In which the latest LEGO® Lord of the Rings set is revealed, some minifigures are updated (while others are not) and I try not to feel too bad about the cost.

JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a timeless classic of epic fantasy and world building. I was introduced to the work back in 1981, when the BBC’s radio drama was broadcast over 26 half hour episodes on a Sunday Morning. I probably only ever discovered it because the NPR dramatisation of Star Wars finished the previous week. That version of the story missed some of the same bits as Peter Jackson’s cinematic adaptation from the early days of the century. While the action of the narrative swirled across middle earth, there is one location that might be considered core to the drama, but never visited by the story tellers Point of View: The Darks Lord’s Tower, Barad-dûr.

And while MOCs have been produced over the years in a variety of scales, from the tabletop to the major installation, the LEGO Group have never produced a model kit of the Dark Tower of Mordor. Until now.

This 5471 piece set will be available from June 1st 2024, priced at €459.99 / £399.99/ $USD459.99/$AUD699.99 /$CAD599.99 /10999 MXN. On release it will be a LEGO exclusive – only through LEGO and LEGO Certified stores. I will come and revisit that price later in this post, and explain why I don’t think it is totally outrageous.

Welcome to Barad-Dûr!

Today, the LEGO Group, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, reveals the LEGO® Icons Lord of the Rings: Barad-Dûr set, inspired by the award-winning film adaptations. Now in brick form, the epic dark tower and Eye of Sauron build has many hidden fan “treasures” and story references from the Lord of the Rings.

Prepare to journey deep into the heart of Middle-earth with the unveiling of the spectacular LEGO Icons Lord of the Rings: Barad-Dûr set! With its imposing 5,471 pieces, this awe-inspiring masterpiece brings to life the dark tower of Mordor in stunning detail, packed with thrilling features and beloved characters from Tolkien’s timeless saga.  The journey through the dark tower continues with the throne room – which includes a compartment that opens to reveal a map, and a ladder on the top floor of the tower that can be moved left and right.

At the summit lies the Eye of Sauron that rotates in various directions and features a light brick to make the eye glow.

Minifigures

There are also 10 minifigures, including Sauron™, Mouth of Sauron™, Orc™, Frodo, Sam, Gollum™ and Gothmog.

I do appreciate the variety in the designs of the orcs that we see in this set. They are indeed a motley crew, and this is quite consistent with the diverse appearances they had in the films.

Frodo and Sam, however, have not been changed from how they appeared in Rivendell last year, although they have lost their capes, and Sam is carrying Sting, and the Starglass. Frodo had been stripped by the orcs in Minas Morgul, and was in little more than a nightshirt in the movies, until they dressed up in Orc clothes, before entering the plains of Mordor. There are, however, some orcish helmets to wear as part of the disguise.

Gollum has a new mould: Images on the left are from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Sets from a decade ago. On the rightr is the new version. With a new Movie, the Hunt for Gollum in the works for release in 2026, a new old makes sense. As does the change over to the more traditional bent arm element.

Here is a quick comparison of the Mouth of Sauron with the version from 2013’s 79007 Battle at the Black Gate. The printed details in the tunic have been shifted ever so slightly, and there appears to be a new mould for the helmet. The arms seem to have shifted from dark stone grey to a titanium metallic, or similar.

And Finally Sauron… With his helm of steel, his burning eyes and a highly efficient club, he has evolved somewhat to how he appeared in the LEGO Dimensions cut scenes. I have to admit, I love this figure. The metallic look of his armour and helmet work really well, and it really captures the look of character as portrayed on the cinema screen.

The Tower

The build is split into four main sections, with the tower section being fully modular. LEGO fans with more than one copy of the set will be able to stack this section to build a taller tower.

The completed tower is 83cm tall, while the base measures 30cmx45cm. Of course, you can make it taller, should you wish…

Interior Detail

The Source material is deliberately vague as far as just what happens in Barad-Dûr, although there is more than a hint that Gollum was tortured there, and this is where he revealed the existence of the shire, and the name Baggins, before the Nazgûl were dispatched to Mordor.

As such, there is plenty of scope to explore some of the things that might be found inside. There is a dining hall; forge; you can find the Palantîr, to commune with Sauron, and taunt Denathor.

There are also the trophies delivered from Minas Morgul, after Frodo had been captured by the Orcs, after being stung by Shelob: the Mithril coat – just one of the artefacts presented to the Company of Gondor at the Black Gate by the Mouth of Sauron, shortly before Tolkien’s Ultimate Solution to Every Life Threatening Dilemma™, the eagles appeared. To say nothing of the designs for the subservient rings. And in the tower, is that a shopping list?

