I've really been enjoying the LOTR lines which I accidentally got into after acquiring a handful of minifigures from a friend who was moving and misplaced the minifigures in a box of toys he was leaving for my kids. I then bought a few of the 100 brick sets, and from there started acquiring any set I could find at a bargain price. I reached the point where all I was missing from LOTR is this set and the 2 Helms Deep sets (I'm missing a few more from The Hobbit). I decided to bite the bullet and get this set which set me back $235 with shipping, making it the first LOTR set I paid full price for.

This is my biggest set to date by nearly a thousand bricks. Upon looking it up here on Brickset I noticed that the set number is actually out of sequence with the other LOTR sets and in sequence instead with the Star Wars UCS sets, and rightly so, it is larger than many of them. Now I've never built any of those so all I can compare it to are my larger Star Wars and Ninjago sets which include two Millenium Falcons (7965 and 75212), an AT-AT (75189), the Clone Turbo Tank (8098), and Jay's Fire Mech (70615).

I will say this, I've never been more excited about building a set than this one. Just everything about this set seems so different from anything else I've ever built. Of course a big set like this deserves a big review, so read on to gather my impressions of this amazing set.

Box and Instructions

WOW is this box huge, to the point that it is difficult to store. It does look nice but the size of the Lego logo on the front is absolutely absurd! The front contains a picture of the exterior in action along with Treebeard and the eagle. The back shows the interior while highlighting the various play features built into it.

The instructions are divided up into 3 books, none of which are too large. They have standard staple binding which is a little disappointing, but I don't think that Lego was producing perfect bound instructions at this time so I suppose this is the best they could do. Hopefully by dividing it into 3 books it will reduce stress on the cover and the instructions won't fall apart. The first two books only contain instructions, no bonus material.

Minifigures

Alright, I will say that it is indeed disappointing that you only get 5 minifigures in a set of this size. Yes, there aren't many more that would be appropriate, but certainly Merry and Pippin would have fit in well. A sick King Theodin would have been nice as well given you have Saruman and Wormtongue, although he of course was healthy when he arrived at Isengard. It's just that I'm so used to receiving a lot of great minifigures in the larger sets I've previously purchased, but I guess lots of minifigures isn't always the case in UCS sets.

The first orc you get is a little boring, just a bald orc with an axe as well some sort of grappling hook weapon. While I like the grappling hook, it is just standard orc and not too exciting.

The second orc may be a standard Uruk Hai, but at least he has body armor as well as a helmet and shield featuring the white hand of Saruman. Of the two orcs, he is the better of the two.

Saruman is next. I rather like this minifigure because Lego did something incredibly smart. They give him both dress legs as well as normal legs. The dress of course continues the print from his torso and looks fantastic, but if you want him to sit on his throne you will need to put on his plain white legs. With the normal legs he is actually identical to the minifigure included in the Wizard Battle set, but with the dress he is unique.

Grima Wormtongue is a decent minifigure, he certainly looks sickly enough. He also comes with the dagger he uses to kill Saruman.

Finally Gandalf is just the standard Gandalf with hair and a cape. You probably already own 10 of him, but of course his minifigure makes plenty of sense to include given his role at the tower.

You also get an eagle which is very nice to have, and of course rescues Gandalf from the roof. I believe the only other set to include one is the Black Gate, and since you'll need two if you want to rescue both Sam and Frodo, it is certainly a welcome addition.

Of course there is nothing mini about Treebeard. While I've seen other reviews mention it is an ent that is not Treebeard, I have to disagree. I may not be a botanist or zoologist, but I think that at this scale Lego did a great job representing Treebeard. I feel his eyes and nose along with the top of his head are what make it clear he is Treebeard. It may not be perfect, but at this scale I think Lego did a fantastic job and I really don't think they could have improved on him much.

Parts

The parts aren't all that interesting unless you really love black, in which case this set is the jackpot! It has its fair share of interesting parts, but it seems like they are too few for a set of this size. Of course, if you are buying this set for the parts and not for the model itself then I would say you have your priorities mixed up. The only way I could see someone justify buying this set for the parts is if they wanted to build an equally impressive Barad Dur which I would imagine would be quite possible to do with these parts.

The Build

So you start off with Treebeard. Bag 1 contains the parts for his legs. It is an interesting build using similar techniques to Ninjago mechs and dragons. However, I was a bit disappointed in its symmetry. LOTR has been so great at giving us asymmetrical builds that I was shocked that an asymmetrical creature was actually given symmetrical legs aside from one little mushroom. As far as how the model looks, it's fine once completed, but it makes the build a little repetitive.

Bag 2 builds his upper body and arms. This is a much more satisfying and asymmetrical build. It includes a small technic function where turning a knob raises and lowers his right arm and has a very good amount of friction. It does have one symmetrical aspect to it, and that his hands are mirrors of each other, but that I can forgive as they both need to be capable of holding minifigures. The way they hold the minifigures is that each of the three fingers as well as the opposable thumb is operable. While Treebeard's build might not be all that complex, it is rather enjoyable and a lot like building a mech which isn't something I do too often.

