Anything on any new 2014 themes?

Renegade007cjh

The "little bird" that I spoke to confirmed that there will *not* be any more LotR sets, but there *will* be some new Hobbits ones, to tie into the forthcoming film.

alexwil

Renegade007cjh said:

The "little bird" that I spoke to confirmed that there will *not* be any more LotR sets, but there *will* be some new Hobbits ones, to tie into the forthcoming film.

Let birds do tend to get things wrong from time to time! I hope so in this case!!

Peter1975

@Renegade007cjh: Will you ask your 'bird' if he/she is forseeing new pirates, castle or western sets? Those are the ones I'm interested in?

Renegade007cjh

^ Sorry @Peter1975 but Castle is a "one and done" so no more after this batch. No sign of Pirates or Western on the horizon, either, I'm afraid... and yes, I'm gutted too!!!

^ @minifigman11 you're quite right, but they have no reason to lie!

Xefan

Be a shame if there is no LotR sets, I was hoping for a 3rd and final wave because there's still so much they could do with it and so much they haven't yet covered.

Only Hobbit set I want is Radhagast with his bunny sled but I doubt I'll be so lucky :(

alexwil

Renegade007cjh said:

^ @minifigman11 you're quite right, but they have no reason to lie!

Not saying they're living - I'm hoping for 'misinformed'!!!! Gutted if there is no 3rd wave.

The lotr waves fit in so nicely with the hobbit waves, got to assume (hope) we would be getting 3 waves of hobbit sets.

alexwil

^stupid autocorrect! I meant lying not living (although I also hope your little bird is living!!)

Renegade007cjh

^ Time to stop digging :)

I know what you mean... he seemed very well-informed (and placed to be well-informed) and genuinely disappointed that LotR will be coming to an end.

I guess we will all just have to wait and see!

NgclarkIV

They can't end the LotR wave now, we still need a witch-king with the fell beast.

klatu003

@Renegade007cjh No more LoTR? Color me bley.

Combee

@Renegade007cjh From the sounds of it there will be no LoTR in the spring wave - which is known (I'm just assuming your source doesn't have info on the summer wave). The lack of anything Gondor related so far all but points to a third wave next summer.

dougts

Combee said:

@Renegade007cjh From the sounds of it there will be no LoTR in the spring wave - which is known (I'm just assuming your source doesn't have info on the summer wave). The lack of anything Gondor related so far all but points to a third wave next summer.

You are assuming LEGO cares at all about designing sets the cover the gamut of locales in the LOTR trilogy that AFOLs might care about. I think that is a very dangerous assumption indeed, and I for one am not planning on setting myself up to be disappointed.

Renegade007cjh

Hey, I'm just passing on what I've been told... make of it what you will. As I said earlier, we'll all just have to wait and see.

legodude

Did he mention anything about a new Sci-Fi/Space theme? Or any info about the other LEGO movie sets?

The biggest disappointment about LOTR, would not be that it is ending this year, but that LEGO didn't branch out into new historic themes during its tenure. No Greek, Feudal Japan, Viking, etc, which is a shame.

LegoMom1

minifigman11 said:

Renegade007cjh said:

The "little bird" that I spoke to confirmed that there will *not* be any more LotR sets, but there *will* be some new Hobbits ones, to tie into the forthcoming film.

Let birds do tend to get things wrong from time to time! I hope so in this case!!

Don't panic just yet @minifigman11. I'm not sure about trusting what that "little bird" says. After all, he thinks there are polar bears in antarctica!

legomatt

If LoTR is indeed done, its a bloody travesty, and marks yet another derisory lack-lustre approach to film franchises, and a kick in the 'nads to fans of the film. Imagine if Peter Jackson had filmed Fellowship, and the two towers, and then said, meh, i can't be arsed to release Return of the King.

But TLG think differently: "Hey, you love Lotr? Well, here's a half-assed bunch of sets that won't complete the story or recreate any iconic sequence by a long chalk, and will leave you wondering WTF when we ditch support for the license."

