79010 - The Goblin King Battle

[redeemed763]

I have four of these now, I purchased them for about $60 on average ($55 after CC discounts ect), I thought the deals were too good to pass up but after seeing this set slump by, I have to wonder if I will ever get my money back. I know I have my own investment strategy here and getting stuff for as cheap as possible is part of it, but I am curious what your thoughts on this set. It is the biggest of its lineup, but if it isn't a disappointing set, I don't know what is. What are your thoughts on this set?

[BigEZ96]

Tough call! Post eol you'll likely see a decent return. As for the set itself I feel there's a lot lacking. I think you got it a good price looking at a long term investment.

[dakotahorn]

No way man... you will make money. This is a great themewith die hard fans. You got a good deal on the sets and they will eventually appreciate.

[StarPod]

Paying 60$ on average you're going to make money. 850 pieces and 8 mini figs? Winner in my book

[Fcbarcelona101]

It's too early too tell but I really don't think so. At the price you got them you will be definitely be making some money on them even if they are not that popular after EOL.

[redeemed763]

Good to know, I may be able to grab another for the same price soon and I just wanted some thoughts before I pulled the trigger or kicked myself for not buying it.

[Veegs]

The Goblin King is a pretty cool maxifig, and you got them at such a good deal that you should be able to make some cash down the road. Lots of sets seem to be discounted (some for a long time) during their production run and still show growth post-EOL.

[TheDarkness]

I don't think it is a complete dud, just overpriced and takes second place compare to the 79003 set which is simply iconic. If the movies don't improve, then I doubt it will reach the heights which I believe the first LOTR wave will reach. I wasn't a fan of the how they portrayed the Goblin King to start with, and I dislike the orcs in this set as I preferred more the Moria style. The caps on their heads look a little silly. Also factor in the dwarves in this set really weren't interesting compared to your warrior types like Thorin. They could have put any dwarf in the UE set and it still would sell like hotcakes. This one needed a bit more wow factor to it IMO.

[dakotahorn]

I don't think it is a complete dud, just overpriced and takes second place compare to the 79003 set which is simply iconic.

If the movies don't improve, then I doubt it will reach the heights which I believe the first LOTR wave will reach.

I wasn't a fan of the how they portrayed the Goblin King to start with, and I dislike the orcs in this set as I preferred more the Moria style. The caps on their heads look a little silly. Also factor in the dwarves in this set really weren't interesting compared to your warrior types like Thorin. They could have put any dwarf in the UE set and it still would sell like hotcakes. This one needed a bit more wow factor to it IMO.

I found the movie to be very similiar to Fellowship. I highly anticipate movies 2 & 3 to 'ramp up' so to speak. Unexpected Journey just set the scene... but the next two movies could & should be excellent.

[Alcarin]

I found the movie to be very similiar to Fellowship. I highly anticipate movies 2 & 3 to 'ramp up' so to speak. Unexpected Journey just set the scene... but the next two movies could & should be excellent.

Dude the movies is not even close to similar to LOTR in terms of movie seriousness-

I mean just look how Goblin king got killed...

such a let down...

Goblin King: ''And what will you do now?''

Gandalf slices his stomach

Goblin King: ''That will do it''

or something similar.

I was like WTF get the f out...

Movie was such a let down...

[dakotahorn]

Have you not read The Hobbit? It's not as serious as LotR. But so what? All of the LotR fans will go see them. All of the Kids will go see them. I don't see the problem? LotR/Hobbit will have a LARGE fan base and do well in the secondary market. I enjoyed the movie and look forward to the others.

[redeemed763]

+1 to that I am nearly as big a fan of the books and films as you will ever find and I thoroughly enjoyed the first hobbit film, I don't see what the all the griping is about. There were silly parts in the LOTR films as well as parts that frustrated me quite a bit but I still REALLY enjoyed them.

