cried Gandalf; and they ran to the trees...hunting for those that had branches fairly low, or were slender enough to swarm up. They found them as quick as ever they could, you can guess; and up they went as high as ever they could trust the branches." - The Hobbit chapter VI, "Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire"

Now you can recreate this famous scene from the book (and film) with this fantastic LEGO set! If only the price was a bit lower...

Box/Instructions

The box and instructions are exactly the same size as the Barrel Escape set. The front artwork displays the scene at the height of the action. The back, like most sets, shows the play functions in action as well as some cool shots of the minifigs.

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Parts

The parts selection is one of my favorite parts of this set. The large amount of foliage, the immense number of brown parts, the mushroom tops, all fantastic. But probably the most loved single part are the wargs. These guys look very scary as far as LEGO bricks go. The red printing around the eyes of the white one really add to the effect. Their heads move up and down and their tails are a bit rubbery (probably so they don't break as easily). You can't tell from the box, but two saddles are included in case you wanted orcs on both of them.

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Minifigures

Thorin Oakenshield: Thorin is exclusive to this st which makes Attack of the Wargs a must for any Hobbit completest. His printing accurately represents his dwarvish chain-mail. While he has some pretty neat back printing it's not super impressive. His hair is exactly like his nephew Kili's so you could add a quiver to his weapons assortment. Speaking of his weapons, that's the only disappointing thing about him. LEGO made tons of new molds for this theme, why skip over Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver?

Bifur: Bifur was cousin to Bofur and Bombur. He was a toy maker in the Blue Mountains before joining the company of Thorin Oakenshield. Because he hardly ever speaks a word in the book Peter Jackson decided to modify his charachter a bit in the film. He has the remains for an orc axe embedded in his head which impair his ability to speak. We get to see this slightly humorous part of him if LEGO form as part of his wig. Printed scars on his head piece add to the effect. His head is double-sided but with his wig on the only difference (that I can see) is in one of his eye-brows (his right one). His printing isn't all too grand and he carries one of the new spears (the ones with slightly rubbery tips).

Yazneg: Yazneg wasn't really supposed to be in this set. Late in filming Peter Jackson greatly expanded the role of Azog and he replaced much of Yazneg's parts. LEGO must have been too far along to do anything about it because we are left with Yazneg (who in the film was dead by now). He isn't all bad though. His printing is pretty good. His head only has one face but he does have printing on the back of it which consists mostly of scars. He has this piece around his neck that I suppose is meant to make him more accurate. Still, I wish we got Azog. We will probably get the pale orc in later sets though since he will be in the later films.

Hunter Orcs: These guys are nearly identical to their Mordor companions in the Orc Forge. The only difference is that these ones have leg printing which is a huge improvement over the older ones. One of them in this set carries a crude sword while the other uses a bow and arrow (this one also comes with a quiver).

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The build

The build went fairly quickly and was quite enjoyable. LEGO sets rarely center around natural objects. Occasionally it was hard to distinguish between the different shades of brown. But the lighting wasn't the best where I built it so it probably had nothing to do with the set itself.

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The completed model

The finished tree just doesn't look quite right to me for some reason. It doesn't look like a real tree, not really natural if you know what I mean. Certainly not like great pine trees as it's supposed to be. But it does look better in person. It also helps when you can rotate different segments of it to adjust where the leaves are.

The flaming pine cones fly a lot farther than I thought they would. The top one was airborne for about 2 1/2 feet. On a flat table it'll slide another foot or so. You can take out the orcs from quite a distance! The catapult isn't as successful though, barely launching a minifig a few inches. I just have one question, why is their a golden colored crystal in the back of the tree? That makes no sense to me at all.

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Summary

Overall I really like this set, even with the quirky tree. It has great parts, fantastic minfigures, and tons of playability. The only problem with it is the price, $50 for 400 pieces is way too much. $40 would've been ideal. Or they could had two slightly smaller trees instead of one. They also could've included an eagle since they play a very important part (I won't say much else concerning them though, spoilers ;-) ).

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This was the first Hobbit set I built from the new series.

The set took me around 45 minutes to build and offered a straight forward but entertaining building process with a few tricky moments too.

The figures

There are 5 figures in this set which are all exclusive as well as two wargs. The protagonists in this set are Bifur the dwarve and Thorin Oakenshield. Bifur comes with the short legs making him look smaller than other figures and also has a nicely double printed torso piece with belt and pattern printing which the back is covered by a dark red cloak. The figure's head piece is also double sided showing a serious and slightly jolly expression on both sides. He also comes with a large hair piece which goes down as a beard which is nicely arranged colour wise with the grey and black hair. The figure also includes a spear as a weapon.

