LEGO Hobbit 2014

[Darth Caedus]

The mining part, in general, has the appearance of a big, ugly lump of LEGO bricks assembled unimaginatively. It is presumably nice to play with for the little ones, but for an adult looking for LEGO that captures scenes from a beloved movie, it constitutes a superfluous collection of bricks. I would never display this part and would rate it a 1/10 from a pure aesthetic point-of-view.

As an adult LEGO fan, I like sets with high display value. The tower of Orthanc resides in my living room, and even non-LEGO and non-LotR fans refrain from any negative remarks. Most importantly, my wife understood why I wanted to spend so much money on this 'toy', and any of our friends' children immediately notice that this item is not meant to be disassembled and played with. The Smaug set fits none of these bills. It only resembles something out of the Hobbit movie to hardcore fans that search for similarities. Its main piece, a bright red toy dragon, will understandably be picked up and thrown around my house by any child. What the set lacks the most is gold. When thinking of Smaug, I think of a treasure hoard as wide as the eye can see. I wish LEGO had used some golden baseplates with some decorative treasure as the dragon's lair. As it is, I see no value in this set from an adult fan's perspective.

My feelings exactly. Lego's designers took the day off, got high, and ordered a pizza for this set. The throne itself is good, not great, altogether pretty basic stuff...and the mining section is just utter rehash garbage. Seeing how it is in the final set makes it even more absurd - the rail for the cart just abruptly cuts off. And far be it from Lego to waste some of this set's limited piececount on a massive, pointless crapatult!

Oct 15th as the release date is the one saving grace. It means there's a chance that amazon will discount this and it can be snagged for $100 - with the rehash minifigs and the terrible display value, it's just not worth a penny more.

-

[deskp]

So that would possibly be like 5 in erebor, 3 in dol guldur, 4 in laketown and 5 in battle of five armies. Hopefully there are more figures than that I'd say. I'd say that the battle deserves 8 to itself as it is the largest event of the film and the flagship set is low on figures. Laketown tower I'd say 4-5 as the marvel sets at that price usually have that many and then dol guldur is 3 we know. That would be 20 figures which seems like a good number to me especially because the first hobbit wave had 30!!! Then the second wave had 20. If this had less that'd be disappointing as the sheer mutltitude of stuff in the third film and in the battle specifically demands at least 20 in an ideal world 30 figures would be in this wave like with the first wave.

Keep in mind I only count unique minfiigures. wave 2 had: 12. wave 1 had: 25 +goblin king

so wave 3 laketown could have laketown guards and it wouldnt be part of the 16-7 total.

and bo5a might have 2 new orcs but it would only count as 1 new fig.

Edited July 25, 2014 by deskp

[SMC]

The latest Marvel sets the spider copter is £35 and some star wars ones have hit that price range so I could see this being £34.99 the price just means there should be more in the set. Hopefully means more figures!

spider copter was £45

[legofreak86]

spider copter was £45

You are right my bad I got my numbers mixed up but there are star wars sets that are £35. If its what FBTb saw then its probably fixed. Then again urtle lair was said to be £99.99 and it ended up only £79.99 so you never know which way it will go. For all we know in the UK smaug set could end up the same price as goblin king battle.

Keep in mind I only count unique minfiigures. wave 2 had: 12. wave 1 had: 25 +goblin king

so wave 3 laketown could have laketown guards and it wouldnt be part of the 16-7 total.

and bo5a might have 2 new orcs but it would only count as 1 new fig.

AH I see I get your point now. yes that would be a quite satisfactory number. The way I see it if we get Thorin, Galadriel, Elrond, witch king, dain, Bolg, blue coat bard, bain, Casual tauriel, orcs, elves, beorn bear, men soldiers, Dwarves plus the main dwarves and Bilbo we have seen in erebor that would be a decent wave. That's what I hope for but yes 16-17 unique characters sounds about right.

