LEGO Castle 2013

[Lordofdragonss]

Heh, Playmobil have 8 of them for this year If I recall corectly. :)

[Blakstone]

Heh, Playmobil have 8 of them for this year If I recall corectly. :)

I count five.

I never got a Kingdoms or Castle advent but looking them up, they appear to reuse prints that were already available. That means it is a small amount of useful brick and no exclusive prints. The City advents appear to be like that too will Star Wars does have some exclusive prints but they are not useful for regular MOC. Friends appears to have some holiday prints.

If there are new, exciting minifig prints, I don't see any advantage to having advents in the line.

[Etzel]

I count five.

I never got a Kingdoms or Castle advent but looking them up, they appear to reuse prints that were already available. That means it is a small amount of useful brick and no exclusive prints. The City advents appear to be like that too will Star Wars does have some exclusive prints but they are not useful for regular MOC. Friends appears to have some holiday prints.

If there are new, exciting minifig prints, I don't see any advantage to having advents in the line.

The Fantasy Era and Kingdoms calenders did have exclusive prints when they were released, for example the Jester and the Maid and the Queen, but in later sets the prints were reused and became not exclusive any more. Also, the Wizard from the Kingdoms calender is still exclusive.

[Blakstone]

The LEGO Movie has a set called Castle Calvery. What coat of arms does everyone think it will have? I would have guessed an 80s or 90s style to capitalize on nostalgia but we just got brand new coats of arms this year. That may mean they want the styles to match.

The Special Themes has the price and set names for the first tem The LEGO Movie sets posted.

[Haltiamieli]

The LEGO Movie has a set called Castle Calvery. What coat of arms does everyone think it will have? I would have guessed an 80s or 90s style to capitalize on nostalgia but we just got brand new coats of arms this year. That may mean they want the styles to match.

The trailer featured only crowned lions from this year (with scimitars as their weapons ), but who knows what they have in store for us. Too little information available to base any educated guesses on, I'm afraid. Anyway it's nice to have at least something Castle-y coming out in the winter. In addition to Disney Princesses.

[The_Creator]

I really hope there are some Black Falcons in The LEGO Movie, but with the new shield. That would be so epic to get in a set…

[ThatLegoBrick]

It's a good set IMO BUT! What ever happened to raised baseplates for the castle theme? also, they're not as generous on the minifigs these days, overall good but I must go baseplate shopping for a solid moc

[kermit]

It's a good set IMO BUT! What ever happened to raised baseplates for the castle theme? also, they're not as generous on the minifigs these days, overall good but I must go baseplate shopping for a solid moc

''Not as generous on the minifigures''. We did get an excellent army builder battle pack this year and at a very good price too.

[Hive]

''Not as generous on the minifigures''. We did get an excellent army builder battle pack this year and at a very good price too.

Back in the old days, big Castles could have 12 minifigs and 2-4 horses. These days, it's 7 figs and 1 horse.

[fhomess]

It's a good set IMO BUT! What ever happened to raised baseplates for the castle theme? also, they're not as generous on the minifigs these days, overall good but I must go baseplate shopping for a solid moc

Personally, I never like the raised baseplate. It always felt like a cheap alternative to building up the castle with actual bricks.

[y2kaoss]

Funny of course that the "red team" has gone from the "good guy" role of Kingdoms to the raiders here. And moving Lion back to Blue does encourage playability with older sets, but not the more recent ones. And moving Dragon to Red makes a whole 'nother mess!

[Faefrost]

It's a good set IMO BUT! What ever happened to raised baseplates for the castle theme? also, they're not as generous on the minifigs these days, overall good but I must go baseplate shopping for a solid moc

If you look, the castle is modular and compatable with the Gatehouse Raid set. So you can use the 3 segments of the gatehouse to expand the castle walls. This would not be possible if the castle was sitting on a traditional elevated baseplate. So sacrifice one feature for another.

[The_Creator]

Just curious, if TLG decides to make polybags around when would we see them? Of course no one knows for sure but, like how long do new themes usually take to get polybags?

I highly dislike raised baseplates… useless hunk of plastic you pay extra for and really can't be incorporated nicely into a MOC.

Edited October 21, 2013 by The_Creator

[just2good]

Just curious, if TLG decides to make polybags around when would we see them? Of course no one knows for sure but, like how long do new themes usually take to get polybags?

If it's a summer theme, the polybags are listed online in the beginning of June, so it's safe to say that this theme won't be getting any polybags this year.

[SirBlake]

Two of the best (subjective, I know) classic castles are on raised baseplates. (King's Mountain fortress and black knights castle)

There's room for raised baseplates if it's done right. I will say that based on previous examples, it works better for smaller castles.

I wonder how long this theme will run. I can't imagine that it's as successful as Kingdoms.

[fhomess]

Two of the best (subjective, I know) classic castles are on raised baseplates. (King's Mountain fortress and black knights castle)

King's Mountain Fortress was one of the leading causes of my dark age. I was enamored with 6080 King's Castle and 6085 Black Monarch's Castle. When I got 6081 King's Mountain Fortress, it was a big let down that the base plate took away so many bricks. The one side of the castle wall was a single row of bricks plus crenellation. I wasn't even a teenager yet and it struck me as too much juniorization.

In that spirit, I really appreciated that the two most recent castles are essentially a modern take on the mid-80's castles. I'm not a fan of the lower minifig count and the need to have a woefully inadequate attacking force instead of properly populating the castle itself, but the sets are good official castle sets. It would be a bit of a let down to me to see raised baseplates return. The wall segments are, at the least, more versatile for mocing and expanding with the add-on sets, another great aspect of the most recent line. I'm not as down on the color scheme as many others have been, although I do wish Lego would stick with their factions for a few years so as to allow more backstory and a wider variety of sets. They just aren't producing enough sets of any one faction for kids or AFOL's to get attached to them. I really like some of this year's sets, and think they're every bit as good as the Kingdom's line that preceded it despite preferring the heraldry of Kingdoms. I just wish they'd stick with it. If they want to add factions, fold them into the existing world. It doesn't all have to be black and white as to who the goodies and the baddies are.