Bag 3 is where you begin building the tower, starting with its basement/dungeon. After a surprisingly simple base you immediately start building the walls which go up fairly quickly thanks to large panels and tall bricks. It is a fairly standard build and at the end, after applying several stickers you have a great looking dungeon, although an unadorned facade. There is one play feature and that is the trap door in the ceiling which is activated by turning a simple technic knob.

Bag 4 continues building up, it is here that you build the "lobby". unlike the basement, this floor does not rely on large panels and tall bricks, but instead on masonry like stacking. As a result the interior is rather appealing as it contains a good amount of dark gray to break up the black. Again there are a couple of stickers and a little bit of detail. You also get to build the front door which is on a 45 in the tower but unfortunately gets converted into two doors that meet at a right angle, but in Lego's defense, I don't think they could of fit a 45 into a model of this size (yes, as huge as the model is, it is narrow). While this bag is a little repetitive as you build up each layer, it is still fun.

Bag 5 begins instruction book 2. This is where you start to work on the facade. At the beginning you build the ceiling to the first floor, then you start adding on the siding which is very similar in both construction and design to the Black Gate. You also build the stairs that lead into the tower. The stairs are a little disappointing in their simplicity, I would have much preferred a design similar to the Council of Elrond, but given that this set is at a much smaller scale, I understand why the stairs had to be so narrow and simple.

Bag 6 is again building facade, only unlike the previous bag which built 4 similar panels, this bag builds 3 identical panels. As a result this bag is very repetitive, and given its similarities to the previous bag is a little tedious. However, once completed you have an exterior facade that is as beautiful as the interior. This was my stopping point for my first night and it took about 3 hours to complete these first six bags.

Bags 7, 8, and 9 are all building the 2nd floor which contains the throne room, palintir, and balcony. Bag 7 pretty much just focuses on the ground level. Bag 8 builds up the outer walls and completes the throne and lamps (which are identical to the Wizard Battle). And bag 9 adds the finishing touches to the top, and makes it clear that the tower will begin to taper moving forward. At the end of bag 9 you finish instruction book 2 but don't complete the ceiling, but reach the point where the tower can be taken apart for either storage or moving. All three of these bags are highly detailed meaning that they are also very repetitive and tedious. This of course is a necessary evil as this floor really does look fantastic both on the inside and the outside.

Also in bag 7 you build one of the play features, the first floor chandelier that lights up the palintir, and it does a wonderful job. The palintir is a black and trans dark green swirled ball that glows bright red when illuminated. Lego truly did an amazing job here in getting the right colors for both conditions. You may not see the Eye of Sauron, but I really don't think this would look anywhere near as good using the palintir from the Wizard Battle, although I plan to try that out when I have some time.

Now I do have three little problems. First is that both the palintir as well as a book (tile with a sticker), that I believe are the instructions for making the bomb, are loose. The book is not too big of a deal, but my palintir keeps falling into Saruman's throne as I move the tower around to build it. The other issue is the throne's proximity to the palintir. It is kissing the table that holds the palintir giving you very little room to play. As a result I do highly recommend getting the Wizard Battle set if you are hoping to recreate that scene. This isn't really a flaw of the design, just a simple real estate issue. Like I said this tower is tall, but it is not all that wide. Finally, if you want to have Saruman stand on the balcony and address all your orcs in the Orc Forge, it is not easy. The only way I can get him onto the stud is by removing the balcony rail, and then replacing it with his staff going over it (see the main picture of this set).

Building this part of the set took me about an hour and half, and while the model looks great, it was not an exciting build.

Bags 10 and 11 (and the first step from 12) build the next floor. This section is a rather interesting build. It can be a little difficult, particularly at the end of bag 11 before you connect all of the columns and it has some major stability issues, but I only knocked down a few columns once. This is the floor where Saruman constructs the bomb, and while it does look very nice, the details are all very close to the floor, which isn't bad considering how beautiful the windows are.

Bag 12 is the entirety of the next floor and is where you will be applying all but one of the remaining stickers. Amongst these stickers are the portraits of the 5 wizards of Middle Earth with Saruman in the center and Radagast and Gandalf on either side of him, all three of which are highly visible. The other two wizards (whom I'm unfamiliar with) adorn side walls and are more difficult to see. As a result the details on this floor are incredible, and the low ceiling makes it seem much more filled up than the previous floor. This is also a much more fun build.

Bag 13 builds the final floor with an interior and it is a fun one. Not only does it include an operable attic door with a ladder. It features orc armor with the white hand of Saruman, keys to Orthanc and Barad Dur, the staffs of the other 3 wizards, and a portrait of Barad Dur. Unfortunately the ladder takes up much of the space in this room so the beauty of it is hidden unless you open it. The attic door is cool but seems unnecessary as there are no stairs between the other floors in this build. It seems to me that Lego could have just claimed the stairs are located within the quarter of the tower that isn't built in this set.

