LEGO and Lord of the Rings: for young children
After almost 20 years without LEGO and a growing emptiness in my 30+ year old heart, I saw the first pictures of this set in May. The "I need to have this" alarm went off immediately, with all the bells and whistles. The only problem was that there was a medium-sized and quite deep ocean between me and the nearest copy. Anyone who thought that a few months' wait wouldn't be a problem clearly isn't a fan of Lord of the Rings and LEGO, but by late August it was finally time. Bol.com was the cheapest, and a few days later the king-size set was proudly displayed on the dining table, although only for a short time, due to the protest of my wife. On a fresh summer evening, the call to build became too loud, and so the building began. And what happened? Building with LEGO is like riding a bike, you don't forget it. The figures were the first to arrive: Legolas, Gimli, Faramir, etc. And it must be said: they are beautiful. LEGO has clearly put a lot of effort into the details of the figures, especially Gimli's helmet, which I find sublime. The short legs of the Hobbits are, on the other hand, quite funny. The villains are of course not forgotten either: some Orcs, who even look quite Orc-like, and an impressive cave troll: a masterpiece and undoubtedly the centerpiece of the set. After the figures, I let the Hobbits fight (it's still just a toy), the real work began: building. The box states that it contains no less than 776 parts, but honestly, this doesn't translate into size. If you do everything neatly according to the instructions, you can finish the whole thing in about an hour, not including sticking on the stickers. The set is therefore not really large, and consequently not that difficult, but it is very well finished. Each element contains some kind of moving part: the wall next to the door can break, a treasure chest appears from a hidden niche,… And as icing on the cake: the inscription on the tomb of Balin is actually correct. The more than thirty stickers give everything an extra dimension. Conclusion: although the package is a little smaller than expected, I have no regrets about my purchase. If you, like me, have a weakness for LOTR and LEGO, you should definitely have one of the LOTR sets. And even though I'm over 30, everyone should know that this set was my best purchase in years. And that "8-14" that also appears somewhere on the front? You should definitely not take that into account, and LEGO knows this very well. After all, who would give such a magnificent construction to an 8-year-old?
