Tag Archives: Lord of the Rings

LEGO began releasing official Lord of the Rings sets in 2012, followed quickly by LEGO Hobbit sets, but LEGO builders have been recreating the people and places of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth for just as long as there have been books and bricks. Relax in the Shire or battle Saruman and his Uruk-hai army at Helm’s Deep and the Tower of Orthanc, but wherever your LEGO journey takes you, beware the watchful eye of Sauron!

The tower of Barad-d’aww

How small can the dark lord get? This teeny, tiny tower of Barad-dûr from The Lord of the Rings was constructed by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba, and it’s got all the right notes despite its diminutive size. A pair of grey bananas make the two spikes that ring the all-seeing eye, while clips and slopes make up the jagged tower itself. The atmospheric clouds elevate this little vignette further and give it an appropriate sense of foreboding.

#6: Barad-dûr

It started with a simple ring

LEGO builder Thorsten Bonsch‘s latest creation is amazing. It features a lovely brick-built bridge, and the arch at the base of the bridge uses the same technique as the first vignette in this series. The rest of the bridge looks like it is being held together by gravity, and there must be some brilliant building techniques in this model to hold it together. I find it great that the base of the first and the last vignette is a ring, which also ties into the story of The Hobbit. The tree in this model also deserves some love, as creating a big, natural-looking tree out of square plastic bricks is one of the hardest things to do.

The Hobbit (43/43)

Let’s also take our time to look back at a few of the 43 creations Thorsten made during this series. Thorsten treated us to some lovely interior decor with chairs made of wands on a sprue and whips, tables with cattle horn legs, and chandeliers made out of paint roller brush handles

He also surprised us with lovely brick-built heads, beasts, and animals. The troll was featured in not one, not two, but three creations, but each of them was different. And Thorsten didn’t stop after creating the troll. He also made an eagle, a spider, a statue head, and to top it off a dragon head.

Last but not least, lets give this social distancing elf some love.

The Hobbit (29/43)

Nazgûl and his Fellbeast

I love it when LEGO fans fill in the gaps in an existing or discontinued licensed theme. Marcin Otreba decided to create a Fellbeast themselves. Fellbeast are the flying creatures that the Nazgûl rode after being unhorsed at the Ford of Bruinen. The fellbeasts were described as large, winged creatures without feathers, that had pinions in between their horned fingers, and whose bodies gave off a stench. I don’t know if Marcin’s creation smells, but I do know it matches the description perfectly and it even moves!

Nazgul's flight

He may be Gandalf the White, but he’s looking rather grey today

Tragically underused in LEGO builds is the immersive, cinematic shot. Sure, it’s vastly easier and faster to build a vignette, or a stand-alone building, but I deeply admire builders who can move their creation beyond plastic bricks and into an entire world filling the frame. Nathan Smith is one of those builders, playing with light and camera angles to put the viewer in the scene in a believable way. Are there many mind-blowing building techniques on display here? No, not really, though that door does look quite nice. But nothing is out of place, with meticulously arranged leaves and crates, and the smooth walls of the citadel allow the lighting effects to shine. And shine they do, illuminating a ruminating Gandalf perfectly.

"Before the Siege"

Love LEGO builds inspired by The Lord of the Rings? Then check out the TBB LEGO Lord of the Rings archives. They’re epic!

This is no mine, it is a tomb

I’ve always loved this scene from The Fellowship of the Ring when the band makes their way into the Mines of Moria only to discover Balin and his dwarves have been wiped out. To me, it’s when the story first really turns an unexpected direction. Nathan Smith has beautifully recreated it in a LEGO diorama that perfectly imitates the scene’s camera angle and even lighting. From the scattered remnants of the dwarven miners, to the light on Gandalf’s magical staff, to the hobbits just barely visible in the doorway, this scene is just what I needed to take me back almost 20 years when I first saw the film.

"This is no mine, it is a tomb"

If Aragorn were running for president, I’d vote for him

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll repeat it, but I love The Lord of the Rings. The books, that is. Simon Hundsbichler must love the books, too, since he has finally finished the third installment of his trilogy, commemorating the climactic The Return of the King. I’ve been waiting for this one for a while, and it does not disappoint! From an incredible microscale Minas Tirith to an imposing Barad-dûr, every bit of this build is packed with great details and clever parts usages. Ogle that oliphaunt from Harad for a while, and admire the lever-arm orcs. There’s even an eagle and fell Nazgûl beast in the air!