Bag 14 builds the roof which is surprisingly tall, but way too tight a space to have an interior. It is also a complete roof as it includes the fourth side that was not built below this point. As a result it slightly overhangs the previous floor. This is perhaps one of the simplest builds in the whole set.

Finally bag 15 contains the builds for the four spires, all of which are identical and fairly simple. Probably the most interesting part of this bag is the connection to the tower which is creatively done with hinges joints, but since each spire has two joints they are rigid.

This last group of bags took me about 2.5 hours to build, meaning the entire model took about 7 hours.

The build may not be the most interesting, it is primarily just standard stacking which of course seems logical given it is a vertical build. The only SNOT is to add details to the facade. The build really is very similar to the Black Gate set, but on steroids. While each step may be repetitive as you build incredible details on three sides of a symmetrical building, each floor uses different designs which keeps the overall build fun.

Overall

I must say I'm very impressed with this set. The model is stunning, both on the exterior and interior. The scale is fantastic, and the height is impressive to say the least. My only real complaint is the build, it was very simple and does not teach you any new techniques, which was very surprising for a set of this size. The model is extremely strong and stable which is rather amazing considering how fragile some of the columns are as you build them, the weight of the set, and the fact that there is no technic in this set.

Treebeard is also a fantastic inclusion and certainly something that you will want to have. Lego could have easily released him separately as his own set and I'm sure it would have done well. I usually hate all the secondary builds in the LOTR sets that offer no playability or display value but simply jack up the price of the set, but that is not the case with Treebeard. He is a very welcome inclusion, and while you shouldn't buy this set just to get him, I feel like he is a freebie as Lego could have easily excluded him without having to lower the price of the set.

Now I do still recommend getting the Wizard Battle as that does offer playability that you don't get in this set, plus you get the very cool Eye of Sauron brick. But the playability of this set is great despite there being very few play features. It's just the details that make every floor of this set amazing. A lot of those details are stickers which is unfortunate, but none of the stickers are trivial, they all add tremendous value to the design of the model. Of course you will also want to get the Orc Forge as that gives you a complete Isengard and Lurtz minifigure. Should you spend a fortune to get this set? Well that's really up to you, if you can afford it and you like LOTR, then do it, you won't be disappointed.

This is the biggest Lord Of The Rings set that you can find. Since I saw it in the Local Lego Store, I was sure that one day, I had enough money to buy it. And that day has finally come!

Box/Instructions

The box is HUGE! You can see Orthanc and one of the Great Eagles and an Ent. In the back you can see Barad-Dûr.

Parts

It has a lot of black parts. It has also a light brick and a round ball, witch represents the Palantìr.

Minifigures

Saruman: he is the same as in the wizard battle, but now he has his robes.

Gandalf: we have got him a lot. In this version he has a cape and his hair piece and a double sided face.

Wormtongue: the only exclusive minifigure, he has a black cape and long black hair.

Uruk-Hai: he has his helmet, a shield and a sword. I really like the helmet!

Orc Pitmaster: he comes with an axe and a string to attack the Ent.

Eagle: you can move his wings. You can't move his feet but that's OK.

Ent: The Ent is build in 2 seperated bags and I can see why: he's huge!

The build

It was very fun to build, but some things were repetitive, like the outside of the tower and the four spikes on top of it. But overall, the build was fun!

The completed model

The Tower of Orthanc is GIGANTIC! This set is so detailed that my eyes almost fell out when I saw it the first time. You have 7 floors. The first is the basement, where you have a sticker with some wargs on it. Then you have the hall with a minifigure statue and 2 flags with the hand of saruman. Next floor is the Throne Room (like in the wizard battle) Then you have an area where you can make some bombs. You have also a library with some books and above that you have a basement, witch you can reach by pulling out a ladder! On top we have also room to put some minifigures.

Overall opinion

I get why most people consider this the best LOTR set. It's huge, it's fun to build and it has tons of playfeatures. Definetly a Must-have!

Lord of the Rings is rich with iconic characters and locations, few more so than the imposing Tower of Orthanc. Therefore, with the revelation of LEGO Lord of the Rings, it seemed inevitable that this setting would eventually make it into a set in some form or another. Few could have imagined that this set is what LEGO would produce.

10237 Tower of Orthanc is quite simply the best Lord of the Rings set around in my opinion. The detail and playability of the model could hardly be bettered and for display, I can think of only a few sets which improve upon this one. This marvellous model will cost you £169.99 or $199.99 for 2359-pieces, so whether or not you endorse the reliability of the infamous 'price per piece' ratio, I think this represents good value for money.

This review will be divided into two parts, in the first of which I will take a look at the box, the Minifigures, and the creatures included.