"Wow, Lego, that sound like a great move. Yeah do that!"

Given that they clearly don't care what they put out, you'd think they would make Wave 1 of any license the strongest, most iconic sequences possible. Wave 2 should complete the story 'just in case', and include support sets wherever possible (battlepacks hint hint). Then it wouldn't matter so much if it died. But to leave without featuring iconic characters and sequences? What do they expect? Its likely fans are still waiting for them. Star wars wouldn't even last two waves with this approach. *grumblegrumblestupidlegogrumblewantgondorsoldiersgrumble*

In my opinion, they completely failed to depict any sequence that marks the license as unique (and worth paying for) - No Balrog, Nazgul (fell beasts), Sauron, Siege of Gondor (White City/White Tree), Death of Boromir/Lurtz hunters, Destruction of the Ring/Mount doom, Southron Mumak (elephant riders), etc

Without those, they might as well have done generic fantasy castle for less cost.

As i've said before, and apologies if you're sick of hearing it, this Trilogy would live or die on the strength of its BATTLEPACKS. Thoes support figs that make a scene epic.

If there had been boxes of Orcs (as seen in the movie, not the same-armed/armoured excuses we got), UrukHai, Moria Goblins (with their own definitive equipment), Rohan Men, Elfs, Gondor soldiers etc, these would have flown off the shelves in truck loads.

Furthermore some sets should have been targeted toward older collectors, who would appreciate an expansive and beautifully complex Rivendell with bridges, waterfalls, halls, stairwells, meeting rooms etc. What do they get instead? A bloody archway and a tree.

But at least we might get a penguin. So, an army of penguins it is.. was that in the directors cut? :o)

vitreolum

If I were to choose, I'd even take ONE set instead of nothing. So even if it ends now, it's still better than nothing.

dougts

the problem of course is LEGO trying to turn a 13 year old films franchise for teens and adults into crappy sets aimed at kids. I feel like if they would have just embraced the AFOL market on this theme they may have done far better on it. Instead of a bunch of small half-baked sets aimed to hit all the price points, just do 2 or 3 large sets per wave that feel complete and capture the iconic themes and scenes of the series.

bottom line, it was a bad fit from the beginning, and LEGO tried to shoe horn it into their standard theme setup instead of thinking outside the box.

dougts

and yeah compliment those large sets with battlepacks: Uruks, Orcs, Men of Gondor, Riders of Rohan, Elven Warriors. man, they could have done this so much better.

vitreolum

Obviously it would have been better, but it's going to be a while until TLG manages to get into their thick skulls that there's a huge AFOL market that can be exploited, and a big part for their increase in profits. So that's not an option right now, that's why I'm saying I'm perfectly fine with these sets instead of nothing. Even if only for the minifigs.

legomatt

@doubts 100% agree. One of my early issues with this release was the rigid adherence to the current price point structure instead of taking the theme (and market) into due consideration for best returns. It's in their interests as much as ours to get it right. They've been very lazy with this release, and yet they never seem to learn... I'm reaching the point of completely ignoring all licenses they 'do', because they just 'don't' every time.

@vitreolum One set better than nothing? If that was the deal, I would agree. A solid stand-alone piece that captures a sequence of the trilogy perfectly, and we know it's a one-off in advance. That's infinitely better than the big tease followed by massive disappointment, unwillingness to re-appraise and come back stronger, when we all KNOW where they've gone wrong. The unfulfilled potential is crushingly sad

But they chose to go with the middle finger option: an ill-conceived strategy and defeatist analysis, to ultimately end with an unfinished narrative and thoroughly cheesed off fans.

TLG: "Get stoked everyone, TLG has bought the LotR license"

Fans: Woooooh. Yeah, bring it on!

