LEGO Lord of the Rings Hobbit The Battle of Helm's Deep (9474)

Product Information

Dresden and Logan got a real kick out of the wall flying to pieces while I had more fun with the Uruk siege ladder but we broke up the build sessions by doing one or two mini-bags of the set at a time. My childhood didn’t include LEGO sets so to keep the child-like elements alive in the building of the sets and to keep the review on the level, I recruited Dresden (10) and Logan (8) to assist in the build and the experience. It includes a great mix of minifigures (even the berserker which for those of you who have seen the movie, you know why this is weird for a toy meant for kids) though a word of warning, for me at least Aragorn was rendered useless due to his body cracking once I put the legs on, a few other pieces did the same thing but thankfully they were very common parts and ones you don't even see, this can be attributed to two things, age since the set came out in 2012, and a bad batch of plastic since all of the parts were the same color (brown). I wouldn't have cared if it had been Arwen or Tauriel that got excluded from the line, but not getting Eowyn remains one of my biggest disappointments.

All in all, this is a set I had always wanted and I'm so glad that unlike a lot of things this actually lives up to the hype, I cannot recommend this set enough, though like all things you should make sure you find a reliable seller to avoid some of the nasty little things (bags having been opened, missing pieces, missing figures, dirty parts, etc. Some mention that it is well-made and full of fun, while others say that it's of a lower quality, the minifigures crack easily, and is very fragile.There is a Minikit in a cage at the center of the area which you will need to open by completing several games.

Overall this is an impressive set to look at and though it only really has two real play-functions (a small catapult and an exploding wall) if your child has a decent imagination (which these types of toys are meant to encourage anyways) and if you are an adult or teenager, you may find it fun to try to expand onto the fortress since it has numerous areas to do so.At this point there was enough reward to give Dresden and Logan a feeling of accomplishment but they were happy to back off. Now they are all suited up, Theoden is holding a shield and a standard sword in this theme, and an amazingly detailed printed armor. The forces of men, elves, and a dwarf must do everything they can to stop them from breaching the fortress walls. They also say it is a great representation of the Lord of the Rings and a timeless wonder that teaches spatial skills, building, and is able to look great on a shelf.

Watching the tower on the inner ring and its Horn of Helm Hammerhand come together was perhaps the highlight of the process. It showcases the product exceptionally well with play action on the front and the figure array on the back.The box is big, the box is beautiful and the box serves its purpose of getting consumers to want this product.