While not as extravagant as 10316: Rivendell, the upcoming 10354 The Shire still has a lot to cover. While I am finishing the complete review, I thought we might look at the nine minifigures that come with this upcoming set. The Shire brings us nine minifigures: six old characters, and three new. Let’s take a look at how these figures compare with those found in 10316 Rivendell, and the previous wave of LEGO The Lord of the Rings sets, released in 2012-2013.

The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Most of the events taking place in this set take place in Hobbiton around the time of Bilbo’s 111th birthday, and as such, most of the cast are dressed up for his party. After the party, Bilbo departs on his travels, leaving the ring with Frodo. Gandalf subsequently leaves to see what he can learn about the Ring. Aspects of the internals of Bag End are mainly focused on the time of the party and 17 years later, when Gandalf returns, shortly before Frodo leaves for Rivendell with Sam, Merry and Pippin.

This set contains a mixture of revisited characters from earlier sets, as well as three new characters. Lets start with the characters that are well established in minifigure form. Will this set bring something new?

The Old

Gandalf

Of the 6 figures depicting characters that have been seen previously, only Gandalf is wearing his same ‘classic’ costume. Frodo, Bilbo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are seen dressed up for a birthday party, rather than wearing their previously seen traveling clothes. This decision has allowed the graphics team to increase the level of detail seen on most of the character’s clothes. However, Gandalf retains four of the five elements that were seen in 2023’s Rivendell.

Gandalf underwent a significant redesign in 2023 with Rivendell, gaining full robes and losing his legs. This set uses the same torso and robe print as that version, along with the same beard and additional wig. The head, however, features a new beard print, unlike the previous versions, which only had wrinkled face prints with undisciplined eyebrows.

Like the version included in Rivendell, we have additional elements to allow him to be built into a seat.

Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo’s party was a spectacular affair, and the workmanship in his jacket and vest demonstrates some of the finest clothes that a hobbit might wear. Like all the hobbits, Bilbo, has dual-molded, child legs. I love the light vest under his dark red velvet jacket with dark green lapels, and a crevatte nicely foled.

Additional parts ( headlamp bricks and pale nougat 1×1 plates) are provided to allow both Bilbo and Frodo to sit down.

Here we can see the character development that Bilbo has shown over the years: from the Hobbit who became a little anxious when the dwarfs came to visit (left), the more experienced adventurer, seen in Riddles in the Dark (middle). The older Bilbo is now relatively carefree

Frodo Baggins

Frodo is also wearing party clothes and features a fine dark red vest with golden floral detail, over a white shirt. His blue pants are continued up to the torso. He has dark brown ‘Hobbit hair’ over a new dual printed face. It shows a slight diastema, or tooth gap with a large smile, and a more conservative, content smile on the other side.

As you can see below, this is a far happier Frodo than the one who was attacked on weatherop (far left), or indeed attending the council of Elrond in Rivendell(centre) . Both of those older versions also feature the ‘Ring Possession’ face, something that Frodo has yet to experience at the time of the party.

Samwise Gamgee

Sam Gamgee is equipped with a pair of scissors to help trim the garden. He is dressed in a dark brown jacket and shorts over a white collared shirt. He has a half smile on one side and a stern expression with a furrowed brow on the other.

Over the years, Sam has appeared in remarkably limited roles: initially wielding Sting and Galadriel’s Star Glass in Shelob’s Lair, or wearing similar clothes with a coat in Rivendell. Today in the Shire, however, he is wearing a far more formal outfit.

You will see through these images that some of the Hobbits have had shifting hair colours over the years. I was initially concerned that I had got my wigs shuffled up, but on reviewing the Brickset/Bricklink images it would seem that Sam started life with medium nougat hair, and has now transitioned to dark orange hair. We will see shortly that quite the opposite has happened to Peregrine ‘Pippin’ Took.

Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took

Merry and Pippin have an impressive journey in The Lord of the Rings, from mischievous young hobbits, stealing fireworks and cabbages to becoming heroes of Rohan and Gondor. This is the first time we have seen them at the start of this journey.

Merry has a yellow vest over a white shirt, wearing a mischievous smile . Pippin has an unbuttoned dark green vest over a white buttoned shirt. The vest has exquisite gold detailing. They both have reddish brown shorts on dual molded legs. The reverse face prints of both figures mirror the effects after the lads set off the fireworks in the tent at Bilbo’s party. This hair element is from Ninjago, and has been recoloured here.

