Several LEGO fan websites are reporting a new Hobbit set called The Lake Town Chase. The set will retail for $49.99 with 334 pieces, and 5 minifigures: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin, Bard, the Master of Lake Town, and one guard. It's a very nice little set, but it has a high price tag for the amount of pieces that are included. Never the less, I'll be picking it up eventually. Scheduled release is December 2013!

 

 

Personally, I'm not that impressed by the set, as it is pretty barren looking, and doesn't have too much "filling". Oh well.

If those are the sets, don't expect to see Azog until the Battle of the Five Armies (if he survives to that point!)

So Mirkwood Elf Army will be the next Lord of the Rings 'unofficial' army builder set (and possibly have a few of the polybag Mirkwood Elf), but the two Dol Guldur sets sound generic and slapped together. I'm not saying that as though they are false but as those names are not final. I wouldn't rule out Smaug appearing in the largest of this wave simply because his name is not in the title which could happen later on as these rumors are more confirmed.

 

 

I actually HOPE and PRAY those Mirkwood elves are armored or in battle attire...

 

not that Guard lame with even worse hood lol

 

Give us an actual elvish warrior in armor if its an ARMY .... its not a scouting set.

I actually HOPE and PRAY those Mirkwood elves are armored or in battle attire...

 

not that Guard lame with even worse hood lol

 

Give us an actual elvish warrior in armor if its an ARMY .... its not a scouting set.

 

I'm hoping they are holding out on us and we get battlepacks of orcs, dwarves and elves

I'm hoping they are holding out on us and we get battlepacks of orcs, dwarves and elves

I know right. Is it me, or has Lego made a huge mistake not doing Star Wars style battlepacks for LOTR?

Is it me, or has Lego made a huge mistake not doing Star Wars style battlepacks for LOTR?

Lego cannot release battlepack style sets for Lord of the Rings due to some conflict of licensing with Star Wars or something. It's the same reason they rejected the CUUSOO project for Ultrabuild style Star Wars characters which were really cool but alas, licensing problems. So they get around it by doing those middle sized sets which are essentially army builders yet not technically army builders. Don't you just love semantics? :wacko:

I know right. Is it me, or has Lego made a huge mistake not doing Star Wars style battlepacks for LOTR?

 

 

Why do we have to go through this for the millionth time....

 

its a CONTRACT problem that they cannot give us battle packs...

Why do we have to go through this for the millionth time....

 

its a CONTRACT problem that they cannot give us battle packs...

You and I pretty much said the same thing at the same time. I was just more 'wordy' with my response. Ha.

Is it a contract issue that they can't do any battlepacks at all? The issue Lego has with SW and Hasbro is the terminology behind "action figures" and that Lego selling them individually places them away from the "building toy" model.

Lego cannot release battlepack style sets for Lord of the Rings due to some conflict of licensing with Star Wars or something. It's the same reason they rejected the CUUSOO project for Ultrabuild style Star Wars characters which were really cool but alas, licensing problems. So they get around it by doing those middle sized sets which are essentially army builders yet not technically army builders. Don't you just love semantics?

Ah, yes I remember hearing something about that on Eurobricks. Not smart for either side, battle packs are just what the Hobbit line needs to garner some interest.

Is it a contract issue that they can't do any battlepacks at all? The issue Lego has with SW and Hasbro is the terminology behind "action figures" and that Lego selling them individually places them away from the "building toy" model.

 

 

Yes except that with LOTR contract is apparently/obviously even more strict....

 

and there is some figure to piece ratio (if we take example there were a little over 300 pieces for 6 figures in Uruk-hai army... so that falls on about 50 pieces per figure... which is way higher than most b-packs for SW...

 

so ye we need to remove the idea of LOTR b-packs (like in SW) for now... if not ever

 

 

 

You and I pretty much said the same thing at the same time. I was just more 'wordy' with my response. Ha.

 

Yeah i blame my lack of patience due to participating in conversations about LOTR/Hobbit on other forums and get the same ''silly'' questions and cries for bpacks... I just dislike when people dont do the research with google  different topic though.

