Home› Collecting
Shopping at LEGO or Amazon?
Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

LOTR in 2013

12357

Comments

  • BeavBeav Member Posts: 303
    The black gate set looks great.

    And the Gandalf v Saruman mini set is really nice for a small one.
  • HarryPotterLoverHarryPotterLover Member Posts: 238
    ^ They usually go the put good figs in small set to raise price route (SH Catwoman set- ex) but the $10 price point for the Eye of Sauron and Saruman- seems fair. And the Black Gate- most likely build with big pieces, and good figs (GTW) and an Eagle- 652 pieces for 60$ WOW! But PSA 750ish for 100$-eh... not much on ships, but HUGE on LOTR so I will end up picking them all up. At least most wont break the bank this time (Im looking at YOU Mines of Moria...)
  • mdellemanmdelleman Member Posts: 274
    Excited about these sets!! Fingers crossed for a third wave.
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    Beav said:

    The black gate set looks great.

    I was looking at those photos with one of my kids (6 yo) last night. He asked the question - why don't they just go round the side?
    MathBuilderVortexDiggydoesLostInTranslationRedbullgivesuwindy2joshNgclarkIVbellybutton290bassbison
  • andheandhe Member Posts: 3,915
    mdelleman said:

    Excited about these sets!! Fingers crossed for a third wave.

    I think we can say yes without doubt. Of both the LOTR and Hobbit, rounding out and rounding off both trilogies in 2014 with the final Hobbit instalment.
    shaheed
  • richoricho Member Posts: 3,830
    Really excited about the ship. Still get the feeling LOTR isn't selling brilliantly right now, as still a lot on clearance around me, but this new wave looks well designed with some lovely touches and excellent figs, so it's all good by me!
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    ^ I get the feeling it is selling well, just that the price points are wrong. As soon as they are discounted to a more realistic price, they are usually gone. Also everyone knows that non-exclusive sets get discounted these days. I'm sure others have a similar attitude to me - if you don't need it when it first comes out, then wait and you will save.
  • richoricho Member Posts: 3,830
    edited February 2013
    ^ to an extent, anything sells well if discounted enough. I guess what I meant was that at full price, I don't think they are moving. Still, perhaps I am wrong, as a second wave indicates some level of success. I have bought every set after all...
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    ^ Yes, I know what you mean. I think there is an interest for the LOTR sets - same as any other range - but that at the price points people are not willing to go for them. It may not affect the other ranges (Chima, etc) so much where there are more smaller sets at lower price points.
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    Mines of Moria and Weathertop were atrocious from a cost-to-gain ratio. They've outdone themselves with the Hobbit Sets in design and pricing IMHO.

    Unexpected Gathering, Goblin King, and Barrell Escape are wonderful sets. The only stand out is the Goblin King in the price point. It's come down quite a bit in several markets though.

    Very excited about the Council and Wizard fight. Thinking seriously of buying 2x Black Gates for a proper one. Maybe that was TLG strategy all along with a price like that ;P
  • Doom4Doom4 Member Posts: 14
    All LOTR sets can be bought very cheaply when you are able to wait for Christmas or other discount events. For example Mines of Moria costed slightly over 60 dolars in our country (almost 40% discount from recommended price).

    I think that same will apply to all future LOTR / Hobbit sets. They are going to be released in June and I will just wait until Christmas to buy them all for decent price.
  • richoricho Member Posts: 3,830
    Yeah, I bought Mines of Moria for £33, so over 50% off rrp. Tricky thing with this new wave is I will really want the ship straight away, so will take some self discipline to wait for the inevitable 3 for 2s later in the year.
  • mdellemanmdelleman Member Posts: 274
    Does anyone have any idea when we could expect the rumoured Tower of Orthanc set to come out?? It would seem as a DtC set we would get it very shortly after any details are released by LEGO about it. Similar to Palace Cinema perhaps?
  • legomattlegomatt Member Posts: 2,543
    edited February 2013
    I think the BIG MISTAKE lego is making, is that they are completely ignoring the EPIC nature of the films, and every set so far is devoid of army builder multi-purchase value, and no battlepacks to pick up the slack.

    I mean, the Moria sequence has the bad guys outnumbered, without adding any of the fellowship from other sets. When you add the nine walkers, those goblins and troll look positively daft in opposition.

    So apart from the smaller uruk helms deep attack set (which still contains Eomer, instead of a standard rohan rider, or a Haldir's elf archer), I have found no reason to purchase multiples of any set, as I don't want a dozen Gimli, and a dozen Aragorn. I do want lots of Uruk-hai, lots of Moria goblins, lots of rohan/elf defenders for the Helm Deep battle.