Pippin first appeared in Mines of Moria, wielding a short sword and wearing an olive green cape. He has always had reddish brown hair. Merry, however, has crossed from dark orange hair to medium nougat. He retains a version of his grin from the Attack on Weathertop.

The New

Rosie Cotton

The future Mrs Gamgee, Rosie appears for the first time in LEGO form. She was not actively described in the novel of the Fellowship of the Ring, but she appears in the Return of the King, particularly in the chapter ‘The Scouring of the Shire’. It is apparent that Sam has had a long standing friendship with her, and the movies adapt the relationship somewhat to have their ultimate union make sense.

Her torso is medium blue, representing a bodice over a pale blue blouse. The detailing on the bodice is more obvious here than it is in the screen version. The bodice is laced up around the back, but this is mostly hidden underneath her long wavy hair. She has a large grin on one side of her face, and a smaller one on the other side. I am disappointed that the pale nougat printing above the blouses neckline has an overly pale, washed out colour. This seems to be an ongoing problem.

The Proudfoots

Mr and Mrs Proudfoot have a fairly minor role in the movie of Fellowship of the Ring – appearing as a disapproving couple as Gandalf arrives. Mr Proudfoot appears slightly excited by the arrival of the Shire’s favorite pyrotechnician, until his wife gives him a look that reminds him of what a troublemaker he can be.

Mrs Proudfoot features a new skirt mold—similar to some seen previously but with a more wavy appearance. Her torso shows an olive green vest over a white blouse. Her face shows a small smile on one side and a disapproving look on the other. Her hairpiece has tied-back curly hair, with a pin hole to allow the attachment of a flower or bow.

Mr Proudfoot (credited with one line at the party…. “Proud FEET!”). He is wearing a jacket with a checked pattern, with a buttoned belt in the back.

In Conclusion

This set brings us some well-loved characters along with some brand new ones.

Gandalf is the least changed figure, appearing in the same robes as we saw in Rivendell, but he features new facial printing, including a beard, He gets my marks for ‘Best improved minifigure’

The Hobbits are now well established with dual-molded legs, and this set features a new colour (dark blue pants). It is refreshing to see Bilbo, Frodo, Samwise, Merry, and Pippin dressed in all their finery, and the designers appear to have gone to town with the detailing.

Merry and Pippin’s ‘exploded faces’ add a sense of enjoyment, and capture the essence of their escapades at the party quite nicely.

The new characters, the Proudfoots and Rosie Cotton, bring new prints. Rosie is dressed up for the party, while the others are in more everyday clothes. Mrs Proudfoot’s skirt element is quite an elegant design, and I wonder if this spells the death knell for fabric skirt elements in the future. Rosie’s smile conveys the full sense of her vivacious personality. Rosie’s minifigure just looks so happy – and its my favorite of the newcomers.

I am delighted to see a few of the relatively minor characters turn up in the Shire, and the graphic design team have gone to great lengths to ensure that no detail had been spared in bringing them to life. It is a refreshing change to see our old friends appearing in new outfits, rather than just releasing new versions of the traveling clothes.

Most of our characters have specific accessories, but it would have been nice to see some pipes for Gandalf and Bilbo, where they were enjoying blowing smoke rings before the party. I recognise that showing minifigures smoking is outside the scope of the LEGO Brand values, so we are unlikely ever to see such a thing.

Now that I have taken a look at all the figures, I feel I should wrangle them. I built a little display rack for them, placing Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippen on the top floor, and the other 4 hobbits on the bottom. In the meantime, Gandalf stands on his own, to the side. If I had a few more arch elements in appropriate colours, and perhaps a few more Green bricks, I might make it a little smoother. But this is a project for older me.

Do you have a favorite figure in this set? Let me know in the comments below!

I hope you have enjoyed this preview of the minifigures from 10354 the Shire. The set has 2017 pieces and has a recommended retail price of $AUD399.99; €269.99 £229.99 $USD269.99. It will be released on April 2nd to LEGO Insiders, and available to all on April the 5th.

I hope to bring the next part of my review along in a few days.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!