Lord of the Rings Ongoing Discussion

[Kaijumeister]

I quite like it, although I’m not sure if that’s simply because I’ve been wanting a set tackling this scene for goodness knows how long now. It doesn’t blow me away but at the same time, an affordable LotR set that’s minifigure scaled is a win in my book. 

I think my main wish is that the build had more substance rather than being mostly hollow ‘frames’. It looks great opened up but when folded, most of the flame detail and Dwarven architecture gets hidden. The bridge is quite basic too.

However, I do like that the back columns are coloured orange to reflect the Balrog’s glow. That’s a nice touch. 

[Balrogofmorgoth]

Ok so I have some thoughts. I’ll get the negatives out of the way. Proportions are a little off, the head and feet in particular are too big for the body. Surrounding build is sort of basic. The bridge of Khazad-dum is barely even part of the build. Really wanted a couple more figures. Whip is kinda crappy. Balrog should have more fire.
Positives! Even though the columns are basic, they do a good job of representing the Dwarven architecture of Khazad-dum. Also, even though some of the proportions of the Balrog are off, it still looks excellent. From some angles the proportions even look fine. The printed face is fabulous (even if they end up being stickers but I hope they aren’t). The quote tile is great. The glow effect looks nice. The set looks great displayed either open or closed. I genuinely don’t mind the reused Fell Beast wings. In fact I think they look better on the Balrog than on the Fell Beast. Fell Beast should have had much bigger and differently shaped wings. Overall I think this set really looks good and I can’t wait to have it. Iconic, iconic, iconic. Stuff like this is what lego Icons is all about. Most iconic movie scene in existence to me.

[RichardGoring]

Looking at it on a larger screen, I just can't see how this is $120 or 1200 pieces. It looks so empty compared with the Sherlock Holmes book nook and I still think the lack of backing will make it look really odd in most real-life scenarios. It's such a shame that they didn't add another 200 pieces to make that happen and fill it out.

I like the way the bridge projects from the expanded back wall though. That works really nicely.

[mirkwoodspiders]

I'm a little confused. The "price-per-piece" metric of $0.10/piece (or something close to that) was one of the primary means of criticizing the Shire. Rarely were factors like size of pieces, licensing, prints, inflation, etc. referenced. We now have another LOTR set with almost exactly a $0.10/piece ratio and people are still complaining about the price/value. What am I missing?

Btw, I do think it looks a little empty in photos but the Moria construction and the Balrog build look pretty good. I'll be picking this up when a 2X points promo or a discount rolls around.

[Lordhelmet]

The more I look at the pictures the more I like it.  The picture of the side of the box looking at the balrog is by far the best shot.  It is growing on me, and I think there are opportunities to add or tweak some things which I like to do anyway.

 

i might be in the minority on this thought but I am good with it only having the balrog and Gandalf.  Well I would love some orcs (I’m good with Frodo’s at this point) I think that would have just taken away from the scene.

 

[Lyichir]

I really like this! The color variation to simulate dramatic lighting is really cool, and helps keep the architecture from feeling as repetitive as it would if it was all grey. The Balrog itself has some really nice shaping and looks especially great with the much smaller Gandalf in the foreground.

I've not gotten any Lord of the Rings sets in ages, and don't typically collect most licensed themes, but I DO have the books on my bookshelf, which makes a companion piece designed for shelves like this a little tempting...

[hikouki]

5 hours ago, Kaijumeister said:

I quite like it, although I’m not sure if that’s simply because I’ve been wanting a set tackling this scene for goodness knows how long now. It doesn’t blow me away but at the same time, an affordable LotR set that’s minifigure scaled is a win in my book. 

I think my main wish is that the build had more substance rather than being mostly hollow ‘frames’. It looks great opened up but when folded, most of the flame detail and Dwarven architecture gets hidden. The bridge is quite basic too.

However, I do like that the back columns are coloured orange to reflect the Balrog’s glow. That’s a nice touch. 

I sure hope it is not flimsy, especially when placed between heavy books!

