9474 The Battle Of Helm's Deep
Posted by Huw,
This is the biggest of the LotR sets, weighing in at 1368 pieces and $130. In fact it's so big, I had trouble photographing it satisfactorily...
Its size is actually most impressive, it certainly looks as if you get your money's worth. It's around 50cm long, and the tower is about 25cm high.
It comes with eight minifigs: King Theoden, Haldir (both unique to this set), Aragorn, Gimli and four assorted Uruk-hai, including a berserker, which only appears in this set.
The King has a articulated-back-leg horse to ride and has been suggested in comments to previous reviews, if you put two plates on his feet, you can achieve a more realistic pose as you can see from the picture.
The castle itself is modular, constructed from six sections that are held together with Technic pins. Like the other LotR sets, they are constructed from a lot of bricks, plates and slopes and while there are some large castle-wall pieces, you don't get the impression that the castle has been designed around them, I guess partly because it's based on a 'real' castle rather than one that LEGO has designed. The use of the new 1x2 brick piece, 1x1 slopes and sand green parts give the exterior walls a nice-uniform appearance.
The aerial view below clearly shows the size of the set, which is most impressive. If you want it even bigger, you can extend the walls using the 9471 Uruk-hai Army set.
It's an expensive set but I'd say it's worth every penny: excellent figs, well designed castle and, once you've done with it, a thousand useful parts for your own castle constructions.
Thanks again to Darren and Tim for loaning me these. Tim is offering Brickset users a 5% discount in his BrickLink store Brick Buy Brick, and will also do so in his new web toy shop, ToyAddict, when it launches in June. Darren is also offering 5% discount on orders under £50 and 10% on orders over £50 from his BrickLink store Gizmocom, until the official release day of the LotR sets. Just mention Brickset in the notes when you check out!
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39 comments on this article
A nice set, the figures look great (I won't point out the gap in Gimli's torso :P) and a whole load of great pieces. But at that price and lacking the hobbits I reckon parents might steer clear of this one! Could you include GBP (and Euro I guess) pricing in your reviews as well? Really enjoying these reviews though. Thanks for all your efforts!
Apparently,
9470 Shelob Attacks will be =£19.99
9473 The Mines of Moria will be =£69.99
9474 The Battle of Helm's Deep will be =£99.99
9476 The Orc Forge will be =£39.99
9469 Gandalf Arrives will be =£11.99
9472 Attack on Weathertop =£49.99
Thanks for the review! The siege of Helm's Deep is by far my favorite scene from all three movies, and by the looks of it LEGO recreated the fortress magnificently! Theoden's armor and helmet look so well detailed. One question, Huw: when Helm's Deep is combined with the wall from the Uruk-Hai army set, is there anything holding the two sets together, or are they free-standing?
I'll definitely be picking this set- and all the other Uruk-Hai sets- up next week if trading goes well tomorrow.
^^They sure don't do the pricing fairly. They're not even consistent in their pricing!
Shelob Attacks:
UK = £19.99?
US = $19.99?
And yet, with The Battle of Helm's Deep:
UK = £99.99?
US = $129.99?
I wonder why it's so inconsistent.
^It connects with Technic pins, I believe.
This set looks fantastic. Thanks for the excellent review Huw!
Gandalf1 - You're lucky, we are paying about a third more in the UK than in the US usually. I am surprised that Helm's Deep is only £99.99 though, I thought it would be at least £119.99.
Thanks Huw,
£100 is actually a great price, no way parents would have stumped up £130. Looks a whole lot more substantial than the Kingdom's joust. Interesting to read a LOTR set review on another site where parents and kids seemed to have no interest in the LOTR theme or the sets.
The wall section in the army set connects with 2 Technic pins and and be used on the left to extend the wall along, or on the right to extend it backwards.
SWEET!!!!!!!!!! I want this SOoooooooooo bad I just wish it was cheaper :(
Although I guess $130 isn't THAT bad as it is a HUGE set
@aquafreak125, the latest I heard was that the LoTR sets have all been pushed back until August. It could change obviously though.
Huw, if they're available, could you please post the prices in euro for these sets?
For all the price talk, at least none of you guys are Australian, hehe. I do adore the look of this set, though. And how awesome is the little King Theodon?
