LEGO LotR - general discussion

[HawkLord]

As much as I'd love another LOTR set, I can't see Lego doing that under the Ideas umbrella. If they did it could create a precedent that current licensed themes could see creations through Ideas, when Ideas is best served for totally unique and new properties.

[Alcarin]

Its such a shame, that more supports go to the lesser version of Minas Tirith...... when another version out there is sooooo much better.

[Srbandrews]

Which one in particular did you mean, Alcarin?

[Bycougars]

Nice to see Minas Tirith hitting the frontpage:

http://www.theonerin...is-snowballing/

I would love for Minas Tirith to make it to 10,000 supporters. It is unlikely that LEGO would make this set via Ideas or even make another LotR set. However, it would require internal discussions on LotR. That by itself would be a major victory.

Who knows, there may even be such a set later. The UCS Tumbler and UCS Sandcrawler were both rejected by CUUSOO / Ideas but very similar sets were made.

Completely agree! I don't know if Lego would approve the set via the Ideas platform. However, if it at least gets lego to look into the possibility of making any more sets that is still a win.

[Deathleech]

I'd be against the minifigure run..

1) I want a balrog and a fell beast!

2) The minifigures would be the nasty chinese crap quality, I want danish plastic!

3) Is it egen possible? LEGO cant make a Star Wars minifig line because theyd count as action figures, and LEGO doesnt have a license for that, some other company has. Id assume LOTR is the same.

I would take a CMF line over the nothing it seems like we will be getting instead. The CMF series have improved greatly in quality since they were first released and the difference in plastic is barely, if at all, noticeable now. A lot of the sets were are missing can be built with existing Lego bricks. Some molded creatures would be the only exception. Unfortunately a CMF series is near possible since Lego would need the action figure license for LotR and they only have the building toy license.

[Alcarin]

Which one in particular did you mean, Alcarin?

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/70809

This one, much better and in better proportions with itself (no giant trebuchets, and its dimensions and scale is proportionate in terms of measures compared to the other one)

The above one is the best Minas Tirith up to date I have personally seen built or ''built'' it also has a ''realistic'' piece count for a set (a little less than 4000) and still looks good.

The most supported Minas Tirith is not half as good looking as this one really.

[Kraby]

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/70809

This one, much better and in better proportions with itself (no giant trebuchets, and its dimensions and scale is proportionate in terms of measures compared to the other one)

The above one is the best Minas Tirith up to date I have personally seen built or ''built'' it also has a ''realistic'' piece count for a set (a little less than 4000) and still looks good.

The most supported Minas Tirith is not half as good looking as this one really.

While I totally agree with your choice, I think that the idea here (no pun intended) is to get one Minas-Tirith project to 10000 to get LEGO's attention, since it probably won't be done through Ideas anyways (and even if it was, it wouldn't be as is, and maybe they'd took inspiration from other projects as well).

We're all kind of desperate, and I'm not quite sure this with lead anywhere, but still, it seems more logical to me that NujuMetru's project gets carried to 10000.

That being said, I supported every single project LOTR / Hobbit related that looked good to me, including the one you linked.

This one looks also great to me, and would even more if it was made in white bricks : https://ideas.lego.com/projects/58745

[Hepitos]

a CMF Serie will not work.....TLG could not produce so many bags as we would buy :)

[Nuju Metru]

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/70809

This one, much better and in better proportions with itself (no giant trebuchets, and its dimensions and scale is proportionate in terms of measures compared to the other one)

The above one is the best Minas Tirith up to date I have personally seen built or ''built'' it also has a ''realistic'' piece count for a set (a little less than 4000) and still looks good.

The most supported Minas Tirith is not half as good looking as this one really.

I'm a huge fan of that version of Minas Tirith, as well; I think it takes the best parts of my version and of another excellent Minas Tirith model on LEGO Ideas and fuses them in a brilliant way. Your favored Minas Tirith Idea has and fully uses the advantage of being built digitally, without the restrictions of one's hobby wallet and the realities of physically existent piece colors. Were a real LEGO set of Minas Tirith to be produced, I'd be delighted if it had the same level of detail and scale as that model does.

But, seeing as my so obviously inferior model (after all, Alcarin, if you say it enough times it must be so) is the one with several thousand supporters and real momentum, I think it's impractical of you to keep complaining about its progress. If TLG decides to make a Minas Tirith model based off my Ideas project, I'm sure they will - heck, I'd be disappointed if they didn't - change it a lot to match the high detail standards set by the rest of the LOTR/Hobbit products. I think the fact that a LOTR project, regardless of its quality or creator, has made it this far on LEGO Ideas is something worth celebrating. It shows that fans still want LOTR sets, which - whether or not the project makes it to 10000, and whether or not it becomes a product this way - demonstrates to TLG that there's still an interest in the license.

