REVIEW: 79018 The Lonely Mountain

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

It has been almost a year since the release of the 79018 The Lonely Mountain set and I suspect this set is probably reaching the end-of-life (EOL) stage. I vividly recalled that I watched the Hobbit movies in December 2013 and 2014 respectively for the Desolation of Smaug and Battle of the Five Armies. It was an enjoyable movie experience. Now having a chance to do this pictorial review for Eurobricks is indeed a great reminiscing experience. I may not remember all of the accurate movie references but I will try my best to relate as I goes by. Without further do, let's see if this set lived up to the astounding name.

Name: 79018 The Lonely Mountain

Theme: LEGO System / Licensed / The Hobbit / The Battle of The Five Armies

Year: 2014

Pieces: 866

Minifigs: 5 minifigures

Price: USD $129.99, GBP 99.99, EURO 129.99, SGD $239.90

Resources: Brickset, BrickLink

Enter the lair of Smaug™ and evade the fire-breathing dragon!

Bilbo Baggins™ has been sent to look for the Arkenstone™ inside The Lonely Mountain. Find the secret door into the lair of Smaug™ and enter with the Dwarves. Smaug is an enormous fire-breathing dragon, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, so move fast! Dig deep for gold with the tools in the mining area, and use the slide to move the nuggets. Hoist the bucket with the sliding chain pulley to transport the gold to the forge. Seek out the throne in which the most prized gem of all – the Arkenstone – is placed… but watch out for the staircase trap! Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves decide to drive the fearsome dragon out of the Mountain, and devise a plan to do so. Activate the rotating forge’s giant catapult to fire melted gold at Smaug while you try to defeat the fearsome dragon! Includes 5 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Bilbo Baggins, Balin the Dwarf, Dwalin the Dwarf, Fili the Dwarf and Kili the Dwarf, plus a Smaug figure.

• Also includes mining area with 2 layers for hidden treasure

• Smaug™ the dragon features translucent fire breath, scales, giant posable wings, sharp claws, spiky tail and posable joints

• Weapons include Sting sword, 3 short swords, 2-handed sword, green ruby double-bladed axe, double-bladed axe, single-bladed axe and a mace

• Accessories include a hammer, shovel, pick axe, 2 cups, helmet and armor

• Locate the secret entrance with Bilbo Baggins™ and the Dwarves

• Transport treasures found in the lair on the slide

• Pretend to melt down gold in the forge

• Raise and lower the bucket with the chain pulley

• Seek out the precious Arkenstone™ embedded in the throne

• Rotate the forge catapult to shoot melted golden nuggets at Smaug™

• Escape from the fire-breathing dragon

• The Lonely Mountain measures over 8” (21cm) high, 16” (42cm) wide and 4” (12cm) deep

• Mining area measures over 1” (4cm) high, 3” (8cm) wide and 3” (8cm) deep

• Dragon measures over 7” (24cm) high, 18” (47.5cm) long and 17” (42.5cm) wide

An original box image of the 79018 The Lonely Mountain

Back view of the original box image of the 79018 The Lonely Mountain

The full LEGO Hobbit characters in this set

The anticipated LEGO Hobbit set before it comes to an end

It has been a great pleasure for me to finally work on a LEGO pictorial review for the Hobbits theme. I have always been a huge fan of J.R.R Tolkien works especially with the movies of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit appearing onto the big screens for the past 15 years. Well, LEGO is the closest thing that I have in order for me to relate the joy for these movies with an excellent combination of medieval LEGO castle theme altogether.

The 79018 Lonely Mountain is not exactly designed to be a sizeable LEGO scaled mountain. Instead, it is a mash of different playing features of an integrated playset with the sole focus of having Smaug, the Dragon. This set was supposed to be the last hurrah for the LEGO Hobbit sets in 2014. It is the largest set for the entire LEGO Hobbits Theme with a total piece count of 866 pieces. The set was followed by the 79010 The Goblin King Battle with a total piece count of 841 pieces, followed by 79014 Dol Guldur Battle with a total piece count of 797 pieces. Till this date, there are no other LEGO Hobbit sets which exceeded this size and scale. Please note that I did not include Lord of the Rings in this comparison even though some might have a different opinion on this.

