From the Lord of the Rings series sets released between 2012 and 2014, set number 79007, Battle at the Black Gate, was the ultimate adventure for toy enthusiasts venturing into Mordor. With the grand release of 10316 Rivendell in 2023, our adventure seemed to return to its starting point, to the birth of the great Fellowship of the Ring; this time, we delve deeper into perilous lands, constantly advancing southeast across Middle-earth, finally crossing the Black Gate to reach the terrifying fortress of Barad-dûr in Mordor, and witnessing the first-ever LEGO minifigure rendition of the Dark Lord Sauron!
In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film series, the Dark Tower, Barad-dûr, is depicted as extraordinarily massive, its height seemingly touching the sky (914 meters), resembling a dark metropolis capable of housing tens of thousands! The original novel mentions that "all turmoil, slaughter, and hatred originate from the Dark Tower of Mordor." Barad-dûr is indeed an extension of Sauron's ambition, and being able to collect this highly iconic, massive structure in LEGO form is truly exhilarating.
▼ Let's quickly get to the main topic and take a look at the packaging box! Although black is used as the base color for the box, the approach of using orange flames to highlight the Barad-dûr itself gives the overall visual a powerful impact!
▼ Located in the upper right corner are the detailed specifications of the Barad-dûr fortress after completion, with an astonishing height of 83 cm; and even such a small silhouette looks incredibly cool.
▼ The back showcases Barad-dûr's interior, situational photos, and various play features.
▼ The schematic diagram showing the separation of layers allows you to get a general understanding of the overall structure.
▼ A side close-up highlights one of this set's major features: the Eye of Sauron atop the tower, which is absolutely stunning.
▼ The other side features a large black background with "Barad-dûr" written subtly at the bottom; though not flashy, it exudes a strong sense of evil power.
▼ Finally, at the top of the packaging, we see an overview of the minifigure lineup, a total of 10 minifigures; just the aforementioned first-ever LEGO minifigure rendition of Sauron alone is priceless.
▼ Now, let's unbox it! First, let's look at the parts: with 40 numbered bags and a total of 5471 pieces, it's truly massive – my desk can barely hold it all! In an earlier special feature where I compiled "30 Largest LEGO Sets," this Barad-dûr, in terms of piece count, ranks as the 16th largest LEGO set to date!
▼ There are a total of 3 instruction manuals, allowing you to call upon friends interested in the evils of Middle-earth to build it together.
▼ Upon opening, you'll find an introduction to Barad-dûr and this LEGO set, along with the designer, Antica Bracanov.
▼ This time, the instruction manuals don't just cram all the introductory content into the first book; for instance, the second and third manuals also begin with background explanations of the scenes, which is quite a rare approach for LEGO products. The first book covers the dungeon and weapon forge, the second is about the dining hall, and the third focuses on spaces like the throne room and library at the top of the tower.
▼ The sticker sheet mostly features patterns for interior decorations of the fortress and the library's presentation. The "Mithril shirt" that left a deep impression on movie fans is also a sticker (the same approach as the Mithril shirt in the Rivendell set), and it's placed in the Mouth of Sauron's room, which is interesting.
▼ Now, let's quickly begin building this terrifying fortress that stands in the southeastern part of Middle-earth!
▼ Completed!!
▼ During the building process, not only could I constantly feel the "Eye" watching, but I also discovered numerous secret mechanisms hidden by the Dark Lord Sauron within this Barad-dûr fortress. Let's unveil them together now; first, to create the lava effect, 63 pieces of 1x4 transparent orange flat tiles were specially used in this set – truly luxurious.
▼ The exterior walls utilize multiple specially angled parts to achieve the distinctive lines of Barad-dûr's facade.
▼ The passage on both sides of the main gate features numerous claw elements. The last time we saw such a large quantity of these parts was possibly on the Chitauri chariots and Leviathans from "76269 Avengers Tower," and the Eastern Dragon from "80112 Auspicious Dragon." However, those were predominantly gold, whereas this set features them primarily in black.
▼ To form the circular city walls, the largest foundational layer is built with this structure as its base, upon which the pitch-black high walls are then assembled.
▼ To ensure an excellent building experience and playability with the interior, each module slides into a grooved track and is secured with clip-on parts. Cross pins are also utilized, making the model easy to assemble, disassemble, and play with.
▼ The construction of the Eye of Sauron is incredibly interesting! The fact that studs can be attached from both sides will definitely appeal to LEGO fans who enjoy MOCs (My Own Creations).
Now, let's begin by exploring the exterior details to get a glimpse of Barad-dûr's design. First up is the magnificent main gate leading to the fortress. The design where rotating rock walls activate the gate's opening is fantastic; just adding a few Orcs immediately sets the mood. We'll take a closer look at the gate-opening mechanism later.
▼ Although composed entirely of pitch-black bricks, a closer look reveals the designer's exceptional skill in recreating the sharp lines of the city walls. Coupled with the barren lands of Mordor, where scorching lava flows everywhere, it exudes a profound sense of oppression.
▼ Next is the rock wall construction, enhanced by transparent elements forming the lava, adding significant depth to this profound dark fortress. Re-watching the movie, you'll find that this LEGO Barad-dûr is already much more striking than its on-screen counterpart.
▼ As mentioned earlier, the rock wall that rotates to open the city gate is this 2x2 part.
▼ Moving up a layer, you can see orange and dark brown parts in addition to black. These likely represent the reflection of the scorching lava's glow on the city walls, as mentioned by the designer in the instruction manual.
