LEGO’s latest The Lord of the Rings set takes us on a truly glorious journey into darkness, one that, sometimes literally, and sometimes metaphorically, glows, burns, seeps, cuts, surprises, intimidates, shines, delights, and extends up, and up, and up into gathering stormclouds themselves (or just into your ceiling if it’s low). Joining the previously released The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell set in LEGO’s LOTR collection, The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr brings the same dedication to creating a build that is not just architecturally stunning to put together or truly gorgeous to look at once complete but is also full of story and clear love and passion for its inspiration and source material.
Although we are not surprised that LEGO managed to inject so much heart and narrative into its Barad-dûr set, we remain enthralled by the intricacies of the build and just how right they are. And so, we invite you to join our Fellowship as we walk into Mordor and peek behind the dark gates. Here is our review of LEGO’s The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr set, which highlights both the granular and the spiritual experience of this build.
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
LEGO Barad-dûr Captures the Lore and Core of Mordor
Underlying much of Tolkien’s writings, especially in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is a deeply embedded theme of technology versus nature. In Tolkien’s eye, the oily, smoking march of technology, bolstered by the greed and rapaciousness that lives in the hearts of men, was the business of evil. Meanwhile, its opposing force, the spiritual pureness of nature, was a marker of goodness. Indeed, those characters who respect the strength and wisdom of the natural world in The Lord of the Rings often find aid and hope when they need it most. In contrast, those who disregard or destroy nature in favor of technological ambitions are marked for darkness and doom. No place more heavily illustrates this than the seat of darkness itself, Mordor’s Barad-dûr, the place where Sauron, the ultimate corrupt craftsman, calls his home, and no nature dares to thrive.
Incredibly, LEGO is able to bring this narrative theme to life in its Barad-dûr build, both as an individual piece and in conversation with its The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell set. We wrote a whole separate review about the majesty of LEGO’s Rivendell, so we won’t get too into it here. But that LEGO build is heavily centered around features of nature.
There are at least four kinds of trees you create in that build, not to mention a huge water feature, little flowers and mushrooms that pop up everywhere, and deep roots that extend throughout the whole structure. Beyond that, everything is done up in the colors of the woodland; pale greens, blues, golds, browns, and bright white decorate the set. The whole structure has a beautifully organic sense to it as well: complete with circular swirls, gorgeous sweeping arches, and pieces that were literally designed to be ice cream cones at some point. There is no doubt that Rivendell is the heart of goodness and nature.
The project of building LEGO’s Barad-dûr set, meanwhile, lives in stark opposition to putting together its Rivendell one. Barad-dûr is all sharp angles, shiny black lines, and imposing gates. Everything ends at a point. Though secretly, there are light blue and white pieces embedded deep in the LEGO build (colors more associated with The Lord of the Rings‘ good wizards and elves), by the time you are done creating Barad-dûr, they are all outwardly drenched in black.
Poignantly, while Rivendell’s excellence is so predicated on its many gorgeous details of nature, Barad-dûr’s true majesty is in, you guessed it, the technological features it offers the builder. Embedded into the build are gears and cranks galore and levers and switches everywhere. In Barad-dûr, doors can mysteriously open with the flip of a LEGO piece. Hidden compartments are unveiled with the twist of a rod. A whole throne room can swing apart into a secret chamber thanks to the genius of this build’s engineering. These hidden facets of LEGO’s Barad-dûr build are unequivocally cool. But the set’s technology bend, especially in the face of Rivendell’s strong emphasis on the natural world, really underlines one of Tolkien’s core principles in an inspired way.
Like the denizens of darkness in The Lord of the Rings, you are partaking in the devilry of mechanization as you build Barad-dûr. For fans of Tolkien’s world and lore, the symbolic nature of the set adds another level of immersion. Welcome to the dark side; it has the neatest mechanical tricks (and lots of automation).
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build, Broken Down
That’s the narrative review of LEGO’s The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr set. Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the build. Barad-dûr requires three different instruction manuals, which come together to form roughly the size of a The Lord of the Rings book—and that should give you some idea about the magnitude of this build. In all, there are 5,471 LEGO pieces, divided into forty bags, involved in building The Lord of the Rings‘ dark Tower of Sauron.
