The fourth and final of the LEGO Lord of the Rings Summer 2013 sets is also the biggest LOTR set of the year–it’s the LEGO Lord of the Rings Pirate Ship Ambush 79008! Though the pirate ship gets limited screen time in the Return of the King movie, it has a unique design and some compelling opportunities for minifigures that could be included with it that LEGO has capitalized on. Fans who have been waiting patiently (or impatiently) for LEGO Army of the Dead and Peter Jackson minifigure are going to be very, very pleased with this set…

At the moment, it appears that the LEGO 79008 Pirate Ship Ambush set will be the center of the 2013 LEGO Lord of the Rings collection. However, rumors are rampant about a LEGO Orthanc that could be unveiled this summer. If so, that set would tower (no pun intended) over this one.

While the 79008 LEGO Pirate Ship Ambush set has a relatively poor price when you look at cost per brick (756 pieces for $99.99 = 13 cents per brick), it has to be taken into consideration that there are some really huge and specialized pieces in this set such as the cloth sails. In addition, the LEGO LOTR Pirate Ship Ambush 79008 set will include nine terrific minifigures, several of which are exclusive to this set.

I’m always hesitant about soft goods being used in LEGO sets (beyond as minifigure capes), but the cloth sails on the LEGO Lord of the Rings Pirate Ship Ambush look sensational. I also love how they’re utilizing the axe pieces to create a sort of anchor for the ship.

Now we come to the really good stuff–the minifigures! The Legolas minifigure is nothing special, but nearly everyone has been clamoring for LEGO to make Army of the Dead minifigures! While they aren’t clear as some fans had been hoping for, the LEGO King of the Dead Minifigure and Soldier of the Dead minifigure still manage to look pretty spooky and paranormal in the shades of green paint that LEGO chose for them.

But wait! There’s another Soldier of the Dead minifigure! And as proof that LEGO loves us, this Soldier of the Dead minifigure has a totally different print than his comrade! Army-builders rejoice–you’ll have at least two versions of the Army of the Dead Soldiers minifigures to by multiples of, giving your Undead Army a bit of variety!

Aragorn–is less than interesting to me. We have so many Aragorn minifigures now that this one just doesn’t do a lot for me. I can, however, always use more Mordor Orcs minifigures! The two Mordor Orc minifigures plus the Army of the Dead minifigures really do make this a good (albeit expensive) set for army builders. The Mordor catapult accessory is an alright complement to the set, though I doubt anyone is very excited over it.

In the rear of the ship, there’s a Gimli minifigure hanging out. Like Aragorn, I feel like LEGO has given us a veritable flood of Gimli minifigures over the past year, so I’m not mesmerized by his inclusion here. However…

Who’s that hanging out in the rear of the ship? Why, it’s a LEGO Peter Jackson minifigure! No, it’s not really Peter Jackson–it’s a Pirate of Umbar minifigure representing a character Peter Jackson played in the movie. But it’s close enough for me! Even the expansive Toybiz Lord of the Rings action figure line from a decade ago didn’t produce a Peter Jackson Corsair figure, so it’s fantastic to finally get one from LEGO. For me, at least, this is the surprise hit most thrilling figure in the whole LEGO Summer 2013 Lords of the Rings sets wave.

The LEGO Lord of the Rings Pirate Ship Ambush 79008 is scheduled to be released in June 2013. It contains 756 pieces for $99.99, and is part of the LEGO Lord of the Rings Summer 2013 sets wave.

UPDATE: The LEGO Pirate Ship Ambush set has now been released in official LEGO Stores and is available for sale online with free shipping and no tax in most states in U.S.