Last year, Lego returned after years away to the realm of Middle-earth, delivering one of the most remarkable sets it’s ever made in in Rivendell, a gorgeous tribute to The Lord of the Rings. Now, it’s headed there and back again, with a darker bent—but does heading to the land of Mordor, where shadows lie, reap the rewards?
Recently Lego provided io9 with its latest Lord of the Rings set, Barad-Dûr—Sauron’s black seat of power at the heart of his evil domain. After a few days toiling away—just a bit less than the 600 or so years it took Sauron’s forces to build the tower in the books—we’re here to report on what works with the brickmaker’s latest set, what doesn’t, and if it’s a worthy follow up to the glimmering house of Imladris.
How long does it take to build Lego’s Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr set?
Clocking in at 5,471 pieces, the Lego Barad-Dûr set is around 700 or so pieces smaller than last year’s Rivendell set. It’s also, by its design—as we’ll get into shortly—a simpler build than that set was, trading the intricacies of Elven architecture for the stark, largely black structure of a spiked tower. That means that, despite still being a pretty huge kit, it actually doesn’t take remotely as long to put together. Well, remotely in the grand scheme of things: at around 10-15 hours, depending on pace, you can still probably chug your way through a marathon re-watch of the Lord of the Rings extended editions while you work. You probably won’t have time to dig into The Hobbit ones though, for better or worse.
How many minifigures are in Lego’s Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr set?
Barad-Dûr includes 10 minifigures: six named characters and four generic ones. For the known characters there’s Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, and then three named villains in Sauron (as he appears in physical form in Fellowship of the Ring’s opening), the Mouth of Sauron, and Lieutenant Gothmog, the Orcish commander of Mordor’s siege of Minas Tirith. Rounding out the collection are four generic orcs from Mordor’s hosts. Parts are included to mix and match helmets for all four of them, but two are built with accessories to make them occupy specific roles in Barad-Dûr—one has the tools of a blacksmith for the tower’s forges, and the other… is an Orcish chef, for the tower’s surprisingly detailed dining hall?
While Sam and Frodo were already minifigures included in Rivendell last year—no changes were made to update their attire based on their arrival in Mordor during Return of the King—the set marks the first time Lord of the Rings fans have been able to get a minifigure-scaled Sauron at all. It also brings back access to figures like Gollum and the Mouth of Sauron that were part of Lego’s original Lord of the Rings line before it came to an end in 2015. It’s access that’ll cost you a lot, sure, but it’s probably better than the aftermarket on some of those rare minifigures is now.
One more minifigure is included if you buy Barad-Dûr directly from Lego between June 1 and June 7: a Nazgul, who rides the accompanying bonus Fell Beast set included as an extra gift (io9 did not receive one for review).
Is Lego’s Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr set difficult to build?
Whether you’re a seasoned Lego builder or a more occasional dabbler, despite its impressive scale, Barad-Dûr is a deceptively simple building experience. Broken down into four sections—the base level and forge, two mid-tier structures housing a dining hall and Sauron’s throne, and then the tower itself—across three manuals of instructions, it’s pretty easy build as a modular experience, and with a lot of repeated steps and techniques to create the outer structure, finding a rhythm to putting it all together in spite of the parts count isn’t too difficult.
But that simplicity occasionally comes with a price—the outside of Barad-Dûr looks great, but the interior features are a little plain, and don’t have too much space to use, leading to moments in the build process that break up the patterns and color monotony of the exterior, but don’t really add much excitement to the process.
Is Lego’s Barad-Dûr set better for Lego fans or Lord of the Rings fans?
Unlike Rivendell last year, Barad-Dûr doesn’t really offer that much that’s unique as a build to excite diehard Lego fans who may not necessarily care about The Lord of the Rings. It’s quite a monotonous build thanks to all the black, even though the set actually does some really clever things with color to recreate the fiery glow around the lava at the tower’s base, and Sauron’s flaming eye, but that’s a subtle enough distinction that it’s easy to brush over beyond the moment-to-moment building. There’s no particularly unique architecture or structure compared to something like Rivendell’s rooftops that stand out as an interesting highlight in the build, and the interior play aspects feel a bit weird for a set that is aimed at collectors and display. But it’s a nice-looking thing when built, and at just over 32 inches high, it’s incredibly impressive to gaze upon (while you figure out where the hell you’re going to put it on display, that is) when it’s finished.
For Lord of the Rings fans, there’s a lot of little details to love however—little references to the films are littered throughout the interior, like a gag chalkboard in the dining hall that indicates to the boys that meat is indeed back on the menu. It’s a fantastic representation of the Barad-Dûr design we see in the films, and there’s great minifigure choices here that bring some iconic villain designs to bricky life. But while it’s cool to see a villain-oriented set like this get made, if you had to pick between this or Rivendell as the Lego set to get as a Lord of the Rings fan, the latter remains a better pick, in terms of the characters it has, its nature as a display piece, and all the intricate details that make it feel worth that hefty price tag.
How much is Lego’s Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr set? Is it worth the price?
At $460, Barad-Dûr might seem relatively tame when it comes to some of the crazy prices Lego’s most lavish sets have commanded lately. And it does a lot to justify it in terms of its size and scope and looking the part it needs to. But again, you cannot help but draw comparisons to last year’s Rivendell set, and there, Barad-Dûr feels a little wanting.
Rivendell, which is still available through Lego, cost $40 more, came with five more minifigures, and around 700 or so more pieces. And while sheer number counts don’t make for all that compelling a comparison—there certainly doesn’t feel like a 700-ish-piece difference between the two—Rivendell’s minifigure choice is immaculate, delivering every iconic character you’d want from the set and then some, on top of being a much stronger build experience that results in a gorgeous display piece. We’re at a niche of a niche here in the realm of Lord of the Rings fans interested in Lego who can throw down a good chunk of money on a lavish set—and Barad-Dûr takes that niche a step further in explicitly being dedicated to people interested in the more sinister side of Middle-earth. And even then, the set itself feels like it’s struggling to justify itself: from the front, a stunning display piece every bit worthy of the scale and scope, and from the back, a half-hearted series of smaller play set vignettes that feel undercooked for a set at this price and aimed at adult collectors.
Perhaps it’s fitting that a set themed around Mordor often feels like it’s clouded in shadow, no matter what it does to stand tall on its own. If you already have Rivendell, then it’s great news: Barad-Dûr is a really fun set that will make a fine addition to what is probably going have to be a very large shelf in your collection. But if you’re a Lego Lord of the Rings fan who wants to finally bite the bullet and has to pick one or the other of these similarly-enough priced and sized sets? As good as Barad-Dûr is, Rivendell remains the the one to go for.
Lego’s Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr set will release June 1 for Lego Insiders, and widely a few days later on June 4. Click through to see more of our thoughts breaking down the set section by section—and plenty more pictures to boot.