Fifteen months after Lego revealed its majestic $500 Lord of the Rings: Rivendell playset, we’re getting the fortress of evil itself. Barad-dûr, home of The One Ring’s creator Sauron and the location of his fireball-like Eye of Sauron in the films, is now officially a 5,471-piece Lego set worthy of an epic showdown.
Lego Barad-dûr revealed: Sauron’s dark tower from The Lord of the Rings is $460
5,471 pieces and nearly three feet tall.
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is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
Not that Barad-dûr ever waged battle in the books or films, mind! Neither J.R.R. Tolkien nor Peter Jackson gave us so much as a glimpse inside its walls, so Lego had free rein to imagine the interior... and fill it with Easter eggs.
For $459.99, €459.99, or £399.99, the new playset set not only comes with a glowing Eye of Sauron (thanks to a Lego light brick) and a pair of ominous mechanically operated front doors, but you also get a dark throne that opens up to reveal a secret room for the Palantir...
...not to mention a smithy where the orcs can forge and sharpen their cruel weapons, a lava pit with a suspended skeleton cage, and a feasting room for the orcs...
...plus a number of secreted-away references like Frodo’s stolen mithril coat, a hidden map, and a tiny spider to represent Shelob.
It comes with 10 minifigures, including a world-weary Frodo, Sam, Gollum, a quintet of orcs, the Mouth of Sauron, and of course Sauron himself...
...and if you decide 32.5 inches (83cm) isn’t tall enough, Lego says you can buy additional copies and stack its modular pieces as high as you want. Here are the layers that come in the box:
The set’s coming out June 1st for Lego Insiders (it’s a free sign-up) or June 4th for everyone else.
Oh, and because I’m sure you’re curious: here’s a size comparison with Lego Rivendell.
I believe this is Lego’s first-ever attempt at Barad-dûr. Lego did Tower of Orthanc and Black Gate sets in 2013, but those locales were quite far from Sauron’s wicked home.
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