Mini review: 79001 Escape from Mirkwood Spiders
Posted by Huw,
As you've probably noticed from the section above, the Hobbit sets are now listed at shop.LEGO.com, and they'll be back in the UK shops -- officially this time -- on December 1st, so I had better get my mini-reviews finished...
79001 Escape from Mirkwood Spiders is the second smallest set but it carries a hefty price tag in the UK (£25) and a not-quite-so-hefty one in the USA ($30).
It features 4 minifigs, two giant spiders and two tree-like structures. As you can see from this picture, at last LEGO has started making autumn-colour foliage, but there are only two pieces in the set so to make a decent sized tree you'll need a lot of sets! Other interesting pieces include tan 2x2 dishes printed with a mushroom pattern. There are two in the set, and for some reason a third, spare one, was in mine, presumably it's in them all.
The spiders are identical and look suitably menacing.
The eyes are glow-in-the-dark 1x1 round plates and I believe they are new in that colour.
The set also comes with three mini-spiders, two black and one glow-in-the-dark.
The minifigs are absolutely superb. The two elves are Legolas Greenleaf and Tauriel, a female elf who looks very cute :-)
Having just Googled her, Wikipedia says "The character does not appear in the original book, but was created by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh for the film series, the first part of which is planned for release in 2012. She is a Woodland Elf whose name means "Daughter of Mirkwood", and is the head of the Mirkwood Elven guard. She is played by actress Evangeline Lilly."
So in that case she will be very cute, just as she was when she played Kate in Lost :-) Anyway, I digress...
Fili and Kili the dwarves are also excellent. Their hair is new and it looks great.
As with all Hobbit minifigs they are printed on their backs and have double sides heads.
The hair has been designed so that it doesn't interfere with the quivers on their backs.
The set has quite a lot of playability. Besides chasing the dwarves round with the giant spiders they can be caught in these new fabric mesh spider's web pouches and hung from the branches.
The tree is hinged and can be dropped to the ground. I'm not sure why.
This is another great set that is interesting to build and great to play with. I imagine that Mirkwood is a dark and evil place: the use of dark colours and the design of the creepy-looking trees set certainly conveys that well.
So, that'll be another one to add to your Christmas list, then...
5 likes
34 comments on this article
Opinion seems to be split on this set. The Brothers-brick review was pretty scathing, and that's even at the US price.
The figs look great, and makes you wonder why they didn't do a similar quiver solution with the elf hair? Especially when it's such an important part of Legolas' character.
"The tree is hinged and can be dropped to the ground. I'm not sure why." Isn't that to release the dwarves from the webbing?
I'm sure people will lap up the dark red leaves. Funny how they re-used the PoP dagger, I wonder if they had a load leftover, or if they deliberately produced more...
I want multiples of this set and the Warg set so I can have enough spiders and wargs, you can never have enough. The mesh sacs to simulate the dwarves be cocooned is just awesome; its too bad the Shelob set from earlier this year wasn't larger and included a cave
I'd say this is my second favourite Hobbit set after An Unexpected Gathering. The black/brown/dark red colour scheme looks really fantastic and suitably menacing, and all four minifigures are exclusive. I do think the spiders could've been a tad better though, especially when coming on the heels of the amazing Shelob set. The round 1x1 eyes don't really look like eyes to me, I kinda wish they'd done something different with that or used a printed piece with eyes like Shelob instead. A nice little set still though.
As for the price, I don't think it's that bad. It's got 298 pieces (more than the £30 Uruk-hai Army set does, actually), and you could argue that you're getting more figures in this one since it comes with two spiders. It's only £5 more than 9490 Droid Escape (another licensed set with four minifigures) and this feels like it's got a whole lot more going on than that set did.
Oh, and those new tan mushrooms are so adorable.
I also got a third printed mushroom dish in my set. It must be in all of them then. I agree with Andhe, the hinge on the tree is to let the dwarves escape from the webbing since that part of the tree will lay on the ground once you pull the pin out.
There can't be much more than 150 bricks in that set and that makes it so expensive, even with 4 minifigs. It's one reason I usually avoid the licensed themes.
Good review and nice figs though one to avoid IMO.
That Tauriel figure is divine. And as you said Huw she is absolutely gorgeous in Lost so she's guaranteed to look amazing in this film.
Can you actually fall in love with a minifigure????? Got this set on order and can't wait.
Thanks for the great review Huw.
30 euros in my part of europe, so to my suprise we are on par with UK prices this time.
Still, a box with the focus on its 4 minifigures, and complemented with some rather basic builds..?
They used to call that a battlepack a couple of years ago, and sold it for a bit more then a third of this price.. (or half nowadays..)
I admit, the set contains more bricks compared to a traditional battle pack, but what is build with it? A couple of trees and spiders.
I am having more and more problems with accepting the "..because its licensed" argument as a justification for high price tags of a set like this one.
I still can understand that the license holder likes to cash when the MAIN build is an iconic vehicle, vessel or even building based on his movie, novel or whatever... But I didnt know that plants and animals were licensed (not talking about patented breeds or enigneered seeds here).
