Some LEGO The Lord of the Rings fans are underwhelmed by the first look at 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire – but that's a mistake.
Now that we've had an early glimpse of 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire, it's clear that the set is going to be quite different from both 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell and 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr. Rather than one sprawling build, where every element is connected to form either a connected landscape in 10316 or an enormous tower in 10333, 10354 The Shire appears to be made up of separate builds.
That's not to say there's no detail. The core part of the set is Bag End itself, expanded upon with side-builds of Bilbo's birthday cake, Gandalf's cart, Bilbo's stage where he makes his dramatic exit, and a spot for Merry and Pippin to let off fireworks, complete with a fiery dragon.
Nonetheless, 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire does appear much smaller (although there's no confirmed piece count just yet), as well as more disjointed. The separate elements make it feel a little more geared for play than the big-ticket display models we got in 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell and 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr.
Fans of the Shire's first instinct might be disappointed that we don't get the same sprawling detail as the first two modern LEGO The Lord of the Rings sets – and indeed, some are expressing that disappointment on reddit, with commenters describing it as 'a little underwhelming' and 'a few more steps further down' from the two previous sets.
However, we'd ask you to reserve judgement: 10354 The Shire is actually an exciting step towards a more well-rounded The Lord of the Rings theme, like what we've had in the past.
Not everyone can afford – either in terms of money or space – an enormous display piece like 10316 Rivendell and 10333 Barad-dûr. A smaller and hopefully more affordable build like 10354 The Shire expands the scope of the theme and, if popular, could even open the door to smaller playsets, like 2012's 9476 The Orc Forge and 9472 Attack On Weathertop, as just a couple of examples.
More diversity is always a good thing for any product and that includes LEGO themes. If any location was going to get a slightly smaller treatment, it makes sense to do it for the Shire, as opposed to Rivendell or Barad-dûr. We don't really see into any other hobbit holes other than Bag End and a lot of the scenery is very similar, with grassy knolls and valleys galore that look great on screen – but might not translate into the most interesting LEGO set.
Put simply, don't judge 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire too harshly, especially as we've only had a slightly blurry look at it so far. Bigger doesn't always mean better and there's still plenty to enjoy about the set, from what we can see so far.
Featured image: New Line Cinema
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