Lord of the Rings Mystery Minis

[Velmeran]

So I lucked out with my BN.com order of 12 -- it looks like they just gave me an entire fresh case (though as of this moment I've only opened 3 boxes as my two youngest each wanted to open a box). Grabbed the first box (all 12 were in 5x5x2 layout, or 5x4x3 it shifted a little) and weighted it, came in at 58 ounces (still waiting on my better scale to be delivered) but I've got a guy in a local group looking for the commons so figured if it ended up being Legolas or Boromir I was fine.

Ended up being Galadriel Set finally done!

[Kevin926]

Great looking display. My wife would love those books. Congrats on your finish

[Kevin926]

I'm wondering if they will do the hobbit. Why else would they not have Bilbo? Seeing how they have 2 exclusive sets for HT and BN, they could have easily placed, say Elrond, Thedon and Bilbo rather than a gold Gimli and invisible Frodo. Not saying those aren't cool pieces. I just can't help but feel they saved those for either series 2 or the hobbit. I can see where the hobbit would be harder becsuse there are 13 dwarfs already. The box sets have 12. Even with two exclusive sets, there wouldn't be much room for other characters

[Velmeran]

Great looking display. My wife would love those books. Congrats on your finish

Thanks, it's a bit of a mess at the moment as we're contemplating moving so I've actually got most of my collection in storage. Here's an older album with some pics (which is probably about 2/3 of on display). Collecting works of Tolkien is definitely my first collecting love (followed by Funko Pops/Minis)

I'm wondering if they will do the hobbit. Why else would they not have Bilbo? Seeing how they have 2 exclusive sets for HT and BN, they could have easily placed, say Elrond, Thedon and Bilbo rather than a gold Gimli and invisible Frodo. Not saying those aren't cool pieces. I just can't help but feel they saved those for either series 2 or the hobbit. I can see where the hobbit would be harder becsuse there are 13 dwarfs already. The box sets have 12. Even with two exclusive sets, there wouldn't be much room for other characters

New sculpts/molds/moulds/etc. cost money -- Each of the exclusives at B&N were able to re-use an existing one and just use a different material or be painted differently.

Instead they gave us 18 unique sculpts and 3 duplicates. They can save the others for a Series 2 and I'd imagine at least with as popular as these have been locally sales will definitely warrant a series 2. HT and B&N cases are selling out within a day of stores receiving them.

[Kevin926]

Any idea how long the ride will be judging past minis? Didn't these just come out I January?

[ShyGuyPal]

I'm wondering if they will do the hobbit. Why else would they not have Bilbo? Seeing how they have 2 exclusive sets for HT and BN, they could have easily placed, say Elrond, Thedon and Bilbo rather than a gold Gimli and invisible Frodo. Not saying those aren't cool pieces. I just can't help but feel they saved those for either series 2 or the hobbit. I can see where the hobbit would be harder becsuse there are 13 dwarfs already. The box sets have 12. Even with two exclusive sets, there wouldn't be much room for other characters

Ooh, oh yeah I could see the Hobbit. Honestly I would prefer just more of Fellowship, Two Towers, and Return of the King if they did Series 2. If they had to recycle characters, we could get different poses or outfits for characters (Gandal with sword, Aaragon in his king attire). They did a great job with selection, but maybe we could get Elrond, Gandalf the White, Army of the Dead, Orcs, Uruk-Hai, etc.

[Mystlurker]

Barnes and Noble cases... Top is on the right, bottom on the left.
For those into weights - here's my numbers (in box).

Gollum - 40.2-40.9
Invisible Frodo - 44-45-ish
Pippin/Merry - 46.2 (typically will be three Sam/Frodo/Other, and this is the lightest of the three in the case)
Sam - 46.2-46.7
Frodo - 46.9-47.9
Arwen - 56.3 (slightly less than Legolas/Boromir)
Galadriel GITD - 57.4
Legolas - 57.6-57.9
Boromir - 57.9-58.5
Eowyn - 58.7
Sauron - 58.7
Aragorn - 60.8
Witch King - 65.7
Saruman - 66.2-66.3
Gimli - 72.8-73.3 (gold gimli is same weight)
Gandalf - 76.9-77.3
Lurtz - 77.5 (slightly more than Gandalf)

Awesome info, thanks!

