The Lego Attack on Weathertop set is part of the new Lego Lord Of the Rings (LOTR) sets, based on the books and more specifically the films of the same name.
While the set is small and somewhat overpriced (if purchased at retail) it has a number of cool features, not least of which are the (at this stage) exclusive Ringwraiths and their black horses, the nice detailing on the mountain (a rare “natural” feature in Lego sets) and the other minifigures.
We take a closer look at the set and see if it is worth adding to your Lord Of the Rings Lego collection.
Attack on Weathertop – A Little Background
The 430 piece Lego set recreates a rather menacing scene in the first film/book, Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo and his fellow hobbits, joined by Aragorn, are beset upon by the nine black riders, otherwise known as the Nazgul or Ringwraiths from Mordor.
The nine are seeking the “One Ring” carried by Frodo and have perused the small band travellers from their home in Hobbiton, through the town of Bree where they met with the mysterious Ranger known as Aragorn. Finally outrun on the mountaintop outside of Bree, it is here that Frodo sustains a wound that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
The main part of the playset includes the small mountain of Weathertop, known as Amon Sûl or”Hill of Wind”, an old ruin which was once a watchtower to guard against attack. The minifigures in the set include the Hobbits, Frodo Baggins and Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) as well as Aragorn the Ranger and two Ringwraiths with their black steeds.
Other accessories include weapons (Sting and other swords), food and the “One Ring”. Attack At Weathertop is only one of two sets in this first wave of Lord Of the Rings Lego sets that comes with the “Ring” (the other is Shelob Attacks).
Stop the evil Ringwraiths on Weathertop from stealing The One Ring!
Resting in the ancient fortress ruins of Weathertop, Aragorn, Frodo and Merry are suddenly attacked by the Ringwraiths, the evil servants of Sauron! Will the Ringwraiths take The One Ring from Frodo or can Aragorn stop the evil Ringwraiths in time? Includes 5 minifigures: Aragorn, Frodo, Merry and 2 Ringwraiths.
Includes 5 minifigures: Aragorn, Frodo, Merry and 2 Ringwraiths
Accessories include 2 new LEGO horses, 5 swords, torch and ring
Features Weathertop fortress ruin with tree, flick missile function, trapdoor, weapon rack, pedestal and fireplace with food
Open the fortress to play inside!
Defend Weathertop by firing the hidden flick missiles!
Find the hidden weapon rack!
Spring the trapdoor!
Cook with the fireplace!
Weathertop measures 5″ (13cm) high and 6″ (16cm) wide
Attack On Weathertop Image Gallery
Aragron & Weathertop From The Movie “Fellowship Of the Ring”
Lego Attack On Weathertop 9472 The Brick Life Review
Attack On Weathertop is a cute set but doesn’t really stand on it’s own. I imagine it won’t be the most appealing of this first wave of Lord Of the Rings sets – Helm’s Deep will certainly be a big seller because of it’s sheer size (the box for this set is heavy!).
However, Attack On Weathertop maybe small but it does come with a few attractions of it’s own. Most notably the minifigures – specifically the two black riders and their horses.
New Lego Horses
The horses included in this set are the first of the new style of Lego horses to appear. Also, unlike the brown horses that appear in other Lord Of The Rings sets, these are the only black ones available at the time of writing.
The original Lego horse has been around, unchanged, for decades. While other minifigures and animals have evolved in both mould and printing, the horse has remained it’s simple and functional self.
The new horses differ from the previous design in that their back legs can move and they have more detailed printing on the head. It is important to note that the front legs cannot move and also that the back legs, while they can be posed, can only be moved as one piece – each leg cannot move independently.
The change is significant though, and enables you to pose the horses standing, galloping and also rearing up – an important feature for the steed of a black rider!
Minifigures
The other minfigures in the set include
Frodo Baggins
Merry Brandybuck
Aragorn
2 X Dark Riders
Both the dark riders and Merry are exclusive figures and while great for completists are not essential to the casual Lego fan. Personally I would have preferred a Sam figure to Merry, as I believe he is one of the most essential members of the fellowship and it’s almost as if he should be with Frodo at all times.
Presently Sam only appears in Shelob Attacks, a fairly creepy set that I imagine many parents just won’t be buying (myself included).
Aragorn is a nice touch, though obviously similar to the minfigure that appears in the Helm’s Deep set as, like most characters in the trilogy, he basically wore the same costume right through the series. I can’t wait to see the “king” version in later sets though 🙂
The Hilltop Playset
The Hill of Weathertop is pretty cute. It is rare to have a natural landscape feature in a Lego set – more often than not sets are buildings or vehicles, with straight lines and hard edges.
This set allows the Official Lego designers to show off their ability to re-create nature’s curves with straight Lego pieces.
It also provides a wonderful opportunity for young designers to develop ideas about how to create their own mountains and landscapes with different angled slopes.
The Weathertop hill opens up (something that obviously didn’t happen in the movie) and provides a nice playspace inside as well as allowing for a wider, open backed play experience.
Overall it is a nice starting point for future building of the Lord Of the Rings landscapes, and fans familiar with the series can use the included elements to expand into other areas.
As an extra not I should add that Lego saw fit to include three of the “One ring” pieces in the set I bought. Considering the importance of the piece and the very small size, I though that was a very nice gesture on their part.
As parents we know how often special parts can go missing and it is nice to know Lego is aware of this and included a few backups. My advice, put two away for safe keeping (just don’t try to put them on:-).
Lego also included an orange brick separator which seems to be standard in sets these days. The company must have received a petition from dentists!
The Lego Youtube Channel has released a wonderful new video about the design and development of the Lego Lord Of the Rings Minifigures for 2012.
