This is a great set, especially if you can find it at a good price. The playability is neat (being able to launch Saruman from his chair, rotating the Eye of Sauron) and it's an easy set to piece together. Definitely recommend.

So I’ve only recently gotten my hands on a few LOTR sets, and like the rest, this one does not disappoint. The set contains basically 100 bricks and 2 minifigures, but wow!

Minifigures

It’s hard to complain about getting both Gandalf and Saruman in a set, but considering the size and price of the set it’s amazing that Lego was this generous. Both minifigures are fantastic. I would have liked Gandalf’s hat, but that is a minor problem. Saruman looks great, the only problem is his hair crushes his cape so I imagine after a while his cape will be very wrinkled.

The Build

The model certainly doesn’t look like it only has 100 bricks. Compared to a similarly sized Star Wars set, this model seems much larger. I suppose that is probably because it doesn’t contain too many smaller bricks, for the most part you are getting larger bricks in this set which certainly makes it a very good value.

The build is relatively straightforward and symmetrical, but given how few bricks it uses that really isn’t a problem. In the end the set looks fantastic.

On top of that it contains two play features. The simple one is you push a technic axel to send Saruman flying out of his throne (which is designed beautifully to accommodate his cape). While it works, it is a feature I’ve seen in Juniors sets. The other feature allows you to spin the palintir. Of course spinning a clear ball would be pointless, but since it contains the Eye of Sauron in it it actually looks pretty cool. But more importantly, it also spins the round base that holds the podium with the palintir, and since you can attach the back of Gandalf’s legs to the base, it creates the effect of Saruman spinning Gandalf around.

Overall

Despite its size, this is a very nice set. Of course I don’t have the tower, but that set of course is in whole different league and can’t be compared to this one. This set portrays one of the most important scenes from the Fellowship of the Ring. Is an incredible value given you are getting two excellent minifigures. And comes with a very nice selection of bricks (Eye of Sauron, lamps and palintir, as well as the technic pieces needed for the spinning mechanics). If you can get this set I highly recommend you do.

This set is perfect for a Lego fan to travel to middle earth where Saruman and Gandalf are battling in the tower. It is a really cool looking and fun to play with set. It comes with two Minifigures and of course the room where they battle. It is perfect for those who missed out on the tower of Orthanc and those with it for an enlarged version. It has a really nice looking eye of sauron piece and a function so that when Saruman is sitting in his chair you can flick him out of his chair two meet Gandalf. I would highly recommend this set to any Lord of the Rings fans.

Small sets don't usually look that intriguing, especially not on the box art. But something about this set caught my eye, and I decided to get it. I sure am glad I did too, because not only does this come with some great minifigs, but unlike many licensed sets, the set itself is amazing too, and it's worth getting for both the set and the minifigures.

Parts

This comes with a lot of good parts, like the pieces used to build the lamps. Saruman's brick built staff is made with some good pieces too. The palintir is wonderful, especially the Eye of Sauron piece which is fun to put on other minifigures.

Minifigures

The Gandalf in this set has a double sided face, one smiling and the other yelling. He is slightly different than the other Gandalfs because he has no hat or cape. Saruman has a white cape, and a beard with a bit of grey on it. He also has a double sided face, one is neutral and the other is an evil grin.

The build

The build was very fun, but I always like building Lego sets, so I have nothing bad to say about it. It was cool to see the room come together, and see the mechanism that spins the palintir be built.

The completed model

I love how it looks when it's completed. There's tons of playability in it and it looks great. It doesn't come with a brick remover though, which I was a little disappointed about, since I was looking forward to having one. The lamps look good and so does the throne, even though both fall apart easily.

Overall opinion

I don't think I've seen a $12 set with over 100 pieces before, so I was really happy to see that on the box. This is a very iconic seen and it's nice to be able to have it and Saruman without needing to spend $200. Grab it if you see it, it's probably my favorite $12 set so far!

"Gandalf Arrives" was a necessary set to be made but had nothing interesting in it. It seemed to be more a collector's model. "Riddles for the Ring" was good for pieces and minifigs (The Ring, Bilbo, and Gollum variation) but fell flat with playability. This set goes along with the two minifig concept and has what the other two sets lack. Namely, playability.

Pros

• Saruman and Gandalf; cape and hat off
• Lot of well done features based on the movie (spinning Gandalf and throne catapult)
• Lots of cool pieces, awesome Palantir
• Saruman's head is the same as Count Dooku's: Both characters are played by the same actor, Christopher Lee.
• Complete scene: I don't feel there is anything else to be added to this set, except...

Cons

• ...Some sort of fabric thing to be put on top of the Palantir
• Saruman's cape gets mangled underneath hair
• The brickset picture shows the set comes with a brick separator, however, I did not receive one in my set

"The Wizard Battle" features one of the main heroes and main villains in the Middle Earth universe and is able to soar with new pieces, playability and overall look making this the cheap, non-polybag set to purchase for anyone. And, it's less than $20.