    And how do I get the nine riders? Buy 5 weathertops? Not going to happen.

    This is lots of sales missed, purely due to a lack of battlepacks, OR army builder value in the sets.

    I think LotR is one license that would have benefited greatly if most of the key characters were in low cost sets (which you buy one of), and expensive key scenes had lots of army builder warriors (which would mean we buy lots).
    icey117
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    @legomatt i definitely agree on the army builder packs that are definitely missing. Orcs, Rohan warriors, Elves, etc...they are truly missing out in primary market, and secondary is gaining thru the roof for the need.
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    legomatt said:



    I think LotR is one license that would have benefited greatly if most of the key characters were in low cost sets (which you buy one of), and expensive key scenes had lots of army builder warriors (which would mean we buy lots).

    That would rule out a kid getting a few of the soldiers/armies then.

    Also many people will just want the key characters, and not vast armies. If they are all in cheap sets, then not much revenue will be made from those people.
  • cloaked7cloaked7 Member Posts: 1,448
    I think LOTR and Hobbit battle sets would sell well. They do for SW, so why not? Price them for $10-12 and you would find a lot of people wanting them. Kids and adults.
    Just as with SW battle sets, they would make a good item for the parent to buy the child when the child wants a LEGO set, but the parent doesn't want to spend a lot on the TRU visit.
    Or, for when a person needs to spend an extra $10 to get the purchase to a certain amount for whatever reason.
  • dougtsdougts Member Posts: 4,110
    the answer seems pretty obvious really - just sell battlepacks of Orcs and generic Elves and Rohan/Gondor soliders. It certainly seems like a missed opportunity.
    kylejohnson11
  • wesman21wesman21 Member Posts: 13
    LegoM
    legomatt said:

    I think the BIG MISTAKE lego is making, is that they are completely ignoring the EPIC nature of the films, and every set so far is devoid of army builder multi-purchase value, and no battlepacks to pick up the slack.

    I mean, the Moria sequence has the bad guys outnumbered, without adding any of the fellowship from other sets. When you add the nine walkers, those goblins and troll look positively daft in opposition.

    So apart from the smaller uruk helms deep attack set (which still contains Eomer, instead of a standard rohan rider, or a Haldir's elf archer), I have found no reason to purchase multiples of any set, as I don't want a dozen Gimli, and a dozen Aragorn. I do want lots of Uruk-hai, lots of Moria goblins, lots of rohan/elf defenders for the Helm Deep battle.

    And how do I get the nine riders? Buy 5 weathertops? Not going to happen.

    This is lots of sales missed, purely due to a lack of battlepacks, OR army builder value in the sets.

    I think LotR is one license that would have benefited greatly if most of the key characters were in low cost sets (which you buy one of), and expensive key scenes had lots of army builder warriors (which would mean we buy lots).

    You totally nailed it with this post. They are definitely missing out on some sales.
  • morbiczermorbiczer Member Posts: 50
    It is certainly strange that there are no LotR battle packs. We know that the SW battle packs sell very well.

    I wonder if ther are not some contract limitations behind the lack of battle packs for LotR.
  • legomattlegomatt Member Posts: 2,543
    edited February 2013
    CCC said:


    That would rule out a kid getting a few of the soldiers/armies then.

    To be fair, TLG always makes a few figs in the expensive sets unique to that set, so it'd make no difference in that respect. The frustrating thing I was trying to point out about the current approach favoured by TLG, (to duplicate key characters across every set, filling them all with unique personages), means it is done at the expense of the rank-and-file soldiers, which without Batlepacks means have not even been made at all (so currently we are all denied).

    My approach/solution would at least have them existing somewhere (personally, as a consumer, i'd much prefer a range of themed Battlepacks myself, such as Rohan, Uruks, Moria, Hobbiton/Bree (villagers & hobbits), etc as its easier on the wallet, and i could buy lots of those to populate the battles), but if TLG is not going to do BPs for lotr then they should at least feature more soldiers in the appropriate larger scale settings (rohan guardsman, elven bowman at helm's deep for example) - which would encourage multi-purchases of large sets - and reduce the unique characters to accommodate them.
    Also many people will just want the key characters, and not vast armies. If they are all in cheap sets, then not much revenue will be made from those people.
    (I did say 'most', not all) - but I was making more of a general statement anyway than going into specifics, so don't read too much into it. But picking up on your point, if BP's were not to happen, key characters making room for a few army builders in larger sets would (in the above case) be spread out thinly across other sets (but not all), so effectively selling many sets to the people just chasing characters, including the big set (i'd keep one or two in there).