[sadowsk1]

I think it's a keeper. Anything that is still on the shelves makes it hard to say whether or not it will be good. Sets that see discounts don't mean they are necessarily bad either. The desert skiff from star wars was very deeply discounted but a phenomenal set also.

[JoshTX]

I got one for 50 from CL, so it's hard to lose. If it doesn't appreciate much, I'll open and assemble it. As far as the film, it's definitely more lighthearted than LOTR, but so was the book.

[whiteboy02]

My brother got this set for about $70 on Amazon and it's really cool!

[Blackjack]

I got one for 50 from CL, so it's hard to lose. If it doesn't appreciate much, I'll open and assemble it.

As far as the film, it's definitely more lighthearted than LOTR, but so was the book.

It's also much easier to read than the LOTR books!

[dakotahorn]

It's also much easier to read than the LOTR books!

This x1000.

Read The Hobbit when I was eleven.

Couldn't get more than halfway through Fellowship when Iwas 20.

Still have nightmares of Tom Bombadil.

[trenty1990]

So is this a good set or thinking its not going too da as well as other lotr sets?

[chinothegeeko]

So is this a good set or thinking its not going too da as well as other lotr sets?

Honestly I don't think it will do too well in the near future but as always it depends the price you buy it at. I think these will be a perfect clearance item and I am holding out unless I can find it for $50 or less. Goblin King looks like a cartoon to me and the actual set is just junk.

[kerrmando]

It was my favorite scene from the movie. I think the figures make it a good investment set. Especially the Goblin King.

[amnesiac]

It seems that everybody is not very impressed with this set. I have picked up 8 of these, all at a heavy discount and have returned them all. Even discounted this sets sit on store shelves in nearly all of my Targets, Walmarts and TRUs.

I thought it would be good to have one thread on what everyone thought about this set, good or bad. Would love to hear everybodys opinion on:

Why is this set is so unappealing??

Is there any price point that would make you buy it regardless of its shortcomings?? 

Will the maxi-figure help to boost it's EOL growth potential??

Does it even have any growth potential??

etc, etc. Would especially like to hear from any people who are bullish on this set.

 

I personally wont pick this one up until I see it clearanced next to the winter coats, XMas trees and whatever else doesnt sell this season. Even then I wanna see a 75% cut...

[matt1147]

I think it will be sought after by LOTR collectors and completists only....obviously the minifigures make the set. I would only purchase at 50% off or greater and even then, I'd be planning on holding a long time. It's too bad really, because the set has some nice playability, minifigs and the goblin king maxifig...they really could've done so much more for the marquee Hobbit set though...

[akohns]

I've bought a new at just under $50. I'm planning on parting out a few pieces and figs and keep the rest for custom builds. There are so many of these out there it's hard to think it will do well at all. Though I went through a few of mine tonight to get ready to part out and it really has a nice amount of parts. Additionally I think people will want to complete their dwarf fig collection. We haven't even gotten to the next movie but with the second hobbit wave almost complete void of dwarfs I see some good growth potential over the next year for the minifigures. The goblin king will probably top off at $20-25 for a good long while as no one is going to want more than one of him.

[@rtisan]

I bought 3 for the figures and parts, not to invest. At 50% off I couldn`t pass it up. Should have bought a couple more, there are some great pieces there. The reason I believe for the apparent flop of this set is that it is quite frankly not appealing. It does not make a nice display (in comparison to practically every other LOTR and Hobbit set), there are not really any highly desired "good guy" figures in it (sure, there is Gandalf, but we all know the story on that one...), and the price point is the highest of the Hobbit line. Any one of those, and I`m sure there are others, could potentially detract heavily from a set in any theme (high price, less desired, poor display ability, etc), but all 3 is basically suicide. The heavy discounts everywhere support this. Not many want it, not at the price, and certainly not when there are so many others to choose from. 

[justafrog]

I bought 3 @ 55% off to sell the figs on eBay and the parts on bricklink. I'll probably pick up more at that discount or better. I think the set stinks but the components aren't bad.