Barad-Dûr, seat of Sauron’s power, is known more by reputation than by first-hand accounts in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien describes it as “wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant.” Peter Jackson’s films made Barad-Dûr an iconic on-screen presence with the fiery eye watching all from atop the tallest tower. It was that version that LEGO adapted for last year’s massive Icons set. For Jae Min Lee, a Korean fantasty builder who goes by the handle Saint, the official set didn’t match the picture of Barad-Dûr in his imagination. For over a year, Saint iterated on his vision of Sauron’s stronghold with the latest version debuting just in time for Korea Brick Party 2025. Saint was kind enough to talk with us about his LEGO journey into Mordor.

TBB: Your version of Barad-Dûr is incredible in size and detail. Could you share any details about just how big a model it is?

Saint: Thank you for your great interest in my work. First of all, I will share the facts the build as best I can.

Size (h/w/d) : 1,200mm x 770mm x 770mm
Weight : About 35kg
Number of bricks : ~35,000 pieces
Lighting: 10 lighting elements were used on the second floor (Sauron’s throne room) to illuminate the interior of the citadel, and 16 lighting elements were used on the first floor (the hall with many columns).

TBB: What were your thoughts on the official Barad-dûr set released by LEGO? How did that version inspire your own creation?

Saint: When the 10333 LEGO Barad-dûr set was announced, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. The thought of “I’m going to build the Barad-dûr I’ve only ever imagined, with my own hands!” was irresistible, so I rushed to the LEGO Store at dawn on the first day the set was officially released in Korea and bought it.

The 10333 set is indeed well made and meets many fans’ expectations. I know LEGO has business and production constraints, so I respect that the company put considerable effort into making 10333 a noteworthy set.

Still, I couldn’t be fully satisfied. As you know, Barad-dûr is an unprecedentedly terrifying and magnificent tower in fantasy history. It is an enormous structure—built over 600 years and reaching about 1,300 meters. Compared to the true grandeur of Barad-dûr, the 10333 set is far too small and differs in many details.

I couldn’t accept, “This modest tower is Barad-dûr.” I became obsessed and, as if possessed, gathered countless bricks to recreate in LEGO the despair Frodo would have actually felt.

TBB: Your first model of the stronghold came right after LEGO’s official version. How did you turn it around so quickly?

I bought the 10333 set on June 1, 2024; I reviewed the set on June 3, 2024; and I reviewed my first version of Barad-dûr on July 28, 2024. In short: I bought the set as soon as it launched, built and reviewed it three days later, and after about two months succeeded in creating my own version. Looking back, it’s fair to say I was “soul-taken by Sauron” — I was obsessed with Barad-dûr.

Since then I have repeatedly improved details and changed colors. This ties into my main reason for creating: I make things because the official product wasn’t satisfactory enough. This build began from the desire, “I’ll make a Barad-dûr that I can be truly satisfied with.”

TBB: Can you speak to the changes you’ve made over the past year? For example, the lack of red and orange bricks in the latest version?

Saint: I understand what the 10333 set was aiming for. I think it focused on the color shifts of the black fortress reflected in lava and Sauron’s fiery eye, which explains the varied use of bright oranges and light browns. However, I felt it was more important to focus on reproducing Barad-dûr’s original colors and design.

So my evaluation criterion became how closely I could recreate the real Barad-dûr. The first version retained too much of the 10333 color palette, so in the second version I replaced transparent orange with white to counter that. After realizing that the original Barad-dûr is dominated by black and dark gray, I reflected that and produced a third version.

In short, I upgraded the build because I wasn’t satisfied and wanted to make it closer to the actual Barad-dûr.

Barad-dûr is an absurdly massive tower—larger even than the Burj Khalifa. Even at minifigure scale, it’s impossible to fully replicate the real Barad-dûr. Nevertheless, I haven’t given up; if aspects remain unsatisfying, I can always create a new version.

TBB: You’ve been a regular participant at Korea Brick Party. What does the event mean to you and how has LEGO fandom changed in Korea since you first started building?

Saint: In the past, South Korea viewed toys like LEGO negatively — merely as pastimes that wasted time. But things are very different now that children who loved LEGO and similar toys have grown up. Today, there are many people in Korea who love LEGO and enjoy creating with it. Even so, opportunities for them to showcase their work to the public and explain it are very limited.

Currently, Korea Brick Party (KBP) is the only regular large-scale LEGO creation exhibition remaining in South Korea. For that reason, KBP is a must-attend, flagship annual event for every Korean LEGO builder, and it is almost the only regular channel for creators to present their works to the public. For many Korean builders, myself included, KBP is an indispensable and precious opportunity.

What Korean LEGO creators truly need is public interest and recognition for their work. In that respect, it is very gratifying for creators like me that KBP — now entering its 5th anniversary — continues to grow and attract increasing public attention. I often tell my fellow builder friends that the compliments we would receive over a year were all given to us in just the two days of exhibiting at KBP.

KBP is a major exhibition, and even I would not dare call myself the best builder there. The event shows that there are many people who build better and love LEGO more than I do. That is also why I ask for continued interest in LEGO creativity in Korea — you might even discover something more astonishing than my Barad-dûr there.