Box and Contents

It goes without saying that the box for this set is fairly large, with some rather attractive artwork on the front. A couple of scenes from the films are mixed with Gandalf escaping from Isengard on Gwaihir as in the first film, while an Ent battles with Orcs on the ground as in The Two Towers. Despite these inconsistencies, this is a great shot of the scene and it certainly does a good job of relating the height of the set, which is difficult to do on camera.

The back of the box is filled with images of the features and a view of the tower from the rear. A few cinematic shots are also dotted around as well as a gallery of the weapons included.

Inside the box are eighteen bags numbered from one to fifteen and three instruction booklets. These instructions are packaged in a plastic bag with cardboard backing along with the stickers, which is always welcome as it ensures that they will not be creased or damaged in transit in the box. The sticker sheet is fairly large, with nineteen stickers of various sizes, so should this be an issue for you, it is worth bearing in mind.

Minifigs

This is a set which is really about the Tower of Orthanc itself rather than the Minifigures included, however these figures are superb nevertheless.

The first of these, and for me the least interesting of the five, is Gandalf the Grey. This Minifigure has appeared many times previously (albeit never quite like this one) but is excellent despite being so common in sets. This version of Gandalf is different to most in that he comes with a hairpiece rather than his hat, which is quite a good representation of Gandalf's hair in the film. His head is printed with the same design as it is in 79005 The Wizard Battle and 79007 Battle at the Black Gate, with one smiling expression and the other angry as well as grey eyebrows and a couple of wrinkles. His beard is unique to this character and was created just for him, so naturally it looks perfect in light bluish grey.

Gandalf here wears a dark bluish grey cape. The torso is printed with a belt and various straps on the front and back while his legs are plain dark grey with no printing. Gandalf comes with one accessory, his staff, which is a simple 6L reddish brown bar.

Quite possibly the most interesting Minifigure in this set is Saruman the White, who only appears in one other set, 79005 The Wizard Battle, although in a slightly different guise. His combined hair and beard piece is fantastic, cast in rubbery white plastic with light and dark grey printing on his beard, this is a very detailed piece, and is impressively accurate to Saruman in the films. His head is also lovely with bushy black eyebrows and a small white beard printed on it. He has different expressions on either side of the head piece, one with a rather sinister smile, and the other with a more serious grimace. It is perhaps interesting to note that this same head piece was used in 75017 Duel on Geonosis on the Count Dooku Minifigure, another character portrayed (exceptionally well I might add) by Christopher Lee.

Saruman comes complete with a white cape and long white robes printed on his torso and the 2 x 2 slope piece which forms his legs. The torso is the same as the piece which appears in 79005 The Wizard Battle and is printed with some silver scrollwork and multiple layers of fabric. The design is continued on the back of the torso and on the slope which is included for his legs. It is only this slope which differs from the Minifigure included in 79005 The Wizard Battle. Saruman is armed with his staff and some plain white legs are included as an alternative to the slope piece should you wish to seat him on his throne.

The only Minifigure which is totally exclusive to this set is Gríma Wormtongue, a character who appears in several scenes throughout the film trilogy. The hairpiece used is that which was introduced with Dastan from the Prince of Persia theme, which is shoulder-length and untidy, just like how his hair appears in the film. The head piece is cast in tan and is printed with sunken eyes and wrinkled skin to reflect the sickly appearance of Gríma in the films. Two expressions are printed on the component, one angry, and the other rather miserable.

A black cape is worn and his torso is printed with various details including a belt, a fur lined jacket and a medallion hanging from a chain. The back of the piece is also printed with a belt and some more fur lining the neckline, although this is of course obscured entirely by the cape. His legs are black, with no printing and he comes with a single accessory, a dagger, with which you can recreate him stabbing Saruman as he does in a scene from the extended edition of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

An Uruk-Hai is also included, which is a bonus as he could well have been omitted without being detrimental to the rest of the set. This Minifigure is particularly pleasing as it is printed with the white hand of Saruman, which has only appeared in 9476 The Orc Forge prior to this set. His helmet, printed with the aforementioned white handprint) is very accurate to the film and is cast in pearl dark grey. The head piece is printed with two different faces which is useful when displaying multiple Uruk-Hai together as it provides some variations to their appearance as it should. On one side, the white hand of Saruman is printed on the face, and on the other is some scarring. Both sides are printed with bright yellow eyes and bared teeth which look suitably menacing.

This Uruk-Hai wears a chest armour component over his torso, which is highly detailed with padding and armour plating on the front and back. The design is continued onto his hips and legs which are similarly armoured. He carries a standard Uruk-Hai sword, which is a nice piece, and the usual shield, albeit with the white hand of Saruman printed on it this time.

Finally, an Orc Pitmaster is included, who is identical to one of the Orcs in 9476 The Orc Forge and has nothing but accessories which actually distinguish him as a 'Pitmaster.' His head is printed with bared teeth and all kinds of wrinkles, as well as a few strands of hair on the back of the head. Much like the Uruk-Hai, the Orc Pitmaster's torso is printed with armour plating and spikes. The same design is continued onto the back. His legs are plain dark brown, and he carries two accessories, one large axe and a grapnel hook for taking down the attacking Ents.