The protagonist Thorin also comes with the short leg pieces and also has chest printing on both sides with lots of decorations and colour. his face also includes double emotions with one side being serious and the other showing a sort of angry face. The figure also comes with a small sword and axe as weapons.

The antagonists of this set are Yazneg and the hunter orcs. Yazneg comes with the normal lego legs and on his torso has fairly simple double printing with stripes on the back of the piece and what appears to be a chest piece which is concealed by an armour plate below the head. The figure also includes a bone axe as a weapon with a bronze colouring of the axe itself.

The hunter orcs leg pieces are slightly printed with brown for the top of them while the rest are olive green. Their torso pieces are double printed with mainly brown and silver printings which are not easily noticed but makes the figure much more decorated. The figure heads have yellow eyes staring and clenched teeth making the orcs look rather aggressive. Both figures are almost identical apart from one carries an arrow bow piece behind and an arrow while the other carries a large sword.

The other figures [if called figures] are the wargs themselves. One of them is white and the other one is grey. Both wargs have printed faces and also with movable jaw pieces which can either snap shut and open wide making them look ferocious. Neither warg can lean back like the new horse designs but they are made up for by the high detail included on them. There are brick and sadle pieces included to determine whether the wargs are heading in alone or with a figure riding them.

The playset

The main structures of the set consist of a giant tree structure as well a mini catapult, mounted lift area too for the wargs to attack from and two burning fire areas too.

The fire burning areas despite what they look like are not designed to be used for the catapult but are actually supposed to be stray wildfires that must spark out during the battle. Though they are a little strange they add to the fire and action scene of the set and look like fires.

The second main element to the set is the mounted hill and catapult area. The catapult area comes with two mini round pieces which can be fired from the catapult. Despite the fact the catapult doesn't go down all the way when resting, it can fire surprisingly well when the lever is flicked. The other section of this element is the mounted hill object which the wargs can go on top of and can also slightly move up and down. Beneath the mount is minor detail including a skull headpiece and a bone making the area look more dangerous. Both of these pieces have been made rather well and can both be detached to spread the scene out if you wish.

The main part of the set is however the giant tree which is three levels high and has two different lots of coloured branches with the traditional woodland green pieces and smaller olive green pieces too. The tree also has mushrooms growing at the bottom and can fit the figures on various places too. The tree features two main functions, the first one is the push fire function where the fire and water bombs [presumably] can be fired from the tree in the battle the scene is depicting in defense from the wargs and the orcs. The other feature is that the tree can rotate around and spin. Though it's a neat feature, it's very random so maybe the film will reveal the purpose of it's feature. The tree also includes a hidden crystal gem behind the tree. Though it's a nice touch it's a shame they no longer use the actual shiny gold printing instead of the gold'ish colour they've been using recently.

Summary

Overall the set is very good playability with it's different features and contains a lot of cool parts and unique figures and is a very good set. However, what marks this set down is it's very expensive retail price of £50. Comparing it to other LOTR sets and the also pricey Weathertop set and this model is very overpriced for 400 pieces which a lot of them aren't actually that big in size. I think the set shouldn't be more than £35, £40 if you're pushing it.

I would recommend this set but unless you're a big fan of the film and series, don't buy it at full price and wait to buy it when it's on sale. If you're not intending to buy all the Hobbit sets, I would probably suggest spending an extra £10 on an Unexpected Gathering as it's a bit more reasonable for it's price.

A great set I recommend, shame about the price though.

Box/Instructions

The set comes in a standard box.

Parts

This part of the set is great! It gives you some stone pieces, blue and orange fire pieces, and a TON of leaves!

Minifigures

This is by far the best part of the set. Bifur has an embedded Orc Axe in his head and wields a spear. His beard, head and torso are exclusive for this set. Thorin has an axe, a sword and has no beard but rather a printed one on his face. I don't know if that's accurate to the movie or not as I haven't seen the movie! The Orcs are also cool. And last but not least, YAZNEG!! This minifigure is exclusive to this set, with a cool head, a bone collar, and a bone ax! The Wargs included are cool, also.

The build

Great build! There's a little catapult that connects to the stone where Yazneg goes. Also, the tree spins around and shoots little water things. I could've used another tree, or some more stones.

The completed model

It's a great set, although 15 dollars overpriced for the build.

