I Have Never Met A Set With Too Much Detail. It Looks Like Eru Ilúvatar made it. This Set Is Just Way Too Good!
I spit out my water like Blastoise when I saw LEGO® unveiling this set. When this set came out in March 2023, almost a year from today, it was the first time in over a decade that I was actually excited about a wickedly expensive Lord of The Rings LEGO® set.
Whatever. Take my money!
6,167 pieces, 15 minifigures, and almost a day’s worth of building later, you find yourself with one of the most intricate and advanced sets LEGO® has ever built that does justice to the beauty and aesthetic of Elvish architecture.
Again, I am going to break this down into three parts with a score on a 1-10 scale:
The LEGO® Build
The LEGO® Minifigures
The Price Point
Let’s Break Down This Icons Build
Like most LEGO® Icons sets, you get exactly what you pay for in this Rivendell build. The 6,167 pieces go towards a tile-roof studded House of Elrond, a bridge for Bilbo to stand on, the outdoor council sitting area, and a gazebo for Arwen to stand under — lamenting Aragorn’s quest!
It is absolutely stunning. This is quite possibly the most beautiful LEGO® set I have ever spent this much time on. It took me close to 20 hours by myself, and I diligently worked for close to a week. I would buy another just to build it again.
It takes longer due to the small, intricate pieces that form a lot of the exposed brick, roofing, and architecture. You will spend a lot of time attaching the little square 1×1 studs onto the plates that form Elrond’s home. This is also the most advanced LEGO® set I have ever encountered — it had me tangling my fingers like a gymnast to get this build done.
The set is an astounding 16 inches (39cm) tall, 29 inches (72cm) wide, and 20 inches deep. While it is massive, you will want to display this aesthetic LEGO® set with an entire table. You won’t regret it — non LEGO® fans flock to this piece when you have people over. It steals the room.
Score: 10/10
Minifigure Madness: 15 LEGO® Lord of The Rings Minifigs
Yup. You read the correctly. The LEGO® Icons Rivendell contains 15 masterfully printed and well-designed LOTR LEGO® minifigures that have been tweaked and slightly remastered for this set.
Frodo Baggins: Comes with his classic green cape, bare feet, and the chrome gold One Ring.
Bilbo Baggins: Equipped with his little brown walking stick and a masterfully printed, traveling button-up vest.
Boromir: Insane blue and maroon printing on his legs and torso to match his wardrobe from the movie. His shield is marvelous and reprinted. His plastic sword has been remolded into a classic Gondor broadsword.
Elrond: The red and white printing on Elrond’s formal robe is out of this world. It is one of the finest prints of LEGO® minifigures in the set. The silver crown imprinted on his head is a lovely touch.
Arwen: A little simpler, but the bright white Evening Star, also known in the LOTR mythos as “Gil-Orestel,” is in a beautifully created, interlaced print on her chest.
Aragorn: The simple brown outfit of Aragorn’s prancing pony brown wardrobe never looked so good. LEGO® deftly mixes a few different brown hues and a stubble-printed headpiece to make Aragorn look incredibly authentic.
Gimli: His helmet and dual-silver axes are worthy of the praise that any Dwarf Lord from Lord of The Rings. While his legs are not printed, his face, hair, and torso come together to form the truest Gimlin I have ever seen made. It beats any of the models that came out in the LOTR LEGO® Dimension sets.
Merry: Brown cape and a blue torso that matches the movie perfectly. And yes, he comes with bare feet and a goofy printed face.
Pippin: Still a jokester, this little guy comes holding a celery stem and a green torso to match. His brown cape matches perfectly with his headpiece, which sports his prankster, half-open smile.
Gandalf the Grey: The staff is still simple. However, we get our first iteration of Gandalf the Grey with a printed Leg set. This is unique to this set (most of the minifigs are) and can’t be found anywhere else. The new capes LEGO® has developed have a better feel, and Gandalf’s grey cape flows well for something so small.
Samwise Gamgee: He has a nice printed torso, but otherwise is probably the plainest of the minifigures in his set. He is a bit of a sterner-looking face print and an off-blue cape.
Legolas: The best for last. The blue and black legs are perfect for his boots and pants. The torso is masterfully printed with his green traveling shirt. Also, his hairpiece is phenomenal and makes him match the movies — yes, he comes with his bow!
Score: 10/10
Let’s Talk About That Price Before We Make Our Last Call
Hold onto your seats. For your own good. Yes, this LEGO® set comes to a whopping $499.99 — that is expensive! Depending on where you buy, shipping and taxes might add $50 to that overall MSRP price.
However, I will be blunt; it is worth every freaking penny. That’s why I went crazy and bought four. My fiancée has not left me…yet. This loses a point only because it’s $500 per set.
Score: 9/10
Should You Break The Bank And Buy LEGO® Icons Rivendell 10316?
Yes. Please. Please do it for yourself. This set is one of the greatest Lord of The Rings LEGO® sets ever created. It absolutely dwarfs the LEGO® LOTR Tower of Orthanc. You will spend hours and days in your basement piecing this LEGO® set together. For LEGO® investors, I know the high cost of the set usually means it does not appreciate much post-retirement. I promise you an Icons LOTR LEGO® set will appreciate in value over time. For LEGO® Collectors? Why don’t you have this set in your collection already? Crafting this set is an out-of-body experience.
Final Score: 29/30
This set doesn’t miss. I bought another one just now as I was typing.
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