Set Review ➟ LEGO® 40631 Gandalf the Grey & Balrog
Part the third in this series of Lord of the Rings BRICKHEADZ are Gandalf the grey and the Balrog. There is a reason I saved this one for last: right from the start this is the set I was most attracted to. It might be because Gandalf is possibly my favourite character in the book, or because it feels that there is a little more of detail in these models.
The Balrog… that’s an entirely different story. I won’t go into the whole debate about whether the Balrog had wings, but it certainly looks big and menacing. Also, the face is quite a departure from the rather bland standard face of a BRICKHEADZ.
Gandalf is the same height as Aragorn, even though his hat makes him look a little taller. This comes at the cost of having a rather tall forehead: the distance between the eyes and hat is really big! There are no printed parts in this set (unless you want to count the standard round tiles used for the eyes. The texture of both the hair and robe/cape with hood is very nice though. Gandalf comes with a staff and Glamdring, his sword.
The Balrog is an interesting interpretation. Of course the model needs to stay within the size limitations of BRICKHEADZ, but in comparison to the other figures it is huge. With fire streaming from its legs and head as well as the tail and the huge horns on either side of its head it is a truly impressive foe. Seeing it in this scale and style it is almost cute. Of course, the Balrog comes with a fiery whip too.
Disclaimer: Gandalf and the Balrog are behaving, no battles in my living room. I am not sure I approve or disapprove but that as well as my opinion of this set is entirely for me to decide.
We wish to thank LEGO for providing this set for review
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