The Return of the King

Did you miss the first two volumes? Check out Simon’s The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers builds here. And don’t miss the other great Lord of the Rings builds in our archives, too!

Radagast the Brown

Radagast the Brown has to be one of my favorite characters from the Hobbit trilogy. He is a bit not all there, loves nature and animals. Most of all, he has his heart above his head. Radagast also is the main subject in ekjohnsons latest creation. Although he can’t take credit for the figure itself, LEGO did a splendid job on this one; the lovely little cottage he lives in is entirely ekjohnsons’ own creation. The cottage was once just a little house in the woods, but then Radagast dropped a little acorn right in the middle of some dirt on his home floor. A small tree sprouted. Radagast, not having the heart to tear it up, just let it grow because he doesn’t destroy things. Eventually, the little sprout turned into a big tree, splitting the house apart. The lighting is just spot on. But what really sets the scene is the brilliant part usage. The thatched roof is made out of quite a lot of bladed claws. And there are trunk tails used as tree roots and branches everywhere.

On the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-Earth

The bittersweet ending of The Lord of the Rings is a scene that impacted many readers and viewers such as myself. It is the last we see of our beloved heroes after so many trials and tribulations in their story. In this scene, our heroes join the elves on a boat departing Middle-Earth to “a far green country under a swift sunrise.” Many see this as an allegory for death and the journey beyond, whether it be heaven or something else. Like Bilbo, I like to think of this in a more optimistic way: a new adventure in an unfamiliar land. JNJ Bricks captured the moment in the Grey Havens right before their departure in a striking, immersive LEGO scene.

Grey Havens

The minifigures of Frodo, Gandalf, and the hobbits stand in the foreground, out of focus and facing away. The elves wait by the boat, ready to take them on their journey out of the completely brick-built harbour. LEGO parts make up everything in this scene, from the water to the sunset sky between the cliffs. My favourite detail, the arches, and towers across the water look just like the movie, despite being so small. The boat, being grey, is distinct enough to not blend into the background. The accuracy of this scene invokes the same emotion in me as I experience while reading the book or watching the movie. Now I am in the mood for some of Tolkien’s poetry…

There and back again

Some LEGO creations manage to turn up a soundtrack in your head. A new series of builds by Thorsten Bonsch is a perfect example. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies had numerous wonderful film locations, but the journey always starts by the Bilbo’s home Bag End in the town of Hobbiton located in the lush pastures of the Shire.

The Hobbit (1/43)

Click here to take a look at other creations in the series

A very statuesque elf

This elven archer by Dmitry would be at home on any Lord of the Rings fan’s mantelpiece. The clean and minimalist approach to the facial features makes the ornate armor all the more impressive. I particularly like the use of Ninjago Spinner blades as wrapped hair braids, and the grill tiles for a flattop makes me chuckle. (As did that golden banana as part of the tunic.) But I’m certainly not laughing at the great shaping in grey achieved by cheese slopes and curved brick, or at that elegant display stand.

Elf Archer

This build has a different look from most LEGO figures we see at this scale, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

You have my sword. And you have my bow. And my... laser gun? [Video]

Ever wonder what you would pack for a trip across Middle-Earth? Tune in and find out in this hilarious new LEGO Lord of the Rings stop-motion animation by BrotherhoodWorkshop. Make sure to grab some popcorn while watching this incredible parody of the iconic scene from The Two Towers!

We arrive at Edoras with Gandalf the White, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli and it looks like the kingdom of Rohan has seen some better days. To top it off, the Three Hunters are having trouble bringing their weapons into the Golden Hall… but not to worry, Gandalf knows exactly how to play by the rules.

Watch “Take the Wizard’s Staff!!!” below.

One meme to rule them all

It’s got to be one of the most popular memes on the internet. There’s Eddard Stark at the Council of Agent Smith in Rivendell, uttering the unforgettable “One does not simply MOC into Mordor.” Or at least that’s what a LEGO version of double-oh-six would say, right? (A MOC is, of course, an original LEGO build, “My Own Creation”; and wonderfully, it rhymes with walk.) Swap out the Mordor bit and you have a universally applicable meme for difficult things. Fancy your hand at meme-ing this build by Big Stannis? The builder has captured the exact moment of the utterance, so perhaps we need to make this version go viral in the LEGO world. All the little details are there, from the cuffs to collar, and don’t miss that hair with ears poking out. Rounded ears, of course, since he’s not blond Will Turner. And right after you finish publishing your meme, Rudy will run out of wherever he’s hiding, eager to be included on the team for at least one game of ring toss.

Boromir in the Council of Elrond