LEGO Castle 2013

[Alcarin]

We just have to accept this line is more or less entirely for kids...

As i said... except for fabulous red barding for new horse mold everything else falls lacking compared to last Kingdoms line which was amazing.

[Rogue Angel]

Forestmen have already been revamped once, and the Black Falcon's Fortress set was rereleased back in the 00's (I think it was the 00's...). I'm all for new factions over remade old ones, even though I consider both of these factions bad remakes.

[dgherko]

Having been collecting since 1990, I am always happy to see any products. I have seen several dark ages from Lego, so I will do my level best to keep the line going. They will still produce enough and improve enough to keep me going another 20 years. I still say 6086 and 6074 are two of the finest castles ever, behind the mythical yellow castle.

He (or She) who has the most..., wins... 5410 minifigs and counting

[Rogue Angel]

5410 castle minifigs?

[dgherko]

Yes, three years ago, I did most of the photos on brickshelf when I hit 3500 minifigs. Primarily Lego castle, with some pirate, ninja, SW and LoTR influence. I always say that the figs are my favorite, I don't have the skill set that the master builders do, so I am happy in my own nitche. My collection started in 1990 with the Black Knight and the Mountain Fortress.

Those photos pre-date the CMF craze which hit me hard:

1 tribal hunter, one ninja, ten woodsmen, 55 spartans, a witch, a vampire, 35 pharaohs, 20 tribal chiefs, 25 samurai, 10 mummies, 41 Elves, several sumo, hula dancer, 56 Musketeers, 3 kimonos, 35 vikings, 5 graduates, 60 gladiators, 10 royal guards, 10 ice fisherman, 60 evil dwarf, 10 egypt queen, 95 highlanders, some flamingo dancers, 44 minotaurs, 3 leprechauns, 70 roman soldiers, 25 aztecs, 3 ocean kings, 10 bagepipes, 15 viking woman, 55 evil knights, 10 lit red riding hood, 20 conquistadors, 5 lederhosen, 20 actors, 5 pirate capts, a santa, a cyclops, 2 starlets, 25 hero kinghts, 10 ceasars, 2 gypsy, a judge, 9 mermiads and 7 Forest Madiens...

I will be adding updated photos this summer of all my enlarged factions.

I am leaving plenty of space for the new 2013 line will get at least 50 figs (all sets at least once and eight of the ambush) I need more dogs.

Just wish Lego had more horses, I have alot of knights.

Edited April 24, 2013 by dgherko

[Zeya]

Just wish Lego had more horses, I have alot of knights.

I haven't been to my local Lego store PAB in a while, but they used to commonly have white horses on there. (The old kind with stiff legs.) You could maybe try and get your local store to sell to you by the box.

Of course then the problem becomes horse clothes.... :)

[Alfadas]

I hope, one day, LEGO would be making centaurs in castle sets, but that day is not in the near futur, I think .

[Alcarin]

I hope, one day, LEGO would be making centaurs in castle sets, but that day is not in the near futur, I think .

and Pegasi, and minotaures etc etc right

we can all dream :P

[Blakstone]

At least we have minotaures and Medusas in LEGO now. But you have to hunt for the CFG for them.

[ljames28]

We've got some higher-res pictures of 70402/03/04 over on our blog http://www.thedailyb...-2013-pictures/

[GRogall]

Official HR images of the new Castle line.

All Pictures link to HR version 2500.pxl

70400 Forest Ambush

Help the brave knights to repel the Forest Ambush! Take the chest of gold and treasure safely

back to the castle on the armored cart. When the path through the forest is suddenly blocked

by a fallen tree, fend off the Dragon soldier ambush! Draw your weapons, fend off the

flick-missile attack and return the gold safely to the castle! Includes four minifigures with

weapons and accessories: two King's Knights and two Dragon soldiers.

70401 Gold Getaway

Stop the Dragon soldier from stealing the King's fortune in a Gold Getaway! Fire the large

crossbow's flick missiles from behind the outpost and stop the Dragon soldier on his

horse-drawn prison carriage from escaping with the King's gold! Activate the cell door

bust-out function and release the King's Knight. Includes three minifigures with weapons

and accessories: two King's Knights and a Dragon soldier.

70402 The Gatehouse Raid

Ready, aim and fire your weapons! The Dragon forces are staging a Gatehouse Raid with

their large catapult. Return fire from the gatehouse tower with the King's Knights' catapult

attack! Stop the Dragon Knight on his fully armored horse from breaking through the gate!

Includes four minifigures with weapons and accessories: two King's Knights, a Dragon

Knight and a Dragon soldier.

70403 Dragon Mountain

Travel to Dragon Mountain to battle its fire-breathing guardian! Load up the large catapult

and fire it at the dragon's tower! Defeat the dragon and the Dragon Wizard! Search for the

King's stolen gold hidden in the dragon's nest and find the secret potion room. Then overpower

the Dragon soldier on the steps of the tower and rescue the princess from the dark dungeon!

Includes five minifigures with weapons and accessories: two King's Knights, princess, Dragon

Wizard and a Dragon soldier.

70404 King's Castle

Protect the King and his people from the Dragon soldiers at the King's Castle! Fire

the catapult, lower the drawbridge, raise the gate and lead the charge with the fearless

White Knight on his armored horse! Stop the Dragon soldiers before they use the deadly

battering ram and catapult weapon. This fantastic modular castle design features towers,

a dungeon, the King's throne, the knights' table, a moveable staircase, secret escape

door and more. Includes seven minifigures with weapons and accessories: the King,

White Knight, two King's soldiers and three Dragon soldiers.

