|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avandel
Half-elven
Feb 28 2016, 6:30pm
Post #1 of 3
(1228 views)
Shortcut
|
|
LATE mini-review LEGO An Unexpected Gathering Bag End #79003
|
Can't Post
|
|
Why comment on a build set that was released, I guess, back in 2012? Well, I figure there might be a few other folks like me, panicking interested in the fact that apparently the LEGO corporation is retiring? and/or won't be making any more LOTR/Hobbit sets .
And up to a few years ago, I personally wouldn't even have considered buying ANY LEGO - a kiddie toy *meh*. I even thought some disk set was pretty "chintzy" when it bundled a LEGO figure with the disk. These tiny things have nothing on my Funko POPs!
Of course, hearing that LEGO has made IMO an unfortunate decision (where's Beorn's set with all the little animals?) I HAD to have Bag End at least. Because I LIKE paying double for retired pieces of anything .
So, roaming around the 'net, I find out that this set seems to pretty much get very high ratings by all: parents, teenagers, ME collectors, and all those adults who have re-discovered LEGOS and have basements full of sets. I stumbled into a new world! One person described it as "being their favorite set, ever."
And, as I spend hours (seriously) assembling this "kiddie toy" with its 4 bags of a 4,786,098 parts and those bags within the bags and 2 booklets of detailed instructions and pour myself a drink (over not being able to find that ONE tiny 1/4" triangle thing and/or am I supposed to use the tiny square with the open hole or the closed hole), I wonder why, laughably, I thought this would be RELAXING. But I slowly fall in love. With this set, anyway. Right about when I notice this detail:
OMG, the FIREPLACE has this 'wee grate. A WEE GRATE. And the way the flames are done - so clever! Looks like there are tiny bottles and whatnot too.*SQUEE!* I love miniature stuff....
Yes, indeed. Halfway through building this thing, uncomfortably aware that the average 10-year old would probably be done by now. I am truly proud that I am able to wrestle down occasional feelings of terror, when I look at the contents of each of those 4 bags. (Although, there IS something satisfying in a tactile kind of way, as you push the bricks together. Like kneading bread or gardening - it's kind of soothing. And it's kind of fascinating watching this thing take shape, like building an IKEA dresser.)
Much like the Company, this activity has attracted the most terrifying kind of attention. Like a warg pack, but cuter. I persevere. A headache starts to form. I keep an eye on my stalker , knowing that THERE ARE NO DUPLICATE PARTS. To LOSE anything is on the level of losing the Arkenstone. Oh, and the *precious* figures included in this set - Gandalf, Bilbo (a version where he is in his suspenders), Balin, Dwalin, Bofur, and Bombur - well, they are all in pieces scattered through those 4 bags of a zillion parts. And oh, NO. There are some pieces they want you to apply stickers to *&^%$#. I try to keep my hands from shaking...FAIL *&^^%$$......
It was well into the evening when I finished. But done. The all-important door even has the rune on it. It's a cuteness overload! Need to switch out the knob, tho. This HAS to look exactly like the picture on the box *twitch*.
As someone on a "LEGO brick lover" site commented, with any LEGO "specialty" set from a film, you're likely to be missing key characters. Great. So I had already ordered the Durins ahead of time. I still need the rest of the dwarves, tho, IF I can get them $$$$.
But it was finally a chance to get something besides soup into Thorin. (I wasn't PLAYING with it when I was done. Really. I was STAGING A DIORAMA. Just because I had to make sure Thorin got a nice chicken leg doesn't mean ANYTHING .)
Summary: Well, I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, because this set has been out for a while, and there are reviews on Amazon and elsewhere - here's a great YouTube review from "brickqueen":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBzVxO3BN7Y
So I guess the question is, should you grab this set and other LOTR/Hobbit stuff before it fades into the *pricey* realm of collector sites and E-bay...IMO, for this set (which is the only one I have experience with) - it's a definite YES. Someone on Amazon described this set design as a "labor of love" for LEGO and I hafta agree with that, based on the numerous details - the little desk and the red book and the included maps, the unbelievably clever way the round windows and doors were done, Bilbo's bench and the scattered flowers, the little bottles and plates and food - it's not a WETA sculpt but it screams charm and Hobbit and Bag End. It's engaging to build for an adult, reasonably sturdy, and looks great as a collectible when complete.
Cons would be, I guess, that apparently a set with ALL the dwarves wasn't put out $$$. And having a pair of long, blunt forceps might be useful moving stuff around. And some of the pieces are real tiny and easy to lose. Some folks have complained that the tree on the roof could have been done better (not sure I have an opinion, and besides, I have family members who do model railroads who could help, if I want to fuss).
(And just because I found out, in my LEGO information quest, that you can buy base plates and more bricks and thoughts are flashing through my head of, like, maybe extending this set and making it bigger and the table longer and maybe adding Bilbo's bedroom and looking into whether LEGO makes, you know, ponies, doesn't mean I'm in trouble . I'm not. I'm just thinking, that's all.)
|
|
|
Smaug the iron
Gondor
Feb 28 2016, 7:27pm
Post #2 of 3
(1218 views)
Shortcut
|
I love the Bag End set. I have almost all Hobbit and Lord of the Rings lego sets ( the only once I have left is Dale, black gate, the pirate ship and Gandalf vs Saruman).
And oh, NO. There are some pieces they want you to apply stickers to *&^%$#. I try to keep my hands from shaking...FAIL *&^^%$$ I know what you mean, stickers is a nightmare.
|
|
|
Avandel
Half-elven
Mar 2 2016, 4:03pm
Post #3 of 3
(1156 views)
Shortcut
|
|
LOL I have a new hobby (well, a little)
[In reply to]
|
Can't Post
|
|
Good for you and anyone who has the LEGO sets. Having Bag End in hand for a few days, and reading more about LEGOs and the corporation and seeing some more LEGO vids and reviews - IMO, just TOO clever and too well done.
I THINK I've decided I want the Barrels set. Still thinking. But I love that whole scene and the chase.
|
|
|
|
|
