November 29: Colour me surprised, because this massive discount on Lego Rivendell is still going in honour of Black Friday. I honestly hadn't expected it to survive until the sale itself, but here it is, still reduced to £364.99 at Amazon rather than £430. With that in mind, I'd probably move on it sooner than later if you were tempted - I can't say for sure how long our luck will hold on this kit.
Original story follows.
I'm sounding the Horn of Gondor, because Lego Rivendell just hit a record low price ahead of Black Friday. Cue that Lord of the Rings theme music.
More specifically, you can grab the kit (which is easily my favorite Lego set) for £364.99 at Amazon instead of £429.99. Sure, that's still a lot of money. But Lego Rivendell has literally never been cheaper, and discounts on it are incredibly rare. I've only seen this happen once before, in fact. And because it has a 'Black Friday deal' label, I have my doubts that it'd be reduced any further. It's exclusive to Amazon and the Lego store itself too, so I can't imagine it'll pop up for less anywhere else short of a second-hand eBay deal.
It's unclear how long the offer will last, but because we're still a ways out from the full-blown Black Friday Lego deals next week (actual Black Friday is November 29), I'm not sure it'll stick around until then. This is arguably one of the best Lego sets, after all, and that lofty reputation means stock will probably be snapped up in no time. Plus, these sorts of doorbuster deals don't traditionally hang about - in my five-plus years of covering both Lego and Black Friday, discounts like this one on Lego Rivendell evaporate within a few days at most.
Should you buy Lego Rivendell?
Look, I could wax lyrical about how great Lego Rivendell is (and I gladly will, in just a moment). But I also appreciate that it's still a lot of cash even with that discount. The money could certainly go toward a lot of lembas bread, or whatever else it is responsible adults are supposed to buy. Honestly, though? I'd argue that it's one of the few kits which truly earns the high price tag. As I mentioned in my Lego Rivendell review, this is a fiercely creative design that's riddled with secrets from start to finish. Whether it's a sneaky Eye of Sauron hidden under the council plinth or little nods to the trilogy in sticker form, there are countless moments that made the fan in me go "oooo" aloud.
Even now it's long-since finished, I'm still finding new things to love about the set. There are many, many hidden corners throughout the build; it's like the ultimate diorama. The downside is that visitors will occasionally hide the Boromir minifig around the scene doing a handstand or something, forcing me to break out my best "fool of a Took" impression.
The one word of warning I'd give concerns display space. This is a big model, so will take up a lot of real estate. I'd recommend having a think about where it'll go once you've completed it (ideally in pride of place, as it looks bloody excellent on show) before hitting checkout.
For more savings, why not check in with the best Black Friday board game deals or these Black Friday gaming deals?