Creatures

Two more characters are included in this set which I can only describe as 'creatures', the first of which is an Eagle, most probably Gwaihir, the Eagle which rescues Gandalf from the Tower of Orthanc in the first film and also appears in 79007 Battle at the Black Gate. This animal consists of three parts, two wings, and the combined body and head piece in the centre. He has printed eyes and a dark tan beak, while the rest of him is largely reddish brown. The wings are cast with some feathered detail and the edges of the wings and tail feathers are dark brown, which looks excellent if you ask me.

The Eagle is nice enough, although there are a couple of flaws in my opinion, most notably the rather serious scaling issue. This Eagle is far smaller than he ought to be beside the Minifigures, a brick built model would have been far more suitable, perhaps similar to 31004 Fierce Flyer as many people have suggested. Also, I think that the character's claws look a bit odd, being fused together and with the ability to attach to studs. From certain angles the Eagle looks great, but either a creature of a similar size to the dragon in 70403 Dragon Mountain or even better a brick-built model would have been preferable.

A huge draw to this set for me is the Ent, who looks fantastic and stands almost 23cm high. I do not believe this is a model of any particular Ent from the books or films, it certainly does not look much like Treebeard to me at least. His feet are huge and look as though they could quite easily crush an Orc if need be. There are a few leaves and a mushroom attached which look great and on the top are some leafy branches. I love the detail of his printed eyes being askew and the dark green vines which form his beard.

On the back of the Ent is a gear which can be turned to activate what I like to call the 'Orc hurling action' (it is rather reminiscent of Buzz Lightyear's 'karate chop action' if you ask me). This is a nice feature and it does not take too much away from the displayability of the model. He is poseable at the ankles, hips, shoulders (although the left shoulder is on a ball joint while the right just swivels) and the elbows. His fingers are also moveable and can grip Minifigures with ease. I really do love this figure, a lot of character is related through the crooked eyes and he certainly is fun to pose. Even the 'Orc hurling action' is fun!

The Build

This is perhaps one of the most entertaining builds I have ever experienced. There are innumerable fascinating techniques and moments of real inspiration during the construction of this set. I love the use of a Zamor sphere as the famous Palantír and the mixture of Technic and System construction is very enjoyable.

Furthermore, the construction of this set includes some of those brilliant moments where you are not entirely sure quite what you are building until it all comes together at the last step. The ingenious creation of the ribbed appearance of the base of the tower and the four spires at the top is impressive, as are numerous details both inside the tower and, perhaps even more impressively in my opinion, outside.

The Completed Model

As soon as I completed the Tower of Orthanc, what immediately struck me was the sheer height of the model. It is the tallest of the sets I own and I cannot imagine that many other models even come close to this tower. The best set to compare this to in height is 10212 Imperial Shuttle as I said at the start. When that model is placed on the stand and placed beside this one, it still is slightly shorter than the Tower of Orthanc. The tower is 73cm in height (which is pointed out in a graphic on the box) but looks even larger in person I think, particularly beside the Ent or a Minifigure, both of which are dwarfed by this model.

Anyway, on to the actual set, I shall begin at the base where we find steps for entering the tower and the lower half of the black ribbing on the outside of the model, as well as a dungeon inside. There are several nice details in here including bones and skulls scattered on the floor, a pack of Wargs which look rather dangerous towards the rear of this section (created by a sticker) and the obligatory light bluish grey rat. A couple more stickers are used down here for a door and a grating, behind which eyes can be seen peering out of the darkness.

On the next floor is the entrance hall, and the ribbing is continued externally. A couple of banners showing the white hand of Saruman are included in this area, unfortunately using stickers, as well as double doors which open out to the steps. These doors close to a right angle which is a bit of a shame, I personally would have preferred them to close flush and parallel with the stairs. A small statue is placed on a plinth and some decorative axes also feature in the entrance hall. On the floor is a dark blue rug, which is decorated with a sticker to represent the floor tile design which is visible in the film. This rug disguises a trapdoor feature which can be used to drop unwelcome guests into the dungeon below. Last of all for this floor is a chandelier which hangs from the ceiling. This reason for this inclusion (beyond looking rather nice) will become clear with the next level.

Saruman's throne room is the area in which most of the action takes place within the Tower of Orthanc during the Lord of the Rings films. In here we see many of the features which are visible in the film including Saruman's magnificent seat, two elaborate lamps and of course the Palantír. At the sides of the room are some bookshelves which are naturally stacked with books (actually 1 x 2 tiles of varying colours). There is an envelope and a potion bottle on the right-hand bookcase, while on the left are some more potions and a scroll with a sketch of a cauldron and some tiny writing. Outside is a balcony from which Saruman can inspect his Uruk-Hai horde, as well as some arched windows and spikes. Probably the most significant and impressive feature of the set is found here as well. By pushing the chandelier upwards from the floor below, the Palantír can be lit up very effectively. Roughly one half of the Palantír is solid black, while the other is a misty sand green, through which the light brick can glow, producing an orange and black mixture which looks brilliant.