TLG: "Behold! We're completely ignoring iconic scenes in both waves and promptly giving up!
See as we use generic weapons and one generic orc across every set as a token bad guy.
Marvel at the release of NO battlepacks for those epic battles.
Don't battle the Balrog as you don't cross the bridge of Khazad-Dum!
Don't visit the elves, or row downstream to the falls of Rauros, hotly tracked by vile UrukHai.
Don't travel to Edoras to release Theoden from his evil enchantment.
Don't ride into battle with the Rohirrim, to save Minas Tirith from the clutches of the terrible winged Nazgul.
Don't see an oliphaunt!
Don't draw out hordes of armoured trolls from a Half-built black gate.
Don't destroy the ring at mount doom!
Fans of Lego and LotR... just Don't!
(Hey, chaps, why aren't our lotr sets flying off the shelves...)"

Fans: err... sorry, I thought you were doing Lotr? Can't we try that again, but this time with movie-accurate armament, battlepacks, and one or two adult-oriented builds for the epic scenes?

I can certainly buy into a one-off, if i know in advance not to expect anything else -cos' that's the deal. But if they're going to 'do' Lord of the Rings as a theme, I'd feel cheated if the finale and/or iconic scenes weren't ever rendered. What's the point in saving those things back, if they're just going to bail out early.

Whoever led this range was a complete idiot in my opinion.

plasmodium

I think really the problem here is Lego's audience. They're trying (as always) to release sets for the 10-14 age range (I think that's typical for their action themes), and so have tried to make them affordable (note the use of the word "tried") and include lots of action features.
Only, the thing is, Lego's REAL audience for this (ie, @legomatt 's "Fans" in his bit of dialogue) was always going to be AFOLs and late teens, only (as always) this demographic was more or less ignored (apart from UCS Isengard) as Lego bloody-mindedly focused on making kid's sets.

legomatt

@vitreolum I totally agree about the figs being nice, but oooh, it's so frustrating to have just a taster of what might have been. I just wish we could squeeze out one last wave to feature the missing figs at least:

Bridge of Khazad Doom: Brick-built Balrog with plasticy wings, and a light brick in his torso to make him 'burn', including a minifig-scale balrog for a laugh and some Moria archers (with proper moria helmets) - Gandalf would have to be included to make a 'play scene' of it. Collapsible bridge.

Emin-Muil, Lothlorien, Falls of Rauros: Galadriel (and optionally Celeborn/Elfs), Armed & armoured Lurtz (topknot & bow, double-sided head to be regular uruk), Uruk Hunters, Dead boromir

Witchking & brick-built Winged Nazgul vs Eowyn & Merry of Rohan (another chance to get a rohan torso in).

Osgiliath Raid: Gondor Knights fighting Gothmog & orcs in Ruins.

Mumak Ambush: Southrons on Elephant vs Gondorian Rangers

Siege of Minas Tirith - Armoured trolls and Easterlings attack city walls.

Xefan

The thing is LotR is a set of epic films built on an epic story full of epic scenes and battles.

So by not producing epic sets (other than Orthanc) it was always going to be impossible to capture what makes LotR great.

I was amazed the hobbit house wasn't part of the LotR grouping instead of the hobbit one to be honest. It goes perfectly with Gandelf arrives from the first movie.

CCC

Also, if they fail to "complete" LOTR (even if it is just through small minifig battle packs), then it could well hit sales of Hobbit sets too.

After all, if they are not going to do LOTR properly, why bother buying into wave 2 of the Hobbit as they could do the same for the Hobbit in future and not complete it.

legomatt

Excellent observation @CCC I completely agree. I haven't bought anything from the hobbit range (unless mega cheap, which is a no brainer) that doesn't add to my Lotr display.

It's amazing to think were it not for the hobbit movie, there might not have been a Bag End. So I bought it for the reason @Xefan mentions... (no Shire otherwise).

@Xefan I think the ultimate shame is that just with army builder battlepacks, we could have made most scenes epic ourselves, and the whole theme would have had a shot in the arm to make as big as we please. TLG just needs to give us the figs, and we're away. Plus kids LOVE battlepacks. I mean, who doesn't want a box of knights to battle a box of orcs? Adults love the license accuracy, kids love the box o' figs, non-lego adults buying for kids love the perceived 'bang for buck' of a box of figs.

