Lord of the Rings 9469 Gandalf Review

[Deathleech]

Indexed


Description
Set Name: 9469 Gandalf Arrives
Minifgures: 2, +1 horse
MSRP: $12.99
Pieces: 83
Price Per Piece: $0.16

Pros
*Both minifigs are exclusive to this set
*A horse included
*NO STICKERS!

Cons
*Incredibly high price per piece
*Very little playability
*Poorly designed wagon

I am going to start this review by letting you all know I had very low expectations for this set going in. It looked pretty basic for the price you pay. Other than the exclusive Gandalf minifig, and just wanting to collect all the sets, there was little other reason I was buying it. I understand there is only so much they can do with a smaller set like this, but I feel they missed the mark on several occasions. With that said let me get into the actual review.

Gandalf has only one side of his head printed on unlike every other named character in this line thus far. In fact other than the Mordor Orc and Beserker Uruk-hai, I think he is the only minif in this line that DOESN'T have a double sided printed face. I found this odd. I mean sure, you can't really make it out behind his beard anyways, but Gimli had a double sided face so why not Gandalf? I will say the figure looks pretty good though. Not the best or most detailed in the line, but definitely a suitable rendition with his front and print torso printing. There is no printing on his legs.

Gandalf front

Gandalf back

Frodo with his green shirt and brown bib overalls looks nice. I like this version better than the other two in the Attack on Weathertop and Shelob Attacks sets. The color scheme is really pleasing and the printing on the front and back of the torso is good. There is no printing on his shorter legs. His shirt is a button up one with the top flap open and I think it's suppose to be showing part of his skin underneath, but it doesn't match his head/hand color. It's not terribly noticeable though and you can always pretend he has an under shirt on beneath it. Frodo also comes with an exclusive double sided head. One side is smiling while the other is frowning. This is different from the Weathertop and Shelob Frodos because they have an aggressive/determined face on one side and then a scared, eyes white, and shrieking/screaming face on the other side.

Frodo front

Frodo back/other side of face

In terms of extras you don't get much here. Gandalf's staff is really lame. They could of made an awesome wooden staff to mimick his in the movie, like they did with the swords/shields for the Uruk-hai, but instead they just gave him a plain brown stick. They could of at least attached something on the top! The set also comes with a barrel, 3 fireworks, a book, the envelop that the ring was held in briefly while Gandalf sought out more information on it, and a backpack/bag. The snake firework (suppose to be the dragon firework I assume) is nice, but the other two fireworks are pretty bland. Other than that you really don't get much here besides the wagon.

All the extras

Speaking of the wagon, this one seems to of been designed fairly poorly. The back part does not come down and open unless you take it off it's hinge and re-attach it in the open position. The sides can be moved down to move the back piece down, but you also have to disassemble the wheels to push them down and go that route. For whatever reason Lego decided to include a one peg piece as the seat instead of a two piece peg so Gandalf sits in the wagon either to the right or left, never perfectly centered. This is an easy fix if you use a 2x1 piece with 2 pegs but annoys me nontheless. There are really no play features with the wagon other than moving it around.

Side wagon

Top down wagon

Profile wagon

Back profile wagon

Lastly there is the price, which is by far my biggest gripe with this set. I have absolutely no idea why this set is so highly priced. If you look at The Mummy set from the Monsters Fighter line it has basically the exact same set up. You get 2 minifigs, a horse, and a carriage. Yet that set is priced a dollar less and comes with 7 more pieces. Its price per piece comes out to about 0.13 cents, which still isn't great but is much better than Gandalf Arrives which is an astounding 0.16. I understand the PPP on smaller sets is gonna be higher, especially with 2 minifigs and a horse, but I just feel like this set is way over priced for what you get. The Swamp Creature set also from the Monster Fighters line is a great example of how this set SHOULD of been priced. 2 minifigs and 70 pieces all for $6.99 (10 cents per piece). Also every other LotR set is around 10 cents per piece, yet this one is almost 30% higher.. why? Shelob Attacks is a rather small set yet it has only a 9 cent PPP and is the best PPP in the line despite being the second cheapest.

Rating
Build 1.5/5
This a very basic and easy to build as such. I feel like the wagon itself could of been designed much better.

Minifigures 3.5/5
2 minifigures and both are exclusives. Gandalf looks alright while Frodo looks really good imo. You also get a horse which is nice, especially if you want to use it for other purposes like building a mounted Rohirrium army.

