I’ve already taken a look at the first two sections of the new LEGO® The Lord of the Rings Rivendell set, along with its impressive line-up of minifigures. Now it’s time to take a look at the largest section of the set, the Great Hall of Rivendell. This is not only the biggest part of the build experience but also the most complex and the most important in terms of the connection to the moment the location is featured in The Fellowship of the Ring. As Frodo recovers from the attack by the Nazgûl, Rivendell becomes the meeting point for a number of important races from across Middle-earth. As Elrond takes council, they must decide on the fate of the Ring in the Council Ring. Does this section of the set match up to the enjoyable experience the other sections of the set offer? Here’s the second part of my Rivendell review.
Product Description
Journey into Rivendell™ with this LEGO® The Lord of the Rings™ collectible (10316). Based on the Middle-earth™ valley where the famous quest began, this impressive 6,167-piece project for adults is bursting with details that film fans will adore.
Bring iconic scenes to life
The building set is decorated with foliage that creates the feeling of being deep inside the Rivendell™ forest and includes magical details including an elven forge, Elrond’s cluttered study, the Shards of Narsil™, plus paintings and statues from the history of Middle-earth™. It also comes with 15 minifigures to bring favourite scenes to life. The minifigures have detachable legs, so you can seat them around the table to recreate the iconic Council of Elrond™ scene.
- Set Name: The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
- Set Number: 10316
- Theme: LEGO Icons
- Pieces: 6167
- RRP: £429.99/$499.99/499.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 47 (plastic) + loose elements
- Stickers: Sheet x 2
- Minifigures: Frodo, Sam, Bilbo Baggins, Boromir, Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf the Grey, Arwen, Elrond, Gloin, Elves x 2
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online and LEGO Retailers from March 5th, 2023 VIP Early Access
One thing I appreciate about this set is the sturdiness of the base. Larger sets can often have a base which can be a little fragile in places. Thankfully this set doesn’t suffer from this issue, which is especially important with the larger middle section. Despite the large footprint of this section, the base acts more as a frame. Much of it is left open to accommodate a separate section which is added towards the end of the build.
The hall is quite spacious, thanks to its large open-fronted entrance and the various arches found on the rear of the building. Despite this, it’s a little tricky to access some parts of it, more so from the front. This is due to the fancy swirly arches which decorate most of the frontage of the hall. The use of cupcake elements on the thin columns is quite fun, in fact, the way this whole section is built and connected to the rest of the structure is rather clever. But can be a little fragile if accidentally knocked.
There are a few smaller rooms, which can be accessed from the rear of the hall. The most iconic of these is the statue holding the Shards of Narsil. There’s also Elrond’s study on the ground floor, where you’ll also notice an amazing patterned floor. This thankfully uses printed 2×2 tiles combined with the trusty NEXO shields to create the pattern effect. A similarly impressive effect is found on the large sloped roof. As mentioned in the first part of my review, the roof is patterned with a selection of different coloured 1×1 tiles. These are angled to create a unique pattern. The larger surface area does make them a little more tricky to place, so pay attention to the instructions. However, the means to straighten them all is very effective and super satisfying. It simply involves using one of the plates needed further along in the build and running it against gaps in the tiles. This lines them all up perfectly.
The area around the hall continues the great textured landscaping found on the right section of the build. In a similar way to how the gazebo platform is built separately and then slotted into a gap in the base, the same technique is used to create the seating area. This is the most important part of the set due to it being the place the fellowship decide to head to Mordor. The same patterned floor found in the hall continues onto this section and there’s a plinth. This uses elements in an excellent way a sort of star-shaped box. The seats are fun as well, using a combination of recoloured sausage and ice lolly elements to add detail to them. Thanks to the method of switching the robe base and short legs on certain characters, the entire fellowship can be seated around the Council Ring.
As Rivendell sits at the edge of a forest, it’s surrounded by trees and other natural features. These have been nicely integrated into the set. Just to the right of the hall is a tall then tree, which is almost as tall as the tower section. It uses three different coloured leaves. Although it’s easy enough to work out which the light green leaves are, there are also two slightly different darker greens and it’s almost impossible to tell them apart and even trickier to work out which is which in the instructions. Finally, there is another bulkier tree near the seating area. I really like the way the truck has been done, it’s very textured and this makes it feel like an ancient tree.
The Completed Model
Once all three pieces are connected together, the set is huge and takes up an impressive amount of space. It will be a struggle for many to have space to display it. But I guess the fact it’s in sections does give you options to display it in different ways. It also doesn’t connect together with secure methods in a similar fashion to the Modular Building sets, instead, there are holes and the axle end of Technic pins used. I did find that the left-hand section struggles to stay linked where the roof section is joined, I think this is more due to the surface the set sits upon. Apart from that, all three parts of the set match up nicely. The rocky landscape, plants and other architectural flourishes all blend together perfectly. Above all, it’s the ultimate celebration of the Lord of the Rings films. There are many iconic locations from all three films, but this is a great choice for a set of this scale. It has unique features on both the building and the landscape surrounding it. Plus it has all the important characters included. For me, this has been one of the most enjoyable build experiences I’ve had in a long time. As I built the set, I rewatched the films and was instantly transported to time I watched them in the cinema and headed to the shops on release day to pick up the extended editions. It’s an expensive set, but it’s certainly worth every penny.
The set will be available through VIP Early access from March 5th. It will then be available to all from March 8th. LEGO VIP members can also get the LEGO BrickHeadz Frodo & Gollum set for free when purchasing the set during early access.
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This set was provided BricksFanz and provided by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or New Line Cinema. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