In a nutshell of what Lonely Mountain really depict in , it is a Kingdom under the Mountain founded by Thrain I the Old. The Arkenstone was also discovered at that time. His son, Thorin I, left the mountain with much of the Folk of Durin to live in the Ered Mithrin (Grey Mountains) on account of the great riches to be found in that range. After dragons plundered their hoards, the Longbeards, led now by Thror, a descendant of Thorin, returned to Erebor to take up the title King under the Mountain. Under Thror's reign, Erebor became a great stronghold where the Dwarves became a numerous and prosperous people. The Dwarves of Erebor were at that time well known for the making of matchless weapons and armour, and there was great demand for their work by the surrounding peoples. The Longbeards amassed a large treasure hoard during this time.

The content of the sealed box

The sealed box comes with 12 mint packs and among them, 6 mint packs is numbered and grouped from one to six, the other 6 mint packs are for the building of Smaug the Dragon, two large big ugly rock pieces (BURPs), a disappointing yet moderately expected sticker sheet and a thick instruction manual in perfect bind to guide the user to build up the set. The instruction manuals are packaged in a sealed plastic together with the sticker sheet. There is a paper cardboard which probably suggest this is part of the manual packing process by the assembly line workers in the factory. The paper cardboard serve as an additional support to prevent the manual to roll up or getting into a crumpled state.

The thick instruction manual are made up of good quality printing material. At the back of the manual, you will see the different latest LEGO Hobbit characters which will entice you to collect them all in various sets. After I rummage through the content, I took a picture before I pour them out of the box. Judging from the image, you can see the amount of empty space left behind in this big box measured at 58cm (W) x 37.5cm (H) x 9cm (D). If you wish to view the quick building process of this set, you may also view the official video by TLG as well.

After the set has been built, these are the remaining generous spare parts which is spread across the packs. You can view the spare parts for packet 1 including an orange brick separator, packet 2, packet 3, packet 4, packet 5 and packet 6. As you may have noticed, there are plentiful of useful spare parts like the additional cheese slopes bricks and weapons.

The awesome new LEGO Hobbit minifigures

In the next few sections, I will be focusing more on the detailed minifigures aspect and an introduction history of the characters through the aid of Lord of the Rings Wiki. In this 79018 The Lonely Mountain, you get a moderate total of five minifigures. In the photo above (from left to right), the featured minifigures are Balin the Dwarf, Fili the Dwarf, Bilbo Baggins, Kili the Dwarf and Dwalin the Dwarf. Unfortunately, this is not the entire range of minifigures being made available. All of these minifigures' design are unique to this set. However, the Hobbit characters themselves are not exclusive to this set. These characters can be obtained in many other sets in this theme. Well, you are still short of eight more characters to form the full Dwarves company though.

The minifigures' torso designs are excellent and beautiful. I love their torso designs very much due to its regal and royalty appearance. The torsos are able to integrate and introduced into LEGO Castle theme. I have bought a couple of those minifigures on BrickLink as I felt the design are universally versatile for you to apply customised minifigures configuration for your castle medieval setting. It does not have to be in the Hobbit setting. All of the five minifigure are featured with detailed back printing and are issued with assorted weapons. To note, these minifigures are spread across different allocated packs.

Front view of Balin and Bilbo

The first batch of minifigures will be featuring Balin the Dwarf and Bilbo Baggins. Balin was a Dwarf leader, the son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin. He was one of the twelve Dwarves who accompanied Thorin II Oakenshield on the quest to regain the lost kingdom of the Lonely Mountain. He was one of Thorin's closest friends and advisers, and was always willing to listen and offer some wise counsel. Balin is distantly related to Thorin, and is a descendant of the noble house of Durin. He later went to develop the old kingdom of Dwarves, Moria. He achieved the name Lord of Moria where he is later killed by Goblins. Bilbo Baggins was a Hobbit and the main protagonist. He was hired by Thorin and Company to be their burglar on the Quest of Erebor and later fought in the Battle of the Five Armies. Bilbo was also one of the bearers of the One Ring, and the first to voluntarily give it up, although with some difficulty. He wrote of his adventures in a book he called There and Back Again.

