Review Review: 10237 The Tower of Orthanc

[Bobskink]

Great revieuw.

For me personaly this revieuw shows very good what is wrong with this set. It's a huge pile of black bricks with not that many minifigures and it costs a lot of money. So I'll pas.

BTW, it's funny to see the reflections in the pictures you took. It gives a nice artistic toutch to the pictures.

[Leo604]

Great set, and thanks for the review!

P.S. The quality of your photos is amazing.

[drdavewatford]

A magnificent review, Rufus - you've really outdone yourself with this one !

Another cracking, must-have 2013 set - LEGO must be hated by bank managers the world over.

LEGO do seem to have struck a slightly uneasy balance between display piece and playset with this one, but I suspect that it's only because it IS a playset that it was ever given the green light for release in the first place. Given this, I echo the early comments about the lack of minifigures - I'd definitely have expected more of them in this set.

Can't wait to build it....

D.

[Brickadiergerard]

Thank you Rufus for taking the time to write a really excellent review. It is informative, balanced and entertaining. I've been selling and saving for this set and the review will keep me going until I can actually order it.

[Hive]

Does anyone know where I can find instructions for the ent?

They aren't online yet, but at some point they should become available at lego.com.

[TheLET]

Thanks for the review, the set looks great and this version of Saruman looks even better then the one in the wizard battle.

All the rooms looks good, although floor five is my favorite.

I really like the pictures of the five wizards, it's a great reference to the source material.

[Rufus]

I my gosh, so many pieces! How much time did it take to line them up for the pictures?

I wonder if the faces of Saruman here are the same as Count Dooku's in the new Duell on Geonosis set.

A long, backache-inducing time!

Neither the Dooku nor the Saruman figures have been inventoried yet, and I don't have Dooku, but here are the figures:

Yes, I think it is the same head.

now the question is how long did it take to build, because it will probably take me a lot longer because of my OCD with stud alignation (I prefer to do the OCD alignation because it takes me a lot longer to build, which is a good thing IMO)

I do that too.

Dear Rufus, do not get me wrong. This is a great review with a lot of love and edfort in it. But to compare them with you other latest reviews this is not your best. To keep your own stardard man of th images needed better (cooler) whitebalance. There are often images where greys and black apeer brownish.

I would not mention that for another reviewer except you. It is only because your other reviews have been so great without any flaws or weeknesses. I hope i wa not too harsh, if yes, pease acept my excuse.

None of my reviews are perfect, and there are always things I would like to improve, given time. Thank you for the feedback (and the back-handed compliment!).

If you get time would you mind taking a picture of it next to another tall set? Just for comparison . Thank you

I took this one already:

It's kinda cheating. The only sets I have which might compete when stood on end are the 10030 Star Destroyer and 10019 Blockade Runner, but neither are built currently.

Great review! That's a beautiful set, shame it's so much money. Though I disagree with you on Wormtongue's minifigure. He was a sniveling, slimy, no-backbone creature, and I feel like his face reflects that. Just my 2 cents.

Fair enough. In the Extended Edition you get to see a slightly different side to Gríma, which suits the figure quite well (and explains the shiv he's holding).

Does anyone know where I can find instructions for the ent?

I think this has been answered - the instructons will undoubtedly appear on S@H before long. Or design your own!

LEGO do seem to have struck a slightly uneasy balance between display piece and playset with this one, but I suspect that it's only because it IS a playset that it was ever given the green light for release in the first place. Given this, I echo the early comments about the lack of minifigures - I'd definitely have expected more of them in this set.

I agree. For me, the 'display' factor is always more important. However, I do think it works for display whether you show off the exterior or the interior. We'll have to see whether it passes the 'sister' test.

[Propicz89]

Great review, can't wait to get this myself!

[KotZ]

I did watch the extended edition, and I know the shiv you're talking about. Maybe one of the sides of the heads should have focused on his creepy factor more and the other his mega-blocks-kissing side.

[TheLegoDr]

Thank you for the review! It was very thorough and informative. I love the amount and quality of the pictures. I was already planning on getting this, but it is still great to see all of the little details in full view.

I agree about the figure count. I wish it was higher. Even extra orcs or uruks to pad it out might make it feel like a better deal. The piece count is lovely. I'm sure I won't use them for anything else, unless I decided to make a new castle for my Black Knights, otherwise this set will stay together long term. I am also worried about the amount of dust collected. Where are you keeping this thing? Mine will be in the basement and I'm sure mine will have the same layer in no time. Is there something we can spray on our finished sets to prevent dust from collecting?

Thanks again.

[1974]

Great revieuw.

