LEGO The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith was ‘the right choice creatively’
LEGO Icons Senior Model Designer François Zapf has revealed just how enormous a challenge it was to create 11377 The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith.
The LEGO Icons team officially revealed 11377 The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith today, an 8,278-piece recreation of the Midde-earth location that arrives online and in stores next month. The first-ever brick-built version of the White City looks to be a truly striking model, although it’s a set that also had to overcome a number of hurdles during its development, as detailed by its designer, François Zapf.
In an interview on LEGO.com, François discussed just what it took to assemble the City of Gondor, its unique mix of minifigure and micro scales, the eye-catching shape of the structure and much more.
“Minas Tirith is the great missing location among the iconic places of Middle-earth in LEGO set form,” said François. “It was the right choice creatively, but adapting such a gigantic city into a LEGO set was an enormous challenge.
“The most important aspect to get right was the overall silhouette and we developed some satisfying geometric solutions for the circular walls. For example, two 2×4 wedge plates joined together create the same angle as an 8-15-17 Pythagorean triangle.
“We used this relationship to build the geometry of the outer wall, allowing it to reconnect seamlessly with the grid at both ends, no easy task with rectangular bricks. We applied similar techniques in the upper levels, again creating angled walls that reconnect into the system and ensure a very stable structure, even with the large open section at the back for the throne room.”
When it came to creating a true sense of scale for the massive White City, the LEGO Icons design team decided to take a leaf out of 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr’s playbook and fuse two different styles together.
“The outer walls and main gate are built at minifigure scale,” François explained, “while the inner levels are built in microscale, allowing us to represent all seven tiers of the city, including the citadel and the tower. This creates a forced-perspective effect. So, as the model rises, the scale becomes smaller.
“At the back of the model, you’ll find a detailed recreation of the citadel’s interior, including the Hall of Kings with the white throne and the Steward’s chair. There are also small, partially hidden rooms on either side, like the library where Gandalf researches the history of The One Ring, and a bedroom where Pippin and Gandalf stay before the climactic Battle of the Pelennor Fields.”
You’ll be able to explore 11377 The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith for yourself when it’s released exclusively for Insiders on June 1, 2026, with wider availability from June 4. The LEGO Icons set is priced at £579.99 / €649.99 / $649.99 and accompanied by 40893 The Lord of the Rings: Grond as a GWP from June 1-7 (while stocks last).
Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links. Thanks!
