Helms Deep use as castle?

[Darth Dino]

Hi

actually i am thinking about getting my son into castle theme. But there is no castle from Lego available atm. I found at a local toystore 10 different battlepacks with 5 different knight each, for just 12€. So my eye goes up to the Helms Deep set which would make a nice castle. Purchasing HD would be expensive but those figs are not for my son, too cruel and too violent, but they are good for the second market. From that money i guess i could own many of those lovely knight battlepacks.

What do you think?

Buy HD, keep the figs for later sale (if their value goes up) and add classic kingdoms knights?

Dino

Edited October 22, 2012 by Darth Dino

[Nintendawg]

I think it's a really good idea. Castle builders can NEVER get enough grey, so helms deep will forever be useful even if it had nothing to do with LotR.

I prefer the kingdoms figures to LotR figs also. That seems like a good deal (5 for 12 euro). The Kingdoms chess set is also a good way to get a large amount of castle minifigures cheaply. But that has 16 of each faction. If you just wanted one side, battlepacks me be better value depending on your countries pricing.

[Etzel]

I also think this is a very good idea. Helm's Deep has got really good parts for castle building, much better than the Kingdoms Castle IMO. Many bricks, plates, slopes and tiles in useful colours like dark grey, grey and sand green. I also like that LEGO has kept the number of large panels fairly low in this set. And I don't think you will have any problem to sell those minifigs, there are alot of collectors and army builders out there.

[Hive]

I plan on getting Helm's Deep myself, for use with regular Castle, as the figures doesn't interest me much either (though for different reasons). It's a great idea.

[SheepEater]

but those figs are not for my son, too cruel and too violent

I beg to differ. Cmon, it's a Lego minifig. It's impossible not to make even the nastiest creature adorable!

[Darth Dino]

I beg to differ. Cmon, it's a Lego minifig. It's impossible not to make even the nastiest creature adorable!

Hi

do not get me wrong, i am not a native speaker.

I personally like the figs and LOTR too, but for a 4yo? He asked me "what the monsters are doing there". I do not want to get into a specitic theme, just "knights and castle" is ok.

Without helmet the uruk hai are really bad guys - i do not want them included - for now. Maxbe if he is 10 or 12 he will be happy that he (i ;) ) owns such good (and high value ;) ) figs. The actual battle packs i have seen have green guys or red guy. Quietsimpke, green vs red or, if he likes to, green and red together. But uruk hai...

Dino

Edited October 22, 2012 by Darth Dino

[Moexy]

I agree with Sheepeater.

Is it better that he uses human minifigs to fight each other (war between humans, in my opinion more cruel and violent) or that he uses humans vs. monsters (creatures that don't really exists)?

If he doesn't uses his figs to make battles or wars, then I can understand

EDIT:

owns such good (and high value ;) ) figs

That's true indeed, but lotr figs will be more worth when the lotr line stops

Edited October 22, 2012 by Moexy

[Huntleyfx]

Back on subject though, the castle is a great build. It might be challenging for a 4 year old though. I can tell that you will enjoy the build, as it is all small bricks and plates, a welcome change from the large panels that the previous castles are made of.

[Darth Dino]

I agree with Sheepeater.

Is it better that he uses human minifigs to fight each other (war between humans, in my opinion more cruel and violent) or that he uses humans vs. monsters (creatures that don't really exists)?

If he doesn't uses his figs to make battles or wars, then I can understand

EDIT:

That's true indeed, but lotr figs will be more worth when the lotr line stops

Hi

no, war is not sheduled right now ;)

Back on subject though, the castle is a great build. It might be challenging for a 4 year old though. I can tell that you will enjoy the build, as it is all small bricks and plates, a welcome change from the large panels that the previous castles are made of.

Good to hear. I always hated panel build sets, whatever they are. Castles are brick build and so should a set be. The build will be to complicated for himselb, but i will do it with him together.

Dino

[CMP]

It's a good price as it is for the amount of parts you get. If you're selling the figures, you're getting an even better value. I think it'd make a nice castle.

[Weil]

I agree that Helm's deep is a great set for parts to build a castle.

Based on what it sounds like you're after surely the Kingdoms Joust set is worth considering instead though?

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=10223-1

[Deathleech]

Good to hear. I always hated panel build sets, whatever they are. Castles are brick build and so should a set be. The build will be to complicated for himselb, but i will do it with him together.

Well the tower is mostly made of large, panel type pieces, but other than that nothing else really is in the Helm's Deep set. Overall it's a great set with or without the minifigures, but I gotta say the LotR minifigures are some of the best and really a huge selling point of the sets.

[ZCerberus]

Maybe the joust 10223 is a good alternative. It also is low on panel pieces and has "better" figures for your kid. Piece count is also very good at 1575.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

thanks, i already took a look on the Joust set. But for my taste it did not look like a castle, or at least less like a castle than the HD set. But i agree, the figs on that set are very good for roleplaying smaller kids.

Dino

[SheepEater]

I agree with those who said that the Helm's Deep's set has tons EXCELLENT basic bricks.

