10305 Lion Knights' Castle 90th anniversary set

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, GeoBrick said:

You know, the set is in stores only on August 8, right? Its (online) pre-ordering that starts on August 3...

Really? It just says VIP access on August 3 on the US site, which means that a VIP can buy it on August 3 - whether online or instore.

[GeoBrick]

Well, now I'm curious. Do tell if you were able to buy the set in a LEGO store on August 3.

[RichardGoring]

38 minutes ago, GeoBrick said:

Well, now I'm curious. Do tell if you were able to buy the set in a LEGO store on August 3.

You've been able to for previous early releases. It's just a way to make sure that people are signed up for VIP, and if you're not, they can help you do it in the store.

[dimc]

3 hours ago, MAB said:

As an AFOL, I do play with minifigures. I use minifigures, and animals, and so on posed to give a bit of life to the build. A model with no people populating it always looks a bit odd to me. A cart without a horse or other animal pulling it, a table with food on it but no people to eat it, an armory full of swords but no soldiers, ... it looks like all the life was suddenly vaporised.

Architecture sets and micro MOCs are the only places I don't put minifigs. Locally (and occasionally on ebay) I will buy lots of minifigs just to make my scenes feel even more alive. I'm so thrilled at the minifigs in the castle.

[woodford86]

From where I'm sitting, a build is incomplete and I'll say it...boring...until you've filled it with characters. Thats gotta be my favorite part. But I also don't really care for the massive copy/paste armies. I like to keep things small to maintain visual interest.

 

But thats all just like, my opinion, man.

Edited July 17, 2022 by woodford86

[Doddsino]

On 7/15/2022 at 1:56 PM, Triceron said:

I had Witch's Magic Manor and the Batlord + Black Dragon mini set were my only sets from this era.  If the Bull Knights came right after, I would have continued collecting, but they switched up to Ninja theme and that's when I entered my Dark Ages.

The Witch's Magic Manor was one of the few times I had to convince my parents not to buy a set since I found the excessive usage of BURPs to be ugly. But like you, I also entered by Dark Ages around 1998 due to vapid changes I thought Lego was making, whether it was abandoning traditional facial designs, or themes that I didn't like while abandoning others that I did (Pirates, Wild West). And my biggest annoyance as a kid? Adopting the chain pieces over the traditional string rigging. Don't ask me why, but I hated this SO much as a kid.

[Triceron]

1 minute ago, Doddsino said:

The Witch's Magic Manor was one of the few times I had to convince my parents not to buy a set since I found the excessive usage of BURPs to be ugly. But like you, I also entered by Dark Ages around 1998 due to vapid changes I thought Lego was making, whether it was abandoning traditional facial designs, or themes that I didn't like while abandoning others that I did (Pirates, Wild West). And my biggest annoyance as a kid? Adopting the chain pieces over the traditional string rigging. Don't ask me why, but I hated this SO much as a kid.

Oh, I absolutely agree.  Witch's magic manor is the ugliest thing I've ever came across.  It was a birthday gift from my parents cuz they knew I was big into Lego Castle and this just happened to be the affordable set that was new and out at the time.  I'm still happy I have it because there's a lot of minis and accessories in there, but yeah it's not a set I would have ever gone out and asked for.

The only good thing about all the BURPS is that I can use it for my other mocs.  With enough greebling, BURPS can still be useful as a base to give some sets some elevation.

As for the Chains, I actually really like them and I'm happy I have them from this set.  They came in handy for making some Tensegrity Mocs that were so popular a couple years back.

[Doddsino]

I will say that Knight Lord's Castle was pretty cool at the time, given they went with more of a tower design. Still kind of kicking myself I never picked it up. Oh well.

[jodawill]

Does Lego make any effort to ensure sets are available on their official release date, especially stores? Is it really possible the set will be unavailable if I'm there when the store opens on release day?