Edited July 25, 2014 by legofreak86

[SandMirror38]

I think for LT the line up will be

Bard -Blue Coat-

Bain

Bolg

Tauriel

Alfrid (This can be the iffy fig between 4-5 figs)

[Deathleech]

So that would possibly be like 5 in erebor, 3 in dol guldur, 4 in laketown and 5 in battle of five armies. Hopefully there are more figures than that I'd say. I'd say that the battle deserves 8 to itself as it is the largest event of the film and the flagship set is low on figures. Laketown tower I'd say 4-5 as the marvel sets at that price usually have that many and then dol guldur is 3 we know. That would be 20 figures which seems like a good number to me especially because the first hobbit wave had 30!!! Then the second wave had 20. If this had less that'd be disappointing as the sheer mutltitude of stuff in the third film and in the battle specifically demands at least 20 in an ideal world 30 figures would be in this wave like with the first wave.

The first wave had 6 sets though compared to this waves 4, and it also had to fit in all 13 dwarves where that doesn't seem to be the case now. Really the only major characters we are missing are Dain, Bain, Bolg... and that's pretty much it. Sure there are some variants and several soldier types, but if Lego didn't even make Gondor Soldiers I could easily see them passing up more minor factions like the Iron Hill Dwarves. I am guessing the minifigure count will be:

79015 Elrond/Galadriel/Witch King - 101 pieces. $14.99 (USD) $15.99 (CAD) - 3 minifigures (obviously)

79016 Lake-town Tower - 313 pieces. $29.99 (USD) $34.99 (CAD) - 4 minifigures (SDCC Bard, Bain and...? Alfrid? Braga? Bolg? Tauriel/Legolas? Another dwarf (unlikely imo))

79017 Battle of Five Armies - 471 pieces. $59.99 (USD) $84.99 (CAD) - 5 minifigures and a large molded creature (Dain, Thranduil in armor, 2 orcs, Bolg if not in Lake-town and creature is Bear form Beorn, MAYBE an Iron Hill Dwarf or armored Elf Soldier if we are lucky, but I doubt it)

79018 The Lonely Mountain - 858 pieces. $129.99 (USD) $119.99 (CAD) - 5 minifigures already shown and large molded Smaug

This would be similair to past releases. Both Black Gates and Weathertop, the previous $60 sets, only had 5 minifigures each and a large molded creature (or two with the black fel steads in Weathertop). I don't forsee the $60 Bo5A set being much different UNLESS Lego gains some sensibility and makes it into more of an expensive army builder. Realistically I don't see that happening though. I mean look at the Black Gates set, Lego could of easily included some Gondor or Rohan Soldiers in it but instead we didn't get any. We just got the two Mordor Orcs so the good guys had something to battle besides just the Mouth of Sauron. Of course nothing is concreat as the only other $130 set we had in the LotR/Hobbit line was Helm's Deep which had 8 minifigures and this waves one has 5 (and a HUGE creature instead).

[legofreak86]

I think for LT the line up will be

Bard -Blue Coat-

Bain

Bolg

Tauriel

Alfrid (This can be the iffy fig between 4-5 figs)

Sounds good to me. Then again i'm not sure if they would put DOS casual legolas in aswell as he fights bolg in the second film. His non armoured gear is actually different to his LOTR gettup enough to warrant a figure: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g-DXRLV2ZW4/UqduVgVCSGI/AAAAAAAAH74/9SG9v68ZOKE/s1600/HBT2-043180r.jpg compared to LOTR version http://www.amagpiesnest.com/a/wallpaper/1024x768_images/legolas4.jpg the design of the tunic and legs are different and for one thing its much darker green compared to the LOTR one.

The first wave had 6 sets though compared to this waves 4, and it also had to fit in all 13 dwarves where that doesn't seem to be the case now. Really the only major characters we are missing are Dain, Bain, Bolg... and that's pretty much it. Sure there are some variants and several soldier types, but if Lego didn't even make Gondor Soldiers I could easily see them passing up more minor factions like the Iron Hill Dwarves. I am guessing the minifigure count will be:

79015 Elrond/Galadriel/Witch King - 101 pieces. $14.99 (USD) $15.99 (CAD) - 3 minifigures (obviously)

79016 Lake-town Tower - 313 pieces. $29.99 (USD) $34.99 (CAD) - 4 minifigures (SDCC Bard, Bain and...? Alfrid? Braga? Bolg? Tauriel/Legolas? Another dwarf (unlikely imo))

