LEGO Lord of the Rings Barad-dur (Review) 

* Buy from LEGO ❯* bit.ly/3K3KQWS * Fell Beast ❯* bit.ly/4biHA5Z I guess I missed the "meat's back on the menu" reference which the sticker in the dinning hall might be referring to. Well played then LEGO, I rest my case! The scroll is refering to all rings of power which makes sense! I didn't see the "7" as the number seven, it looked to me like another "1", my bad! :)

I believe the menu in the dining hall section is a humorous reference to the "looks like meat's back on the menu, boys" scene.

The scroll in the higher room is a reference to the Ring Poem, with the numbers 3, 7, 9, 1 Curiously, backwards, it becomes 1973 which is the year Tolkien died

I cannot put into words how much I want a huge Bag End set with a removable hilltop roof so you can play around with all the rooms and make scenes from the movies.

9:28 *Three* Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, *Seven* for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, *Nine* for Mortal Men doomed to die, *One* for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

I like the use of colour in the middle section as it gives the impression that these pillars are lit from below

Wish they included Gollum’s torture chamber since it’s the only know room in the interior and it just would’ve been cool :)

"Reenact what happened after the One Ring was destroyed." - that's gold writing right there

Really appreciate some of the criticisms on this set -- saw too often people just praising it, even when I noticed a few main flaws, but almost all of them you touched upon. Overall I love the set, and I am so, so happy that lego decided to create it, I just really appreciate the honest review!

No ones gonna mention how BRILLIANT the use of nugget and brown piece that emulates the glow on the tower from sauron’s eye

The hidden meaning on the scroll at the top is that those are numbers 3 (rings for elves) 7 (rings for dwarves) 9 (rings for men) 1 (One ring) Also backward it is 1973 - the year of Tolkien’s death

We will never forgive you smashing the millennium falcon

Looks like lego lotr is back on the menu, boys

I really like the details around the Eye of Sauron, the color change to create a brightness effect around the area of the eye makes it look it’s radiating light.

Rivendell and Barad-due are great sets, but personally I would like a full on LOTR theme so we could get smaller playset models I can actually afford

Minas Tirith would be cool but Shire even better. Hobbits hole under green cover like ant farm would be epic.

Woah! The way they captured the glow off the flames on the undersides and near the eye are really next level.

One of the best feature is that it seems it has no loose pieces. Even the food items are nicely attached. I hate loose pieces in lego sets.

The stickers are once more the biggest slap in the face at this price point.

I love the detail of the palantíri ! Not only the images on itself (The Scouring of the Shire !) but the fact that it was actually included !

Loooove this set! Definitely gonna save up for it. However, I wanna point out that the rooms aren't random. The bottom floor is based on one of the early scenes where we see Gollum being tortured. The table is probably a reference to "Looks like meat is back on the menu, boys!" The throne room is actually a reference to the books, as Sauron has a physical body there and is often on his throne (the two banners are also literally as described in the books, with his red Eye). He is also described as having a planning war room and a Palantír, as shown there in the set (not described in detail, though). EDIT: the burning shire is a reference to the Scouring Of The Shire, by the way. EDIT 2: I'm not sure if the movie had those windows. Once again, I'm guessing those might be based on the book descriptions, as those mentioned the window in the room where Sauron resided. That's a more far-fetched guess, though.

Thank you for another detailed, concise review. As always I appreciate your builder's insight into how enjoyable the build was and how many unique building techniques were employed. Waiting for the first fan to buy TWO sets so they can have a 360 Barad-dur with no cut-away to the rooms. :)

Lego is just killing it with LotR sets

Soft disagree with you about the dining room, that’s actually a really funny reference. At one point in the movies, after an Orc is torn apart by his fellows, another Orc says “looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!”. This has led to an interesting discussion, along the lines of: how does an Orc know what a menu is? That would imply they know what service dining is, that their society has reached the point that menus can exist. Are there Orc waiters? Etc. Hence the Orc dining room with meat on the menu.

The kitchen and dining hall are absolutely hilarious😂 i'd like to imagine Sauron and his Mouth arguing over what to cook for their dinner, and Sauron winning and announcing "my loverly orcs, you can have anything for dinner so long that it is the one drumstick!" (his Mouth sulking in the corner because it wanted to cook lava-barbequed fish). Menacingly impressive but I'll await Minas Tirith, fingers crossed. Thank you for this delightful review, Tiago!

I really like watching your reviews! So balaned and fair. I cant wait to get Rivendell but due to the GWP, I am opting for Barad Dur first. Both look stunning. Cant wait to see what Light My Bricks does with this. Great opportunity for a sound brick!

