Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past, A Lego LOTR Series

Lego creator Micah Schmidt has been working on their project to recreate every scene from the Lord of the Rings. For Chapter 2: the Shadow of the Past, they have built the fireplace from inside Bag End. This is the pivotal scene where Frodo Baggins receives the One Ring that his uncle Bilbo left for him after his 111th birthday party. The whole set up for the quest to destroy the ring begins in front of this fireplace. The Lego vignette is well built. The wooden arches help to suggest that there is more to the room even though we can only see one wall. It also ties into the design from the previous Bad End Lego build from the prologue. A few of nice details include building a wood pile basket with Lego Minifigure Handcuffs, the compact chair built with a window piece, and the little bellows made out of Minifigure flippers.

You can find more details about The Shadow of the Past Lego MOC over here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187945776@N04/49779396502/

You can also find more Lego Lord of the Rings stuff on EveryDayBricks over here: http://everydaybricks.com/category/the-lord-of-the-rings-2/

It’s A Warm Day In Hobbiton, At This Lego Bag End

It’s A Warm Day In Hobbiton, At This Bag End, Outside Lego MOC

Bag End is a warm and cozy hole, located above Bagshot Row along a perfectly gardened hillside in Hobbiton. It is the desire of many Hobbits, especially the Sackville-Bagginses. But its owner, Bilbo Baggins has no intention of giving up his home. Every once in a while some unexpected visitors arrive, usually leading to grand adventures. This Lego build of Bag End is created by Dylan Lane. It expands and goes way beyond the official Lego set, released in 2012.

It’s A Warm Day In Hobbiton, At This Bag End, Backside Interior Lego MOC

This build is interesting in that it incorporates lighting into the design. The creator has actually varied the green bricks on the hillside to reflect the sunlight that is shinning through tree branches. Dark green pieces can be found along the back representing the shadows over the grass. Brighter green can be found on the front facade, where the sunlight is directly hitting the hillside. An interesting effect that stands out in certain lighting conditions.

It’s A Warm Day At Bag End, LOTR Lego Build

This Lego Bag End took over two years to complete. It has been packed with little scenes and details from the film / books. On top of the hill Frodo Baggins can be seen relaxing by a huge tree, while Gandalf is riding into town with fireworks in tow. Placing this scene at the very beginning of the Lord of the Rings. Gandalf and Bilbo can take a break from birthday party planning to smoke some pipe-weed in the garden. A great mini-build, especially the white 1×1 round bricks being used with a transparent pole to represent smoke. Inside this Hobbit hole are two rooms. The main entrance and hallway with the iconic round door. Then off to the side you can find the little writing room, where Bilbo works finishing the Red Book of Westmarch, a collection of stories about Bilbo’s adventurous past.

It’s A Warm Day At Bag End, Pipe-weed LOTR Lego MOC

If you want to see more photos of this massive Hobbiton and Bag End Lego MOC, you can find them over here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/144101043@N06/49902954977/

It’s A Warm Day At Bag End, the Lord of the Rings Adventure Lego MOC

You can also find more Lord of the Rings Lego creations on EveryDayBricks over here: http://everydaybricks.com/category/the-lord-of-the-rings-2/

Prologue: Concerning Hobbits, A Lego LOTR Series

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien opens up with a prologue titled “Concerning Hobbits.” A humorous chapter about what a Hobbit is, their history, and their love of smoking pipe-weed. Micah Schmidt has started an ambitious Lego project of recreating scenes from each chapter from the trilogy. No better place to start than the beginning. This build features Bilbo writing in the Red Book of Westmarch the prologue from The Lord of the Rings. The Lego hobbit hole looks fantastic. The walls are gently curved, a cozy round window, and half of a wooden archway set the scene. The Lego furnishing are great; the messiness and general disarray works well. Check out the sideways built flooring with the square mosaic cutout in the center. A great way to create a detailed rug without adding extra depth. Now if only Bilbo can only find some time to finish planning his birthday party.

Check out “Concerning Hobbits” by Micah Schmidt over here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187945776@N04/49771886222/

Lego Dimensions Review, Starter Pack (71171). Can Batman, Gandalf & Wyldstyle Save The Day?

Lego Dimensions (71170, 71171, 71172, 71173, 71174) has been out for a while, and LegoGenre recently got its hands on the Starter Pack. The full price is about $100, but if you look around you can find the Starter Pack for sale around $65-$85. It’s usually for sale over on Amazon (here).

