"I looked on it and saw that, whereas [Isengard] had once been green fair, it was now filled with pits and forges. Wolves and orcs were housed in Isengard, for Saruman was mustering a great force on his own account, in rivalry of Sauron and not in his service yet. Over all his works a dark smoke hung and wrapped itself about the sides of Orthanc."

––Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

This Target Exclusive set (in the US, at least), is a great set, though it comes out a bit on the expensive side in terms of price per piece. Full of flames, cauldrons, forges and anvils, it's a dark set and the perfect backdrop for an orcish mob, led by the fearsome Uruk-hai captain, Lurtz.

Parts

The set comes with a lot of olive green cheese slopes and larger gray slopes that are perfect for any castle builder. Even better (IMO), are the numerous minifig accessories, including two Uruk helmets and shields that are printed with the Saruman's White Hand crest.

Minifigures

Excellent, as usual. The set contains two unique minifigures: a tan mordor orc with pointed ears and black hair, and Lurtz, who is depicted "fresh out of the mud", his torso is printed front and back showing the orc's huge muscles. Lurtz also comes with a double-sided head, showing an angry face and an angrier face panted with Saruman's White Hand. In addition to these two unique minifigs, the set includes a bald mordor orc and an Uruk-hai warrior.

The build

The Orc Forge is fairly quick to build and consists mostly of scaffolding and forge equipment. Aside from the light-up brick that makes the fire pit glow red, there is nothing too amazing or out-of-the-ordinary about this set, but the finished product definitely makes up for the simple build by being chalk-full of playability. A winch can be used to raise and lower a basket full of ore, which can then be dumped down a chute into a waiting cauldron to be melted over the huge fire. Armor and weapons can be forged on a stand-alone anvil and heated red-hot over another grilled fire.

Overall opinion

Despite the fact that this set is a little too pricey, in the end it is a welcome addition to any LOTR/Hobbit collection. The minifigures are great––especially Lurtz––and the set more than makes up for it's simple build by including tons of play options. In short, while I'd suggest focusing on other LOTR sets if you're primarily interested in collecting all the members of the Fellowship, this set is definitely worth having once you've fleshed out the ranks of your "good guy" forces.

This is a great set. It is, of course, a miniature version of the huge and sprawling Orc Forge that Saruman builds at Isengard. The Lego version does a great job of miniaturizing the forge, while at the same time giving us good pieces, figs and a great model in general.

The Pieces: This set includes 3 wood framework pieces, a BURP (Which can be useful), a cauldron, a bucket, and a light brick. And those are just some of the more interesting parts. This set is good for anyone who's into castle/village building, based on the wood and rock parts.

The Build: I gave the set a 4 out of 5 just because all of those rocks lining the bottom edge of the model are exactly the same. And there are lots of them. And they get repetitive really quickly. Otherwise, it's a pretty fun build.

The Design/Appearance: This model looks good. It's obviously made to be viewed from the front, as the back reveals all of the mechanisms and support beams used, and they look very obtrusive (And the hollow side of the BURP is in sharp focus from that angle, as well). But when viewed from the front, you see a big rock plateau with a big wooden forge on it. And that's what it's supposed to look like.

The BURP, I think, doesn't really need to be there, but it doesn't get in the way that much. The two places for the cauldron to sit (The place at the end of the chute and the furnace) hold it in place really well. One of the design flaws, I think, is that the wheel that raises the bucket could've been closer to the scaffolding, as it sticks out pretty far.

The Minifigs: All of the figs are pretty good. The two Mordor Orcs are somewhat generic but have good printing. The Uruk-Hai is just like all of the others except that it has the White Hand of Saruman printed on its helmet and shield, which is really cool.

Lurtz, the leader Orc from The Fellowship of the Ring, is really good. He has good chest printing and decent face printing. He has a two-sided head, one with a regular Orc-ish look and one with a White Hand-printed battle face. He's a fitting leader for your ABS Orc army.

The Playability: All of the functions work well, especially the light-up forge. People who like playing with their sets will enjoy building Saruman's Lego army.

Pros

• The figs are good, especially
• Lurtz, who has his cool
• Breeding pit, which is right under the
• Working bucket lift, which takes the bucket to the
• Chute, which works pretty well and sends the metal pieces to the cauldron and to the
• Working light-up furnace, which is probably my favorite part of this set, and it makes
• White Hand-printed armor and weapons, which complement the
• Awesome design of the set, which is, in part, due to
• The good parts selection, which contributes to the
• Good building process.