 

 

But ye you wrote it a second before me lol

Ah, yes I remember hearing something about that on Eurobricks. Not smart for either side, battle packs are just what the Hobbit line needs to garner some interest.

 

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/2674

 

Enjoy the response.... now multiply for LOTR/Hobbit contract

Yeah i blame my lack of patience due to participating in conversations about LOTR/Hobbit on other forums and get the same ''silly'' questions and cries for bpacks... I just dislike when people dont do the research with google  different topic though.

 

I did do my research. Like you, I have sifted through like the ten LOTR/Hobbit topics on Eurobricks where the battlepack discussion spilled into. Although never have we heard a direct response from Lego on the subject, so it isn't exactly something you can look up on google. Other than some "inside spectulation" nothing arose from the discussion on Eurobricks as to why Lego didn't produce battle packs other than some people suggesting it is contracting reasons. That explanation made the most sense so it stuck. But it hasn't been proven. A box of 100 SW figures is a lot different than what everyone had in mind when they said battle packs, and the SW license is irrelevant; each license has its own rules, whether it be Minecraft or Toy Story.

Yes except that with LOTR contract is apparently/obviously even more strict....

 

and there is some figure to piece ratio (if we take example there were a little over 300 pieces for 6 figures in Uruk-hai army... so that falls on about 50 pieces per figure... which is way higher than most b-packs for SW...

 

so ye we need to remove the idea of LOTR b-packs (like in SW) for now... if not ever

 

 

 

Yeah i blame my lack of patience due to participating in conversations about LOTR/Hobbit on other forums and get the same ''silly'' questions and cries for bpacks... I just dislike when people dont do the research with google  different topic though.

 

 

But ye you wrote it a second before me lol

 

Cheers for that. I don't participate in the LOTR thread on Eurobricks, I found it would get too convoluted and then go off on different tangents.

I don't mind if they come up with them like in the Uruk Army style, as long as we are getting a decent collection of army builders in a set (the UA set was fantastic value IMO for what we really get). If it means breaking the groups down into factions for the final battle, I am sure they could easily find a way.

Yeah, I'm thinking they may be using dollar currency instead of euros (pounds, actually) myself Alcarin. Especially since the person listed the Lake Town thing as fifty pounds, its price in USD. (not to confuse anyone... lol we are having a cross forum discussion here between here and eurobricks)

I did do my research. Like you, I have sifted through like the ten LOTR/Hobbit topics on Eurobricks where the battlepack discussion spilled into. Although never have we heard a direct response from Lego on the subject, so it isn't exactly something you can look up on google. Other than some "inside spectulation" nothing arose from the discussion on Eurobricks as to why Lego didn't produce battle packs other than some people suggesting it is contracting reasons. That explanation made the most sense so it stuck. But it hasn't been proven. A box of 100 SW figures is a lot different than what everyone had in mind when they said battle packs, and the SW license is irrelevant; each license has its own rules, whether it be Minecraft or Toy Story.

 

 

Ofcourse there is no 100% proof answer.

 

but it wil lbe 100% once LOTR/Hobbit line ends...

 

Those going against license have only 1 ''weapon'' in their arsenal. And thats the slim possibility that TLG is only trying to sell sets before they do Battle packs (like SW)

 

But if LOTR/Hobbit ends and there is no battle packs (and we all agree only a dumb person would not try to sell them if they could) then there is only 1 reasonable answer.... contract.

 

 

 

I dont know what difference does it make.... 100 figures or 5 figures = battle packs.... regardless of size. LEGO makes millions of figs ... and i doubt contract of SW would say... you can do  4 figure b-packs but not 5...

Interesting list.  Not sure if they'll name two sets with "Dol Guldur" though.  

 

Hard to tell from the names but I was hoping for a little more.  LOTR wave 2 was an improvement over wave 1, so I was hoping that would be the case for the Hobbit.  But it may not be that way.

Interesting list.  Not sure if they'll name two sets with "Dol Guldur" though.  

 

Hard to tell from the names but I was hoping for a little more.  LOTR wave 2 was an improvement over wave 1, so I was hoping that would be the case for the Hobbit.  But it may not be that way.

