The Lord of the Rings: Weathertop Hill

[Nuju Metru]

Hey, Eurobricks!

Last summer, I assigned myself a very large and very ambitious project; namely, to make LEGO sets of all three Lord of the Rings movies. Already, it has been proven clear to me that this will be a daunting and immensely time (and money) consuming project. There are so many iconic settings and characters to build, so many custom pieces or special heads to order... I feel a little like Peter Jackson in that I'm trying to make all the custom figures from all three movies at the same time, to save on shipping costs I'd be paying later. Since I'm also making as many figures as would be needed for all the sets combined (i.e. 5 of the same dark-coat Frodo, since he appears that way in that many of my planned sets) the result is about 100 figures I'm trying to complete more or less simultaneously.

There are many many characters I've built thus far who are almost done, or are finished but from a movie other than The Fellowship of the Ring. So, not wanting to reveal all my tricks just yet, but still hoping to generate some traction and early excitement for this project/desperately seeking reassurance that this project is a good idea, I've decided to give y'all a little preview of what this project will be like. Here, I'm sharing a few completed figures from the first film, who conveniently adhere to a scene from Fellowship: the battle atop the forgotten watchtower of Amon Sul, at Weathertop hill. The figures pictured are Frodo Baggins, Ranger Aragorn, and some Nazgul.

Thanks for viewing! Stay tuned for later tastes of the project!

Edited December 12, 2011 by Nuju Metru

[K-Nut]

Love it! I can't wait to see more of these figs! Looks exactly like what TLG would do with the license! Great work!

[Brickmamba]

good work so far, brick on!

[Cancerkitty]

Wow, these are really great! I love the ring.

[TheLegoDr]

Those look great so far! I can't wait to see more. I am especially a fan of the nazgul.

[Nuju Metru]

Love it! I can't wait to see more of these figs! Looks exactly like what TLG would do with the license! Great work!

Ironic, isn't it, that I posted my intent to make this project just days before TLG did the same... Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you liked them.

[Alex the Great]

Nice job on the figures! I really like the ringwraiths you made. One thing you could do is give Aragorn a cape, other than that they look good!

[deskp]

Oh im not into those nazgul, in the movie they have really long hoods with no end, wich is what gives them that creepy look.

Using the current lego hoods seems like an easy solution to nazgul minifigures, so far it seems lego is gonna do the same wich really is a shame. PICTURE

You can see the same thing with the witch king, how hes mask/crown/helmet is very long. picture

Looking forward to seeing more figures from you, and espeacialy buildings.

[Nuju Metru]

Oh im not into those nazgul, in the movie they have really long hoods with no end, wich is what gives them that creepy look.

Using the current lego hoods seems like an easy solution to nazgul minifigures, so far it seems lego is gonna do the same wich really is a shame. PICTURE

You can see the same thing with the witch king, how hes mask/crown/helmet is very long. picture

Looking forward to seeing more figures from you, and espeacialy buildings.

Of course, it'd be fantastic if I had a perfectly-accurate hood part for the Nazgul (and for everything else in the movies for that matter), but those pieces just don't exist. Unless you've got a better solution for their hoods that I'm missing, I don't see how any other LEGO element would be recognizable as a hood.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very impressive customisation!

The Nazgul's cape looks totally cool!

Great work!

[Praiter Yed]

These look really good. I like how you made the ring and I think both Aragorn and the Nazgul look particularly good.

Is the Nazgul cape custom or is it the Dementor cape?

I can't help but wonder whether the LOTR licensed theme is a positive thing for you or if perhaps it's a bit of an a annoyance due to all your hard work and expense.

[Nuju Metru]

These look really good. I like how you made the ring and I think both Aragorn and the Nazgul look particularly good.

Is the Nazgul cape custom or is it the Dementor cape?

I can't help but wonder whether the LOTR licensed theme is a positive thing for you or if perhaps it's a bit of an a annoyance due to all your hard work and expense.

It's the LEGO-made Dementor cape... I don't trust my clean fabric-fraying skills, so I opted for the officially-produced cape.

Well, the irony of my situation brings out a slew of complicated feelings: on the one hand, I'm immensely excited as a fan of LEGO and LOTR to see this product line happening, and on the other, I feel a little (inevitably) betrayed. I have put a ton of work in, and still am, but I know now that my work will be forgotten in lieu of the official products, which is pretty depressing. However, I plan to nevertheless finish as much of the project as I can - certainly at least all of my figures, which are turning out beautifully and have been a monumental investment - albeit at maybe a less opulent scale.

[Brickton]

Nuju

Firstly I really like what you have produced so far and I for one would like to encourage you to continue.

Secondly, even with the TLG LOTR sets coming there is always a place for custom lego that is well designed, and lovelingly produced as yours obviously are.

At the very least it give you bragging rights that you made your own ;)

[GeneralTalon]

Oh wow! Those look really stunning, especially the Nuzgul. That dementor cape just works perfectly cant wait to see some more figs!

[Nuju Metru]

Nuju

Firstly I really like what you have produced so far and I for one would like to encourage you to continue.

Secondly, even with the TLG LOTR sets coming there is always a place for custom lego that is well designed, and lovelingly produced as yours obviously are.

At the very least it give you bragging rights that you made your own ;)

That's true - my only worry is that, in light of the new sets, my MOCs won't be regarded as anything really special or original. When I took on this project, it was a really crazy idea, to MOC all the LOTR movies as sets - now, it's just what TLG is doing.

Oh wow! Those look really stunning, especially the Nuzgul. That dementor cape just works perfectly cant wait to see some more figs!

Thanks! Yeah, I agree on the Dementor cape - cost quite a pretty penny to get all the ones I needed for my Nazgul, of course, but the effect was worth it.

[TheLegoDr]

Just give it your all with the details you find appropriate. We all know TLG isn't going to have super detailed sets, so their creation and your creation will be completely different. Thus, the joy of MOCing. Plenty of people have MOCs, even though there are official versions that are similar.

Keep your head up. I think yours will look great.

[Nuju Metru]

Just give it your all with the details you find appropriate. We all know TLG isn't going to have super detailed sets, so their creation and your creation will be completely different. Thus, the joy of MOCing. Plenty of people have MOCs, even though there are official versions that are similar.

Keep your head up. I think yours will look great.

Thanks, I appreciate your support. I'm doing my best to make everything very movie-accurate, so yeah, I'm trying to keep the level of detail above the level TLG will probably put in, but without driving myself crazy or making the sets "unrealistic" as LEGO products (in other words, I'm trying to do LEGO's job with the theme, but better.... hubris much?). I can only pray that TLG doesn't just blow my stuff out of the water once we see pictures.

[Lynx]

Those Nazgul actually look better than the original. I just spotted your avatar on ebay. :) Sauron as a mini figure looks cute.