So lets do a Lego Dimensions review …

Name: Lego® Dimensions™ Playstation® 4 Starter Pack
Number: 71171
Pieces: 267
Minfigures: 3
Release: September 2015
Price: US: $99.99, CA $109.99, UK: £79.99, EU: €89.99

Official Lego Description:

With LEGO® Dimensions™, you’re gonna need a bigger imagination!

When a mysterious and powerful vortex suddenly appears in various LEGO® worlds, different characters from DC Comics™, The Lord of the Rings™ and THE LEGO MOVIE™ are swept away. In a bid to save their friends, Batman™, Gandalf™ and Wyldstyle™ bravely jump into the vortex, but soon find themselves fighting to save all of LEGO humanity. Let creativity be your guide to a building and gaming adventure—journey through unexpected worlds and team up with unlikely allies on a quest to defeat the evil LordVortech. Play with a range of characters from different worlds together in one LEGO video game, and help them use each other’s vehicles and gadgets in a way never before possible. Attach the minifigures to their LEGO Toy Tags and place them on the LEGO Toy Pad to bring them to life in the LEGO DIMENSIONS™ game. Activate each character’s special in-game abilities to solve puzzles and battle enemies, add the Batmobile for a boost of speed, and then rebuild it for upgraded abilities! When you’re ready for more, expand your collection with Level, Team and Fun Packs from the LEGO DIMENSIONS product line.

Includes buildable Batman, Wyldstyle and Gandalf minifigures and 3-in-1 Batmobile, each with a detachable LEGO Toy Tag.
Rebuild the 3-in-1 Batmobile into The Batblaster and Sonic Batray for extra in-game abilities.
Also includes Batman’s Batarang, Wyldstyle´s relic scanner and Gandalf’s staff.
Activate Batman’s special Grapple, Boomerang and Stealth abilities; Wyldstyle’s Relic Detector, Acrobat and Master Build abilities; and
Gandalf’s Magic, Magical Shield and Illumination abilities to crack puzzles and overpower enemies.
Place up to 7 LEGO DIMENSIONS toys on the LEGO Toy Pad simultaneously and set out on exciting in-game adventures.
Collect your favorite LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and use them in-game together for a crazy mash-up multiverse.
Visit LEGO.com/dimensions for more information on this exciting LEGO building and video gaming experience.
PLAYSTATION® 4 game system with a minimum of 20GB available hard disk space and Internet connection required.
Collect LEGO DIMENSIONS Team, Level and Fun Packs to unlock additional content.
LEGO DIMENSIONS characters and vehicles are required to interact with the LEGO DIMENSIONS video game.
LEGO Toy Pad with Gateway measures over 6” (16cm) high, 7” (19cm) wide and 4” (11cm) deep.
Batmobile measures over 1” (4cm) high, 2” (6cm) long and 1” (3cm) wide (alternative 3-in-1 vehicle builds vary in size).

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack comes in a medium sized box. The whole thing feels very much like a normal Lego set. Once you find the correct version that you need (Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, or WiiU) you are ready to go. Note that the rating of Lego Dimensions is E (Everyone) 10+ by the ESRB. It contains Cartoon Violence, and Crude Humor. Typical Lego video game stuff.

One clue that this is not a normal TT Games Lego game is the abundance of licensing logos and information. The box is covered in tiny print.

After you open the box, you find two smaller boxes inside. There is very little wasted space here.

First is the plain white box. Which contains the Toy Pad, a poster, a flyer, and the game. This part of the packaging is so undesigned that it feels very un-Lego. The reason is that the Starter Pack has so many different versions, and the actual difference between all of them is entirely contained in the white box. It saves on costs.

The included poster is double sided. One side in English, the other side in Spanish and French. It’s printed on a medium thickness paper and is extremely glossy. The poster showcases the first 3 waves of Dimensions releases. From September 2015 through March 2016. It also acts like a check list if you are trying to collect them all.

The other box looks like a mini version of the outer box. It is a little odd, as it appears that Lego could someday sell this separately from the other stuff. Maybe in the future there will be multiple variations of the Gateway released.

Inside is an instruction manual, 3 bags of Lego pieces, and an oddly shaped plate. This box is exactly like a normal Lego set (except the manual, see below).

The first few pages of the manual show how to assemble the Minifigures. Wyldstyle, Gandalf, and Batman. You also get another one of those brick separators, which seems to be packed into almost every Lego set nowadays.

Everything is normal up to step 3. Once there, you are told to start playing the game. The rest of the set will be built as you progress through the story. A really cool idea that helps immerse yourself into the concept.

