Pages

Monday, March 11, 2013

9469 Gandalf Arrives

 
9469 Gandalf arrives is the smallest of The Lord of the Rings boxed sets and is based on the opening scene from The Fellowship of the Ring. It contains 83 pieces and is priced at $12.99 USD. I got mine at an after Christmas sale for $10.31. This 20% savings was what hooked me into purchasing this set. The box contains two bags and a new LEGO horse with moveable back hips.
The set contains two minifigures, Gandalf the Grey and Frodo. The build itself is surprisingly interesting for such a small set. The sides of the wagon in particular look incredible. It functions quite well and stays true to the movie. Within the wagon is a letter addressed to Merry, a carrot, and three fireworks, one of which looks suspiciously like a snake.
When seated in the front of the wagon, Gandalf does not fit comfortably with his cape on. I would suggest removing the cape before seating him to minimize creasing on the cape. Another thing I would have like to see is the point where the wagon and horse connect should turn. It isn’t very realistic when playing to have no points of motion besides the wheels. There also aren’t any reigns for Gandalf to control his wagon with. He must have a trusting horse! Besides these few flaws, the set is truly a great buy and packs a lot of detail into such a small space. All of my future reviews will rate the set based on studs. Zero is the worst while five is the best. This set rates as follows:
Price
O O O O
Playability
O O O O
Minifigures
O O O O
Building Experience
O O O O O
Parts
O O O O
Overall
4.2