Review: 10367 Balrog Book Nook from LEGO® Icons

LEGO® Lord of the Rings was very popular back in 2012 and 2013. Less than 20 sets were released, and their aftermarket prices are formidable. The theme returned two years ago under the LEGO® Icons line with more adult-oriented and expensive playsets, flanked by some LEGO® Brickheadz. Compared to 10316 Rivendell (see our review by Ben Davies), 10333 Barad-dûr (review by Jonas Kramm) and 10354 The Shire (review by Thomas Jenkins), the June 2025 set 10367 Balrog Book Nook feels like a modestly sized, affordable model.  Except that modestly sized and affordable in 2025 means 1201 pieces for US$129.99/ £109.99/ 119.99€!

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
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10367 Balrog Book Nook

• Release date: 1 June 2025, pre-order available in many countries
• Pieces: 1201

Price: 

• US$ 129.99 on LEGO.com US – pre-order now
• CA$ 149.99 on LEGO.com Canada – pre-order now
• GB£ 109.99 on LEGO.com UK – pre-order now
• AU$ 199.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 219.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 119,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland – pre-order now
• NL€ 119,99 on LEGO.com Nederland – pre-order now
• FR€ 119,99 on LEGO.com France – pre-order now
• PLN 539.99 on LEGO.com Polska – pre-order now
• NOK 1649,90 on LEGO.com Norge – pre-order now
• DKK 999.95 on LEGO.com Danmark – pre-order now

Other countries click here
 

The set depicts the confrontation of Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria at the east end of the Second Hall of Old Moria on the First Deep. I think I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2006 and read the books in 2007 and this scene had a strong impact on me as a kid, both in the written and filmed forms. The recently revived LEGO community site Brickshelf still hosts three balrogs built by young Eero: a 2007 version, 2008 version and 2009 version. Looking back at them now, they still reveal some differences of interpretations from the Peter Jackson version – something that I will return to later on in this article.

Interesting parts 

Recolours

• 4x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in Dark Orange (6553758 | 5092)
• 4x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in Dark Orange (6553754 | 5091)
• 2x Tile 2 x 6 in Dark Orange (6553755 | 69729)
• 4x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Handles on Ends in Reddish Orange (6553756 | 18649)
• Weapon Bladed Claw Spread in Orange (6553753 | 10187) - with 1 extra
• Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors - Flexible in Orange (6553759 | 27965)

Ziplines are fun pieces, and it's cool to have more on vibrant colours, this time in orange. It's a shame that there isn't an extra piece – occasionally in the past, ziplines have come with an extra.

• 2x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in Light Bluish Gray (6558799 | 5092)
• 2x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in Light Bluish Gray (6558800 | 5091)
• 4x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in Dark Bluish Gray (6533800 | 5404)
• 2x Animal Body Part, Horn (Cattle) in Dark Tan (6553757 | 64847, 67258) - with 1 extra
• 2x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Tooth in Dark Tan (6553752 | 49668)

The dark tan pieces are perfect for ears and moustaches. The grateless cheese slopes are also coming in set 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook. When I reviewed set 10351, I assumed we'd see them sooner or later in other sets.

New Prints

• Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Right with Balrog Face Half Pattern in Black (6541888)
• Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Left with Balrog Face Half Pattern in Black (6541889)
• Tile 2 x 6 with print in Black (6541887 | 69729)

The details of Balrog's face would be very difficult to build on this scale, so printed pieces feel like a good solution.

Furthermore, there is a quote tile, familiar from adult-oriented LEGO® Star Wars and LEGO® Jurassic Park sets. Did you know that Gandalf never says "You shall not pass" in the original text? Only "You cannot pass", twice.

Rare parts

• 2x Technic Brick Modified 2 x 2 with Ball and Axle Hole, with 6 Holes in Ball in Black (6521191 | 57909b) - in 2 other sets
• Plate Special 1 x 2 with Three Teeth [Tri-Tooth] in Dark Tan (6421619 | 15208) - in 2 other sets

• Foil, Black Wings, Dragon with Dark Bluish Grey Webbing (6483067) - also in 40693 Fell Beast (Review by Ben Davies)

The instructions note that the plastic sheet wings were first designed for the Fell Beast Gift with Purchase released last year. Personally, I think they work better here than on the fell beast, where they do not capture the long, graceful shape of the wings of the fell beasts seen in the film. Balrog wings are questionable to start with, and not seen as clearly in the films – thus their accuracy is less crucial here. Furthermore, the opening function and the scale of the book nook puts some limitations on the size and material of the wings.

Minifigures

Tell me where is Gandalf, for I have desire the speak with him

The only minifigure here is Gandalf, who sports identical prints as the Rivendell and Shire versions but lacks a cape and hat. I don't grieve the lack of a hat, as the classic wizard hat in dark bluish grey has never worked very well on him – it should be sand blue, at least. One minifigure is 5 less than the other June book nook, but honestly this set does not need any more. It's a duel; extra orcs or Fellowship members would feel out of place.

Gandalf's sword Glamdring (6295400 | 66964) is nice, although somewhat huge – as is usual with minifigure accessories. The added jewel on the staff is great, as Gandalf's illuminating staff is an important part of Moria aesthetics.