 

how was anything in LOTR wave 2 improvement over Helm's Deep ? I fail to see such improvement... 

Well Orthanc is arguably better
The quality of the LOTR sets has been awesome IMO
 

Well Orthanc is arguably better

The quality of the LOTR sets has been awesome IMO

 

 

 

Ortanc is not exactly part of the shop line but more of Exclusive... so without Orthanc this wave is much worse than 1st one

Ortanc is not exactly part of the shop line but more of Exclusive... so without Orthanc this wave is much worse than 1st one

 

That is just semantics as it will be released either as a store exclusive, or to all of them. By that logic sets such as Orc Forge, Dynamic Duo Funhouse, etc do not belong in any of the waves of their respective lines.

how was anything in LOTR wave 2 improvement over Helm's Deep ? I fail to see such improvement... 

 

Really?  Well there is Orthanc of course, but I would also say:

 

Wizard Battle > Gandalf Arrives

Council of Elrond > Uruk-Hai Army

Black Gate > Weathertop

Pirate Ambush > Mines of Moria.

 

Those are the closest price point matchups.  I also think Orthanc > Helm's deep. 

 

So relatively I would say wave 2 is better

Really?  Well there is Orthanc of course, but I would also say:

 

Wizard Battle > Gandalf Arrives

Council of Elrond > Uruk-Hai Army

Black Gate > Weathertop

Pirate Ambush > Mines of Moria.

 

Those are the closest price point matchups.  I also think Orthanc > Helm's deep. 

 

So relatively I would say wave 2 is better

 

Subjective, but for the most part is how I think. The thing is, the first wave of LOTR was real quality as well, so I am a very happy LOTR/Lego fan

Subjective, but for the most part is how I think. The thing is, the first wave of LOTR was real quality as well, so I am a very happy LOTR/Lego fan

Agreed. I think everyone was surprised when those first pictures of them came out - they looked more like ultra-detailed MOCs than official sets to me. LOTR is top-bar stuff.

That is just semantics as it will be released either as a store exclusive, or to all of them. By that logic sets such as Orc Forge, Dynamic Duo Funhouse, etc do not belong in any of the waves of their respective lines.

 

 

Yep they belong to store exclusives... jsut like Kingdoms Chess set is not part of Kingdoms released line its exclusive does not matter which figures/theme is inside it. Chess was not presented as part of the wave.

 

 

 

Really? Well there is Orthanc of course, but I would also say:

Wizard Battle > Gandalf Arrives

Council of Elrond > Uruk-Hai Army

Black Gate > Weathertop

Pirate Ambush > Mines of Moria.

Those are the closest price point matchups. I also think Orthanc > Helm's deep.

So relatively I would say wave 2 is better

 

 

lol

 

Helm's Deep vs Pirate Ship ambush is the comparison.... 2 flag ships of the wave...

 

 

Helm's Deep vs Orthanc is even bigger price gap thanpirate ship vs Helm's Deep and these 2 (Ship and Helm's Deep) are considered top sets of the line)

 

Thats not semantics...

 

lol

 

Helm's Deep vs Pirate Ship ambush is the comparison.... 2 flag ships of the wave...

 

 

Helm's Deep vs Orthanc is even bigger price gap thanpirate ship vs Helm's Deep and these 2 (Ship and Helm's Deep) are considered top sets of the line)

 

Thats not semantics...

 

Oh, lol, I'm very sorry.  I had no idea that you'd take my general statement of comparison and then strawman the argument down to only taking the 2 flag ships excluding a really big set that is store exclusive for now.

 

Yes, based on your narrow criteria then Helms Deep is probably better than Pirate Ambush. 

 

My opinion is however not altered.  I own all the sets, and the only wave 1 set I have left on display is HD, the wave 2 sets are all on shelves and I can see them being there for a while.  On average, in my opinion, wave 2 is better than wave 1.  I think the vibe I have picked up around here and on other sites is that this opinion is shared by most people.  If you'd like to set up a poll between the two maybe that will shed some light on it.