Now to find a store that actually has them in stock.

[bakivali]

I'm still surprised Gamestop hasn't gotten these in yet.

[Grex54]

I'm still surprised Gamestop hasn't gotten these in yet.

My local gamestop got them like three weeks ago.

[GetLostYouPsycho]

I'm still surprised Gamestop hasn't gotten these in yet.

They've just started showing up at GameStops here.

[xmaldigolax]

i had hoped finding the witch king and sauron wouldn't be completely awful...oh well. congrats to anyone with great pulls!

[SuMo]

Well, I ordered 6 of the Barnes exclusives and didn't get any. Lol

[GetLostYouPsycho]

My HT exclusive order came in today. 10 minis, 0 exclusives, a whole lot of dupes. I did at least finally get Merry, which was the last one I needed to complete the Fellowship. But I also got 2 Gandalfs, 2 Aragorns, 1 Legolas, 1 Galadriel, 2 Sams, and 1 Frodo. Hopefully I can unload all these danged dupes.

[Grex54]

My HT exclusive order came in today. 10 minis, 0 exclusives, a whole lot of dupes. I did at least finally get Merry, which was the last one I needed to complete the Fellowship. But I also got 2 Gandalfs, 2 Aragorns, 1 Legolas, 1 Galadriel, 2 Sams, and 1 Frodo. Hopefully I can unload all these danged dupes.

Sorry to hear that. My order of HT exclusives is also arriving today, Im hoping I get Eowyn she's all I need to complete the set.

[GetLostYouPsycho]

My HT exclusive order came in today. 10 minis, 0 exclusives, a whole lot of dupes. I did at least finally get Merry, which was the last one I needed to complete the Fellowship. But I also got 2 Gandalfs, 2 Aragorns, 1 Legolas, 1 Galadriel, 2 Sams, and 1 Frodo. Hopefully I can unload all these danged dupes.

Sorry to hear that. My order of HT exclusives is also arriving today, Im hoping I get Eowyn she's all I need to complete the set.

Yeah, she's the last one I need from the HT exclusives. I only need 5 more to complete the set. GITD Galadriel, gold Gimli, Arwen, Eowyn, and Sauron.

[JeffylikesApples]

Man how did I miss these??? I am going to have to track them down for my girl or she'll kill me!

[ShyGuyPal]

I got 6 B&N figures in and scored! Got 2x Sam, 1x Gandalf, but then got 1x Froddo (Clear), 1x Gimli (Gold), and 1x Gollum (which I didn't have).

[keyese]

Man how did I miss these??? I am going to have to track them down for my girl or she'll kill me!

Should be able to find some of them still! HT might get restocked, and B&N is coming out around now.

[MarvelPopFan75]

Ordered 12 from Barnes and Noble as I hadn't gotten any of the set yet got gold GImli, clear Frodo, Sam X2, Aragorn X 3, Legolas, Gandalf, Boromir, Sarumon and Sauron.

[Kevin926]

I'm a service electrician in sarasota florida. Today I had a service call at the mall where hot topic is. I had to stop in just because! There were a few in a box and I asked if they had a new case. He checked in back for me and came out with one that was missing a couple. Yeah, right! Translation, already picked through. I was dumb enough to buy 6 because it was 3 for 15 dollars. ALL Dupes of what I already have.

I'm facing the cold hard truth that is, if I want Lurtz and Eowyn, I will have to buy them. I'm completely convinced I won't ever find them now. I can easily spend more trying than just biting the bullet and pay for one.

Ebay, here I come.

Now, because I have already figured out the patterns (no pun intended ) IF, they release a 2nd series, I'm hitting these exclusive stores and only picking from the sweet spots. Then I will buy everyone's dupes off ebay for half price.

Oh well, my wife deserves it. She never asks for anything. And she really loves Lord of the rings

[keyese]

I'm a service electrician in sarasota florida. Today I had a service call at the mall where hot topic is. I had to stop in just because! There were a few in a box and I asked if they had a new case. He checked in back for me and came out with one that was missing a couple. Yeah, right! Translation, already picked through. I was dumb enough to buy 6 because it was 3 for 15 dollars. ALL Dupes of what I already have.

