More Lord of the Rings Lego news!

The awesomeness that will be "Lord of the Rings LEGO" continues! Recently, images of the principle mini-figures and some set names were released. The set names, along with the mini-figures included, were leaked and hence unofficial. The photos for the mini-figures, however, were officially released by LEGO. 

I am ecstatic about these new sets but am still confused why they wouldn't start with sets that would tie into the Hobbit movie. I think they should definitely produce sets for the trilogy but it would make more sense to begin with the first book to keep the sets in a more chronological order. It also stands to reason that MGM Studios and Peter Jackson would've preferred a toy licence with Lego that had them first make Hobbit sets. 

List of set names:
- "Gandalf Arrives" – Minifigures: Gandalf, Frodo
- "Shelob Attacks" – Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Gollum
- "Uruk-hai Army" – Minifigures: x4 Uruk-hai with a siege crossbow, x1 Rohirrim Soldier, x1 Rider Of Rohan with his horse
- "Attack On Weathertop"- Minifigures: Samwise, Frodo, Aragon, x2 Nazgul
- "Mines Of Moria" – Minifigures: Frogo, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, x2 Goblins, x2 Skeletons, Cave Troll
- "The Battle Of Helms Deep" – Minifigures: Aragon, Gimli, Legolas, Theoden, x5 Uruk-hai

Star Wars Lego Mini-Figures: 7957 Sith Nightspeeder

Ventress

Opress

Anakin

Over the holidays I was given a new Star Wars Lego set! This is a new set based off characters from the Clone Wars tv show and featured Asajj Ventress, Savage Opress, and Anakin Skywalker. This set's vehicle is pretty simple, featuring a skiff-like machine with two detachable rocket-styled bikes. Opress and Ventress utilize the vehicle. There is nothing horribly complicated to this set, and truly the set is memorable only for the mini-figures that it includes.

I did not previously have a Ventress or Opress in my Lego mini-figure collection, but do have several Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker figures. The Ventress mini-figure included two lightsabers with curved handles similar to Count Dooku's. Her body has a simple design with dark blues and blacks, with small amounts of silver on the front. The head has an intricate design, faithfully representing the markings she sports in the cartoon series. These markings are found on both the front and back of her head.

Savage Opress is easily one of the most complex mini-figures I've seen. He came with two weapons, a double-sided lightsaber and a large war axe. The front of his face has an intricate design similar to that of Darth Mauls', but is in eye and has a head attachment with upward extended horns. A chest plate fits under his head and covers another intricate yellow design. When the chest plate is fitted on, this yellow design is completely obscured. I appreciate the level of detail here as Lego did not have to add the yellow design with it being covered up.

#7957 set Anakin

Lastly, an Anakin Skywalker mini-figure was included in this set. He came with a blue lightsaber that had a dull silver handle. Black and brown colors dominate his body, with simple lines suggesting robes and a belt, which is the attire worn during the cartoon series. There are scars on both the left and right side of his face and his hair is big and disheveled. Compared to the other Clone Wars series Anakin Skywalker I have (from the #7669, Anakin's Jedi Starfighter set) , the heads are identical, but the chest for the new one is much darker in color and has a slightly different pattern.

All three mini-figures from #7957

#7669 set Anakin with R2D2

Star Wars Lego: The Movie (2011)

Star Wars Lego is one of my favorite collectibles /toys out there, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I was pretty excited to hear they had made a Star Wars Lego movie! The movie uses the same level of graphics as those found in the Star Wars Lego video games, which are OK graphics that are not as clean as Pixar's but better than most straight to DVD computer animations. The movie is enchanting not because of it's graphics but because of its use of whimsy and the apparent love for Star Wars that the movie creators have.

Screen shot from the Lego Star Wars movie.

The Star Wars Lego movie is a lot of fun and is not intended to be a serious contribution to the Star Wars canon. It offers a simple 20 minute long story about a young orphan boy who tags along with a group of young padawans as they tour the Jedi temple buildings on Coruscant. Things go awry and the young orphan, Ian, tags along with Yoda on a mission to retrieve stolen battle plans. In the end Ian is shown to be a major character in the later movies -watch it to find out who he really is! Additional to the movie are a series of shorts that feature random whimsical stories within the Star Wars universe and again using the foil of Lego. These featurettes alone make the movie worth picking up!

Walmart sold a specially wrapped package of the Star Wars Lego movie that included a Star Wars Lego mini-figure! This is the first mini-figure I have picked up and is available only within the special packages of the Star Wars Lego movie because the mini-figure is of the movie's main character: Ian!

If looking to buy this figure separate from the movie package, there are a few characteristics to look for. The main feature to a mini-figure is that the legs do not move. For the Ian mini-figure, the legs are beige colored and are roughly half the length of the torso. The torso has a simple image of a collard shirt with the first few buttons undone at the neck. The head is peach colored and has a unique smirk to it, with the hair being fairly detailed.

Difference in R2-D2: Tricky!

The differences between the R2-D2's in my collection are tricky to spot! Two of the differences might be unintentional because they were perhaps produced by defects in the manufacturing process and hence may not be found on every minifigure. The other difference, which is between the earliest and later R2-D2s is not a manufacturing defect.

In my collection there are 3 R2-D2's. The earliest comes from the Droid Escape set #7106, released in 2001 and belongs to the New Hope series. Also belonging to the New Hope series is the second R2-D2 that came from the Limited Edition X-Wing Fighter set #6212, released in 2006. The third R2-D2 comes from Anakin's Jedi Starfighter set #7669, released in 2008 and belongs to the Clone Wars series.

R2-D2 & 3CP0 from 7106 set.

Backsides: 6212 R2-D2 (left) & 7106 R2-D2 (right)

 Differences: The earliest R2-D2 from the 7106 set has a circle instead of a dot on the back of it's dome head, which is sported on both the later versions. The circle is located within a small rectangle that is to the left of a black eye looking shape (see photo).

R2D2 & Anakin from 7669 set.

The Clone Wars (7669) R2-D2 differs from the X-Wing (6212) R2-D2 in that the 7669 minifigure has a blue print within the silver area on the dome, and has a small dot between two larger dots above the rectangle on the back of the dome (same rectangle discussed above). The small dot mentioned here on the 7669 R2-D2 may be unintentional and produced from a manufacturing glitch because the dot is quite small, however the difference in coloring is less likely to be a manufacturing glitch because it is a more

Backside of R2D2 from 7669 set.

noticeable difference; feel free to disagree with my logic on this one.