Playability 2/5
It's nice that we got a set that in this wave that takes place in the Shire. Unfortunately the set is pretty boring with 2 minifigs and the wagon. I can see kids having fun pushing the wagon around for a little while but easily getting bored after that. If this set would of had even a little something extra like a way to shoot the fireworks it would of been significantly better imo.

Value 1/5
0.16 cents per piece is a extremely high even if you do get 2 minifigs and a horse. If this set would of been $9.99, 10.99, or even 11.99 I would feel so much better about the value.

Overall 2/5
All in all this is one of the more lackluster sets in the LotR line. It has the highest price per piece, few to no play features, and a poorly designed wagon. It's only real saving grace is that it has 2 exclusive minifigures with Gandalf the Gray and Frodo in his green shirt and bibs from the Shire.

[lego the hutt]

I agree with much of what you said. The cart could have been designed better. Besides the fact that the back doesn't really open, I didn't like the way Gandalf sat on the seat as well. I don't know why it annoyed me so much but it did. He only fits to one side and a large issue for me was that there is not enough room for Frodo to fit next to him. Gandalf's cloak also doesn't fit in the cart very well when he is seated.

I was not so down on the accessories. As far as random things to fill the cart go I thought they did a pretty good job. The large "dragon" firework, i think it's from a ninjago set, is a pretty good representation of the large firework in the movie. Barrel, carrot, satchel, extra fireworks all make fine space fillers.

I also liked the figs. Gandalf not having 2 faces didn't bother me since the hat and beard cover most any face you can see anyway. I don't mind the staff being plain. Gandalf's staff as Gandalf the Grey is supposed to be plain and stick like anyway. When we get a Gandalf the white I expect a more detailed staff.

I thought the frodo fig was better than the other frodos offered, I hadn't even noticed the different shade of flesh tone until you mentioned it.

The one thing I disagree with is your assessment of the cost. I know it has been beaten to death by now but you can't compare licensed theme sets to non-licensed theme sets as far as cost for a number of reasons...I'll leave that alone.

Besides that I also think people should amend the way smaller sized sets are evaluated as far as price per piece.

I'm sure we all realize there is a larger percentage of cost as far as packaging/shipping etc an 83 piece set as opposed to a 1300 piece set. Those boxes aren't free. While smaller boxes are a smaller cost than a larger box, it is a given that it is more expensive to make 15 smaller boxes, pack them, ship them etc than it is to sell the same number of bricks in 1 larger set...that's not even including the cost of the extra number of mini figs from selling multiple smaller sets as compared to a single larger set.

Price per piece stats should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when evaluating smaller sized sets. Smaller sets should logically have a higher price per piece than an equivalent larger set from an economics point of view.

You state that the price is your biggest gripe of the set. Be careful about putting to much value into the price per piece stat.

I thought 12.99 for a small, 83 piece licensed theme, set with 2 fairly detailed minifigs and a decent amount of accessories was perfectly acceptable. Yes it is 15 cents per piece which is fine for a set of that size imo. In comparison, if Helms Deep was 15 cents per piece the MSRP would be 205$...but of course it isn't. If an 83 piece set had the same price per piece as an equivalent 1368 piece set then I would be griping too.

[hatcher]

Did I read that right, did you say it comes with an extra horse, as in you get 2 horses in this set?

[Deathleech]

The one thing I disagree with is your assessment of the cost. I know it has been beaten to death by now but you can't compare licensed theme sets to non-licensed theme sets as far as cost for a number of reasons...I'll leave that alone.

Well all the other Lord of the Ring theme sets are right around the 10-11 cents per piece mark, but for some reason this one is a third higher at 16 cents? I understand licenses cost more but that's just absurd. If it were around 12 or 13 cents, which is still high, I probably wouldn't of bashed it so much but the price here is just way too much imo. If you read my Uruk-hai Army set review you will see I had no problem with it's 0.12 PPP.

Besides that I also think people should amend the way smaller sized sets are evaluated as far as price per piece.

Price per piece stats should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when evaluating smaller sized sets. Smaller sets should logically have a higher price per piece than an equivalent larger set from an economics point of view.

Right, but I compared it to two other smaller sets that just came out from the Monster Fighters line. The Mummy set is almost identical but comes with more pieces and cost a dollar less. Ok, so it's not a license, I will give you that but it's still 3 cents less per piece.

