10237 - Tower of Orthanc

[TheOrcKing]

At my LEGO stores VIP release means nothing.......the will sell it to anyone who has the money, just like they did with the PC in February.

It's gonna take me a while before I see PC = Palace Cinema.

Anyway, that release date just keeps inching its way closer and closer! Be still my beating heart....

[Blackjack]

It's gonna take me a while before I see PC = Palace Cinema.

I spent like ten seconds looking at that before I got it! :grrr:

[TheDarkness]

The precious..... will be ours....... It is going to take everything in my power to not pay full RRP for it

[MI678]

Even at $200, is it a good buy for potential resale further on down the road?  Thanks in advance!!

[Grolim]

There is almost no reason to buy this set for long term investment at present.  Especially at full retail.

 

Even if the set does have good long term prospects (my feelings is that it probably does) you'd be better waiting until the end of it's retail life to nab some.  If you are looking to stockpile 157 of them like some big investors then you may need to start buying earlier, but other than that hold off.

[MI678]

Thanks for the prompt reply!  It just seems like such a cool set, and I have not seen it anywhere retail.  Only on Amazon and the Lego store.

[ZombieToyChest]

Walmart and Toys R Us has them at retail.

[MI678]

Really?  Thanks, hadn't seen that!

[seapotato]

I bought the tower only on ebay and it's definitely an impressive display piece. I couldn't help myself and bought one to tuck away during the 2x VIP points in October, but I probably didn't need to rush into it, since it just came out this year.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I bought the tower only on ebay and it's definitely an impressive display piece. I couldn't help myself and bought one to tuck away during the 2x VIP points in October, but I probably didn't need to rush into it, since it just came out this year.

 

You never know when they will kill double VIP - I don't have a problem with it. 

 

A lot of people got them when WBshop had them for like $170. Funny enough, they don't sell them anymore so I wonder if Lego smacked them for it.

 

I bought one then to build, but then shortly after grabbed a used one on Ebay for $125, so I still have the other.

[citymorgue]

I think the Tower has great potential once it goes EOL. I put one together, and it's quite an awesome display piece. It also has lots of playability. Every single floor has a lot going on and I can see getting a bunch of LOTR stuff together you can have quite a ball with it. The problem though, is that because it was just released, it's almost impossible to really tell how much in the way of returns you are going to get for this set in a couple of years. I would not be surprised to see the set close to double within a year of EOL. I might be a little optimistic, but it's not that impossible. And mostly because for what you get with the set, even at retail, it's a pretty good deal. IMO. YMMV.

[abri123]

In the near future you won't get much return.

Will go high once EOL, but don't see that happening until at least the end of 2015, as interest in Hobbit and LOTR will still be high due to the release of the last film next Christmas.

[sadowsk1]

I would wait until there is a nice promo at LEGO Shop at Home or maybe TRU will run another free set to go along with it to sweeten the deal.  This is a solid set with a lot of character.  Low on characters though in my opinion...but already a part of my permanent collection.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I would wait until there is a nice promo at LEGO Shop at Home or maybe TRU will run another free set to go along with it to sweeten the deal.  This is a solid set with a lot of character.  Low on characters though in my opinion...but already a part of my permanent collection.

 

The minifigs sell well though - Sauruman is a 20$ figure and Grima a $25 figure. Plus you have the eagle and a couple of really nice Orcs in the white hand and the pitmaster.

 

Then did someone mention Ent?

 

What we all should consider as well is that this set entered into the "no discounts on exclusives ever" time period with Lego. If this continues, these may be way less stockpiled than people think which could really help the value.

[Deeker]

I personally don't believe there is a right or wrong time to buy this set.  It will never get discounted in the future other then double vip or maybe a bonus set to sell off to bring down the cost some.  I would think if you want it it would be better to purchase when you are ready to rather then wait to the last second.  I have been trying to get this set along with others like this on a regular basis and just sit on them.  This is not a flip set in my opinion, rather more like a stock.  This is in my buy and hold category.  It really is a breathtaking set and a fantastic build as well.   

[Spartikis]

I had been waiting for a deal and just bought one recently with the Christmas tree truck and $10 gift card deal, brings the price of it down to around $170 so not bad, its for my personal collection so thats why im buying it so early, i wont bother buying for investment purposes for another 6 months to a year probably, way to early you would be sitting on it for a long time. Don't expect much discount wise, LEGO has pretty much stopped discounting exclusive items. It will still be a good investment, i expect it to double in 1-2 years after retirement.

[MI678]

Thank you for all the replies!

[lowillsw]

The Tower and Helm's Deep is the only LOTR sets that I have high hopes for to hold.  You can already make some money off the Tower if you are adventurous enough to part out.  The tree itself is highly collectible along with the minifigures and the Tower itself.  If you like the set, you definitely should pull the trigger.   

[JRandall]

Give probably 3-5 years when the movies are nearing their end and everyone is buying the collectors editions(bluray versions) etc and they no longer product many of these sets, their value will probably double and triple to collectors who still want them new in box or for display pieces they couldn't afford years earlier.

[wholovesboo]

I love the Ent! I bought TOC for myself to build (with a 20% off coupon from the Legoland Discovery Center actually). It's a beautiful display, especially the glossy black exterior (I do worry about the glossiness fading over time). My thought is that it's a good set to sell used in the future, and then use whatever $$ I can get for it to go toward another set that I'm looking to build at that time.

[4gotAboutDre]

Any thoughts on when this set may be looking at retirement? I'm relatively new here so I'm unfamiliar with average life cycles. Do the larger more expensive sets like this one have a longer than average shelf life? It's been out almost a year now.

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[iahawks550]

Here's my opinion:

 

1. It will be around until the last movie comes out.

2. It will be underbought

3. It will appreciate nicely, but will have a limited appeal

4. In five years, it will be a $500 set.

[4gotAboutDre]

I was at the Lego store recently talking about which big $200 set was a better buy for my personal collection with a friend (Tower of Orthanc vs. Simpsons house). One of the employees overheard us and chimed in saying "I don't know which one is better but I can tell you which is a more fun build." Basically, he said the Simpsons house is a big, but very straightforward and common build while Tower of Orthanc is an immensely enjoyable build with a lot of really cool techniques. He also commented how much fun Tower is as a party build since the different levels if the tower are built in 3 sections using 3 diff instruction manuals and then basically stack on top of one another at the end of the build. I watched a time lapse video of the build and it did look awfully fun to put together.

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[waddamon]

Tower of Orthanc has a licensed attached to it.  The LOTR license is not the same as the Hobbit license.  When the license expires, the set expires.  It does not look like more LOTR sets are going to be made at this point.  If they produce more sets then that may indicate the life of the license, squeezing most amount of money out of it.  If they do not make more LOTR sets then we can expect the license to go away along with this set.  Get em while you can.

[jaisonline]

Tower of Orthanc has a licensed attached to it.  The LOTR license is not the same as the Hobbit license.  When the license expires, the set expires.  It does not look like more LOTR sets are going to be made at this point.  If they produce more sets then that may indicate the life of the license, squeezing most amount of money out of it.  If they do not make more LOTR sets then we can expect the license to go away along with this set.  Get em while you can.

 

agreed. 

plus it should do nicely once retired.  hopefully, it won't be available for more then 2 years