Barad-dûr, more than other related fantastical sets (Rivendell, Dungeons & Dragons), is very interested in the creation of the external structure and the nifty architectural and engineering feats it can impress you with. (And impress you, it does.) And that makes a lot of sense given, as we mentioned, what we know from Tolkien about his land of evil. Mordor is not the place for cute little accessories and a lot of home decor (although LEGO Barad-dûr still manages to deliver some fun in that regard.) It is definitely not the place for an intricate LEGO garden. It is the place, however, for some incredible intricate brickwork, a tower structure that lets you have a huge, functional set of doors, and an eye of Sauron that uses ding, ding, ding, technology to literally light up.
The Base
The three sections (and five levels) of LEGO Barad-dûr are divided up as follows. First, we have the tower base, which includes the fortress gates, a massive lava flow, a fun dungeon scene, and a neat armory and forge tucked away. This is by far the biggest section of the LEGO tower, requiring nearly half of the bags involved in the Barad-dûr build. You can find lots of Easter eggs hidden in this part of the build as well, like a spider tucked away in the walls of this area, a tribute to Shelob, no doubt. And if you have Gollum’s keen sense, you might even be able to procure a fish from its spot in the rock wall. So juicy sweet!
The Dining Hall
Second, we have a mid-level area, which adds some elaborate LEGO stonework to Barad-dûr and contains my favorite part, an adorable dining hall for the orcs (or is that Uruk) to feast in between evil Mordor shenanigans. One of the most personality-driven areas of the build, you’ll have to really lean in to get the full impact of its nooks and crannies. “Meat’s back on the Menu” poster, anyone? How about some insights into the elven Rings of Power? (The photos below feature elven Minifigures from the Rivendell set standing in for The Rings of Power‘s Adar and Galadriel and recreating a scene from season two.)
The Tower
The third and final section of Barad-dûr is a massive narrow tower that culminates in the glowing eye of Sauron; inside the tower are three levels that bring to life Sauron’s throne room, the Mouth of Sauron’s study, and a library of evil complete with a rotating ladder to ensure you don’t miss any dark tomes.
More Naunces of the LEGO Barad-dûr Build
In order to let fans enjoy both the interiors and exteriors of Mordor’s greatest fortress, LEGO Barad-dûr is constructed like a slice of cake. The front of the tower appears as though it is part of a full 360-degree build, but once turned around, the exterior cuts away so we can see all the details of the interior rooms. These details include such gems as orcs eating turkey legs, a dangling skeleton in a cage, swords waiting to be forged by the fire, and the unsettling prophecies of a palantír.
It’s worth noting that the three sections of LEGO Barad-dûr are not actually locked together forever, but are instead modular sections. They are designed to slide and slot together in a way where they can be easily pulled apart if the need should arise. Of course, I personally would not dare to dismantle my completed Barad-dûr build apart unless there was simply no other option but to do so, but I guess it’s good to know the possibility is there.
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr
As we said above, some of the best parts of LEGO’s Barad-dûr build lie in its mechanics. This The Lord of the Rings LEGO set has some truly unique features, and we just wanted to quickly give them each their due.
The Dark Gates Open of LEGO Barad-dûr Actually Open
Remember when The Mouth of Sauron opened the gates of Barad-dûr to mock Gandalf, Aragorn, and the rest in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the extended edition. We bet you do, because if you’re building LEGO Barad-dûr, you’re definitely rocking the extended edition whenever you watch The Lord of the Rings. Now, you can recreate this scene yourself because the gate of Barad-dûr actually opens. We couldn’t explain the mechanics behind the way the doors of this tower work, something about gears and levers. But we can tell you it is pretty damn cool. Check it out below.
The Throne Room Spilts Into a Secret Chamber
Sauron obviously needs a throne. He can’t hang out being an eye all day. He needs a place to sit when he takes on a different kind of form. But Sauron’s throne room in LEGO Barad-dûr is much more than it appears. Build it correctly (more levers, more gears), and it will split right in two and reveal a hidden chamber full of secrets, including a really gorgeous palantír piece that foretells the doom of the shire and the burning of the white tree of Gondor. That’s dark for a LEGO piece, but that’s Barad-dûr!
