LOTR & The Hobbit 2013 Set Discussion

[Str0ngbad]

14 minifigures? In a UCS? I doubt it. UCS sets tend not to have so many figs. I would say out of your list we could get Grima, Saruman, Theoden, and Gandalf with Shadowfax. Possibly Snowmane also? And I really don't think we will get Treebeard either. But I do agree with you on the Wizard Battle. What's the point if it doesn't go in Orthanc?

The point is it's a really great twelve dollar set. I expect it to do better than Gandalf Arrives or Riddles for the Ring. The vast majority of people who purchase that set will not even consider buying Orthanc so it doesn't need to fit together. That plus the size you would have to make Orthanc to fit that set in while keeping its height proportional is staggering. I agree about minifigures. I only expect there to be a few.

[Mahtion]

In my opinion a molded Treebeard would be terrible, much prefer a brikbuilt ent with articulated limbs. I also think it highly unlikely to see the wizard battle set fit inside of Orthanc without some MOCing on our parts. I would love to see Shadowfax and Theoden's horse because we have no white horses in the LOTR sets so far.

Concerning Gimli's abundance in sets, it makes sense because Gimli may cost less to produce than Legolas.

[Str0ngbad]

In my opinion a molded Treebeard would be terrible, much prefer a brikbuilt ent with articulated limbs. I also think it highly unlikely to see the wizard battle set fit inside of Orthanc without some MOCing on our parts. I would love to see Shadowfax and Theoden's horse because we have no white horses in the LOTR sets so far.

Concerning Gimli's abundance in sets, it makes sense because Gimli may cost less to produce than Legolas.

We have had Aragorn released in just as many sets as Gimli (at a cheaper price point, too) and just as many Legolai (I couldn't resist) if you include the Mirkwood Spiders set.

[The Legonater]

We have had Aragorn released in just as many sets as Gimli (at a cheaper price point, too) and just as many Legolai (I couldn't resist) if you include the Mirkwood Spiders set.

Not true. Legolas has been in three sets, Gimli and Aragorn have both been in four.

[Str0ngbad]

Not true. Legolas has been in three sets, Gimli and Aragorn have both been in four.

I was talking about the sets we already have rather than upcoming sets but even then its hard to imagine not getting at least one more Legolas in the next Hobbit wave. The only real difference is that Gimli is the same in each set. I'd love to be getting more new characters but I don't understand why people are so surprised/disappointed that they continue releasing the main characters.

[Deathleech]

I'd love to be getting more new characters but I don't understand why people are so surprised/disappointed that they continue releasing the main characters.

I am fine getting the main characters once or twice per wave and at different price points so people who won't buy every set have some options. It just starts to suck when you have 3-4 of certain characters because there isn't any real use for them. Sure you can maybe use some parts like the torsos or whatever for something else, but most people would much rather see extra undead or orcs replacing the tenth Gimli or Bilbo or what have you. You know, something you actually WANT multiples of.

[Str0ngbad]

I know most of us would. But I don't think most kids are fortunate enough to get every set. I know that if I were a kid, there is no way I'd have any of the three yet. The Council set would be my first chance of getting Gimli as that's about the biggest thing I ever got when I was growing up. Now that I'm an AFOL though, I'll be putting two Gimlis and an Aragorn up on Ebay tomorrow. Dealing with not being the primary target market is just part of being an AFOL. I'm just happy that they still show us love where they can like with the corsair cameo.

[Delta 38]

...Er...

If it's a UCS set, wouldn't the emphasis be on the actual model? Most of the UCS Star Wars sets don't have minifigures, and the few that do might have one or two uncommon minifigs and a few others... but that's it.

And even then, if there are minifigs they're usually there for a purpose. The Super Star Destroyer (10221) has Vader, an Imperial Officer and some Bounty Hunters to recreate the meeting scene. There's a specific place in the model for displaying them.

If Orthanc's interior would be minimal at best, why would they include so many figures? Again, the emphasis is on the model rather than the scene, and there'd be nowhere for the figures to go.

My realistic guess is that we'll have three: Saruman, Grima Wormtongue and an Uruk-hai. The Uruk-hai is probably a rarer variant like a Berserker, but could also be replaced by Gandalf (either White or Grey).

Treebeard would almost certainly be in his own set if he were released (i.e. Fangorn Forest) and you'd still get the required characters for the scene (Treebeard, Merry, Pippin and possibly another Ent).

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes sense why Orthanc is a UCS set instead of being in "normal" scale, as I had initially hoped. You can't really put any play functions in it, and if you don't like Orthanc for what it is, it's not going to appeal anyway.

Edit: So I just realised that perhaps Orthanc is a different case, since the ships of Star Wars don't really cater for both sides. You can't buy a UCS AT-ST and expect to get a ton of Ewoks and Rebels with it.

Okay, that's valid, but there are still hardly any minifigs anyway. Obi-Wan's Starfighter (10215) probably has room for a minifig, but there isn't one included. Same with the B-Wing (10227). Even the upcoming X-Wing (10240) doesn't have a pilot despite the inclusion of R2-D2, who's really only there because he needs to be as part of the ship.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Delta 38

[Albus]

Are you talking about Orthanc, or Sauron's tower Barad-dur with the eye? It seems like the ladder since THAT tower is extremely memorable for kids and non-hardcore fans of the movie, what with it always being shown and the huge eye at the top.