I'm facing the cold hard truth that is, if I want Lurtz and Eowyn, I will have to buy them. I'm completely convinced I won't ever find them now. I can easily spend more trying than just biting the bullet and pay for one.

Ebay, here I come.

Now, because I have already figured out the patterns (no pun intended ) IF, they release a 2nd series, I'm hitting these exclusive stores and only picking from the sweet spots. Then I will buy everyone's dupes off ebay for half price.

Oh well, my wife deserves it. She never asks for anything. And she really loves Lord of the rings

Just keep in mind, the layouts can change a lot from series to series (like HP series 1 did not have the same "sweet spots" as series 2). It's a lot of guess and check unfortunately.

[nightschwing]

ALL Dupes of what I already have.

Which dupes did you get?

[Grex54]

My HT exclusive order came in today. 10 minis, 0 exclusives, a whole lot of dupes. I did at least finally get Merry, which was the last one I needed to complete the Fellowship. But I also got 2 Gandalfs, 2 Aragorns, 1 Legolas, 1 Galadriel, 2 Sams, and 1 Frodo. Hopefully I can unload all these danged dupes.

Sorry to hear that. My order of HT exclusives is also arriving today, Im hoping I get Eowyn she's all I need to complete the set.

Yeah, she's the last one I need from the HT exclusives. I only need 5 more to complete the set. GITD Galadriel, gold Gimli, Arwen, Eowyn, and Sauron.

No luck, with the exclusives either. I got four 1/24s though.

[Velmeran]

Just keep in mind, the layouts can change a lot from series to series (like HP series 1 did not have the same "sweet spots" as series 2). It's a lot of guess and check unfortunately.

Heck the B&N restock of Harry Potter series 1, months after the initial release has a completely different layout. That was back when B&N Dumbledore was selling for $100-$150 on the secondary market and after the restock dropped down to $40-$50. So I'll just echo kihou on the recommendation to be careful that layouts can and will change eventually.

[Kevin926]

Great looking display. My wife would love those books. Congrats on your finish

Thanks, it's a bit of a mess at the moment as we're contemplating moving so I've actually got most of my collection in storage. Here's an older album with some pics (which is probably about 2/3 of on display). Collecting works of Tolkien is definitely my first collecting love (followed by Funko Pops/Minis)

I'm wondering if they will do the hobbit. Why else would they not have Bilbo? Seeing how they have 2 exclusive sets for HT and BN, they could have easily placed, say Elrond, Thedon and Bilbo rather than a gold Gimli and invisible Frodo. Not saying those aren't cool pieces. I just can't help but feel they saved those for either series 2 or the hobbit. I can see where the hobbit would be harder becsuse there are 13 dwarfs already. The box sets have 12. Even with two exclusive sets, there wouldn't be much room for other characters

New sculpts/molds/moulds/etc. cost money -- Each of the exclusives at B&N were able to re-use an existing one and just use a different material or be painted differently.

Instead they gave us 18 unique sculpts and 3 duplicates. They can save the others for a Series 2 and I'd imagine at least with as popular as these have been locally sales will definitely warrant a series 2. HT and B&N cases are selling out within a day of stores receiving them.

Thanks for the link. Nice , really nice. Did you see the leather wrapped set? Walmart had these a few years ago. They were only about 6 inches tall and considered mini books. They were sold as a set.

[Kevin926]

ALL Dupes of what I already have.

Which dupes did you get?

All commons. The typical gandalf, aragorn, gimli, legolas, sam, boromir. Wouldn't mind galadriel dupes. Lol

[FredKruger]

I'm a service electrician in sarasota florida. Today I had a service call at the mall where hot topic is. I had to stop in just because! There were a few in a box and I asked if they had a new case. He checked in back for me and came out with one that was missing a couple. Yeah, right! Translation, already picked through. I was dumb enough to buy 6 because it was 3 for 15 dollars. ALL Dupes of what I already have.

I'm facing the cold hard truth that is, if I want Lurtz and Eowyn, I will have to buy them. I'm completely convinced I won't ever find them now. I can easily spend more trying than just biting the bullet and pay for one.

Ebay, here I come.

Now, because I have already figured out the patterns (no pun intended ) IF, they release a 2nd series, I'm hitting these exclusive stores and only picking from the sweet spots. Then I will buy everyone's dupes off ebay for half price.

