79012 - Mirkwood Elf Army

[Mrcress]

Hi, I'm new to lego investing and I've already about a few of the marvel sets that were suggested in the blog. I also want to grab some sets from the other ranges and I'm wondering what the opinion on the Mirkwood army set is? I can pick it for

[Spartikis]

Army building sets are always a good choice. i think the most popular set from the last movie is the lake wood chase but the elf army set would make a good investment as well.

[TheOrcKing]

Army builders are those sets people just can't get enough of so this should be a good one in my opinion. The build is far from spectacular but it does seem as though the original intent by Lego was to connect a bunch of these together which goes back to buying a bunch of this one. The only bad part is you end up with a handful of Thranduils but I think a single negative is negligible compared to all the Mirkwood Elves, Gundabad Orcs, and exclusive Warg you get.

[@rtisan]

Army building sets are always a good choice. i think the most popular set from the last movie is the lake wood chase but the elf army set would make a good investment as well.

 

Army builders are those sets people just can't get enough of so this should be a good one in my opinion. The build is far from spectacular but it does seem as though the original intent by Lego was to connect a bunch of these together which goes back to buying a bunch of this one. The only bad part is you end up with a handful of Thranduils but I think a single negative is negligible compared to all the Mirkwood Elves, Gundabad Orcs, and exclusive Warg you get.

I agree with these guys! 1 more thing to note though is that these have just come out in the last several months. We should get at least another year out of them, assuming they are not retired with the 3rd film. If you buy now, you might have to hold them holder, but if you get a good price, I`d say do it anyway. 

[TheOrcKing]

I agree with these guys! 1 more thing to note though is that these have just come out in the last several months. We should get at least another year out of them, assuming they are not retired with the 3rd film. If you buy now, you might have to hold them holder, but if you get a good price, I`d say do it anyway.

With the lack of stock at least here in the US, I wonder how much longer any of these current Hobbit sets will have on store shelves at all. Target carried them in store for barely a month or two it seemed to now have them available online only and Walmart seems picky as to which ones they even bother to feel like carrying at all. I can't say where other markets are with their stock so I won't pretend to know how those are. I do know down here stock seems limited already in what I consider such a short time.

On an odd note, I just realized the smallest set of Dol Guldur Ambush is the only one where the Gundabad Orcs have hair. Somehow I feel even better finding those on sale when I did now.

[@rtisan]

With the lack of stock at least here in the US, I wonder how much longer any of these current Hobbit sets will have on store shelves at all. Target carried them in store for barely a month or two it seemed to now have them available online only and Walmart seems picky as to which ones they even bother to feel like carrying at all. I can't say where other markets are with their stock so I won't pretend to know how those are. I do know down here stock seems limited already in what I consider such a short time.

On an odd note, I just realized the smallest set of Dol Guldur Ambush is the only one where the Gundabad Orcs have hair. Somehow I feel even better finding those on sale when I did now.

I believe you, but is it really that scarce down south? Still readily available here, not that that means too much given the different U.S. vs Can market. If that`s the case, it`ll definitely be better to buy now, or in the very near future. Surprised that none of the LoTR or Hobbit sets have exploded like I thought a couple years back with the first wave. They haven`t appeared to be as popular on the whole. Obviously it was never going to be a Harry Potter, but still, you`de think there would have been more of a wave of popularity. Haha, that said, they should still do well amongst fans, so definitely a good investment regardless. Thanks for the stock update, I`ll have to pay more attention to what`s going on down south 

[TheOrcKing]

I believe you, but is it really that scarce down south? Still readily available here, not that that means too much given the different U.S. vs Can market. If that`s the case, it`ll definitely be better to buy now, or in the very near future. Surprised that none of the LoTR or Hobbit sets have exploded like I thought a couple years back with the first wave. They haven`t appeared to be as popular on the whole. Obviously it was never going to be a Harry Potter, but still, you`de think there would have been more of a wave of popularity. Haha, that said, they should still do well amongst fans, so definitely a good investment regardless. Thanks for the stock update, I`ll have to pay more attention to what`s going on down south

Well it is just speculations based on in store stock rather than online. I mean, I could probably buy up a whole bunch if I wanted to go the online route. Still, I would bet many retailers took notice of how much leftover unpurchased sets from both The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings and made orders for the latest offerings accordingly. I'm sure they don't want to end up sticking a bunch of Lake Town Chases in the clearance aisle same as Attack of the Wargs and most every other set pretty much did. Not saying the sales will have a bad effect on them as investments; just that retailers may have been a bit smarter with their own purchases this time around.

