I just received a Kingdoms Lego Chess Set 853373 that I bought from Lego S@H. I haven't opened it properly and built it up yet, I'm saving that for another day but I took the lid off to have a quick peek. To my surprise I found the swords in the Lion Knight Pawns bag were a new mould. All of the box art, the instructions and the card showing you how to set-up the board show the old standard castle sword mould but all four of the swords in the bag are this new mould.

Has anyone else got these sword moulds? Had a quick look on bricklink and didn't see them listed.

Here are some photos, they're with the parts still inside the bag but I pieced together one of the figures inside the bag so you can see the sword with a minifigure.

My set came with the old mold which I got a few weeks ago.

Well that is a really nice looking change. I don't have this set yet but have been planning to purchase, glad I waited.

I myself have never seen those, so it's defenitely a nice find!

Wow. That looks a lot better.

Glad it wasn't just me who hadn't seen them before. I think LEGO making a new mould for this sword is interesting when it isn't immediately obvious that we would see them used again beyond this set in the near future. Does it mean we can expect to see them in LOTR/Hobbit?

The new sword mould looks excellent, can't wait to see more of these swords around.

Glad it wasn't just me who hadn't seen them before. I think LEGO making a new mould for this sword is interesting when it isn't immediately obvious that we would see them used again beyond this set in the near future. Does it mean we can expect to see them in LOTR/Hobbit?

That's what I was thinking too. I can see lots of opportunity for that with Gondor soldiers.

Strange though, that something like replacing the classic sword would be included as an afterthought running change in an exclusive set.

I don't know if this means anything at all, but aren't the Chess Sets made in China?

Edited September 26, 201212 yr by SirBlake

I think this is more of a variant of the classic shortsword, since the general shape is the same. TLG sometimes doesn't make a difference between such variants. Still, it is nice to see it updated.

Also, the white on your soldier's torso is actually white! Woot. Maybe this is from a newer wave of chess sets, with improved quality?

Interesting find, that's a pretty cool sword

I think this is more of a variant of the classic shortsword, since the general shape is the same.

That's actually what made me think that it would be a replacement. If it were radically different, I'd be inclined to think it'd just be a new sword, but since it's adding finer details to the old proportions, it seems more likely that it's a replacement. That's just an assumption of course.

I agree, I see it as a replacement. It must come from a new mould though which TLG has for some reason decided to make. I can also say the print quality of my set appears to be excellent. Very happy.

That sword looks amazing, if it just didn't have a rounded point

I know I'm probably part of the minority here, but I'm a huge fan of the classic rounded sword, so I'm really happy to see that they kept that design.

I like this new sword. Besides being another variation that I can use to differentiate various types of swordsmen, it's the perfect compromise between the classic sword and the new style of weapons.

Someone got a "highlander sword" with the same round blade as this in a lotr set not too long ago.

Is lego having some sword experiments going perhaps .

The old mold was probably wearing and needed to be replaced. So they did a little updating. I wouldn't read too much into it. The swords are a classic element that they will always find a use for.

Interesting! I'd imagine that the new mould is for a purpose, rather than just updating/changing something for the sake of it. Without a doubt these will appear in future LOTR/Hobbit sets. Like the highlander sword becoming the LOTR standard.

Not quite as keen on it as the classic style, but is probably stronger, I find the classic sword often end up with 'bend' damage near the hilt.

Well, This is news to me! I got a set quite a while ago and the old style swords were inside..

When did you buy this exactly? If TLG made a new sword mold it might be worth getting another chess set.

The old mold was probably wearing and needed to be replaced. So they did a little updating. I wouldn't read too much into it. The swords are a classic element that they will always find a use for.

I have to agree with this. The sword doesn't seem like it would really fit in the LotR/Hobbit lines. It just doesn't look at all like any of the swords we have seen in the LotR films, or in previews of the Hobbit. It makes more sense the old sword molds are finally wearing out and Lego decided to update the sword for future sets rather than make another sword mold using the old design which would be used for however many more years. It just seems like a preemptive measure for future Kingdom sets whenever they may get released next.

I actually really like the design, and it is good there is going to still be a shortsword mold produced.

When did you buy this exactly? If TLG made a new sword mold it might be worth getting another chess set.

I ordered it on September 24th from Lego's online shop (S@H). I'm in the UK.

That looks nice and will be a fine addition to the Historic themes range.

I am happy we will still have the classic mold though because that one is timeless.

That is a really neat change. I like the older design, but this is welcomed as well. I wasn't planning on buying any chess sets since I don't need to build up my armies anymore and I've heard bad things about the Chinese printing, but this indicates it might be worth picking up.

Thanks for showing us. News to me.

Also, the white on your soldier's torso is actually white! Woot. Maybe this is from a newer wave of chess sets, with improved quality?

This interests me the most. Can you confirm/deny if the printing is any better on the Chess set than it was on earlier runs? There seems to be an alarming amount of quality control issues before...

Well given that I own just this one copy of the set and not a wide sample of sets from before and now I cannot possibly confirm or deny if the printing is overall any better with the sets currently being produced to earlier production runs. All I can say is that the printing in my set, as I've said, is excellent.