REVIEW: 9470 Shelob Attacks

[CorneliusMurdock]

While most of the sets in the first wave of the LOTR line are based on the epic battles of the books and movies, the true heroes of the story aren't involved in those. In fact without two brave little Hobbits, all the epic battles against Sauron would have meant nothing. This is their story.

The Ring of Power has come to Frodo and the forces of evil seek to capture it, returning Sauron to his former glory. Frodo and his loyal friend/gardener Sam have no choice but to destroy the Ring in the only possible way: to waltz into Sauron's back yard and chuck it into the volcano in which it was formed. Along the way they are confronted by Gollum, who once possessed the Ring. While Frodo tries to redeem the grungy little guy, Gollum and his split personalities set a trap for him. Pretending to lead them into Mordor, Gollum instead decides to feed them to a very large, very evil spider. Can Sam save Frodo from becoming Shelob's next meal?

9470 Shelob Attacks

Released: May 2012

Price: 19.99 USD

Pieces: 227

Minfigures: Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, and Gollum

S@H - Bricklink - Brickset

Product description from S@H:

Escape from the clutches of Shelob's attack!

Stop Gollum from reclaiming The One Ring by saving Frodo from the webby lair of Shelob with Samwise Gamgee and the Elven sword Sting!

A decent-sized box. Not a lot of room inside. Just enough to mash up the manual.

Play features include a little Gollum shooter, Hobbit wrapping, and spider climbing. And Gollum can hold a fish. Like a boss.

Let's rip this thing open!

The manual looks pretty much like the front of the box only with less information. Mine was pretty smashed up in there, which made it hard to take any good pictures of it.

The Parts

Four bags of parts. They aren't numbered, so at this point we could just rip them all open and start building. I'll still go through them one at a time to show the contents of each. I've labeled them with a number just to tell them apart. Notice how the minifig parts are scattered across all the bags.

Bag "1". Lots of brown click hinge pieces. Also Gollum's arms and almost all of the minifig accessories.

Bag "2". The black parts of the hinges. Also Frodo's and Sam's heads. And Gollum's fish. Because he really liked fish. As far as I know, he never smacked any hobbits with one. But that would've been funny.

Bag "3". Here we have a seemingly random assortment of smallish pieces. Plus The hobbits' hair and legs. Also the string.

Bag "4". All the big pieces. The hobbits get their torsos and capes. This bag also contains the main part of Gollum in a little baggy of its own.

The Build

First let's put together the minifigs, shall we?

Frodo. So good. The likeness to Elijah Wood is uncanny. Both expressions are well done. The new hobbit hair is great and I wish they would have used it for the promo Hulk.

Sam. Same as Frodo. We get back printing, a double-sided head and matching capes.

(More Pics on Flickr) Gollum. The printing and overall shape are well done. I only wish he had more points of articulation. If he could at least turn his head, he'd be just about perfect.

Now the rest...

First we get the Cave exit. It's not much. But there's some good pieces there if you want to make rocky things on your own. One side has a little Gollum flinger, presumably so he can pounce on poor Frodo when he comes out of the cave.

Here's a couple of videos! Ouch, that had to hurt! It can fling Gollum pretty far but I'm not quite sure how you'd be able to aim him to pounce on Frodo.

Shelob herself. I don't like spiders. Being a husband and father, I have to kill more than my fair share but they still creep me out. Lego did a great job making Shelob look like a real spider. So much so, I can't leave it put together anywhere or it'll startle me next time I notice it. It's an enjoyable build, too. It's just not going to stay put together long at my house. But that's only because it's so accurate. So way to go, Lego. I guess...

Here's something:

See that upper gear? That provides the resistance to hold the string in place so Shelob can do this:

She stays there pretty well. Kids, go scare the bejeezus out of your friends and relatives. (This reviewer holds no responsibility for the consequences of you doing so. Do it at your own risk.)

