Review : LEGO ICONS 10316 The Lord of the Rings Rivendell

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO set 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, a very large box of 6167 pieces stamped ICONS which will be available at the public price of 499.99 € in VIP preview from March 5, 2023 before global availability scheduled for March 8.

Those who were waiting for the return of The Lord of the Rings universe to LEGO hoping this time to get something to stage real epic battles based on dwarves and orcs are at their expense, the manufacturer has chosen something less warlike and probably a little more elegant to make a new escapade in Middle-earth.

Almost everything has already been said about this box and more than the way the subject is treated, it is the price positioning and the size of the construction that will influence the level of motivation of each other to buy this product. luxury derivative. Those who no longer want to settle for the very simplistic set 79006 Council of Elrond marketed in 2014 will in any case find something here to replace the mini-model on their shelves.

Indeed, we cannot say that LEGO misses the point, Rivendell is reproduced here with great care and the level of detail is impressive. If you intend to acquire this box, do not spoil too much the different stages of the assembly of the product, all the pleasure is there.

The model is divided into a few independent sections which will be grouped together at the end of the construction process for the exhibition. I won't give you the details of the different subsets, the photos speak for themselves. The relative modularity of the product will also make it possible to expose only the council room on the corner of an office if there is not enough space to install the construction as a whole.

Three separate instruction booklets are provided and each of them relates to a specific part of the model. It is therefore possible to get together to share the pleasure of assembling the product broken down into about fifty sachets. This set for adults does not reserve really very technical sequences but it will be necessary to remain vigilant throughout the assembly phase so as not to end up with many small parts which seem at first sight unused but which we will have forgotten over time. pages. The 6167 parts are there, but you have probably already understood that there are very few large elements.

The rear of the construction is not sloppy and benefits from a very correct finish with the added bonus of the possibility of accessing some of the interior spaces more easily than by passing through the front of the building. The floors are not always covered with Tiles but the alternation between smooth surfaces and exposed tenons remains acceptable knowing that the roof of the main structure and the tree which overhangs the council room in any case conceal a very large part of the interior of the construction.

The construction process becomes a bit laborious at times, sometimes it feels like LEGO is rushing to destock its Tiles DOTS since the announcement of the definitive discontinuation of the range with nearly 400 units used in particular for the colored texture of roofs. Fans of part diversion will appreciate the presence of a few sausages, buoys and other ice cream or cupcake molds here used to bring a little finesse and elegance to the construction. Those who rarely buy LEGO sets apart from a few products for adults will probably miss these diversions, the use of these parts will simply seem to them suited to the desired aesthetic.

Do not panic if you have the impression that it is almost impossible to correctly align the Tiles on the roof sections, the technique for positioning the hundreds of parts concerned is detailed explicitly in the instruction booklets: all you have to do is place them roughly aligned before perfecting the thing with the help of a Plate which must then be carefully slid between the rows to obtain the desired effect.

Come to think of it, we also spend a lot of time correctly positioning small decorative elements that must be oriented very precisely to obtain the desired visual effect. This need for permanent care during the assembly phase can be a little annoying, it is not uncommon to move an arch or a sausage by manipulating or moving the assembly.

One could reproach a lack of ambition concerning the vegetation present around the construction, the trees are a little emaciated and their number is limited. We will have to deal with it, LEGO is obviously stingy with various and varied sheets, judging by the similar solution already used in the LEGO Ideas set 21338 A-Frame Cabin. Rivendell undoubtedly deserved more foliage and bushes, but we will console ourselves with the 34 new ferns delivered in this box.

Too bad also for the legs of the statues present on the tower, they are a little sad and these figurines deserved in my opinion some graphic elements on their lower part, especially for those wearing the usual "dress".

The set does not escape a handful of stickers which are graphically very successful, even if that does not excuse their presence in a box sold for €500. Everything that is not on the sticker sheets that I scanned for you is therefore pad-printed, in particular the magnificent tiling that covers the floor of the main building and the center of the council chamber.

The references to the Lord of the Rings universe and the films of Peter Jackson are numerous and those who are enough fans to know the films by heart will certainly find their account. The designers worked on their subject and integrated everything that could be added to satisfy the most demanding, eye of Sauron hidden under the council chamber, tunnel hidden by foliage for Sam, mithril chain mail for Frodo in the form of a sticker, broken sword of Elendil and complete set of weapons with the design consistent with those seen on the screen included.

The endowment in minifigs is very correct with fifteen figurines with overall successful pad printing including barefoot hobbits who benefit from injected legs in two colors: Gandalf the Grey, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merriadoc “Merry” brandybuck, Peregrine“Pippin” Tooke, Legolas, Gimli, Gloin, Boromir, Aragorn, Elrond, Peredhel, Bilbo Baggins, Arwen and some generic elves. We also note that LEGO provides additional hair for Gimli and Gandalf, the two characters can therefore be displayed with their respective headgear or without.

Those who already own some of the minifigs from the defunct range marketed by LEGO in 2012 will find welcome variants here, others will have the entire Fellowship of the Ring at their fingertips without having to go through the secondary market and pay some gold-priced figurines. As you pass, you get six additional figurines embodying the statues placed at the foot of the tower and the one holding the broken sword in the main building.

LEGO has also solved the problem of minifigs that cannot sit because they use a part that does not allow it by offering alternative assemblies that allow an acceptable pose. It is well seen, many fans will undoubtedly want to install the characters in "advice" mode and the proposed solution will allow it without having to tinker or replace the legs and fixed parts with mobile versions.

For those wondering, dwarves are taller than hobbits and shorter than humans. The hierarchy of legs in different formats used here is therefore correct. Too bad for the hair with the same mold for all the elves, some subtle variations would have been welcome in my opinion.

On arrival, I must say that I am rather impressed by what LEGO offers us in this box: the construction is magnificent, the assembly is entertaining and the whole exudes a certain grace with many sub-assemblies all in finesse and details that pay a fine tribute to the architecture of Rivendell.

Too bad for the very high public price of the product which will not put it within the reach of all budgets, but I think that this set has at least the merit of giving us value for our money both aesthetically with a concern fairly satisfactory detail and that of the pleasure linked to the assembly phase which will last a good fifteen hours. It's not always the case. It will then remain to find a place of choice for this bulky but very elegant product.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 2, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. 

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.