Gift With Purchase: Nazgûl on a ‘Fell Beast’

 When purchasing the set between 1-7th June, fans will also get a free LEGO Lord of the Rings Fell Beast set. while they are referred to in dialogue as ‘riders on fell beasts,’ it is important to remember the use of the word fell – rescued from its decline by Tolkien, its simply means ‘fierce, savage; cruel, ruthless; dreadful, terrible.’ Its origins probably lies in the Latin via French, with similar origins to the word felon. I personally feel that referring to this as a Fell Beast™ is up there with calling the rest of this set a Tall Dark Tower™, or Snoopy as a White dog with Black Ears™. Perhaps I am splitting hairs here. but Tolkien was nothing if not a linguist, and the word was only ever used as a casual adjective in the source material.

But is it Worth it?

Now, no matter how you look at these sets, they are expensive. But I find I am less concerned about them than I expected, after sitting down and doing a little introspection. Some maths might have also been involved. Both 10333 Barad-dûr and 10316 Rivendell are premium investments: Rivendell priced at $AUD799.99 , and Barad-dûr at $AUD699.99. Now, lets cast our minds back to the halcyon days when there were full on p[lay ranges for the Lord of the Rings: in 2012, the full range of assortment of 7 playsets (I have not included polybags here) was priced at $AUD602.93, while the 5 sets from 2013 tallied up to $AUD602.92. I took these numbers to the Reserve Bank of Australia, to convert this old school money to today’s equivalent after applying inflation… 2012’s sets would now be priced at $801.03; and 2013’s at $781.87. But that’s crazy Rambling Brick: (I hear you cry) can you really compare these? Well, as a long standing fan of Lord of the Rings, I felt compelled to purchase all of the sets in the first wave. With the second wave, I lost my nerve: I just didn’t think that some of the sets offered value for money. So I left most of the series untouched. But I happily spent the equivalent of $800 in the first wave of Lord of the Rings LEGO sets. And I am pretty sure I was not the only one.

Now I am older, and the geography in my house has become progressively diminished by excessive LEGO sets, the idea of one set per year to serve my inner Tolien fan is appealing. Of course, there is also the Brick Headz option, as an extra tool to deplete my wallet.

What Next?

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action…“- Ian Fleming, Goldfinger

We have now had two large-scale sets based on Lord of the Rings. Rivendell and Barad-Dûr. We can consider the tower of Orthanc while we are here, and now start to speculate about locations for future sets pieces. We have already hinted at The Hunt for Gollum – coming in 2026: that could focus on the Woodland realm of Thranduil and the Mirkwood elves.

There is also no doubt that Orthanc could undergo a revamp. Things have changed in the last 10 years, and new techniques could well be included.

A location often called for in the fan community is Minis Tirith, but the 7 walled city would be difficult to do at a minifigure scale – perhaps a microscale version, with some select minifigures (similar to the microscale Hogwarts) could be an option. (Lord Denethor, Boromir?, Faramir, King Aragorn, perhaps even Peregrin Took)

There is an animated film of the War of the Rohirrm currently in post production, slated for release in December 2024: this could tip our bets in favour of the Golden Hall (Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, Gandalf the White, Shadowfax, as well as Aragorn, Gimili and Legolas, to say nothing of a chance for the villainous Grima Wormtongue) but it could equally provide an excuse to give Helm’s Deep the LEGO Icons treatment, as the film focusses on the adventures of Helm Hammerhand, and the creation of the fortress of Helm’s Deep. To say nothing of the chance to reissue a set based on Helms deep without horses from the fragile reddish-brown era! This is formally my top pick for 2025.

Minas Morgul could be an option in the future, as could Cirith Ungol (but all those stairs!) with Shelob’s lair and well as the orc workrooms featured in The Return Of The King.

Perhaps alternating between heroic and villainous locations would be important for balance. Suffice to say, if they were to release one key location per year, that could be a productive strategy, and I would have to worry about extening the house for a couple of years at least.

I’d love to know what location you would like to see next. In the meanwhile, what do you think of the look of Barad-Dûr? Is it on your to-build list? Leave your comments below.

The LEGO® Icons Lord of the Rings: Barad-Dûr set are available for LEGO Insiders from 1^st June 2024 at www.LEGO.com/LOTR and LEGO Stores for all from 4^th June priced at €459.99 / £399.99/ $459.99/699.99 AUD/3899 CNY/189990 HUF/599.99 CAD/10999 MXN. Or you can click on this convenient link, which will take you to your local LEGO store…

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!