LEGO Castle 2013

[Hive]

I noticed that some of the knights have black hands. It just doesnt look a good colour combination with the blue torso.

Really? I personally find the gloves one of the few redeeming qualities of this theme.

[GRogall]

I'm not very impressed with the new castle theme! I wish that they had added some more fractions to the Kingdom line, which with 7189 Mill Village Raid and

6918 Blacksmiths Attack, was turning out to be one of the best Castle theme ever conceived! Also the colours used for it was great.

Why did they not just continue it!?

[kermit]

A black knight faction instead of going in this direction would of been a better option in this theme given the appearance of the black knight in the joust set. Integration of this line within kingdoms play sets would stick out like a sore thumb. The castle although not as spectacular is ok for what its wort. Maybe if some of the wall panels were replaced by some of the new brick elements mixed in with regular bricks, the castle may be more appealing.

The front gate is nicely designed, but the front does look weird not having its two towers in the end corners. It gives it the appearance more of a fort than a castle. The dragons mountain is much better with all the foliage giving it that secluded look. This is something which the castle should incorporate, like a tree in the middle of one of the side walls.

Speaking of which I noticed several brick built trees in that castle display. Does anyone know if those trees will be included with some of the sets?

In the end though I think castle fans, although disappointed will still buy these sets because after all its castle! and Lego are made to be moced.

Edited February 2, 2013 by kermit

[gedren_y]

To those who say that the new castle looks too much like the Kingdoms castle: Have you actually looked at images of each one side by side? The Kingdoms castle octagonal corners are not towers, it is the square corners that are very open towers. You get three octagonal towers with this new castle, and the corner ones are diagonal from each other as opposed to in line. The new castle's towers also make use of the new 4x4 facet brick.

The gatehouses are only superficially similar, as that they are three tiered, rectangular and use the new portcullis mold. The Kingdoms castle uses a lever action to raise the drawbridge with chains, while the new castle uses a pulley system with strings with stud ends. The strings are better attatched than the chains in the previous version. There is also a second pulley for some other unknown action. The new castle gatehouse's second tier has an outer walkway and its bottom tier is actually four studs wider. The new castle is atually deeper by at least four studs.

The biggest similarity is that the side walls use panels and slopes, but there are differences there as well. This new castle has the medium dark flesh layer, which some people are decrying. I like to think of it as the remains of an older castle that this one was built on top of.

This new castle also does not waste part count on a pitched roof. At the bottom of the back corner tower is either a storage room or dungeon (can't tell from the pics). There is also no barred door at the back of this castle. No rat infestation. And you get and enemy with a siege weapon for more playability. It is hard to tell but this castle may open at the middle.

All in all, I find that this castle is superior than its predecessor. This one, from some accounts, may even be cheaper to buy.

[fuavarra]

I really like the new Minifigs and the dragon. I missed all the sets with dragons so I will definitely buy this set.

Edited February 2, 2013 by fuavarra

[Lordofdragonss]

Guys someone on Brickset noticed that Dragon army have... White, Draculish faces! And now when I look at the pictures in big zoom... They indeed are white!

[Deathleech]

I think I would like the dragon a lot more if it didn't have the over sized feet and the tail and next had a few more points of articulation. I really hope Smaug looks better.

[Haltiamieli]

Really? I personally find the gloves one of the few redeeming qualities of this theme.

I agree with kermit, the black hands somehow offset the colour balance of the good guys and the result looks rather awkward to me. I think light or dark bley would have worked much better. Or maybe it's just the pictures and they'll look better in reality.

Guys someone on Brickset noticed that Dragon army have... White, Draculish faces! And now when I look at the pictures in big zoom... They indeed are white!

Interesting observation. It does seem like that could be the case, judging by the toy fair pictures. The catalogue pictures on the other hand and even the Castle set package mock-up from the toy fair clearly have yellow-faced foes, so if true this is quite recent and late-in-the-production change.

[TheLegoDr]

Well, white faces on the dragon army changes a few things. I'll have to wait for closer pictures, but now I may want to pick up a few. Always good to add some variety.

[Shroffy123]

Looking at the pictures, I'm noticing the dragon army's appearence is different as well. I like that actually.

[Infernum]

Hmm, the faces look yellow on the box art. It's be cool if the faces were white. I hope they are!

[Lordofdragonss]

You can see the carriage-driver is the white-faced guy with long teeth on this picture:

[Ridge Montante]

I'm not sure, it might just be the quality of the picture. Still looks kinda yellow to me. But i kinda see the long teeth. Looks like a vampire a little bit.

[Hrw-Amen]

It also looks as if the green bricks surrounding the set up have been painted, it does not look like the usual green to me? You can see at the side that the plates are a different color on the side to on top?

[Mark of Falworth]

Very cool! Good to see pictures!

