So I’ve been so impressed with the few Lord of the Rings sets that I own that when I found a bunch of sets for sale at a quarter of the original retail price (they were missing minifigures), I just had to snatch them up. Of the sets I got, it was this one that I had the lowest expectations for given its smaller size, but wow did this set surprise me.

Minifigures

So this is the only set to contain Merry and I do wish I had him. However I have several Bilbo’s and Frodo’s, plus a Samwise, so it is easy to use them to round out my fellowship. Aragon I already have from other sets, and he does look great. The Frodo in this set is unique, but I have several other Frodo’s, including one with a cape, that missing this one isn’t too big of a deal. As for the Ring Wraiths, all I had to do is put an all black head on Emporer Palpatine and I have a very believable Ring Wraith. The horse I also have from a few other sets, and while they look similar to the horses from the 80’s, their rear legs bend allowing them to stand which is really cool.

Parts

this set sure does have a lot of useful parts. First up, you get 4 all gray microfigures to use as statues. You also have a pot and lots of food for Merry to cook. A good collection of weapons. But the best part is probably all of the hinges that come with this set, and there are a lot! Plus you get a spiral staircase, which is always fun to have.

The Build

This is what this set is all about. I don’t think I’ve ever done a more complex build than this one. The way that hinges are used to create the curves is absolutely brilliant and looks fantastic. I’ve used hinges for round construction before, but I think it must be the height of the curved walls that most impressed me. Yes, they may be a little repetitive, but you won’t even notice that since you will be so amazed by how this little set was designed.

Combine this with a boatload of details and the spiral staircase and this build is just pure fun from start to finish. More importantly, it’s the kind of build that you can learn a lot from.

The Model

The set is an excellent interpretation of Weathertop, it looks very true to the movie, and while it could have been a little bigger, it’s size seems very appropriate. The Little Rock and bush that is separate seems rather unnecessary, I feel like it was thrown in simply so they could justify a higher price for the set, but it can fit in nicely with any other LOTR set that is set in a natural place (Attack of the Wargs, Mirkwood Elves...)

But of course what you don’t see from the pictures is all the play features, and while none of them are true to the movie, they are sort of there out of necessity, filling in empty real estate below the mountain. This is a big reason why this set works so well, there is room under the mountain.

There is a trap door activated by pulling out a pin that works great. I have several of these with Indiana Jones sets that always seemed to have too much friction, but this one works perfectly, dropping a minifigure onto an arsenal of weapons.

Of course, if a minifigure can fall inside, then you can also open it up to get them out. When you do this you are presented with a sort of cave filled with weapons (perhaps Bilbo’s troll cave). There is a flick fire missile which seems very misplaced, but it blends in and is very easy to simply ignore it. My only complaint is that it is a little difficult getting it to close again, aligning the technic pin with the hole is not easy.

Overall

The highlight of this set is without a doubt the build, which is saying a lot given it is a very nice looking model. For me there is nothing more fun than building a set, and perhaps it is due to the smaller size of this set cramming in such a complex design, that the build keeps you excited the whole time and never gets tedious. I have built more complex functions using technic, but for standard bricks, I’ve never seen a better build.

If you can get your hands on this set, do it. Lord of the Rings is easily becoming my favorite Lego line, and while I don’t own Helms Deep or Isengard yet, this in my opinion is the absolute best set!

I remember that Thursday in April 2013 so well. I had gone to Kroger with my family that day, I had brought about $30 leftover from my Christmas money hoping to find some 2012 Ninjago sets on closeout. Little did I know that I would find something MUCH better. That Kroger was having a HUGE sale on toys from 2012 that never sold. Guess what I found for $15? Thats right! I bought Attack on Weathertop. I also bought for $11 set 5885: Triceratops Trapper.

Box/Instructions

The box was about one and a half inches thick with nice detail. The instructions were easy to read.

Parts

This set comes with many great parts. My favorite is the moving stairs part.

Minifigures

It comes with five minifigs, Two ringwraiths, Aragorn, Frodo, and Merry. The ringwraiths and Merry are exclusive to this set. Frodo you can get in almost every LOTR set and this is the cheapest set you can get Aragorn in.

The build

It took me about 45 min to build. It was a very challenging set to build. The hardest part was the curved section. The box says this is for children 8-14 but I would say more like 10-14.