Because, lets be honest.. those "builds" do serve mainly as a backdrop for the figures, so do they realy justify the double price compared to a 4 figs battlepack?
(had the same feeling about last years Endor/Ewok boosted battlepack btw)
That was great! Please do Bagend soon and show bumbor's stomach please!!!
^ Bag end is next...
YES!
You're awesome Huw :-)
beegeedee,
It's got 298 pieces. That's more than the £30 Uruk-hai Army set's 257, and more than twice as many as the £20, 4-minifigure 9490 Droid Escape which had a pathetic 137 pieces. It's really not all that expensive compared to other licensed sets.
Thanks for the review!
Still undecided about this set. The Elves are really tempting., plus the dwarves have some useful prints. However, other than the Dark Red leaves and the mushrooms, the set itself doesn't interest me at all. If this set were £5 cheaper it would be a much easier decision, but I always hate buying anything over £20 mainly for the figures...
Would it be possible to see the Dwarves' hairpieces from the side/back without a quiver? It looks good with the quiver, but I don't know if it looks strange just sticking out at the back with nothing under it.
I would like to claim being the inspiration for using the PoP daggers with elves as demonstrated below. :-)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6footfour/4871417838/in/photostream
Seriously though, the LOTR lego range has been a dream come true for me which may be evident in some of minifig creations. I wonder if TLG people search flickr for ideas?
Looks a great little set with the elves and spiders. Just a shad it seems £5 over priced.
@Gregorovich
My feelings exactly.
298 pieces = $30 but this just doesn't seem like a $30 set, Uruk-Hai was 257 pieces for $30 and I would have bought it for $35 if that had been the price.
If I find this set for $20-$25 dollars I'll defiantly be buying it, unless I give in for all the great pieces and buy it at $30 :P...
what is with the ears on orange elf? They seem... off
Hope it just a bad picture, and not the paint job on the whole piece
I have the two elves from the barrels set, and both sets of ears are badly painted compared to the legolas version.
The Kili minifig is awesome! The face has got me thinking about a Being Human MOC...
@Baron von Brick
I haven't received my barrels set yet but I thought exactly same about the Elrond polybag fig. The flesh ear colour is overlapping onto the brown hair and it looks rubbish!
Definitely a very fun set which has taken up a prominent residence on my desk at work so I can play with it during long phone meetings.
My obligatory outdoors impression of this set can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/8180536068/
I really don't see what everyone's problem with this set is. Here in the US it's perdy dern near that 'magical $0.10/piece rule, plus 4 nice figures, dark red leaves and some other parts that I could sure use! The whole mood of the set is suitably dark and menacing; good design in my thinking. Although perhaps all the dank feelings are what are turning people off...
I did receive the extra mushroom dish and my elven hairpieces were printed quite well.
Nice review.
I tend to not like "animal" figures as their pieces are usually unique and not very multifunctional for my tastes. That, and they tend to take up a lot of the piece count. Some Shelob-esque printing on the spiders could have helped.
Really like this set. Loving the dwarve figures and the elves. Should go well with the new Elven polybag out in the us!
I like this set. I imagine combining a few, and having a tree filled with silk covered minifigs.
Is it just me that think there are too many trees in the Hobbit theme? MiddleEarth got so much potential for great builds, and we get trees?
Man you guys whine so much, and what makes it really pathetic is a few of you were guessing, yes GUESSING! at the parts count, when a simple database check would give you the answer. That's just lazy!
I'm with Chris Wunz. This set seems like a real bargain with four licensed minifigs and some cool rare parts. There are genuine criticisms to level at every set, but I find it impossible to take any criticism seriously when it's based on nothing but imaginary features.
I'll throw in my two-cents on in this set. I absolutely love it. I actually wish it contained one more slightly larger tree - I love the black trees with the red leaves. But, as much as I love it, I think $30 seems high - even with the high quality of the minis.
I'm getting that for Christmas :D :-) =D
Wow, legolas and a completely new elf come to rescue the dwarves?? Makes me wonder what else has been randomly thrown into the movie that wasn't in the book. And it worries me that they would change that because Bilbo rescuing the dwarves was important. It was one of his key acts of bravery that I think was important for character development. So hopefully any other plot changes will be limited.
Well, we know they still get captured by the elves... It seems to me that they are attempting to avoid having Bilbo in every set like what happened in the Indiana Jones theme. I use the Indy Harrison Ford head as a generic now. I got this set a week ago and really like it. The details are quite nice and it is a gold mine for parts. I do want a lot more of that red foliage though.. I So want to make a Lego Weirwood tree in the style of A Song of Ice and Fire. I bet that part will be pricey on Bricklink...
I also noticed that the Legolas head in this set is different than the one in Moria. Interesting...
In my opinion, this set is easily the worst of the Hobbit line concerning the overall look. The spiders really don't do it for me. However, the designers managed to depict the remains of those burnt-down trees quite well. Parts-wise it also seems to be a treasure trove.
Like the parts, like the figs, wish it was a bit cheaper but that could be said of every new set! I'll likely pick this up if I can find a bit of discount off the full price. Thanks for the review Huw.
I'm heading to Target today.....
Should I get it or not?