Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit - general discussion

[mudcatsfan]

I was at a local hobby store yesterday and they had 1 each of:

LOTR 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush $80

 

LOTR 79008 9473 The Mines of Moria $70

 

LOTR 9472  Attack on Weathertop $50

 

I know there have been better clearance deals on there sets in the past. My question is will these set have a good return by Christmas? Or should I invest in another red 5 (from LEGO Shop at Home)? The sets seem to be trending up nicely. I would either sell the full sets or break them up and sell the minifigs and parts separately.

The only other LOTR set I have is a Orc forge that I picked up @ LEGO Shop at Home on clearance a few years back that never met my expectation for resale. but I could try and bundle it with the 3 sets above

 

 

 

​

One thing i'll say about Mines of Moria and Attack on Weathertop. They're GREAT sets for Game of Thrones custom figures. Be sure to pick up an attack of the wargs for Direwolves too 

That being said, I have faith in these sets, but maybe not by Christmas. They need to REALLY flush their way out of all retail markets (like the one you've found) before they creep up. Once they're REALLY gone, i see them doubling from the levels we're out now. Who knows how long that will take though?

 

 

Edited June 9, 2015 by mudcatsfan

[LJD1019]

I ordered the Red 5 from Lego instead, even if it does not ship I still will receive the winter solder minifigure. I will check the store out in a couple months to see if they are still there.

 

The funny part of the visit to the store in the same sale area where they had the LOTR sets they also had Prince of Persia, Atlantis, World Races sets, Star wars planet sets and some other sets from 2010-2011 (only marked down 10% to 20% off MSRP). I thought I hit a goldmine until I looked up their value.    

[seapotato]

I think those 3 sets are less popular in the lotr line, so I would pass on them especially if you were planning to flip this year.

[mudcatsfan]

I ordered the Red 5 from Lego instead, even if it does not ship I still will receive the winter solder minifigure. I will check the store out in a couple months to see if they are still there.

 

 

The funny part of the visit to the store in the same sale area where they had the LOTR sets they also had Prince of Persia, Atlantis, World Races sets, Star wars planet sets and some other sets from 2010-2011 (only marked down 10% to 20% off MSRP). I thought I hit a goldmine until I looked up their value.

   

​What no toy story or cars?

Yikes, sounds like the land of lego losers. No surprise those were the sets remaining.

[LJD1019]

​What no toy story or cars?

Yikes, sounds like the land of lego losers. No surprise those were the sets remaining.

Lol yes they have a full sized lego buzz and a couple cars sets. I can't believe they will not discount below 20%

Edited June 9, 2015 by LJD1019

[TheOrcKing]

One thing i'll say about Mines of Moria and Attack on Weathertop. They're GREAT sets for Game of Thrones custom figures. Be sure to pick up an attack of the wargs for Direwolves too 

​It would be funny if it wasn't the fan base behind Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit to increase aftermarket value but instead the ones for Game of Thrones. Ha. That's still a great idea with having the set's minifigures to make customs based on the characters.

[SammyBarney2]

I have been wondering if any more would be released since Lord of The Rings is now in Lego Dimensions. Any news?

 

Thanks!

[jay4e]

I would say most definitely no new sets this year. There are lots of things in dimensions that don't have set available.  And there are lots of sets already known for the rest of 2015. Scooby doo and star wars will be the big ip sets, and lots more super heroes coming like early next year.

[Huskers1236]

Unless we get a miracle from Dimensions or a D2C set from shop at home, then no, the line is over.  Believe me, I'm as bummed as you that they failed on so many levels with that theme but did make some nice stuff.  The lack of everything Gondor is a kick in the gentlemen.

[@rtisan]

Nope not going to happen, the line is finished. There is Gandalf in the Dimensions pack, but that`s pretty much it. They might have another LOTR pack, but more than likely this is it. If you want to invest in the theme, it`s pretty late in the game with most sets gone already, but, there a couple worth keeping an eye on (Lonely Mountain for 1). 

[Jules_K]

So the entire Hobbit range is now listed as a retired product in Europe / Asia. The only set left standing is ToO.

It's sad to see these go EOL, as a medieval fan from way back I always enjoyed these sets.

