deskp Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 Hey deskp, could you post a picture of Bolg V2? I don't think I'll like him though... I loved the first outfit. All we've sen of him online is a "naked" bad mocap version of him. The desccription ffrom people whsoe seen this film is that: He's azog-ian looking, metal on his ehad, some short hair bear paw shouderlpads(smaller than old Bolg) straps across his chest with some armor bits, leg situation simialr to azog's clothes/armor. Apaprently hes got longer arms than azog, and his skull is splitting apart or has some tumor guess thats reason for the metal on his head.
Mr Breden Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 (edited) Then i'm rather dissapointed, they turned one of their most original designs into another CGI creature Edited December 8, 2013 by Mr Breden
Darth Caedus Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 Prelim pictures of the Pirates of Umbar set box showed (in small drawing of figs included at the bottom of the box front) the 2 orks with new helmet and armor that looked a lot like the armor worn by moria orcs. I expect they dropped those to keep mold costs down (but also lost sales to me!). I think the same is true with MEA. They only had money for new Thranduil hair, and added hood because the polybag was so popular. Since by making a elf helmet for MEA, they could have also reused it for Hobbit 3rd wave/BO5A sets to spread out expense, it makes me fear we'll get none at all. It is similar to the Black gate set like Darth Caedus said Putting not just Rohan soldier in it, but also Gondor soldier with new helmet, and that set sells much stronger (I know, too many good guys!), and have the helmet ready for a $30 army builder later. . Easy solution to that would have been - put a Rohan soldier and Gondor soldier in BlackGate, drop Gandalf the White and put him in Isengard on Shadowfax to drive up the exclusive appeal of that set. A much stronger, more popular wave would have been the result.
Ardelon Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 I would guess the designers simply made the MEA set to appeal to fans of Elves in general (and of course, to collectors of all the sets), not just to fans of armored Elves. In that case a new mould wouldn't be necessary or justified. After all, they have a limit on the number of new moulds and prints per wave (or is it per year, or per theme?). And I would wager that they're right when it comes to the average buyer, who simply wants some Elves, and not necessarily "Elves of a particular service branch of Thranduil's army". As for me, I'm not interested in Elves, so I wouldn't buy the MEA set with or without armored Elves - that's already one counterexample to the half-dozen unsatisfied examples on the last page, so even with AFOLs/Ringers, it's an iffy situation...
Alcarin Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 I would guess the designers simply made the MEA set to appeal to fans of Elves in general (and of course, to collectors of all the sets), not just to fans of armored Elves. In that case a new mould wouldn't be necessary or justified. After all, they have a limit on the number of new moulds and prints per wave (or is it per year, or per theme?). And I would wager that they're right when it comes to the average buyer, who simply wants some Elves, and not necessarily "Elves of a particular service branch of Thranduil's army". As for me, I'm not interested in Elves, so I wouldn't buy the MEA set with or without armored Elves - that's already one counterexample to the half-dozen unsatisfied examples on the last page, so even with AFOLs/Ringers, it's an iffy situation... Yeh but I bet with 1 armored Elf many more would buy the set... how much more I do not know... I know I would now, I have no big reason to buy the set apart from the cool brown warg.... would be enough to justify a new mould... I cannot say.
phanstasm Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 (edited) Nope, the prelim SET image obv held a placeholder, but the minifig lineup showed Bolg as he was used to look. And the set included BOTH Azog and Bolg. Was Bolg an additional 7th minifigure in the set, or did another minifigure take his spot? Also, do you have a link to the preliminary image? I'd love to see Hans Henrik Sidenius's sketch model for Dol Guldur Battle. Thanks in advance! Edited December 8, 2013 by phanstasm
deskp Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 Was Bolg an additional 7th minifigure in the set, or did another minifigure take his spot? They replaced him with that shouder armor orc. Havent got any link. it was a prelim model not a sketch model
LegoPanda Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) why no bolg, he was important in the book, azog was death, the should have let him in the set Edited December 11, 2013 by LegoPanda
Rogue Angel Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 I'm thinking Lego did not have a final concept to work from for the armored Elves, otherwise we would have seen an armored Elf or two. Plus they already got burned on Azog in the first wave
Fives Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 I'm thinking Lego did not have a final concept to work from for the armored Elves, otherwise we would have seen an armored Elf or two. Plus they already got burned on Azog in the first wave They must have had some reference for the armoured Elves because we did get the shield. However, they may have chosen to use only scouts because they feature most prominently in DOS (I'm assuming based on what has been shown in clips and trailers). I bet we'll see fully armoured Elves in a TABA BO5A army builder come next year.
