Here we get another great Hobbit polybag. It's interesting that we get this particular scene though. We won't see Gandalf in Dol Guldur until film two. Oh well, I guess that's another complication with the big change last summer. (Making two Hobbit movies into three).

Box/Instructions

It wouldn't be called a polybag if it wasn't in a polybag! On the top shows some nice mountains like on the top of all Hobbit sets. The picture on the front shows Gandalf by the rock pillar. The instructions are printed on a folded piece of paper and are very small. (At least they looked small to me. Maybe it's just because I don't get polybags that often.)

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Parts

In this small set we get some nice dark grey slopes which are very useful. We also get parts for Gandalf which are fantastic. We also get a spider which is very fitting. My only question is what is an Indiana Jones map doing there? I know it's sort of a standard map now but it doesn't look quite right. We also get a spear and a torch that go on the rock (ruin?).

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Minifigures

Gandalf the Grey: He's exactly like the one we get in Gandalf Arrives and in An Unexpected Gathering. His legs and torso are grey. On his torso we get some wrinkles in his clothes, even on the back. His head has one expression which is "neutral" but you can't really tell because of his fantastic new beard piece. He comes with his famous grey hat, brown staff, and a sword (Glamdring). (In the picture here on Brickset it looks like he's holding Sting though.)

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The build

The build is quite short (what would you expect from a polybag?) yet enjoyable as you build the small rock pillar. The slopes and irregularity keep it interesting.

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The completed model

When finished it looks a lot like Dol Guldor from the movie (and trailers). The rock can be turned any direction and still look good and Gandalf is as fantastic as ever. For a small polybag it has quite a bit of playabilty, mainly because of Gandalf.

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Summary

If you have a chance to get this set I would, but unless you're crazy about getting polybags or you're a LotR/Hobbit completest I wouldn't go out of your way for it.

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I picked this set up at ToysRUs the other day after dropping my sister off at the airport, and I must say I'm not disappointed.

Pros

• Gandalf. One of the most iconic characters ever made the transition into plastic rather well, in my opinion. Probably my second favorite 'fig after only Voldemort.
  
• Grey cape. A cape at all in such a small set is a bit of a surprise, and I believe Gandalf is the only minifig to ever have worn a solid dark bluish-grey one (at least the first). It's nice to have another color with which to make more 'average' 'figs aside from black or brown.
  
• Rock. It's a nice rock. Simple, yet effective, and it includes three 1 x 2 x 3 slopes, which are some of the most useful in my experience. And cheese slopes.
• Flame piece. The whole fire-stacking thing was cool, but really those notches just tended to get in the way. This is the first trans-orange of the new mold that I have, so it's nice to see that the change was made across the board and not just in the blue pieces from this set.
  
• 'Highlander' sword. My first of these, and I'm in love! It's a beautifully designed piece, and I can't wait to finally pick up some of the bigger Lord of the Rings sets to get some more!
  
• New spear? This is the first time I've seen this slightly different spear mold, anyways. The only noticeable difference is that the bottom of the shaft is flat rather than round, which I find to be an improvement.
  

Cons

• Map discrepancy. I'm pretty sure Gandalf is from Middle Earth, not the Middle East... Though if you look at the map right, I suppose it could be the former, with the big red 'X' in Mordor. Still, I'm pretty sure Lego didn't intend for that back in 2009 when they made it for Indy.
  
• Sword discrepancy. Nothing wrong with the set, but I couldn't help but notice that the picture here on Brickset shows the 'Sting' mold, rather than the sword which Gandalf actually comes with. Plus a review looks much less biased with a more reasonable Pro/Con rate of five-to-two rather than -one.

In conclusion...

Build: 9/10 -It's not much, but considering the price I think LEGO did a great job.

Playability: 8/10 -Again, not much... but really minifigs in and of themselves have so much playability, and a wizard with an awesome sword is among the best kind for that.