Both minifigures are very well designed, equipped with their respective weapons and are now featured in their new different outfit. They have detailed back printing and upon removing their hairpieces, there are alternate facial appearances hidden at the back. This is the second time Balin has appeared again and this character can only be found in these two sets. While, Bilbo can be found in five different designed outfits across eight different sets with some repeated introduction. I am not surprised that Bilbo is much easily available since he is the main protagonist in the movies.

Front view of Dwalin

The second batch of minifigure will be featuring Dwalin the Dwarf. Dwalin was one of the Dwarves who travelled with Bilbo and Gandalf on the quest to regain the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. He is the brother of Balin. Dwalin is tall for a dwarf, moody, strong and very brave as he charged in battle. A famous warrior and a powerful ally, Dwalin would like nothing more than to see the return of the Dwarven King under the Mountain.

The minifigure is nicely done up and I am particularly fond of Dwalin's head print upon removing his beard. The long emerald dual axe is a nice weapon and it matched with his armoured torso. When you turn the minifigure to the back, you can see the back printing and upon removing his beard, there are detailed head printing which surround his head. This is the second time Dwalin has appeared again and this character can only be found in these two sets.

Front view of Kili and Fili

The last batch of minifigures will be featuring Kili the Dwarf and Fili the Dwarf. Fili and Kili are brothers, the youngest of the thirteen dwarves who set out on Thorin Oakenshield's quest along with Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins to reclaim the Lonely Mountain for the Dwarves. Fili and Kili were the two most active dwarves of Thorin's company, and apart from Balin, and possibly Bombur, they appeared more frequently as "individual" characters in Tolkien's novel than the rest of Thorin's companions, who were most often named only in "group" references to the entire company. To me, Kili was my favourite character in the Hobbit movie and seeing him in a brand new outfit pleased me very much. I actually customised it to be one of my new generals in my collection.

Both minifigures are very well designed in their armoured outfits which is much better looking than their ranger attires. They have detailed back printing and upon removing their hairpieces, there are alternate angry facial appearances hidden at the back. This is the second time Fili and Kili has appeared again together and both character can only be found in this set and 79001 Escape from Mirkwood Spiders.

The entire company of Dwarves lead by Thorin Oakenshield

The amazing completed built of Smaug

Now, this is what we have been waiting for. We have the official LEGO Smaug and we don't have to find excuses to substitute Smaug with other LEGO designed dragons anymore such as the one from 7093 Skeleton Tower and 70403 Dragon Mountain. The size of the LEGO Smaug is measured at 47cm (L) x 21.5cm (H) x 38cm (W). With this Smaug, you can re-entact this particular playing scene. This is indeed a very well molded dragon and is well made for good playability. I personally prefer this new design very much and it made the previous molded dragons look rather small.

One of the best playing feature of Smaug is the foldable wings. As you can see that the wings can be folded together in this manner and you can easily extend the wings to the full wing span. The box art illustrates the playing feature of Smaug. The design of the Smaug is very well articulated design. Not sure if anyone of you have noticed this weak spot which is a single bare patch on the monster's left breast, nearest his heart. To me, I enjoyed seeing such fine detail being taken into consideration. Smaug is well protected with its extreme tough armoured scales and sharp horns at the back. Smaug is very posable in various angles which can be seen posing in the front view, back view, side view and a very close up of the spitting fire breathing view.