Deathleech Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 The designers touch on the design process a little in the deskp posted a few days ago (in the 2013 LotR & Hobbit set thread). In it the designers say they go to Warner Brothers, read the script for the film, then sit down with WB and come up with set ideas. Then the Lego designers go home, create sketches, and send them in to WB for final approval. I am sure they are shown some sort of designs for how stuff will appear in the movie otherwise I imagine their designs would be waaaay off. Why they didn't do armored elves is anyone's guess. Maybe they didn't want to invest in the new molds just yet or maybe the hooded scouting elves are featured more prominently right now in DoS.
Fives Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Taking that into consideration, I bet they didn't invest in the new molds because they want to save them for TABA and give us a proper army builder for them. Hopefully.
Rogue Angel Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Yeah, that's what I have been thinking. Even though armored Elves (and toupeed Orcs) would have made MEA perfect, I am expecting them to appear in the third wave, along with armored Dwarves (Woohoo!)
Fives Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Yeah, that's what I have been thinking. Even though armored Elves (and toupeed Orcs) would have made MEA perfect, I am expecting them to appear in the third wave, along with armored Dwarves (Woohoo!) I expect we'll get a big Erebor set that will have Thorin, Azog, Beorn, and maybe Bolg and some of the other dwarves and an orc or two. Then maybe a decent sized Dale set (based on some of the production vlogs, it appears that Thranduil is seen fighting in his shiny armour in the streets of a ruined, snowy Dale), with armoured Thranduil, some armoured Elves and more orcs. Then another army builder, with perhaps Dain, some dwarves and some soldiers of Laketown fighting more orcs. Honestly, I have a feeling the entire wave for TABA will be based around the BO5A. Just three decent army building sets and Erebor as the centrepiece.
Deathleech Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Honestly, I have a feeling the entire wave for TABA will be based around the BO5A. Just three decent army building sets and Erebor as the centrepiece. I am sure it will, it has to. What else are they going to make sets for in TABA? Unless of course we don't get any exclusive Smaug set within the next few months. Then they might do a big Smaug set and have the rest be devoted to Bo5A, much like the second wave was mostly about Dol Guldur. I would be baffled if they don't release at least one MEA/UHA army builder type set for the Bo5A, and then a big set with most of the named characters. It would be awesome if the big Bo5A set had Beorn in bear form, Thorin, Fili and Kili all decked out in armor, maybe Dain and Bolg, Bard, and a great eagle with a few Gundabad Orcs and/or Warg. The army builder I am not sure how they could go about since there are so many armies taking part in the fight. I would definitely like to see some dwarf grunts, but it would be nice to get some human soldiers, armored elves, and of course more orcs.
Fives Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 I'd be content with fewer orcs. We got plenty this wave, and the orcs we'll likely see during the BO5A will be the same Gundabad orcs, so just stock up now. LEGO could easily give us something similar to MEA in regards to the good/evil ratio, with the good outweighing the bad by a decent chunk. That way we could get maybe two orcs (maybe with a Warg), two armored Dwarf warriors, two armored Elves, and perhaps an eagle. That would be the perfect BO5A army building set. $30-$40 price point, with the set itself just being extentions of Erebor so you can expand the two arms that stretch out from the door that create the valley in which the battle is fought. I also forgot about Smaug. I really hope that LEGO treats us with another D2C, and go balls to the wall on a Fire and Water set. Give us a Smaug that, while not scale to the Minifigs, is bigger than any dragon they have previously made in the history of the company. Then give us characters like Alfrid and Bard's family, along with Laketown villagers (maybe a nod to Stephen Colbert and his family, who all make a cameo somewhere in Laketown). I think that would be the smartest way for LEGO to do it, because then we get the level of detail required to pull off a good Smaug, and still get enough basic sets to cover the essentials of the BO5A.