The completed model

Weathertop doesn't have many play features. The first feature is that you can open it up by pulling it apart at the sides. It's easy to open, but not so easy to close. The second feature is the flick fire missiles that you flick from the inside. The third feature is the the trap door this is my favorite one. You put a minifig on the two green 1x4 plates, pull the brown nob on the front, and the minifig falls on to a weapons rack inside Weathertop. That has got to hurt!

Overall opinion

This is a great LOTR set for older builders I would not recommend it kids under ten years of age. This is my first review on Brickset, I just got an account yesterday. I hope this review is helpful and I plan to make more reviews of sets from my collection.

I'll admit, when I first saw this set I was disappointed. It seemed a little silly to reduce Weathertop––an entire hill––down to a small 430 piece set. Boy, was I wrong. This is one amazing set, combining a fun/interesting build with great playability and a cast of awesome minifigures. If you don't read any further in this review, read this: BUY THIS SET!

Minifigures

Weathertop comes with 5 minifigures: Frodo, Merry, Aragorn, and 2 Black Riders. Merry and the Black Riders are unique to this set. As usual, TLC was diabolically clever and divided all the members of the Fellowship up among several sets, so if you want Merry, you either have to buy this set, or get him second hand. Luckily––and also as usual––all of these minifigures are superb. The Black Riders come with a new cape design that looks suitably ragged and spooky; the only problem with it is this particular cape folds over the minifigure shoulders, and the fabric is just stiff enough that the cape tends to buckle upwards and push the minifigure's hood off its head. I only struggled with this when first constructing the minifigures . . . . after I'd pushed the hood back down a few times the cape softened up and it's not really an issue anymore. The Black Rider's torsos are printed front and back, and look excellent. Frodo, Merry and Aragorn all have double-printed heads with happy/angry expressions. Frodo's torso is the same as seen elsewhere. The printing on Merry and Aragorn's torsos is superb (the pattern of Merry's vest does an amazing job at capturing the movie look). The pattern of Aragorn's coat continues down his legs. In short, if you only buy this set for the minifigures, it's probably worth it.

The build

I was not expecting building Weathertop to be as fun as it was. The designers use a lot of interesting techniques to construct the rounded shapes of Weathertop. Additionally, the whole set opens up to reveal a hidden chamber which––though technically not in the book––is incredibly fun in terms of playability, and is a sort of Easter Egg reference to the Barrow Downs that Frodo and his companions explore in the book.

The completed model

Despite it's small size, the finished model looks great, and does a surprisingly good job of looking like a ruined fortress while still being durable enough to move around and play with.

Overall opinion

I pretty much already said it, but: go buy this set. You won't regret it. This is one of the most iconic moments in the movie and book, and the set does an admirable job of bringing it to life. I don't think this set is being produced any longer, but if you catch a deal on Ebay, take advantage of it.

Overall 5 bricks: My first big Lord of the Rings set is a great one to start with. The set offers the 2 main characters, Frodo and Aragorn, 2 Nazguls with new horses and Merry. A great collection of bricks with for me a lot of new parts and a great result when you finished building. In my opinion this set has really no weak points I can think of. My only comment is the price but that is "normal" with licensed theme's, I waited some time until I bought it with a good discount. But expensive or not, eventually it is for Castle fans a must have.

Building 5 bricks: Great fun building this set with for me some new techniques on how to built a round tower. Bags are numbered so a simple building sequence for this set. No big wall parts, but old fashioned brick by brick building. First the front part with small gate and second the back part of "Weathertop", after that you built the first floor of this small ruin. When finished and clicked together simply a great result both opened and closed with also a nice interior !

Parts 5 bricks: Hard to mention all the good parts but the mini figures of course are outstanding as are the new horses. Overall a great mix of colors and some great parts like the stairs, the bricks with masonry profile, the 4 grey micro figures, the new weapons in different colors and a hugh amount of accessories. A great surprise were 2 extra Rings !!

Playability 5 bricks: What can I say, you can re-live the movie already with this set. It has all great features and figures for hours of fun, even for an AFOL like me. 5 Bricks with a bonus here.

Value 3 bricks: I know licensed theme's are more expensive but in my opinion the official retail price in Holland being €70,00 is a bit too much. Like said before, I waited for a good discount and got it for €45,00 which is my opinion a good price for 430 part set. I think a normal retail price of €55,00 would be reasonable here but still it's worth having it.