Enjoy!

Edited June 2, 2013 by GRogall

[kermit]

From these better pics the dragon mountain set looks lack luster. I wish it had a mountain look with a bigger house structure. The only selling point of this set is the dragon. This will be a pass for me.

[fuavarra]

As I just have to buy the new Orthanc set, there will be no money left for the new castle line. That's a bit sad, but I think I will end up bricklinking a few of the knights since I'm not that interested in the buildings.

[TheLegoDr]

I completely forgot all about this Castle line...

But seeing the official hi-res photos only helps confirm I won't be getting any. I wanted that Dragon set originally since I don't have any dragons, but I may end up passing in the end because of LOTR. We shall see.

Thanks for the hi-res photos! They really show the sets for what they are.

[Crownie]

It's funny, but I have to echo some of these sentiments. The high-res pictures actually make me want the sets less. Normally, it's the opposite.

Hmmm.

[just2good]

It's funny, but I have to echo some of these sentiments. The high-res pictures actually make me want the sets less. Normally, it's the opposite.

Hmmm.

I hate adding fuel to the fire already burning this theme, but I completely agree. I used to only want the first three sets, but now I don't even want 70403, which looks to simple and basic.

[Crownie]

I'm finding something off with the blue used for the Lion Knights. It reminds me of the almost 'neon' coloration of the minifigs in the 2009 Pirate line. Perhaps LEGO is having trouble mixing their colors again - or they're simply not using enough dye. The plastic could be showing up a bit...transparent?

In any event, it's amazing how enticing those CGI backgrounds can apparently make things... Seeing the sets against white isn't very flattering.

Edited April 26, 2013 by Crownie

[Shroffy123]

These sets look great. Expensive summer - castle and lotr - for me.

[The_Creator]

It's funny, but I have to echo some of these sentiments. The high-res pictures actually make me want the sets less. Normally, it's the opposite.

Hmmm.

I know right… especially 70403.

I think I might just get a few 70400s and a 70401 so I have some of these figs for customizing and another new black horse.

Edited April 27, 2013 by The_Creator

[Artanis I]

Dammit you guys, until you said anything I wasn't even realising...

Well I will still go for it, but we'll see how good they turn out or not physically before I go all army build on these sets.

I like the way it looks that there's an auto-release for the portcullis that isn't just a "wind it up and put in the chock before you accidentally let go"

[Palathadric]

Is it wrong that I really, really like these sets? The builds look really childish, but just so sweet and simple it's like Dawww! Some of the minifigs look pretty great as well.

Forest Ambush is a darling set.

[Carousel]

Being one who'll just buy the smaller sets, I feel that it's kind of a copout that Lego couldn't be bothered to use actual coin pieces, let alone chromed ones, like they do in the large expensive sets. The whole line basically is the rehashing and mashing of the past decade's worst Castle ideas compacted into a few lacklustre sets. There's still some interesting pieces in those smaller sets, though, but sorry Castle 2013, I think Orthanc is the real priority.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Carousel

[TeufelHund]

I agree this line is a step down from the Fantasy and Kingdoms eras, although I'll probably pick up Dragon Mountain for a red dragon to match the black I got in The 2007 King's Castle Siege as well as the interesting Wizard/Princess torsos. Gatehouse Raid screams parts pack to me + one nice set of barding. The Forest Ambush is a decent army builder. Gold Getaway looks awful. I like the Gatehouse/Portcullis mechanism on the large castle but the awful colours and preponderance of oversized Lion Heads is a big minus. Let's hope if this series gets a second wave and/or D2C set we'll see some more interesting themes/subjects investigated.

[Aanchir]

From these better pics the dragon mountain set looks lack luster. I wish it had a mountain look with a bigger house structure. The only selling point of this set is the dragon. This will be a pass for me.

I'm disappointed in the Dragon Mountain set. It's a wonderfully-designed set for what it is — an evil tower built on the ruins of an older castle. But I feel like the Dragon Knights are in real need of a more substantial base of operations. The Dragon Mountain works great as an evil wizard's lair or prison tower; less so as a site for raising an army against the powerful lion kingdom. Even the prison tower in Kingdoms at least felt like a fairly formidable stronghold in its own right, even if it wasn't substantially larger than this one.

Now, Gold Getaway and The Gatehouse Raid still look very nice, and I have to say The Gatehouse Raid looks a lot better to me in these high-res pics now that I can see it has real dimension to it and can be attached to other wall segments, presumably from the King's Castle. The King's Castle doesn't look too shabby, either, though I wish we had more pics showing the interior details. Its gatehouse is still a beautiful design IMO, and I think it easily measures up to the one from Kingdoms. The theme also has some very nice siege engines.

Overall, I wonder if this iteration of LEGO Castle is likely to last more than one wave. If so, though, they might very easily be non-consecutive like Kingdoms was, meaning that it may be a while before we see whether the Dragon Knights get a more substantial base.

[Ardelon]

Well, since I wasnt expecting much from these sets, Im not disappointed... But really, I am warming up to them. Its good to see the Dragon guys dont all share one torso.

Are the coins new? These coins show single-digit numbers, while I only know of coins with values of 10, 20, 30, 40.

Forestmen have already been revamped once, and the Black Falcon's Fortress set was rereleased back in the 00's (I think it was the 00's...). I'm all for new factions over remade old ones, even though I consider both of these factions bad remakes.

Yeah, but all this was years before the current generations of kids grew into their LEGO age. I would expect TLG to recycle their themes faster, especially since forestmen are part of the modern clichéd view on the middle ages which LEGO Castle draws on for kids.