Cons

• There are some minor design flaws, such as the fact that
• The model doesn't look as cool from the back.

Overall, this is a great set. Highly recommended.

Out of the first wave of LotR sets there are only two that don't have any 'conflict', Gandalf Arrives and The Orc Forge. However, what this set still has tons of playability...

Box/Instructions

The box shows the Uruk-hai and orcs in action building weapons, moving rocks, building weapons, and moving more rocks which is what happens in this scene. The front also clearly shows that there is a light brick included. There's one instruction book with some ads for other LotR sets in the back.

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Parts

The parts in this set are mostly earthy colors consisting of browns, greys, and tans. There are some of the newer round 1x1 tiles which are very nice as well as some sting and lots of minifig accessories. For the bulk of the structure there are some nice, big, brown scaffolding pieces which are always nice. Another plus is that the wooden pieces are printed so that there are no stickers.

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Minifigures

Normally I start with the good guys but since there are none in this set I guess I'll Jump right to the bad guys...

Lurtz: Lurtz is the leader of the Uruk-hai and in this scene he's just emerged from the birthing pits. Because he just came out he doesn't have as much clothing as the other orcs. His torso is nicely printed that shows all the slime and dirt from the dirty pits beneath Isengard. His face his double-sided. One side is "angry" while the other is "extra angry" with the white hand of Saruman on his face. My only complaint is that you can't fit his hair on with body armour.

Uruk-hai: You get one "normal" Uruk-hai in this set and he's the same as the ones that come in other LotR sets except for his armour. On his shield and helmet are printed the White Hand of Saruman which makes those pieces unique to this set. The torso printing is fantastically detailed and accurate to the movie. Like Lurtz his head is double-sided, one "angry" one "extra angry". The only problem with this though is that when his helmet isn't on (like in the main picture) he has two faces!

Mordor Orc(s): Orcs came from the Misty Mountains and from Mordor to help Saruman build his army and LEGO has included two of them. Like all other LotR minifigs their torsos are fantastically printed. They have very "orkish" clothing/light armour on which looks fantastic, especially their back printing. Their heads are not double sided but there is back printing on them. That way one orc can have hair while the other can be bald except for a little hair on the back (which is printed). That way there's more variety to the set. The hair piece that one orc gets is like the Moria orcs with its pointy ears and long hair that goes just past his shoulders.

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The build

The model is built in two sections and then put together with technic pins. The rock around the bottom looks fantastic when finished but it is very repetitive and can get pretty tedious. However, it is kept interesting by incorporating the light brick on one side and Lurtz's birthing pit on the other. The scaffolding portion of the set goes by much quicker and is quite a bit more fun.

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The completed model

When finished the set looks very well done. The rock work (even though it got a little boring) does look fantastic and so do the wooden structures. Even though there's no conflict it has tons of playability. You can take the little rock pieces from bottom, load them into the bucket, then hoist them to the top with the big wheel. Then an orc send them down a chute into a bucket where they are then heated up above the fire. Then when you pretend they are sufficiently melted they can be poured into the sword mold to make weapons. Or you can beat them on the anvil to shape shields or helmets. Then you can pull Lurtz out to use all your new weapons and send him off after the halflings. Out of all my sets with light bricks this is the best. First of all it's very red, unlike the others that I have. Second, it's very bright, brighter than any others before. But, there is a crack in the rock where a narrow slit of light shines through, but this can be fixed by putting a brick or other object in front of it. Plus the set looks very good as a display. My only disappointment is that it didn't include Saruman. Oh well, it looks like we'll get him the next wave so it'll all be OK in the end. ;-)

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Summary

All it all this a fantastic set. It's a must have for the completest, a great display for the collector, and packs in tons of playability for younger kids. It is a little on the expensive side though, for $40 (USD) I wish we could have at least gotten Saruman. But it's still pretty good as far as licensed sets go.

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This is one of the most famous locations from the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and has been recreated in Lego very effectively indeed in my opinion. There are four Minifigures included and although there is no conflict involved in this set as all four figures are on the same side in the war for the One Ring of Power, there is plenty of playability to be had here. This set is incredibly reminiscent of set 7036, Dwarves' Mine, which was released as part of the Castle theme in 2007. That model remains one of the greatest sets of all time in my opinion and it is nice to see how some of the features from that set have been incorporated in to this one. Although the Orc Forge is not nearly as good as that astonishing Castle set, it is still an excellent model to add to your collection.