Another solution (instead of dropping the theme) could be release downloadable instructions (if they daren't risk making the sets), or even let TLG official designers post their own range of LotR designs to Cussoo, so that fans can 'decide' what gets released next, instead of gambling on lack lustre sets that don't/won't shift.

(sorry for hogging the thread everyone). I'll take my leave now, and think up ways of making Gondor Knights...

CCC

legomatt said:

Excellent observation @CCC I completely agree. I haven't bought anything from the hobbit range (unless mega cheap, which is a no brainer) that doesn't add to my Lotr display.

It's amazing to think were it not for the hobbit movie, there might not have been a Bag End. So I bought it for the reason @Xefan mentions... (no Shire otherwise).

I have to admit, I have traded / bought all the Hobbit sets now as I wanted the complete set of dwarfs. But now that I have them, there is little to get me to buy into another wave, unless the minifigs are very good (more than just a different torso for an existing minifigure), can be added to LOTR (so maybe if they do Galadriel) or I think I can get armies of each faction. The latter will be based on the LOTR sets they bring out (or don't). If they miss out doing a Gondor army, then I have little faith. The elf army will also be useful in LOTR MOCs, but for other armies I want to make sure they have someone to fight!

legomatt said:

(sorry for hogging the thread everyone). I'll take my leave now, and think up ways of making Gondor Knights...

I use the heroic knight CMF body (or just plain torsos and legs in either grey), wiping or replacing the shield and breastplate with plain versions (I put Gondor decals on some), and using 3844 as the helmet. But I'd prefer the real thing.

sonsofsceva

I think if they are going to continue to bring out Hobbit sets, then they will continue to bring out LOTR sets. The licenses to go together and it allows for the new winter sets (Hobbit) in line with the movie and then the new summer sets (LOTR) to carry interest to the next movie sets. My guess is we get one more LOTR run, and if sales are good, we might leave with LOTR the summer after the last Hobbit movie. I hope that is correct!

icey117

Ofcause more LotR sets would be welcomed with open hearts/wallets, but we have gotten quite a lot of really wonderful sets and figures. So we shouldn't be whinning too much. For sure out collection is not complete, but I'm sure that if LotR had sold as well as Starwars, TLC wouldn't hesitate to continue the waves... TLG is a money earning company and satisfying a smaller interest groups (such as the AFOL/LOTR fan group) if it is not paying of, will make the the company collaps again!

That said... We do really need an oliphaunt, Faramir and Éowyn and the WitchKing and a fell beast. And a Lórien tree (w/ Galadriel) instead of the Hobbit-WargAttack-tree would have been... Prefered!

rancorbait

Ending LOTR now would be throwing away money. I was hoping it would be like Star Wars, an ongoing theme. There is still so much that could be made! Boy do I hope that "little bird" was wrong!

legomatt

@CCC yep, same for me. The only draw right now with hobbit sets is to pick up the 13 dwarves/other lotr characters... except i'm waiting to see what the next Hobbit waves produce by way of dwarf goodness.

@icey117 Nobody whining as such, just pointing out the glaring omissions that to my mind have hamstrung the theme from the outset, (which ought to be filled before the theme sets sail for distant lands). Had some of these omissions featured earlier in wave one or two (instead of Pirate Ship, Black gate, Orc Forge, which are arguably less important), we might have seen much stronger sales from the very outset to encourage TLG to support the theme further.

I totally appreciate what we have, but it's also one massively missed opportunity if they abandon it here, and leave us all thinking what might have been, had TLG paid some attention to what fans wanted. Perhaps by raising these issues, there's a faint hope they spot these mistakes and recover the theme. There's always hope, mr frodo!

CircleK

I was surprised LotR got a 2nd wave honestly, not to mention a d2c set. I don't know the numbers - just my own personal observation that came from a lot of time spent in a lot of Lego aisles: The sets were aimed at kids, but the kids weren't interested. They were too busy drooling over Ninjago, Monster Fighters, Superheroes, and Star Wars.