Smaug is a fire drake of the Third Age, considered to be the last dragon to exist in Middle Earth. Drawn to the enormous wealth amassed by the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain during the reign of King Thror, he laid waste to the neighboring city of Dale and captured the Lonely Mountain, driving the surviving Dwarves into exile. For almost two hundred years, Smaug hoarded the Lonely Mountain treasures and ruled within the Lonely Mountain, until a company of Dwarves managed to enter the Lonely Mountain and drive him out of hiding. Correctly believing that the dwarves had received assistance from the men of Lake-town in entering the Lonely Mountain, Smaug left the mountain to wreak destruction upon Lake-town, nearly decimating it before being slain by Bard the Bowman.

What are you doing here?

Run and vanish

This is the biggest dragon that we have encountered

We shall stand and fight to our death

Steady.. Steady...

The entire building content for Packet 1

The completed built for Packet 1

The completed built for the first packet shows the completed built of Smaug, Balin, Bilbo and the treasure trove. The treasure trove can be opened up and revealed two bottom layers where precious gems and artifacts can be unveiled. This is part of the playing feature which was seen in the box art. I honestly expected the treasure trove to be bigger but this is more like a decorative piece which doesn't signify the massive treasures in the mountain. Thus, I have to improvise a little by adding precious red rubies into the midst of the playset. Please note that images with the red rubies are not included in the official set.

The entire building content for Packet 2

The completed built for Packet 2

The completed built for packet 2 showed the half-built stand-alone structure of the forging area. The back view revealed the partial mining area. In the box art, it illustrates the search of the Arkenstone beneath the mining area. I have actually placed the Arkenstone in here and you probably thought is just a common ore part. I bet some of you might not have noticed that the top of the Arkenstone is a printed design. It could look nicer if the part number is not indicated on it. It seems our burglar have found the Arkenstone. In case one might wondering what is an Arkenstone, it is known as Arkenstone of Thrain, also known as the Heart of the Mountain and the King's Jewel. The Arkenstone became the family heirloom of Durin's folk, but was lost when Smaug captured the mountain from the Dwarves.

The entire building content for Packet 3

The completed built for Packet 3

The completed built for the third packet shows the completed structure of the forging and mining area and this packet also include Dwalin. The entire structure highlighted the door as well, even though I don't quite understand why the secret entrance to the mountain is actually shown inside the playset like as if it was meant to open from the inside. The key in the key lock does allow them to finally enter into Erebor. The box art did try to illustrate it though. I suspect this was done due to limitation of bricks and integration but I personally felt it was wrong to feature the secret entrance in this manner as the flow is not correct. Well, I had to switch around to try different suitability of the doors usage such as this and this.

The forging area is quite decent with the inclusion of anvil and hammer. The Dwarves can forge weapons and armours and equip them in full battle combat attire. I am quite fond of the mine looking structure from the side though especially with the wooden frame in there.

The completed built did not include the pulley and the mining catapult which will be built from the entire building contest in Packet 4 which I will explain in this section. You can view the completed forge giant catapult and giant pulley with the bucket of gold ores. The playability feature of these two functions can be seen in here and over here. The giant pulley can push from one end to another. These various playing feature can be seen in this box art.

The entire building content for Packet 5

The completed built for Packet 5

The completed built for fifth packet showed the half-built structure of the throne room. This packet also include Fili and Kili. The back view of the structure and there is a black knob which will trigger the falling staircase upon pushing it inwards. This is what you expect to see when the knob is pushed. By placing the fallen staircase back into its original position, the black knob will be back to its original state.

The entire building content for Packet 6

Front view of the Throne Room

The remaining packet form the last portion of this playset which is the eventual throne room. The throne room though made up of sand green bricks is quite suitable with a good mixed of grey bricks I am quite fond of the size of this throne room even though is not as majestic as I thought it might be. You can search for the Arkenstone and placed it on throne as illustrated in the box art. You can take a closer look at the overall built of this throne from the back view. This is how it will looks like after the Arkenstone is placed onto the throne.

