Lego Shelob! (I am overthrown)

Well, it looks like all of the whispered rumours are true.  Sometime in 2012, the first Lord of the Rings Lego sets will hit the shelves.  I was able to scrounge up a blurry, unofficial shot of the Shelob set.  I was just barely holding my own against the Star Wars Legos; how am I supposed to resist the temptation of the one ring?

I probably won’t. Hopefully I will be able to contain the damage.  Of course, rumours also say that this year will see the release of Lego Avengers as well.  The greatest toy ever, now with some of the greatest licenses ever.  Kids today have no idea how good they have got it.

On a more serious note, there is some really good thinking going on at Lego headquarters. Although I don’t know the ends and outs, it is obvious that Lego has the lost the patent to their bricks as several knock-off, but fully compatible sets have appeared in the last few years.  By leveraging their position and financial power to get the biggest licenses, they are insuring that they remain on top.