Lego has graced us with yet another Lord of the Rings set—because clearly, what a true fan of the series needs is a 2,017-piece diorama of The Shire to gather dust in the guest room. This set comes with nine minifigures – who wouldn’t want to own tiny plastic versions of Farmer Proudfoot and his wife? It depicts the scenes of Bilbo Baggins’s eleventy-first birthday party, featuring Bag End, Bilbo and Frodo’s Hobbit hole, and a few other vignettes from the scene.
Lego all the way to The Shire
Attendees to Bilbo’s party include Frodo, Samwise, the Proudfoots, Merry, Pippin, Rosie, and Gandalf, who dominates the scene with his own cart and horse. There are fireworks, Bilbo’s birthday bash tree, the party pavilion, and a closeable replica of Bilbo’s book, among others.
The new Bag End comes with a few additions like Bilbo’s writing room, the kitchen where he tells Gandalf of his plans to leave the Shire, and a dial that makes Bilbo vanish behind the barrels. The first Lego Bag End set came out in 2012, but was much smaller and less detailed. And cheaper. Lego isn’t too fond of that, we’re sure.
More fun treats include a burning letter that turns into the One Ring, a figure of the fireworks dragon, and interchangeable heads for Merry and Pippin. Nothing screams limitless childlike play like dolls with head transplants.
Unfortunately for South African fans, you need to be a part of the company’s international insider program to get an additional Smeagol & Deagol, re-enacting their discovery of the One Ring. Preorders for Lego’s The Shire set cost R5,500 on Greatyellowbrick. Because what better way to celebrate autumn than by burying yourself in debt and tiny plastic bricks.