The completed built of the Lonely Mountain

This is the completed built of the Lonely Mountain. It is not as grand as I thought it could be. The main focus on this set is actually Smaug and the minifigures which I am very fond of. It is a great pity that the playset is not as good as I thought it could be. It does not represent as the actual Lonely Mountain or really represent from the inside. The good point is that the playabilty features are being integrated to create different scenarios.

Look what we have found in the midst of these treasures

Oh my... It seems we have a visitor in here

We are not afraid of you

Bilbo sitting on the throne

Aren't you supposed to be running away?

This is an expensive trap specially made for you

This mountain of treasure belongs to me...

To conclude, this is quite a slightly above average set. I may have expected much more on the playset where the Lonely Mountain could depict a bigger picture. However, the piece count is not at the high side and it is highly possible that most of the resources could have devoted onto Smaug design which is incredibly good detailing and playing feature. The minifigures are equally outstanding and to be honest, those two factors are my biggest draw to this Hobbit set. Either way, this set is a must-to-have for LEGO Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fans. I hope you will enjoy this set as well.

Summary review

Playability: 7/10 (Decent playability but not quite to my liking.)

Design: 7/10 (Outstanding design on Smaug and the minifigures but I don't quite like the playset as is quite bare looking.)

Price: 7/10 (Price is on the high side but if you missed this, the price will be much expensive in the future.)

Overall: 7/10 (Get this set and don't miss it for the sake and love of Smaug especially if you are a Hobbit fan.)

I gave it a "4" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.

Pictures can be found in My Flickr.

[WhiteFang]

Dear Eurobricks Community,

I am very pleased to present to share with all of you on my latest completed reviewing project of the 79018 The Lonely Mountain.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts!

WhiteFang

[Captain Pirate Man]

I have this set as well, and I gave it an above average rating. But that rating has more to do with smaug and the minfigs, than the actual set. The set its self is nice, but to be honest, I would give it an average rating without smaug. It just doesn't have a lot of wow factor. I own most of the other hobbit sets, and this one as well as moria I can only give average type ratings to. Bag end, both lake town sets, and city of dale are superior sets imo.

After saying that, let me expand upon why I feel that way. I have created my own lego world. I have castles, pirate ships, hobbit, and Lord of the rings sets which can all coexist in my world. While they might not be all completely historically accurate, they do all look pleasing to the eye in a singular world. They are all "outside" sets, meaning the viewer isn't going to ask "why is a ship near a castle?" because it would make sense for a ship near a castle.

Moria and lonely mountain in the other hand are "inside" sets. Meaning they portray scenes inside of mountains. So in order for these sets to appear correct in my, (and im sure others as well) world's you would literally have to build lego mountains for these sets to be placed in. It is not astetically pleasing to have a giant throne sitting next to a castle, it just doesn't make sense. Which essentially leaves these sets out. I'm not saying they don't serve a purpose, or are not very nice sets themselves. They just lack the ability to be combined with other sets, which imo goes against what lego is all about.

Imo, a much better representation for the lonely mountain would have been the front with the doors and the dwarf statues. Obviously that would have been a massive build, but I'm sure their are ways to simplify it, while still making obvious to what it is. Doing it this way, would have allowed the builder to have the set actually be a part of an actual middle earth world. As is, unless someone takes the time to build a mountain around it, I don't know how this set could honestly be connected to any other sets from this theme, let alone other themes.

But having said that, smaug is glorious. He is the best dragon lego has, and probably ever will, produce. Given his price on brick link, buying this set just to get smaug isn't a bad idea. Hence my above average rating.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Captain Pirate Man

[x105Black]

Good review, and I agree with you on most points.

I think Smaug is a great design. I love when LEGO makes creatures like this, it's one of my favorite things about LEGO. That said, I prefer the black dragon (mostly a color preference) as I have no specific attachment to this Smaug despite being a Hobbit fan since reading it in elementary school. I always pictured Smaug as having 2 legs, 2 arms, and 2 wings. The movie version, which is captured very accurately in LEGO form here, has only 2 legs and 2 wing / arms.