[Triceron]

5 minutes ago, jodawill said:

Does Lego make any effort to ensure sets are available on their official release date, especially stores? Is it really possible the set will be unavailable if I'm there when the store opens on release day?

Not sure about any other locations, but the ones near me are usually good with stock for day 1 release.  They just don't stock a whole lot so it goes fast.  Nothing is ever a guarantee, and they could also run into shipping issues on first day.  Best bet, call in before-hand or talk to some employees and ask about stock, it might help get a gauge on how they stock and give them a better idea to prepare for a high demand.

There's a few things like Delorean that I've never seen back in stock at my local stores, but having talked to employees I at least know they've had em in stock, only that they usually sell out real quick.  You could also probably ask if they would be open to setting one aside for you if you were planning on a day 1 pickup.

[Rattlebricks]

5 hours ago, woodford86 said:

 But I also don't really care for the massive copy/paste armies. I like to keep things small to maintain visual interest.

 

 

Same with me.

[SirBlake]

1 minute ago, Rattlebricks said:

Same with me.

The question then becomes how big is big enough? I personally am happy with anything over 20, capping it around 35 or so. 

Unless it’s something I’m not way into ((late 90’s-KK2). A smattering of royals/bulls/fright knights is fine. 

[Rattlebricks]

14 minutes ago, SirBlake said:

The question then becomes how big is big enough? I personally am happy with anything over 20, capping it around 35 or so. 

Unless it’s something I’m not way into ((late 90’s-KK2). A smattering of royals/bulls/fright knights is fine. 

20-30 for me.  My max would be something like  the old poster where the forestmen is attacking black monarch castle.

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Rattlebricks

[DaleDVM]

I think 10305 is just fantastic.  Even though I (like most AFOLs) build on a grander scale and more detailed MOCs, I truly appreciate the SNOT techniques, unique angles, secret entrances, and the awesome way the castle walls fold up using multiple hinges and even sections of wall that are not attached.  It is just brilliant.  The selection of "castley" bits including the armor, shields, barding, cloth flags, and cape are just stellar!  The only thing I wish we got was a couple more unique peasants.  The number of lion knights could have been reduced by 1 or 2 to compensate and Majisto could have been skipped as well.  The CMF wizard is so much better and easy to obtain.  These are just nitpicks at this point and I am so excited to get this.  

I hope the GWP forestman set can be obtained with the castle.  It would make it just a little more economical.  Even though I do find the set worth the asking price.  

I am surprised so many people have 6086 as their favorite castle in the poll.  The black knight's castle always bothered me that it had two walls only two bricks high using the raised baseplate as the primary defenses.  Also the center of the castle wasn't flat and the dungeon was not the best design.  However, to each their own...  It is almost unanimous that the new castle is the best ever released!  

[SirBlake]

3 minutes ago, DaleDVM said:

I think 10305 is just fantastic.  Even though I (like most AFOLs) build on a grander scale and more detailed MOCs, I truly appreciate the SNOT techniques, unique angles, secret entrances, and the awesome way the castle walls fold up using multiple hinges and even sections of wall that are not attached.  It is just brilliant.  The selection of "castley" bits including the armor, shields, barding, cloth flags, and cape are just stellar!  The only thing I wish we got was a couple more unique peasants.  The number of lion knights could have been reduced by 1 or 2 to compensate and Majisto could have been skipped as well.  The CMF wizard is so much better and easy to obtain.  These are just nitpicks at this point and I am so excited to get this.  

I hope the FWP forestman set can be obtained with the castle.  It would make it just a little more economical.  Even though I do find the set worth the asking price.  

I am surprised so many people have 6086 as their favorite castle in the poll.  The black knight's castle always bothered me that it had two walls only two bricks high using the raised baseplate as the primary defenses.  Also the center of the castle wasn't flat and the dungeon was not the best design.  However, to each their own...  It is almost unanimous that the new castle is the best ever released!  

Very well said. Agreed on all points. 