Overall opinion

I love the set! Could've used another Orc, some more trees or stones, but is 15 dollars OVERPRICED. It does go great with the council of Elrond set, and tree sets that you have though! Thanks for reading!

This set brings you the opportunity to relieve one of the most exciting scenes in the Hobbit––the attack of the wargs. Many people have complained that this set is just a tree . . . but really, what more could you expect? At this point in the story the good guys are in the middle of the wilderness being chased by bad guys. There is just isn't much else besides trees. I think Lego did a good job of making this an exciting build, with lots of little details and features thrown into the build. The biggest problem? The cost. Too much money.

Parts

If you're a castle/LOTR/Hobbit builder or if you just want to make lots of trees, this set is a treasure trove of pieces––all kinds of foliage and tons of brown pieces of all types really make this set great. Additionally, you get a TON of fire pieces which will almost certainly come in handy in a bunch of different MOCs. The set also comes with a single gold mineral piece that hides in an alcove in the tree . . . random, but a fun piece to have nonetheless.

Minifigures

The minifigures are definitely the highlight of this set. If you're a Hobbit/LOTR completist, this set is a must-have simply because it is the only set that includes Thorin in his armor, Bifur, and Yazneg. All three of these minigifigures are superb, with front and back printing on the torso and, for Thorin and Bifur, angry and regular expressions. Additionally, the set includes two new hunter orcs (both of which are great for fleshing out any orc army), AND two wargs, which are quiet possibly the coolest part of the set. The wargs are well designed, with heads that can be raised or lowered and jaws that can open and close. The LEGO designers did a great job of making the wargs mesh with the lego style, and yet still look threatening. You may want to buy this set just to get the wargs. Seriously.

The build

Building the set was fun, but nothing earth-shattering. I was surprised at the complexity of the big tree: it is actually composed of three sections that can rotate independently of each other, so you can modify the overall shape of the tree, and there are several hidden nooks-and-crannies that I wasn't expecting, but which definitely increase playability.

The completed model

The completed model looks great, but can't help but feel a little skimpy, since the model really is composed of just one big tree and a rock.

Summary

For the minifigs and wargs this set is a must buy. But I have to agree with other reviewers who said this set costs too much. Luckily I got it for 25% off MSRP, which was a pretty common price on Amazon up until a few weeks ago. Now that the set is out of production, you may be able to snag it on sail at local toy stores. If you see it, get it.

Set #79002 Attack of the Wargs: This set is utterly brilliant, not only do you receive an impressive looking build for a large tree, but you also get some great Mini-Figures and the first ever LEGO Wargs. I am a bit surprised that LEGO hasn't made these parts beforehand as part of the Lord of the Rings Theme as Wargs did appear quite prominently in The Two Towers. Still perhaps any new 2014 LotR sets will continue using these awesome animals.

Either way let's go over this set in more detail.

Box/Instructions

The boxes for the first wave of Hobbit LEGO sets really looked great. They do a wonderful job of showcasing all of the numerous features and they really excite you for the contents. The fact that you also have a convenient Mini-Figure showcase on the front is just icing on an already delectable looking cake.

The instructions are nice and thick with most of the sets, though they could still use some protection. A common complaint by many AFOLs who have grown tired of opening boxes of LEGO only to find bent, curled, creased or damaged instructions. They also work great for showing the steps of the build and the back with the Mini-Figure checklist and the cross promotions of the other Hobbit sets are great.

Parts

This set has a lot of brown and green pieces, a fair number of grey parts as well, there aren't that many unique pieces in the set (by which I mean Rare naturally) however there are just a lot of useful parts for building trees. (If you're not interested in actually building the tree from this set.)

There are however a nice couple of rare bits that are unique for the Mini-Figures. The shoulder armor that Yazneg is wearing, the accessories and hair pieces and of course the Wargs themselves are rare. Only available in two Hobbit sets so far.

Minifigures

This set has five Mini-Figures, two members of the Dwarven Company and three Orcs (or Hunter Orcs as the box calls them), the Wargs are not considered Mini-Figures naturally, though they are included on the checklist as individual creatures.

The two Hunter Orcs are pretty much identical. They have the same prints for their torsos and faces and share the same legs as well with an upper waist print for the lower part of their armor. The only difference between the two is the accessories, one is an archer with a quiver and bow while the other is carrying the large scimitar weapon. I don't think this weapon really works in the world of Hobbit/LotR Mini-Figures. Personally I think re-using the Uruk-Hai sword would have been better, even if they weren't around until The Lord of the Rings. The Scimitar just doesn't look accurate to what I recall seeing them use on-screen.

