Lego Review: 79000 Riddles for the Ring (The Hobbit)

Yes, it's not Star Wars and I told myself I shouldn't get too distracted by too many Lego themes but I couldn't resist and picked this up from the Metro store at City Square Shopping Mall with a 20% discount while shopping for toys for my nephews and nieces. 
It's a new set based on the new movie : The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Box and Contents

It's a very small box compared to most Lego sets but as usual it is very beautifully decorated:

Opening the box, you'll see the contents as follows:

2 packs of parts and an instruction manual

As it's a small set, you only get 2 packs of Lego parts and an instruction manual.

Minifigs

You get 2 minifigs but 2 of the most important ones from the movie Bilbo Baggins and Gollum! 

Bilbo Baggins wielding Sting (Elven Sword)

The Bilbo Baggins minifig has nicely detailed clothing imprinted on the torso and comes armed with Sting, An Elven Sword. 

The Gollum minifig below looks impressive (I think it is quite similar to the one released in the Lord of the Rings sets), especially his facial expression and body shape that are accurate to how Gollum's countenance and posture is depicted in the LOTR / The Hobbit films. He comes armed with a fish?? hehe

Gollum armed with fish!

Assembling

There are basically only 2 structures: Gollum's boat and Gollum's Rock.

Gollum on his boat..All Hands on deck :)

I won't go into detail as it is very easy to build. Next up is Gollum's Rock.

Base of Gollum's Rock

Gollum's rock is more like a building structure that has 2 ends that can swivel in and out to hide the Ring. It is more apparent in the picture below which shows clearly the swivelling ends. You can attach the Ring to the rock.

"Get Away from my Precious!"

One cool thing is that among the extra pieces, you get 2 rings and 2 swords. The ring itself has some weight to it and is quite shiny and "precious". The only "gripe" is the ring size is too large in relation to the minifigs so it more closely resembles a bracelet or a set of brass knuckles that Bilbo can use to knock Gollum all the way to Mount Doom. But I do understand that if they did do it to scale, you probably wouldn't be able to see the ring.

A small set nonetheless but no less entertaining especially if you are a fan of the series and what better minifigs to get than these.

You can get it from major department stores where Lego is sold, Toys R Us stores, Amazon US, Amazon UK or Amazon France. Please do check the prices before you buy.

To those in Singapore, it is not worth your while to import this set as the shipping alone will probably bloat the cost too much past the retail price here. Perhaps if you bundle with other Lego sets or items, it may be worth your while.