Castle Sets 2010

[bsong]

The catapult set that is shown, the one with black wheels, is actually from a bigger set, not the one with 2 figs. The smaller set with 2 figs has brown wheels instead of black ones

[The Penguin]

The Dragon Tower looks to be my current favorite set of the theme as well. It looks imposing without being overly eeeevil in an clichéd way (like the Skeleton Tower). The color scheme is superb, and it has a very interesting architecture.

As for that cauldron on top of it, I believe it's meant to be filled with burning oil that can be poured on any enemies that come knocking at the gates.

Exactly my sentiments. That was one of the reasons I never liked the Skeleton Tower, or Troll Fortress. In this theme LEGO managed (more or less) preserve the neutral attitude to both factions, though hinting by prison carriage set who's who in the theme. ) (Though I never shared the common approch to think of the "opressed" as being the "Light Side". )

Indeed. But in that case (I can't help but think of the tower as being made of wood and stone) it may burn it to the ground!

The catapult set that is shown, the one with black wheels, is actually from a bigger set, not the one with 2 figs. The smaller set with 2 figs has brown wheels instead of black ones

Ha! BTW, you're right. The catapult is indeed from Tower set! In that case we're still to receive the pics of the small one.

Hm, is it me, or the "cup" of the small catapult is actually a new piece? )

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

Edited February 4, 2010 by The Penguin

[supertoad64]

Woah! Great pictures! I really like what I can see of the minifigs. They seem like they will fit in well stylistically with the crown knights. It also seems that the factions are not dictated as strictly "good=lion bad =dragons" as I thought. Though I can't make out most of the faces very well so maybe the dragon knights will have angry faces. I love the shields! They look lovely! And it appears that the euro-armor is back with new prints as well. I still want to know who's imprisoned in the tower, though.

[metalandi]

Can someone give me a heads-up here, cause everyone is talking about "pictures", but i only see one small picture posted here

[Etzel]

Can someone give me a heads-up here, cause everyone is talking about "pictures", but i only see one small picture posted here

KimT posted a link back at page 27.

Here it is: Clicky!

[BearHeart]

Is that printing on the castle walls or are theystickers?? I'm hoping for printed walls but I'm not betting on it.

[metalandi]

It may be stickers for that displayed version for now, but i'm pretty sure it will be printed parts in the end. Also the shields seem to be stickers, which for sure will also be printed in the final version.

[Rick]

It may be stickers for that displayed version for now, but i'm pretty sure it will be printed parts in the end.

The Pirates wall pieces in the Imperial Fort set were stickered, so don't get your hopes up.

[Faramir]

And I hope my eyes don't decieve me, but the red roof on the pics from canada looks like the quality control hasn't improved.

I think this might be due the smooth surface of the straight wedges and the rough surface of the corner wedges catching the light differently, but I could be wrong. Let's hope not...

This line looks pretty good to me right now. I object to the new portcullis and overall <insert that tiresome argument> feel of it, but I remember thinking that of the Fantasy Era prelims also.

[Dr.Cogg]

I've noticed that every time they display sets they build them wrong, forget parts or put the wrong figure in the wrong theme, like in the pictures ,the little tower set is missing its blastout window, the castles sets towers on the ends of the walls should be right next to the gatehouse, also the tower is facing the wrong direction and as someone pointed out, theirs a PoP minifigure in the display.

[The Green Brick Giant]

I am not very impressed. Fantasy era looks better than this (what's with that bucket turned into a helmet???)

I agree, I hate that new helmet. Human vs human is nice but kind of boring.

The walls are stickers, they have been stickers for IJ, Castle, Pirates walls for awhile now.

[metalandi]

For like 10 Years people wanted the human vs. human themes to return, and now they are returning, people are whing about that.

[Legorski]

For like 10 Years people wanted the human vs. human themes to return, and now they are returning, people are whing about that.

True, the human race will never be truly satisfied, But I love humans vs humans! Ditch the skelies and trolls!

[Nicker]

Looks like the shields may also sport stickers but it's hard to tell. In one photo I can make out a highlight on a ridge close to the end of the shield. I guess these things could change and turn out to be prints once they go into full production.

[jyves]

Hi all

Nice pictures here this morning http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=411325

[Jack Bricker]

I am not very impressed. Fantasy era looks better than this (what's with that bucket turned into a helmet???)

That bucket is a great helm which is something that A Lot of castle fans have been wanting for years. I am a great fan of them and I am also very excited that they are going to make them.

[blueandwhite]

Hi all

Nice pictures here this morning http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=411325

Sorry to disappoint you, but those are the same eleven photos ripped straight from the original Blog where the images were first appeared. There's nothing new yet.

