Lego Lord of the Rings, an overview of a theme

In 2012 LEGO released a line of sets based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This was done to coincide with the release of the Hobbit trilogy which also got sets. The original wave consisted of 7 sets and 2 small polybags, this was followed up by a further 5 sets in 2013. Having owned all the sets I look over the theme giving my thoughts on each set and what is missing from the line.

The smallest set of the first wave this set depicts Gandalf’s cart from the first film, the build is just the cart but is a useful addition to a larger scene or the Hobbit set an unexpected gathering. For figures it came with Gandalf ,who was exclusive to this set at first but quickly became very common across the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit themes, as well a shire version of Frodo

The only set containing a Samwise Gamgee figure. Build for Shelob is fine, but I am not a huge fan of Spiders so this sits towards the back of my shelf hidden away. Small side build for Gollum doesn’t add much to the set.

This set acts as an extension to the larger Helms Deep set, adding an extra section to the Deeping Wall, and a large ballista for the Uruk-Hai. The wall makes for a nice addition having a staircase up to the top and a good amount of space to pose figures. Ballista build is a little too large in my opinion and out of scale with the fortress. For figures as the name suggests it has an army of 4 Uruk-Hai (making a total of 8 if added to Helms Deep) facing off against Eomer and a single Rohan soldier. I feel it should have come with more Rohan soldiers especially as Helms Deep is also lacking having none in that set.

Weathertop is the watchtower Amon Sûl where the Hobbits and Strider are attacked by Nazgul on their way to Rivendell. This set therefore builds the main watchtower structure. This features a reasonably round tower with a nicely sized flat space on top giving plenty of room to play or display figures on top of. The tower also has a staircase down to the bottom of the tower where the Hobbits campfire is located also with a good amount of space around for a figure or two. The drawback of having this space is that the inside of the structure, accessed by hinging the tower in half, is very small and cramped with very little use containing just enough space for a small weapon stand and for some reason some oddly placed flick fire missiles pointing towards the campfire. I feel this is a good compromise however as most of the time the set will be seen in its closed-up state.
Figures, this set is the only one to include Merry and Nazgul (having 2 out of 9). It also has Aragorn and Frodo. Also contains random outcrop of rock which feels pointless, but actually not a bad bit of terrain to stand the Nazgul’s horse in front of.

It has a Cave Troll! The structure of this set splits it in to separate unconnected sections, The largest of which is a back wall providing a backdrop to the scene. At 6 studs deep this gives a decent depth to stand figures on while also providing some Dwarven style architecture for the background thought the entire set has a very heavy reliance on stickers for this. It is missing a pillar on one side to show the ruined look of the mines as well as having two larger pillars in the front that can be dropped using leavers around the back.
The second largest section is the door providing a large entrance for the Cave Troll big fig to enter the scene, this also has a section that can be broken off, and the heavy reliance on stickers for the architecture. The door is built with plates facing outwards and contains hooks allowing it to be barred with an axe. When placed perpendicular to the back wall this frames the edges of Balin’s Tomb for the complete scene.
the other two builds are Balin’s coffin with the Dwarven runes on the top using stickers. And a well with skeleton and bucket on top of to be knocked down by removing a slider covering the hole. The set also cleverly includes a bag of Heroica weapons to scatter around completing the scene. As well as including Gimli and a pair of Orcs this is the only set in the first wave to include Legolas, and only set in the full theme to include Boromir and Pippin, so an important one if wanting a full Fellowship.

“So it begins”. Helm’s Deep is the largest set of the first wave based on the large battle at the end of the second film. The set is built in 7 connected sections capturing the full fortress. The large doorway stands at the front of the castle large enough for a figure riding a horse to fit through. Each side of the door has a tower build with enough space at the top to stand figures, one side has a catapult and the space directly above the door can be used to drop 1x1 round bricks (representing rocks) on to attacking forces, the side of this section also has a smaller door and small rock outcrop with a catapult to toss a certain dwarf in to battle, don’t tell the elf. a small bridge section connects to the front of this section leading up to the door. Each side of the section connects to a circular wall building out the main shape of the outer area. The walls are mainly light bluish grey in colour mixing in some sand green moss and textured bricks to good effect, this is done around the entirety of the castle.
On the left side, the wall then connects to a larger tower section at the bottom of which a box could be found if needed to see over the deeping wall, rest of the tower has a simple ladder up to the top where the Horn of Helm Hammerhand is located.
Next to the tower is the Deeping wall with a small well at the bottom, the castles one weakness. A leaver located on the back can be used to simulate blowing this section up in to 5 sections that are only connected by a single stud to show that the 4 Uruk-Hai is not all Saruman can conjure. While fun in theory however, this feature does not work too well in practice and requires hitting the leaver quite hard to get the wall to fall. On this set alone the wall feels too short, thankfully this is where 9471 expands upon.
The final section is the inner keep, this section does not directly connect to the other section instead freely standing in the space created by the outer circular walls. This section is a semi-circle wall for the inner keep with a throne room located on the inside, The room includes a throne, table and two other chairs, with a pair of weapon stands and a Rohan banner hanging above. This feels more like the Golden Hall in Edoras than the interior of Helm’s Deep, but it is nice to have something.
The set includes Théoden king of Rohan and Haldir of Lothlórien to lead the Rohirrim and Elves in to battle though there are no soldiers for either army. Aragorn and Gimli also appear. Against them are 3 Uruk-hai and the Berserker Uruk-Hai who lit the bomb. As stated earlier some standard Rohan soldiers would have been appreciated as would some elves.