LEGO Barad-dûr Can Grow Taller
Yes, LEGO Barad-dûr can expand to reach untold heights of evil and allow Sauron’s eye to sweep over even more of Middle-earth. The tower section of Barad-dûr can seamlessly combine with other the tower section of other Barad-dûr LEGO sets to add even more height to your tower. Of course, you’d need to be as rich as Sauron to afford one, let alone two Barad-dûr LEGO sets, but that doesn’t take away from how cool the idea is.
This The Lord of the Rings LEGO Set Lights Up
Yeah. This is neat. So neat, it deserves its own full section. Jump here to learn more, or keep reading.
LEGO Barad-dûr Is a Tricky Build (In the Best Way)
One does not simply walk into Mordor. And one does not simply build this Barad-dûr LEGO set. Those wanting to involve themselves with building Sauron’s home out of LEGOs, be warned that there’s an additional level of difficulty involved in this build that most LEGO sets don’t face. And that is the large amount of monochromatic building involved in crafting Barad-dûr and in black, no less.
We would be remiss to call LEGO Barad-dûr colorless. The sort of firey schema of it is truly gorgeous, and the red, orange, and yellow hues that comprise the molten lava flows are the perfect contrast to the darkness of the tower. These flame-inspired hues do reappear throughout the build to help give the illusion that Barad-dûr is glowing amidst the fires of Mordor. But the truth is that most of the exterior of this The Lord of the Rings LEGO set is black. And even where it’s not fully black, the gradation of greys on Barad-dûr is very subtle.
Building with pieces that are all of the same color is LEGO on hard mode, let me tell you. Color differentiation helps you be better able to keep track of where you are in your work, where each piece needs to go, and which direction everything needs to be facing. Having large stretches of all-black pieces with the slightest of variances in shape, matte vs. shine, or texture orientation adds another layer of trickiness to the whole affair.
But This Trickiness Makes Narrative Sense
But is a little difficulty not the fun of any good pastime? If it were super simple to build Barad-dûr, it wouldn’t be an adventure. And we think that it’s fitting for this evil The Lord of the Rings LEGO build to cunningly create difficulty for its builder. Sauron would no doubt approve.
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
The LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures
In total, there are 10 Minifigures that come with LEGO Barad-dûr; these include Sauron, Mouth of Sauron, Frodo, Sam and Gollum, Gothmog, the Lieutenant of Morgul, and four of Mordor’s finest orcs. We are obsessed with the Mouth of Sauron and his terrifying teeth. We also enjoy Sauron’s more physical form and his nondescript, firey face. This is the first time Sauron is being released as a LEGO Minifigure. And, of course, I love the orc Minifigures’ array of blades, helmets, and hot-dog-tasting accessories.
LEGO Frodo and Sam Minifigures in Barad-dûr vs. Rivendell, Plus a New Gollum Minifigure
We guess there is one additional section of LEGO’s The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr set, and that is a tiny stone outcropping with a touch of lava that features Minifigures of Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. Rivendell’s LEGO set included the very same Sam and Frodo Minifigures as the Barad-dûr set. Although in the Barad-dûr LEGO set, Sam’s Minifigure has a LEGO version of Sting, Frodo’s orc-sensing sword, and the Phial of Galadriel, which contains the light of Eärendil which he did not have in Rivendell. Conversely, in the Rivendell set, Sam and Frodo’s Minifigures both had cloaks, which they do not have in Barad-dûr.
The Barad-dûr LEGO set marks the first time Gollum has been transformed into LEGO Minifigure form. Gollum is pretty cute and all hunched over; he’s ready for that fish. Sadly, neither his legs, nor Sam or Frodo’s hobbit-sized legs are articulated at all. His arms do move, though, and he can leer very convincingly. This minifigure does Andy Serkis proud.
LEGO Frodo and Sam Minifigures Come Complete with Orc Disguise Armor
Additionally, though this Mordor-based The Lord of the Rings LEGO set is a bit less story-forward than Rivendell, if you want to emulate The Lord of the Rings movies, you can even give Sam and Frodo their orc disguise armor from Return of the King, which they don to avoid being spotted in Mordor after Sam rescues Frodo.
