2012 LEGO Lord of the Rings

[Buttmunch]

Hopefully they plan to release Saruman and his tower. Otherwise they missed to include him in the Orc Forge. I'd rather have Orcs and Uruk-Hai in that set for sure as long as Saruman gets some release. Saruman's tower would be awesome with an attacking Ent.

I still think it was a very poor choice not to include him. I don't think we ever had a scene in the films of the Orc Forges without him.

[Relhak]

I still think it was a very poor choice not to include him. I don't think we ever had a scene in the films of the Orc Forges without him.

I'm thinking they're treating the Orc Forge as another battle pack type set like Uruk Hai Army. They can have an iconic $100+ set with him later.

Ultimately, you only need one or two of him, but tons of orcs. I'd like to get a bunch of these, so I'd prefer not to trade 5 orcs for 5 Saruman figs.

[Buttmunch]

I suppose. I just think it dumb to leave out a main character in a set theys should be in to begin with. It would be like having a Bilbo's Birthday party set and leaving out Bilbo. I'm sure Saruman is coming later on, but this just seemed like a no brainer to have him here.

So if Lego is looking at this as an army builder set, then wow! Lego is realizing mini figures are more often the draw to a set than the actual sets!

[CharliesDad]

I always wonder why I see on some sites or eBay listings images of the package with number of pieces missing.
I'm assuming they're some prototype/beta stage of packaging (or a rendering), but it concerns me when a store or ebay seller uses those as their product image for sale (exception being pre-order of course).

I think only the North American editions of sets have the number of pieces displayed on the box. The European editions only show the item number.

I believe this is the case. I recently purchased one of the larger Ninjago sets from Amazon.fr and when it arrived, I stared at the box for a minute or two, not initially able to put my finger on what was different. Then I realized that the number of pieces was not shown. I did a little more research and this appears to be the case for all the European sets.

[adol7]

Oh wow, I had no idea. Thanks for clarifying guys.

[jal4u2c]

I hope they do some really large sets for LotR. Perhaps Rivendell or can't you imagine Minis Tirith, the white city built up the mountainside until you reach the top where the King's Palace is located? That would be an incredible set! Or how about Minis Morgul too? Then Grand Hall of King Theoden? The Towers of Isengard and the Eye of Sauron? This has SO much potential!

[legitimatealex]

I hope they do some really large sets for LotR. Perhaps Rivendell or can't you imagine Minis Tirith, the white city built up the mountainside until you reach the top where the King's Palace is located? That would be an incredible set! Or how about Minis Morgul too? Then Grand Hall of King Theoden? The Towers of Isengard and the Eye of Sauron? This has SO much potential!

I would appreciate a mini version of Minas Tirith, Rivendell, eeeh I would like some of the buildings built to scale but I don't think it would be quite as impressive.

I'm kind of surprised there's no set where they exorcise the King of Rohan. I know its not the most exciting scene, but they have the cart from the Fellowship of the Ring, I don't see why they couldn't have that. Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, the King and Wormtongue. Would be a pretty good set with a nice background in the great hall.

[Deathleech]

Looks like it went from 5 minifigs down to 4.

Ya, I am surprised no one else really has said much about this. That's a big disappointment to me, and even more so because they look to of cut the coolest looking Mordor Orc (the one with the ears)! Looks like it's now just the bald Mordor Orc, the one with longer hair, a Uruk-Hai in armor, and Lurtz.

I still think it was a very poor choice not to include him. I don't think we ever had a scene in the films of the Orc Forges without him.

I'm thinking they're treating the Orc Forge as another battle pack type set like Uruk Hai Army. They can have an iconic $100+ set with him later.

Ultimately, you only need one or two of him, but tons of orcs. I'd like to get a bunch of these, so I'd prefer not to trade 5 orcs for 5 Saruman figs.

Meh, I dunno if the Orc Forge is much of an Army builder set. I mean it has Lurtz which you only need one of, and the Uruk-Hai soldier which the Uruk-Hai Army set already has way more of (and for 10 bucks cheaper). Then there's the actual forge which I don't see you really needing multiples of. The only reason (in my mind) to buy multiples of this set would be for the Mordor Orcs, which seem to only be available in this one set as of now.

Also I agree it's weird Saruman wasn't in this set. Or Sauron in any set for that matter. Undoubtedly they will expand the line and have these two show up, but not including two of the main evils when you have almost all the main good guys seems a bit weird. Lurtz is the only named evil character and he is in a Target exclusive!

[Buttmunch]

Got Weathertop and Helmsdeep from Amazon today. Finished Weathertop. A bit overpriced for what you get IMO. Its more like a $50 set rather than $60, but I think Lego knows they can gouge on these sets. I'm really hoping for a Ringwrath with horse polybag set because its going to be impossible to get all 9 of them when you can only get 2 at a time in a $60 set.

I have to say that they really failed on Aragorn. They've got him in a brown trench coat. Its green guys! And I don't know what is up with the tan pants either. They just totally messed up his color scheme. And then no cloak? Even as Strider he had a cloak. And not to mention his missing quiver of arrows. I haven't seen a Lego figure fail this much in a long time!

