LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook review

LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook finally fulfils one of fans’ greatest desires and needs to be built to be believed.

Comparisons with the other LEGO book nooks are inevitable when 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook launches next month, but rest assured that this The Lord of the Rings model has an entirely different execution from the rest of the collection. With a much more affordable price point than the rest of the modern LEGO The Lord of the Rings sets, this is one model not to overlook based on first impressions.

10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook

Release: Jun 1, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2028

Price: £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99

Pieces: 1,201

Minifigures: 1

LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook has 1,201 pieces, recreating the confrontation between Durin’s Bane (the Balrog, or one Balrog of many) and Gandalf on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm within the mines of Moria. 9473 The Mines of Moria is the only other set based on the mines, and you can see a hint of the iconic stone architecture in this much bigger model, but with significantly more detail and not a single sticker to speak of.

The mines of Moria needed a LEGO upgrade, and while this set doesn’t entirely focus on them, it does offer a taste of what an 18+ Moria might look like while specifically depicting the initial battle between Gandalf and Durin’s Bane. As a book nook and diorama crossover, the LEGO Icons model makes for an impressive display, and one that is incredibly versatile for whatever space you have at home.

Much like 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook, the Balrog book nook can remain completely enclosed, but has strange sides compared to its literary companion. This is because the model is also intended to unfold, spreading out the Balrog’s wings (reused from 40693 The Lord of the Rings: Fell Beast gift-with-purchase).

With the simple but effective fiery effects and the lofty stone columns looming over Gandalf as the Balrog approaches, this is an incredible display piece when unfolded. It unfortunately loses some of that character when folded up, where only the Balrog is visible. It’s hard not to appreciate the colour gradient effect – borrowed from 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr – as well, serving to showcase the intense heat emanating from the Balrog. The fire could have been more impressive at this price point, though the effect works adequately when combined with the Balrog.

It’s these finer details that help make up the Moria part of the model, and while the bridge is simply shaped, it’s effective given the space constraints necessary for a book nook and also has some shifting colours, twisting as the Balrog steps closer to Gandalf. Look out for some hidden Mithril within the set as well. There’s a lot to admire in 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook, but unless you’re keeping the set unfolded, building the set is the best time to appreciate it.

As an actual book nook, the designers have been smart to leave the gaps at the sides, top, bottom and back of the build to let in as much light as possible. The Balrog’s massive frame already blocks out most of the paths for light in the model, darkening it and hiding the gradient colour detailing as well as the Balrog’s features. This appears to be why the fire is thinner than you’d expect.

By leaving these spaces open, there’s as much room as possible for light to shine in, and it gives the illusion that there’s more of Moria beyond the boundaries of this build. Admittedly, this illusion is best on a darker shelf, but a brightly-coloured shelf helps to outline the fiery effects of the Balrog and reflect more light into the book nook as well.

For those eager to block out the rest of the sides and make the nook as dark as possible, the solution is as easy as a few pieces of black or grey paper. In a £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99 set, an included solution would have been ideal, but it’s clear that the designers intend the sides and back of the build to be open, and you can recognise this vision when it’s on display. We’d recommend adding at least one black piece of paper to the bottom of the build, though, to simulate the pit above the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

As you might have guessed, the Balrog figure can be removed from the book nook and displayed separately. Not many sacrifices have been made for the figure to be compatible with the book nook, either. This part of the set is integral to the display, recreating the intimidating frame and limited colour scheme of Durin’s Bane well.

The figure has numerous points of articulation, particularly on the wings, as well as a highly-detailed head. More flame effects would have been appreciated, but they also might have taken away from the sleek, all-black design of this figure. We’ve been waiting years for a LEGO Balrog (the BrickHeadz arguably doesn’t count), and it’s pleasing to write that this figure has been worth the wait.

Those wings should look familiar, as they were used for the long-retired Fell Beast gift-with-purchase. It’s a clever re-use of the existing material, but admittedly comes off as a little cheap in a premium set experience. There’s no doubt that the design works well for the Balrog, but the wings should have had their design changed to better fit the Balrog with flame effects or a darker grey hue.

Another issue with this model is how the Balrog figure is placed into the book nook. Once the impressive figure is in place, it won’t be going anywhere, but getting it into the model isn’t the easiest task. It will take a couple of tries to line up the tips of the wings into their respective slots and the Technic axles into the holders, and then you’ll need to drastically reposition the legs into a walking pose.

It’s an initially arduous task that you’ll likely have to do a few times, but it’s a small price to pay for the Balrog figure being standalone from the central build, while still integrated into it, with those moving wings. It would have been great to see the grey Technic parts on the Balrog’s wings recoloured in black, but given that this angle won’t be seen very often, it’s not a huge issue.

Despite these points of concern, the Balrog is still an impressive LEGO figure and one that fans will be satisfied with after the long wait, just not quite blown away by the effort. There’s room for improvement, especially with those wings.

Given that this set recreates the initial battle with Durin’s Bane, with an appropriate quote tile that is also printed (there are no stickers in this build!), one minifigure of Gandalf makes sense, and there’s not much space for any more of the Fellowship of the Ring. This Gandalf minifigure is identical to that in 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire, save for the accessories.

Since there’s only one minifigure in 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook, it’s disappointing to see that Glamdring didn’t get a new, specific element, but the existing sword mould works just fine in its place. You certainly won’t be buying this LEGO set for the single Gandalf minifigure, but it’s a necessary part of the diorama book nook that has been done as well as it needed to be.

LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook is the same price as 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook for around 200 fewer elements and significantly fewer minifigures, but that doesn’t mean this model is bad value.

At £109.99 / $129.99 / €119.99, 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook is by far the most affordable LEGO The Lord of the Rings set currently available and for fans on a bit less of a budget than that of 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, this is a great standalone LEGO set based on an iconic moment from the fantasy franchise.

Despite what you might believe about the price and its value, this is a LEGO book nook that needs to be seen, or ideally built, to be believed. 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook is worth your time and money. Though not without its flaws, the finished result remains an impressive experience in both the build and final display, and it’s simply satisfying to finally see a proper LEGO Balrog.

LEGO book nook comparison

LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook is similarly sized to 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook, with a familiar unfolded feature to boot. This is where the similarities end, though. The movie model has fewer pieces and minifigures but makes for a substantially different kind of display when folded into a book or unfolded as a diorama.

At the same price, both 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook and 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook explore different aspects of the book nook concept, immediately demonstrating the potential within this new LEGO collection.

Our honest opinion: 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook isn’t without flaws, but as a finished model, this is a great LEGO The Lord of the Rings experience at a more accessible price than any other currently available.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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