[KristofBD]

@Nuju: Congrats on the progress and momentum, it would be great if you have a second week like this!

I actually like your real life model over the digital ones. I also think it has a more classic lego feel. The others are more detailed sure, but hey to me what matters most is that at least one model reaches the 10.000. And yours has the momentum…

If the other manage to reach the 10.000 as well, perfect, the more the merrier. I support all of them.

[Deathleech]

The most supported Minas Tirith is not half as good looking as this one really.

Maybe that's because it only uses half as many bricks, lol. But seriously, I think Nuju said his would be around the $250 price range. Take away the Fel Beast and reduce the trebuchets and it would easily fit the $200 mark. The one you like is 3944 pieces. At an average 10 cents per piece, that puts it at almost $400. I have found it's super easy to make a great looking Minas Tirath... if you totally disregard piece count and play features. When you add these in and try to make a real play set Lego might actually create, things become significantly more difficult.

[Slegengr]

Maybe that's because it only uses half as many bricks, lol. But seriously, I think Nuju said his would be around the $250 price range. Take away the Fel Beast and reduce the trebuchets and it would easily fit the $200 mark. The one you like is 3944 pieces. At an average 10 cents per piece, that puts it at almost $400. I have found it's super easy to make a great looking Minas Tirath... if you totally disregard piece count and play features. When you add these in and try to make a real play set Lego might actually create, things become significantly more difficult.

I think this is correct. Although the other one might be more accurate, it is way too large for LEGO to even consider it. If the other sets did not sell well enough to justify a third wave, how could the LEGO company be expected to turn a profit on a $500 set that is mostly white pieces? Nuju Metru has targeted the LEGO set factors much more accurately. Though AFOLs may not like the "play-based child appeal" of the set and the slightly more limited details to keep the piece count down, LEGO will certainly make the set to appeal to their target demographics: children (if they even make a large set from a licensed theme through Ideas at all).

Though I would like to see more LotR sets, it is the decision of the LEGO company to continue the line or to discontinue it. I personally am just glad we got LotR at all, and, although some key characters are still missing, know that I can continue to make customs (generally purist) to fulfill my needs. I did, after all, create a Fellowship that I was satisfied with well before LEGO actually made the LotR line at all.

[LegoFish]

I really like all the big minas tirith sets on lego ideas. Im really liking nuju metru's, its made from real lego parts and was the first lotr moc i ever found online and the way the fell best is made is pretty great and I thought it was just awesome (but obviously lots of effort when into all of the big minas tirith entries and i think its great he's not the only one making one; shows how much AFOL's want one).

I too am worried about lego using ideas for purely non-exixting themes, but getting minas tirith to 10,000 is the best way to keep letting lego know how loved lotr is

[atreyu2112]

I still think if that Minas Tirith actually happens, miraculously, we will get a molded Fell Beast, proper Witch-King helm and Eowyns helmet... as they were *probably* already made for that missing wave of LotR sets.

Also, while a lot of guys think it's too big, the Smaug body, neck, wings & tail work perfectly for a size accurate Fell Beast.

But honestly, I'm really hoping to get this one:

[greenalfonzo]

My only real hope at this point, is that they recognize there's a still a demand for this line, even if it in not at traditional retail. They stated at the beginning that they understood it to be 'character driven,' so hopefully they will explore what it would take to launch a CMF line (see if the action figure license is available from Warner Bros), or a few more Orthanc UCS-type sets

[AFOLguy1970]

I certainly agree that supporting the frontrunner Minas Tirith in Lego Ideas is the way to go. It would be better to have one project make it to 10000 votes than have several get a lot of combined votes, but have none of them reach the threshold. By all means, one should support the one(s) they like, but keep in mind that it really takes 10,000 to get TLG's attention. It would be interesting to see what happens if the frontrunner does go to review. There would obviously show a lot of fan support for this theme and would send the message that many feel Gondor is essential to the story and was left out.

Of course, if Lego did ever decide to produce the White City, and again, I am just making this a hypothetical situation, would they go with the winning Ideas design or would they simply come up with their own? If memory serves correct, you cannot have new molds on Ideas sets, so having the Witch King, Gondor helmets, new Fell Beast molds, etc. would not be an option. Also, it would be hard to design a Minas Tirith set that does not somehow resemble one of many of the Ideas proposals. I would be a bit put off if I submitted a design that never made review or was rejected, and then TLG turned around and made one that looked like mine.