The model

The Bridge is Near

This is a book nook, which adds some definite limits to the set design: it shouldn't be much higher or deeper than usual Tolkien novels, and not too wide to lose the nook aesthetics. This might have been an issue, as the balrog is "human shaped, yet greater" and the Second Hall is huge. 

The design has four pillars, connected by beams on top and bottom, and a bridge between the adversaries.

The model opens up. It feels sturdy and can be lifted with one hand. 

The pillars use a gradient of dark bluish grey, medium nougat, dark orange and dark tan pieces to emulate a reflection of the balrog's fire. A similar trick was used on 10333 Barad-dûr last year. It looks great, effectively repeating the strong visual of the film.

The balrog is connected to the pillars behind it via LEGO® Technic connectors on the back of its wings. The wings fold nicely when the nook is closed, and the adversary is easy to remove from the set.

There is a layer of flames on both sides, made of trans-orange macaroni tiles and some other parts; they're more stylised than realistic. I like them.

The back of the nook is more finished than on the Sherlock nook. The sides are open, which is natural to the hall of columns, as opposed to the more closed and book-like Sherlock book nook set.

The best view of this set is on Gandalf's eye level, the excellently designed balrog head in focus, and the trans-orange flames dancing all around, illuminating the gradients.

The pillars faithfully recreate the Art Deco-inspired aesthetics of Moria in the film. They're downsized, obviously, but that is not an issue.

When closed, the nook has a powerful, symmetrical visual of the balrog arching over Gandalf…

…But the effect is less strong when used as a book nook, as the black balrog effectively disappears in the dark space between the books. In a way, the display potential is the opposite of the Sherlock book nook, which works best within the books. The effect is made worse by my relatively dark green library room wall, but I think that a white wall wouldn't be much better – both are unfitting for Moria. 

In short, I think the set needs a light, maybe a warm-hued LED candle with flickering flame. Do not use a real candle. It's a bad idea with books all around!

Removed from its nook, the Durin's Bane is a solid, study action figure ready for play; only the wings are somewhat floppy to enable the folding-in to nook form. I think it's somewhat shorter and stockier than its on-screen counterpart, but this is – once again – understandable as it has to fit inside the book-sized space.

The Peter Jackson balrog is a beast, a satan-esque monster with wings, horns and hooves. It's a classic nerd debate whether Tolkien's balrogs have wings – there certainly is a shadow shaped like two wings, spanning from wall to wall, but on the other hand, most known balrogs die after falling down from things. (If you haven't, I recommend checking out The Great Balrog Slippers Debate on Flying Moose from 1999; it's an important part of Internet history). Interestingly, Tolkien never mentions the horns, although they seem to appear on most balrog depictions – especially post-film ones.

In Tolkien's prose, balrog doesn't talk but roars and exhales sparks from its nostrils; on the other hand, it also wields a counter-spell to deflect Gandalf's shutting-spell. My mental image of balrog is less beast-like than the film version, and definitely more human-shaped than this LEGO version. I think the worst aspect of the Jackson balrog is unfortunately highlighted on this figure, as its hooves are very large and bulky. I understand why it is so; the legs have to be short to fit in the nook, and large feet help posing – just compare it to snowshoed LEGO® BIONICLE® and the large-booted LEGO® Super Heroes figures. Nonetheless, this balrog would need a huge pair of fluffy slippers.

Fortunately, the silly feet are balanced by the excellent head with its well-designed horns. And just look at those neck creases – they're super accurate. The glow gradient is repeated here in the small scale, with dark tan teeth reflecting the fiery mouth.

The back shows the LEGO Technic construction of the wing joints. I am confused by the use of Technic Pin Connector Hub with 1 Axle (22961) both in light bluish grey and black, as the grey ones stand out. Maybe this is to make the building easier?

Conclusion

A set with a balrog action figure fulfills the long wait of many fans, and I'm sure this set will be popular. The design is generally successful, my favourite aspects are the fire gradient and the balrog's head. 

At best, the model makes a great impression; but due to its colours, it's not ideal as a book nook – displaying it between books makes it simply too dark. However, it looks decent when opened – and thus works as a normal display model just as well. 

As a parts pack, it has some good recolours, but I won't expect people buying this for them alone. Value of 1201 parts and one minifigure for US$129.99/ £109.99/ 119.99€ seems decent for a licenced set: the finished assembly is not that big, but it has powerful presence once opened.

If you want a LEGO book nook, go for 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook instead; if you want a balrog, you know what to do. Nonetheless, it's interesting to have two book nook sets revealed at the same time, both based on British classics – but this one being strictly based on film adaptions, which leads to licensing fees (Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain). At the same price, Sherlock has 158 more pieces and 4 more minifigures; but, again, adding minifigures to the Balrog Nook Nook would be pointless, and increasing the size would have been against the book nook requirements. 

The only thing I'm really missing is a light-up function, but again, battery-powered light bricks are no good long-term solution. Sometimes adding a non-LEGO component is the best practice.

READ MORE: Double LEGO® Insiders points on  76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex and LEGO® NINJAGO® sets

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