If there is one particular scene in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that really sends shivers down my spine is that scene in The Return of the King where the noble Army of Rohan was overwhelmed at the sight of several gigantic beasts looming on the horizon (similar to how the Resistance may have probably felt when faced with a line of formidable First Order Heavy Assault Walkers as we saw from The Last Jedi trailer). Perhaps other than the TLOR classic fight scene between the hellish Balrog and Gandalf (which Tyler impressively re-enacted in brick form with his LEGO LOTR Custom Balrog Battle set), the war elephants used in the Battle of Pelennor Fields is one LOTR scene that I really wish LEGO has included in this theme. Thankfully, Brickshow’s master builder Tyler knows how much we love Lord of the Rings, and has a good grasp of LOTR lore as well. For his third LOTR-themed MOC, we now present to you, the mighty and proud custom LEGO Lord of the Rings Oliphant!
Fighting the Oliphant in battle as seen in The Return of the King, proved to be quite a Herculian task for our heroes. The mere sight of the massive war animal is enough to make even the bravest warrior cast doubt if such a creature can be taken down. This overwhelming feeling of sheer size and raw strength was perfectly captured by Tyler in this custom built LEGO Oliphant. Now honestly, we wished LEGO could have made one, but it was a bummer that LEGO didn’t make that call in adding the Oliphant in the TLOR line-up. So for now, let’s see all the nice features that Tyler included in his latest LEGO TLOR wishlist.
First off, this custom LEGO Lord of the Rings Oliphant has excellent articulation in all of its four massive legs starting with its knees using Technic joint pieces. Tyler also used sturdy ball joints for the ankles which can flex and be posed in various directions. The hips of the Oliphant are also articulated which allows the legs to be rotated at various angles, allowing the behemoth to be posed in different positions.
The Oliphant’s head is attached to its body using a strong ball joint that also acts as a support to counter the weight of the head. It also allows the head to be moved from left to right, creating a swaying motion as seen in the film. This swaying motion of the Oliphant’s head, coupled with its menacing 2 pairs of tusks, is perhaps the most devastating feature of the Oliphant in the battlefield. The trunk and primary tusks are also articulated using a variety of Mixel joints, allowing it a more flexible and fluid motion, while the jaw can also be opened and closed using a hinge.
This LEGO Oliphant also comes with a variety of battle accessories as we see in the film, including a chain connected to its tusks to use in sweeping the battlefield, and the menacing, three-tiered Haradrim tower mounted on its back. The tower also comes equipped with several spear launchers to add an extra punch to the Oliphant’s lethal capabilities.
One of the best parts in this scene is when Legolas single-handedly defeated an Oliphant using a combination of acrobatic moves and top-notch archery skills. This particular scene has been nicely re-enacted by Tyler by adding a simple carrottop piece on the sides of the Oliphant’s legs, allowing Legolas’ minifig counterpart to grab hold of it and maneuver his way up to the tower. As seen from the film, these are actually arrows that got stuck to the beast’s extraordinarily thick skin. It is so embedded in the Oliphant’s skin that the arrow itself can support the weight of Legolas.
Overall, this is such an excellent MOC that LEGO designers may find worth considering. Both AFOLs and KFOLs will certainly appreciate its play features and aesthetic value. Frankly, there is still a lot of potential in the LEGO Lord of the Rings theme that I sincerely wish LEGO will give it a second look and perhaps create more sets than just the 16 builds that they previously came up with. However, if you are impressed as much as I am with this latest LOTR MOC wish set from Tyler (you may also want to check out his LEGO LOTR Custom Balrog and Prancing Pony sets), then you have the option of building one of your own by simply heading over to BuildBetterBricks.com to purchase and download this MOC’s building instructions.
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