▼ Then comes the slender tower body, extending upwards to the colossal Eye of Sauron.
▼ Here, you can see many window-like structures and doorways. Although you can't actually see inside, they are constructed using orange parts combined with striped elements, and personally, I think the effect is absolutely superb!
▼ Now, let's delve into the interior, examining it layer by layer! First is the dungeon and weapon forge, which occupies the largest area and serves as the foundation.
▼ Let's take a closer look at the interlocking mechanism for opening the main gate! Rotating the exterior rock wall turns the striped parts, which then use gears to pull open the gate.
▼ Here, you can see numerous Orc armaments and weapons. Combined with the forge that seems to radiate intense heat and the elevatable prison cell, you can create all sorts of interesting scenes. It would be truly delightful to capture those two Hobbits and have some fun (chuckles)!
▼ For this set, LEGO developed four brand-new helmet elements, and their designs are truly faithful to the movie's aesthetic. Additionally, the shields are also new.
▼ This area is designated as Gollum's hiding place, complete with a fish.
▼ Pulling back the rock wall reveals a hidden spider inside. After all, Mordor is not far from Cirith Ungol, the lair of the giant spider Shelob in the movie, so finding a spider here is certainly no surprise.
▼ The second level brings us to the Orc dining hall. On the battlefield, Orcs might only get to eat dry, unappetizing bread (and occasionally their own kind), but in the Barad-dûr dining hall, overseen by Gothmog, commander of the Orc army of Minas Morgul, there's not only an abundance of meat but also fine wine!
▼ Here's a large table laden with cutlery and food for play, alongside a large cauldron for stewing food, wine barrels, and a workbench.
▼ Heating directly with lava is truly hardcore, and there are even carrots in the pot – an orc eating vegetables is nothing short of a miracle.
▼ Meat is on the menu! This immediately brings to mind the classic line from the Orc vs. Uruk-hai infighting: "Looks like meat is back on the menu, boys!" though in the movie, the "meat" referred to the recently decapitated orcs.
▼ This layer of rock wall conceals a secret about the "Three Elven Rings."
▼ The throne room on the third floor is incredibly cool; not only can Sauron be placed here, exuding an air of invincibility, but a linkage mechanism also reveals the secret hidden behind the colossal seat.
▼ The mechanism design for expanding the hall.
▼ Stickers are used here to enhance the hall's atmosphere and even create a sense of extension.
▼ A map of Middle-earth, headshots of the Mouth of Sauron and Grishnákh, and notes like "Shire?" "Baggins?". Even with his physical form gone, Sauron still eyes Middle-earth covetously, always ready for invasion.
▼ Sauron's Palantír, used to monitor enemies, features a printed design that likely depicts Sauron's terrifying vision of attacking Minas Tirith and the White Tree of Gondor ablaze.
▼ Up on the fourth floor is the Mouth of Sauron's room, containing a desk, ancient scrolls, books on dark magic, and Frodo's Mithril shirt; notably, the scrolls are presented as printed elements.
▼ This cool mural also hangs in the Mouth of Sauron's room.
▼ The fifth floor, further up, houses even more books, filled not only with dark magic and Middle-earth's shadowy knowledge, but also essential elements like skull bones and cobwebs.
▼ The stairs can rotate.
▼ The Eye of Sauron at the tower's peak can light up with a light brick, adding even more tension!
▼ And its range of motion is surprisingly extensive!
The main highlight of this set, beyond the architecture: ten character minifigures! First, let's look at the two Hobbits... or strictly speaking, 2.5 Hobbits, as Sam's Phial of Galadriel is cleverly represented by a diamond piece held upside down – LEGO is truly ingenious.
▼ To stealthily approach Mount Doom, the two Hobbits had to disguise themselves, as Sam still took several days to reach Mount Doom after rescuing Frodo.
▼ In terms of scenery, this set also builds a miniature cliff face of Mount Doom.
▼ The Gollum on the right is this year's new 2024 version; besides different printing, the arm pieces are also more proportionate, but the editor personally prefers the printing of the old version (left) – that ferocious face is awesome.
▼ There are a total of five Orcs, with Grishnákh in the center being the named one.
▼ Sauron and his loyal subordinate, the Mouth of Sauron. Both characters are impeccable in terms of printing and helmet presentation, though their helmets are made of soft rubber.
LEGO 10333 "The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr" Unboxing Summary:
Barad-dûr, the colossal steel fortress deeply ingrained in the minds of moviegoers, presented a significant challenge for designers to reinterpret as a LEGO product while balancing overall aesthetics, reasonable reconfigurability, and staying true to the imagination of Lord of the Rings fans. Much like the re-creation of "10316 Rivendell," this Barad-dûr set performs exceptionally well, offering greater insight into this highly memorable tower whose interior was previously less known.
During the building process, in addition to the introductory content, the instructions also provide insights into the designers' thoughts on the set's creation, popular character movie lines, and lore from The Lord of the Rings. Beyond reliving movie scenes, the editor personally felt as if "the Eye of Sauron atop the tower was truly watching every move of the Fellowship of the Ring," which was incredibly engaging. Coupled with the minifigures and abundant new equipment, this is definitely a must-buy!
LEGO 10333 "The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr"
Suggested Retail Price: NT$14,499, Total Parts: 5471 pieces, Currently available at authorized LEGO stores in Taiwan.