Box/Instructions

The box art is very nice indeed and shows the Orc Forge at work making weapons for the huge armies of Uruk-Hai to use. The fire with the light brick is glowing as is the smaller flame pit found towards the back of the shot. Lurtz is holding one of the huge blades and preparing himself for battle while the other Uruk-Hai assists is moving the ore with the Mordor Orcs. The background shows a volcanic landscape with a few wooden ladders dispersed around the rock walls enclosing the forge just like in the film as the Orcs cannot work above ground. There is a gallery view of the four Minifigures and a circle in which the light brick included is shown as well as the Lord of the Rings logo and an image of the evil Sauron wearing the One Ring.

The back of the box shows the set from a different aspect and has some small pictures demonstrating the numerous features of the set including the light up fire, the winch for the bucket, and the Uruk-Hai birthing pit. There is also an image of the totally exclusive Uruk-Hai armour featuring the white hand of Saruman printed on it which is fantastic and a small advertisement for the Lord of the Rings game.

The instructions were perfect, I found no mistakes and had no missing pieces. There is only one booklet and at the end of it is a gallery of the Lord of the Rings Minifigures and a few advertisements for other sets in the theme.

Parts

There are plenty of nice parts in this set including swathes of brown which might be useful for your own creations and several nice dark tan plates which are uncommon. There are two black hexagonal pieces which are exceedingly rare and plenty of dark grey bricks to create rock formations of any kind. Plenty of sand green one by one slopes are included as well as a couple of the new printed one by four wooden style tiles which look amazing. We get several of the new swords which are wonderful. The best parts however are the helmets and shields included to be worn by the Uruk-Hai with the white hand of Saruman printed on them to add some welcome variation to this diverse and disorganised army of creatures which are unleashed on Middle Earth.

Minifigures

There are four Minifigures included, all of which are on the side of the villain Sauron. The first of these are the Mordor Orcs. These two figures are extremely similar, the only difference being that one of them has a hair piece and the other does not as some Orcs were bald in the films. The combined ear and hair piece (worn by one of them) is excellent and a brand new mould. It is cast in black with his ears painted a dark tan colour to match his skin. The hair is long reaching down his back and has plenty of moulded texture which is excellent and it looks very accurate to their appearance in the movies. The head is printed on both sides with detail, the face has wrinkles and bared teeth printed on it along with some sunken orange eyes and a couple of metal rings piercing his forehead just like some Orcs have in the film. On the back is some straggly hair for the bald Orc and a couple more wrinkles, the entire component is cast in the same dark tan colour as the ears so they match up nicely.

The torso is printed with some very detailed leather and metal designs with various spikes and panels which add to his intimidating appearance. There are also some fabric sections to these torso garments which have a bit of creasing printed on them. These designs are continued on to the back of the figure and all of the metal areas are very shiny indeed which is great to see. His arms are dark tan and his hands are brown as he is wearing gloves. The legs are plain dark brown with no printing at all. The two Mordor Orcs are identical other than the hair piece only being featured on one of the two and their accessories being different. One carries a black spade and the other wields a hammer.

The next Minifigure included is the exclusive Lurtz. He is the leader of the Uruk-Hai in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film until a battle in the forest near Amon Hen at the end of the first film or the start of the second book. Lurtz is responsible for the death of Boromir in the movie but he does not appear in the book, instead Boromir is killed by numerous Uruk-Hai. He has the same hair piece as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter theme as well as a few other figures. It is cast in black and is very long, stretching almost to the base of his torso. There is some texture moulded in to it, but the piece is fairly plain all in all, a more rugged and unkempt hair style would suit him much better. His brown head is printed on both sides with two faces. One of these is just like any other Uruk-Hai with yellow eyes, pointed teeth, wrinkles and the white hand of Saruman printed on it although this time the design is printed on a brown piece, not dark red like the rest. On the other side there is no white hand of Saruman, but more wrinkles and gritted teeth. One of his eyes is half closed which looks quite threatening and is amazing. All in all, a fantastic piece for this evil character!

His torso is bare unlike the other Uruk-Hai as he has only just emerged from the birthing pit here at the Orc Forge and is printed with some muscle definition and blotchy dark tan and brown skin which looks very realistic indeed. The back of the piece is also printed with more muscles and his arms and hands are plain brown. His hips are dark grey and his legs are brown like most of the rest of the figure. The design is very simple but looks perfect. He carries a large dark grey Uruk-Hai blade which is a very nice and accurate mould which looks suitably cumbersome for him. He also comes with some chest armour, a helmet, and a shield which are printed with the white hand of Saruman and he can be equipped with.

