LEGO Castle 2013

[Infernum]

Gold Wars of course! This is the term I was using since preliminaries spoiled the story.

Speaking of prelims, didn't you say you got a peak at the retailor catalog? If so, any news for LoTR or Castle sets?

[Rogue Angel]

I would say the "Crown Lions" or "Crowned Lions" as this is the distinctive heraldry from these sets.

[Artanis I]

Knights Kingdom III?

I would say the "Crown Lions" or "Crowned Lions" as this is the distinctive heraldry from these sets.

I don't mind this, except that there are 2 factions, not one. The 90s were simpler in that a wave of sets had 1 faction plus a few ring-ins here & there, so you could easily just say Royal Knights, Fright Knights etc. I would be happy to call these factions "Red Dragons" & "Crown Lions", but the over-all line should have a different name, if it needs one at all.

I don't know where this "gold" term is coming from, other than the box. Vintage sets had gold boxes too, and nearly every castle set since the days of Noah has gold in it...

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BTW the movie castle set is available on S@H in Oz. It's $40. That's anywhere from 20-30 USD. edit: Cloney-o's review indicates it is $30USD.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Artanis I

[PenPlays]

I don't know where this "gold" term is coming from, other than the box. Vintage sets had gold boxes too, and nearly every castle set since the days of Noah has gold in it...

Well that's more or less the point. The focal point of nearly every set is primarily golden artifacts (including a couple of jewels and a gem of a princess ). Thus the "Golden Era" makes the most sense. Crown Knights, Crown Lions, and Dragon Knights all sound too similar to several 90's themes.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Penkid11

[bartneck]

I would not be in favor for a subtheme that defines itself as being a second or third of something else. One might as well call it by the original name then. They release year will then make it clear what "season" it is from. I checked the sets and indeed almost all of them have gold in them. This might be a potential criteria that makes this season special. This does of course not mean that there has not been any gold in any other sets. Also some fantastic creatures appeared in other castle sets outside of the "fantasy area" theme. The question really is, what is the most characteristic feature in the 2013 season?

[Sir Brickalot]

I recieved the King's Castle for Christmas and I built it yesterday: and what a fine model it is! Me want more Castle!

[Lord Butters]

I purchased King's Castle today for £60 brand new. A quick search on Google finds you a few different sites that have it at £60 or under (although some of the 'or under' have shipping costs though).

[Lordofdragonss]

I don't know where this "gold" term is coming from, other than the box. Vintage sets had gold boxes too, and nearly every castle set since the days of Noah has gold in it...

There is a story where Dragon wants Gold. all of them. So two fractions are fighting about it.

[Artanis I]

There is a story where Dragon wants Gold.

It's called The Hobbit

[Ardelon]

Apart from the box art, I really don't see what makes this theme particularly gold-centric. Fights over gold and treasure were present in Castle sets for a long time, and it's not like there's that much more gold in these sets. Furthermore, only the smallest set seems to be about the bad guys ambushing the good guys for the treasure. Apart fom that, calling this theme the „golden age/era“ is quite an overstatement compared to the themes immediately before this one.

The thing is, I don't really have an idea what to call the theme. Like rogueang, I also call the good guys „Crown Lions“, but that only covers one faction. My best call is either „Castle 2013“ (if there won't be a new wave this year) or stick with „Lions and/vs Dragons“ like bartneck originally suggested – yes, that could apply to Kingdoms as well as older themes, but since they have their proper names, we would all know this one applies to the 2013 theme.

[SirBlake]

I agree with the above. The gold aspect isn't really a defining feature. Crown Lions is a good one because it is such a thorough mix of the Fantasy Era's "Crownie" symbol with the lion. There's really very little about the dragons to work with.

[Blazej_Holen]

Is there ny news about Castle theme for this year? sorry I didnt read all of those previous pages... :/ Is there any chance to get some more of village focused sets? :)

[Shroffy123]

@Blazej_Holen - no news yet, maybe at the NY toy fair next month. A caslte set was released with the new Lego movie theme.

[Blazej_Holen]

Yep i know tha but I am interested into some other sets like Medieval market Village, or Kingdom Joust and something like that :) Those are really great addictions to the Castle theme.. I just recently saw this short stop motion...and thats encourages me into the Castle theme once again after decades.. :D

[vriverajr3]

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp160/vicnasty8333/img_0964.jpg Edited January 11, 2014 by Rick
Please don't embed preliminary images

[CM4Sci]

^ That's for the Juniors theme, which I already talked about in it's respective thread.

-Sci

[Lordofdragonss]

Yay, cheap set with white horse!

[Fletcher Floyd]

I must admit I don't like the 2013 Castle Series very much. I only bought the cheap 4-soldiers-set for the Heads of the Minifigs I didn't have before.

But I think Kingdoms is superior in every possible way except for the fact that the dragon knights do really have a dragon this time.

When I got in contact with Lego again last year -after a break of about 20 years- and I saw the Kingdoms-Series I was all about "Wow, how great". I also like the older Castle Series with Dwarves and Trolls and I still love the 80's Lion and Falcon-Knights, but Castle 2013 is somehow boring.

The same sets as always -castle, defense tower, carriages...

What about sets like medieval market village, kingdoms joust or the terrific mill village? A new set like Guarded Inn, a big bridge, a ship or something?

