We wanted to get an old LOTR-Set for a friend's birthday. This was the only affordabe one and the only one that would be offered multiple times, often without minifigs. Obviously not the most popular one.

I bought this set in my initial rush just to have any Lord of the Rings LEGO sets. Since it was 2012 and my first full year of employment, I could afford it, but I had no time to build it nor any of the other LotR sets I bought. Nor did I have the space! That's changed now, but my awareness of the brittle brown plague from 2012 has me really nervous! Opening and building the section of Helm's Deep that comes with a squad of Uruk Hai only confirmed my fears, as various brown parts cracked as soon as I put them together. Thankfully, I was able to get replacements, but I fear all the more for my still-sealed Orc Forge, Goblin King Battle, and even this, Shelob Attacks!

@Miyakan said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"My precious!"

No MY PRECIOUS!"

NO MY PRECIOUS, MY PRECIOUS!!

@Endermen39 said:
" @Miyakan said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"My precious!"

No MY PRECIOUS!"

NO MY PRECIOUS, MY PRECIOUS!!"

NO, NOOO MY PRECIOUS! I WILL DEFEND MY PRECIOUS!

One of the few LOTR sets I own. So, it's also my precious. I love the minifigs and the build of Shelob is nice ... but those stupid hinges all cracked and split apart. After two times taking the set out of the box! It's that crappy reddish-brown color. So fragile it drives me crazy because of the poor quality.

That's one scarey spider build.

@Lego_Lord_Mayorca:
I've bought every LotR/Hobbit set except Rivendell, SDCC Azog, and some of the weird promotional items (there was an event where you'd collect parts to build Frodo, plus a velvet bag to store him in). I've built almost none of them. My biggest concern right now would be the set with Smaug, since that's the _ONLY_ time they made a dragon in that style.

@Robot99:
I got The Two Towers free from RIF, checked the other two books out of a library to read the full trilogy, and have never had any desire to repeat the experience. I own three copies of the Peter Jackson films. Great story, terrible writing, non-existent editing. I particularly hated the way the second and third books shift perspective at the mid-point rather than alternating chapters so you've got a fair idea of how the two main storylines keep pace with each other.

I can’t believe how much these LotR (and Hobbit) sets have appreciated in value. I still kick myself that I didn’t pick up Mines of Moria to get Boromir.

I have this one!

She’s hanging from a tree lamp next to my desk. Gosh I’ve had her doing that since I bought the set.

That’s one tough string.

Does she attack by any other means than just lobbing them? She must be one of those character setups that trades accuracy for lots of power. I can respect that.

Yes!
If you wanted the whole Fellowship of the Ring you had to buy this, since LEGO cleverly/sneakily divided the Nine Walkers over several sets.
This one was the only one with Sam in it, so naturally I had to get it.
Best way was to get this one, Weather Top and The Mines of Moria.

Never had problems with the brown parts on this one, though - but Shelob is in storage in the cellar right now. I'll have to check.

I also have Shelob still built. It is the best spider Lego ever did, without a doubt. Amazing set. Used to be the only way to get Gollum, too, until the small Hobbit set, if I recall correctly.

Always liked this set, ended up being a really good version of the source material.

Iconic. The only set from LOTR that I currently own. The spider is beatiful, and Gollum is precious :-)

@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"
You fool! Look at the Bricklink priceses!
"

Wow! Only LOTR set I have, and still "waiting" for Rivendell.

They gifted me, and never built; but opened to get some minifig parts for a diorama.
No idea its price had gone up by x5, precious indeed.

@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"Oh, yes. Let’s by the niceus LEGO set. We likes the Giant Spider!

You fool! Look at the Bricklink priceses!

But it’s our precious!"