deskp Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) I'd be content with fewer orcs. We got plenty this wave, and the orcs we'll likely see during the BO5A will be the same Gundabad orcs, so just stock up now. Well that would be another travesty. The BO5A orcs are very much armored, Not like the hunter gundabadd orcs we got this wave. http://i44.tinypic.com/29x6nue.png For the BO5A Lego really should make A fanstastic generic NEW minifigure, for each of the armored troops, Orc, Elf and Dwarf. (when i say armored I don't nessecarily mean they need to mold armor plates) Sounds like Dol Guldur is gonan be big again in TABA. Edited December 12, 2013 by deskp
legofreak86 Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) After hearing that.... I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR NEXT CHRISTMAS NOW! Saruman is one of my all time favourite wizards and characters! So it'll be great to see Sir Christopher back in the role and doing a bit of fighting with the necromancer! Edited December 12, 2013 by legofreak86
Archer Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 I recently bought 4 MEA sets, taking advantage of the fact that Toys R Us had a Buy One get One half off sale, and they hadn't jacked up the prices yet. Anyway, they look nice but having four clone trees is weird. it got me thinking though. If TABA sets released a $30 battle pack for each army, 1 for Elves, 1 for Dwarves, 1 for Men, 1 for Orcs, throwing and eagle, warg, maybe Bear Beorn between them, these things would sell like wildfire. Make each one build a section of some relevant structure so that when you buy them all you can assemble a larger ruin/ wall/ fortress/ whatever PJ has in the scene. I think that may be the only way to do the BO5A as a set/ sets, multiple affordable battle packs. This also save the larger piece sets for an erebor, more dolguldor, or (fingers crossed) Smaug.
BrickBob Studpants Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) That sounds great, but now I wish they kept their original release date, the wait is going to kill me even worse than last time ( ) Although I'd really like to see a set featuring Galadriel, I'm not sure we'll get to see yet another one based on Dol Guldur. Of course that depends on the overall amount of sets in the final wave Oh, I'm not sure if this idea has been brought up before, but maybe they'll release a D2C Smaug set in the summer and the retail sets in December in order to fill the gap? That way the biggest set of the final wave could be dedicated to the Bo5A instead of Smaug Edit: Of course such a set would have to based on DOS instead of TABA. Given the addition to that scene we get in the film, the minifig count could be quite substantial (even though there wouldn't be any new ones involved). But who cares about new minifigs when we could get a LEGO representation of the best movie dragon ever brought to the silver screen Edited December 12, 2013 by Lego-Freak
legofreak86 Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Based on what we know I can guess we may get in wave 3: Another Dol Guldur set including Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond in battle armour and hopefully a beaten up looking Gandalf judging by the trailers for DOS. A set with Smaug as we are without one this year. Perhaps he survives to the end credits of DOS that would be god reason we don't have him this year Then a large Erebor set with a lot of minifigures I'd guess Then 3 other sets for the battle of the five armies revolving by the looks of it around the ruined city of dale. 6 sets started the range so six should finish it.
Blazej_Holen Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Based on what we know I can guess we may get in wave 3: Another Dol Guldur set including Saruman, Galadriel and Elrond in battle armour and hopefully a beaten up looking Gandalf judging by the trailers for DOS. A set with Smaug as we are without one this year. Perhaps he survives to the end credits of DOS that would be god reason we don't have him this year Then a large Erebor set with a lot of minifigures I'd guess Then 3 other sets for the battle of the five armies revolving by the looks of it around the ruined city of dale. 6 sets started the range so six should finish it. I gues that we wont see any set including ruined Dale... I am also little bit sceptical about third Dol Guldur set...It´s my wish to get it but honestly? Much more likely we can see some addiction to the Lake town... I am curious about Erebor set, which I hope we get :)
deskp Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 I gues that we wont see any set including ruined Dale... I am also little bit sceptical about third Dol Guldur set...It´s my wish to get it but honestly? Much more likely we can see some addiction to the Lake town... I am curious about Erebor set, which I hope we get :) Dale seems to be the focus of BO5A. we should see a set represeting part of that.
legofreak86 Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 Indeed by the look of the production blogs the armies appear to fight at least part of the battle in ruined dale.
Fives Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) If LEGO were to make multiple army builders, they could each revolve around different sections of Dale. 3 army builders: Elves, Dwarves, and Men of Esgaroth. Elves: Includes armoured Thranduil, three armoured Elves (two with sword and shield, one with bow and quiver), three armoured orcs (perhaps a warg). Dwarves: Includes Dain, three Dwarf warriors (all have shields, one sword, one axe, one spear), three armoured orcs and an eagle. Men: Includes Bard in armour, three Laketown soldiers (two swords, one bow), three armoured orcs. Each set would include a different section of Dale that could add together to create a ruined courtyard or something. Then Erebor could have Thorin, Kili and Fili in armour, Azog on Daisy, Bolg, Beorn bear form, Bilbo, and two orcs. A Laketown set with Alfrid, Bain, maybe another Bard, a big Smaug, and some villagers. The set would have one or two buildings on fire, and maybe another longboat. Then a last Dol Guldur set (maybe depicting more of the dungeons area), includes Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron. Six sets, three of which would sell like crazy as army builders. That would be the perfect TABA wave. Edited December 12, 2013 by Fives
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