79017 Battle of Five Armies - 471 pieces. $59.99 (USD) $84.99 (CAD) - 5 minifigures and a large molded creature (Dain, Thranduil in armor, 2 orcs, Bolg if not in Lake-town and creature is Bear form Beorn, MAYBE an Iron Hill Dwarf or armored Elf Soldier if we are lucky, but I doubt it)

79018 The Lonely Mountain - 858 pieces. $129.99 (USD) $119.99 (CAD) - 5 minifigures already shown and large molded Smaug

This would be similair to past releases. Both Black Gates and Weathertop, the previous $60 sets, only had 5 minifigures each and a large molded creature (or two with the black fel steads in Weathertop). I don't forsee the $60 Bo5A set being much different UNLESS Lego gains some sensibility and makes it into more of an expensive army builder. Realistically I don't see that happening though. I mean look at the Black Gates set, Lego could of easily included some Gondor or Rohan Soldiers in it but instead we didn't get any. We just got the two Mordor Orcs so the good guys had something to battle besides just the Mouth of Sauron. Of course nothing is concreat as the only other $130 set we had in the LotR/Hobbit line was Helm's Deep which had 8 minifigures and this waves one has 5 (and a HUGE creature instead).

Thorin is sure to be in the battle of the five armies set as why include kili in erebor and not thorin unless thorin is going to be in the battle set.Its a defining moment in the narrative and we have seen plenty of pictures of the dwarves in armour and thorin's new gold chainmail design gettup. It'd be foolish not to include oakenshield in this wave as it is a movie that depends a lot on his character events.

[Deathleech]

Ya I forgot Thorin. If Lego sticks to past models and only has 5 minifigures in the Bo5A set we will be lucky to get an Iron Hill Dwarf or Armored Elf then. It will most likely be Dain, Thorin, Beorn in bear form, and then possibly Bolg, armored Thranduil, and an orc?

[legofreak86]

Hopefully they will break from past conventions in their sets. If not that seems very possible. At least we'd get the main players from that battle. Ideally we want all those and then some generic elf soldiers and dwarf soldiers. Who knows? They might surprise us!

Edited July 26, 2014 by legofreak86

[deskp]

I'd be baffled if we dont get an eagle.

[General Magma]

I heard they were going to showcase ALL the sets at SDCC. Is/was this true, or a false rumor?

[Fives]

I'd be baffled if we dont get an eagle.

I really hope we don't. If it doesn't take the space of Beorn or a warg or something, then fine. But if it ends up taking precedent over something we need more, then I won't be too pleased.

Also, do people think the LEGO bear version of Beorn will be a pitch place colour like in the game or dark brown? While black would be more accurate to the book, in the movie he really does look more brown. Whatever happens, my guess is he'll be identical to the game version.

EDIT: separate from what I was saying above, here is a behind the scenes video on the making of the Smaug video from Brotherhood Workshop. It really gives you a great look at what Smaug looks like.

I love the way the rubber makes the wings look.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Fives

[Sarah]

For some reason, that image makes the set look a lot better. While it may seem incomplete to some people, it is still a kids toy. It effectively represents the two most significant locations within Erebor that we've seen in the movies, as well as gives us a very impressive Smaug fig.

Another reason that people may be thinking Smaug looks weird is because this is the first moveable Wyvern LEGO has released (the Horntail from Goblet of Fire was also a Wyvern, but for the most part it was all one solid piece, with no moving neck or legs). The lack of arms makes the overall torso area seem smaller than that of other dragons we've had recently.

I agree. I'm still not sure I'm going to spend $130 for it. I was psyching myself out for $100... And that's a big jump. But the image/photo makes the set look MUCH bigger. Esp because Smaug is as big as the build! (which looks somewhat substantial here)

[wesker]

Ya I forgot Thorin. If Lego sticks to past models and only has 5 minifigures in the Bo5A set we will be lucky to get an Iron Hill Dwarf or Armored Elf then. It will most likely be Dain, Thorin, Beorn in bear form, and then possibly Bolg, armored Thranduil, and an orc?

Don't forget the mandatory Gandalf minifigure. What are the chances of Lego releasing a new wave without him in any of the sets?

[Hypernova888]

...So close to the trailer that I can nearly taste it...

I like this set. The Smaug figure, while small and a bit chunky, looks excellent in my opinion. The moulds and printing look amazing, and I am in love with the wing design. 9.5/10.