The LotR sets went nowhere in my neck of the woods other than the clearance racks and The Hobbit theme isn't doing any better.

legomatt

^ yep... a somewhat forlorn hope on my part. :oP

Xefan

I honestly thought the first round of LotR sets were pretty dull and boring. I think that's why they seemed less popular.

I think the new wave is much better, I agree the pirate ship isn't exactly a massive part of the film but it's a genuinely nice set, as is Orthanc and Council of Elrond, Wizard Battle and such.

I think if they've made a decision to do no more because the first round didn't do well then that's a shame because I think the first round didn't do well bluntly because it wasn't that great, especially relative to the price.

Compare LotR wave two with the Hobbit sets (including the new ones from the one I've seen) and I think wave one was just not that great. I liked the cave troll and such but the buildings themselves seemed a bit dull. That's just my opinion though, maybe others absolutely fell in love with them, I just thought weathertop and helms deep especially were particularly boring sets.

cody6268

Xefan said:

Yes, and 3 arctic fire stations for all the fires you get in the arctic.

They use tracked fire engines in the Arctic. I'd like to see one of those in Lego

kez

This appears to be the new elrond figure (second to last), except he has the wrong face. These are also accompanied by the inclusion of the new superheroes figures :-D
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79903860@N03/10038135656/

icey117

@kez What? Does that mean more LotR's sets are on their way???

binaryeye

^ Considering the timing, The Hobbit is more likely.

klatu003

@kez @icey117 - That is just a user mashup of Elrond's bod, Arwen's hair and a yellow face.

kez

@icey117 Ive just realised that its actually exactly what klatu003 said, but l hope there will be more LOTR sets. The good thing is that we should be getting another elrond figure in the new hobbit sets, and the new hobbit sets may also have azog in and if you have watched the new hobbit trailer you may get a better idea of the upcoming hobbit line. But you never know there may well be a 3rd LOTR line, which may be advertised in the back of the hobbit instructions like the prior wave ;-D

just2good

Elrond is rumored to be in the $20 Hobbit set this year.

icey117

@just2good IF we get yet ANOTHER Elrond, we end have 3 different versions of him. That is really wasted production effort considering who else we want and who play more significant roles the story.

But I guess one can't get enough elves, so... :-)

dannyrww

I really like the LOTR sets over all...could they have been grander...yeah sure...but the scaled down ones were good for my wallet...sadly I never got Helms deep which was probably one of the nicer sets...I will get Orthanc for Christmas though :) and I am really happy with the mini figures...though I still want a balrog, sauron, Galadriel and eowyn.... Merry and Pippen in Rohan and Gondor army respectively would be nice too...I'll settle for some nice elves in the hobbit line if they are different enough from eachother...

MCNwakeboard

I'm in the group that hopes for another LOTR wave as I would love to see some of the movie scenes mentioned in Lego form.

Perhap this rumor (of no more LOTR sets) could be true because The Hobbit third movie (There and back again) was initially slated for a July 2014 release (later pused to December 2014) and TLG didn't want to have a wave of LOTR sets coming out just a month or so before the final movie was to be shown and have such a short life cycle. It seemed like Harry Potter sets collected dust for a while after the final movie.

klatu003

Interesting that LoTR lovers here are so down on the sets. I have them all (and more duplicates than I'm going to disclose) and I find most of them satisfying. Warning - long post full of personal observations. YMMV.

#9469 Gandalf Arrives - completely charming

#9470 Shelob Attacks - essential minifigs and a menacing spider

#9471 Uruk-Hai Army - great army builder for Rohan horsemen and Uruk-Hai and add-on wall for the Helm's Deep.

#9472 Attack On Weathertop - I thought this was a very cleaver smallish build, including both the campfire and the attack scene with stairs connecting. It also opens to reveal an interior area. The building technique was interesting. Ringwraiths!

