I don't say this lightly, but I think Lego Minas Tirith could dethrone what I – and more than a few fans – think might be one of the best Lego sets ever made.
Let's rewind for a second. I've been covering the Bricks from Billund on GamesRadar+ for years now, but one kit has remained my favorite throughout: another Lord of the Rings set, Lego Rivendell. It's incredibly popular amongst the community as well, and tops many other best lists I've seen. Yet with the reveal of (the very impressive) Lego Minas Tirith, it could have met its match.
If you're not familiar with the last homely house of the elves, Lego Rivendell is a sprawling 6K-piece kit with 15 minifigures and multiple secrets tucked away in its many distinct areas. It's the kind of set you'll find something new to see every time you look at it, be that the blacksmith's forge, the trinkets in Bilbo's room, or a hidden Eye of Sauron under the Council Chamber. There's a frankly stunning attention to detail here… but Lego Minas Tirith may be giving it a good run for its money.
Want to answer Gondor's call for aid yourself? Lego Minas Tirith will be available from June 4, 2026 via the Lego store.
To start with, the capital of Gondor is far bigger than Rivendell in many respects. Although it only has 10 minifigures, it's packing 8,278 pieces and is an enormous 23.5in (59 cm) tall. Sure, that isn't going to challenge the biggest Lord of the Rings set of them all – the absurdly massive Barad-dur, which is 33in high. But it's a chunky beast, and does something none of the other kits (let alone other Lego sets) manage: forced perspective.
This clever trick makes something look smaller and/or further away than it actually is. If you've ever been to a theme park like Disneyland or Universal Studios, you'll have seen this optical illusion a lot without realizing it; it's an easy way of making buildings such as the iconic Disney World castle feel larger than they actually are by messing with your depth perception. It was also famously used to great effect in the Lord of the Rings movies, particularly where the hobbits are concerned.
Lego Minas Tirith does this by starting off at minifigure scale for the base level walls, then using progressively smaller parts as we go up the city. That means you eventually wind up with a micro-scale top, but it all looks seamless. Because a full minifig-scale city would be impractically big, and a full micro-scale one would lack a certain gravitas, this is the best of both worlds.
That's especially true because of how it's a clever facade. Despite being a full replica of the city as it appears on film, flip it round to discover a minifigure-scale version of the throne room alongside a few other fun references like the chamber where Gandalf researches the One Ring. When combined with its list of evocative (not to mention exclusive) minifigs such as King Aragorn, Denethor (with tomatoes, of course), Gandalf the White with Shadowfax the horse, and Arwen as she appears during Aragorn's coronation, it's a fitting tribute to the trilogy's award-winning finale.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my love for Lego Rivendell is over. It's still a magnificent kit that I think is the pinnacle of everything Lego can be. Much like the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon, it'll rightfully remain a coveted collector's item for years to come too. But Lego Minas Tirith is certainly trying to steal its lunch.
We'll have to wait until the June release date to see if it succeeds, of course. However, it's looking as though this will be a return to form after some fans were disappointed by the smaller (but still expensive) Shire model... and it could well dethrone my beloved Rivendell. The Return of the King, then? Maybe.
- See all Lego Lord of the Rings sets at Lego
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