    Basically, what I really meant was not to have lots of key characters bunched up in sets, but spread lightly instead, to allow room for the generic extras which make a set come alive.

    For example, I hope we get a Siege of Gondor set at some point, with Gondorian knights, Foot soldiers, and Mordor Orcs. Yes add in Denethor or Gothmog, perhaps, but not also Faramir, Gandalf, Aragorn etc to the point that we have no soldiers to actually do battle with. Characters are strong enough to carry their own featured set from any number of film scenes, whereas 'the extras' who make the scenes grand and epic are really only useful in battle sets or battle packs.

    In short, Battle Packs for the win. :o)
    y2josh
  • andheandhe Member Posts: 3,915
    dougts said:

    the answer seems pretty obvious really - just sell battlepacks of Orcs and generic Elves and Rohan/Gondor soliders. It certainly seems like a missed opportunity.

    morbiczer said:

    It is certainly strange that there are no LotR battle packs. We know that the SW battle packs sell very well.

    I wonder if ther are not some contract limitations behind the lack of battle packs for LotR.

    Yeah I've been wondering if there was a similar contract limitation like the Star Wars licence. ie another company has the rights to LOTR 'action figures'. That's not to say TLG couldn't produce smaller battlepacks (the Uruk-Hai army is basically a large battle back), but then people wouldn't buy the bigger sets to bulk up their armies. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we see smaller battlepacks at the end of LOTR wave, seeing as TLG will have LOTR specific moulds that won't have any further use after the licence ends (unlike Star Wars, I can't see this running and running) and might as well cash-in.
  • kylejohnson11kylejohnson11 Member Posts: 508
    edited April 2013
    Just ordered a copy of Battle at Black Gate for in store pick up in Portland, Oregon. Just waiting on the confirmation saying it is ready for pick up. I'm hopefully getting it tonight after work! They also have Pirate Ship Ambush per the website.

    http://www.kmart.com/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-8482-battle-at/p-004W004845728002P?prdNo=10&blockNo=60&blockType=G60

    http://www.kmart.com/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-8482-pirate-ship/p-004W005171970002P?prdNo=11&blockNo=61&blockType=G61

    Also code KMARTMUST gives $5 off
    Brickarmor
  • kezkez Member Posts: 831
    kylejohnson11 said:

    Just ordered a copy of Battle at Black Gate for in store pick up in Portland, Oregon. Just waiting on the confirmation saying it is ready for pick up. I'm hopefully getting it tonight after work! They also have Pirate Ship Ambush per the website.

    http://www.kmart.com/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-8482-battle-at/p-004W004845728002P?prdNo=10&blockNo=60&blockType=G60

    http://www.kmart.com/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-8482-pirate-ship/p-004W005171970002P?prdNo=11&blockNo=61&blockType=G61

    Also code KMARTMUST gives $5 off

    Why not order 2 ;-) (the description of the black gate set does say combine 2 sets to have epic battles), good luck
  • kylejohnson11kylejohnson11 Member Posts: 508
    @kez I wanted to, but I only had $60 in my PayPal account :) Need a few BrickLink items to sell first.
  • FenrisAkashiFenrisAkashi Member Posts: 242
    Hah! A fellow Portlander. Now I know who is beating me to all the sales! ;D
    kylejohnson11
  • kezkez Member Posts: 831
    kylejohnson11 said:

    @kez I wanted to, but I only had $60 in my PayPal account :) Need a few BrickLink items to sell first.

    If I also had the money I'd buy two but one is as much as my wallet can stretch :-(
    I Hope you are lucky in getting the set (another few months until the UK gets them :-( ).


  • DiggydoesDiggydoes Member Posts: 1,079
    @kylejohnson11 are they supposed to be out THAT soon,or is kmart messin it up?
  • kylejohnson11kylejohnson11 Member Posts: 508
    @FenrisAkashi I wish I could say I was the one beating you to all of them. Somebody has been hitting the Wilsonville/Tualatin Fred Meyers before I could get there

    @Diggydoes I think kmart is messing up. I heard May/June release.
  • DiggydoesDiggydoes Member Posts: 1,079
    Whoa over here (Germany)the schedule says July! That would be pretty early for you based in the US!
  • BrickarmorBrickarmor Member Posts: 1,258
    I just ordered one, tried to order another and said it was OOS. This has to be a total fluke. We shall see!
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    Thanks for the heads-up... Any working coupon codes to get a deal?
  • BrickarmorBrickarmor Member Posts: 1,258
    edited April 2013
    Kmart10psavings

