The final Lego sets for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies have been out for a little while now, so I thought it might be a good time to put them all in one place for folks to look over. Plus I wanted to indulge in a little speculation.
Lego Battle of the Five Armies set
Pieces: 472 | Minifigs: 7 | Packaging: Box | Instructions: Yes
Included minifigs: Dain II Ironfoot, Azog the Defiler, Thorin Oakenshield, 2 x Gundabad Orcs, Bard the Bowman, Gwaihir the Windlord, Legolas Greenleaf.
Order on Amazon.com
Spoiler analysis (highlight below to read)
Two stand-outs in this set, I think. The first is, of course, the Dain mini-fig, which TORn staffer MrCere discussed just the other week. The second is the actual location: it’s the titular battle, yet it’s sited firmly within Dale in this playset.
Yet, Peter Jackson’s draft battlemap depicts a much more widespread conflict that encompasses not just Dale, but the entire mountain of Erebor and its surrounds, with forces approaching from all directions. I continue to wonder whether the ruins of Dale will form some early, yet significant, skirmish, with a larger, climactic battle involving Beorn and Bolg on the plains in front of the front gate of Erebor itself. Also, despite the inclusion of the ballista, it doesn’t contain any of the large troll-like monsters we’ve seen in recent artwork.
Lego The Lonely Mountain set
Pieces: 866 | Minifigs 5 | Packaging: Box | Instructions: Yes
Included minifigs: Smaug the Dragon, Dwalin, Balin, Bilbo Baggins, Kili, Fili.
Order on Amazon.com
Spoiler analysis (highlight below to read)
This is a strange one: it really feels like a leftover from The Desolation of Smaug. I mean, Smaug is there and it features the mine/rail car set that was a big set-piece toward the climax of the film. Yet Fili and Kili — who stayed in Lake-town — are there. Maybe the Fili and Kili plotline came after Lego locked in this set? I dunno, it seems to defy logic that Smaug would re-enter Erebor in the final film: he’s off to a hot date with Bard and the Black Arrow (ballista bolt?)
Lego Witch-king Battle set
Pieces: 101 | Minifigs: 3 | Packaging: Box | Instructions: Yes
Included minifigs: Elrond, Galadriel, The Witch-king of Angmar.
Order on Amazon.com
Spoiler analysis (highlight below to read)
Official artwork has thus far paired Galadriel and Gandalf, and Elrond and Saruman. This set suggests something different.
I wonder whether this playset is an indication that there’s going to be a confrontation between Galadriel, Elrond and the Witch-king as a prelude to freeing Gandalf. Will the two elves arrive first, and take care of the Witch-king and free Gandalf before running into trouble against Sauron? Will Saruman then catch up with the trio and save the day?
The other thing to note is Galadriel’s possession of the Phial — also absent from the official artwork. Its light (that of the Silmaril the Earendil carries) could be potent in repelling the Witch-king.
Lego Attack on Lake-town set
Pieces: 313 | Minifigs: 5 | Packaging: Box | Instructions: Yes
Included minifigs: Bard the Bowman, Bain son of Bard, Tauriel, 2 x Gundabad Orcs.
Order on Amazon.com
Spoiler analysis (highlight below to read)
Finally, there’s the Attack on Lake-town playset. This features a couple of Gundabad Orcs as the antagonists. In the film, Bolg lead the previous attack on Lake-town, searching specifically for Thorin Oakenshield. He called the infiltration off when the orcs discovered he had gone. So, why would they attack it again? What, or whom, do they seek?
Does it have some relevance to Thrain’s revelation in the DOS: EE that “They are in league — the dragon and the one!”? If so, will Bolg’s underlings act at Smaug’s behest to attack Lake-town in tandem with his own assault? That could be why we see the Windlance in this set. Definitely raises lots of questions.
End spoiler analysis!
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Ringer Peter writes to tell us of a push on the website Lego Ideas to get the toymaker to develop and produce an LOTR Minas Tirith set.
Lego Ideas is an initiative by the Lego company that allows fans and collectors to propose ideas for sets, and if they gather sufficient support, have them evaluated by a review board for their commercial potential. Continue reading “Support for this Lego Minas Tirith proposal is snowballing”
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If you’re in the market for a physical (BluRay or DVD) copy of The Desolation of Smaug Special Extended Edition, we think you may appreciate this handy buyer’s guide that Ringer TheHutt has laboriously assembled. It covers a number of markets (not just the USA and Canada): United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Special Extended Edition buyer’s guide
By Ringer TheHutt
Like last year, there are a great many versions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition out there. In the USA, there are exclusive releases (for certain chains only), whereas in Europe there are some interesting designs not released elsewhere. Continue reading “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Special Extended Edition buyer’s guide”
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Over the last week, in conjunction with New York Comic-Con, we teamed up with our friends at Weta Workshop to give away a signed copy of their The Art of Film Magic: 20 Years of Weta. Through our Instagram account and Weta Workshop’s Instagram account we received a lot of great pictures that fans have sent to us of their favorite Middle-earth collectible made by Weta or their favorite Middle-earth moment.
We are very pleased to announce that the winner is Heather H. of Florida! Thank you to everyone who took the time to send us your wonderful entries and thank you to Weta Workshop for allowing us to give away such a fantastic item.
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Last weekend at New York Comic-Con fans got a look at three new items among the many that Weta Workshop brought with them. Two of the new items are from The Hobbit Trilogy, while the third is from The Lord of the Rings.
Joining his father Azog we can now look forward to adding Bolg to our collections. This massive statue comes in at 15″ tall with a base width of 11.22″ and has an arrival date during the first quarter of next year.
One prop I have been looking forward to being made after seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, was the Black Arrow that we see Bard bring out of storage. This has become a reality with Weta having this on show at New York Comic-Con. Due out in the fourth quarter of this year this awesome looking prop comes in at an impressive 82.6″ long. Also due out during the fourth quarter of this year is Saruman the White’s staff. This joins the staffs of Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s New York Comic-Con Reveals”
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You asked for it. We listened.
When TORn’s new book, Middle-earth Madness, came out last month for Kindle and Nook, some fans were delighted, like Elizabeth Trogden who gives the books five stars at Amazon saying, “Just as the movies led me to the books, TheOneRing.net informed me of the many fans and their activities. This book wonderfully complements all of them.”
But there were others lit up Facebook and message boards with a clear request: “We want a printed version!” As Ithilwen commented, “I hope for printed version as well, it just seems way more fitting to read about Middle-earth from a paper book. Or maybe I’m just a bit old fashioned.”
Well, here it is. Real pages packed with hobbity goodness for you to hold in your hand and set on the shelf with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies the book is all about. It’s a little piece of TORn you can keep as a collector’s item and look back on as the years go by.
Get yours today to find out…
– Which creature design in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the filmmakers weren’t satisfied with and secretly changed for the extended edition DVD
– Which Hobbit movie includes an item with J.R.R. Tolkien’s name written on it
– Which item Bilbo takes from Beorn’s house and takes home
– How Peter Jackson could make an adaptation of The Silmarillion without obtaining the rights from the Tolkien Estate
– and lots more, including interviews with Richard Armitage (Thorin), Sylvester McCoy (Radagast), Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop), Mark Ordesky (LOTR Exec) and many more of your favorites.
Want to read a sample chapter and see what all the fuss is about? Here you go!
Update: thanks to DanielLB on our discussion boards for pointing out that the book is also available on some Amazon sites for countries other than the U.S. (amazon.uk, amazon.fr). So check out your country’s site in case you can save on some shipping.
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