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Christmas came early this year for me as I was selected to review a few upcoming Hobbit set. According to my latest LEGO magazine these are available for purchase Nov. 27th, so here is an early preview.
BASIC INFORMATION:
Set Name: Escape from Mirkwood Spiders
Set Number: 79001
Pieces: 298
Minifigs: 4
Price: $29.99 USD, $34.99 CAD
Theme: The Hobbit
Year Released: 2012
RESOURCES:
(high res pics available here)THE REVIEW:
The Box
Front:
In typical LEGO form the box is fun. It shows all the aspects of the set and it is exciting. The surroundings are similar to The Lord of the Rings boxes as you'd expect. One special thing to note is the red label indicating that this is a Special Preview Set. This is not a sticker, it is actually part of the print on the box.
Back:
There is a lot going on the back of the box, which is great because that means you get a lot for your money in this set. The box pictures do a better job than I could of showing how to free the dwarfs from the webs, and how the mini spiders can jump out via a flick fire type lever. There is also a section for the weapons, a picture showcasing the glow in the dark pieces on the spiders and mushrooms.
Side:
The side of the box features one of the figures in actual size, which is common among LEGO sets with minifigures in them. The writing is the title of the movie in many different languages. There is also a phrase that says "Kili the Dwarf" in a multiple of languages.
Instructions
The instructions display the same image as the box which is standard LEGO procedure, but again being that this is a special preview set, it has the phrase "Special The Hobbit Trilogy Preview Set!" This was also printed on the instructions like the box. Very interesting, plus I think this is a good hint to the fact that we will get sets from all 3 films.
All Pieces
I am one of those who bypasses the numbered bags for the good old pile of bricks approach. I think this is because this is how it was when I was a kid. I like how dark these sets in terms of pieces. The dark red is something I have practically none of, so it's a welcoming color to my collection.
Weapons Pieces
I chose to show the weapons separately because I was pleasantly surprised with how many weapons you get for the size of the set. The dagger might look familiar as it's the same piece found in the Prince of Persia sets.
Extra Pieces
As always we jump forward in time to show the extra pieces in this set. I was quite surprised to see one of the printed daggers coming in as an extra piece. Besides the dagger we get a few nice dark red pieces and some teeth and a bone. All pieces i welcome as they are not the most usual of pieces.
Minifigures
Front:
From left to right we have Legolas Greenleaf, Tauriel, Fili the Dwarf, and Kili the Dwarf. I am pleased with the quality and amount of printing on these figures. I've never been a fan of the small legs since they don't bend but they really do position the dwarfs at the right height so it's hard to complain.
Alternate faces:
I applaud TLG for giving every figure in this set a two sided face, I love the emotion they are putting into minifigures these days.
Back:
I really like the hairpiece on the dwarfs , it's long yet it doesn't fall straight down, it's almost like it's waiving in the wind a little bit. Conveniently this allows for the arrow quiver to fit under the hair if you so choose.
Build Process
Spider Build:
It starts off with a small 4x2 base. Nice dark brown with 4 legs spots open, wait don't spiders have 8?
They certainly do, the tooth piece works very well as a skinny spider leg.
A few steps later and we are done. The two white studs glow in the dark. I like how the abdomen was not forgotten and this really looks like a spider. LEGO has come a long way and the newer sets just keep getting better and better.
Rinse and Repeat
The set comes with two Mirkwood spiders which are identical. Two is always better than one though.
Building the set, structure 1
The first few steps yield us a black and red rock like structure that houses one of the bows and some bones from a previous kill. The dark red really goes well with the black. The skull is the regular skeleton skull.
Building the Set, Structure 2
We are starting to build the second larger structure and the technic piece with the red piece on it will later be used to eject the spider onto any passers by. I apologize for my horrible fingerprint on the 2x1 cheese slope. I feel so embarrassed.
Building the Set, Structure 2.1
More dark red, black and some dark browns. The technic pic is so this piece can combine with the main structure soon. Is the leaf in dark red new? If not I don't have any and I love them!
Structure 2
When you snap the two pieces together you get a rock structure similar to the first one but larger and with a few more features. I think a growing theme in the Hobbit line will be mushrooms, the white stud at the base glows in the dark. Right under the mushrooms is where the small spider is able to be launched out with a flick fire motion.
Structure 2 alternate view
On the back side of this structure we have the brown release lever which breaks the structure down to release the dwarfs from the spiders web.