[DaleDVM]

As for Willa and her magical manor...  I bought that set in 1997 along with the rest of the fright night sets.  I hated the entire theme so much it sent me into a dark age.  Some may say it is impossible, but those sets may be as ugly as Willa herself!  What exactly were those flying machines anyway?  The weird thing is... I bought them all, but I didn't even open any of the sets until 2007 when I came out of my dark age with the introduction of the fantasy era sets. 

Fantasy era is by far my favorite subtheme of castle as it gave us trolls, dwarfs, undead legions, cool new dragons, and most importantly the Medieval Market Village!!!

Even though I hated the original.  I know a fright knights theme now would be pretty darn awesome.  

[eldiano]

13 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

You know, the set is in stores only on August 8, right? Its (online) pre-ordering that starts on August 3...

 

10 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Well, now I'm curious. Do tell if you were able to buy the set in a LEGO store on August 3.

In the past it was always 15 days prior to the official release date for VIP members, the official release date does say August 8th but like Richard Goring states also the US Lego website does have a banner that says VIP access will start August 3rd.  

There's a little queen lego figure in a yellow banner by the release date that advertises the VIP perk for 3/8

With that said though my local store is full of nerds, I know some workers by name but the thing is every 1st of the month or when a big release comes out there's like 10-20 groups of people lined up outside! 

We have to scan the QR code for the waitlist to be let inside but the thing is that LEGO doesn't send that many sets on release date usually like two boxes which is like 6 sets and once it sells out you have to wait until the next shipment.  I remember when the Daily Bugle came out they were sold out for a month straight every set that came in was taken already.  Hence why i'm not risking any chances with this set, even though I won't be able to build it for a while haha but I'm curious on the GWP and promotion they got if any and more than anything it would be now or never, I as a collector like to have the shipper boxes and i hope they let us keep it, other wise the shape of the box gets warped and distorted, we will see.   

[jodawill]

5 hours ago, Doddsino said:

I will say that Knight Lord's Castle was pretty cool at the time, given they went with more of a tower design. Still kind of kicking myself I never picked it up. Oh well.

It's an interesting theme. I'm not very interested in fantasy, but I think that theme has a lot of potential. It reminds me a lot of the movie Willow. I wonder if the theme was inspired by it. I've always loved that movie. The bat lord reminds me of the evil knight with the skull face in that movie.

If Lego brought back Fright Knights and really did it justice, I think I would buy it. I would like to see it focus on the bat lord - not Willa. Witches don't appeal to me at all, but the bat lord concept just sends chills down my spine thinking about it. And, of course, they would need to remove all elements of flying contraptions. An updated dragon in the style of the original would be cool, but not if it's being used to pull something.

54 minutes ago, eldiano said:

 

With that said though my local store is full of nerds, I know some workers by name but the thing is every 1st of the month or when a big release comes out there's like 10-20 groups of people lined up outside! 

We have to scan the QR code for the waitlist to be let inside but the thing is that LEGO doesn't send that many sets on release date usually like two boxes which is like 6 sets and once it sells out you have to wait until the next shipment.  I remember when the Daily Bugle came out they were sold out for a month straight every set that came in was taken already.  Hence why i'm not risking any chances with this set, even though I won't be able to build it for a while haha but I'm curious on the GWP and promotion they got if any and more than anything it would be now or never, I as a collector like to have the shipper boxes and i hope they let us keep it, other wise the shape of the box gets warped and distorted, we will see.   

Wow. Honestly, that sounds like a horrible experience for the customers. The Lego store is an hour drive for me. I would be really upset if I took the day off from work (as I was considering) to drive down there when they open, just to not be able to take one home. I'm glad you shared this!

I really wanted to drive down and pick it up myself because I've basically been waiting for this my entire life - the opportunity to buy a great castle brand new in the store. Ordering online kind of cheapens the experience a bit. But I won't risk not getting one. I'll order it day one at midnight.

