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I got this set today at a grand opening of a Target near my house. It was also on sale for $44.99 as part of the grand opening. I gotta say this is a fabulous set. The only things I don't like about this set are the troll, orcs, and their weapons. I will more than likely sell them. The build is great with just one slight problem in my opinion, the 3 sections are only connected by one set of Technic pins located at the very bottom. I think they could of used another one at mid-level on each side. This set is definitely worth the $50 U.S.

Okay I opened this set about an hour ago and I'm having too much fun with it to review it thoroughly but I will tell you this...

...This is one of most graciously well crafted Lego sets to ever be released. I will most assuredly be buying multiple copies.

That having been said, I am going to continue to play with it.

MORE TO COME.

Ok, after spending a full day with the set now I'm finally getting a feel for the positives and negatives.

+The Dwarf minifigs are amazing. The only thing that could make them better is if they had unique facial and torso parts.

+ Tons of moving parts in the set: the mine carts, the swinging doors, the bucket pulley and the fixtures even swing about.

+ The Orc minifigs are good, especially the shield!


Now the bad stuff:

- The troll is totally non-playable, his range of motion can't possibly hit anyone and the legs don't even move.

-There is a useless throne room in the set, the dwarves can't even sit down and there is no need for a king anyhow.

-The mine cart and pulley system while awesome makes no sense. The gold doesn't flow cohesively from from one area to the next (ie you mine the gold and use the pulley but then there is no where to put it and when it goes in the cart is has no place to go but back to the start)


All-in-all I still think this set is the best value for the money ($45 for me) and as a grade I'd give it a A-

I was assembling part of this wonderful set with my boys yesterday. The only real frustration I have with it is that I keep on changing the names of the bad guys. One minute I'm calling them "orcs", then the next time they're "goblins". Meanwhile in the back of my head I know that Lego is calling them "trolls". Similarly, the big guy switches between "ogre" and "cave troll" sometimes in mid-sentence.

And trying to explain what a "dwarf" is to your three year old son can be a challenge in of itself:

Crusader: You see they're short guys, well taller than you actually but still short. And they uh are really strong and have beards like Daddy, well actually much longer than Daddy's. And they uh, mine, that is to say they dig with hammers and pickaxes for gold and silver which they make into armor...for the knights.

3 Year Old: Are they good guys?

Crusader: Yes, they're good guys, but they can be a little ah grumpy or grouchy, but they're still nice.

3 Year Old: I'm going to call them knights. Okay?

Crusader: Good plan. Go with that.

Serously though it's simply a great set. My kids love the ogre, I mean cave troll--oh never mind.

There is a really cool War Hammer in this set. It is easily built with parts almost anybody should have too.

This is a great set and is way more "playable" then the picture shows.

It was no clear to me that the carts are constructed. I thought they would be a new piece or something but they were consructed from a bunch of small pieces and they look great.

PS I ended up with 5 Dwarf Helmets for 4 Dwaves. I am happy.

GO BUY THIS SET IT IS AMAZING!!

Speaking of the set, it's out at S@H ! BTW, Great review.

Well I just bought this set yesterday and absolutely love it. The giant troll isn't too bad, and the dwarves are pretty cool. One thing that I real liked about this set was that exceppt for a couple of burps and the giant wheel, it was almost entirely brick built, and has a very good price for what you get. Also, though it is a small thing, I realy loved the warhammer. Lego could have created a new piece which would almost certainly have been goofy and ugly, but instead it is built in pieces and looks very realistic. Thank you lego for scoring big time.

God's speed

Emp.Justinian

Why, oh why can't I find this set? I've been to a half-dozen Targets and no luck at all.

Steve

Heh, I've got the opposite problem as you- my Targets have the set but I don't have the money to buy one. How about you send me $100 and I'll buy one for each of us .
-Devin

Athos wrote:Why, oh why can't I find this set? I've been to a half-dozen Targets and no luck at all.

Steve

I told you where they were Athos

DWARFS ARE MINE!!!

Okay it's been a few days now and I've been brooding on all the Pro's and Con's of this set trying to come up with some important factoids to share that might assist somebody debating weather to buy this set or not.

So this is what I think.

I think this set is one of the greatest Lego© sets of all time. Its absolutely the best set I've bought in years. I highly doubt that anybody could purchase this set and not agree that it's worth the money.

The Minifigs are incredible. Some of the best Lego figs I've ever seen. The dwarf helmets look great with or without the beards. The new metallic bronze and is especially attractive and more versatile than I had anticipated. The beards are made of a softer plastic than they appear to be, but not so soft that it won't maintain it's intricate shape.

The Troll is just so badass I don't even know what to say, aside from his extremely limited range of motion I'd have to say he's my favorite pre-molded Lego© beastie so far. His club IS a little cheesy but it looks fine when it's in his hands and actually looks better in person. I'd prefer him in the sand green and speckle black, but the new colors look great too. Also the oversized goblin sword everybody seems to hate look GREAT in the troll's hands.

The Goblins are pretty cool too, although I would've liked to see them with either darker accessories or a bronze dwarf helmet instead of a shadow-knight's helm. I also would've liked to have seen the Gobbies with short-legs too as I believe goblin's would be smaller creatures. Their faces and torsos are great and original.

The set's construction IS fairly simple and could've been better, but not for the same reasonable price-tag.The mine-carts are awesome and there's quite a few dark green bricks for those interested in increasing their dark shade supply. The catapult is kinda silly too but at least it looks really cool. The set contains a great assortment of castle building bricks and slopes for people who want more structure building material. Also there's enough plates tiles and panels to be use-full in MOCing.

I give this set a FAT 9 out of 10. Because it's just too much fun to play with and it's reasonably priced. I want to build using my new parts but alas I love this set too much to dismantle it.

LORD DOOM wrote: The catapult is kinda silly too but at least it looks really cool.

From the pictures, I think I'd agree, but at least it is made of useful bits (tiles, bricks and hinge bricks) - so I don't think people can complain that much! Also, those two-tone rocks are pretty awesome.

I can't wait to get this set! Here's hoping it's available in Ireland soon (probably S@H only mind you - sigh - €12/$17 shipping and probably €50/$70 price here).

Crusader wrote:And trying to explain what a "dwarf" is to your three year old son can be a challenge in of itself:

Me'thinks you should just pop in Snow White and say "There, those guys"!

Actually Plucky I chose some edited scenes from the Lord of the Rings, but I'll see if I can add Snow White to my Netflix list.

Chances are however, the Disney movie will scare my boys more than the cave troll scene. Seeing as they calmy watch the Wampa in the Empire Strikes Back slaughter a tauntaun, but literally run from the room when the abominable snowman shows up in "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". It's all about the music score in the background with my boys.

*Sigh*

I haven't even been able to afford to buy but one of the cheapest sets from the 2007 Castle line, and I got the catapult as a gift...



I need to charge you people a tax or something.

--Tony