Its only after you finish Weathertop that it finally looks like Weathertop. I don't know what all the crap on the lower level is for or supposed to be since none of it is in the film aside from the Hobbit cook out, which is really missing some nice crispy bacon


Only about 1/2 through Helms Deep. Its a HUGE set. Not sure if its worth the $130 plus extra $30 for the army builder set add on, but its going to be by far the largest Lego set I've ever put together. $120 and $25 would probably be more in line, but again, Lego knows they can over charge on these sets. But TRU's prices are just laughable!

King Theoden is the exact opposite of Aragorn. And excellently produced figure! He even has his green vest under his armor and the helmet is wonderful as well. He almost makes up for Aragorn. The Orcs are pretty sweet too.

And how could I forget the cool horses? They've finally updated their horse figures to include back leg articulation so you can have them rear up! About time! Before that, the horses could only stand and either look straight up or down. This was a huge improvement and I love it. And the Nazgul horses even have some fantastic armor printing on their heads.

All in all, I am very impressed so far and can't wait for the Mines and Forge to arrive from Target on Friday and then the rest from Lego probably sometime next week. My one and only gripe is really the poorly executed Strider. Hopefully they can fix him for a RotK version, as king or not.

Oh, and in case anyone hadn't guessed, the back of the sets officially announce Hobbit sets this winter, so probably just in time for the film and Christmas.

[Ice]

LEGO 30211 Uruk Hai and LEGO 30210 Frodo Polybags

First post updated.

[unclephn]

^ The Uruk-hai poly is nice! They should've made a Gandalf poly instead of Frodo.

[nick91884]

I hope I can get my hands on a few urukhai army poly's they are gonna go fast.

[SpaceNinjaDino]

I hope LEGO knows to make 10,000 Uruk-hais for every person in the world.
That poly is going to be the hottest set ever. Perfect to include the long ax and helmet+armor. I will have to track these down. LEGO won't meet demand with that set.

[Deathleech]

^ The Uruk-hai poly is nice! They should've made a Gandalf poly instead of Frodo.

Totally agree. It seems weird to have Frodo in a polybag when he is already the most readily available character. He is in three other sets, one of which is super cheap and with the same clothing as the poly. They should of either made a poly with Gandlaf, or another character that's only in a single set so far. Personally I would of loved to see another option to get Legolas outside of the Mines of Moria set. At least with Gandalf he is in a 13 dollar set instead of an $80 one!

As for the Uruk-hai polybag, it looks pretty cool. Might be a nice option for army building if you are sick of getting the walls/catapults with the Uruk-hai Army set. However, at 4-5 bucks a pop you might be better off just getting the Uruk-hai Army set anyways (6 minifigs x 4 = $24, plus you get a horse and all the pieces for the wall/catapult). As with the Frodo poly, I personally would of liked to seen a Mordor or Moria Orc in this polybag since they aren't as easily available.

[SpaceNinjaDino]

You're right that the Uruk-hai poly cost is not going to scale compared to the Uruk-hai Army set.

[Deathleech]

Ya. I mean don't get me wrong, I still think the Uruk-hai poly will do really well. It's cheaper so younger kids who want to increase their Uruk-hai numbers (but only have a few bucks to spend), will snatch them up. Older fans who have no interest in the catapult/wall or the horse/Eomer/Rohan soldier and strictly want more orcs may also buy these instead of getting all the extras that come in the Uruk-hai Army set to save some money.

However, I think most people who want to army build will just buy the Uruk-hai Army set and get all the extras. For every 16-20 bucks spent on polybags you will get the 4 Uruk-hai orcs and throwers, but for 10-14 dollars more they could get a horse, Eomer, Rohan soldier and nearly 200 pieces to build more walls and catapults. It's just such a better deal it's gonna be hard to pass up, even if you are only interested in more orcs. This is why I would of much rather seen a Moria or Mordor Orc set.

Right now the only way to get either of these is in a $40 exclusive set or an $80 set. I am sure as the line expands this will change, but for right now these are the only two options to get more of these types of orcs. Had Lego made a Moria Orc poly with a small piece of stairs or bridge that could hook up to other Moria Orc poly sets and the Mines or Moria set I would of bought several dozens. As is I plan on only buying a few Uruk-hai polys and 1-2 Frodo ones since I have other more cost effective options out there to get these figures (Gandalf Arrives and Uruk-Hai Army).

[Buttmunch]

Yeah, that Frodo polybag is pretty worthless. And the Urak isn't much better, but at least its an army builder. I think a Ringwraith with Horse would have been a far better choice for a polybag than that Frodo set. I mean how are we supposed to have all 9 wraiths when we only get 2 in a $60 set? That ain't happening.

[Hodgeman]

Yeah, that Frodo polybag is pretty worthless. And the Urak isn't much better, but at least its an army builder. I think a Ringwraith with Horse would have been a far better choice for a polybag than that Frodo set. I mean how are we supposed to have all 9 wraiths when we only get 2 in a $60 set? That ain't happening.

Yeah, agree. Reminds me of the Harry Potter poly bags!

[Everybody]

I told you guys they'd make a lotr theme.

[BrickGarurumon]

I like the set with the giant spider.