A rather forgettable set having none of the main cast of characters and not portraying a scene particularly memorable, this set focuses on the forges of Isengard. Despite its smallish size it packs in quite a bit of functionality, from the hole to berth the Uruk-Hai from, moulds for swords and working winch, it also contains a light brick to light the fire. as for figures Lurtz (the Uruk-hai leader) is the only named character along with a standard Uruk and a pair of Orcs. Unfortunately, its brown colour scheme and lacking minifigure selection does not help the set stand out among the others in the theme.

Big set

The first of two small polybag sets in the theme this set includes the shire version of Frodo along with a few small builds presumably representing things for Bilbo’s 111th birthday party. Having the same Frodo figure found in the small Gandalf arrives figure makes this set feel redundant as this figure is neither rare nor massable and the builds add little of substance.

Another polybag set, this acts in a similar way to Uruk-Hai Army, as an army builder and extension to the Helms Deep scene. Contains a standard Uruk-hai and a much smaller ballista to the one found in 9471. While that one was too large this feels too small when next to a figure and is hurt by its lack of wheels, something that could easily have been fixed.

The smallest of the second wave of sets this focuses on the duel between Gandalf and Saruman. Build wise the set contains the Orthanc throne room, with the throne, a pair of lights and the Palantir, this time containing a printed head with the Eye of Sauron. For figures the set has Gandalf, who by this stage has become rather common, and Saruman who is only in the large Orthanc set otherwise. While a nice cheap set for those without Orthanc giving an alternative way to get Saruman, this set feels redundant with it, though the Sauron Eye head is a nice piece.

The Council of Elrond is where the Fellowship form thus an important part of the story, it also gives a section of Rivendell, a major location in both Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.
The set comprises of two sections, The first is a flat area for the council meeting. This includes the table where the Ring is placed surrounded by three chairs. In the film there should be a lot more chairs in a semi-circular layout rather than placed at equal distance as they are here, while space is limited, it would have been nice to have one or two more and in a more accurate layout. This section also has a small tree with orange leaves highlighting the bright colours of Rivendell and helping the set stand out among the others of the theme.
The other section is a small arched structure of some of the buildings in Rivendell. While nice to get some elven architecture this space is very limited with half taken up by a weapon stand. Frodo and Gimli are the only members of the fellowship that apparently turned up to this meeting with Elrond also present. The set also includes Arwen who, while not present at the council, I am happy they included as it would be unlikely that there would be a figure of her otherwise.

The Battle at the Black gate is the final battle in the films and the only part of Mordor included in the line. with the build focusing on the gate and a small tower off to the side.
The gate is rather thick allowing space on the top to pose figures, and uses Studs on the side construction to get a good amount of detail on the front of it. It also has a locking mechanism with a bar built in to one of the sides. The build however feels flimsy when picked up due to the two sides only properly being connected via one plate at the bottom.
The small tower consists of two stories both of which are empty and have limited space to fit maybe one figure, there is also a catapult on the top.
The box encourages betting two of these and combining them to a bigger version, however this would require some modifications to not have two gates side by side converting one of them to a short wall on each side.
The set contains a pair of Orcs to defend against Gandalf the White and Aragorn in Gondorian armour both of which are exclusive versions of the characters.
Strangely the final figure is The Mouth of Sauron who only appears in the Extended Edition of this scene. Making this a set with 3 exclusive figures in.

Pirate Ship Ambush is an odd set in my opinion, as it is a large set dedicated to what is only on screen for a few seconds.
The ship itself is large but fairly empty mainly building up details on the sides and a prison at the back.
There is also a small crate on the deck with maps of Middle Earth inside in the form of stickered 2x2 tiles.
A small catapult is included for a pair of Orcs in this set. Other than the Orcs the set includes one Pirate, who I believe to be the character director Peter Jackson cameoed as in the extended cut of the film. These face off against the trio of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who by this point are fairly common, especially thanks to Legolas and Gimli each appearing in Dimensions fun packs. And the army of the dead. With the King and two soldiers.
While it isn’t a bad set I think something more important to the film should have taken this slot.

This set was the pre-order bonus for the Video Game and comprises of an exclusive second age Elrond figure (based on the opening battle). Confusingly the figure has a short cape while he packaging shows him with a larger one. While it is nice to have an exclusive figure that would not have come in a set otherwise, being from the Second age while most of Lord of the Rings is set in the Third this figure feels a little out of place, not really having any set that he can be displayed with or next to. That combined with already having an Elrond figure in 79006 makes me wish a more important character was chosen.

Overall I think the line made a good start in to the theme but is lacking in a number of areas, most notably Gondor having no sets featuring that large area of Middle Earth. A Minas Tirith set would have been a good way of fixing this and including other key characters such as Faramir and Denethor. It could have also been used to include Éowyn and the Witch-king of Angmar since they were present at that battle.
Mordor is the other area with major gaps having no Mt Doom to destroy the ring in to or the second of the Two Towers Barad-dûr.
Armies outside the Uruk-hai are also lacking having only one Rohan soldier between all the sets and no Elves or Gondorians. Battle packs similar to what LEGO do for Star Wars could have also been used here to rectify this.

Images of sets from brickset.com
Logo image from Steam