The City of Kings reimagined in LEGO is a sight to behold. Whether the builder is a fan of the
books, or if they have absolutely no idea who the likes of Glorfindel or Tom Bombadil are, the LEGO Minis Tirith
set is incredible. The build is awesome, the minifigures detailed, the design brilliant, and the easter
eggs another masterstroke by LEGO.
Price
Now, before I get to the nitty gritty details of the set, I have to talk about the price. When this
set was ready to premiere, I was super pumped. A new LEGO Lord of the Rings set, and not just any
set but the City of Kings! I was beyond elated. That was, of course, until I remembered that
money existed and I wouldn’t be checking out without getting sucker punched by a price tag.
However, that being said, the set design and build more than make up for the price tag of $650
US dollars, but it’s worth noting not everybody is in a place to drop that kind of cash. Don’t say I
didn’t warn you.
Build
With all sincerity I can say Minas Tirith was incredible to build. The reward of seeing the white
tower of Ecthelion glimmering at me inspired an awe I can only say must be similar to Pippin’s
upon seeing the full-scale city itself. The city is laid out much as designed in the movies with an
important distinction. The first layer of the outer city is minifigure scale, then the build
transitions to a microscale until the upper most layer which does have room for minifigures
though it isn’t truly to the massive scale displayed in the movies.
The inner hall of kings, bedroom, and study located on the interior are of course minifigure scale as well.
While I have seen complaints about the mini scale choice, I must say I have no complaints. The mini scale
accentuates the sets already large height to make it appear far larger and more intricate than
would otherwise have been possible for LEGO to design. I’ll be honest, to me the micro scale
was genius and an absolute win for the LEGO designing team, but I’ll leave that evaluation to the
builder.
As for the best and worst parts of the build, there isn’t any truly boring part. The gate and first
layer are a great hook to beginning the build and for me was such a blast to put together. The
following outer layers can get a little tedious as each layer of microscale wall is kind of similar,
but the payoff is incredible when the final layer stacks perfectly onto the build, bringing a tear
to the eye of the most stoic Lord of the Rings fan.
As for the interior, I don’t think it could be better if LEGO were to try. The first layer left me more
than satisfied as the throne room began to take shape, and by the time I had fleshed out the study where
Gandalf first learns the history of the one ring, to the bedroom balcony where Gandalf completely
dismantles Pippin’s hopes of ever seeing another sunrise, all are carefully put together with the 7 stars of
the house of Elendil (Sorry movie fans) outlining the soaring heights of the hall of kings. Needless to say, I
felt like I might just take on Sauron myself. The build was incredible and detailed, and of course the most
important part was it fit into the run time of all three extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movies.
Minfigures
As with every big LEGO release, the attention of the community has locked onto the
minifigures. Questions plague every comment section with top comments always including “are
there enough minifigures?” The answer is no, of course not, because everyone wants an army
worthy of Mordor which LEGO doesn’t always provide. Fans were quick to note that with an
8,278-piece set maybe a few more Gondor soldiers were in order. While I understand the
complaint, I don’t see the minifigures as a miss at all (yes, I am holding onto hope that battle
packs are in the future).
Starting with the Gondor soldiers, I have to say the design is really well done. The cuirass under
the armor is printed with the white tree of Gondor on all minifigures despite the armor plating
covering it, which I think is a super cool detail. They all wear custom Gondor helmets and have
printed leg prints. They each bear a shield which some have noticed is by movie reckoning
second age shields despite it being the third age (do with that what you will), and each soldier
also bears a spear. Overall, the Gondor soldiers are awesome and have detailed face prints that
come in sets, the first two bearing one face print and the second two quite another.
Denethor is a great minifigure and looks exactly like the movie. I have no complaints, he’s a
great minifigure. Faramir has a great design and printing especially the chest piece which
features the white tree with a strap across it. The only complaint I have about Faramir is his hair
piece which probably could have been molded better, but really, it’s still a great figure for the
set.
The first Gandalf the White minifigure from the relaunched sets looks great with his
classic white staff, sword, cloak, and beard piece. As for the printing I think the tan lines
throughout his design is a little more prominent than the movie suggests, but maybe I’m just
being picky.
Pippin is an awesome addition with new prints for his Gondor attire. I wish the dark green and
dark blue were a little more in tune with the movie style, but the prints are really cool
and he is an awesome addition to the set.
While I have seen complaints about Arwen’s face and dress prints, I will defend this figure
because it’s just not the swing and miss some people think it is. First of all, LEGO fans have
complained that her dress print just stops at the waist with a plain color for the bottom part of
the dress print, whereas in a set like Rivendell Arwen wears a dress print all the way to the bottom.
To this I point out that in Rivendell her dress is a mix of color that LEGO sought to capture in
the front showing how the dresses’ outer layer shifted towards a grey colored garment mixed
with the white of the regular dress. The face piece complaint stems from the fact that the golden
veil/tiara type piece are in the movies on top of her hair piece whereas the LEGO figure has it on her face.
Understandable, but I just don’t take issue with this because it looks great. I call this creative liberty more
than a mistake on LEGO’s part.
Lastly there is the king himself Aragorn who is easily the best minifigure in this set. His hair and
crown piece are awesome, the chest piece and black armor chest plate is flawless, the printed
armor on his arms is a truly awesome detail, the dual cape of black and red was a nice touch,
and the leg piece is a classic black armor with detailed chain linking clearly visible. Did I mention
LEGO designed a print for his arms! This detail was super fun to discover and makes Aragorn the
crown jewel of the minifigures of this set.
Easter Eggs
It just wouldn’t be a LEGO Lord of the Rings set without easter eggs and they did not disappoint.
Denethor’s tomatoes are featured throughout the set-in base layer and the hall of kings. The
designers clearly got a laugh out of this when they designed the set as each illustration
with Denethor seems to have the tomatoes lurking somewhere in the background of the
instructions.
The next easter egg is found in the back left side of the set by sliding out a piece of the city, a
dual purpose is fulfilled. It first of all serves to place minifigures inside the study, or just take a
look around the interior, and it serves to reveal an easter egg in the now removed piece itself
where a torch and pile of wood leans against the wall teasing Denethor’s eventual madness and
death when he tries to burn himself and Faramir alive.
The other easter egg is the best in the set serving to delight book fans and the general
Lord of the Rings fanbase alike. This easter egg is located in the back right of the set in by
dethatching a similar piece on the right side of the set one can examine the bedroom where
Pippin stays in the city. In the now unattached piece itself sits a Palantir. The Palantir itself is
technically in the movies, but ends up feeling more like a great nod to the books where Palantir
is a more permanent fixture as Denethor uses it in the books.
This detail is omitted from the movies. In the Palantir print itself hides an exciting easter egg in the form
of a single rider on a horse framed by a setting sun with his sword held aloft. This figure is generally
considered to be Theoden, the king of Rohan, which could indicate a Helm’s Deep or Pelennor fields set in the
future.
All in all, this set is amazing and truly gives the builder an experience within a set. It’s hard not
to just sit and admire the wooden gate or spiraling towers, or perhaps just to stage Gandalf
educating Pippin on the finer points of cynicism. If you can get past Denethor eating tomatoes
in the Hall of Kings, one might even notice the King’s throne just waiting for the true king of
Gondor to return, all of this, but another piece away or at least 8,278 of them anyways.