The final figure is a standard Uruk-Hai which is a nice thing to have in order to build your army. This figure is actually exclusive with a lovely moulded helmet which is cast in dark metallic grey which looks amazing and very accurate indeed. His eyes and mouth are visible through holes in the piece and the white hand of Saruman is printed on the forehead area of the helmet. The head is printed on both sides with a dark red and dark tan face on one side featuring some wrinkles, yellow eyes, and bared teeth. On the other side is the exact same design as Lurtz has but on dark red skin with the white hand of Saruman as well. He wears dark grey metallic armour which is lovely and matches his sword, shield and helmet very nicely. Beneath this is a lovely torso printed with loads of leather and fabric panels which is extremely detailed and accurate to the films with some shiny silver areas and a few studs on the garment which look incredible. On the back of the torso this wonderful design is continued with more studs and two buckles. His arms are dark red and the hands are dark grey.

The legs and hips also have printing on them of the leather flaps and armour plating which looks marvellous! The accuracy is astonishing, as good as any other figure based on something from a film or television show in my opinion. He also wields a large Uruk-Hai sword with the spike coming from the end of it and a shield which is also very accurate to the movies and has the white hand of Saruman printed on it. All in all, a great Minifigure and I really hope we get a few more pieces of armour with the hand printed on it as it looks great.

The build

The build is not particularly long or challenging for this set, only about half an hour in length and there are very few interesting moments. I like the use the new wooden printed tiles which are used rather sparingly but still give the impression of a cobbled together construction. Also, in order to strengthen the crane tower so it will not buckle or bend at all two long Technic bars are used behind the tower which work very well indeed here. Finally, the rock formations at the base of the model are quite cleverly constructed which to provide some inspiration for how one might go about making their own rock formations.

The completed model

The actual model looks very nice indeed and has some fun features. Towards the right end of the Orc Forge is a large crane area which works very well indeed and can be used to hoist the unrefined ore up to the top level. It looks fantastic and is just like what is seen in the films at this location. From there the metal is sorted and poured down the small dark grey channel in to the awaiting cauldron where it can be melted down in preparation for being turned in to weapons and armour. The cauldron can be placed on the fire which can light up using the light-up brick included which is a nice feature and one which young children will enjoy particularly about this set I think. Beneath the highest platform is an enclosed area with a hinged wooden panel which folds to hold up the bucket while the metal is being unloaded from it.

There are a few torches spread around the scene and a huge number of rocks. Beneath the crane area built in to the rock is an Uruk-Hai birthing pit in which Lurtz can be placed from the back and then by pushing him forwards a section of rock will break away and he will pop out. This is a nice little feature and is probably the best way to recreate this aspect of the Orc Forge in the film. The two halves of the model can be split which is nice and allows you to rearrange it if you so wish, but this will mean that the assembly line style features will not flow in to one another correctly at all. However it is nice to have the option to do this. A small flame pit with space for two swords is also included for finishing off the weapons and there is an anvil for forming the equipment.

Summary

My concern prior to the release of this set was the fact that the playability may be harmed due to the lack of any conflict in the set, however the features more than make up for this in my opinion. The four figures are all superb and the model looks suitably rickety an cobbled together. But best of all for me are the wonderful printed helmets and shields with the white hand of Saruman which looks absolutely brilliant. The production line style features of set 7036, Dwarves' Mine, eclipse those in this set in my opinion as they were far more novel but for the sake of accuracy, this model is perfect and the features are ideal. With very few flaws other than the slightly disappointing construction stage I am only taking off one point and therefore awarding this set...

Overall - 9/10

I got this set as a present on my 13th birthday and I am unsure of the price. But at its usual $60 price, it is a great set.

Box/Instructions

The box is nice with lots of pictures showing what it does. The instructions were simple and easy to follow.

Parts

There is a lot of sand green tiles which is good for spare pieces. There is a variety of new pieces that I haven't seen before like the wood structure piece.

Minifigures

I love the detail on the orks and lurtz. they have printing on both sides and Lurtz and the Uruk-Hai have 2 head printings. I would like to have seen

The build

It was fun to build the model as there was many rock parts to it.

The completed model

It is a great model to have and there is lots of rock work which make it even better. There is lots of playability in this set like the furnace and slide thing.

Summary

I believe this is a great set and would make an excellent addition to anyones collection.