We first saw Lego’s new Lord of the Rings set back in January at the Toy Fair. It’s safe to say that I was very excited at the time; so you can imagine the excitement when we were sent a set based on Shelob, Sam, Frodo and Gollum in the post.
I immediately called dibs and set about building the set and after a short while this is the result. You have to admit this is geeky coolness at its best.
How it looks
As mentioned before this is based upon the scene when Gollum leads Sam and Frodo into Shelob’s lair which results in Frodo becoming entangled in her web. Sam uses his elven sword to free his friend, then Gollum goes ape before the duo make their escape. The set comes complete with three mini figs which include props such as the ring, swords, capes, Gollum’s fish and turnable heads which have different faces for different scenes (Frodo has a petrified face and Sam has an angry look as well as their regular faces for example).
The set comes with a high quality booklet on how to build, which as you’d expect is very easy to follow. It took me about 40 minutes to complete but i’d imagine it could take a lot longer, or if you are adept take less time to finish.
The most impressive aspect is Shelob which comes equipped with posable limbs, a rotating bottom and a string which pops out from said bottom area. This can be used to hang her upside down, tie the characters up or be retracted using the small wheel on her belly. She even includes subtle details such as an injured eye and other facial features; you’ll enjoy building the spider from start to finish (unless you’ve got arachnophobia of course).
As with other Lego sets you are able to build a few different scenarios. You can create Gollum’s leaping rock, complete with fish for example. Our favourite has to include Shelob though, her web is the coolest part and actually holds her full weight. It would look epic hung from a shelf or ceiling, as pictured here.
Other sets in the series
This is a medium sized set but you can get smaller and much larger scenes to help fulfil you Lego reenactment of the series. These sets include The Orc Forge, The Mines of Moria, Urak-Hai Army and my personal favourite; The Battle for Helm’s Deep. The whole series looks impressive and will provide a great precursor to the upcoming Lego Lord of the Rings video game which is out later this year.
If this medium sized Shelob set caught your eye you may be interested to hear the RRP is £19.99, available from Amazon, Lego and any good toy shop now.
