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Toy Fair 2013: Lord of the Rings and Other Licenses
 Tuesday, February 12th, 2013 at 5:40am by Andrew, BZPower News ManagerBased on your feedback, our next theme to cover is Lord of the Rings. I'm throwing the other licensed themes that aren't Star Wars in here too just to flesh things out. That includes The Lone Ranger, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Superheroes (sort of). If you'd like to see what happens when LEGO partners with popular intellectual properties, you should read on! The Lord of the Rings 79005 The Wizard Battle
I had hoped beyond hope that we might see an Orthanc playset, but to do it right it would have to cost way too much. Instead we get this $12.99 beauty which is, in my opinion, a must have. You get Gandalf without his hat and cloak, Saruman, and a Palantir with the Eye of Sauron. Sold. The rest of the set doesn't look like much, but they captured the architecture of the White Wizard's fortress well enough. 79006 The Council of Elrond
Rivendell was another set that was notably absent last year - I had assumed it was due to the lack of conflict at the Last Homely House. I suppose the Council of Elrond has some heated debates though, and that must be close enough. There's a notable lack of minifigures here though, and while I'm glad to see Arwen in ABS form, someone who was actually at the council would have been nice. Instead we get two minifigs we had last year instead of other characters like more elves or old Bilbo or Gloin. Figure choice aside, for $29.99 you do get a nice taste of Imladris with some definitely-elven architecture. I think the orange leaves are new too. And who doesn't like more parts in gold? I think between the parts and Elrond and Arwen, this set will be worth it for fans or builders. 79007 Battle at the Black Gate
I think this is the best Mordor we could hope to have for $59.99. They capture the gates and tower fantastically even if the scale is a teeny bit off. Not too much of a battle here, but I'll forgive it because of the awesome Mouth of Sauron minifigure (which I unfortunately did not get a good closeup of). Gandalf the White makes his first appearance, as does King Aragorn - I don't know how they capture them so well. And of course there's an Eagle too! Watch him swoop down and claw the eyes out of the two cannon-fodder Orcs. I guess this means we probably won't see a Mount Doom set, unfortunately. All we need now is a battle pack with some soldiers of Gondor and some more Orcs to help really recreate the scene. 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush
Pirate ship? Surely the Corsairs of Umbar are no mere pirates, although for $99.99 you might have to rob and pillage to get enough cash to afford it. For a somewhat throwaway scene, I was surprised this got such a large set. Certainly pleased too, because the ship has tons of great detail. There's a lot of minifigs too - rehashes of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, a couple generic Orcs, the corsair captain, and three oathbreakers. These last one are the standouts here, with some sand green helmets and beautiful prints. The only way they could have been improved was if they were transparent. But they're still pretty awesome regardless. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Unfortunately there were no Hobbit sets on display yet. Because of the tie-in with the movie, we probably won't see any of them announced until the summer at the earliest, but more likely the fall. The Lone Ranger 79106 Cavalry Builder Set
For $12.99, this set gets you the Lone Ranger, some cavalry, and some equipment and supplies for them. It's a pretty basic battle pack. 79107 Comanche Camp
I know nothing about this movie, so other than the Lone Ranger and Tonto, I have no idea who any of the characters are, like the American Indian chief-looking fellow here. The tepee does look nice though, and there's a nice rocky outcropping to help justify the $19.99 price. 79108 Stagecoach Escape
Again we have the two main characters, along with a couple of bandits and a madam with quite a hairdo. The coach itself looks fantastic with a lot of nice details. I'm not sure it's $29.99-fantastic though. 79109 Colby City Showdown
Again we see our two main characters facing off against some bandits - three this time. The two big structures plus some extras help justify the $49.99 cost, and they do manage to pack in a good bit of detail. 79110 Silver Mine Shootout
This is a pretty big playset (and it should be for $69.99) with a lot of action features crammed in. I particularly like the cow skull and the water effects at the waterfall. 79111 Constitution Train Chase
The $99.99 Constitution is the crown jewel of the Lone Ranger line, with six minifigs and tons of detail. A falling water tower, rotating gatling gun, and plenty of track will be sure to help keep this set fun for quite a while. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I'm a big fan of the Turtles sets and hope to pick some up. That said, they're all already available and out there, so there's not much to report on here. Superheroes You may be wondering where the superhero pictures are. We weren't allowed to take any because of the Iron Man 3 and Superman sets on display from the upcoming movies. While this seemed a little silly since there are official pictures out there other places, those were the rules. All the other superhero sets are out already, like the various Batman and Spiderman playsets and vehicles. That wraps up round two of our Toy Fair coverage - I hope you're enjoying it. Remember, you can go vote on what themes you'd like to see us cover next. So keep checking back right here on BZPower for more Toy Fair coverage!
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