least an hour into the second film - the company has to get through beorn's house, all of mirkwood and the elven kingdom before that. The release schedule makes things pretty clear: summer 2013 will be some LOTR sets and possibly a few more from "the missing page," december will be sets for TDOS, and summer 2014 will be TABA.

[Cammo]

Too bad about the whole Hunt for Gollum thing. I honestly didn't think of the chronological issues. We always have the fanmade movie on the internet.

I'm still hoping we see Sméagol in one of the Hobbit sequels although I know his part is played and finished in the first one and doesn't return in the books at least.

Back on topic. When was the first toy convention again. I believe we had some 'illegal' pics from someone last year when pictures were prohibited at the convention.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Cammo

[Seaber]

Sorry fella, Aragorn stuff is 100% not going to happen. The quote you featured is years out of date: The Hobbit film project has been stated time and again to tell the story of The Hobbit and only the events which occur during that timeline - like the Battle of Dol Guldur. Aragorn would be a young man during these events. The "bridge film" idea is half a decade out of date, a pipe dream brainstorm that never got out of the speculation stage. The Hobbit was two full films for the last few years, until the past 6 months where Jackson realized they could film additional footage to stretch it to 3 films. Look at how early AUJ was broken compared to where it used to end - the barrel escape was originally the final scene, and now that will definitely not occur until at least an hour into the second film - the company has to get through beorn's house, all of mirkwood and the elven kingdom before that. The release schedule makes things pretty clear: summer 2013 will be some LOTR sets and possibly a few more from "the missing page," december will be sets for TDOS, and summer 2014 will be TABA.

I would say 95% not going to happen. The reason being in some of the AUJ interviews, Jackson, Boyens and/or Serkis mentioned a possibility of more Gollum scenes. These scenes if they transpire are likely to concern the Mirkwood elves holding him prisoner after his escape from Mordor. Aragorn capturing him could be easily changed.

Just speculation at this point though.

I hope there are a few more sets, especially as the Corsair Ship hardly seems like a flagship set (£60 perhaps). As this wave has no Hobbits so far, I think they could be included in larger releases.