Oh well, my wife deserves it. She never asks for anything. And she really loves Lord of the rings

FYI the spots change with every set. Some sets are entirely random.

[Kevin926]

I just bought a pocket scale so I need to use it. I read somewhere that this will run until march. Is that correct?

[nightschwing]

All commons. The typical gandalf, aragorn, gimli, legolas, sam, boromir. Wouldn't mind galadriel dupes. Lol

I might be up for Sam and Gandalf if you’re looking to unload your extras. I bought 10/12 of a fresh case at my FYE and pulled Frodo, Boromir, Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Gandalf, Gollum, Sauron and two Merrys, which was... unexpected. I gave the Gandalf to my mom because she loves wizardy things, so I still need him. I stopped at 10 because the last two I pulled were the Merrys, and I didn’t wanna take a chance on the two remaining boxes being Frodo or something weird like that.

Hopefully I’ll find someone who has an extra Pippin and needs a Merry.

[Kevin926]

I have a bunch of gandalf's and sams. Yes i would love to unload them, in fact, i wold love to unload all my dupes.

Gollum
Saruman
Gimli xs3
Legolas xs3
Boromir xs2
Gandalf xs4
Sam xs3
Frodo xs2
Aragorn xs3
Merry
Pippin

Face value would be terrific

[FredKruger]

I just bought a pocket scale so I need to use it. I read somewhere that this will run until march. Is that correct?

Store exclusives rarely restock.

[cheekylyssa]

[quote="Velmeran"][/quote]

Love your display - it's amazing!

This was my first run at Mystery Minis. It's brutal - this mini thing. Got 10 invisible Frodos, 3 Gold Gimlis and no Galadriels in my B&N case (plus the extra boxes my husband picked up to help out). In my HT boxes, I never got any of the exclusives I really wanted: Eowyn, Arwen and Witch King. Oh and Lurtz. Him I just want to complete the set.

[GetLostYouPsycho]

Love your display - it's amazing!

This was my first run at Mystery Minis. It's brutal - this mini thing. Got 10 invisible Frodos, 3 Gold Gimlis and no Galadriels in my B&N case (plus the extra boxes my husband picked up to help out). In my HT boxes, I never got any of the exclusives I really wanted: Eowyn, Arwen and Witch King. Oh and Lurtz. Him I just want to complete the set.

Yep. It's a giant pain. It's why so many of us use scales and layouts, so we don't end up with a million duplicates that we can't get rid of. At least you should be able to easily unload the BN exclusive duplicates, so that's a plus.

[BrienneTheBlue]

LOTR minis have arrived in the UK! I saw an almost full box in grainger games, the front top two were gone, am very happy that there's a layout to work from so I can try and complete the fellowship

[d3postman]

I ordered 10 from Hot Topic with hot cash. And I am convinced they were searched prior. Of the 10, 5 were Samwise and the other 5 were Boromir...not happy at all.

[nightschwing]

I ordered 10 from Hot Topic with hot cash. And I am convinced they were searched prior. Of the 10, 5 were Samwise and the other 5 were Boromir...not happy at all.

I ordered a couple Alice Through the Looking Glass Mystery Minis from GameStop when they were clearanced our just to get myself over a free-shipping minimum. The boxes had actually been opened already. Surprise! Both figures were common.

[Geescube]

Got 4 commons coming from HT, and 8 Exclusives coming from HT.

My 24 from B and N were loose and contained no galadriel. Did get a Nazgul and Sauron plus oodles of Gimli and Frodo.

[Esko5150]

I ordered 10 from Hot Topic with hot cash. And I am convinced they were searched prior. Of the 10, 5 were Samwise and the other 5 were Boromir...not happy at all.

Wow thats utter bs

[Grex54]

I ordered 10 from Hot Topic with hot cash. And I am convinced they were searched prior. Of the 10, 5 were Samwise and the other 5 were Boromir...not happy at all.

They only shipped 9 instead of the ten Exclusives I ordered. However they charged me for ten, not sure what I can do about that.

[Kevin926]

Question. In the past , has a popular series held value if a 2nd series came out. I'm curious about value of my dupes and wondering if it's wise to hold onto a spare set, even if it's missing some figures to complete it.