At this point, the tower can be split in two much like a Modular building which is a nice touch in case the set needs to go into storage. The next level contains Saruman's alchemy area, in which he can create explosive concoctions using various pots and pans, as well as a cauldron which can be tipped up using a gear to its right. A couple more potion bottles, a barrel and a bomb, which is also found in 9474 The Battle of Helm's Deep, are strewn around here too. On this floor are some larger barred windows, which are doubtless good for ventilation, and a pair of unlit torches, which I think is wonderful inclusion. Obviously having lit torches beside explosives is never wise.

The next floor is probably my favourite. In here are five portraits of the five wizards of Middle Earth, Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Rómestámo and Mohrinehtar. There are some rather odd inconsistencies here, most notably the fact that there seem to be two grey wizards and two brown. I believe it is the three wizards who are placed on the back wall in this area are Radagast, Saruman and Gandalf, while the other two ought to be blue really. This is not too much of an issue though, just getting the paintings is a brilliant and very welcome inclusion! In here are also more bookcases, a small table, some torches, skulls, and a few scrolls and books. One of these books is placed on a stand in the centre of the room, and it appears to have the Eye of Sauron on the front cover which is a little disconcerting. A small light fitting is on the ceiling, and much like the chandelier on the second floor, this is important for a function of the set.

The final floor has yet more spikes on the outside and by this point the tower has tapered from a width of 26 studs at the base, to 12 studs up here. Despite the smaller size however, this room is no less interesting. This area betrays Saruman's loyalties utterly and is complete with a set of Uruk-Hai armour (further to the one which is included for the Uruk-Hai Minifigure), a painting of the tower of Barad-dûr which looks much like a shrine, as well as a couple of fantastic touches which reference the films. These wonderful details are a pair of keys and three wizard staffs, inspired by Saruman's line "what do you want Gandalf greyhame, let me guess, the key of Orthanc, or perhaps the keys of Barad-dûr itself? Along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the five wizards!" This is quite possibly the greatest Easter egg I have ever known in a LEGO set, and if there is one thing I like, it is an Easter egg.

Also on this floor is a folding ladder which can be released by twisting the light fitting on the floor below. An identically designed ladder is found in 10228 Haunted House and this one works just as well as that, comfortably reaching down to the floor below.

The final level is the summit of the Tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf is held captive before he escapes with help from Gwaihir and whence Saruman makes his defiant speech prior to his death (at the hands of Gríma Wormtongue). The four spires are also featured up here, and they look absolutely fantastic. The accuracy of this area is amazing and the detail is brilliant. Simply put, this is lovely way to top things off.

Overall

I own quite a few of the more iconic sets of this kind of size from recent years, 10188 Death Star, 10228 Haunted House and 10212 Imperial Shuttle spring to mind in particular. This set certainly joins those as among the best sets in my collection. Simply put, the detail, playability and displayability for this set are all outstanding and this is by far the best set of the Lord of the Rings theme.

Parts: 5 - If you are looking for black or dark bluish grey pieces, then this is the set to buy. There are plenty of brand new pieces too which are wonderful to see.

Playability: 5 - There is a huge amount of fun to be had with this set, every room has some brilliant details and features.

Building Experience: 5 - One of the most entertaining construction experiences I have had with a set.

Value for Money: 5 - I think £169.99 or $199.99 seems quite reasonable for this set, particularly with the inclusion of an Ent and the Eagle.

Overall: 5 - An almost perfect set, there are no significant flaws and I give this set my utmost recommendation.

Note: Many thanks to Telcontar who has kindly informed me of some further Easter eggs which I had missed on the model.

Firstly, in the second room from the top, one can find a 2x2 tile with a sticker on it. On here is some Elvish writing (which is meaningless as far as I can tell having tried to translate it via an online Elvish dictionary) and a drawing of the Ring of Barahir. At one point in the Two Towers film, Saruman can be seen reading from a scroll similar to this one briefly, so this is a nice little inclusion.

The final room is even more interesting however. As well as the keys and staffs which are located in here, there is also another possible Easter egg, accidentally included or otherwise. As I mentioned in the main section of the review, a picture of Barad-dûr dominates this area. However, by removing this panel (a 2x4 tile) one can reveal a small area which could be a reference to a moment from the 'Unfinished Tales' when Aragorn and Gimli discover a secret compartment, possibly for the purpose of storing the One Ring of Power. Make up your own mind about this one, but it is a real treat for Lord of the Rings fans!

You've read the book (maybe). You've seen the movie (probably). You've taken a look at the official renders and the amusing developer video. And now you are poking around LEGO's shop@home and you're wondering if Orthanc is worth the two hundred clams that LEGO is asking for. Make no mistake: this thing is expensive, and you'd best know what you're getting yourself into. I'm going to try my best to help you out.

