Review: LEGO The Lord of the Rings 40630 Frodo & Gollum

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO The Lord of the Rings set 40630 Frodo & Gollum, a box of 184 pieces comprising two figurines in BrickHeadz format which will be available at the retail price of €14.99 from January 1, 2023.

The idea of ​​bringing the two characters together in one and the same box is interesting, we can't blame LEGO for diluting the main cast of the license in countless sets filled with secondary characters. But interpreting Gollum in BrickHeadz format and bringing him to the scale of a hobbit was a complicated challenge that the designer tried to meet as best he could.

The result isn't wildly exciting with a Gollum looking more like a smooth-skinned baby than the creature seen on screen. LEGO does try to add some sparse hair to him via three plates pad-printed, the effect still falls a little flat and if the character hadn't been delivered in a box stamped with the logo of The Lord of the Rings saga, he could have embodied just about anyone or anyone. whatever. At a minimum, LEGO could have split a blue version of the eyes, this detail would have given a little personality to the thing.

Fortunately, Frodo is also present in this box and by deduction we can logically identify the two characters. The hobbit enjoys a pretty Plate pad-printed on the torso, an element whose flesh-colored area is as often a little pale and is not perfectly matched with the color of the parts forming the face. We will also note the difference in color between the different Dark Red colored parts, it's a shame especially on a miniature that only uses a few of them.

For the rest, I won't repeat the usual verse on the technique used for the guts and the internal structure of these miniatures, these two new characters are based on the same principle as the rest of the range. We will remember a nice cape effect on Frodo and the presence of three golden rings in this box. It would perhaps have been interesting to try something on the feet of the young hobbit, just to give them a little volume without going too far from the imposed format.

I remind you for all intents and purposes that these figurines sold in a pack of two can be assembled as a duo: the bags and instruction booklets are independent.

To sum up, this is not necessarily what fans of this universe were expecting when the return of the range to the LEGO catalog was announced, but the simple presence of the franchise logo on the box will be enough to boost sales of these figurines and the manufacturer knows it well. Frodo is acceptable, Gollum is much too simplified to be credible, but the box is pretty and that's the main thing for many collectors. It will always be without me, I will not find my 15 € in these two small cubic constructions and I prefer to keep my money for the minifigs to come.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 10th January 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.