OK, so you really want all nine minifigures in the Fellowship of the Ring? Let's take a look at how we can build up our Lego Fellowship from the initial seven sets that we know about. (There will surely be other sets that follow, but not everyone can wait that long!)
Note that this information is based on various reports on the internet including at Brickipedia. I'll update this page as we get more official information from Lego. But the sets have now been viewed at the London Toy Fair, so the information is likely to be pretty accurate.
There are some characters than only appear in one set, so we're going to have to buy those sets to get those minifigures:
(We're up to 6 out of the 9.)
So this means you'll definitely need to buy Gandalf Arrives, The Mines of Moria, Attack on Weathertop and Shelob Attacks.
If you get those sets then you'll also have Frodo Baggins (actually you'll have 3 Frodos as he appears in Gandalf Arrives, Attack on Weathertop and Shelob Attacks.)
You'll also have Gimli as he appears in The Mines of Moria (of course!)
And Aragorn as he's in Attack on Weathertop. (The hobbits would be in trouble without him.)
Excellent that's 9 out of the 9 minifigures from 4 sets. That's not too bad.
We actually get 4 of the fellowship in The Mines of Moria set. This is the second largest of the sets at $79.99. Attack on Weathertop is a medium-sized set at $49.99 and gets us three more of the Fellowship. Shelob Attacks is a smaller set at $19.99 and gets us Sam) and Gandalf Arrives is the smallest and cheapest of the initial sets at $12.99 and gets us Gandalf the Grey.
The largest set in the range The Battle of Helm's Deep has extra Aragorn and Gimli figures but since they appear elsewhere you don't need to buy this set to get the full Fellowship.
Will you be collecting the Lego Fellowship of the Ring Minifigures?