More importantly though, why is the Swamp Creature set, which is the smallest set of both these themes at $6.99, only cost 0.10 per piece? Shouldn't it be like 20 cents per piece, especially with 2 minifigs? And why are the 20 dollar sets in both themes also the best deals by far in terms of PPP at 8 cents and 9 cents? Shouldn't these be the second worst priced sets in the lines?

You state that the price is your biggest gripe of the set. Be careful about putting to much value into the price per piece stat.

I thought 12.99 for a small, 83 piece licensed theme, set with 2 fairly detailed minifigs and a decent amount of accessories was perfectly acceptable. Yes it is 15 cents per piece which is fine for a set of that size imo. In comparison, if Helms Deep was 15 cents per piece the MSRP would be 205$...but of course it isn't. If an 83 piece set had the same price per piece as an equivalent 1368 piece set then I would be griping too.

Price was a big factor, but it wasn't the only factor. The wagon was also a big reason I didn't like this set. There were also a few smaller issues. At the end of the day though, I just felt 16 cents for this set was too much. Sure it's a smaller set, and sure it's a licensed one, but 16 cents per piece is absurd regardless of these things. They could of easily knocked off a dollar or two and it would of been a much better deal. at 13-15 cents per piece.

Did I read that right, did you say it comes with an extra horse, as in you get 2 horses in this set?

No sorry, it only comes with 1 horse. I will edit to clarify that.

[SpaceNinjaDino]

Good review, poor set. Although I still had to have one. I really hope we get a Gandalf the White and Saurmon.

[Mathew]

You seem overly concerned about the price point. You're always going to pay an extra buck or two for a licensed set. If you want to write reviews for Lego products then you should know that by now and just get over it. Regarding the set: While I think it lacks some playability and the Gandalf figure is kind of weak, the rest of the set is fine for what it is. Did you not look at the box before you bought it? It is what it is. Why does the back of the wagon have to open? It's simply a design choice. I actually like the cart. Each to their own but your review isn't very good.

[Blacknight]

I don't mind the back not opening. Appearance is more important in a small set. As for price point, all Lego is ridiculously expensive nowdays.

[Deathleech]

You seem overly concerned about the price point. You're always going to pay an extra buck or two for a licensed set. If you want to write reviews for Lego products then you should know that by now and just get over it. Regarding the set: While I think it lacks some playability and the Gandalf figure is kind of weak, the rest of the set is fine for what it is. Did you not look at the box before you bought it? It is what it is. Why does the back of the wagon have to open? It's simply a design choice. I actually like the cart. Each to their own but your review isn't very good.

Yes, I looked at the box before I bought it, did you not read any of my review? In the very first sentence I said this set did not look that good to me, and I only bought it for the minifigures and for completion sake basically.

As for the price, I have already touched on that numerous times now, both in the actual review and in another post to a fellow member. People keep saying it's a licensed set and the price is going to be higher. Ya, I get that. What I don't get is how this set is almost 30% higher than any of the other sets in the EXACT SAME LINE. Please, explain this to me? 3 of the LotR sets have a 10 cent PPP and Shelob's attack is 9 cents.

I am fine with a set being 2 cents higher than normal cause of the license, and maybe another 2 cents higher due to it being smaller (which I still don't totally buy considering Shelob's Attack is only 20 bucks and has the lowest PPP in the line), but that puts us at 14 cent roughly, not 16.

To each their own with the actual wagon. I do think it looks nice, however the seating and back not opening just kind of annoyed me and seemed lazy on the developers part. I think they could of put more effort into it. I didn't blast this set though, I still gave it a 2 which is only slightly below average. It's not like I gave it a 0 or a 0.5. I'm sorry you didn't find my review good, but I think I have adequately explained why I gave the set the rating I did, and provided decent reasoning. I find your post not very good because you seemed to of ignored all my reasoning.

[ncbarrett]

Right, but I compared it to two other smaller sets that just came out from the Monster Fighters line. The Mummy set is almost identical but comes with more pieces and cost a dollar less. Ok, so it's not a license, I will give you that but it's still 3 cents less per piece.

IMO The new articulated horse, makes it worth more than the MF Mummy set, since there are so many more uses for him than there are for a skeleton horse.

Also comparing sets to other themes sets is silly, since the pricing structure is so complex.