I also felt that, while there is a decent amount of gold included, there should have been a huge pile of gold and treasure in this set, and it should have been mostly chrome rather than pearled. I do understand how that could have inflated the price significantly, however, so I can see why it was done this way.

Overall, it's a great set for the minifigures and dragon, but the set itself doesn't look as good as it could have, and the use of stickers is frustrating.

[dzidek1983]

Really nice review.

As for the set i am really dissapointed.

Spending 130 Euro on a set for some nice minifigs is suicidal.

I really can't understand why they used green bircks in the set?

[SirBlake]

Fantastic review!

I'm glad I got this one if for no other reason, Smaug is indeed great. The rest of the set is ok.

[Captain Nemo]

Great review!

I own this set, and I gave it an above-average vote. It's very good overall--all the figure variants are excellent. Most of all, Smaug is utterly amazing; and let's be honest, he is arguably the entire reason for getting this set. He truly is the greatest Lego dragon, both in size and pose ability.

I do like the set for what it is. The only reason I knock this set down a bit is for the general feeling that it is missing something. I think it's rather strange that the conveyor belt just ends--the set is begging for a third section (most likely the mountain gates). I wouldn't have minded if the set was listed at $200 instead, just to include a more complete build. Still, the parts alone are worth the current design, as the amount of sand green, like Smaug, is tremendous. This is for sure a set I'm happy I didn't pass up.

[kevkipo]

Fine memory's of this, was totally in love when i bought the batch of sets a year ago ( Wow, time flies )

Great review Fang of white!

[Athos]

Why is the axe transgreen?

Steve

[Vorkosigan]

Spending 130 Euro on a set for some nice minifigs is suicidal.

I really can't understand why they used green bircks in the set?

How about an awesome Dragon that is worth $50+ and 800+ bricks with many in semi-rare colors like sand green and gold? Many complained about the price of this set when it was released, but I think it is well worth it. I rather like the build, it gives a good impression of the throne and mining areas.

The interior of Erebor is shown with a green hue in the films and illustrations, I think sand green works very well.

[TeufelHund]

I agree that more treasures would have been nice, but other than the huge gold-flinging catapult I quite like this set. I think they did a decent job with the forge and the rope and pulley bucket as well as the throne. I think it works quite well for the interior of Lonely Mountain. The sand green bricks are also nice as are the minifigs.

Let's face it though, this set is all bout the Smaug!

[WhiteFang]

Thank you guys for your comments and thoughts. It is very insightful and interesting to see various takes from our EB Castle Fans. I like how detailed on you view the playset and break it down in sections. All in all, we are here to buy Smaug and I believed most of us won't regret getting it even though the price is quite high. It has been around for almost a year and I don't see it locally anymore in stores. It also means we are seeing it EOL very soon.

If you are hesitating, don't hesitate. Getting Smaug may not justify to buy this set, but if you wish to get Smaug later, I believe the price in secondary marketplace will be higher. Furthermore, I don't think we will ever see a Smaug in this highly detailed manner anymore. I had lots of fun playing with Smaug and that is my all time new favourite big size molded LEGO dragon even though I still love those classic dragons. That is another topic for another discussion.

As for the axe being trans-green, I am not sure but probably just to match Dwalin outfit and to create a special rare looking weapon for him.

[Dr.Cogg]

I own this set and like it a lot, but I wish TLG had made Erebors front gate and the battle in front of Erebor so we could have more soldiers, then place Smaug in the lake town set to recreate smaug's demise, but at the same time I know the designers had their hands full with PJ's constant changes. I rate this set above average, because the set itself is average, but the minifigs and Smaug put it above average.

P.S.The Axe is from a book, I forget which one, but I do remember it was from a book..

[Missing Brick]

Great review, but I voted 'Poor' for the set.

It's £100 for 5 unposeable rigid-legged figs, a single-use pre-moulded dragon and some wall.

I would have preferred a set focussed on a really cool brick-built dragon like the ones designed by Mark Of Falworth on flickr. I guess this one is more for kids to play with so has less interest for builders.

