LEGO SDCC-exclusive The Hobbit minifigure up for grabs in the VIP Rewards Centre

The LEGO Group has brought back its first minifigure from Middle-earth ahead of the return of LEGO The Lord of the Rings in 2023 – but probably not in the way you’d hoped.

LEGO The Lord of the Rings is returning to shelves in January, starting with three BrickHeadz sets in 40630 Frodo & Gollum, 40631 Gandalf the Grey & Balrog, and 40632 Aragorn & Arwen. Conspicuous for their absence at the moment are minifigures, given the entire original run of LEGO The Lord of the Rings and LEGO The Hobbit sets in 2012 and 2013 were anchored around the tiny plastic people.

While a larger The Lord of the Rings set is rumoured to be on the way in 10316 Rivendell, there’s no word yet on whether that set is expected to include minifigures (if it exists at all). That means we’re still waiting to see Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the gang make their minifigure return – but for now, you can at least be in with a chance of adding one Tolkien character to your collection.

From today through January 6, 2023, you can enter a sweepstakes in the VIP Rewards Centre to win an exclusive Bard the Bowman minifigure, originally given away at San Diego Comic-Con in 2014. That minifigure now fetches upwards of £390 in mint condition on BrickLink, so it’s a pretty tasty prize – just not exactly the wider return of LEGO Middle-earth minifigures we were all hoping for.

Each entry into the sweepstakes costs 50 VIP points, and you can enter a maximum of 50 times. That’s a pretty big gamble given the odds on winning aren’t public, and the points can otherwise be exchanged for tangible discounts on LEGO sets, but so it goes with LEGO VIP sweepstakes. If you want to get your name in the hat, head over to the VIP Rewards Centre before January 6, 2023.

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