[GreyNinja24]

Cant wait for this theme its gonna be awsome but i want some new info on it :(

[DaleDVM]

The new wall pieces are a huge improvement in my book. I love classic castle stuff and have tons of it, but the old wall pieces were oddly shaped. They also had that goofy lip sticking out of the back side which required plates to flatten out. Also it was an odd number of bricks wide which made it hard to center if used for building a tower with it. All of which made them a bit more difficult to use. This new piece will be easier to build around and hide in MOCs.

I also note that with the new wall pieces they put dark grey slopes inbetween each one to break up the big ugly grey wall syndrome. The walls themselves look terrific on the large castle. Actually I might even say the walls look better than any large castle set ever.

I do not like the look of the battlements on the towers very much. They just don't seem very protective. They do come with the faceted bricks which I find very useful though and lots of 1x2 slopes and cheese too!

The new porticullis looks OK. I am glad you can attach pieces to it easier than the old grates.

I agree that the breastplate looks great and has a very useful generic looking piece of printing on it. The great helm looks "great" and the fact that we are getting it in two colors makes me very happy. Plumes in white, red, and dark green!

I also like the fact that the castle has red accents. A nice change from the past few years. I wish I could still see the original pictures of the box art. It seems there are plenty of both shields but most of the lion ones seem to come in the large castle set. If they come out with battle packs this will not be an issue anyway.

I do like the look of the dragon tower but doesn't it seem silly to have a large gate to what looks like a tiny tower? I guess it could be the gatehouse to a larger castle to come? (or atleast someone can MOC one up)

The figures look fantastic and it appears we are getting some nice generic torsos so we can easily modify some of our factions. As was mentioned it will be nice to get weapons in shiny and dark grey as well.

Am I the only one to be excited about the 1x2 cheese wedges in dark grey. Those will be great for landscaping mountains.

Edited February 6, 2010 by DaleDVM

[Nicker]

I am not very impressed. Fantasy era looks better than this (what's with that bucket turned into a helmet???)

It's obviously inspired by real medieval history. This type of helmet design was very common in medieval Europe with many variations. It's looks like TLG did a good job of giving us a new knights helmet. Here are some links to real examples of this type of knights helmet.

http://www.theknightshop.co.uk/catalog/images/S5551MINI.jpg

http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/images/helmet4.jpg

http://www.nautical-mart.com/pcat-gifs/pro...t-helmet-03.jpg

http://www.nautical-mart.com/ancient-knight-helmet.html

Edited February 6, 2010 by Nicker

[mattb483]

I think im going to get into castle theme this year! I'm a big pirate fan but seeing how in 2010 theirs only 1 set available I'll have to keep occupied with some new stuff. I really love the human vs. human its more realistic, the whole skeleton and troll thing was to fantasy for me, i didn't care for the old castle sets except the midevil village! I will definitely be purchasing this whole collection and pry multiple sets... Only 1 downfall theirs no army builder sets, i mean i love the wizard and new jester but i only really need 1 each of those guys and to put them in a small impulse set is kinda stupid in my eyes!

[Teh Stud]

Sorry, but I don't see a great deal of difference. Both are essentially large filler bricks which serve to inflate the size of a LEGO structure. Neither are particularly ideal for MOCing (in fact both are downright horrible). The new castle wall is just a different take on the same idea. Personally I feel that the new castle looks like it has far more potential than most of the castles we've seen in the past ten years so I don't really buy that it negatively impacts the look of a LEGO castle either.

This line looks very clean, with a number of very useful pieces and the long-awaited (over 20 years for some) Great Helm. That alone makes it one of the best Castle lines to come out of TLG in a long time. The small sets are lackluster, but the big two are quite pleasant looking. It's nice to see a line where the secondary faction is given a fortress that doesn't look like a complete afterthought.

Not a lot of difference, I agree. However, since it is slightly smaller in size, walls will include more standard bricks for us to create MOCs with. So, it is a slight improvement!

[Sandy]

Only 1 downfall theirs no army builder sets

Again, the smallest set (aside from the impulses) includes a soldier from both factions plus gear. Isn't that the perfect army building set?

[MicroM]

I really like the look of these new kits. My Castle collection is pretty small, with only a few of the Troll kits (mountain fortress and warship), so will be great to get a Castle for some non-troll warriors.

Can't wait for some high-res pics from NY TF this weekend.

And I like the human v human aspect, and when you place them with the Trolls you can have a 3 way tussle for supremacy !!!

[mattb483]

Again, the smallest set (aside from the impulses) includes a soldier from both factions plus gear. Isn't that the perfect army building set?

I didn't even see the set with the 2 soldiers but that is a perfect set that should be a cheap price to buy multiple of them :-)