Press Release 10237 - Tower of Orthanc

[The Joker1]

Hey guys, I guess you already know Orthanc is available early for VIPs, My write up here anyway http://www.madbricks...thanc-for-vips/

[SheepEater]

thanks for the info...

june 17 th... two days after the free shipping promotion ends in USA/Canada.

I guess I'll have to place an order on the 14th, call customer service immediately to put it on hold, then add to the same order 3 days later and still get free shipping for the entire order. I'm such a genius when it comes to being a penny pinching cheapskate.

Edited May 22, 2013 by SheepEater

[TheLegoDr]

I guess I've never thought to put an order on hold. If I can avoid talking on the phone, I will. I'll just wait for double points or some other special. That's a lot of dough to put down on set. It won't affect me if I have it early or by Christmas.

Thanks for the info though.

[odidoma]

I'm not so impressed over this set, it's great and well build but it's mostly black pieces witch I don't use so often, the mini figs are nothing special, the only thing in this set that I will buy but on BL is the eagle, for me it would be a wast of fine legomoney. But that's my opinion and it could be because I newer build set and display them, I can understand that people who do that love this set. Now I'm hoping for a Merry and Pippin set instead.

[Hive]

I'm not so impressed over this set, it's great and well build but it's mostly black pieces witch I don't use so often, the mini figs are nothing special, the only thing in this set that I will buy but on BL is the eagle, for me it would be a wast of fine legomoney. But that's my opinion and it could be because I newer build set and display them, I can understand that people who do that love this set. Now I'm hoping for a Merry and Pippin set instead.

You can get the eagle in the much cheaper gate set.

I'm in agreement though; while I appreciate the build, the all-black nature of it all reduces it's appeal to me. The figures does not interest me the slightest, but the ent is pretty nice. I'd like one of those.

[Darth Caedus]

You can get the eagle in the much cheaper gate set.

I'm in agreement though; while I appreciate the build, the all-black nature of it all reduces it's appeal to me. The figures does not interest me the slightest, but the ent is pretty nice. I'd like one of those.

Interesting. The all-black nature increases the appeal for me - it's fearsomely imposing, and I can't wait to build it and display it.

[SheepEater]

^ Agreed. The all-black nature also makes it much easier to modify from existing pieces of my collection; rather than, say, a hypothetical similar sized set made all of dark orange or dark blue.

[The_Chosen_1]

I honestly don't understand the criticism that the set features "too much black". Sure, if you're only planning on parting out the set then it's kind of a bummer. But as far as film accuracy goes, there's nothing else that would have been acceptable. Lego didn't even go so far as to make everything black, either, since there are some LBG elements that are visible on the structure.

[Missing Brick]

Having built the back wall for the tower I can confirm it's an enjoyable building experience. It reminded me of the rockets I used to build when I was little. It's alot of fun as the building gets taller and taller and you wonder just how much higher it can go. There's alot of interesting exterior details. I love the snot skirt around the base and all the barbs and greebling on walls.

Of course when I was little I would always give my lego rocket a test flight: and enjoy the resulting explosion of bricks when it crash landed. But don't think I'll be giving this bad boy a test flight. Not unless I want a hole in the floor.

[8BrickMario]

Orthanc may very well damage the floor more as opposed to the model!

[AngryChair]

I honestly don't understand the criticism that the set features "too much black". Sure, if you're only planning on parting out the set then it's kind of a bummer. But as far as film accuracy goes, there's nothing else that would have been acceptable. Lego didn't even go so far as to make everything black, either, since there are some LBG elements that are visible on the structure.

I agree, it's a big black tower for crying out loud..! Imagine the uproar if TLG plut loads of blue bricks on it like the Bat or Tie-Fighter..!!

[Hive]

I honestly don't understand the criticism that the set features "too much black". Sure, if you're only planning on parting out the set then it's kind of a bummer. But as far as film accuracy goes, there's nothing else that would have been acceptable. Lego didn't even go so far as to make everything black, either, since there are some LBG elements that are visible on the structure.

Oh yes, it is pretty accurate in terms of the movie. No complaints there. It's a nice tower, no doubt. But I don't buy *any* LEGO sets due to them resembling anything from a movie, I buy them on their standalone value. And I just don't think it looks impressive enough as eye-candy in all-black for me to shell out the - rather hefty - price for it. It's huge size makes it difficult for me to display, anyway.

But like I said: I appreciate the build and I can definately understand why others, especially LOTR-fans, want it. It's just not for me.

[jmagaletta]

Having built the back wall for the tower I can confirm it's an enjoyable building experience. It reminded me of the rockets I used to build when I was little. It's alot of fun as the building gets taller and taller and you wonder just how much higher it can go. There's alot of interesting exterior details. I love the snot skirt around the base and all the barbs and greebling on walls.

Of course when I was little I would always give my lego rocket a test flight: and enjoy the resulting explosion of bricks when it crash landed. But don't think I'll be giving this bad boy a test flight. Not unless I want a hole in the floor.

Do you have a picture?

[Lyichir]

I've built almost the whole thing on LDD, and can share a few observations.

• The large amount of black does not detract from the quality of the set. In fact, I might argue it improves it--without color, more emphasis is placed on the sculptural quality of the detailing, which is achieved in many fantastic ways.
  
