LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Shire – 13 years later

The new LEGO 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire isn't the first minifigure-scale set of Bag End, but how does it compare to the original version?

10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire was finally unveiled earlier today, confirming that the next Middle-earth model will focus on the home of the hobbits in a 2,017-piece recreation of The Shire, and more specifically Bag End.

This isn't the first time that the LEGO Group has explored Frodo and Bilbo's home, though. In minifigure-scale, that title would go 2012's 79003 An Unexpected Journey. Despite being based on The Hobbit movies and not the original trilogy, there are more than a few comparisons to be drawn between the sets, with over a decade of designs and building techniques separating them.

Without any further ado, here's a closer look at exactly how 2025's 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire stacks up next to 79003 An Unexpected Journey in terms of techniques, builds, detail and size.

The rolling hills and lush greenery

The exterior of Bag End and the Shire is far more important than the interior as the iconic homes are defined by the fact that they're built into hills with curved features, matching the rolling landscape.

2012's early exploration of these hills relied on a specifically angular design with straight slopes made of multiple bricks, rounding out only on top of the house, which offered much more detailed and intricate shaping with multiple layers of elements. 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire does a better job than 79003 An Unexpected Journey in this regard, thanks to its increased budget. With more rounded slops and variety on the shaping above and below the door, there's no doubt that the 2025 is more accurate from the outside.

The all-important tree on top of Bag End is more accurately captured in 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire too, thanks to further exploration of LEGO trees via Harry Potter, Botanicals, the modular buildings and much more. In 2012, LEGO trees followed a fairly uniform design with arch elements and a singular foliage piece. That same piece is reused in 2025, though.

Homely features

Focusing on the man-made (or hobbit-made?) features of Bag End's exterior, the door in the 2025 set is unprinted in a dark green colour. In 2012, this piece was printed with Gandalf's symbol as well as wooden detailing. Such a feature would have been welcome in the 2025 model, reusing this design and the larger dish element in the dark green colour.

The windows between the two sets vary wildly, too. The windows themselves are more innovative in the 2012 set, making use of turntables and transparent pieces for a unique design sandwiched within arch parts. This means that the windows can't open, though, putting form above functionality. In 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire, the windows are more functional but the frames themselves are far more accurate, properly representing the curved architectural features of Bag End, instead of the fairly angular design seen in 2012.

The fence at the front of 79003 An Unexpected Journey was excellent for its time in 2012, using pieces attached on their side to create a mismatched fence line and a simple gate, using stickers for additional detail. 2025's take on Bag End instead opts for boomerangs to depict the thatched fence, weaving in and out of the attached path in a deceptively simple model.

Cosy furnishings

Inside the home of Bilbo and Frodo, 2012's Bag End is all one room, packing in the most iconic features from the films in a single space. Since this is based on the moment where the Dwarves invade the residence and help themselves to a feast, the dinner table takes priority, but the study and atrium are also represented. One major difference in the atrium of the new set is that the windows are curved even on the interior, where there is simply not enough space for anything similar in 79003 An Unexpected Journey.

The atria occupy a surprisingly similar space between the two models, and the 2025 version benefits from decorated carpet tiles, a coat rack and melting candles. By comparison, the 2012 version still has enough space to greet guests, a chest and a barrel for storing weapons and staffs. Once more, the same barrel piece is used despite a decade of changes in the LEGO portfolio.

The study in 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire is much more expansive than the 2012 set, but at least Bilbo's book is still present in both, sporting similar stickers and a quill next to their pedestals. The same technique is in use for the pedestal, too, except this one isn't blocking the main window.

The books themselves are notably different, using the two eras of book pieces and demonstrating how the LEGO Group's approach towards interactive elements has changed – those older books had no space for decorated page pieces in them.

While 79003 An Unexpected Journey has been retired for more than 10 years, 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire will be available to purchase from April 2 for LEGO Insiders and April 5 for everyone else, and early adopters will receive 40761 The Lord of the Rings: Sméagol and Déagol for free until April 8, or while stocks last.

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