I'm so upset that the Fell Beast set is only available when you buy the big set

9:27 is a reference to the rings, 9 rings for men, 7 for dwarves, 3 to elves and 1 to rule them all

My one complaint is the Frodo and Sam characters. I personally think those shouldn’t even have been included. It should’ve been 2 more orcs, a The Witch King or Elendil and Isildur with a full Narsil sword and the Rivendel shards of Narsil mold. BUT if they did want to add Frodo and Sam they should have been accurate. They look to clean for their Mordor scenes. The faces should have been with mud and scars and their clothes should’ve been f’ed up. Really missed the mark with those two figures imo. SIDENOTE I think Saurons throne deserved the bigger room instead of this small one. And it would have been cool to have a small window or balcony where you could put Sauron on display like Saruman in the Orthanc set. But those are small wishes. :)

04:01 I thought it looks like reflection of the glow

The eye looks incredible, really, it’s simple but it’s really good!👍

I’ve been building a custom Lego Barad Dur on and off for the past 2 years, and I was actually disappointed when this came out, I had much higher expectations for it and would say my model looks far better, bigger and more movie accurate. However, props to Lego for putting out these brilliant LOTR sets for the past few years, hopefully more to come!

I just realized, in the Rivendell set, they an eye of Sauron build. Are there any Easter eggs in this set that could potentially be are next lord of the rings set?

All I need is a Lego Shire, then I can die happy.

I think the menu with the meat on it is a reference to that line "looks like meats back on the menu boys"

I really hope helms deep is next! Awesome review as always!

Wow looks fantastic set great detail awseome minifigs and review 👍

man I for sure didn't need to know this was launching 😭

You just couldn't resist using the "smashing the Falcon" footage, could you? 😂

the menu is a nod to the "looks like meat is back on the menu boys" line in the two towers movie, it's actually a GREAT reference!

Fantastic review! Thank you!

8:37 “bilbo’s back end” 😂

Moving the eye around reminded me of that Family Guy cutaway joke where Sauron is trying to find his lost contact lens.😂

Fabulous review again TC.

Thank you so much for your always entertaining and worthwhile video! What shelving system do you use to display your legos (that's in the background of your video)?

The way you had Gollum sneak into the frame made me chuckle lol

Interesting how getting the set for free suddenly makes it good value for money. Funny how that works... And no, it is not good value for money, it is absurdly expensive, and you only even get half a tower! Buy two, get one... great value indeed.

Yet again, great review, unbiased, honest including negatives unlike many others in the LAN but best of all, price in AUD...

This is incredible. This should be the standard for Lego. The variety of figures. The scale of the tower. The second build for the last scene. Just perfect. 👍

I bought this set this morning as one of my son’s graduation gifts. I absolutely love this set. And sure he will too.

Contrasting this review from a LEGO designer vs the one from Dave (solid brix, an “amateur”) is very interesting and helpful. Love you Tiago.

I love the eye soo much. Looks impressive.

Orcs eating at the table feels definitely less weird to me than Mouth of Sauron reading books. This set is absolutely stunning. But as you said, the Rivendell looks just so much better

Wow, this is amazing. I hope to see Minas Tirith or Helms Deep next, as they are also stunning structures

Great review! Thank you

Caving & getting this Day 1. I don't have Rivendell (yet) but I have some of the older sets (Pirate Ship Ambush, Council of Elrond, Wizard Battle & Gandalf Arrives). All I need to complete the Fellowship is Merry & Pippen. I'm so happy to have LEGO LOTR back although it comes at a premium. Hoping they do the same for Pirates of the Caribbean and give us a large Blackpearl and other ships etc.

This just makes me want a full lego lotr theme again

Nah the kitchen is hilarious and I love it. You gotta be light hearted 😂

I agree about the colors, they are terribly out of place. The tower in the movies was all black, the rock formations should have been made entirely of dark grey and black. While I'm fine with the lava at the bottom illuminating the walls a little bit, I hate to see all the orange and brown pieces in the build's midsection. The top being brown and orange doesn't look the best either, especially with the "horns' " highest points being yellow despite being the farthest away upwards from the eye. Blue bricks showing through the walls is just bad quality and modern Lego always trying to stick a rainbow into everything no matter what it looks like from the outside. I also don't like the builds proportions, maybe the base could have been a little smaller and the top part of the tower longer. Minifigs - nice but Sauron should have the avatar body, Frodo and Sam could have better resembled their actual look towards the end of the journey. The interior is nice, I agree that the kitchen shows a little of Lego's need/policy/whatever to make stuff more fun and family friendly but I think it's fine in this case. Overall: 18+ Lego could sometimes be darker, both figuratively and literally. Barad Dur - literally.

lol. As I watched this video, I was planning on a comment that included a note on smashing the Falcon and me still not being over that, I'm glad you beat me too it.

The 3791 on the parchment in the Mouth's study is referencing the rings of power. 3 rings for the elves, 7 for the dwarves, 9 for the men, and one ring to rule them all.

I love how they used a darker orange instead of black I really does make the eye look like it’s glowing

I like how Tiago mentioned the diversity of the minifigs for army building potential. I was definitely thinking of buying 4-5 of this set just for the figs to army build. Seems reasonable. Joking aside, great review as usual.

The minifigures and armour in this one is so good

Impressive set! I like the sliding mechanism for putting together levels of the tower. How easy or hard is it to put them together and make them slide in or out of place? I might steal the technique for my own builds.

