We’ve gotten so used to movies being shot with excessive CGI backgrounds that it’s kind of refreshing to know that someone is out there, in wide open spaces, actually building a life-size set. The One Ring is following around Guillermo del Toro’s production team for The Hobbit, and they managed to snap still photos of construction underway in New Zealand, where they’re rebuilding the fantastic Hobbiton set from Lord of the Rings.

The plan is simply to get it back in Hobbit shape, while at the same time adding perhaps a little more. Right now they’re planting hedgerows, fruit trees, and extending the path that runs in front of Bilbo and Frodo’s house at Bag End. New Hobbit holes have been marked out and should be going in, but even without any of that it’s still one of the most iconic locations in film history. Click over to The One Ring to see the slow return of Hobbiton.

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