My disappointment with Jackson's Hobbit films also colours my opinion: too long, too much CGI, running time determined by the accountants rather than the story & drama. I loved Tolkein's books and Jackson's LOTR but his Hobbit was very disappointing - like this set.

[x105Black]

Great review, but I voted 'Poor' for the set.

It's £100 for 5 unposeable rigid-legged figs, a single-use pre-moulded dragon and some wall.

I would have preferred a set focussed on a really cool brick-built dragon like the ones designed by Mark Of Falworth on flickr. I guess this one is more for kids to play with so has less interest for builders.

My disappointment with Jackson's Hobbit films also colours my opinion: too long, too much CGI, running time determined by the accountants rather than the story & drama. I loved Tolkein's books and Jackson's LOTR but his Hobbit was very disappointing - like this set.

You and I are opposites on this, I really don't like brick-built creatures at all. This Smaug is a really nice design for a dragon.

I can see why you wouldn't like the set based on your distaste for the movies. I often feel the same way. I personally enjoyed the movies.

The lack of poseability really frustrates me about the dwarves as well, though, and that's something I didn't mention in my earlier post. Their short legs are just terrible. Articulated short legs can work, and third party companies sell them. LEGO should fix this issue. Anyways, when I said I liked the minifigures, it was mostly that I liked their torsos and found them to be very useful outside of this set.

Edited October 30, 2015 by x105Black

[Missing Brick]

Generally speaking I don't like brick-built creatures either but check this out:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89514

Imagine that in dark red Smaug colours...

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Huge set and very usefull review!

[Wardancer]

Smaug is a must-have for castle fans I believe.

Some time ago I compared him to the Hungarian Horntail and the green Fantasy Era Dragon: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=106627

[x105Black]

Generally speaking I don't like brick-built creatures either but check this out:

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=89514

Imagine that in dark red Smaug colours...

I have to admit, that's a nice looking dragon. It's definitely one of the top brick-built dragon designs I've seen.

[fred67]

Always appreciate your reviews, WhiteFang, but I have to disagree with your price rating - it's ridiculously overpriced, and just because it will likely bring a high value in return for speculators doesn't really change that fact.

[Elrond]

Thanks for the great detailed review, WhiteFang. I just got this set last week and I must say I'm really impressed with Smaug. Fortunately I was able to find it for a really good price. I've seen a lot of online stores already selling it for > €200 and even > €300...

Always appreciate your reviews, WhiteFang, but I have to disagree with your price rating - it's ridiculously overpriced, and just because it will likely bring a high value in return for speculators doesn't really change that fact.

It really is overpriced but keep in mind Smaug is exclusive to this set and required a lot of large new pieces. The minifigs are all exclusives too. Still, I guess a price around $100-110 would have been more appropriate.

[AFOLguy1970]

I concur about the price, as it was way on the expensive side. I would give about 4/10 or maybe 5/10 in that category. However, Smaug does drive up the playability and the design. I might venture even to max out both those categories with 10/10. The details and posable features on the dragon make it a very nice toy. There are also some good play features on the mine itself, and I do appreciate the sand green along with some other various goodies. I am a bit surprised they did not use at least a few of the chrome gold coin pieces given the fact that this is what made up 90% or more of that great big treasure mound in the movie. I saw many a kid in the store gawking at the box and the display model, and equally many an adult seeing the price and asking the same kid what would be a good alternative. Certainly, an Lego Tolkien fan would consider this set to be an absolute must, because we all know Smaug carries this set.

[WhiteFang]

While on my recent travels in the US, I noticed this set is not doing so well and it seem to be on good discount. It's really good for those who have been hesitating to acquire. Perhaps one of the reason could be the original price tag.

[azog]

I think the main reason people aren't buying it is because of the price..... but for me it has been the best lego set i have ever bought

[Wardancer]

I just sold the dwarves without weapons for 30 Euro, so I got Smaug and all the bricks for 80.