Classic-Castle.com

It has been a long time since I have seen a castle with a proper gatehouse. It has really surprised me that this very important feature of a medieval castle has been overlooked now for many years. Are they days of the portcullis housed in the gatehouse gone? I always thought it looked a bit ridiculous to have the portcullis sticking out above the battlements when it's raised. All historic and fantasy castles that I have seen have a proper gatehouse for the gate. In some sets there wouldn't have to be a gatehouse if there is no portcullis and instead just double doors and a drawbridge would do fine like 6081 Kings Mountain Fortress. Has anyone else noticed this ongoing flaw and has it been brought up before?

I do agree that the portcullis sticking up by itself above the gate is pretty cheesy looking, but I'm sure designing and providing the bricks for a gatehouse would take away design and bricks from another section of the castle or boost the price. You could always just MOC your own gatehouse.

I completely agree with you. However, most of the castles made by TLG are $100 and are too small. If they would only make a larger castle for $200 and made it detailed......

don't you think $200 is too much.
a lot of peaplle don't have enough money to buy a castle that is $200.
anyway i totaly agree,why don't they make the next castle a little smaller and make a proper gate house.

Unfortunately, LEGO in all efforts to make a big castle ends up making a few cuts to the design. The gatehouse seems to have been the first thing to go as we haven't had a proper one since 6090. Honestly, I think it's a bit of a shame. LEGO's focus on building one large castle for the line and then filling out the rest with filler gives me little hope for a proper gatehouse.

There was another thread asking for a proper mid-sized castle. Honestly, I'd rather see a proper modular castle where the entire line could be plugged in to build a large castle. Have the keep, gatehouse, and any other section (dungeon, additional towers, etc) as separate sets. The one thing Harry Potter had going for it was the fact the castles actually had pseudo interiors. I'd rather see a fold-up keep with a modular system to gradually build the curtain walls. Beyond that, I very much doubt we'll see another gatehouse like those found in 6080, 6085, 6086 or 6090.

Username wrote:I do agree that the portcullis sticking up by itself above the gate is pretty cheesy looking, but I'm sure designing and providing the bricks for a gatehouse would take away design and bricks from another section of the castle or boost the price. You could always just MOC your own gatehouse.

If they didn't want to have a gatehouse on the more recent sets then they should not have had a portcullis in them at all then it would at least work and make sense. Many older castles that do not have gatehouses do not have a portcullis either so the design makes sense.

maniac29 wrote:I completely agree with you. However, most of the castles made by TLG are $100 and are too small. If they would only make a larger castle for $200 and made it detailed......

They have designed castles with impressive gatehouses in the past for reasonable prices.

Blueandwhite wrote: There was another thread asking for a proper mid-sized castle. Honestly, I'd rather see a proper modular castle where the entire line could be plugged in to build a large castle. Have the keep, gatehouse, and any other section (dungeon, additional towers, etc) as separate sets. The one thing Harry Potter had going for it was the fact the castles actually had pseudo interiors. I'd rather see a fold-up keep with a modular system to gradually build the curtain walls.

I think that would be a great idea for Lego to take further than what they have in the early days with the modular idea. The modules could be designed to be play sets on there own and also be used as a module in a much larger castle. This makes good sense form a marketing stand point since it encourages collecting of the different modules to great the ultimate castle. In order for this idea to work well it must be executed properly. This would also make the individual sets more affordable for most people. I am all for bringing back modular sets with a vengeance!

Hey Nicker,

Just so you know, we would rather not have multiple posts from the same user, all in a row. To reply to multiple quotes, just copy the next quote into your post. If you've already posted it, click the edit button. It keeps the threads cleaner.

Thanks!
Josh

JoshWedin wrote:Hey Nicker,

Just so you know, we would rather not have multiple posts from the same user, all in a row. To reply to multiple quotes, just copy the next quote into your post. If you've already posted it, click the edit button. It keeps the threads cleaner.

Thanks!
Josh

ok, sorry about that.

Nicker wrote:[
If they didn't want to have a gatehouse on the more recent sets then they should not have had a portcullis in them at all then it would at least work and make sense. Many older castles that do not have gatehouses do not have a portcullis either so the design makes sense.

It doesn't matter to most kids I am guessing.

While I agree that a portcullis sticking up over the curtain wall is a bit silly looking but I'm thinking they continue with the portcullis because it's cooler than a couple of doors. What's more fun? Doors or an uber dangerous portcullis that you can drop on your enemies?
I think most of us would agree that a series of sets that you could snap into a 'main' castle set would be terrific (and quite retro) but it's obvious that LEGO doesn't think it would sell or they would have done so already. Don't think they don't know the LEGO community wants it but they have the all important soccer-moms to keep in mind as well. The average adult or parent or parents of adults or adults who are parents tend to think that LEGO sets already can only be built into the model depicted on the front of the box, so dollars to doughnuts, they aren't going to buy their children something so stimulating as a grey wall. Especially if said grey wall cost $40!

Username wrote: It doesn't matter to most kids I am guessing.

Ya, your probably right. Most kids don't know the difference which is why I think TLG should take it upon themselves to make more historically accurate sets that help educate kids without the kids even realizing that they are learning. If TLG makes sets that aren't even roughly accurate then that will misinform kids that don't know any better.

I am hoping to get the Kings Castle Siege sometime for cheap and integrate my own gatehouse into it's design.

Ye Olde Republic wrote:While I agree that a portcullis sticking up over the curtain wall is a bit silly looking but I'm thinking they continue with the portcullis because it's cooler than a couple of doors. What's more fun? Doors or an uber dangerous portcullis that you can drop on your enemies?
I think most of us would agree that a series of sets that you could snap into a 'main' castle set would be terrific (and quite retro) but it's obvious that LEGO doesn't think it would sell or they would have done so already. Don't think they don't know the LEGO community wants it but they have the all important soccer-moms to keep in mind as well. The average adult or parent or parents of adults or adults who are parents tend to think that LEGO sets already can only be built into the model depicted on the front of the box, so dollars to doughnuts, they aren't going to buy their children something so stimulating as a grey wall. Especially if said grey wall cost $40!

That's why grey walls come with catapults .

In all seriousness, I think you're right. I very much doubt we will see a modular system or anything close to it.

knight howdy wrote:don't you think $200 is too much.
a lot of peaplle don't have enough money to buy a castle that is $200.
anyway i totaly agree,why don't they make the next castle a little smaller and make a proper gate house.

Okay, I think I can drop to $150. Why does Star Wars get large sets all the time and Castle dosent?