Even if you pay full price, you can almost get the value of the set back by selling the minifigs on Bricklink. ESPECIALLY King Theoden, Haldir and the Berserker, as those are exclusive to this set and likely won't ever appear again in a future LotR wave, and they can easily fetch $20-25. each.

[Deathleech]

Even if you pay full price, you can almost get the value of the set back by selling the minifigs on Bricklink. ESPECIALLY King Theoden, Haldir and the Berserker, as those are exclusive to this set and likely won't ever appear again in a future LotR wave, and they can easily fetch $20-25. each.

I could see Theoden appearing in a Battle at Pelennor Field or Witch King set, but the other two definitely won't be in any other set unless it's a remake of Helm's Deep. Also prices on them have dropped dramatically in the past few months. Haldir and Theoden are only fetching around $12-13 now, and the Berserker is at 6-7 bucks. Still, that's roughly $32 bucks just for those three alone. Add in 3 Uruk-hai Orcs at 3 bucks a shot, and Gimli and Aragorn at $5 each and you are easily looking at $50 back for the minifigures. Still not a bad deal at all. If he bought two battle packs he would have 2 more minifigures than normal all for 20 bucks less than Helm's Deep MSRP.

[TeufelHund]

Helm's Deep is a great castle parts pack - much better than the Kingdom's Castle which has a lot of large plate pieces. Also we found it a great modular build as you can build elements of it independantly of each other which meant my wife, 4 year old son and myself could all sit around the table each with our own instruction manual building a seperate bit each.

I prefer the Kingdoms Joust set myself from an aesthetic viewpoint and the mini-fig selection is definitely more kid-friendly than that in Helm's Deep - but the build techniques are probably too complicated for a 4 year old to manage without a lot of help. It's also a great-castle building parts pack!

Edited October 23, 2012 by TeufelHund

[Duce]

maybe get helms Deep, either a lego chess set or some kngiht packs, and sell the LOTR figures on as alot of people like building armies of them.

[Darth Dino]

Helm's Deep is a great castle parts pack - much better than the Kingdom's Castle which has a lot of large plate pieces. Also we found it a great modular build as you can build elements of it independantly of each other which meant my wife, 4 year old son and myself could all sit around the table each with our own instruction manual building a seperate bit each.

I prefer the Kingdoms Joust set myself from an aesthetic viewpoint and the mini-fig selection is definitely more kid-friendly than that in Helm's Deep - but the build techniques are probably too complicated for a 4 year old to manage without a lot of help. It's also a great-castle building parts pack!

Hi

your 4yo son is able to build parts of HD on its own? That sounds great! Actually we sort parts together and then i name the parts that have to be taken and show him in the manual where he had to place them. He had to find out alone where it is on the real Lego stack.

Anyone has good ideas to get the newer horses without the need of buying many HDs?

Dino

[Cwetqo]

I myself have Helms deep, but in this case I recommend Kingdoms Joust. Its nice, playfull and "feel good" set, with usable minifigures. Helms deep is better parts pack, but you would have to heavily rebuild it to make it appealing to youngs.

.

Anyone has good ideas to get the newer horses without the need of buying many HDs?

Dino

You could get several "gandalfs arrival" sets and at least one of each "weathertop" and "uruk hai army" sets.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Cwetqo

[Stiel]

I say buy Helms Deep, sell the LotR figures now, and buy a Kingdoms chess set instead of the battle packs.

Anyone has good ideas to get the newer horses without the need of buying many HDs?

Dino

This set is coming next year:

http://bilder.bueche...9/36339439z.jpg

New princess and new horse in a small set.

[Brinstar]

One of the great things about the Helm's Deep model is how easily it can be adapted for use by other castle factions. So really, I think it is perfect for what you want. When I get around to buying a copy I plan to use it with my Kingdoms and fantasy era sets, most likely as a fortress for the Dragon Knights. I will keep the figs as they are some of the best that Lego have done. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with this set, its head and shoulders above the rest of the LOTR line and is more detailed than most recent castle sets except maybe the MMV and Joust sets. I've noticed it is also starting to be discounted at some retail outlets so you may be lucky enough to grab one at a bargain price!

Edited October 23, 2012 by Brinstar

[sealslip3]

Anyone has good ideas to get the newer horses without the need of buying many HDs?

Gandalf Arrives is also not a bad set for getting horses, its cheap and you can always sell the figures to make back a good amount of the cost.

[Darth Dino]

I say buy Helms Deep, sell the LotR figures now, and buy a Kingdoms chess set instead of the battle packs.

This set is coming next year:

http://bilder.bueche...9/36339439z.jpg

New princess and new horse in a small set.

Haha! And i got for each knight its own princess ;) Happy guys!

Thank you all for the feedback. Actually i could get the HD set via Amazon UK for ~85€. That is at least 30€ cheaper than anywhere else.

Dino

[Redhead1982]

Go with Helms Deep. I got mine for parts only, didn't even go around to build it. I sold the figures on BL, and partly covered the expenses. HD has a nice selection of greys for castle, but Kingdoms Joust is also a nice complementing set for that. Get both if you can (one for you and one for your son ) - this way you get more specific bricks from KJ, and lots of classic ones from HD.