The three included Minifigures appear to be normal. No cheap quality plastic here. Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf each come with an accessory that they will use throughout the game. These are good looking Minifigs.

The key pieces here are the new Toy Tags. These transparent blue disks contain a little computer chip, and are unique to each Minifigure. They look great, and make for excellent Minifigure stands. Much nicer then the basic stand included with the Collectible Minifigures.

The underside of the Toy tags are nifty. Ooo…

If you have no interest in playing the Lego Dimensions videogame, or if in the future you have no access to it (lost, obsolete) they did include instructions on how to assemble the Gateway in the manual. Nice.

It is worth skipping these though. The game will have you build it at a certain point in the story.

The Gateway is built on top of the Toy Pad and looks good. It uses a good amount of gray, dark blue, and teal pieces. The only downside to it all is that there are five stickers that need to be applied. For a set like this, the stickers just feel cheap.

The build is easy enough, nothing too difficult. The nature of the design means that it is a little repetitive. But, it is small enough that it never gets boring.

During the video game you have a few accessories. The main one is on its own Toy Tag, and can be interacted with during play. The whole Gateway and Toy Pad contains a fairly good amount of space for all the things you will need to do here.

The Toy Pad and Gateway contains three active zones. Each section lights up in a variety of colors. It is with these zones that you bring Minifigures and accessories into the game. One thing that Lego is doing different is that during gameplay you will need to move and arrange pieces to work around obstacles and boss fights.

The video game itself is a refined version of the typical Lego games. The Starter Pack comes with everything you need to play.

It comes with 3 adventure levels. One for each Minifigure. There is Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings, Gotham from DC Comics, and the Lego Movie.

On top of these adventure levels is a whole lot of story levels. There are 15 levels to explore. Sending you across multiple dimensions in an effort to stop the evil Lord Vortech. As you play, there are levels that send you to dimensions like Springfield and Portal 2. These levels can be expanded upon once you purchase the required character. It is an interesting idea, and it is a sort of a long demo for what you could have in the future.

There is a lot going on in the game, and it will be interesting to see how it expands over the next year. Lego Dimensions can currently be upgraded with levels and characters from Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo!, Ninjago, Back to the Future, The Simpsons, Portal 2, and Doctor Who. There is also Chima, The Wizard of Oz, The Lego Movie, Midway Arcade, DC Comics, and Ghostbusters.

Final Thoughts

Design: 10/10 — The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great concept that comes together surprisingly well. The Gateway and stuff look great.
Build: 8/10 — The Gateway gets a little repetitive to build, and has a small selection of colors. A good start, but it has a few ways to improve.
Minifigures: 8/10 — The three include Minifigs, Gandalf, Batman, and Wyldstyle cover all of the basic stuff. They are good quality.
Playablility: 10/10 — The Gateway is fun to build. The game is fun to play. And it keeps it interesting through the experience.
Price: 6/10 — 267 pieces, 3 Minifigures, a Toy Pad and a Gateway for $100. It feels expensive for that price but with a good discount the value goes way up.
Overall: 8/10 — I would say this is the most interesting and fun version of a Lego videogame. It contains most of their recent licenses, and covers a lot of ground. Plus you get a lot of pieces and a few Minifigs!

The Lego Dimensions Starter Pack is a great thing. If you have access to a video game console it is a must purchase for any Lego fan. The Gateway is fun to build, there are a good selection of Minifigures, and an extensive videogame included. The possibilities are endless. There are a lot of different dimensions to play through. Something for everyone. The only thing missing is any of the Lego themes based on Disney licensed stuff. No Star Wars, no Marvel, no Pixar, no Princesses.

The biggest problem about the system is that it costs $500 +/- to collect it all. And every month that goes by more is added. It is worth the $100 in order to experience the Starter Pack, and if it gets into your soul there is a few hundred dollars of additional content. Lego Dimensions is not cheap.

If you can find the Starter Pack for about $60-80 (here), then the Overall Score goes up to 9/10.

***

Lego Dimensions on Amazon: Here!

Official Lego link: http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-DIMENSIONS-PLAYSTATION-4-Starter-Pack-71171

More Lego Dimensions Review stuff here: http://everydaybricks.com/tag/lego-dimensions/

LegoGenre | 00399: Too Many Gandalfs

Too Many Gandalfs

LegoGenre | 00395: Mithrandir

Mithrandir

The Hobbit Shortened to 72 Seconds, and in Lego

Some people out there think that 3 films is 2 films too many for the Hobbit. Well this video is for them. The Hobbit in 72 Seconds is the creation of the Brotherhood Workshop. As they helpfully point out, this is only 33,000ish seconds shorter than Peter Jackson’s version. They manage to fit in all of the major scenes, from the Unexpected Gathering to the Battle of Five Armies. It should be pointed out that there are massive spoilers here. This extremely well made video features special effect, brick built scenes, and full voice overs. Not only that but they managed to throw in a little something special at the end. Check it out!

