Unveiling the Design Details & New Minifigures of LEGO's Lord of the Rings: The Barad-dûr 10333 Set

by mia lee May 19, 2024

Overseas media Brickfanatics has already taken the lead in experiencing these new human characters. If you are particularly interested in these characters and would like to gain a deeper understanding of their specific identities and levels of authenticity. After about 15 months of successful release of LEGO's Lord of the Rings: The Valley, LEGO has once again brought "Lord of the Rings: Ballardo" with package number 10333, which is expected to be fully launched in June this year.

(Reading Time: 4-6 Minutes)

This article provides an in-depth look at LEGO's new Lord of the Rings: The Barad-dûr 10333 Set, detailing the design process behind its iconic features like the Eye of Sauron and the new orc minifigure characters, while also offering insights from the LEGO designers on their inspirations and goals in capturing the gloomy essence of Mordor from the films.

The Iconic Dark Atmosphere of Barad-dûr

The pictures of the set and packaging box showcase the extremely gloomy tones of Baladou, perfectly capturing the familiar Mordor scenery we are familiar with in Peter Jackson's third film. The color highlights include Sauron's fiery eyes and flowing lava. This set will allow you to create one of the most impressive LEGO works of all time.

The theme of miniature characters continues, including a miniature Doomsday Mountain building that you can use to showcase and replicate the stunning final moments of The Return of the King. Although the Artemis launch system that I reviewed recently was impressive, the design of Fortress Darkness was even better. It is faithful to the movie reference, constantly rising in height, and the all black appearance of the tower section looks particularly outstanding in the lower stages, as if lava is shining on the wall, especially the middle part. If it is all black, it will be even more stunning.

However, there are many details and textures hidden in the black part of the building, which looks stunning and makes exploration very interesting. The construction of Baladu is intertwined with mountains, which is demonstrated in the model.
Starting from the bottom left, the entire model looks extremely threatening. Orange and grille fragments seemed like flames passing through, and Sauron's eyes were the finishing touch, like frosting on a cake. This part is definitely the most enjoyable and unexpected part of the entire building, cleverly utilizing car fender components in the shape of the eyes.
On the back is a red lightweight brick, installed at an angle that will illuminate the eyes with red light when triggered. The lava flowing on the bottom rock and the iconic flame on the top can be illuminated by LED illuminated bricks.

The lighting designers at ZENE Bricks have begun to enter a tense and passionate creative stage, thinking about how to make the lighting highlight the overall black color without destroying the heavy and dark atmosphere. Light Kit for LEGO The Lord of the Rings Barad dur #10333 itself will be equipped with a red light to reflect the Magic Eye. ZENE Bricks has always been committed to releasing LEGO lighting at the fastest speed, with the best quality and design. New customers can get 10% OFF by subscribing now.

The Orc Minifigure Designs

LEGO's chief designer, Antigua Blakanov, revealed in an interview with foreign media how and when Baladou began to take shape as a sequel. The model displays Sauron's tower, which stands on the rugged terrain of Mordor. The set includes 10 humanoid characters from the underworld of Lord of the Rings, including the highly anticipated Sauron, the redesigned Sauron's Mouth and Gollum, the first Gousmog in history, four ordinary orcs, as well as Frodo Baggins and Samwise Ganji. It is worth mentioning that 8 of the characters are brand new designs (Frodo and Sam are duplicates of the Valley series).

In Terms of Human Figures

The Hobbit Frodo and Sam are almost identical to the characters in the Rivendell series, except for their cloaks. Frodo has a ring, while Sam carries a sword and a cloak from Galadriel. Gollum is also included, redesigned with a new facial print, but to be honest, due to the lack of nostrils and pupils, it feels a bit downgraded compared to the previous version of the mini image.
However, in my opinion, the impressive aspect of this set of dolls lies in the selection of orc characters, which gives this model a sense of an army.

The Different Orc Minifigure Designs

The design of the orcs is particularly outstanding, with four orcs, all of which are obvious features. The prints on the torso and legs are very good, while the head has two different types. Both have alternating facial features, and one of them does have a new helmet, which is part of the new family. The assembly of helmets includes four different types. Each helmet has three copies, with two characters having one each. In fact, both helmets belong to Sam, as Frodo used to disguise himself as an orc and go to Mount Doom to destroy the Savior.

Orc General Gothmo, equipped with a beautifully printed chest plate, bears the same imprint as an infantry on its lower body. The difference is that the brown arms refer to his deformed limbs in the source material. However, the highlight of this episode is first and foremost the character of Sauron's Mouth, which, although previously done, now has updated helmets made of printed and rubber materials.

Like Sauron's helmet and shoulder patch combination, this is a character that has never been seen before and may have been a highlight for many fans in the LEGO Lord of the Rings series. He holds a wolf tooth stick. Diversity, novelty, and military building potential are the summaries of this set of characters.

The Iconic Eye of Sauron

Antigua explained, "When we started designing Rivendell, we were not sure if there would be any follow-up works. But with the release of Rivendell, we began to consider the next step. Barra was almost everyone's first choice, and many fans around us chose it without hesitation when we asked what the next one should be."

The choice of Baladou is not accidental, although the design team has also considered other possibilities, the obvious contrast of Baladou - from Rivendell's light and color to Baladou's darkness and gloom - provides a perfect narrative and visual transformation.

Antigua said, "The eyes are the first thing we design. We start from top to bottom because the eyes are the most iconic part of the model. Most of our team's designers have been involved in iterative design of the eyes, and we have tried multiple versions to find the best effect. After determining the shape and size of the eyes, we start designing the bracket and other surrounding parts."

The design team designed multiple sizes and shapes around the Eye of Sauron to determine the most suitable solution. This design choice became the key to determining the overall proportion of Ballardur and the reason why the height of this model reached 83 centimeters.

LEGO 10333 Barad dur Tower the Lord of the Rings

Antigua added, "If the size of the eyes is a few millimeters larger, it will affect the precise alignment of the scale and details of the entire model, and even affect the space required between supporting structures."

In the end, if you really buy it, you will leave an undeniable and impressive model, and if you crave a new LEGO lord, that's how it is in the Lord of the Rings series. For me, The Lord of the Rings is visually more attractive, which is the greatness of the LEGO model.