4 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Looking at it on a larger screen, I just can't see how this is $120 or 1200 pieces. It looks so empty compared with the Sherlock Holmes book nook and I still think the lack of backing will make it look really odd in most real-life scenarios. It's such a shame that they didn't add another 200 pieces to make that happen and fill it out.

I like the way the bridge projects from the expanded back wall though. That works really nicely.

Empty! That's the word!

I'm with everyone else here that if Lego had put in more figs, that price tag would be more justified!

[neithan]

When you look at the image where the Nook stand besides real books... yeah, doesn`t look impressive at all.

The box art is again very misleading with such a shallow build. I like the aesthetic, but have to wait for better images and a price below 100€, then this might be my second LotR Set ever (when the first sets came out, I was in my dark ages, nowadays I own Rivendell, the other two Sets are garbage* and way overpriced).

 

*edit: garbage is way too harsh, see the comments below.

Edited Monday at 08:55 AM by neithan

[Blazej_Holen]

2 hours ago, neithan said:

When you look at the image where the Nook stand besides real books... yeah, doesn`t look impressive at all.

The box art is again very misleading with such a shallow build. I like the aesthetic, but have to wait for better images and a price below 100€, then this might be my second LotR Set ever (when the first sets came out, I was in my dark ages, nowadays I own Rivendell, the other two Sets are garbage and way overpriced).

Garbage is wery strong word. Barad Dur is a great set, for what it is. Shire has worse design, and its overpriced as hell, but garbage? Wou wou wou…

Edited Monday at 09:31 AM by Blazej_Holen

[MAB]

I think it looks OK, but I don't get the point of it being a book nook. It almost looks like they want to do small sets but feel they have to be adult oriented so turn them into one off display objects rather than traditional play sets. If they had sold this opened up without the need to fold, lost some of the bricks to make the background, and made the Balrog more action figure like with poseable joints it would be a perfect mid-range set of a theme. But alas, they are still only after the big money sets.

18 minutes ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Garbage is wery strong word. Barad Dur is a great set, for what it is. Shite has worse design, and its overpriced as hell, but garbage? Wou wou wou…

Freudian slip?

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 hour ago, neithan said:

[…] the other two Sets are garbage and way overpriced).

You’re entitled to your opinion of course, but I fail to see how either set can honestly be called “garbage”, especially Barad-dûr. They have their flaws, yes, but this is needlessly harsh and ironically not very constructive feedback for a construction toy  

[neithan]

Yeah ok, it is my opinion and I really dont like both sets.

 

I dont want to go into much detail, but garbage is too strong, I see it.

Garbage would be a 0/10 or 1/10 Set, Barad Dur is maybe a 5/10 and the Shire a 4/10 for me.

For me, Rivendell is a 9.5/10, but many wouldnt go with that rating and dont likt that it, which I cant understand. But hey, different opinions. ^^

[Blazej_Holen]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

I think it looks OK, but I don't get the point of it being a book nook. It almost looks like they want to do small sets but feel they have to be adult oriented so turn them into one off display objects rather than traditional play sets. If they had sold this opened up without the need to fold, lost some of the bricks to make the background, and made the Balrog more action figure like with poseable joints it would be a perfect mid-range set of a theme. But alas, they are still only after the big money sets.

Freudian slip?

Huh?

[Altair1]

9 minutes ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Huh?

I think it is because you wrote Shire with a t instead of r ;-)

Edited Monday at 09:41 AM by Altair1

[Artanis I]

I'm down, despite the set looking a bit sparse for how many parts it supposedly has. I prefer it that way, as it means there's more room for the balrog to fit inside.

[Blazej_Holen]

31 minutes ago, Altair1 said:

I think it is because you wrote Shire with a t instead of r ;-)

Oh i see😀 I already edited that post 🤭😉

[brimbolet]

It's much what I expected and quite nice really, but again I'm struggling with the price.

A moulded T-Rex costs even nowadays 40$ (76975). The Balrog is brick built and worth even less. No way the rest is 80$. I wonder what the price/weight ratio will be.