[Deathleech]

IMO The new articulated horse, makes it worth more than the MF Mummy set, since there are so many more uses for him than there are for a skeleton horse.

Also comparing sets to other themes sets is silly, since the pricing structure is so complex.

Oh I get that, and The Mummy set was kinda high priced too at 13 cents per piece. I'm not saying it's a perfect example and it's not the only reason I think Gandalf Arrives is priced too high though.

I also compared the Gandalf Arrives set to the Shelob Attacks one, with both sets being in the LotR theme and being lower cost. Maybe the new horse is a big reason Gandalf Arrives is higher priced, I don't know. What I do know is if I had 20 bucks and can only buy one set I am gonna spend it on Shelob Attacks and get a massive spider and 3 minifigs rather than 2 minifigs, a horse, and a dinky wagon and maybe a polybag with 1 more minifig. Shelob just has so much articulation and playability it's not even funny. Each one of the individual legs has more movement and articulation than the wagon does, and the spinner is a great touch.

I'm really not sure why people are getting so hung up on my complaints over the higher price. I have seen numerous other Lego sets reviewed where people say the price is high and it's right at 10 cents, which is pretty ideal. I also explained thoroughly that almost every other LotR set is priced amazingly for a themed set, yet Gandalf Arrives is the only sore thumb (save maybe Attack on Weathertop).

[karl]

You seem overly concerned about the price point. You're always going to pay an extra buck or two for a licensed set. If you want to write reviews for Lego products then you should know that by now and just get over it. Regarding the set: While I think it lacks some playability and the Gandalf figure is kind of weak, the rest of the set is fine for what it is. Did you not look at the box before you bought it? It is what it is. Why does the back of the wagon have to open? It's simply a design choice. I actually like the cart. Each to their own but your review isn't very good.

Calm down people, he did a good job on the actual review. If you do not agree with his opinion it does not make the review bad! Everyone is entitled to an opinion!

[sadowsk1]

You seem overly concerned about the price point. You're always going to pay an extra buck or two for a licensed set. If you want to write reviews for Lego products then you should know that by now and just get over it. Regarding the set: While I think it lacks some playability and the Gandalf figure is kind of weak, the rest of the set is fine for what it is. Did you not look at the box before you bought it? It is what it is. Why does the back of the wagon have to open? It's simply a design choice. I actually like the cart. Each to their own but your review isn't very good.

Calm down people, he did a good job on the actual review. If you do not agree with his opinion it does not make the review bad! Everyone is entitled to an opinion!

Well said Karl. It's all a opinion. I love all the new LOTR sets and would pay full price for them, to me they are worth it no matter what anyone says.

[AussieLEGOLover]

Thanks for a great review!

I love how there is always whinging and whining about the cost of LEGO from people in the US...well, not always, because as that last person said, they would pay RRP for it no matter what.

Here in Australia, let's check some of the prices. $24 for Gandalf Arrives. $60 for Uruk-Hai Army. $40 for Shelob.

So believe me, when you say that LEGO sets are over-priced at 14/15/16c per piece...that's cheap!!!

I'm like that last guy...for 10yrs now I've been saying they should make a LOTR genre. I seriously think it will rock! I built the first of my 5 Orc Forge's last night while watching Fellowship of the Ring. I sit in awe when it got to Attack on Weathertop, as I looked down at my Weathertop set I'd just finished building! What an incredible re-creation! I felt like a kid all over again and I wanted to set up the whole area and 'play' LEGO. Haven't felt that for a long time, not even with Star Wars LEGO which I have collected for 10+yrs.

Anyway...the review was great, the set is great!

[Deathleech]

Just for the record, I actually LOVE the rest of the LotR sets. I bought multiples of every set and think the price is fantastic on most of them. My only problem was with this set, and to a much lesser extent the Attack on Weathertop set. But, for the rest of the sets to be right around 10 cents per piece when they have such amazing pieces and detailed minifigs is just great for a license theme.

[jeremyp4]

The price-per-piece does seem a bit high but the set seems really cool to me... Gonna get it for sure

[Rhodebrick]

Thanks for this review. I haven't opened mine yet. Something about it I guess and captured in the review. My take was although this is priced on the high side it is basically the only low price set in he lotr group.

[yeti79]

I was so happy to score this at a local Kmart for $5 an excellent set but I really wish the hobbit legs were moveable.