Minas Tirith really seems to be entering uncharted territory. It is a large set for a theme which is ending, and there are several variations. This could get interesting.

[cullmancreations]

Yeah it could.

[Blakstone]

I wouldn't bet money on it working.... but I don't have to. I can sincerely sign these Ideas petitions because if it does work, I will buy one. The same with signing the petition to save LEGO Lord of the Rings. Both are small simple acts that might help.

For the record, my favorite Minas Tirith Ideas is NujuMetru's because I would have space for it. If I were to buy Rakrondewl's, I would not have space to display it. However, I supported both.

[Deathleech]

Also, it would be hard to design a Minas Tirith set that does not somehow resemble one of many of the Ideas proposals. I would be a bit put off if I submitted a design that never made review or was rejected, and then TLG turned around and made one that looked like mine.

With license themes Lego already holds, I am pretty sure it doesn't matter. The people on Lego Idea's who submitted their Minas Tirith designs copied them from the movie. They don't own that license though, Lego does. If Lego wanted to release a brick built Minas Tirith and sell it they are currently the ONLY ones allowed to as they are the only ones (to my knowledge) who have paid WB for the license to do so.

[Borador]

The problem I see with most of this Minas Tiriths is that they're really big... I don't know about "too big" but they're getting there. Is there a small, well built one around? I mean, I can't see any of these being actual sets, just due to size and detail.

[Venunder]

One set might not be possible for a Minas Tirith Ideas Set.

However TLG could produce 3 modules that form a basic Minas Tirith.

Real LOTR nuts and Lego collectors would buy multiple sets to create the Minas Tirith of their Dreams.

The example to follow would be the Minecraft series.

But maybe make the Minas Tirith Palace, the 1st set and price it at £50-60 or $70-80. Collectors would need 2 or 3 of these to build the Palace WhiteTree and Halls of the Dead Kings.

Then the 2nd set would be Minas Tirith Gate House with at least 1 Battle Troll (just reprint the Mines of Moria Troll) and 2 Minas Tirith soldiers. Again priced at £50-60 or $70-80. Collectors would need 3-5 of these for the Main gate and gateways moving up the city.

Then the 3rd set would be Minas Tirith Wall section, with 3 alternate designs like a creator set, with 1 Mordor Orc and a Minas Tirith soldier. £30-40 or $40-60. Collectors would buy as many of these as they need for their army and ultimate Minas Tirith build.

[Sir Gareth]

I had a similar idea a while ago.

The Battle of Pelennor Fields - $129.99 (similar in size to Helm's Deep)

Minas Tirith main gate, 2 outer wall segments, the Citadel, the White Tree, 2 inner wall segments (The build focuses on the gate, the Citadel, and the 2 inner wall segments.)

Fellbeast, Witchking, Shadowfax, Gandalf the White, Gothmog, Denethor, Faramir, Gondor Pippin, 2x Mordor Orc

Gondor Soldier Army - $29.99

Outer wall segment with trebuchet (Adds on to Minas Tirith. This set focuses on expanding the outer wall.)

3x Gondorian Soldier, Horse, 1x Rider of Rohan, 2x Armored Mordor Orc

[Deathleech]

However TLG could produce 3 modules that form a basic Minas Tirith.

Dozens of people have had this idea, myself included. After the first LotR wave hit shelves I thought Minas Tirith would work GREAT as a modular build, similar to Helm's Deep and UHA. Of course it would need at least one more big set besides just a main build and a seperate wall section. I think a wall section that can be stacked OR put side by side as a $30 set with lots of generic soldier minifigures, and then 2-3 big sets which had some combination of the Citadel, White Tree Court Yard, Grond, front Gates, and Fel Beast would be perfect.

[Sir Gareth]

Of course it would need at least one more big set besides just a main build and a seperate wall section.

The problem is making sure each set still appeals to kids. They aren't interested in buying a set that's just the citadel or just the front gates, they want the whole thing in one shot. But, most kids don't have the kind of money to buy 2-3 big sets along with several small sets, and few parents are willing to drop that much. I think the best way to sell Minas Tirith is one big set (between Helm's Deep and Orthanc Size) and one, maybe two, smaller sets (UHA size.)

[cullmancreations]

In the future how much do you guys think the LOTR and Hobbit sets will go up in value? Is this the time to start buying up some of the older sets that are soon to be taken off the shelves or will the sets end up being almost the same as retail price on ebay two years after both themes are discontinued. Let me know what you guys think.