[Something_Awesome]

The Wolfpack is coming back. It's hinted at in the instruction manual. I am guessing that is who the "bad guys" are supposed to be. LEGO wouldn't drop a tease like that without intent. I'm guessing it got a lot of votes. But Falcons and Lion Knights are not considered enemies anymore. So Wolfpack it is?

[Robert8]

This is such a premium product

I'm quite impress with the all reviews so far

Can't even imagine the price in the aftermarket in a decade or such

[Roebuck]

20 minutes ago, Something_Awesome said:

I'm guessing it got a lot of votes.

If I remember correctly wolfpack was one of the Castle sub-themes that got fewest votes in competition. That does of course not mean much they way the poll was set up. Maybe a wolfpack raid on a MMV/MVR type of set could happen I guess it depends on how well the castle sells if we get any more sets, the b-bay set was sold out for months at the time, but we have unfortunately not gotten any more Pirates set since then

[Triceron]

2 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

The Wolfpack is coming back. It's hinted at in the instruction manual. I am guessing that is who the "bad guys" are supposed to be. LEGO wouldn't drop a tease like that without intent. I'm guessing it got a lot of votes. But Falcons and Lion Knights are not considered enemies anymore. So Wolfpack it is?

It would make more sense if it were the Black Knights, who continue to be popular today and rival the Classic factions they're releasing so far.  Black Knights are literally the next in line after Crusaders, Black Falcons and Forestmen.

[Hive]

I don't get the complaints about the amount of females in the set. This is a toy for children, not an accurate historical representation of the dark ages. If that's what you're looking for, you shouldn't be looking for LEGO sets to begin with.

That said, I'll probably be turning most of the female soldiers into males myself - but that's not much of a hassle anyway, it's literally just a head swap. And I'd expect that most people buying this set have spare male heads anyway.

[MAB]

9 hours ago, SirBlake said:

The question then becomes how big is big enough? I personally am happy with anything over 20, capping it around 35 or so.

It depends on the size of the MOC / set. I reckon this castle could easily be populated with 40 or 50 soldiers in various places depending on what you want to have going on and whether you have it opened or closed. Similarly, you could add a load of peasants from Kingdoms and it would help make it look like a more bustling environment.

I like my builds to look a bit like those cross sectional kids' books, that show what goes on in every room. Something like this.

That way, you get the whole model as a display from a distance, but you can look at the detail in every room when up close.

I find the baseplates full of aligned soldiers posed in a formation with nothing else around it quite boring. But if they are posed such that they are all doing something, a large number can look much more interesting. And this castle is large enough to get a lot of action in.

 

 

[RichardGoring]

6 hours ago, jodawill said:

Wow. Honestly, that sounds like a horrible experience for the customers. The Lego store is an hour drive for me. I would be really upset if I took the day off from work (as I was considering) to drive down there when they open, just to not be able to take one home. I'm glad you shared this!

I really wanted to drive down and pick it up myself because I've basically been waiting for this my entire life - the opportunity to buy a great castle brand new in the store. Ordering online kind of cheapens the experience a bit. But I won't risk not getting one. I'll order it day one at midnight.

In my area (Boston), they do something similar. If you arrive on release day and queue up early, they will give you a ticket for the set you want. I was there on Titanic release day about five minutes before the store opened (although I wanted to get a Corner Garage), and they had about 20 Titanics in stock. All of them were given to people who arrived before opening time (but the last was about one minute before opening). They're very friendly and really helpful. It was rather fun to be in the buzzing queue for a few minutes. Speaking with store employees on release days in the afternoons, they've had a huge range of numbers of sets, that can sell out before opening time, or by mid-morning. But it's usually pretty early for a popular set.

The best thing to do is call your 'local' store and ask them. They should know when they're likely to get the shipment in and how many sets they will get. Each store gets a different number. They will also likely be able to guess when you'd need to arrive to be able to get one - but it would be a guess. And I suspect they won't hold one for you if you call - you'll have to be there in-person. Good luck!