LEGO The Lord of the Rings has made a triumphant comeback in 2023 with 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell. From our verdict on the 6,167-piece set to secrets straight out of the mouths of designers, here’s everything you need to know about the LEGO Group’s return to Middle-earth.
Launching on March 5 for VIP members and March 8 for everyone else, 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is the biggest, most expensive and arguably the best LEGO The Lord of the Rings set of all time. It’s also the first to arrive on shelves (not counting Dimensions level packs or BrickHeadz characters) since the original theme wrapped up in 2013.
That means the design team has had a decade of advanced design techniques to lean back on, and it more than shows in 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell. Dive in below for all you need to know…
LEGO 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell designer interview
To mark the launch of 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, Brick Fanatics Editor Chris Wharfe and YouTube Editor Matthew Loffhagen hopped on a flight to Billund to chat with the designers behind the LEGO Icons set. You can check out the full interview over at our YouTube channel, or by hitting play on the video above.
For select highlights from the full interview, check out the stories below, and come back to this page regularly as we continue to explore the library of secrets the designers had to share.
LEGO The Lord of the Rings designer quiz
As well as interviewing the designers behind 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell on how the set came together, we put their Middle-earth knowledge to the test in a fiendish The Lord of the Rings quiz. See how they fared in the video above.
LEGO 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
| LEGO set | Price | Pieces | Minifigures | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell | £429.99 / $499.99 / €499.99 | 6,167 | 15 | March 5 (VIP), March 8 (wide), 2023 |
10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell joined the LEGO Icons theme on March 5 (for VIP members), and for the first three days included a free copy of 40630 Frodo & Gollum. It then launched widely on March 8, sans free gift, for £429.99 / $499.99 / €499.99.
The sprawling ode to the home of the elves contains 6,167 pieces and 15 minifigures (or 21, if you count the six grey statues littered across the model), including all nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Grey, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc ‘Merry’ Brandybuck and Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took.
Its minifigure line-up is rounded out by Elrond, Arwen, Bilbo Baggins, two generic elves and a generic dwarf (which the press release referred to as Gloin, but is apparently not intended to be a specific character). It’s basically every character you could hope for from a Rivendell set, all updated with brand new designs.
10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell also represents a unique approach to the Middle-earth theme for the LEGO Group, insofar as its original The Lord of the Rings assortment focused on smaller and more affordable playsets. This product, by contrast, is very clearly aimed towards adults capable of dropping vast sums of cash on their hobby.
Given it’s part of the LEGO Icons theme – alongside other one-off licensed sets like 10302 Optimus Prime, 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine and 10306 Atari 2600 – we’re not expecting to see a full return of LEGO The Lord of the Rings any time soon. If 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is beyond your budget, best look towards the vintage sets on the aftermarket.
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LEGO 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell review
So, LEGO The Lord of the Rings is back: but how does this gigantic rendition of Rivendell stack up, and is it really worth its lofty price tag? We’ve assembled all 6,167 pieces to figure that out for you, and you can find out more by reading our full review. In short, though: this is a set that absolutely delivers on the weighty expectations sitting squarely on its shoulders.
It’s an instant The Lord of the Rings minifigure collection in a box; an incredible collection of complex and precise building techniques; and – if you can believe it – genuinely good value for money, at least as far as LEGO sets go. As we said in our review: “No visible corners have been cut in bringing 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell to life, yet it doesn’t feel like the responsibility for its grand ambitions has been passed on to the consumer – particularly amidst a landscape of set prices shifting increasingly north. Again, it’s not cheap; but crucially, it doesn’t feel unfair.”
We concluded that it’s ‘the peak of what LEGO display models can be in 2023’, summarising its pros and cons in the table below. Check out our full review for more on 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell.
| 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell pros | 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell cons |
|---|---|
| Possibly the most fascinating build you’ll ever undertake, and unlike absolutely anything else on the market | A couple of the minifigures feel slightly lacklustre compared to their 2012 counterparts |
| Filled with attention to detail, and you can see exactly where the budget has gone – it’s actually great value | Even if it’s great value, it’s still an expensive prospect |
| Every minifigure you could want from a LEGO The Lord of the Rings set based on Rivendell |
10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell is available now at LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores.
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