So this is my first review on this site and I write it, because I think this set is fantastic (my English is not, so please forgive me my errors ;) ).

Playability:

First of all this set is clearly an adult-set. Playability is, in my opinion, the weakest part of the set, but that is no criteria for me. It is pretty open, but I don't get to every spot with my hands after the build, maybe a child could. But then I don't think there are a lot of parents who buy their kids a Lego-Set in the range of 400-500 €.

Minifigures:

Absolut fantastic! Besides Indy, some Disney minifigures from the camera and the 100 Years Disney CMF-Series, this set has my favourite minifigures of the year. Especially Gimli and Boromir. Not only do these two have great printings but superb accessories with Gimli's helmet and Boromir's shield. The weapons for all the characters are great as well. The only thing I don't like here is the hair element for Legolas. I would have preferred the old one for him. For all the other elves, the new one is great.

Parts:

Great! There are just a few too colourful parts used in the foundation that you don't see after the build. Apart from that, the parts have appropriate colours for Rivendell in my opinion, and there are a few cool new pieces like the fern and the printed tiles. Plus you get a great variation. There are lots of tiles, bricks and plates in various sizes. With other sets I often have the feeling the budget at Lego is a bit too low and they try to put as little pieces as possible in a set to justify their pricetag. But not in this set. There are parts especially on the right side where I had the feeling the designers had some sort of carte blanche and could put just every detail they want. The only a little bit disappointing thing are the stickers. There are not many of them compared to the number of pieces the set has, but they are for greater details like the paintings.

Building experience:

Superb! The best I have had in a Lego set, and I've built more than half of the Modulars, which mostly have some of the best building experiences Lego offers. Although I didn't anticipate it as such, but the part on the right with the bridge and the gazebo was especially fun to build. The foundation is impressive because it manages to get a nearly perfect hexagon, which is normally not possible with Lego-parts. Even the roof, which seems a bit intimidating at first glance, was for me fun to build. I must say that I listened to the complete recordings of the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack while building, and I totally recommend that (I don't recommend watching films, as I already made enough mistakes building the set just listening to stuff ;) ).

Value for money:

This is hard to rate for me. I'm a big Lord of the Rings-fan and even my wife thinks this looks fantastic, and she is not easy to impress (she is an artist herself). So she was onboard for this and even encouraged me to buy it than it was reduced at a certain retailer. So we paid about 410 € which is a fair price for a fan like me. I probably would have even paid the 500 € if it never would have been reduced. But if you consider the sheer amount of pieces, the great and many minifigures and the fantastic building experience even the 500 € pricetag is worth it in my opinion. If you can get a reduced price of about 400 € and are a LotR-fan as well (and have enough budget for it) I would say it is nearly a no-brainer.

Overall:

As I said for me personally this is the best set Lego has ever made. It's clearly aimed at LotR-fans and as such you get a fantastic set. I have the feeling the effort put in this set is much higher then in almost every other set Lego produced so far. There are so many details! Even the trees are great! Some criticise that it's not a totally accurate realization compared to the films. But that is irrelevant for me (and probably not possible at a partly affordable price tag). For me it totally gets the atmosphere of the movies (and even the books). Plus the set looks amazing. It is the most beautiful set I've seen so far. Even such beauties as the Boutique Hotel or the Parisian Restaurant can't compete with Rivendell.