Looks like a great set. Could you add some pics with the wall extended using the Uruk-hai Army set(s).
This set is awesome, too bad it is so expensive :(
@CapnRex: I know, I was saying they are more expensive in the UK, but some are the same number of USD as they are GBP, which is definitely overpriced for those in the UK.
I am not sure what TLG have been trying to accomplish by adding expression marks to minifigs. If aything, they should pick a color that contrasts less with peach. Specially for Legolas, he looks just ugly and non-legolas like.
I don't remember the guy with the sword, and minifig does not help me remind him. Indiana Jones with sword?
^Lol. That would be Aragorn. And that's because it's no Legolas it's Haldir!
Lets not get carried away - £100 is hardly good for this set. It's just a few sections of wall built with lots of small pieces making it seem better value. Then again, it's nothing other than I expected. I don't even think the figures are all that good. legolas doesn't even look like legolas - the face is not right.
^ that's because it's not legolas... it's Haldir, the elf that guides the reinforcements to Helm's Deep (totally cool in the movie yet absolutely ridiculous if you read the books)
The set looks amazing and I can't wait to extend the wall with the Uruk-Hai army set, as well as bringing a bunch of rohirrim riding behind Gandalf the white to destroy the Uruk-hai force. One of the best scene's in the movie for sure.
I am excited by the lack of BURP pieces too, though it does bump up the piece count, it's more fun to build and adds realism. I can't wait till I head to the Lego store next week to pick up this behemoth. I love it!
^ oops, sorry, not a major lotr fan so got that wrong. Having seen the actor though, it still looks nothing like him
I like the Haldir figure at least more than Aragorn... who looks rather plain, and has weird light tan legs for some reason, but hey, we can take a step back and say, okay it's lego:)
@Huw's first comment You missed out the Urk-Hai army, any idea on the pricing of that.
What's the tall tower look like from behind?? Non the reviews that have shown up from Toy Fairs have shown what it looks like either............unless it's dull and boring??? ;o)
obiron17 - The lego site has a 360 of the set online now.
Yep, this set looks amazing. The fact that you can extend the wall to the left and on the right to make it deeper means I'll going to have to pick up even more 9471 sets. I just wish the wall with the drain in it could be moved farther to the left.
If you have several of the Army sets you can move the drain as far left as you like.
There is a ladder running up the back of the tower, but it's otherwise unremarkable.
I don't get the appeal. $130 for what is essentially a lot of walls.
Can u review 'shelob attacks' next????
^^^
Is the drain-wall piece attached by technic pins or would it have to be modded to be moved left?
It's identical in size and fixings as the one in the army set, I believe, so they are interchangeable.
Definitely the best set out of the LotR line thus far. Shame it's so expensive, but I can't really complain because the price-to-piece ratio is actually amazingly fair for a licensed theme. Thanks for reviewing this!
Great review. I'd like to second the request for pictures of what this set looks like connected with 9471. Has anyone found a pic of that anywhere online?
Does anyone know if these will be the only LotR sets or will there be another wave besides the Hobbit?
^ There are supposed to be at least two more waves after this (another each for LOTR and The Hobbit) because there is going to be the final part of the Hobbit movie in 2013. I think the theme will be quite popular and may even continue after that (I hope).
Glad to see this posting. I wasn't originally impressed with this set, but seeing it in its more complete presentation here is making me a believer.
^Contrarily, I was excited about the set, but after seeing it officially, my enthusiasm somehow dropped. Plus I have too much bley bricks already, I could probably just build it with my own bricks. And the minifigs aren't really much to shout about...and knowing how LEGO prices are almost twice in the asian region, all the more I don't see the appeal
^^^I hadn't heard about another LOTR wave. Where'd you hear about that?
Well, I just kind of assumed there would be another wave next year...
When do we get Minas Tirith? Will it be less than $99? Lego needs to invest in "mountainside" and "hillside" base plates for building the crazy huge structures on.
http://technabob.com/blog/2011/07/07/lego-middle-earth/
^ If Helm's Deep is $130 then I doubt Minas Tirith will be any less, It would probably be similar in price to the 10188 Death Star if they made it. As for the set, I'm quite impressed and look forward to getting it.