Back in the day, amazon sold them at £12. That's when I bought mine. One of the first LOTR sets I built, it is still built and no broken parts.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Lego_Lord_Mayorca:
I've bought every LotR/Hobbit set except Rivendell, SDCC Azog, and some of the weird promotional items (there was an event where you'd collect parts to build Frodo, plus a velvet bag to store him in). I've built almost none of them. My biggest concern right now would be the set with Smaug, since that's the _ONLY_ time they made a dragon in that style.

@Robot99:
I got The Two Towers free from RIF, checked the other two books out of a library to read the full trilogy, and have never had any desire to repeat the experience. I own three copies of the Peter Jackson films. Great story, terrible writing, non-existent editing. I particularly hated the way the second and third books shift perspective at the mid-point rather than alternating chapters so you've got a fair idea of how the two main storylines keep pace with each other."

Your comments are always such novels.

@Brickalili said:
" @NotProfessorWhymzi said:
" @Brickalili said:
"Get away from him, you filth!"

Sam really did need a mech suit."

If he had then I’m sure Tolkien would have told us all about its five page backstory, complete with song"

Yep. By the way, Tolkien is the only writer I can think of to write a fake language (Elvish), then get so excited by what he'd done he made a whole story that uses that language in places. Most people call these books The Hobbit and LOTR. I call them doorstops. (especially when the last three books get combined in one binding!)

Always thought this looked cool as a kid. The aftermarket price of $117 is just a little off-putting though

@PurpleDave said:
" @Murdoch17 :
I know someone created the full Klingon language, apparently in an attempt to see if it was possible to craft a functional language that had no equivalent for the verb “to be”. Apparently they were successful. And then Star Trek 6 went and used that Shakespeare quote…

But yeah, other than those two, I can’t think of anyone else who has invented an entire fictional language just for kicks. And yes, LotR was _supposed_ to be published as one book. The fact that it’s a trilogy is the only evidence I know of that an editor earned a paycheck on it."

You can learn Klingon as a second language at some colleges. (No, I'm not kidding!)

What's next I wonder ? LOTR Elvish as a second language? Pig Latin as a course in talking in code? Gallifreyan writing as a correspondence course? WHERE DOES IT END?

It's really insane how much the LOTR sets go for these days. It's really interesting, because I seem to remember the theme being discontinued due to low sales. Was the demand for LOTR sets just delayed for some reason?

If this lego spider came to life, I'll burn my house on fire.

@JavaBrix said:
"
In an alternate timeline, this is the one where the detective with OCD comes after you...

Shalhoub Attacks."

"Mr. Monk and the Ring"
"Mr. Monk meets Hobbits"
"Mr. Monk goes to Middle Earth"

@Murdoch17 said:
"You can learn Klingon as a second language at some colleges. (No, I'm not kidding!)

What's next I wonder ? LOTR Elvish as a second language? Pig Latin as a course in talking in code? Gallifreyan writing as a correspondence course? WHERE DOES IT END?"

The way I heard it, there’s at least one school out there where you could take either Klingon or Tolkienian Elvish to satisfy your foreign language core requirement. And that was over 30 years ago.

I technically don't have this set, I Traded with a friend for sam and smeagol, and bought shelob on eBay for $15 back in the day.
Shelob is awesome, and the minifigs are also fantastic

@TheOtherMike said:
"I seem to remember this one having an error in the instructions somewhere around where the string was attached, but I can't find it in the online instructions; maybe the fixed it in those. Also, I've long said that Shelob would make a great Halloween decoration; pull the string out, loop it aroun something, use the string at the end of the string to secure the loop, then let it dangle."

Hmm, I've built this multiple times and I don't recall having a problem. Must be a pretty minor mistake if it's there.

@Iceranger22 said:
"Man, some of y'all appear to have read a different book series than I did."

Indeed. Apparently, haters gotta hate. Their loss!

@Murdoch17 said:
"Most people call these books The Hobbit and LOTR. I call them doorstops. (especially when the last three books get combined in one binding!)"
Granted, LOTR can easily be used to hold a door open, but the Hobbit? Despite what peter Jackson did to it, that's a short book by comparison. My copy will easily fit in a standard back pocket.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @NotProfessorWhymzi said:
" @Brickalili said:
"Get away from him, you filth!"

