Orthanc

As mentioned previously, my online Lego order arrived this week. I went over to the post office first thing this morning to pick it up.

All built!

Kara got a photo of me when I got back. The box was massive.



Recommended for ages 14 up, the set itself contains over 2,300 parts and 5 minifigs. I'm not sure how much of the reasoning behind the age range comes from the building skills required, or just the sheer patience to endure four hours (and the rest) of sorting through plastic pieces and clicking them together.



It does look very very cool. There's a lot of shiny black pieces, and there were several times this afternoon I stopped to think "I could make a really cool spaceship with these pieces..." So stay tuned for a future MOC post.

The eagle swoops in to rescue Gandalf.

The 5 included minifigures are Gandalf, Saruman, Grima Wormtongue, and two orcs. There's also an eagle, and an ent. The Ent alone took 30 minutes to put together.

Ent, with jointed legs, torso and arms.

The hands are designed with individually movable fingers and thumb, so the ent can hold orcs.

Grima on the balcony.

And now, some pictures for scale.

Me (with my "hobbit feet"), the ent, and the tower.

With a foot for scale. Tower stands over two feet tall.

I've already pulled it apart again... and it will remain in this state until my next LOTR/Lego Marathon, on my birthday weekend.