• The build is far from monotonous; each floor is constructed differently, and a decent amount of SNOT prevents it from just being an exercise in stacking bricks upward all the way. The more colorful interior also helps in this respect.
  
• The new half-arch piece is used liberally throughout. I counted 24 of them altogether, which probably the most that will ever be seen in a single set.
  
• There are likely good reasons for the non-enclosed nature of the set. The best solution I've heard for enclosing the tower while maintaining play value would be having it hinged to open for play. But because of the way the tower narrows as it approaches the top, a hinged rear wall alone would have to be anchored VERY close to the bottom, and I would question how stable such a wall would be, especially since it would slope inward. The alternatives would be hinging it in the middle (near impossible due to the SNOT-work on the base, and would reduce the amount of space in the upper rooms dramatically anyway), or hinging each floor's wall separately (which still wouldn't work perfectly, since most floors are in fact deeper on the uncovered side than they could afford to be if enclosed). The good news is that it seems that one could easily modify the set to an enclosed state; either by buying two sets (expensive, but it'd guarantee you most of the parts you'd need) or just Bricklinking parts (which would be more difficult, although it'd probably give you significant savings in the long run).
  

[SMC]

In the dungeon the middle part should be deeper than the rest. Is there anything behind the sticker of the wargs, could there be something hidden or is it just empty.

[Missing Brick]

@ SMC. Indeed this appears to be wasted space. There's a 6x6 void behind that panel with the warg sticker. I guess it would be hard to access from the rear so they decided to just brick it up. I plan to replace that panel with a door to create a real dungeon cell or, with some imagination, a secret entrance to the mines below.

[SMC]

@ SMC. Indeed this appears to be wasted space. There's a 6x6 void behind that panel with the warg sticker. I guess it would be hard to access from the rear so they decided to just brick it up. I plan to replace that panel with a door to create a real dungeon cell or, with some imagination, a secret entrance to the mines below.

I had the same idea to put a cell door in

[Csacsa234]

I'm really excited about this set, although I haven't had a set with that price tag, I really want to put my hand on one of these. It's a tough choice too, now that the Ewok village is presented, I am not so certain that I want this instead of EV. This is a magnificent build, and as some complain about it being too black I think it's very gorgeus in it's dark glory, the figs are very nice, Saruman is my favorite from the lineup but for a price so high they should've added at least 2 more figs. And we get an ent too which suffers from the usual "kneeless" effect, which is one of the most irritating for me, anyway it looks good ans has some clever details.

What do you think should I get this if I have the opportunity or the Ewok village? I'm not a big LoTR fan (It doesn't mean that I dont like it, but SW is my weakness ) , but this set is just too fantastic.

[Cammo]

What do you think should I get this if I have the opportunity or the Ewok village? I'm not a big LoTR fan (It doesn't mean that I dont like it, but SW is my weakness ) , but this set is just too fantastic.

I think it's easy, if you are more into the Star Wars universe: get the EV-set. And if Saruman is your favourite: get him in the cheap set. As for the Ent, Treebeard will surely make his entrance eventually.

I always hoped for a similar set in the PotC-line but that theme wasn't popular enough. I hope for a Flying Dutchman when the next movie hits theatres in summer 2015.

If you have questions concerning what set to buy, I advise you to look in this topic:

http://www.eurobrick...c=82467&st=2800

Do these exclusive sets have a large stock in LEGOshops? Because I don't want to make the trip to France just to find out that they are sold out.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Cammo

[Csacsa234]

If you have questions concerning what set to buy, I advise you to look in this topic:

http://www.eurobrick...c=82467&st=2800

How could I forgot about this:D

Thanks.

[Darth Caedus]

I've built almost the whole thing on LDD, and can share a few observations.

• The large amount of black does not detract from the quality of the set. In fact, I might argue it improves it--without color, more emphasis is placed on the sculptural quality of the detailing, which is achieved in many fantastic ways.
  
• The build is far from monotonous; each floor is constructed differently, and a decent amount of SNOT prevents it from just being an exercise in stacking bricks upward all the way. The more colorful interior also helps in this respect.
  
• The new half-arch piece is used liberally throughout. I counted 24 of them altogether, which probably the most that will ever be seen in a single set.
  
• There are likely good reasons for the non-enclosed nature of the set. The best solution I've heard for enclosing the tower while maintaining play value would be having it hinged to open for play. But because of the way the tower narrows as it approaches the top, a hinged rear wall alone would have to be anchored VERY close to the bottom, and I would question how stable such a wall would be, especially since it would slope inward. The alternatives would be hinging it in the middle (near impossible due to the SNOT-work on the base, and would reduce the amount of space in the upper rooms dramatically anyway), or hinging each floor's wall separately (which still wouldn't work perfectly, since most floors are in fact deeper on the uncovered side than they could afford to be if enclosed). The good news is that it seems that one could easily modify the set to an enclosed state; either by buying two sets (expensive, but it'd guarantee you most of the parts you'd need) or just Bricklinking parts (which would be more difficult, although it'd probably give you significant savings in the long run).
  

So a hinge near the bottom really wouldn't work that well? I'd love to be able to build a fourth side on a hinge (wish they had included that instead of the Ent).