The figures are great. While they are old characters, they are new variants that look very cool. 'Especially excited for the Bilbo. I think the green Dwalin axe looks super boss, and while I'll have to get used to the colour of Balin's mace, I love that he gets it. Fili and Kili seem like a slightly odd choice to put in, but I don't care that much. 9/10.

The actual build, which could have been better, I agree with that, looks pretty good for me. I understand the splicing together of the throne chamber and the mines, and the aesthetic value is about 8.5/10 in my book, which is sightly lower than most LotR/Hobbit sets, but this will look good on my shelf AND be a lot of fun to play with, IMO, so even though it could have been better and larger, it still looks pretty dang cool.

Yes, this set is WAAAAY overpriced, but by no means does that mean that I'm not picking this up as soon as I can. It'll be a great addition to my collection, and I think price of $129.99 isn't going to bother me for very long.

Over all, 9/10.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Hypernova888

[Dr.Cogg]

I was just thinking about what would have made this set look better and I thought ,what if lego had built the throne and the mines on this base plate( in gold color) with gold and jewel stickers.

[Omenix]

I was just thinking about what would have made this set look better and I thought ,what if lego had built the throne and the mines on this base plate( in gold color) with gold and jewel stickers.

hi im new here, so this is my first post

I think that baseplate would definately improve the set, but if the set was made using that it would look even more incomplete as a huge chunk to one side of the plate remains unused and would seem wasted.

however if they added this it would make the $130 dollar price tag seem fairer, or i would even pay more to have a third section to the right of the throne be a part of it as well

[wesker]

Does Lego still even use baseplates in their sets anymore apart from the modular buildings?

[kevkipo]

I was just thinking about what would have made this set look better and I thought ,what if lego had built the throne and the mines on this base plate( in gold color) with gold and jewel stickers.

That would be a big NOPE for me, the set is good as it is

However on the BO5A set, Im fine with the minifig list BUT i need a Dwarf soldier in that set

Im very happy we get Dain, another dwarf to my collection! but if we do get 1 or 2 soldiers i think that at least 1 of those spots needs to be an Iron Hill soldier

every one has had it's time in the spotlight, We've got Elven soldiers/guards (too much if you ask me). We've got a LOT of Orcs. we even had Men (Lake-town guard)

Now it is time for the dwarven soldiers to steal the spotlight

[Trunkbass]

^ I couldn't agree more however I would like an armored orc too, especially a new helmet to get more variety in my evil army.

I'm not interested in armored elves. LEGO got their chance in the second wave and look how the epic elf guards from the movie are translated to the armybuilder set...

[legofreak86]

I'm hoping we get a mix of main characters and grunts in the set. To do it justice we'd need something like Thorin, Armoured Thranduil, Dain, Bolg then 2 armoured orcs, 2 elf soldiers and 2 dwarf warriors. The rest of the set I reckon will be dale ruins and maybe a beorn bear. I think it's more likely we army wise get 2orcs, 2 dwarves but only 1 elf soldier. Then again Thranduil might not even be in the set. They did do him last year afterall in battle. He wasn't in armour but he did have a sword. We'll have to wait and see. I predict they won't disappoint us hopefully!

[SMC]

beorn bear is what I really want to see but no one in London saw it and its not like they don't have a good stand in

[BrickBob Studpants]

It all depends on the amount of minifigs 79017 will encompass I don't think it makes a huge difference whether the set is intended as a play set (like 79014) or as a battle pack/ army builder (like 79012) since both of these include a decent amount of minifigs (even though the latter has fewer unique ones). I guess it's not unreasonable to expect around 6-7 minifigs

[KristofBD]

Well I just returned from my holiday and saw the pictures only minutes ago. I love Smaug - I find brick-built dragons often lacking (especially in comparison to the hyperrealistic minifgs we tend to get lately. The rest of the set is clearly a filler and rather weak, but then again, I had the same with the Dol Guldur battle which turned out to be a very nice building experience actually. Se we'll see.

I have to admit though: I always was more curious about the other sets than this one. Given the price and piece count, my expectation is that the Dale set will include lots of minifigs.

[SMC]

I have to admit though: I always was more curious about the other sets than this one. Given the price and piece count, my expectation is that the Dale set will include lots of minifigs.

or will just be over priced