Spider launch feature
The red pin can be flicked like a flick fire missile and the spider under the mushrooms will fly at any un-suspecting passer by.
The spider isn't all that hidden, but it has a nice little home to live in until it's time to attack.
Complete Set
Here we have the whole set together. This set layout reminds me of the Ewok Attack Set from the Star Wars line this year. It has a small structure and the focus is on the minifigures.
Here the dwarfs have been spun into webs by the Mirkwood Spiders. The netting is very thing and I think does a good job of resembling webbing. next I'll show you how to get those poor dwarfs down.
By pulling the brown pin out the majority of the structure will fall down, giving access to the trapped dwarfs.
The top portion swings down on the technic pin and the dwarfs are now accessible. Hooray!
Final:
The set overall is a great addition to any Lord of the Rings set, or future Hobbit set. I think the pieces that come in this set are in some unique colors and I like the generous offerings of minifigures. Lets hit the totals.
Design: 8/10 I like how it looks. The darker colors really fit the theme. I obviously have not seen the movie yet, but being that it's the same theme as Lord of the Rings, I think they did a good job with the figures, weapons and creatures. It really has that Lord of the Rings feel. As much as these types of sets would be good in numbers or to compliment a larger scene, I sometimes find myself looking for more. I know we are within a certain price point here, but a base plate would be fantastic.
Parts: 8/10 I give this an 8 because I feel like it has some not so normal parts and some really nice dark red pieces. This is the kind of set that when broken down, is still a good set. This is because of the pieces. Sets like this that don't have a lot of mass but have a lot of details are usually good parts sets.
Build: 8/10 I'm sticking with the 8 ranking because this is a little fragile when building. It's not like it falls apart in your hands, but there isn't a main study piece or structure to build off of. You definitely need a flat sturdy surface for this build. The instructions were great as are most of TLG's offerings, I did however find myself having to backtrack a few times because I had misplaced a piece, or forgotten it all together. This may be because I'm getting old, but when I went back, I was surprised where the piece was. I wouldn't put too much weight on this since it very well could have just been my error.
Minifigs: 9/10 I love the details on these minifigures. The printing on the legs really gives their outfits hat extra needed flare. The hair pieces are great, although the elf ones cannot really be re-used, unless you are creating an elf character. With that said, since TLG was going for an elf character, they nailed it. The ears line up just right, although you can't turn their heads otherwise their ears will not line up. Also a 10 escaped this category because short minifigures still have stationary legs. This has to be one of my biggest complaints about LEGO period. It bothers some more than others, but I would love to see legs that are short but can still move like regular fig's legs. Granted the height of the legs for the dwarfs is pretty spot on.
Playability: 8/10 Even though this set has some great features, it feels like it's lacking overall structure. I know it's a stretch especially in the $20 range, but some sort of base plate would have helped this set out a lot. The spider webs are a nice touch, but to me these seem like more of a display option that a play one. The flick fire spider and the pin to drop the structure down are the kinds of features that LEGO has been incorporating into sets for years now. It's these small details that make the set what it is and in my eyes a play set.
Price: 8/10 At $30 I think this worth buying. It seams a little expensive but when you get down to the nitty gritty, it's not. You get 4 very nicely detailed minifigures, some great weapons, some cool pieces in dark red as well as other nice parts that can be used for MOC'ing, almost 300 pieces in total. It's a stretch but I would have loved a base plate in this set to tie the two structures together.
Total: 49/60 82% is not bad, not at all. My overall view on this set is positive. If you liked the Lord of the Rings line, you'll like this set as well. It has a good balance of minifigures, parts, and features. I'm sure some of my minor complaints will be null if you collect the entire line and build a big scene out of them. I try to judge sets by themselves but sometimes it helps to look at the bigger picture. Whether you only buy this set, or collect all of the Hobbit line, this is a good buy. The set is priced accordingly with other LEGO licensed sets. So again if you get nothing else from this review than the last sentence, I say this is a BUY!!
but nice of them that they've written this notice in 8 languages... 
especially one modeled after Evangeline.
I think the minifigures look great and the trees are well-designed. The spider webs are a nice touch and makes for a good play feature. The spiders look perfect since specialised pieces were used instead of creating a blocky appearance.
yeah those get my anger up, I always curse Lego when I have to use them. But it is somewhat understandable that TLG hasn´t made them moveable because that would need an new mold for the hip piece. (But we always have custom, Brickfortress has made articulated minilegs :D)
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