Price: 10/10 -With the collectable minifigs going for $3, $4 for a minifig with a beard, cape, hat, staff, and sword is easily worth it, especially when you realize they've thrown in a spear, torch, spider, skull, and brick-build rock.

If this was the only LOTR/Hobbit set that existed, it would be a fantastic set. The build is quick, the resulting set is fun and playable, you get a cool map and some great medieval weapons, and to top it off, the Gandalf minifigure is exquisitely done; however, there are other LOTR/Hobbit sets, and the result is that this poor little polybag suffers from what I like to call "Gandalf Overload". What is Gandalf Overload? you ask. Just this: there are WAY to many Gandalfs floating around now. I mean, is he a main character? Yes. Is he important to the story? Yes. But if you're any kind of an LOTR collector, you've probably already got four or five Gandalf's on display, and that means you'll probably look at this little set and think: "Why on earth would I need another one?"

So, that's the bad part about this set. On to the good:

The parts are for the most part nothing special, aside from the printed map (what can I say, I'm a sucker for medieval accessories), and the weapons, which you really can't have too much of. Other than that, you get a few slopes, but not much to get excited about.

As with all of the other sets, Gandalf is a great little minifigure. His beard his unique to the character, as is his torso, which IMO is perfectly done in Lego.

The finished build is (I think) supposed to be Gandalf in Dol Guldor, but you can't really tell because the model is so small it's not much to go on.

In short, if you're a completionist, get the set to have it. If not . . . save your pennies cause there's at least five other sets you can get Gandalf in.

I found this polybag for $3.99 at Toys R Us. It contains a minifigure of Gandalf the Grey, a few accessories and some dark and light grey bricks and sloped bricks to make a little rock formation.

Pros

• The rock formation is nice. It's a fun, if quick, build, and if you picked up a couple sets you could make some decent variations simply by rearranging the included bricks.
  
• Gandalf has an impressive array of accessories: a map, a walking stick, a nice looking sword, a spear and a torch with flame.
• There's a grey cape in the set, which I believe is a rarity in a set this inexpensive.
  

Cons

• There's only so much playability in one guy and a rock.
  
• This particular Gandalf minifig is available in a number of sets, including one of the cheapest in the Lord of the Rings line, so he's not necessarily an excellent draw to this polybag.
• The price per piece ratio is a little above the 10 cent level I like to see.

Although the price per piece ratio is above 10 cents, it's still not bad for a licensed set, and I'm definitely satisfied that I got $4 worth of enjoyment from this polybag. While Gandalf isn't exactly army-building material, I've not ruled out picking up a few extra sets for the sake of some "old man" faces and rock formations.

Set #30213 Gandalf at Dol Guldur: An unfortunate fact of Polybag Enthusiasts is the need to own them all, or near enough when we have the itch. Gandalf at Dol Guldur unfortunately is a polybag that fails to offer up much new.

The Model that represents Dol Guldur (Which Gandalf hasn't ventured to yet in The Hobbit films) is a small little piece of dilapidated wall from the fortress, with a simple if inelegant build, mostly medium stone gray pieces and a few clips to hold the spear, torch and piece of vine growing off the side. There's also a LEGO Skull head and black Spider. Simple little build really that does little to capture the impressive look of the actual set piece from the films.

Gandalf is the Mini-Figure, he's pretty much the same Mini-Figure you'll find in numerous sets from both The Hobbit and LotR. I do find the print quite detailed and impressive, the face is single-sided with age lines and big eyebrows. His accessories are the new sword piece, a regular LEGO rod piece for the wizard's staff and a map marked with an X which I'm fairly certain originated with the new Pirates Theme from a few years back.

Overall, this is what it is, a small Polybag with a familiar Mini-Figure and very few useful pieces for MOCing. Polybag collectors will eat it up, others may prefer to hunt down the Mirkwood Elf Guard, which is a much better Hobbit polybag for casual collectors and kids to enjoy.