LEGO and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is like peanut butter and chocolate. The two go great together. When I first saw Bag End I found myself talking like Gollum saying, “It will be mine.” The first thing that struck me about this set is how accurately they recreated the look of Bag End.
Now let’s start the review of set 79003 Hobbit An Unexpected Gathering. The minifigure role call goes like this: Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo Baggins, Balin, Bofur, Bombur, and Dwalin. One thing LEGO does not sell is any set that contains the entire cast of dwarfs. This is a good start and I will be adding to it in the weeks to come.
It has 652 pieces comes with 2 instruction manuals. Splitting the instructions into 2 books helps younger builders because each step only contains a few new bricks. Bag 1 sets up the foundation and includes the new style of brick separator.
Bag 2 has the iconic front door and window. The two shades of green bricks help give it that hillside look. One thing I love about LEGO is building furniture. There is so much detail is in this set; stove, Sting, shelves, & broom holder, to name a few.
Bag 3 contains dwarfs with weapons! The printing on them is great. They really put a lot of details on each figure. On the inside we get a table and lots of food. It is strange to think that one of the most iconic images in The Hobbit is of people eating.
Bag 4 has the reaming dwarfs, the roof for Bag End, and even more details to add. How have I never built a hammer like this before? It is so perfect.
The play action is very high for this set. Kids will love all the minifigures. With the removable roof, you can get your adult size hands in and set up your favorite scene. One thing I did was reenact the opening to The Lord of the Ring using my set 9469 Gandalf Arrives. And yes I do the voices. This set is a great combo of looking great and having fun play features.
Ordering Options
UPDATE: eBay is your best bet for finding this LEGO set.
Click this link to: search eBay for the LEGO Hobbit: an Unexpected Gathering set.