Sam really did need a mech suit."
Don't give Lego ideas... Or do."

Samwise Gamgee the Stouthearted doesn’t need any of your fancy mech suits.

And anyway, mechs at least exist/make sense in the lore of other themes they appear in. Nothing I’ve read of Tolkien gives me the impression that piloted constructs of either machine or magic were ever a thing.

@bnic99 said:
" @oukexergon said:
"I also have Shelob still built. It is the best spider Lego ever did, without a doubt. Amazing set. Used to be the only way to get Gollum, too, until the small Hobbit set, if I recall correctly. "

Yes,
79000 Riddles for the Ring. Though that had a different print

More importantly, it was the only way to get Sam, until Rivendell last year!"

Oh yeah, that's crazy. Sam seems so integral to LotRs.

I have no idea how to rebuild the cave part, but, otherwise my copy is intact.

Christmas present back in 2012--I was poor, but everyone knew that I love Tolkien, so I got some of the sets anyway. I am less poor now and have more LEGO than I ought, but out of that massive collection, Shelob is the one thing my kindergartener covets above all else.

Little does he know that brown from this era hardly needs Elvish steel to rend it.

I like the spider for my own sinister purposes - I am aggressively indifferent towards the minifigures. And my long-suffering wallet thanks me for this.

I have just remade this set's spider in LDD and will be building it soon IRL. I removed the brittle brown / other colors (replaced with dark bluish gray and black only) and I plan on staging it having an epic battle with my Iron Giant for a double serving of 1950s B-movie cheesiness. Now I just need a name for the scene... my ideas so far are:
- Kingdom of the Giant Spiders (only works if I make more than one spider)
- The Spider from Mars VS The Giant Metalloid
- The Battle for Earth: 2000 AD

Thanks Huwbot for inspiring me to do this!

@SearchlightRG said:
"Samwise Gamgee the Stouthearted doesn’t need any of your fancy mech suits."

What you don’t want to see Mecha Samzilla wielding a poleskillet that looks like it was lifted right out of the Final Fantasy games?

"And anyway, mechs at least exist/make sense in the lore of other themes they appear in. Nothing I’ve read of Tolkien gives me the impression that piloted constructs of either machine or magic were ever a thing."

Based on the themes of LotR, with nature vs industrialization, it seems a fair guess that he might have been an unrepentant Luddite. Closest you’d be likely to see to a Hobbit in a mech suit is Merry and Pippen going all Ratatouille on Treebeard’s head.

@oukexergon:
When LotR sets hit shelves, they had already learned that minifigs sell sets. So, instead of being stuck with Frodo being the only hero in every single set, they split the characters up so you had to buy most of the first wave if you wanted to get all nine members of the Fellowship. They did the same thing for Hobbit sets with the company of dwarves, except there it got spread over even more sets (13 dwarves, plus Bilbo and Gandalf vs nine Fellowship including Frodo and Gandalf). And you basically ended up with only one copy of most of the main cast, plus some extra Frodos and Bilbos. I keep thinking Sam was the other Hobbit in 9472, but I always forget that he was literally the only other hero they could slip into this set with Pharaoh Frodo there. So Merry is the odd inclusion in Weathertop.

@Murdoch17:
Do what I do. Only order new reddish-brown, dark-brown, or dark-red parts from online PAB, get them from a LEGO Store PAB wall, or pull them from sets you know shipped in the last five years or so. They said the problem is fixed, and based on the timing of their announcement, 2019 on should be safe, while 2018 is on the bubble. I would be cautious about anything up to 2017, though.

@PurpleDave said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
"Samwise Gamgee the Stouthearted doesn’t need any of your fancy mech suits."

What you don’t want to see Mecha Samzilla wielding a poleskillet that looks like it was lifted right out of the Final Fantasy games?