[fossilrock]

It is sad watching them go off into the sunset.  I spent too many hours running around collecting them.  But, this is truly the EOL phase, and now, I think is when quite a few people (not all, but enough to make it many) will stop and realize "woah, that was actually cool, I should have bought one".  It will be interesting to see if there is a jump in these by the time the holiday season rolls around. I suspect there will be a bump, and all the lotr/hobbit sets will start to jump up in value.  These were fun to collect, and only a few sets I didn't really care much for.

 

Edited June 24, 2015 by fossilrock

[meowsmeowsmeows]

So the entire Hobbit range is now listed as a retired product in Europe / Asia. The only set left standing is ToO.

It's sad to see these go EOL, as a medieval fan from way back I always enjoyed these sets.

I agree.  Next to Star Wars, the LOTR/Hobbit line is my favorite.  Clearly the popularity wasn't there and Lego didn't plan to produce much of this last Hobbit wave.

[Grolim]

Sad as a collector/fan, great as an investor.

Now the movie hype has died down and faded away it makes sense the line goes the same way.  Retailers only have so much shelf space and things like Jurassic, Scooby, and New SW stuff are all coming on.

Wondering how long the Orthanc will stick around though.  Have been thinking of grabbing another one to make my own build higher.

 

[Brian Briggs]

Now that I received all Hobbit sets I ordered during the sale I compared the production codes. Unfortunately, I didn't buy 79017 TBotFA so I cannot have a look at its' production code.

• 79012 MEA: 16S5 (set released in 2013)
• 79014 DGB: 18S5 (set released in 2013)
• 79015 W-kB: 17S5
• 79016 AoL-t: 35S4 (!)
• 79018 TLM: 05S5

This makes me wonder if that 79016 set was still from the initial production run. It was also available far longer than any other Hobbit set during the sale. 79018 probably wasn't the hottest seller at RRP either.

Maybe the sales of the latest Hobbit wave didn't live up to TLG's expectations so they retired the theme earlier than planned. Just a thought.

[Val-E]

That would seem to be the case about production of 79016. Perhaps they also chose not to renew the licence and it ended on 30th June

[inversion]

I just wonder why LEGO did not give LOTR the Simpsons treatment. Exclusive each year and CMF. Would have been pretty much a winner, with CMF waves being released at the launch of new Hobbit movies.

As the sets we could have had Minas Tirith, Edoras, Barad Dur, Rivendell, Hobbiton, Lorien etc. So many exclusive candidates for years to come.

[mudcatsfan]

I just wonder why LEGO did not give LOTR the Simpsons treatment. Exclusive each year and CMF. Would have been pretty much a winner, with CMF waves being released at the launch of new Hobbit movies.

As the sets we could have had Minas Tirith, Edoras, Barad Dur, Rivendell, Hobbiton, Lorien etc. So many exclusive candidates for years to come.

 

Probably for the same reason Star Wars has no CMF sets. Other companies bought the rights to 'action figures' for LOTR so Lego could only do 'building sets'

As to the exclusives, that's probably just a judgement on their part as to demand. I think they'd do well but who knows. 

[legoray01]

Cross Promotion probably.  There is nothing more for the LOTR/Hobbit centerpiece.  The movies are done.  The stories are told.  The toys wrap up.  The license run their course.  Star Wars is an exception to the rule.  As an investor, let them go  - wrap them quick and let the appreciation begin. 

[Jules_K]

Dol Goldur Battle is out of retirement and on backorder on Lego SAH Europe at 30% off.

[JeffProbst]

Dol Goldur Battle is out of retirement and on backorder on Lego SAH Europe at 30% off.

Yeah noticed that.

Ordered one along with a Milano and some small stuff this morning. Missed out on the Milano during the Big W drop zone sale as I want one to build. 30% off is OK though (if the order gets fulfilled). Bonus Retro Pirates set is nice either way

[grissomi]

So I'm looking into possibly branching out from Star Wars or Jurassic World sets and was wondering if anyone had any advice for me on these two themes? Is one more popular than the other or are some sets more desirable than others? I almost pulled the trigger on 10237 Tower of Orthanc about a half hour ago and then it went up 70 bucks on Amazon. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

[yannick29]

Hi,

This week-end I bought 2 TOO at retail price in a toy Shop, they just got it from LEGO.

Seal code is 06S5

[dcdfan]

I'm hoping Christmas will finally put the nail in the coffin for this line (excluding Dimensions, of course)...

[iahawks550]

They were clearing out a trailer at my local Wal-Mart and I spotted a beat up Goblin King Battle. Only reduced to $79......