#9473 The Mines of Moria - This one was a little choppy and had *stickers*, but the brick built doors were very nice.

#9474 The Battle Of Helm's Deep - Pleasing but a bit short. Solution buy two and build up!

#79005 Wizard Battle - Really a nice set for the price. An alternate hair Gandalf, an excellent Saruman. Special evil eye globe. The action part was even meaningful.

#79006 Council of Elrond - Beautiful set with new pointed arches and red leaves. Small but elegant representation of Rivendell. I bought a bunch to make a larger Rivendell.

#79007 Battle at the Black Gate - Buy two and you have a very reasonable imposing entrance to Mordor. Gandalf the White and Gondor King Aragorn and the Mouth of Sauron and toss in an eagle.

#79008 - Pirate Ship Ambush - this one is a puzzle. Why not Minas Tirith? Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn again..... Although I do appreciate getting the "of the Dead" guys. It does feel like TLG said, what set can we make in this line to use our existing ship hull molds.

#10237 Tower of Orthanc - Really, can anyone complain about this one?

The Hobbit sets were not as satisfying - and part of the reason was following the movie version aka "Peter Jackson's Hobbit Bloated Blockbuster Trilogy."

#79000 Riddles for the Ring - yawn.

#79001 Escape from Mirkwood Spiders. The black trees are underwhelming, but the spiders are scary. Mr. Klatu did not like them. Made up female Elf - fanservice anyone? Legolas was in the Hobbit? Fanservice anyone?

#79002 Attack of the Wargs. Wargs are good. Stupid Azog. Tree was too action oriented.

#79003 An Unexpected Gathering. Absolutely stunning. A great cast of dwarves.

#79004 Barrel Escape. Nice little build. Have to have the drunk elf.

#79010 The Goblin King Battle. Hot mess. Peter Jackson made up action scene lead to this abomination.

So overall the LoTR are pretty good and the Hobbit not great, except for Bag End. The prices were not bad based on the "10 cent standard." I was happy when the sets came out that they mostly did not follow the Star Wars inflated price model.

I had hoped that Lego's license with LoTR and Hobbit would churn sets out endlessly like SW, but apparently there just isn't enough interest in them to be profitable for TLG. The LoTR movies are old and too scary for younger kids (unlike SW and HP) I don't think that choosing other scenes would have made any difference in sales. But if there are no more, two scenes that will leave the biggest holes in our collections.

Balrog & Gandalf
Éowyn & The Witch King

Agree with everyone that there should be Battle Packs, Battle Packs, Battle Packs. Of course I already have so many Gimli's that I don't need any more dwarves for the Battle of the Five Armies.

vitreolum

^ That's not Azog in #79002 Attack of the Wargs

TheBigLegoski

I hope that you are all dead wrong about there not being an other wave of LOTR sets, but I am afraid that you could be right! That is, if those of you who make these statements have actual, factual inside knowledge of TLG development, production, and marketing strategies and proceedings. Because if not, this is may all just be false rumour, gossip, in other words; scuttlebutt!

*crosses fingers and hopes for many many more waves of LOTR sets.

legomatt

^Nobody has inside knowledge of the TLG strategy... not even TLG, by my accounting. lol

:oP

Bumblepants

Well it is probably too early to rule out LotR completely, if a 3rd wave is coming it will be May/June 2014 at the earliest and for now only details on January items are out and about. Unless I am mistaken, (which has happened a time or two) a good list of 'Won't Have For Sale Items' stems from a retailer catalog of 'What We Will Have For Sale Items' which doesn't seem to be circulating for Summer 2014 yet.

klatu003

@vitreolum You are so right -Yazneg (a PJ original). Still stupid. Since I only found Lego (for myself) in late 2011, I am very grateful that I was ready to purchase all of these when the theme was released. Otherwise I would be either spending a fortune with the resellers, or being very sad I didn't have these sets.

Yes with everyone hoping the "little bird" is wrong--please, please, please more LoTR sets.

*Clicking my red heels together*
*clapping my hands to believe*