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Join the Classic Castle set review discussion. Please post your opinions on the set play ability, piece selection, design, etc. Which sets stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!

This week’s set is 79007 - Battle at the Black Gate.



This set includes the Black Gate itself (the Morannon, if you want to sound really smart to Tolkien geeks) and one of the Towers of the Teeth (Carchost and Narchost for further geek cred) (okay, I'll admit it, I had to look up the names of the towers). The tower can be detatched, so you can rearrange the set in various ways. LEGO also give pictures showing how you can put together two of the sets to have both towers and a much larger gate. The set includes The Mouth of Sauron and two orcs on the side of Mordor, and Gandalf the White, Aragorn (with royal Gondor livery), and an eagle (presumably Gwaihir, though I don't know if he's ever specifically named in the set) on the side of the West.

Personal aside, IIRC Tolkien never calls this the "Battle at the Black Gate". It is the "Battle of the Black Gate" or the "Battle of the Morannon". The chapter is called "The Black Gate Opens". IMO any of those would have been a better name. I realize that only changing the preposition would have been barely noticeable, but it would have made me happier. It's kind of like "The Battle of The Five Armies" (Jackson) vs "The Battle of Five Armies" (Tolkien). I know this sounds like a total fanboy rant, but it just is kind of irritating to change minor details for no discernible reason. Okay, my rant is done. I will diminish and go into the West.

Bruce

Too much black. Though what can you expect with a set called the Black Gate?

Steve

Cool... but really could have done with more figs. Maybe a couple Gondor dudes(which we would probably have gotten if there had been wave 3). As for the model I can't say yay or nay, not owning it myself.

This I own also. I got it for the fun of the build..and it is a fun build, the giant eagle and because I found it on sale. But this set has one major drawback for me...the Mouth of Sauron...not exactly sure what word I'd use for that fig? Ugly? Scary? Nightmare inducing? Or just plain frightening? Pure evil looking? That fig had to leave my collection for the complete and utter repulsive feelings it gave me. Maybe it's just the head that is so...wrong for me. But I'm sure that's the purpose of the fig...so I guess it is well done.

Overall it is a good build. Yes it is a lot of black but that gate and fence are black. It wasn't a bad set. But I wouldn't have paid full price for it.

Bluesecrets wrote:this set has one major drawback for me...the Mouth of Sauron...not exactly sure what word I'd use for that fig?

I think he'd be good for one of these guys:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2014 ... er_Men.jpg

Steve

Mmmmm, another set chock full of black parts. I love black. The set itself is quite nice, and it was an enjoyable build. The figs are cool too, especially like the dark red /black cape.

I give it an 8.4

EKnight

Hmmmm, for a set in the rather upper price-region it really could have more minifigs. The set itself looks pretty sound, but not exciting. It just needs some extra(s) to make it really interesting.

I personally think that the Pirate ship and this should of been reversed in size. I look at this and I don't see a very menacing gate. This should of been the $100+ set that way it would of had more figs and would of just been overall a better set.

Putting that to the side it is still really well designed and the figs are really cool. I like that it is modular which seems to be a thing with LOTR/Hobbits sets.

Athos wrote:

Bluesecrets wrote:this set has one major drawback for me...the Mouth of Sauron...not exactly sure what word I'd use for that fig?

I think he'd be good for one of these guys:

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2014 ... er_Men.jpg

Steve

That is actually a really good use for his head. Good eye.

Purple Wolf

The design is pretty good, and definitely recalls the structure from the movie. I like it. Especially the pictures I've seen of two combined. That looks really cool.

Figures are fairly good. Gandalf and Aragorn are perfect variants, and more Orcs is always nice. But I also have to wonder about Mouth Of Sauron. As someone who has never seen the Extended Edition, I barely knew who he was. Why include him? Why not someone else? Not neccesarily a Gondor solider, since that wouldn't have as much appeal to kids, but why not the Witch King or Sauron himself (and don't tell me it makes no sense for them to be there; it doesn't, granted, but it also makes no sense for Beorn to be at Dol Goldur, does it? And weren't Kili and Fili in the Smaug Lair set? LEGO doesn't normally care about that stuff). It's just a weird choice. I cannot help but wonder why they made it. Hm.

Good set overall. 8/10.

Except for the figs, this set never really appealed to me. I was put off by the fact that it was effectively only one side of the gate, and I'd have no need for so much black. I mean, the design is decent, but I just had no need for it. I would have loved to get Aragorn, though.