The Fellowship of the Ring

The characters from the first movie, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, in LEGO minifig form. First posted 12-23-2003 through 7-3-2004.

"A Last Alliance of Elves and Men marched on the armies of Mordor... and, on the slopes of Mount Doom, fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth." - Galadriel

Here is Elrond and an Elf archer from the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring movie, when the Last Alliance clashes with the Orcs of Mordor in the Great Battle of the Second Age. Be sure to see my Second Age section for the rest of the action. Yes, Elrdond did wear a purple cape. At least, that's what it looked like in all the pictures I saw.

"Sauron will not have forgotten the sword of Elendil." - Aragorn

Here are my minifig versions of Isildur (left) and Elendil (right). They both have the same chest decal, though it's hard to make out the details in these pictures.

"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!" - Sauron

Sauron was never described in the books, but the movie designers did a great job of making him intimidating, evil, and fearsome. My minifig form uses a custom decal for the face and a cut up piece of black cloth for the cape. The mace is a Technic gear on a stick. A few of the pieces I used were slightly modified (that is, cut up) in order to work right... sorry.

"You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." - Elrond

Here they are! The Fellowship consists of, from left to right, Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Gandalf the Grey, Samwise Gamgee (Sam), Legolas Greenleaf (I've heard that's his name, anyway), Gimli (son of Gloin), Frodo Baggins, Aragorn (Strider), Peregrin Took (Pippin), and Boromir (son of Denethor).

"Hobbits? Four hobbits! What business brings you to Bree?"

You'll notice that Frodo's sword Sting is customized. In other words, it's a standard LEGO broadsword carved to look like Sting.

"Gandalf's yes flashed. 'It will be my turn to get angry soon,' he said. 'If you say that again, I shall. Then you will see Gandalf the Grey uncloaked.' He took a step towards the hobbit, and he seemed to grow taller and menacing; his shadow filled the little room." - from The Fellowship of the Ring (book)

Gandalf can be seen here in LEGO form. I got tired of seeing all the other LEGO Gandalfs with their blue hats on, so I made mine grey, more like in the movie... although, after reading through the books again, perhaps blue would really be more accurate... His staff is a broken spear (it actually broke by accident - I didn't break it intentionally). You'll observe I made him a chest decal, even though it is mostly covered up by his beard.


"His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits." - The Fellowship of the Ring (book)

We all know that scene was in the movie too, though Aragorn's cloak may not have appeared very green. As Strider, Aragorn dressed as a ranger would - in a ragged garb that served its purpose well. That is why I gave him my standard Metal Gear Solid trench coat design in LEGO form. It makes him look more Strider-like. I also made his chest decal look dirty.

"'Therefore my brother, seeing how desperate was our need, was eager to heed the dream and seek for Imladris; but since the way was full of doubt and danger, I took the journey upon myself. Loth was my father to give me leave, and long have I wandered by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond...'" - Boromir (Fellowship of the Ring, book)

As you can see, the scene that was cut from the Two Towers differs from Boromir's own account of his leaving Gondor in the first book. Perhaps that was why the scene was cut, even though it was actually a good scene in the movie. I think Boromir deserved more screen time. Sean Bean always seems to get roles where he either turns traitor, dies, or both...

"'These are not holes,' said Gimli, 'This is the great realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. And of old it was not darksome, but full of light and splendour, and is still remembered in our songs.'" - Gimli (Fellowship of the Ring, book)

Of course, Moria was quite "darksome" by the time the Fellowship got there. Gimli, even though I think John Rhys-Davies played the part well, was not portrayed very accurately in the movies. They often used him for shameful comic relief, instead of respecting his character as Tolkein did. He's actually one of my favorite characters (dwarves own elves!), so I tried to pay more attention to his minifig than many do who simply stick a Harry Potter Hagrid head on a Star Wars Ewok body, give it an axe, and call it Gimli. My Gimli has a brown beard, broad, armored shoulders, a custom decal, a customized axe, and a more dwarven helmet.

"You need people of intelligence on this sort of mission... quest... thing..." - Pippin (movie)

The movies also turned Merry and Pippin into simple comic relief. Although... I guess that's what they sort of were in the first place. My minifigs are extremely simple, but eh, they work...

"Legolas laid down his paddle and took up the bow that he had brought from Lorien. Then he sprang ashore and climbed a few paces up the bank. Stringing the bow and fitting an arrow he turned, peering back over the River into the darkness. [...] Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at." - Fellowship of the Ring (book)

The first thing you think when you see this Legolas minifig: "What's with the hair?". Whether you like it or not, I used the painted Qui-Gon Jinn hairpiece that I made for Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid in these pictures. It looks a little too brown though, so I later switched back to the standard blond hairpiece. You can decide which you like best.

"They were once men... great kings of men. But the Enemy gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness." - Aragorn (movie)

A simple custom, but everyone just has to make one: the ringwraith. It's Emperor Palpatine with a transparent head and a big sword. You get the idea. Moving right along...

"But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman; and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger. 'So you have come, Gandalf," he said to me gravely; but in his eyes there seemed to be a white light, as if a cold laughter was in his heart." - Gandalf (Fellowship of the Ring, book)

The best way to tell Saruman the White from Gandalf the White in the movies is to look at their staff. Saruman has a black staff and Gandalf has a white staff. They look very similar in my minifigs as well. But they are NOT the same. Each has their own head, staff, and chest decal.

"Do you know how the orcs first came to be? They were once elves... taken by the dark powers, tortured, ruined, defiled... and now... perfected. My fighting Uruk-Hai!" - Saruman

Lurtz is a movie-only character. He is the leader of the band of Uruk-hai that attacked the Fellowship at the river leading out of Lorien, though his name is actually never said in either the movie OR the book. Still, he's Lurtz, the orc that killed Boromir.

This is just a quick representation of Boromir being killed by Lurtz and then Aragorn stepping in and taking care of the orc. The fight between Strider and Lurtz was, in my opinion, probably the best one-on-one fight in the entire trilogy.