For me personaly this revieuw shows very good what is wrong with this set. It's a huge pile of black bricks with not that many minifigures and it costs a lot of money. So I'll pas.

BTW, it's funny to see the reflections in the pictures you took. It gives a nice artistic toutch to the pictures.

It's a huge pile of black bricks because the tower actually is a huge pile of black bricks. TLG is spot on

Also, huge pile of bricks costs money. And as the reviewer has pointed out it's actally pretty good value

Not many figs, but not all of us care about that anyway

My only complaint is that the tree thing does not look much like anything in the movies (I'm not a fan of this franchise at all, but I just looked at some youtube clips of the films with my son and we both thought the tree was way off .. but probably fun to play with)

Great set and great review, but if I have to pay that amount of money I'm probaly gonna pick up the DS instead

Edit : quoting went bonkers ..

Edited June 15, 2013 by 1974

[Rumble Strike]

Fantastic review Rufus. I always love to see the comparisons with the source material and you did a great job with that here. My Lego spending this year is two-thirds less than it has been but I am sure I will pick this up as a display piece for my dining room.

[Lynx]

Great review, Rufus! The one thing I do not understand is your criticism of the availability of Saruman in a cheap set. I think it's always good to make important figures available to as many fans as possible and don't consider the future monetary value of my toys collectibles.

[Niku]

Thanks for the review I was really expecting this one.

Is a must have.

[prozac]

Amazing set! Can't wait for Monday. First thing tho, I will do away with the bionic arm on the Ent. Looks easy enough from the pics you provided.

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review!

It's impressive how much detail was put in each section of the tower.

[SMC]

Great review, Rufus! The one thing I do not understand is your criticism of the availability of Saruman in a cheap set. I think it's always good to make important figures available to as many fans as possible and don't consider the future monetary value of my toys collectibles.

it is always nice to get one off minifigs in a set of this size, it add something to the set and this set does a really bad job with the minifigs, yes as saruman is very important we do need him in another set, but they didn't have to make this set in the same year. We get a £12 mini verson of this set and I don't remember Lego every doing that with another set of this size. Luckly the build is so good that I can live with not getting great minifigs

[Maxim I]

I never bought a LOTR-set yet, but I really want to have this one!!

[Rick]

Thanks for the great review of this behemoth, Rufus. I imagine it's difficult to capture the sheer size of the set because it's all black, but you really do a good job of capturing every little detail. I appreciate the comparisons with the "real" thing.

One thing I was wondering about is why there are two 1 x 3 tiles used here instead of slopes. Is this to allow for some interior details?

it is always nice to get one off minifigs in a set of this size, it add something to the set and this set does a really bad job with the minifigs, yes as saruman is very important we do need him in another set, but they didn't have to make this set in the same year. We get a £12 mini verson of this set and I don't remember Lego every doing that with another set of this size. Luckly the build is so good that I can live with not getting great minifigs

I guess you also have to consider it's a S@H exclusive and not part of the regular retail LOTR line.

[Ferrik]

I have to say what a spectacular review of such a detailed set, Rufus! This set will sure to be a winner with die-hard LOTR fans... That light-up brick used for the palantir is used to great effect, I'm sure it looks amazing in the dark.

[SMC]

Also I should have said great work Rufus and I for one love all the black, I could make good use of it all but as I am unlikely to take it apart I still need more black.

[Lynx]

it is always nice to get one off minifigs in a set of this size, it add something to the set and this set does a really bad job with the minifigs, yes as saruman is very important we do need him in another set, but they didn't have to make this set in the same year. We get a £12 mini verson of this set and I don't remember Lego every doing that with another set of this size.

I still don't understand the negative aspect about this. Having one extra Saruman can't hurt for anybody purchasing both sets. And with casual fans or people with budget restrictions in mind, I can only see advantages in making an important figure available in the same year. What does the addition of one 'off minifig' add to the set? Why should I care if the same minifg is available in other sets?

[SMC]

I still don't understand the negative aspect about this. Having one extra Saruman can't hurt for anybody purchasing both sets. And with casual fans or people with budget restrictions in mind, I can only see advantages in making an important figure available in the same year. What does the addition of one 'off minifig' add to the set? Why should I care if the same minifg is available in other sets?

well its still better to have 2 different figs than 2 the same but yes I don't mind having 2 the same but some people will. I would be happy if we got more than 5 figs. If you look at other sets I think we could have got more but like I said before I love the build and this great tower is the reason to buy the set not the minifigs.

[SMC]

There is so much detail in this set but with one thing missing, the moth.

[Anio]

Is the brick 3x3 cut corner a new part ?