There are not one but three licensed "expert builder" sets out this year, and Orthanc follows hot on the heels of Arkham Asylum (10937) and will be succeeded a little later by the mind-bogglingly expansive Ewok Village (10236), and it really is kind of amazing that we're getting this many "expert" sets all at once. Orthanc is right in the middle of the pack too in terms of price, clocking in at slightly more than Arkham Asylum but quite a bit less than the Ewok Village. All the same, I think it might just be the case that Orthanc ends up being the third most expensive set of the year, being behind Ewok Village and the soon-to-be-legendary Sydney Opera House (10234). TLC clearly does not want us to get off its wild ride.

So, in the interest of brevity, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by retracing information that you can easily find out on your own right here on this excellent website. Instead, I'm going to give a couple of my personal impressions regarding the building process and the finished product that may not be obvious from what LEGO wants potential buyers to see/know.

Let me get the obvious out the way: Orthanc is HUGE. Yes, I watched the developer and read the statistics as well, but there's something about actually having this model in front of you that says so much more than a few numbers. It's so big and so tall that I'm actually mildly concerned about the long-term effects, if any, on the bricks sitting right at the bottom. This is obviously not the first time that LEGO has put a big set together for retail, but I find that it's relatively rare that a retail set goes for height more than anything else, with oddities like Night Lord's Castle (6097) being kind of the exception. Yeah, this set absolutely dwarfs any other set that I have - heck, I feel that it's even dwarfing some of the furniture around here. Have you ever taken a look at those insane MOCs you see at conventions or on the Internet and wish that you had the time/talent/money to make one on your own? Orthanc can make it happen for you. It feels that good.

Now, I was concerned that the build would be boring, especially considering that the entire exterior is jet-black. I think the designers did a really good job here at breaking up any potential monotony by alternating between building the cute little rooms on the inside versus the texturing on the outside. It's actually quite exciting, too, to see the model get progressively larger as you go through bag after bag (I'm quite sure the entire build took me at least three hours over the course of a Saturday), each time thinking, right, that's surely the last level. Nope. Saruman likes 'em tall.

Speaking of Saruman, the Minifigs are probably the weak point here. I believe the only real exclusive here is the sort of forgettable Grima Wormtongue, who looks nice as a Minifig but is not much of anything as a character. I'm stretching my brain to think of who else might have made it into this set, but perhaps there isn't anyone else who would feel appropriate - Merry/Pippin with a different outfit, maybe? (As if we all don't already have them.) Anyway, if you have any intentions of getting this set at all, do yourself a favour and DON'T buy the Wizard Battle (79005). The exact same room is one of the floors of Orthanc, only much nicer. Think about it as though you've shaved $12 off the cost.

Much has been made of the Not-Treebeard Ent included with this set, and not all of what I've heard is positive. I have to disagree. I think this guy is amazing. Does he look like a mech? Well, sure. But come on. This is LEGO. Use your imagination. I think it's a wonderful design that's charismatic, recognisable, and even playable (even if the rest of the tower really isn't). For scale, here's the Ent vs. Lex Luthor (6862):

A few final words on the build. Yes, there are stickers. You could avoid applying them, of course, but I think they do add a lot of character to the rooms, especially on a build that is essentially 95% black and dark bley. Fortunately, they're all pretty easy to apply - the pickiest one would probably be the "white hand" wall hangings on the second floor, and perhaps the basement decorations. None of them are absolutely essential, it's true, so a complete purist could leave them alone. But I think that would be a bit of a waste.

Finally, once this tower is built, it is built. What I mean by that is that unlike the Creator main street sets, this baby isn't coming apart once it's put together. This, I guess, has its pros and cons. On the one hand, the finished tower is completely sturdy, which is very important for a tall tower. Unfortunately, it means not only do you have to transport it fully built, but you're also going to have to do a bit of prying apart if you want to put it in storage (like you would ever want to). That's just something to keep in mind.

I will not begrudge anyone for thinking that $200 is expensive for a toy, because it really is. For me personally, this set was a convergence of several things: firstly, anyone who has had the misfortune of reading any of my other reviews knows that I am a big fan of "evil" structures, so Orthanc really hit the mark for me. Secondly, I do like fantasy and the Lord of the Rings especially, so having this is a dream. And thirdly...I don't know. I have nothing else to spend my money on or something. Anyway, the bottom line is that this really is a beautiful model and an absolute treat for LOTR nuts. It's a nice long build that leads to a very attractive end product that really can be displayed anywhere. And you get an Ent to go stomping around town with. You decide on your own what that's worth to you.

I mean, if I was a minifig, I'd want to live in the Tower of Orthanc, too (if Bag End from the Hobbit theme was already taken, that is).

I got this set during its VIP exclusive period, and it is arguably the best set in my collection (and certainly the best in my Lego Tolkien collection).