Spare parts. We get two extra rings and an extra Sting! Shiny. Maybe our heroes can pull a fast one on Gollum...

"Here you go, Gollum. The One Ring. Now stop following us."

The Complete Set

Conclusion

When I first saw this set, I wasn't thrilled. I knew I would probably get it for Sam and Gollum since they're not available otherwise in this wave. Having assembled it, however, I've grown to really like it. Besides the awesomely fabulous figs, Shelob is an interesting build with good parts. She is without a doubt the best Lego Spider ever built. If you like that kind of thing.

Price - 10/10 - I think this is very reasonable. Even paying full price, I didn't feel cheated in the slightest. Shelob is a substantial size and the figs themselves are totally worth it.

Minifigures - 9.5/10 - Frodo and Sam are spot on to their movie counterparts and the prints are amazingly good. Gollum is really cool looking as well. The only thing about him is I wish he was more pose-able. You can move his arms up and down but that's about it.

Parts - 9/10 - No stickers. Hinges and slopes. Some gears and string. The only small thing is I wish the leg hinges were entirely brown instead of one part of it being brown and the other black.

Build - 8/10 - Each leg being the same was a little repetitive but I don't see any way around that. The body of the spider was interesting to build to see how it would all come together. The cave is all right.

Playability - 8/10 - While the Gollum flipper is fun, Shelob is the real draw of the set. She can hang from the hook or wrap Frodo up in the string. She's also very pose-able.

Overall - 44.5/50 - I'd recommend this set to any LOTR fan or anyone who wants to try to build a large spider.

"Um, Mr. Frodo, do you hear something?"

[Darkdragon]

Great review. I love all the extra parts in this set and the zombie eye Frodo head.

I think this is a great value in this theme and giant spiders are fun to play with.

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for the review. The set is definitely worth the price. It is the first LOTR set I received and I am very happy with it. My daughter loves Shelob. She always grabs it and pretends that it is getting me, even though she is terrified of insects in general (I know spiders aren't insects).

The printing is amazing on the figures. I am much more impressed with Gollum than I originally was. And Shelob is a sight to see. You really have to hold her in your hands to realize the sheer size of her. I think TLG did a great job designing her. And I actually like the brown/black color scheme of the legs. The extra rings and stings will come in handy elsewhere I'm sure. Maybe that should be a new LOTR themed band. Rings and Stings. It will echo the Harry and the Potters.

[CMP]

Picked up this up last night at Wal-Mart as Helm's Deep was sold out. I don't regret it in the slightest, this is easily the best brick-built creature LEGO's ever released, and the figure selection and the execution is just perfect. I could go on, but this great review just about covers everything.

[just2good]

Excellent review, 'CorneliusMurdock'!

I got this set Friday, and I finally got around to building this set on Monday (when watching Return of the King for the first time). This set is great, and pretty faithful to the movie!

[Bilbo Baggins]

Nice review The only thing I don't like about the set is that it appears to have a really boring build.

[TheLegoDr]

Nice review The only thing I don't like about the set is that it appears to have a really boring build.

It is repetitive with 8 legs, but the end result is worth it!

[Onlera]

I agree that the Shelob is al out TOO well built ^^ I posted a pic of myself with her on my shoulder on Facebook, wanting to show her off. Several of my friends had a momentary freak out, thinking I had a REAL giant spider on me ^^ so, like you said, well done Lego! And she's just so poseable, she's just a joy to play with ^^ definitely my fave set of the first wave

[jonwil]

Great review, I will probably pick this set up as its the cheapest way to get the One Ring and Frodo plus its got Sam and Gollum.

[Ferrik]

Excellent review. This looks like a great set.

[Axis600]

Wasn't too sure at first, but this looks like a great set. I love the Sam minifigure, actually.

[Ferrik]

Great review! I've been thinking of being this set or Gandalf Arrives as one of my first LOTR sets. Which do you think is better? I like the horse and Gandalf for the first set and for this I like the spider because it has a string and there's Gollum...