10305 Lion Knights' Castle 90th anniversary set

[SirBlake]

I think we can all agree on two things:

1: prints are better than stickers 

2: it’s too soon to get our panties in a twist over inconclusive preliminary photos. 

[TeriXeri]

1 minute ago, SirBlake said:

I think we can all agree on two things:

1: prints are better than stickers 

2: it’s too soon to get our panties in a twist over inconclusive preliminary photos. 

Big set like Loop Coaster  (also €400) already have some Video Reviews, so I'll assume this set might be video reviewed beforehand as well , that'll help and conclude.

Edited June 19, 2022 by TeriXeri

[Blazej_Holen]

I hope that all decorated elements are prints. Lego knows how afols feel about stickers and making such valuable and desited pieces stickers would be big let down even just from the price perspective. There arent many unique torsos, if I count correctly its just lion knight, queen, maid and farmer. Others are just reuse. Majisto is plain blue…weapons are also reuse, there is only one newish sword. Horses are reuse, only bardings are new… so stickered shields would be HUGE dissapointment. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Blazej_Holen

[General Magma]

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

[Lyichir]

2 minutes ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

I think the black works for them, especially given their more organic shaping compared to classic trees. If you want to change the color of them without changing the build, Reddish Brown would be an easier option than Dark Brown (since parts like the large macaroni tubes don't come in Dark Brown yet).

[Johnny1360]

There is nothing I can say about this set, it is like the one set I have been waiting for my entire life, nothing can prevent me from getting this set, maybe two and I rarely ever buy large sets. It will likely also be the last LEGO set I ever buy again, as everything else would just be disappointing, lol. Seriously I am burying my head in the sand, until I get this set. Enjoy.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Johnny1360

[Poco Lypso]

57 minutes ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

Its prolly nostalgia but as somebody else already pointed out, lego designers chose colors based on what was available at any given time and with new colors being introduced designs changed, for example yellow was used for sand in pirates sets but was replaced with tan later. And if more colors had been available back in the day, they would have most likely chosen those instead of black for a tree. And I very much doubt there would have been an outcry over a (dark)brown tree in the forestmens gwp or the new castle set. Although IIRC during lego con they mentioned they designed the set based on what they (the designers) and fans liked best about castle, so maybe I am wrong and black is indeed everyones favorite tree color.

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Poco Lypso

[R0Sch]

Other new parts included are Slope, Curved 2 x 1 x 1 1/3 Inverted in lbg and Slope, Cuved 2 x 2 x 1 1/3 Inverted (as found in Peach's Castle) recolored in reddish brown.

[Roebuck]

3 hours ago, aabdguy87 said:

I wasn't aware that discount for Lego sets were even a thing, let alone a 30% discount. I thought that everything Lego related, especially important sets like this, went out of stock immediately or didn't need to be discounted considering how popular Lego is. Do you mind PMing me the store that had a 30% discount on the blacksmith?

I hope you have not collected Lego long, if you have you probably paid too much It depends on the country you live in, but as long as 2 or more shops sell a set it usually leads to competition and possibility for a better deal in the long run. It was easier to get nice deals when TRU was still a thing here and before the pandemic when everybody where home and the number of sets sold to AFOLs doubled. I normally do not buy sets directly from Lego unless I want a GWP

4 hours ago, williejm said:

Is that just the existing Egyptian headdress in all-white? I did wonder if it would meet your exacting standards … knowing you wanted them 

Sounds about right, no way they would make a new mould for something like that with the low budget this set had

3 hours ago, jodawill said:

 I'm really surprised by all the negative comments about this set. Please, everyone, just buy this set. Buy multiple copies. If you don't, we likely won't see another castle ever again.

I will buy one the rest of the budget goes to farm animals from City so I can add them to the set since Lego did not

1 hour ago, Blazej_Holen said:

I hope that all decorated elements are prints. Lego knows how afols feel about stickers and making such valuable and desited pieces stickers would be big let down even just from the price perspective. There arent many unique torsos, if I count correctly its just lion knight, queen, maid and farmer. Others are just reuse. Majisto is plain blue…weapons are also reuse, there is only one newish sword. Horses are reuse, only bardings are new… so stickered shields would be HUGE dissapointment. 