The Hobbit shortened to 72 seconds: http://youtu.be/xqsAzTS6KDg

Videos from the Brotherhood Workshop have been covered on LegoGenre before, check those out here: http://everydaybricks.com/?s=brotherhood&submit=Search

Erebor by Blake Baer and Jack Bittner. 80,000 Lego pieces strong.

“Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek our pale enchanted gold.

The pines were roaring on the heights,
The wind was moaning in the night,
The fire was red, it flaming spread,
The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale,
And men looked up with faces pale.
The dragon’s ire, more fierce than fire,
Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon.
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled the hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.”

The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien

Blake Baer and Jack Bittner set out to create their largest Lego creation. The result is the super impressive Erebor. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. This massive Lego MOC is centered around a huge mountain and contains the main entrance into the dwarven city, a human city, a working windmill, and more details then you can imagine. A total of 6 months went into this build, and 80,000 Lego pieces. With no dragon, this Lonely Mountain sure is looking very peaceful.

http://youtu.be/iiYI-5_08Hg

The sheer size of Erebor is hard to capture with just a few photographs. Luckily, a video has been made to show off a lot of the features. A build this size needs a video.

Here an overhead perspective shows just how large the exterior of this build is. A huge river, three different roads, and a plethora of flora can all be seen from above. It feels like you are bird flying over everything.

The tiny details give so much personality. From a tiny bird nest perched near the river, to an overcrowded market place. There is so much to look at. By taking these photos from a lower angle it allows the viewer to be drawn into the scene.

Erebor has some amazing stats:

80,000+ Lego pieces.
16, 32×32, baseplates in a 4×4 pattern.
56 inches tall at the peak.
Modular, breaks away into 11 separate sections.
400+ hours of work.

One interesting thing about these massive builds is what goes into creating the illusion of a solid MOC. Usually Erebor will be shown in person with its back to the wall, so the hidden support structure will never be seen. This massive mountain is a technicolor hollow shell with many supports and miscellaneous pieces holding up the exterior walls. Amazing.

Check out many many more photos, or read the full story about Erebor over on MOCPages: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/375137

There is also a Flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baericks/sets/72157638097215594/

Lego The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, Lake-town Chase (79013) Reviewed by the Brothers Brick

The newest wave of the Lego The Hobbit sets are now available. The Brothers Brick have a great review of the star set, Lake-town Chase (79013). This set has 470 pieces, 5 minifigures, and can be found at $49.99. Lake-town Chase features two buildings, and a long boat. Interestingly, the long boat is made out of two smaller row boats. With a mast, and two shields hiding the seems. A nice barrel is included that helps tie this in with the previous Barrel Escape (79004) set. You can never have enough Lego Barrels.

These Lego Hobbit sets have proven to be slight spoilers for the films. Here it looks like there is some action scene and/or jail escape in the Lake-town portion. Which seems exciting, even though nothing like this happens in the books.

The weakest part of Lake-town Chase is the minifigure selection. By now most collectors will have a Bilbo, and maybe a Thorin. The last thing we need in a new set is a Bilbo and/or Gandalf unless they contain new prints/designs. It would have been great if one or two of these minifigures could have been town guards. What funny hats.

Make sure to read the whole review for the Lego The Hobbit, Desolation of Smaug, Lake-town Chase (79013) over on Brothers Brick: http://www.brothers-brick.com/2013/11/25/the-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug-79013-lake-town-chase-review/

Lake-town Chase is also available on Amazon here: Amazon.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Lego Sets Now Available (79011, 79012, 79013, 79014)

It is December which means that a new wave of The Hobbit themed sets are now available. There are a total of 4 sets mainly focusing on Dol Guldur. It would have been nice to see a little bit more of Mirkwood or even Beorn’s home. Maybe future sets will fill in some of these gaps. Lake Town Chase is the star of this wave.

Amazon has these new sets in stock, and they seem pretty popular. The holiday season has been kind and discounts between 10-20% off have been popping up on these.

Lego The Hobbit Dol Guldur Ambush 79011

Lego The Hobbit Mirkwood Elf Army 79012

Lego The Hobbit Lake Town Chase 79013

Lego The Hobbit Dol Guldur Battle 79014