Orthanc is pretty lean so I don't see how Lego could fit an interior in after they shrink it down. The fact it's fairly boring inside doesn't help matters. I mean they already have the Wizard Duel and palantir eye as a separate set, what else is there to make inside that is shown in the movies? I have a feeling Lego will treat Orthanc more like a model and just do the exterior without any interior. It's already going to require a fair number of bricks to be as tall as it should be anyways. I definitely don't see the Wizard Duel set fitting inside since it's a fairly long set. If they DO do an interior, it will probably be like sets such as Arkham Asylum where it's a flat wall and a couple;e studs for floor and barely has anything but a chair or desk or something boring.

No, no - I am talking about Orthanc, Saruman the White's tower at Isengard. I do know my LOTR, so don't worry

I do consider it more memorable than Barad-Dur though, simply because of its prevalence in the story. Barad-Dur doesn't really feature that much in the movies (how often do you see the entirety of the tower itself? Most people probably don't know what the base looks like: I think it's more the eye itself that is the more memorable part), and I consider it less important - nothing much happens there. I think it more essential that they create an Orthanc in LEGO, than a Barad-Dur, if they could only do one of the two.

On the other hand, I know most people don't know the tower's actual name, and think Orthanc is called Isengard, so...

(I will ammend my statement however: I would at least put Barad-Dur above Minas Tirith in terms of memorable buildings, so thanks for reminding me).

It definitely don't think Wizard Battle will fit, but I still think that an interior is likely. If anything, there will be somewhat of an interior in the form of a balcony for Saruman to stand on, I would think.

I really can't wait - definitely my most anticipated set this year (so far at least...)!

[jmagaletta]

Here is a little math I estimated using this website http://www.suave.net/~dave/cgi/scale.cgi. The wizard battle as i can tell from pictures looks to be 16 studs by 16 studs at widest point. The Orthanc measurments we got was 8.27 inches wide. Given that Orthanc is square shapped it is most likely 8.27in by 8.27in which using the converter would be 26.26studs by 26.26studs. It is not inconceivable that the Wizard battle could easily fit in Orthanc. Just my observation.

[Deathleech]

I know most of us would. But I don't think most kids are fortunate enough to get every set. I know that if I were a kid, there is no way I'd have any of the three yet. The Council set would be my first chance of getting Gimli as that's about the biggest thing I ever got when I was growing up. Now that I'm an AFOL though, I'll be putting two Gimlis and an Aragorn up on Ebay tomorrow. Dealing with not being the primary target market is just part of being an AFOL. I'm just happy that they still show us love where they can like with the corsair cameo.

Right, which is why I think they should offer the main characters once or twice per wave, and at varying price points. It's kind of dumb some figures so far like Gimli have only been available in $80+ dollar sets. This second LotR wave is a better example spreading him out in an expensive and fairly non expensive set. I also think they should limit each main character to one or two per wave and try to make them have different prints when possible. We will have 2 LotR waves this summer and already have 4 of some characters which is kind of lame (11 total sets excluding polys and 4 of some characters means they are in over a third of the sets).

Regardless I think it's a little hypocritical of Lego. They try to offer the main characters in multiple sets to give people on a budget options, yet to get the entire Fellowship you literally need to buy EVERY set from the first LotR wave except the Orc Forge, Uruk-hai Army, and Gandalf Arrives if you buy the Gandalf polybag. That's almost $300 MSRP to get the entire Fellowship.

[Legoman123]

Does anone think we will ever see the Barad-Dur tower ?

[Str0ngbad]

Does anone think we will ever see the Barad-Dur tower ?

I highly doubt it. I don't expect there to be more than a third wave of LOTR but I hope I'm wrong. If they were to give us another UCS set I imagine it would more likely be a portion of Minis Tirith (the Citadel) or the Golden Hall than Barad-dur largely because nothing happens at the tower despite its iconic nature. I personally would love to see a creature UCS set like Smaug or the Balrog but I feel that's incredibly unlikely.

[Flieger]

Regardless I think it's a little hypocritical of Lego. They try to offer the main characters in multiple sets to give people on a budget options, yet to get the entire Fellowship you literally need to buy EVERY set from the first LotR wave except the Orc Forge, Uruk-hai Army, and Gandalf Arrives if you buy the Gandalf polybag. That's almost $300 MSRP to get the entire Fellowship.

It's even worse with Thorin's Company. Despite having a quite considerable budget for Lego I gave up on that and will restrict myself to ebay and the likes to get the dwarves.

Re: the Orthanc

The tower itself is not exactly full of possibilities for play features like Helm's Deep was for example. The architecture itself is not too fancy neither. I love it and I'd certainly buy, but the Orthanc is really just for AFoLs I think - which is why I do not think we will see many minifigs. However there is the chance of Grima, who would not require new molds just printing. Again, he probably has little appeal to children or casual parent buyers, yet for us he is a must-have. He adds to the attractivity of the tower to the whole AFoL-community. Add Saruman, since you have done him already anyway, and we have a fine set for collectors. But I really do not see any way the Orthanc could be made a children's/casual buyers set.

