The rear wall of the bedroom displays another mural, recreating the image of Isildur preparing to slice the Ring from Sauron's finger. Sauron appears delightfully menacing in minifigure form and the attention to detail on this painting is outstanding, even including a blue flag that also appears on the original mural, shown when Aragorn and Boromir first meet. The frame looks lovely too. The model looks stunning from the front and extensive detail continues around both sides. Elven buildings often forego solid walls in favour of slender columns, flooding the interiors with natural light. That distinctive architecture is immediately recognisable here and I like the archways along the ground floor in particular. The Lady of Lorien is featured in this rich, real wood oval frame which has been entirely hand gold leafed. She was offered the Ring by Frodo, but defeated the temptation to accept it. She remains ever Galadriel, surrounded here by leaves and flowers. The Lady is 7x9” and the outermost measurements of the gold frame are 12x14”. Additional scrollwork elements are combined with life rings to assemble the ornate dome, which is extraordinarily detailed. The tooth pieces clipped underneath are effective too, recreating the Elven pavilions from the films with far greater accuracy than I had anticipated. Another récamier delivers a splash of colour inside.

Agree with everyone else who feels that there ought to have been more than one type of elf hair piece. There were several made for the previous LotR sets and some of those would have been perfectly suited for re-use here. On balance, I actually prefer the more streamlined look of the previous version of the “standard” elf hair piece with ears; this new one feels just a little too bulky to me. Which is why I'm not buying it day one. I will wait for it to show up somewhere else with a discount. The momentous Council of Elrond takes place in the courtyard outside Elrond's chambers, with an enormous tree overlooking the scene. The setting is immediately recognisable here and the use of colour is brilliant, as the gathered chairs are the only medium nougat features anywhere outside, ensuring their clear visibility.

Box and Contents

The second painting features Ost-in-Edhil, the capital city of Eregion and home of the previously depicted Elven smith, Celebrimbor. Once again, this image recreates Alan Lee's design from the film series and is beautifully detailed. The dark orange colour selected for the frames is effective too, clearly standing out against the grey stonework.

Legolas Greenleaf appears equally detailed, as metallic silver patterns complement the earthy colours of his attire. Sand green and sand blue look marvellous together and the dual-moulded boots are effective as well. However, I think tan would have been more suitable for Legolas' hair than blonde and maybe this Elf should have included unique hair, which could accommodate his quiver. I feel like even only 15 figures would be pushing the limit of LEGO Star Wars a little bit, but yeah, I agree with your selections! I definitely just want a modern Plo Koon. Also forgot about the Temple Guards, definitely would want at least 2. The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author. Box and ContentsNot having a fully re-forged Anduril as well as the hilt shard of Narsil (as cool as it genuinely is!) also feels like a miss in a set this expensive. Admittedly that’s more for the books than the movies at this point in the story but we can only hope that the fully restored version of this sword appears in LotR sets yet to come… and the same for Gandalf’s Glamdring. The structure is assembled in three connected sections, corresponding with the three instruction manuals. They fit together smoothly using Technic axles and the upper floor of the main building includes another clip, ensuring that the eye-catching roof pattern appears seamless. The option to divide the model is certainly useful when moving Rivendell around. I think much the same can also be said for some of the head prints. The original Legolas face may have been somewhat stylised but it worked and the use of several generic faces in this set feels like a cop-out. I understand that the old prints were out of production and they probably shaved a little off the costs by incorporating some parts already in production but it definitely feels like a missed opportunity.

The Steward of Gondor, this grim character is shown in an ornate real wood 5x7” silver leafed oval frame. The frame was chosen to reflect his rank, and overly proud and embittered attitude as it is threatened.Mentioning this bit of info in the review would have been helpful for those of use who were not privy to that FMD panel discussion. Sand green wheel arches form ornamental features between the outermost columns. The table inside is laden with lembas bread and salad, recalling Pippin's accessory. The whole structure is mounted on another circular base and angled in relation to the main building, further enhancing this version of Rivendell. After all, the town is constructed in harmony with nature, so avoids grid patterns altogether. Peregrin Took is similarly attired in his finery, with a detailed scarf. All three minifigures feature traditional smiles, but also include second expressions chosen to reflect their personalities. Sam accordingly appears very serious and carries a frying pan, while Merry looks excited and Pippin is nervous. Naturally, the more troublesome Hobbits are laden with food, including Elven lembas bread.

The ground floor is luxuriously adorned with 69 printed tiles, matching those from the courtyard outside. This pattern looks fantastic and precisely reflects the onscreen location, with light bluish grey tiles framing the decorative centrepiece. Unfortunately, the star-shaped design overlaps the edge of the model, so finishes rather abruptly. iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, 2017 iPad, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 4, 9.7-inch iPad Pro:The legendary shards of Narsil are displayed upstairs, presented beneath a statue of an Elven princess. Certain features of the original statue are absent at this scale. However, the hexagonal plinth seems reasonably accurate and I like the dark blue elements, intended to recreate a fabric sheet under the shards of Narsil. There are 12 council members. I would add two temple guards and Jocasta Nu for the figure lineup. If it wasn't going to be the full council, I would keep the temple guards and Jocasta Nu, as well as Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, Agen Kolar, Adi Galia, Kit Fisto, Saessee Tiin, and Oppo Ranciss from the council. I would also add Ahsoka and the younglings that she teaches which are Gungi, Ganodi, Katooni, Zat, Pedro, and Byph. Although I doubt they would do the younglings since some of them are the same species as council members(Zat and Katooni), and they likely aren't popular enough. If I were to maintain a 15 minifig limit, I would cut from the previous list Kit Fisto and Plo Koon since their popularity will likely get them in a set at some point no matter what. Realistically, it would contain Yoda, Windu, Anakin, Obi wan, maybe Ahsoka, popular council members like Plo Koon and Kit Fisto, and hopefully a few temple guards.