I will be buying many of these...

[legobear]

What happened to the Bullet Helms? Remember these bullet helms?

I think they totally lost a great opportunity to reinvent Castle with bullet helms.

We've had too many infantry with neck protectors already.

Dear god stop making these cheek protectors . All the baddies wear these

They're hideous looking and don't look well with anything.

I think archers should have bullet helms like this

Edited February 2, 2013 by legobear

[Infernum]

You're right! Vampire Dragons?

[Mister Phes]

More or less what I anticipated from the preliminary. Which is not particularly a good thing. (To me, at least, I can see what they were aiming for.) Very similar to the first Knight's Kingdom.

Yeah it kind of looks like its been done before.

To those who say that the new castle looks too much like the Kingdoms castle: Have you actually looked at images of each one side by side?

It doesn't look identical, but the other over structure doesn't seem very unique.

[Brickington]

Yeah it kind of looks like its been done before.

It doesn't look identical, but the other over structure doesn't seem very unique.

Wow, Governor, I am surprised you look at this topic.

Anyway, to everyone is disappointed, this is for you.

[gedren_y]

I took another look, and the dragon faction do have white faces. Even the box in the German Toy Fair image (top right corner) has white face dragon faction. Looks like this will be Fantasy Era 2. If this has a second wave, we could get man-bat figs. TLG has to use that mold for more than just one CMF and two Monster Fighters, right?

Edited February 2, 2013 by gedren_y

[Haltiamieli]

Even the box in the German Toy Fair image (top right corner) has white face dragon faction.

What picture? I'd say the King's Castle box behind the minifigure display has definitely yellow-faced Dragon soldiers handling the catapult (cf. this also).

[Eleven]

I, for one, am excited for this line! I assumed LotR would replace the standard castle themes as long as it ran. I'm glad I was wrong!

I am looking forward to the new molds that will be introduced in this series (those wonderful corner pieces), and I really like the look of the new flags. The color schemes really work for me; I like the inclusion of brown with the medium and dark bley and blue accenting pieces. I don't see why people are complaining so much about the lion emblem. Like Aanchir said a few pages back, I think it looks better than the lion from the Royal Knights/KK1 lines. I will reserve judgment on the dragon shields until I get a better and closer look at them.

The basic design is similar to other castles, but that is nothing new. Look how similar some of the castles from the '80s are to each other, yet we classic castle fans still love them.

The older castle sets, talking about the early 90s and before (but not all the way back to the earliest days), do have a certain pleasing aesthetic created by their raised baseplates. They weren't all purely square, and had nice proper courtyards that were a lot more playable because of the baseplate designs.

I'd love to see new castles with raised baseplates and more unique looks, but honestly this castle still looks good even if it doesn't present anything brand-spanking-new.

I definitely agree with this, however. It has been a long time since we had a raised baseplate, and I honestly miss them. (Not that I want every set to start having them, but including them every once in a while definitely helps to keep things exciting!)

Having collected nearly every castle set produced for 25 years or so, I can say that all the over-reactions I am reading on this forum are quite silly. (There is a lot of negativity, with very little constructive commenting. If you are going to complain, please also include some specific suggestions as to what you would have done differently, and use specific examples. This helps both TLG and LEGO fans alike know what in the world you are talking about.) For some reason (maybe it is the negativity that pervades our culture) there are some people who are completely ignoring all the awesome things about this line, and are focusing ad nauseum on a couple things that they have a negative opinion about.

Be grateful, people! We are getting (long-awaited) LotR sets, AND a brand new castle line with new minifigs, new prints and new pieces in the SAME year! I am eagerly anticipating the release of all these new sets!

[Ridge Montante]

Or maybe instead of vampire dragons, the baddies are infused with dragon blood which gives them sharp teeth?

[gedren_y]

What picture? I'd say the King's Castle box behind the minifigure display has definitely yellow-faced Dragon soldiers handling the catapult (cf. this also).

The top right corner of this image at full size ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/61839591@N08/8431768247/sizes/o/in/photostream/) the fig in the barrel helm seems to have the white face on the box. Also in this image, the fig by the castle drawbridge looks to have a white face as well. He looks that way in this image (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61839591@N08/8431768421/sizes/o/in/photostream/) too.

[Sir Walter Maugham]

Looks like I'll most likely be skipping this line. I'm pretty disappointed that the dragon didn't get a new head mold. (Not to mention that his printing makes him look somewhat like he is under the influence of a certain cannabis. )

It appears there will be a generous use of that Shadow Knight helmet. And good gravy, the heraldry somehow manages to look worse than the old KK1's did.

However,the main castle isn't all that bad. a bit too colorful maybe, but that can be fixed.

And the Vampire-esque faces of the baddies interest me. (Thank you to Lordofdragons for pointing that out)