"And anyway, mechs at least exist/make sense in the lore of other themes they appear in. Nothing I’ve read of Tolkien gives me the impression that piloted constructs of either machine or magic were ever a thing."

Based on the themes of LotR, with nature vs industrialization, it seems a fair guess that he might have been an unrepentant Luddite. Closest you’d be likely to see to a Hobbit in a mech suit is Merry and Pippen going all Ratatouille on Treebeard’s head.

@oukexergon :
When LotR sets hit shelves, they had already learned that minifigs sell sets. So, instead of being stuck with Frodo being the only hero in every single set, they split the characters up so you had to buy most of the first wave if you wanted to get all nine members of the Fellowship. They did the same thing for Hobbit sets with the company of dwarves, except there it got spread over even more sets (13 dwarves, plus Bilbo and Gandalf vs nine Fellowship including Frodo and Gandalf). And you basically ended up with only one copy of most of the main cast, plus some extra Frodos and Bilbos. I keep thinking Sam was the other Hobbit in 9472 , but I always forget that he was literally the only other hero they could slip into this set with Pharaoh Frodo there. So Merry is the odd inclusion in Weathertop.

@Murdoch17 :
Do what I do. Only order new reddish-brown, dark-brown, or dark-red parts from online PAB, get them from a LEGO Store PAB wall, or pull them from sets you know shipped in the last five years or so. They said the problem is fixed, and based on the timing of their announcement, 2019 on should be safe, while 2018 is on the bubble. I would be cautious about anything up to 2017, though."

Some of the parts were only ever available in brittle-era brown. The underside of the stinger area comes to mind in this regard.

@PurpleDave said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
"Samwise Gamgee the Stouthearted doesn’t need any of your fancy mech suits."

What you don’t want to see Mecha Samzilla wielding a poleskillet that looks like it was lifted right out of the Final Fantasy games?"

Ultima Wokpan just wasn't available in all titles. In older games we had to make to do with the Ragnawok. Worst-case scenario, we Excaliburned all of our dishes.

@PurpleDave no, I really don’t.

Tolkien’s opposition wasn’t to industrialization, per se, but rather to industrialization of that exists for its own sake. A big part of his Middle-earth writings was about the evil that occurs when people become obsessed with domination by means of magic, science, or other forms of might.

@SearchlightRG said:
" @PurpleDave no, I really don’t."

C'mon...poleskillet! Imagine the mighty clang that thing would make when he knocks an orc into next week!

@SearchlightRG said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @NotProfessorWhymzi said:
" @Brickalili said:
"Get away from him, you filth!"

Sam really did need a mech suit."
Don't give Lego ideas... Or do."

Samwise Gamgee the Stouthearted doesn’t need any of your fancy mech suits.

And anyway, mechs at least exist/make sense in the lore of other themes they appear in. Nothing I’ve read of Tolkien gives me the impression that piloted constructs of either machine or magic were ever a thing."

Treebeard is close to being Merry and Pippin's mech suit. :-)

@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"I bought this set in my initial rush just to have any Lord of the Rings LEGO sets. Since it was 2012 and my first full year of employment, I could afford it, but I had no time to build it nor any of the other LotR sets I bought. Nor did I have the space! That's changed now, but my awareness of the brittle brown plague from 2012 has me really nervous! Opening and building the section of Helm's Deep that comes with a squad of Uruk Hai only confirmed my fears, as various brown parts cracked as soon as I put them together. Thankfully, I was able to get replacements, but I fear all the more for my still-sealed Orc Forge, Goblin King Battle, and even this, Shelob Attacks!"

I have all of the LotR sets, I only built them one time each because of the brittle brown pieces. I'm scared to even move the minifies arms as those minifies are the most expensive replacement pieces.

This may be accurate to the movie Shelob, but in the book, her eyes glow.

@CCC close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

We got a free bulk lot last year that had this set in great condition, Shelob is one of the best Lego spider builds.