At 7:55, the thing is probably supposed to be lembas bread, it is a magical elf bread wrapped in leaves that can fill a man's stomach with a single bite.
I'll 100% pick up this set not only just over the fact this set is a Top Tier Lego Set, but also to show support for the Lord of the Rings Theme to come back. I got every set of the 2012-14 Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit wave, and I want this theme to come back.
My biggest disappointment with this set is the lack of balconies. When I think of Rivendell, one of the first thing I think of is characters talking on the balconies overlooking the valley.
Legit, my only problem is I feel the previous versions of Legolas had a more accurate hair piece. This new one feels too thick if that makes sense. But that's really such a non-issue since you can just swap out the new piece for the old one.
Ok, a few things: Pippin is actually holding a Lembas bread, not lettuce - the little beige square is supposed to represent the bread itself, if you look at the scene from the movie, you can see the bread is, indeed, square, and the leaf under it is just the leaf that the bread is wrapped in, only unwrapped. Other than that, think this is an amazing set, and if I had the money and/or desk space, I would definitely buy this. One thing that bugs me, though, is the broken Narsil piece, and specifically because they didn't include the full-sized, reforged Andúril sword. Really hoping we get one for Aragorn in the rumored Barad-dûr set, as it would make sense for him to have it there, if it's going to be based on the third film (maybe we could even get Aragorn in his "king" battle armor?)
Honestly I think this is easily one of the best-looking sets they've ever made. It's kind of strange though to base bringing back more sets for the theme off of the sales of a $500 set that will likely be inaccessible price wise to a lot of people, it might have made more sense to try and gauge interest with a set in the $100-200 range.
@@Economydiestoday111 "not much beautiful architecture in Star Wars" sure, unless you count stuff like Naboo/Theed City, Coruscant/Jedi Temple/Senate Building, Mos Espa/Eisley, Yavin IV Temple, Alderaan, Besipn, Jabba's Palace, Vader's Castle, Inquisitor Fortress... yeah, hardly any beautiful architecture at all...
I can't imagine paying 500 Euro for a dust magnet but... that's a drop-dead-gorgeous, almost perfect dust magnet. It's so detailed! The entire Fellowship in one set, too. So many angles it barely looks like Lego from afar. *The roof!* For once that's a dust magnet i'd love to have.
The Eye of Sauron underneath the council is a really cool little easter egg. Not only is the eye looking directly at the ring from below, but it might also be a reference to what Elrond says; "his eye is fixed on Rivendell"... his eye is straight up fixed onto Rivendell here, so that quote is taken literally.
What's even funnier imo is the Eye of Sauron in the Barad-dûr set is far bigger, so they literally just scaled up the Eye they made as an easter egg for this set.
Absolutely! These "reviewers" (in fact: advertisers) make me laugh! They have _no_ business talking about the price of something they didn't buy. And how often do you hear them say "Is it worth it? No."? Of course, never! They must think we're complete idiots.
Fantastic review David! This must have taken you a while to put together with all aspects being covered, definitely a day 1 buy for me. Thanks for solidifying my decision! 😊
The fact that there are so many new molds makes me think they're 100% bringing the theme back. With that said, I wonder if they would consider making sets for the shadow of Mordor games?
LOTR is very special to me, it defined a huge part of my life. To see LEGO release one of the best sets it ever made being a LOTR set blows my mind on so many levels! A must own for me!!
I'm blown away Lego did not overcharge for this set especially with inflation still running wild. They easily could have slapped a $6-700 price tag on this and it would have still sold out. Props to them.
@@gbrow1604 What are you talking about. It's actually priced cheap by Lego standards. And if you're new to Lego (then I apologize for the opening statement), they've ALWAYS been high-priced. I'm a collector for decades, back in the 70s and 80s they were high priced toys even then. If you don't believe, just look at Brickset on older models, use an inflation calculator and you'll see for smaller simpler brick builds how high priced they'd be today retail. But what they do is offer a price range from low to high so anyone's budget can afford something from Lego. With this set, it's priced fairly. It's about 6000 pieces, with NEW fabricated elements (weapons, foliage pieces, etc), NEW recolors on various parts, large foliage pieces, large elements (the ornate arches), over 400 printed tiles, 21 minifigures, etc. At $500 for a licensed set this large with all those new elements and prints, it's quite a good bargain.