[Spartikis]

I believe you, but is it really that scarce down south? Still readily available here, not that that means too much given the different U.S. vs Can market. If that`s the case, it`ll definitely be better to buy now, or in the very near future. Surprised that none of the LoTR or Hobbit sets have exploded like I thought a couple years back with the first wave. They haven`t appeared to be as popular on the whole. Obviously it was never going to be a Harry Potter, but still, you`de think there would have been more of a wave of popularity. Haha, that said, they should still do well amongst fans, so definitely a good investment regardless. Thanks for the stock update, I`ll have to pay more attention to what`s going on down south 

 

Hindsight is 20/20

 

Back when harry potter retired no one thought those sets were going to go up in value as much as they did and back then LEGO investing didnt have anywhere near the attention is does now, more investors means more cometition and smaller returns on your investment.

 

They also didnt go up in value over night it took many years for them to appreciate in value. I know alot of people are disappointed with the LOTR/Hobbit theme but keep in mind Weathertop was the very first set from that theme retired and that was in spring of 2013, most of the first series were retired in summer or even fall of 2013. So those sets have had 6 -12 months of time to appreciate in value, plus the first series is competing with the second series of LOTR/Hobbit sets which are still for sale in stores, and then a third series which is expected to be released with the 3 Hobbit movie. We may not see the BIG jump in value until LEGO completely retires the LOTR/Hobbit theme like it did with harry potter.

 

You also have quite popular castle theme ATM which may not be in direct competition with LOTR/Hobbit but certainly hurts investment sales and allows buyers a much more cost effective option than turning to the over priced aftermarket to fill their needs.

[Guest MaartenBegins]

At the moment I found them retail - 20% is that interesting? Should I wait? A lot of 2012 Hobbit sets were pretty quick out of production and hard to find. For example I can't find the 9471 any more. Thanks!

Maarten

[newbie77]

not sure how large of a quantity you are planning to buy... but

 

i would say if that's for personal collection you should get 1 or 2. { 20% off is a decent discount }

 

not sure how its like in belgium but in US 9471 vanished about a year ago.

[Guest MaartenBegins]

Hi, it's to invest because of the many figs.

[Neosphinx]

I skipped that set. Hobbit seems to perform poorly in Belgium and  since this set is more for MOCers I doubt it can be sold for a decent profit even at 20%. Of course if you go internationally and the price is right, why not.

[tractorboy]

I think these were on sale at 30% off on Amazon for a time. They were also going at 50% off from some UK stores for a short time too, so you'll be up against sellers who bought them at that price.

[Bernard74]

This is one of the better Hobbit sets in my opinion, although I wouldn't bite at 20% off. You can already get a bigger discount on Amazon but my guess is that later this year when most toy stores hold sales just before the holiday season (and when the third Hobbit wave will hit the shelves) you'll find better deals.

I got two for my personal collection, might get a couple more but only if I can get them below

[TheDarkness]

I expect this to be one of the better performing sets of the theme as there is quite a bit to entice LOTR collectors with orcs, elves and the brown warg.

[TheOrcKing]

I expect this to be one of the better performing sets of the theme as there is quite a bit to entice LOTR collectors with orcs, elves and the brown warg.

Orcs, elves, and wargs. OH MY!

[Guest MaartenBegins]

I think this is a goog investment. Lowest I can find at this moment is retail minus 20 %. A lot of minifigures and you can combine each wall to create one large wall :-).

[comicblast]

I personally enjoy the set and what it has to offer. Reminds me a lot of Orc Forge or Uruk-Hai Army. IMO you can't lose with army builders, and I think these set will do better than the LoTR because the release of the set and the movie(s) are much closer together than the LoTR.

[Guest MaartenBegins]

What about sale percentage? In almost 7 stores the price is still retail. May be ro soon? Around christmas? I'm thinking about buying them at 20 %, I found 1 store...

[comicblast]

What about sale percentage? In almost 7 stores the price is still retail. May be ro soon? Around christmas? I'm thinking about buying them at 20 %, I found 1 store...

I won't be your best source of a decent price to pick one up in Belgium, but here in the US, I'd say $20 (about 30% off US retail) would be a no-brain pick up.

[glenbart]

Excellent set, some places have this over rrp, obviously a good seller, I got one for

[allen9917]

Army builder yes. investment? not so much with 20% off IMO.

[@rtisan]

Excellent set for the price, the only thing that could be considered a down side is Thranduil, you only need 1, not a bunch but that`s minor. Long term it looks good, and I think could do better that Uruk-Hai army. 

[artgong]

Very nice set! The wolves, the minifigs are great! Notice that the elf minifig with the hood can be used to MOC the Green Arrow minifig:P

[stoltzjl77]

If the shortage and subsequent price spike over the last couple of days is any indicator of the future value of this set, I'd say it's a winner. It was selling for as much as $60 early this week on Amazon. I unloaded some that I got into at $20 during the Amazon BOGO sale earlier this year, will be looking to load back up during the winter clearance. There will probably be at least one more year of movie promotion to give these sets a bounce assuming the extended edition of Battle of Five Armies is released in Nov. 2015.