This is what we could call a Marmite set: you'll either love it or hate it! Personally, I think part 3 of the build could probably stand on its own as a perfectly good display (one that would fit on a shelf) that has all the essential features of Barad-dur. I don't love the rock formations, either. Seem a bit clunky and visually distracting with no flow. And I agree that the Orc dining hall is out of place. I'd imagine a scene more like something from the snake palace in Conan the Barbarian, with orcs eating human parts boiled up in a big stew pot, and definitely not sitting neatly at a table using cutlery! 😂

Glad they gave Golum a loin cloth. I didn't wanna see his pink flower. The 3791 sticker is the number of rings made. 3 for elves, 7 for dwarves and 9 for man and 1 to rule them all.

What we need next year is the lonely mountain or the shire

i was hoping to see it side by side with orthanc, as i'm looking to buy this set and display it alongside. i'm hoping the height difference would be relatively canon to satisfy my tastes, as orthanc currently is my all time favorite display set. i'm so happy to see barad dur finally get rep

I do think that between gondor and helms deep, that helms deep should be considered next, since it is a militaristic location of lotr, just like how barad dur shares those same elements as well as it has been incorporated in this build as well. But another reason is that the set would most likley be horizontal in building format, much like rivendell. And then later on the year after next, Gondor would be appropriately be next since it combining all the design aesthetics that the designers would have learned from rivendell, barad dur, and supposedly helms deep if it ever releases next year.

Wish it were a complete tower and 1:53 sam and Frodo had Black orc suits to go with helmets (as we see in movie)

I'm really impressed with the eye

The commercial WB just released for this set is sick!

7:58 the seat was probably from sauron himself, because although his eye is on top of the tower, sauron did have a physical form during the time of the lord of the rings

Woah, that thing's a beast!

Regarding the brown colors on the parapets: I agree with you that it looks very odd up close, but in your closing shots (9:53) I actually kind of like it. It looks like a continuation of the lava glow below and adds some depth to the black spike features at the base.

That scroll on the top level of Barad-Dûr is undoubtedly referring to the Rings of Power. The numbers 3, 7, 9, and 1 all line up with the opening of The Fellowship. "Three were given to the Elves, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountains. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern each race. But they were all of them decieved, for another ring was made. Deep in the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mt Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring, to control all the others. And into this ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all." 3 to the Elves, 7 to the Dwarf-Lords, 9 to the Men, and One Ring to rule them all.

oh wow! This looks awesome!

LED light straps around the model set to orange would be hot for display

Feels like Sauron should have had the extra long legs used on Woody from Toy Story and in the Avatar sets.

I‘m worried about the paper bags. What if you decide to buy the set today but don’t have the place to build it right now. So if you just open the set like 10 years later for the first time will the bricks be damaged? Especially grey and white bricks. Will they loose their color and turn a little bit to yellow bricks. Please you need to answer these questions for us who plan to open the sets many years later.

In keeping with them doing a big set each year, Helm's Deep HAS to be next,

How to join two sets into one full build?

Actually, i belive the throne room and the window is a reference to the book. If i remember well, In the book, the sauron’s tower didn’t have a giant eye in the top. The ’’eye’’ of sauron is metaphorical to describe how sauron has spies everywhere and now what’s appenning all around the middle earth. Also, he is described has watching over his land (mordor) throught his window while sat on his throne in his weakest form. So, maybe this explain the throne room and the window. And for the orc’s cantinna, i personally don’t mind and i love the ’’meat on the menu’’ reference to the ’’two tower’’.

soo good definitely going to buy it

Now I really hope Lego makes a brick build big fig of Sauron, that would be awesome

I see the Lions knight castle in the back ground... even though they are dissimilar and not compatible worlds I would like to see it next to the tower and riven dale on one table for size and value comparisons. The height of this makes it look really imposing, and full of details. How does it compare? (in play value the castle is priceless to me, but just to see how well the value scales from the IP to legos brand creation)

I’m not even a lord of the rings fan but I love this set

Question, what are the dimensions of the model? I don't see them on the store, and it would be good to know for display purposes.

I am in love with Both of the sets 🤩🤩🤩

The orange bit in the middle I think is meant to show some of the lava glow on the actual fortress

Awesome set. I'm buying day 1. It's just amazing to me how no one is talking about why they didn't use clear trans pieces to support the eye. To give it a better look of it floating.

I was going to buy this, but then I realized, "I can build! Why not make one 2.5 times taller! And it (might cost less)"! Joking aside, this is a great set, and I really want to buy it!

Thanks , your honest review saves me 460€ 😊

I have yet to pick up Rivendell, but Barad-dur is a day one purchase for me!

It certainly looks an impressive set. As someone who’s yet to purchase either, Rivendell is attracting me that little bit more.

oh wooooow that is massive

3 7 9 1 is a reference to the rings of power, three for the elves, seven for the dwarves, 9 for men and one ring to rule them all. I enjoyed the dining room quip as a reference to the line “looks like meats back on the menu boys”

There is clear information that Sauron throne room is in the deepest levels of Barad-dur. Completely different as it is - in the tower.

personally i think Saurons Legs are to short, Lego should have given him the longer legs that the Navi (from Avatar) have but in Black(grey). And that would mean the Tower should have been higher too.