great video! I just want to offer what I think the paintings reference: 17:22 That looks like a famous ancient Elven city from long before the Lord of the Rings events. Since it's on a rock, and has a high tower in the center, it might be Gondolin, a famous city secluded in a ring of mountains that was ultimately destroyed through betrayal. It could also be Minas Ithil, a location featured in the LOTR movies themselves as the creepy green castle of the Witch King (Minas Morgul). Minas Ithil was white and beautiful before it was conquered and fouled by the Witch King, and this painting fits that image pretty well (especially with the river in front). 17:27 The first thing that comes to mind is the voyage of Earendil the Half-Elven: after a certain point also in ancient times, Morgoth (the Satan of Middle Earth) had successfully destroyed all Elven, Mannish, and Dwarven kingdoms from the initial waves of immigration and creation. All the Elves had retreated in hopelessness to a last remaining haven in the southwestern coast. Earendil, born of a man and elf, hence Half-Elven, embarked on a bold journey with his similarly half-elven wife to plead to the then-still-on-earth archangels, known as the Valar, to divinely intervene against Morgoth on behald of the despairing races of Middle Earth but his ship was famously white and beautiful, whereas this ship is pretty ... meh. So it might just be a generic sea voyage, or even a reference to the then current events of Elvendom in Middle Earth, where many of them were expatriating it back to their Holy Lands beyond this world
Love how he said he does not know another set with 21 Minifigures when he is a major star wars guy and most definitely got the Mos Eisley Cantina from Lego for free ????
This set is truly stunning! The moc-like level of detail is unreal, and the variety of intricate techniques, combined with the amount of minifigures, makes this potentially the best set Lego has put out in the past year!
You think this is $350. The lions knight castle is $400 and has only 4500 pieces. This set has new molds and is a licensed set. What planet are you from
17:25 - That city is _probably_ Gondolin (where Sting and Glamdring are from -and where Glorfindel lived in the First Age who i hoped the blond smith was but alas yet again the greatest elf is cut from an adaption- ), and the ship could be depicting one of Eärendil's (Elrond's dad) voyages Edit: as pointed out the city's more likely to be Ost-In-Edhil
It’s not Gondolin. It’s Ost-In-Edhil in Eregion where the rings were forged. Remember Imladris was made as a replacement partly comprised of Eregion refugees after Gil-galad decided Eregion should not be remade.
@@christiancividino455 I did think that later and you're probably right (considering the room was designed as a history of the Last Alliance for the actual movie set), but I still think it resembles Alan Lee's art of Gondolin a fair amount
You'll have a couple years to buy this set. You don't have to purchase it day one. When he says it will sell out, it's like any other set that returns on the next production batch.
@@eatthewoke5170 If inflation is something that could cause serious financial difficulties for you, buying a $500 Lego set may not be in your best interest. 🤣
@@2railnation I made no comment about my finances, just commenting on the price going up, which they recently did. I was implying that you may want to get it sooner rather than later. Work on your reading comprehension, little one. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great video! This Lego set is a dream! One thing I would say to the Lego group if they pay attention to any of this is telling people to “vote with their wallets” on a quite expensive set, in order for them to release more of that theme, isn't entirely fair. I am someone in a position who will be able to afford the set but I know many cannot and are very disappointed and are still very eager to see more lord of the rings. I understand business is business and numbers need to come through-but I would get that “vote with your wallet” mentality more if it was a $40-$100 set. I think the “votes” are clear based on reviews and feedback alone of lord of the rings returning, that there is a huge market for it. It would be a shame for people to miss out on anything Lord of the rings simply because they cannot afford something. Instead of releasing those brick head sets they could have released smaller Play sets Again great review! I'm so happy to see Lego lord of the rings! Here's hoping there is more to come ❤
@@eatthewoke5170 I'd tend to agree with you but overall this is a much better display piece. I was super excited for lion knights castle but was underwhelmed with the size when I saw it in store.
I purchased the Lion Knights Castle and it is hands down one of the best sets I’ve ever owned. Not only is it a good value based on price per part ratio, but it’s loaded with functionality that makes it incredibly fun to mess around with and show people. This Rivendell set is definitely awesome and worth the price, but I think it’s strictly a display set and has practically no functionality or play features. The mini figures are the main draw here. David suggested buying this over the lion knights castle, but I actually disagree, especially given that they’re nearly the same size and the Rivendell set is $100 more. Both sets are awesome, but I wouldn’t recommend the Rivendell set over the lion knights castle unless you’re a die hard Lord of the Rings fan.