Edited October 21, 2013 by fhomess

[Artanis I]

Two of the best (subjective, I know) classic castles are on raised baseplates. (King's Mountain fortress and black knights castle)

There's room for raised baseplates if it's done right.

and

The last few raised castles have not been as good in my opinion. Raised base plates are not as flexible for mocs as a bunch of bricks and plates, they take up a huge amount of room in the box, they remove a lot of the modularity and hinge options of a castle. But they can be convenient for simplifying a build that includes not just a castle, but the setting for it. Cool option for kids. I don't expect to see them very much if at all in the future though.

[Ardelon]

Two of the best (subjective, I know) classic castles are on raised baseplates. (King's Mountain fortress and black knights castle)

There's room for raised baseplates if it's done right. I will say that based on previous examples, it works better for smaller castles.

Hear Hear!

I at least find Castles on raised baseplates to be much more interesting and imposing. Maybe it's a cyclical thing - the 80s castles were modular, castles in the 90s and early 2000s generally used raised baseplates, and now we're back to modular again. Who knows, maybe in a few years, raised baseplates will be back.

I wonder how long this theme will run. I can't imagine that it's as successful as Kingdoms.

It's possible that this theme is just as popular with kids as Kingdoms, and it's only us AFOLs that appreciated Kingdoms more, so our perception of each theme's popularity might be skewed.

[SirBlake]

King's Mountain Fortress was one of the leading causes of my dark age. I was enamored with 6080 King's Castle and 6085 Black Monarch's Castle. When I got 6081 King's Mountain Fortress, it was a big let down that the base plate took away so many bricks. The one side of the castle wall was a single row of bricks plus crenellation. I wasn't even a teenager yet and it struck me as too much juniorization.

That's funny, I was 15 when it came out and it was an instant favorite. Loved the unusual design and asymmetry of it. I still love that one. I have all of my classic castles on display and still find myself looking at and enjoying the mountain fortress as much or more than the rest. Fright knights created my dark ages. Well, that and girls. ;)

Hear Hear!

I at least find Castles on raised baseplates to be much more interesting and imposing. Maybe it's a cyclical thing - the 80s castles were modular, castles in the 90s and early 2000s generally used raised baseplates, and now we're back to modular again. Who knows, maybe in a few years, raised baseplates will be back.

It's possible that this theme is just as popular with kids as Kingdoms, and it's only us AFOLs that appreciated Kingdoms more, so our perception of each theme's popularity might be skewed.

That is a very real possibility. Still, I don't think they'd lose the kids if they had kingdoms-quality factions. Oh well. Give it time. In a few years I'm sure TLG will have something wonderful to replace it with.

I know I've been making the case for baseplates, but that's only to hi light my feeling that they aren't all bad. The modular approach is great. It's wonderful to set up the original kings castle and plug in the blacksmith, armory and other sets that just fit right in.

[The_Creator]

If it's a summer theme, the polybags are listed online in the beginning of June, so it's safe to say that this theme won't be getting any polybags this year.

Well, that's sad.

[gedren_y]

I'm a MOC builder, not a set collector, so I am quite happy with this version of Castle. I actually liked the Royal Knights heraldry, which this current lion is based off of. There are plenty of positives for me with this line, the first of which is the introduction of the 4x4 facet brick.

Raised baseplates have their place, but it takes skill and planning to use one well. I have one from a police set that I used in a major MOC last year. The ones that look like mostly rock are pretty usable, but the ones that are mostly green are more difficult to utilize.

[Hive]

While I have bought all but the smallest of these new sets (and will likely pick it up at some point), and even bought two of the Dragon Mountain - but I must admit that I wouldn't complain if they end the theme after just this one wave; the sooner they end it, the sooner a new and (hopefully) better can take its' place...

[parksroad]

Has anyone heard any rumors about Castle for 2014 or would it be too early for that? I'm curious when we'll know if the theme will continue or not.

[just2good]

Has anyone heard any rumors about Castle for 2014 or would it be too early for that? I'm curious when we'll know if the theme will continue or not.

There hasn't been any 2014 Castle rumors yet. If there will be sets in 2014 (which I personally think is unlikely), they'd be coming out in the summer. So, we'll see.

[The_Cook]

the sooner they end it, the sooner a new and (hopefully) better can take its' place...

The definition of better varies depending on who you talk to!

My suspicion is that the simplification of the Castle line from the previous Kingdoms incarnation was a deliberate move from TLG's perspective to distance it from the more intricate LOTR/Hobbit lines and a move to try to get younger children who need a simpler build experience more interested in the Castle theme. Better from TLG's point of view is simpler and more enticing to kids, which isn't necessarily better from an AFOL's point of view.

If they don't continue this line then expect more of the same. One of the reasons that we see the same basic castle shape over and over again, ie. 375, 6080, 6085, 7946, 70404 is that it's instantly recognisable as a castle and every year a new bunch of 7yr old boys comes along that thinks this is new and fresh; because to them it is, they've only just turned 7 and everything is new.

My other suspicion is that the detail presented to us in the Fantasy Line and on through into the Kingdoms Line was a bit of an aberration and that the line has resumed focus on it's target customers with simpler builds a-la the KKII days, although thankfully without the silly coloured knights.

Edited October 23, 2013 by The_Cook