This diorama does not fit inside Barad-dûr proper, but since Frodo is holding the One Ring, we might imagine that it depicts the spot where Frodo is meant to drop the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. We know, of course, that Frodo falters, and it’s Gollum’s ultimate lust for the Ring of Power that is his and the ring’s undoing. After that happens in The Lord of the Rings, Barad-dûr turns into dust. So hold on tight Frodo, because we will not be allowing that fate for our LEGO build.
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
LEGO Barad-dûr’s Eye of Sauron Set Piece Lights Up (And Is a True Stunner)
Of course, what is Mordor, Barad-dûr, or even Middle-earth, if you think about it, without the Eye of Sauron? In order to make the Barad-dûr LEGO set truly shine, LEGO had to create an Eye of Sauron that would truly bring terror into our hearts. And create they did. The pinnacle of the LEGO Barad-dûr set is the Great Eye. After having stumbled through Mordor’s dungeons, trudged up its great towers, and been awed by its sleek black walls and many enchanting but treacherous, curving teeth-like structures, the time has arrived. Bag 40, the final bag of LEGO pieces in the Barad-dûr set, is all Eye of Sauron all the time.
The eye is made up of transparent red, orange, and yellow pieces (and just a few deep black LEGOs) that come together in perfect configurations to create the ultimate gatekeeper. Sitting on a rod, the eye is even able to rotate around, giving the distinct effect that it is looking around, looking and searching.
Of course, the neatest trick of LEGO Barad-dûr’s Eye of Sauron is the addition of a light brick, which makes the whole tower glow an eerie red. It’s a fantastic cherry on top of this The Lord of the Rings build. I would say that if I had to tweak one thing, I would make the light for the Eye of Sauron a bit more accessible from afar. It currently sits at the back of the tower and has to be pressed in and held at an angle that is a bit awkward and not easy to photograph. But ultimately, the lit-up eye on the Barad-dûr LEGO set is so ominous and fabulous that we’ll forgive it.
LEGO Barad-dûr Injects Some Fun Sauron Lore and Trivia Into Its Adventure
We’re running a bit long, so we’ll wrap this up quickly, but we did just have to say that we adored the bits of The Lord of the Rings Mordor, Sauron, and Barad-dûr related lore trivia and quotes that LEGO added into its instruction manuals. It really touched the big Lord of the Rings fan in my heart.
Some examples include:
- Posing as orcs, it took Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee around ten days to trek across the rough terrain of Mordor to reach Mount Doom.
- “You cannot hide… I see you…” – Sauron
- Just like they use lava to forge weapons, Orcs utilize it to prepare food in their dining hall.
How Long Does It Take to Build LEGO Barad-dûr?
It took us about 20ish hours to build LEGO Barad-dûr, and we built with great determination. Overall, we would project it takes about 20-30 hours total to built LEGO’s The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr set.
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
Where Can You Buy the LEGO Barad-dûr Set, How Much Does it Cost, And What Are Its Dimensions?
The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr LEGO set is now available for purchase at LEGO.com. It costs $459.99, which is about 8 cents per piece and is thus considered a good value. (Anything upwards of 10 cents is considered high for a LEGO set, and so 8 is firmly in the reasonable zone.)
LEGO Barad-dûr is definitely one of LEGO’s taller sets, with its dimensions sitting at a height of 33″ (83cm), a width of 18″ (45cm), and a depth of 12″ (30cm). So keep that in mind before you begin to build.
Verdict: This Evil Tower Is a LEGO Masterpiece that any Lord of the Rings Fan Will Love
So, should you buy LEGO’s The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr set? This many words later, our answer is YES! (If you can afford it!) It is expensive, but if you divide the hours spent on building it with the price, it comes out to about $15 an hour. (Which is a small price to pay for a lot of fun.) Plus, looking at the completed tower from across the room never gets old. It is truly a work of fannish art. (And it will always have its eye on the goings on in your living room. Is there any better deal than that?)
Jump to: LEGO Barad-dûr Captures Tolkien’s Mordor // LEGO Barad-dûr’s Build Breakdown // The Coolest Parts of LEGO Barad-dûr // Barad-dûr’s Difficulty // LEGO Barad-dûr Minifigures // Light Up Eye of Sauron Set Piece // More Barad-dûr Details