I understand that there must always be some kind of "traditional/basic sets" for kids, but if they continue this castle series I hope there will be some fresher ideas for sets.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Fletcher Floyd

[qiadris]

Thing is, Castle 2013 has only had one wave, and it is very similar to the Kingdoms first wave (some more expensive sets but with more pieces). The Mill and Blacksmith were the second wave of Kingdoms, and Joust didn't come until 2 years after the first wave, the Medieval Market is from the fantasy era. For the sake of comparison:

Battle Pack -> 70400 Forest Ambush vs 852921 and 85292 battle packs and 7950 Knight's Showdown.

Vehicle -> 70401 Gold Getaway vs 7949 Prison Carriage Rescue

Small Structure -> 70402 The Gatehouse Raid vs 7948 Outpost Attack

Evil Lair -> 70403 Dragon Mountain vs 7947 Prison Tower Rescue

Good Castle -> 70404 King's Castle vs 7946 King's Castle

Castle 2013 sets are more expensive, each being in the next price tier than their kingdoms counterparts (i.e. getaway is 10$ more than prison carriage, gatehouse is 10$ more than outpost, etc..) but of course have more parts, so the brick price rate stays the same (plus Dragon Mountain has the dragon). All in all, the first Kingdoms wave had more variety: the polybags and jester/wizard minis, plus more lowest tier sets (battle packs), but had nothing more innovative than Castle 2013. They in fact cover the exact same items as demonstrate above. A similar comparison can be drawn from fantasy era, if anyone is interested (battle packs, evil lair, vehicle, good castle).

So if you think the first wave of Castle 2013 is boring, it just follows the same Lego formula for Castle first wave. By the looks of it, there is an outstanding set or two, but it doesn't come until later (market village for fantasy, mill/joust for kingdoms,...). I guess we'll have to wait ;)

[Hive]

Thing is, Castle 2013 has only had one wave, and it is very similar to the Kingdoms first wave (some more expensive sets but with more pieces). The Mill and Blacksmith were the second wave of Kingdoms, and Joust didn't come until 2 years after the first wave, the Medieval Market is from the fantasy era. For the sake of comparison:

Battle Pack -> 70400 Forest Ambush vs 852921 and 85292 battle packs and 7950 Knight's Showdown.

Vehicle -> 70401 Gold Getaway vs 7949 Prison Carriage Rescue

Small Structure -> 70402 The Gatehouse Raid vs 7948 Outpost Attack

Evil Lair -> 70403 Dragon Mountain vs 7947 Prison Tower Rescue

Good Castle -> 70404 King's Castle vs 7946 King's Castle

Castle 2013 sets are more expensive, each being in the next price tier than their kingdoms counterparts (i.e. getaway is 10$ more than prison carriage, gatehouse is 10$ more than outpost, etc..) but of course have more parts, so the brick price rate stays the same (plus Dragon Mountain has the dragon). All in all, the first Kingdoms wave had more variety: the polybags and jester/wizard minis, plus more lowest tier sets (battle packs), but had nothing more innovative than Castle 2013. They in fact cover the exact same items as demonstrate above. A similar comparison can be drawn from fantasy era, if anyone is interested (battle packs, evil lair, vehicle, good castle).

So if you think the first wave of Castle 2013 is boring, it just follows the same Lego formula for Castle first wave. By the looks of it, there is an outstanding set or two, but it doesn't come until later (market village for fantasy, mill/joust for kingdoms,...). I guess we'll have to wait ;)

It's not just a matter of comparing the type of sets and number of bricks, though; I (and many others, I believe) find the Kingdoms minifigures and colourschemes FAR superior to that of the current Castle line. And for the most part, I think the builds themselves were better as well.

[Lord Butters]

I received and built the Castle.

I actually like the colour schemes of the new Castle factions, with the exception of the King's arms, which are necessarily blue. I think what makes them inferior to Kingdoms is the lack of variety in the builds.

The castle has a nice front and back tower, but the rest of the build was repetitive to the point, I barely used half the instructions. One of the corners, or the back tower could have at least used roof tiles as opposed to a flat roof with battlements every time. I think little details like this are what made this series look inferior to its predecessor.

[kabel]

We finally got new faces and a good amount of very useable pieces. That's why I bought the sets.

[Faefrost]

There would appear to be something new in the retailer catalog showing some previously unseen Castle subjects. A Red Dragon catapult with older style large 1 piece catapult in red and big chunky wheels. Some sort of similar chunky wheeled horse drawn thing holding a crown night, a grey or silver crowned king and a gold nugget, etc. From the blurry and badly cropped picture online it's hard to tell if it is from a game, a new iPad app, something like a Brickmaster book or actual sets?

[Alcarin]

If Castle 2013 is done I am glad actually.... did not like the sets... I got the Dragon Mountain set for X-mas from my cousin etc. but parted it and sold all but Dragon and Wizard....

Bring Back Kingdoms and new sets like MVR and joust!

[Hive]

There would appear to be something new in the retailer catalog showing some previously unseen Castle subjects. A Red Dragon catapult with older style large 1 piece catapult in red and big chunky wheels. Some sort of similar chunky wheeled horse drawn thing holding a crown night, a grey or silver crowned king and a gold nugget, etc. From the blurry and badly cropped picture online it's hard to tell if it is from a game, a new iPad app, something like a Brickmaster book or actual sets?

Where have you seen such pictures?