But why is that? Well, I'll start with the build. After you open the box you are greeted by a 15-bag, 3-instruction book cascade of that wonderful thing all of us Lego fans genuinely adore--ABS plastic molded into quality Lego pieces. In a few hours (depending on how fast of a builder you are; I'm slow and it took me about 5 hours) you have an Ent, a Great Eagle, 5 minifigs and one humongous tower.

But how enjoyable is the build, that process which transforms your purchase from parts to a cohesive whole? It is very fun. You start by building the Ent, and then you build the tower, which uses mostly studs-up building but has some SNOT in it too (which is used mostly for decoration).

You build the dungeon and entryway first, put the large panels on the outside, and then you build Saruman's throne room onto your steadily growing tower. You then build the alchemy and study rooms as one unit and add it onto the bottom of the tower. You then complete the build with the attic and the very top of the tower.

It's a very enjoyable and lengthy build.

Moving on to the design, I'll continue by describing the minifigs. The Orc Pitmaster is a standard bald Mordor Orc with a single-bladed Gimli-style long axe and a grappling hook thing. The Uruk-Hai is, well, an Uruk-Hai. He has White Hand-printed accessories, which makes him more desirable than most of his fellow Uruks, but he's still exactly the same as the Uruk from the Orc Forge set. Still, both Orcs are very well designed and make great army builders.

Now we move on to the main 3 minifigs--Gandalf, Wormtongue and Saruman. Gandalf is exactly the same as every Gandalf fig in the first LotR wave and the first Hobbit wave, except that he has gray hair instead of his hat. It looks good on him. Next, we have Wormtongue. It's nice that they included this character here, as we probably won't have a chance to get him anywhere else (unless they decide to make an Edoras set). He has a black cape, black Prince Dastan hair, good torso printing and a standard knife. Great fig. And finally, we have Saruman. He's exactly the same as the Saruman from The Wizard Battle set, except that he has printed robes to interchange with his plain white legs if you so desire. He looks great in his robes, and they go well with his printed torso piece. Overall, he's my favorite fig from this set.

The Ent is surprisingly large and well-designed. You can turn a gear on his back to raise or lower his right arm, and unlike some of the '01 Bionicle figures, his arm stays in the position you raise/lower it to be in. He kind of reminds me of the Crystal King set from Power Miners, except with not quite as much mobility and a more stable design.

The Eagle is larger than I had expected, and the only points of mobility on him are the wings. His talons function as the bottom of a 2x2 brick/plate and he has four studs on his back. He's a pretty good eagle, although not perfect.

Finally, we get to the Tower. It's huge, and by far the tallest Tolkien tower to date (the Helm's Deep tower is insignificant compared to it). The exterior looks great, with all of the architectural detailing and the almost completely black color scheme. The staircase, gray door and balcony look very good, as does the top of the tower and the 'teeth'.

The inside looks almost as wonderful as the outside. The heavily-stickered dungeon looks suitably creepy, and the trapdoor function right above it works very well. The entry hall looks somewhat bare, but I think the simplicity works for the room.

Saruman's throne room is, in my opinion, the best room in the Tower. If you pust up on the chandelier in the entry hall, the palantir in the throne room (which is, by the way, a Bionicle Zamor Sphere remolded with two 'swirly' colors, black and translucent olive green) lights up red, and this looks absolutely stunning. The throne room also contains Saruman's throne, two large lamps, bookcases with cleverly-constructed decorative books, and other accessories. The balcony branches off of this room, as well. The two things I don't like about this room is that 1. There's no door to the balcony, so it's just an open archway; and 2. The palantir tends to roll around a bit on its stand (it's not connected to the stand at all).

Above the throne room, we have the alchemy room, with a tipping cauldron, the Helm's Deep bomb, some flasks/jars/etc., and some torches. It's a nice room, but not too remarkable.

The study is pretty nice, as well, but perhaps a little crowded. Here you have the (sticker) portraits of the Five Wizards, some more decorative books in a bookcase, two 'real' Lego books (with stickers), and two scrolls. It's a nice, but somewhat small, study.

Last but not least you have the attic. The secret ladder is a nice touch and folds down to the study to allow Saruman to climb up into the attic. This room, even smaller than the study, contains a banner with a (sticker) picture of Barad-Dur, a barrel containing 3 wizards' staffs, and an Uruk-Hai shield, sword and helmet (the shield and helmet both have the White Hand printed on them). It's a nice addition to the tower, and contains some nice items.

At the top of the tower, you have a nice little space for Gandalf to pace around while waiting for the Eagle to come rescue him. It's a pretty simple but nice space. One thing I don't fully understand is why Lego included a round 'turntable' piece on top. The space would look fine without it.

Of course, the 'teeth' of the tower surround this little floor, and they really finish off the appearance of the tower.

Overall, this set is awesome. It looks great, has good playability, has a great build, includes 5 great figs, and represents the Tower from the movies very well. I recommend this set to all Tolkien fans and any Lego fan looking for a good set.