While travelling to Rivendell Frodo, Strider, and the other hobbits were attacked on the ruin of Amon Sul, otherwise known as Weathertop. This was one of the most important and memorable scenes from the movie (and book). Likewise, this model is also one of the most important and best sets of its theme.

Box/Instructions

The box is nicely made clearly displaying the action and drama of the scene with a fitting background behind.

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Parts

The parts selection in this set are fantastic. We get lots of rare earth colors including dark green and dark tan. We also get several of the new engraved 1x2 bricks to make it look more weathered. However, in this set we get them in tan, unlike in the Helm's Deep and Uruk-hai Army sets. Also included are 4 solid light grey microfigures which look awesome as statues. Another rare addition are the winding staircase pieces. Some of my favorite pieces in this set though are the hinge pieces which come in abundance. They are used to give the structure its round shape. Plus all the minifig accessories are great too.

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Minifigures

Being a midsized set we get several minifigs, 5 to be exact. Like some of my other reviews I'll start with the good guys:

Frodo: You can't really have a Weathertop set without him. Frodo comes in his brown suit jacket with a red vest and a green cape, accurate to the movie. He has a little back printing but nothing too incredibly exciting there. His head come double-sided. On one side we see his "tired" face while on the other we see his "Ow, I've just been stabbed by a Morgul blade" expression. His dark brown hair piece is the same one we get with Frodos in other sets. He comes with 3 One Rings as well as Sting. (Extra Note: At this point in the story Frodo didn't have Sting yet. Bilbo would later give it to him in Rivendell. LEGO should have given him a normal short sword)

Aragorn (Strider): Aragorn looks suitably like the weather worn ranger that he his with his scruffy face and worn out clothes. His legs are printed to match his torso. There's a few printed wrinkles on the back but nothing extraordinary. His head is double-sided. One face is "neutral" while the other is his "fighting" face. Really close observers will notice that he has the necklace that Arwen would later give him. That really isn't 100% accurate but it's not worth printing a different one. He comes with a sword and a flaming torch to battle the Ringwraiths.

Merry: Merry looks exactly like he did in the movie with his red hair, green jacket, and yellow waistcoat. If you look close you can see the printed designs in his waistcoat which looks fantastic. He has a double sided head like Frodo and Aragorn. One side is "neutral" while the other is "fighting/scared".

Ringwraiths (Nazgul): The Ringwraiths are unique to this set and that makes Attack on Weathertop a must have for the LotR completest (Merry is also exclusive by the way). Their torso is a new print with folds in their black cloak as well as a belt (which is also black except for the buckle). On the back side of their torso are some more printed folds. Their heads are plain black (as they should be) and their hoods are too. But the really cool thing about these guys are their capes which are completely new. Unlike most LEGO capes these ones have three holes in them to make them more accurate as well as more scary. They're bigger too, instead of having two holes that slide on top of the torso there are three. Some complained that their hoods popped off from this and I experienced the same thing. However, having having them for a while I'm not experiencing that problem any more. They also come with a dark grey sword and a new black horse. LEGO has made these horses more menacing by printing red eyes on their head which stand out and look really cool.

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The build

The build itself is quite fun, especially when working on the round part of the model. It may have just been the lighting in the room but sometimes it was hard to tell apart the greens, greys, and blacks in the instructions. Even though I've built trap doors before this one was fun, mainly because it is built in a new way which works a lot better.

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The completed model

The model itself looks extremely well done, even though it is undersized. LEGO has added play features to it which are not accurate to the movie (or the books) but make it more appealing to younger kids. For the purist who may be concerned about this don't worry. You hardly notice the flick-fire missiles and the trap door pin can be easily covered up. In conclusion: This set is one of my favorites. It has great playability, wonderful minifigs, and works wonderfully as a display. There's just one problem. $60 (USD) is just way too much for only 430 pieces, as wonderful as they may be. $40 would have been better, $50 would have been OK, but $60? Too much. If it wasn't for the price this may have been one of my favorite sets.

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Summary

All in all, this is a great set, except for its price. It looks great and is lots of fun. If money is no object to you I wouldn't hesitate buying this set. But if money is an object I would still seriously consider getting it.

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