@@gregcall410 ah I see. Well I tend to just display my sets not really mess with the features. They're cool don't get me wrong! But I'm in my mid 20s so for the most part they're just fun to build and have as cool decorations. I'm not a big LOTR fan and am mostly interested in star wars so I may actually pass on a day 1 purchase but I'm sure I'll pick it up at some point. Probably won't with the lion knights castle. Maybe closer to its retirement I'll reconsider
Buying every single piece off of online stores you’d save money. Could get yourself more colors for bricks also and swap some pieces out to make it even more customizable Just not the same minifigs
This set looks truly spectacular but I don't think $500 is justified for that. Especially that you get stickers and not prints is quite poor for $500. I'd say $250-$300 max
I agree that stickers shouldn't be on 18+ sets in general, but I think the $500 is justified with the amount of minifigs, 6000+ pieces and being a top 10 lego set of all time
@M K Yh but that's a bad comparison because it is already massively overpriced. Other manufacturers sell castles with 5500 pieces for less than $200 dollars that outshine Lego's products by far
"we'll only make a range of LOTR if you buy our £500 set"... That sucks. I want LOTR sets but cannot spend my rent on a big box of plastic. A theme with multiple price points would be far fairer to fans than only making a single set for rich folks. The cost of living crisis is still a thing.
The fact that such an expensive set has stickers in it makes it almost not worth it for me personally. I’m still going to get it but I’m going to wait for it to go on sale at some point.
My wife and I got this for Christmas and it arrived earlier this month. We are in our early 30s and this is our first Lego set with instructions. Growing up, we got a bucket of legos from our parents and said create lol. This is amazing and so much fun to do. We have a toddler and we work on this when he goes to bed at night. It is a fun date activity for us to do. Worth every cent! It is even better in person. Also, get the lights for it. Makes the set pop and so cool when the room is dark and Rivendell is all lit up. ***We are big Harry Potter fans and have made Lego purchases. We hope more Lord of the Rings sets are coming down the pipe. We are VERY INTERESTED.
Hi, amazing review for an amazing set that I would love to buy. Now there is one important question. Is it really 50cm deep or will it fit on my about 40cm deep shelf if I twist it a bit. Would love an answer as I would really like to buy it! Thanks a lot as always 😃
Given that I was unlikely to buy this set this review was a great way to experience it. I might be tempted to vote with my wallet and buy it, but I'm a Star Wars guy at heart and it's expensive enough keeping up with that theme xD
you dont know of any sets that have 21 minifigs currently in production? we just had 10305 released not that long ago...also at this price and we have stickers? come on
easily one of the greatest sets ever created. it is absolutely beautiful, i showed my dad who could careless about toys/legos but is a lord of the rings fan, he was in awe, he even asked me to get it until i told him the retail price lol
Dear David, I really do enjoy your reviews, how informative they are but also very clean and professional. However, I also wonder whether you are really in a position to opine on whether this set is 'worth 500 usd' since you did not spend any money on it. You can of course say whether you like it as a set, whether the set appears to be reasonably priced etc, but how can you say whether it is *worth* the price tag for you, with such emphasis mind you, when you have not taken that money out of your pocket? If you make such an emphatic statement without having bought the product, then the video becomes an advertisement instead of a review. This is not to discourage you from the excellent work you are doing, and advertising is also a legitimate thing to to, but it's better to be clear on the genre of what you are doing.
I disagree slightly. Affordability is completely subjective. $500 can be considered “basically free” for the affluent while being a non starter for the less fortunate. In the end it’s up to the individual to assign affordability themselves. David saying “worth it” implies to me that, had he not gotten it free, he would have bought it and been happy with the purchase. The fact that he calls out that he didn’t pay is simply to highlight the potential bias you are mentioning. Maybe it’s just my interpretation vs yours. Regardless, I think we agree that there is nuance to be considered.
@oc doc No, when he says it is worth the money, it means he compared it to other LEGO products of the same price level and found that this was one of the best, if not the best set for the price.
I just bought this set a couple days ago. I knew it was a set I would regret not buying it if I saw it retire without buying it. I also bought the Gandalf and Balrog Brickheadz. I love Lord of the Rings so I hope they continue making more sets. BTW for those still looking for this set When I went to the Lego Store to buy it, they didn't have it out on the shelves. I had to tell one of the employees I was looking for it and they pulled it out of the back.