Out of the 3 bookends this is concept wise the weakest and surprisingly HP is best, since it can be used either as a bookend or booknook and even has expensive transparent pieces for the roof. It's even better than City's new train station. Sherlock Holmes has at least side walls but here even a small pocketbook may crush the mighty Balrog...

[hikouki]

9 hours ago, MAB said:

I think it looks OK, but I don't get the point of it being a book nook. It almost looks like they want to do small sets but feel they have to be adult oriented so turn them into one off display objects rather than traditional play sets. If they had sold this opened up without the need to fold, lost some of the bricks to make the background, and made the Balrog more action figure like with poseable joints it would be a perfect mid-range set of a theme. But alas, they are still only after the big money sets.

Freudian slip?

Or perhaps turn it into a vignette like some of the Star Wars sets... they already have a quote somewhere in there...

They were too stuck with the idea of it being a book nook!

1 hour ago, brimbolet said:

It's much what I expected and quite nice really, but again I'm struggling with the price.

A moulded T-Rex costs even nowadays 40$ (76975). The Balrog is brick built and worth even less. No way the rest is 80$. I wonder what the price/weight ratio will be.

Out of the 3 bookends this is concept wise the weakest and surprisingly HP is best, since it can be used either as a bookend or booknook and even has expensive transparent pieces for the roof. It's even better than City's new train station. Sherlock Holmes has at least side walls but here even a small pocketbook may crush the mighty Balrog...

Sherlock Holmes at least had nice new minifigs and a nice street layout. Just imagine all the modular MOCs it would inspire!!!

[lowlead]

What a great looking set and a nice surprise - the columns are perfect!

I will own at least two copies...and patiently wait for the inevitable lighting kit, of course.

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, lowlead said:

What a great looking set and a nice surprise - the columns are perfect!

I will own at least two copies...and patiently wait for the inevitable lighting kit, of course.

Someone on Reddit suggested an orange lighting kit and I think that might make it look a lot better.

[MAB]

16 hours ago, brimbolet said:

It's much what I expected and quite nice really, but again I'm struggling with the price.

A moulded T-Rex costs even nowadays 40$ (76975). The Balrog is brick built and worth even less. No way the rest is 80$. I wonder what the price/weight ratio will be.

Sale price, manufacturing cost and perceived value are three different things. Sometimes they are proportional but often not. The missing cost price is probably in a lot of little parts. The perceived value of a brick built Balrog might seem lower to some people than a large molded one piece lump of plastic but to others the point of the set will be that it is brick built. 

[lowlead]

11 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Someone on Reddit suggested an orange lighting kit and I think that might make it look a lot better.

Definitely.  Orange and yellow - and lots of it.

[Lordhelmet]

12 hours ago, MAB said:

Sale price, manufacturing cost and perceived value are three different things. Sometimes they are proportional but often not. The missing cost price is probably in a lot of little parts. The perceived value of a brick built Balrog might seem lower to some people than a large molded one piece lump of plastic but to others the point of the set will be that it is brick built. 

True, I am wondering on the production cost of the wings personally - it is a re-use so it has to be low to some extent, but it did come from a gwp.  Would love to see them in PAB to get an idea of how Lego prices them. 

[Yoggington]

On 4/13/2025 at 3:32 AM, mirkwoodspiders said:

If LOTR is done after The Shire, you are:

1) Upset

2) Indifferent

3) Satisfied

I reckon the answers to this in this thread on this forum might be a little skewed :P

That said, its 3 for me. I say this as a guy who only bought Rivendell of the three big ones lately - but that excellent set is enough for me.

And sure, I'd like to see Helm's Deep or Edoras done in a similarly compressed fashion, but I don't think they'll be done as well as Rivendell was. Both Baraddur and the Shire are kinda weak designs in my eyes, so they're trending in the wrong direction.

[thewatchman]

I’m sure I’ll get ripped to shreds for suggesting this, but:

1- I don’t hate the concept, and the different coloured pillars are a great idea for implied lighting.

2- that balrog design is quite possibly the ugliest thing iv seen in a lego set lately. Honestly it looks like one of the stupid mixel monsters plonked into the middle of a somewhat intricately designed set, surely I can’t be the only person seeing this?