LEGO demonstrates stacking multiple copies of Barad-dûr

The LEGO Group is touting the ability to stack multiple copies of its newly-revealed 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr, so here’s what that looks like in practice…

Announced this week, 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr is a towering recreation of the tallest structure in Middle-earth, reaching a titanic 83cm at its summit. But the fun doesn’t need to stop there: if you have the capital to pick up multiple copies, or the drive to part out the upper section on Pick a Brick or BrickLink, you too can add essentially unlimited height to your LEGO Barad-dûr.

10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr is built in four sections, and the part of the tower that houses the Mouth of Sauron’s study is designed in such a way that it’s stackable. LEGO designers Antica Bracanov and Ashwin Visser first unveiled the new LEGO Icons set to Brick Fanatics and LEGO Fan Media in Billund last year, and took the opportunity to show off that stacking in action.

Hit play on the video above to check it out for yourself, but be warned: it could prove to be the most expensive video you’ll ever watch, because there’s something strangely appealing about seeing Barad-dur reaching for the sky. The designers stack two extra sections in this clip, stopping only because they can’t reach any higher without presumably causing a health and safety hazard.

If you want to do the same, you’ve got a couple of options. You could buy additional copies of 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr when it launches on June 1, but at £400 a pop, that’s probably not on the cards for many people. And it’s also not a very efficient way to get just the parts you need for that section, which constitute only a fraction of the overall model. (Plus: who needs multiple Saurons?)

The more time-consuming but cost-effective method would be to create a parts list for the additional sections (after combing through the instructions) and then sourcing the pieces through sites like Pick a Brick and/or BrickLink. This also has the advantage of leaving the interior open to add in whatever you like, because the Mouth of Sauron probably doesn’t need multiple studies.

Of course, the galaxy brain move from the LEGO Group’s side would be to offer readymade baskets with the necessary pieces for the structure of the tower. There’s precedent for it, too: the company last year created hand-selected Pick a Brick carts for add-ons to its Modular Buildings Collection, so there’s no reason why it couldn’t do the same here… provided all the necessary elements eventually end up on Pick a Brick.

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That may take a few months (pieces from sets generally arrive on the parts service three to four months after release), so perhaps it’s a service that the LEGO Group could offer when the dust has settled on 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr’s launch in June. A quick glance at the official images of the set suggests none of the parts required are especially rare, but those big curved panels might not be cheap…

10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr will be available to buy from June 1 for LEGO Insiders (and June 4 for everyone else) for £399.99 / $459.99 / €459.99. An accompanying gift-with-purchase, 40693 The Lord of the Rings: Fell Beast, will be available with all orders of the new LEGO Icons set from June 1 to 7 (or while stocks last).

For more on the latest LEGO Middle-earth model, check out our in-depth interview with the designers over on YouTube.

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