[Orange Leader]

Regardless I think it's a little hypocritical of Lego. They try to offer the main characters in multiple sets to give people on a budget options, yet to get the entire Fellowship you literally need to buy EVERY set from the first LotR wave except the Orc Forge, Uruk-hai Army, and Gandalf Arrives if you buy the Gandalf polybag. That's almost $300 MSRP to get the entire Fellowship.

I have the entire Fellowship but I don't own Helms Deep.

[BlueberryWaffles]

Right, which is why I think they should offer the main characters once or twice per wave, and at varying price points. It's kind of dumb some figures so far like Gimli have only been available in $80+ dollar sets. This second LotR wave is a better example spreading him out in an expensive and fairly non expensive set. I also think they should limit each main character to one or two per wave and try to make them have different prints when possible. We will have 2 LotR waves this summer and already have 4 of some characters which is kind of lame (11 total sets excluding polys and 4 of some characters means they are in over a third of the sets).

Regardless I think it's a little hypocritical of Lego. They try to offer the main characters in multiple sets to give people on a budget options, yet to get the entire Fellowship you literally need to buy EVERY set from the first LotR wave except the Orc Forge, Uruk-hai Army, and Gandalf Arrives if you buy the Gandalf polybag. That's almost $300 MSRP to get the entire Fellowship.

That's not a good estimate. All you need is Mines of Moria, Weathertop, Shelob, and Gandalf Arrives. That brings the total to $173, not $300. Why would you need Helms Deep? Unless Theoden is a secret part of the Fellowship.

[Darth Malgus]

It will be interesting to see what minfigs, if any show up in the Orthanc set. Personally I would like to see Treebeard as his and the Ent's role was significant in the movie.

[Deathleech]

That's not a good estimate. All you need is Mines of Moria, Weathertop, Shelob, and Gandalf Arrives. That brings the total to $173, not $300. Why would you need Helms Deep? Unless Theoden is a secret part of the Fellowship.

Ya I forgot you don't need Helm's Deep to complete it, my bad. For some reason I always think Legolas is only in Helm's Deep, not Mines of Moria. Still, 173 is quite a chunk of change and like Flieger points out the Hobbit line is much worse since you literally need every one of the 6 sets in the first wave to complete Thorin's company.

As for Orthanc minifigures, I would assume Grima and Saruman are pretty much givens if it actually does include any figs at all. I don't think we will see anymore Uruk-hai and I hope we don't since they were available already in fairly large numbers in the first wave. I wouldn't mind another worker orc or two and Treebeard and another Ent. Some Wild Men would be nice but I have a feeling our chances of seeing them are zilch to none. Of course if we get Ents we will also need Pippin and Merry so I really am not sure how it will pan out. On the one hand I feel it will be a USC set with few or no figures and just the tower since it has so few possible play features and seems to be a perfect USC model. On the other hand I feel like it may have the Ents and have tons of fun little features and minifigs.

[Flieger]

Still, 173 is quite a chunk of change

Indeed, especially if you are living in continental Europe, where Lego prices are twice as high. I am a die-hard LotR-fan and I earn quite some money, but even I had to think hard about some sets before I bought them. No way kids could be doing this, unless their parents are rich or so.

Even for the key three - Aragon, Legolas and Gimli - you need to spend a lot. Keep in mind: LotR-fellowship-Legolas is only available in Moria's mines! So you will have to combine it with Helm's Deep or Weathertop, putting you well into the 140 Dollar/Euro price range. And that is a lot. So have to agree with Deathleech, it is probably too expansive for most.

Fortunately the Corsair-Ship will adress this problem. (Too late for me, but there is ebay).

[Dr.Cogg]

What would you guys think if Lego add 3 minifigure: Saruman, Grima, and Sauron ?

[howie28]

Why Sauron? I dont think that would work, considering Sauron doesn't have a physical form in the movies. But, it would be a cool minifigure.

[Faefrost]

Why Sauron? I dont think that would work, considering Sauron doesn't have a physical form in the movies. But, it would be a cool minifigure.

Actually in the movies, (which Lego sets are based on) Sauron is shown in physical form. A 4 meter tall spiky armored humanoid with a huge spiked mace. He appears in the flashbacks to the last alliance battle in Fellowship and RotK. He also is shown in Lego form in the opening of the Lego LotR game.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Faefrost

[howie28]

Oh, okay. I knew he was in a flashback, but even so he wouldn't be relevant to the Orthanc set anyway.

[Artanis I]

He appears in the flashbacks to the last alliance battle in Fellowship and RotK.

You know what he means

[Dr.Cogg]

Theres a few reasons to have Sauron in the Orthanc:

#1 This could be the only set Sauron comes in aside from his fall or in the Hobbit (but he's called the Necromancer)

#2 Lego has done it with Star Wars , why can't they do it with Lord of the Rings.

#3 It would make the Orthanc a must have ,to get an exclusive Sauron.