With LEGO 10316 The Lord of the Rings Rivendell set to be the model to rule them all, Blocks is taking a look at some of the references inside…
‘The ring must be destroyed,’ Elrond solemnly declared to the gathering of beings from across Middle-earth. Out of all the locations created by Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings, few are as beautiful as Rivendell. Hidden within the foothills of the Misty Mountains, the House of Elrond seems a part of the natural landscape, with its colours melding into the surrounding foliage and the rivers flowing through its arching halls.
10316 The Lord of the Rings Rivendell is the biggest LEGO set inspired by those movies ever released, perfectly capturing the beautiful elegance of the elves’ home. Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine, is grabbing Andúril to go on a quest through some of the Easter eggs within…
The Council
With the risk of the One Ring having risen again, Elrond calls a council for all the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, which is one of the most iconic moments from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. 10316 is the first time that all of the council representatives have been included in one set, with Pippin making his debut to finally complete his duo with Merry, making it a vast improvement on 79006 The Council of Elrond from 2013.
Arwen’s gazebo
A completely new part of Rivendell is included and that is Arwen’s gazebo. Interestingly, this is not something much seen in The Fellowship of the Ring (apart from a deleted scene of Frodo and Sam exploring its artwork), but has a much more prominent role in The Two Towers, where Arwen speaks to Aragorn in a dream. It’s a wonderful piece of design, with the multiple tooth and scrolling branch elements giving it a screen-accurate delicacy.
Under thrall
After being attacked by the Nazgûl hunting for them on the road, Frodo is stabbed by the Morgul blade of the Witch-King of Angmar. With a piece of the blade trying to make its way to the young Hobbit’s heart, it leaves Frodo at risk of becoming a Nazgûl himself, leaving him in a comatose trance. The alternate expression on his minifigure captures this through milky white eyes and a creepily haunted expression.
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A new leaf
A key part of Rivendell is its connection to nature, with elves being so attuned to the earth. There are lots of foliage elements throughout the entire model, including some new fern-like fronds surrounding the base. They’re beautifully moulded to have a textured edge, making them appear far more natural, and hopefully will appear in more sets soon.
It has been re-forged
‘Renewed shall be the blade that was broken, the crown-less shall again be king.’ There was a reason to mention Andúril, Aragorn’s sword, at the beginning of this article – that’s because 10316 The Lord of the Rings Rivendell has a forge tucked away on the back of the model. This has to be a reference to the shards of the blade (which are unique to 10316) being reforged by Elrond’s blacksmiths during The Return of the King.
The land across the sea
Throughout the halls of Rivendell there appears to be a mixture of brick-built details and stickers providing the intricate tapestries and artwork of the elves. One of these is a longship, which is likely a reference to the elves’ original home of Valinor, the land across the sea, where the elves return to live in eternal bliss.
There and back again
A bedroom is found on the model’s top floor and this space cleverly recreates a few scenes from across the trilogy. One of these is the chest containing a 2×2 plate for Bilbo’s mithril shirt, which he gifts to Frodo at Rivendell. There’s also a sneaky reference to the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, as Bilbo’s book clearly has the words ‘There and back again’ on a 1×2 tile, and while this is seen in the Shire, no doubt Bilbo continued editing it at Rivendell.
Those are just some of the highlights from the official images, but there will be more more hidden Middle-earth treasures when 10316 Rivendell hits shelves on March 1. You’ll learn more in Issue 101 of Blocks, the monthly magazine, in an exclusive interview feature. Be sure to tag Blocks when you’re building the set because we’d love to see what eagle-eyed Tolkien nerds find throughout the model!