They also have double-sided printing on their heads, however one side is the face while the other is scraggly looking hair and not a different facial print. This is so that the same head print can be used on Orcs who don't have the long black Orc hair piece with ears. As you'll be seeing a lot of this head with the Gundabad Orcs from the 2013 Hobbit sets.

Yazneg is a lighter tone and wears that nice new shoulder armour piece. His head also has double-sided printing, the back has some scars and a few minor details. His front print looks suitably gruesome for an Orc with age lines and menacing yellow eyes. His weapon is a Ninjago bone piece with an axe head attached.

The remaining Mini-Figures are a pair of dwarves, the leader of the company Thorin Oakenshiled is only available (with this torso print) in this set. He has a nice double-sided torso print, the same hairpiece as Fili and Kili from Mirkwood Spiders and a double-sided facial print, one calm and normal looking the other with his mouth opened in a determined shout/yell as he does battle against the Orcs and Goblins of Middle-Earth. He's pretty good for a Dwarf sized Mini-Figure, however I've noticed that LEGO did not sculpt for him Orcrist. His accessories in this set are a regular looking sword that is usually given to all the Hobbits in LotR sets and an axe built with a lightsaber bar and a clip-on blade. This is the one thing I don't like about the character, his accessories in no way match the sword he uses during most of the movie. I mean if Gandalf can have his own unique sword why not Thorin?

Bifur the Dwarf, the one who only speaks Dwarvish and has the axe-head immbeded in his head is the other member of the company you get. His torso is double-sided and the print works great, he's also got a short brown cape and a double-sided facial print. The first side is quite serious looking while the opposite side kind of looks like a deranged smile or something, which suits his character in the film quite perfectly. The hair piece is unique and he's using the CMF Spear as a weapon which... I think is pretty accurate to his arsenal from the film, though it's hard to recall all of the weapons that the Dwarves wield.

The Wargs are great, there is a dark grey one and white one which Azog is supposed to be riding not Yazneg... Having watched the bonus material in the Extended Edition where Yazneg was originaly planned to be Azog's role I have this feeling that the reason why he was included here was because of a running change to the film that happened fairly later on in the filming process. So LEGO was still using Yazneg as the main villain appearance wise (because Yazneg was how Azog used to look before the change).

I know they aren't Mini-Figures, still it's best to discuss them here. They have opening jaws, saddles like horses and moveable necks. These sculpts and creatures look great, it's nice to finally have an iconic creature from Middle-Earth. Now if LEGO would give us a Nazgul and a Balrog we'll be set. (An Oliphant would be a nice creature to see too, not sure if it'd ever see the light of day unfortunately.)

The build

This is a numbered bag set, you get three bags to build the models in this set. Bag number one builds the promontory/rocky outcropping that the Orcs use when cornering the Dwarves up their tree, and bag number 2 and 3 build the tree itself.

It's a very satisfying build, all of the techniques used and the steps really impress. The rock for the Warg to stand on while threatening the Dwarves just works perfect and is fun to build. The tree is appropriately massive and each step strengthens the overall look of the model once completed.

The completed model

This model is fun and awesome. It looks great, first of all the secondary models for the Orcs to interact with work great as small rocky protrusions as seen in the scene this is taken from the film. One has a small catapult built into it to launch small stones at the dwarves.

The tree is brilliant it's just so huge and so full of leaves that you could conceivably have your entire Dwarven company dangling from this tree to hide from the Orcs. Being a LEGO set this also has play features, you can place a few cones of flames around the tree that are meant to be launched at the Orcs, two of them are even put in a place where you can push a technic pin to launch the projectile flying.

A few plates with octagonal side-bars are used to make some firey patches that can be placed around the tree for further protection from the Orcs. Overall a very solid main model for this set with some excellent looking secondary models.

Summary

This set is totally worth picking up, it's loaded with parts includes the leader of the Dwarven Company in Mini-Figure form (just a shame about the sword) and introduces the brand new Warg animal piece.

It should have honestly featured Azog as well, however after seeing the extended editions bonus material and learning how far along in the production Azog actually looked pretty much like Yazneg I'm not surprised that he wasn't in this set. If LEGO had just sculpted a proper Orcrist for Thorin this set would be perfect, as it is I still highly recommend nabbing it, especially if you can find it on Clearance at Target (I noticed one on the shelf on clearance this past boxing week in my area) even full price the set is very much worth it. So don't hesitate if you haven't gotten it already.