Until I see some reviews that show the stickers I believe they are printed  With this price the set should have a huge design budget, that is clearly not the case, but it can not be so low that they did not print the shields right

44 minutes ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

I am not a fan of the old sets having them in black and the same is true with the sets this year, however I understand why they did it. If they made them brown some people would probably complain so this is a safer choice

[Blazej_Holen]

2 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

Some people would probably complain so this is a safer choice

People will always complain about something. There is no perfect match to satisfy everyones taste…

[Triceron]

3 hours ago, aabdguy87 said:

I wasn't aware that discount for Lego sets were even a thing, let alone a 30% discount. I thought that everything Lego related, especially important sets like this, went out of stock immediately or didn't need to be discounted considering how popular Lego is. Do you mind PMing me the store that had a 30% discount on the blacksmith?

Blacksmith is regular $199.99 in Canada, I picked it up on Amazon.ca during their major Black Friday sale for $149.99, a 25% discount.  There's usually a lot of lego on sale during these major events, the next being Amazon's Prime Day in mid July.  I picked up Flower Fruit Mountain for $149 (reg $240) and Monkie Kid sets are usually sold directly by Lego.  I'm not even sure how and why Amazon has Monkie Kid sets.

1 hour ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

I don't mind it though I prefer the brown trees.  I still have the tree from Blacksmith bagged and unbuilt, I could swap that in if need be.  I don't think my wife will let me touch the Winnie set for parts :P

[Hive]

Fantastic set, truly stunning. Can't wait to get it.

There's always small things to nitpick, but I'm overall very, very happy with the set.

Fingers crossed that everything is printed.

[BTappel]

This set is the GOAT!

greatest of all time

and because goats

[Poco Lypso]

4 hours ago, aabdguy87 said:

I wasn't aware that discount for Lego sets were even a thing, let alone a 30% discount. I thought that everything Lego related, especially important sets like this, went out of stock immediately or didn't need to be discounted considering how popular Lego is. Do you mind PMing me the store that had a 30% discount on the blacksmith?

You gotta check the options in the country you live in. Generally, buying lego sets from legos website is a bad deal, VIP points give you a 5% discount, 10% when its 2x vip points (obviously). But then there is ofc the GWP which adds some value and its mostly if not always lego exclusive. In general most sets can be purchased at 20% discount soonish after release. 30% can be a bit tougher to find and those deals don't last very long (understandably).  

[KristinnK]

8 hours ago, Merlo said:

I don't need "more size" now that I'm older (even though it doesn't hurt), I need more sofistication. And yes, obviously Lego is expensive and you can't make a castle with MOC detail levels, but you can make it look imaginative and evocative, just like some old sets used to.

Lowenstein castle had no trouble doing that, despite the odd look that it had trying to incorporate details into such small scale.

This is just a big plain dollhouse.

 

I actually agree with this, especially the dollhouse part. If I buy this set it would be simply for the parts. For examples of what direction I would have liked for Lego to go with this set look no further that the first 2021 Lego Ideas review. There were no fewer than three different castles I consider excellent, Castle of Lord Afol and the Black Knights, The Castle of Brickwood Forest and Fantasy Castle. I feel those castles all have a much better sense of proportion and layout. Part of it definitely is the fact that TLG decided to go with a fold-out design with well-developed interiors, both of which make it harder to make a coherent and good-looking design of the assembled castle.

I do lament the fact that none of these three castles were picked up, likely because TLG knew they would have their anniversary castle hit the shelves in a similar time-frame.