    Big thanks to @kylejohnson11 for finding this, fluke or not!
  • FenrisAkashiFenrisAkashi Member Posts: 242
    @kylejohnson11

    That's a bit farther south then I tend to get...Havent seen any clearances at FM before, just a few decent 20% off sales and I've had good luck on the LOTR sets at the 33rd and Halsey FM.
  • kylejohnson11kylejohnson11 Member Posts: 508
    Looks like K-Mart is trying the old bait and swap. My receipt for the purchases says "The Lord of the Rings™ Battle at the Black Gate" and the order pick up confirmation says "Lord of the Rings™ Attack on Weathertop™" Time to call!
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    edited April 2013
    ^^Got it, thanks! I also found 25OFF125 ($25 off $125).
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    Order placed, we'll see if I get a pick up confirmation or not...
  • thenosthenos Member Posts: 444
    It's KMart. They do not have them in stock. They just don't.
  • BrickarmorBrickarmor Member Posts: 1,258
    Just got my "pickup is ready" emails. Boy, I can't wait to get those Goblin Kings!

    Yes, that's what they say.
  • kezkez Member Posts: 831
    More images of the palantir and council of elrond set:
    http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=75636&st=2650#entry1565672
    Renny
  • RennyRenny Member Posts: 1,145
    edited April 2013
    I like the design of the council set but will probably end up buying multiples of it to make it closer to the movie scene. Just seems small with seating just for three.
    kez
  • y2joshy2josh Member Posts: 1,996
    edited April 2013
    Definitely agree with @Renny. The council set is pretty nice for what it is and I'll pick up multiples (as seems to be the case with far too many LotR sets), though I'm not loving that Arwen figure even a little. The 'skirt' bottom is going to make her enormous AND prevent her from riding a horse, which was really her only function across the movies. Not to mention she doesn't make sense in the scene to begin with.

    (Also not digging Elrond and Arwen using the same hair piece... hopefully that's not final.)

    As far as the Palantir... I'll need to see what all Orthanc comprises before I jump on that one.
  • DiggydoesDiggydoes Member Posts: 1,079
    Are the sails of the Corsair-ship the same they used for the new Jabba-sail barge???
  • y2joshy2josh Member Posts: 1,996
    ^Nope.
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    So what minifigs are we still looking for in the next (probably last) wave for LOTR ...

    Eowyn
    Faramir
    Witch King
    Gondor Soldiers
    Denethor
    Galadriel *
    Sauron *

    * Could come in with The Hobbit instead.

    Which suggest a couple of smallish sets ...
    Eowyn, Witch King and brick built fell beast
    Faramir, Denethor and two Gondor Soldiers

    Other characters that would be nice ...
    Some more generic elves and maybe orcs and uruks
    Déagol and Sméagol
    Merry in Rohan Armour
    Pippin in Gondor Armour (or just give us some Gondor Soldiers in armour!)


    Any others?
    icey117Bumblepants
  • icey117icey117 Member Posts: 510
    edited July 2013
    CCC said:



    Any others?

    An Oliphaunt with some Haradrim warriors would be welcomed with open heart!
    CapnRex101andheBumblepantsjasorlegomatt
  • BumblepantsBumblepants Member Posts: 7,537
    @CCC Everytime I think of something I double check your list and you have it covered. Only other things I can come up with are a Treebeard to go with the Orthanc ent and maybe a Balrog. But those wouldn't be minfigs
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    Bumblepants said:

    Only other things I can come up with are a Treebeard to go with the Orthanc ent and maybe a Balrog. But those wouldn't be minfigs

    Yes, I kept it to minifigs since we can be purist and build MOC treebeard and Balrog, but it is the minifigs where the range is incomplete for the purist.

    Even Eowyn and Faramir are relatively easy to make from official parts, but we really need a Gondor Soldier torso.
    legomatt
  • BumblepantsBumblepants Member Posts: 7,537
    Yeah Gondor soldiers would be great. Then we can buy that new Architecture Studio set and build a proper Minas Tirith to put them in.
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    Bumblepants said:

    Yeah Gondor soldiers would be great. Then we can buy that new Architecture Studio set and build a proper Minas Tirith to put them in.

    You'll need at least 100 of that set to build a proper Minas Tirith.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Shopping at LEGO.com or Amazon?

Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon

Recent discussions • Categories • Privacy Policy • Brickset.com

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Sign In Register

Categories

Brickset.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program and the Amazon EU Associates Programme, which are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.