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Frodo woke to a cool, clammy darkness. No, not quite darkness, there was an
eerie green glow about the low-ceiling chamber in which he awoke. He glanced
about himself to see the prostrate figures of Sam, Pippin and Merry now oddly
adorned in white and covered in circlets and rings, surrounded by ancient swords
and treasures.
“Are we dead?” he briefly thought, but the thought was quickly
chased from his mind as he felt an impending danger, wending it’s way into the
room on the airy, phantom tones of a chilling death-like song. . .
The Lego group’s release of the Lord of the Rings sets has been a very mixed bag
of results. For minifigure collectors it’s a dream come true (with slight
heartburn for critics of the lower quality out-sourced materials). For
construction fans, many diehard builders have already built their own versions
of some of these iconic structures. Lego takes an interesting (and for me at
least, unforeseen) turn on the releases of these basically Castle-themed sets.
My first build in the collection is the 9472 Attack on Weathertop set. The
price was originally daunting until I was able to make a deal with a
fellow-collector that ultimately made it possible for me to pick up the set
(that I honestly wouldn’t have picked up at its original price).
9472 is an innovative spin on the Castle set. It’s a two-level tower-like
construction with a spiral staircase winding upward from a small camp clearing
(with firepit). The stairs wind upward to an open battlement with decaying
arches and bits of ruins (very well depicted). On the first-level back side of
the structure (opposite the camp clearing) there is an arched doorway that leads
to a small interior armory. A trap door in the floor of the second level can
drop unprepared victims into the lower chamber and the entire structure is
hinged to allow better access to the lower interior. An additional partial
wall/corner assembly (separate from the main tower) is included to add to the
feel of ruins and while this smacks of simply adding to the piece count, the
bricks and plate will add to alternate building possibilities.
Figures included in the set are two ring wraiths, a warrior figure (Aragorn) and
two hobbits (Frodo and Merry--though it could just as well be Frodo and Sam) and
two horses. The wraiths are very well executed but nothing particularly new
(basically dark jedi knight figures). In all fairness it should be noted that
the menacing Harry Potter Dementor figs have already stolen the wraiths’
‘creepy’ thunder. Aragorn and the hobbit figures are good sculpts and body
paints. Accessories include a spear, swords, torches, food bits (chicken legs,
carrot, apple) and a small, gold-plated ring (this is actually pretty cool).
Minor accessories of flowerless plants/weeds should be noted, they are simple
but add a great touch to the feel of the main model.
Where fans (myself among them) have complained about price-per-part issues, Lego
is now giving us more parts, and oh how cuts the two-edged sword! We’re getting
more parts alright, but many of them are small 1x1 bricks and slopes (be careful
how you word your wishes)! This is indicative of not just the Lord of the Rings
sets. Fans need to carefully check out other themes (I’ve seen it in Star Wars
and even Town sets) before going by only the listed part count to determine if a
purchase is worthwhile. I’m a long-time construction toy fan and Lego is among
my favorite brands but the mentality that ‘fans will buy whatever you produce’
is not always true (particularly in difficult financial times). Time will tell.
Okay, now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s take a serious look at this
construction. A perusal of the Lord of the Rings sets shows a very interesting
design mindset: minimal (if any) castle walls and panels! While the
price-per-part monster probably has a bit to do with this mentality (you’re
gonna use anywhere from four to eight or nine parts to make up for that single
castle wall) it does make for a more ‘artsy’ looking castle construction that I
found very appealing. Hopefully this is something that will only play part in
this particular theme and we won’t lose the ‘classic’ feel of a larger Lego
castle with those customary panels and wall bits. Adding to the ‘artsy’ feel of
the castle is use of microfigures within the walls or arches to give the feel of
statuettes or relief detail (another great touch).
A second item to note on the building style is how the exterior walls are angled
such that we aren’t treated to a square design per se, but we’re getting an
almost octagonal design. Don’t get too excited just yet, this unique
structuring was actually being done by Tyco Superblocks sets over 25 years ago
(anybody remember the very cool
Black
Knight’s Castle set?) though it’s admittedly improved upon by Lego.
Last note on the design of the structure is in answer to a possible question of
‘why is there an interior to Weathertop?’. I think the Lego group is actually
implementing a bit of the barrow burial mounds that were originally part of the
‘Fellowship’ book but not a part of the movies. I pictured the barrow vaults as
being a lot larger but the basic idea is here.
Final judgment? This is a very good principle model using a good assortment of
grey, dark grey, dark green and tan elements that many fans will miss out on
because of the high sticker price. While I don’t approve of figure-pirating,
construction fans can benefit by picking up the set minus figures at a much more
reasonable price from ebay or elsewhere and populate the set with their own
existing figures.
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Five out of eight studs. (It isn’t fair but the high price easily
knocked off two stars.)
Thumbs up for: A very cool, innovative structure.
Thumbs down on: Totally overpriced! The demand for (and resale of)
collectible figures (along with price-per-part cramming and lofty license
price-jacking) is sadly not a good thing for our favored brand of construction
toys.
Wallet-Wise: $60.00 suggested U.S. retail for 430 pieces.
Date:
7/27/2012
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