[Blazej_Holen]

First two of named castles are trully great and by far excelent both in scope of layout, and overall shape, but the third one is big meh for me. Still these are also “dollhause” style. I like the fact that the Lego 90 Anniversary Castle is coherent and when closed, its compact in terms of individual rooms and halls… When opened its highly playable, when closed its perfect display piece. Also there are stairs, ladders and pathways to every room. Only exception Incan see is that massive gatehouse tower, since there is no ladder to the top most floor. As a long term lego collector and afol, I understand those choices Lego has made. These castles submitted via Ideas/Cusoo are fan MOCs. These cant be compared to the finished set that have to follow some rules in terms of stability, playability, features etc… 

[GeoBrick]

1 hour ago, Johnny1360 said:

There is nothing I can say about this set, it is like the one set I have been waiting for my entire life, nothing can prevent me from getting this set, maybe two and I rarely ever buy large sets. It will likely also be the last LEGO set I ever buy again, as everything else would just be disappointing, lol. Seriously I am burying my head in the sand, until I get this set. Enjoy.

In that case, I recommend downloading the Bricklink Designer Program set "Castle in the Forest", gather the necessary elements, and start building...

[Triceron]

I really want to see what it looks like from the back when it's closed up.  Every angle we've seen is from the front.  I don't mind the doll-house concept since that's how most Castle sets were back in the day as well, and it does work as both a play feature and a display.  I do agree it looks fairly plain though, and I'd definitely consider moc'ing up some details like the Blacksmith's brickwork, incorporating some darker grey pieces to make this really pop out.

[Poco Lypso]

tbh the dollhouse rooms seem to have just abou 4-5 studs depth. And while relatively detailed there is simply not much room. Not really saying it should have been blacksmith style, that would be have been overkill (pricewise, lol), but the more I look at it the more it seems to be a jack of all trades master of none kinda thing. The dollhouse part doesn't seem to great to be displayed, and the fascade is at the end of the day jusy a fascade.

[jodawill]

What's wrong with it being a "dollhouse" style? This is exactly what I want. I want it to be playable, like the big sets they made when I was a kid. This reminds me a lot of Fort Legoredo. 

[RichardGoring]

The dollhouse style not only means more versatile play, but also gives you a range of detail to add for a more varied building experience. Plus, you can display it open, for more of a long castle wall look, just as they have done in many images. Diagon alley works in the same way, and looks great displayed.

[SirBlake]

Funny how opinions can differ. I personally see this one as best of both worlds between “doll house” and complexity when it comes to the floor plan. It’s not just a simple square, lots of room details, just perfect. 

[Frike]

2 hours ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

I can appreciate the nostalgia in how both this and the Forestmen GWP have black trees, but I much prefer reddish/dark brown trees. It's really not a deal-breaker or even worth fuzzing about, but I would have preferred brown.

[INTENSS]

3 hours ago, General Magma said:

What are people's stances on the black trees? I like the throwback to the classic ones although I'm considering attempting to make them dark brown if that works

Really doesn’t bother me, keeps the nostalgic thing going for sure.  However, I would personally have preferred dark brown for this and the GWP. I’ll be going with a dark brown change for this castle as well.

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

pe you have not collected Lego long, if you have you probably paid too much It depends on the country you live in, but as long as 2 or more shops sell a set it usually leads to competition and possibility for a better deal in the long run. It was easier to get nice deals when TRU was still a thing here and before the pandemic when everybody where home and the number of sets sold to AFOLs doubled. I normally do not buy sets directly from Lego unless I want a GWP

My brother and I used to make our annual big Lego purchases at TRU during one of their BOGO 50% off sales from the 90s on.  While their prices were a bit higher than other retailers, it worked out very well with the sale.  I still have multiple smaller MISB Castle sets from the Fantasy, Kingdoms, and final line because I bought so many during those sales.  I miss filling shopping carts full of Castle sets…

[Poco Lypso]

34 minutes ago, jodawill said:

What's wrong with it being a "dollhouse" style? This is exactly what I want. I want it to be playable, like the big sets they made when I was a kid. This reminds me a lot of Fort Legoredo. 

nothing wrong! I was just nitpicking. adults point of view, trying to justify the expense or talk my way out of it, haha.

Tbh I don't really care about the playability of a set, more interested in design and displayability. 

Btw, what do they need a drawbridge and portcullis for if the enemies can jump right into the castle via the watermill - jk