the lego castles of the present and the past
- davestadel
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the lego castles of the present and the past
I think that the first lego castles all the way until 1999 were the best and that they have the cooler pieces. I don't know about you guys, but I will stand firmly with my opinion unless a certain post can change my mind. What about you people? Well I would like to know about you peoples' reponse. Please post your opinion below. :
- Jansen
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Actually, LEGO castles were good up to about '93 in my opinion. The newer ones are too... new.
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I certainly like the looks of some of the older castles more but some of the new fortresses are pretty neat. I like the viking fortress. With some small modifications it is a nice fortified town or large military compound.
I am not sure where the big open fortress look came from. 2007 large castle seems to have made some moves to correct it but it still has a little ways to go still.
R
I am not sure where the big open fortress look came from. 2007 large castle seems to have made some moves to correct it but it still has a little ways to go still.
R
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New castles are new? Really? Since when?Jansen wrote:Actually, LEGO castles were good up to about '93 in my opinion. The newer ones are too... new.
Well, I'm like that about most videogames, putting the cutoff around 1995 or 1996.
I like the fantasy theme of the new Castle sets, but I think there has been somewhat of a shortage of, ya know, castles in the theme.
- davestadel
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lego castles of the present and the past
Thanks for your opinions
- MarioDAlessio
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Re: the lego castles of the present and the past
I think that if you lined up all the Lego castles/sets in two lines one from 1978 - 1993, the other 1993 -2008:davestadel wrote:I think that the first lego castles all the way until 1999 were the best and that they have the cooler pieces.
1. I would agree that the first line is the best overall.
2. As far as the best or cooler castle pieces the 2nd line would be my choice.
Additionally I don't agree that the castle line went down hill after 1993 it just reflected what else was going on with Lego at that time as it does now with the current castle line i.e. Viking torso/head knights and kings, dino dragons, star wars grey and a jester torso because of batman.
My favourite castle years curiously are 1992, 2000 & 2007 but that does not alter me agreeing that what came before 1993 overall was better at this time.
Mario
I would agree with the 93' time frame for the end of consistency in Castle. Years after that were really hit and miss. I think the problem Lego had going with the "Jelly" Knights of the early twentieth century is Lego forgot kids can be creative and come up with their own storyline. In my opinnion Knights Kingdom was marketed more as an action figure line then a building toy.
2007 and 2008 are a welcome change for me. I much prefer the generic characters that I can give personality to.
2007 and 2008 are a welcome change for me. I much prefer the generic characters that I can give personality to.
I agree that 1993 and the Dragonmasters started the decline until last year. So I would agree that old castles are better than the last 15 years.
The pieces in the sets question is a tougher nut to get a hold on. I think the overall piece selection is much better today as lego keeps coming out with new useful pieces and rarely discontinues good pieces. However, it wasn't until last year that the actual content of castle sets contained good numbers of building bricks and other useful pieces. Every crownie tower, dock, and castle seems to have a great selection of pieces. Even some of the bad castles that came out over the years had useful and rare pieces. All that being said I like the direction the genre is taking right now.
I do worry about the apparent lack of castles in the castle sets lately. I just hope they come out with a more substantial fortress for the trolls or dwarves. Or at the very least when they come out with the elves... I can only do so much with ginormous siege equipment and ships!
The pieces in the sets question is a tougher nut to get a hold on. I think the overall piece selection is much better today as lego keeps coming out with new useful pieces and rarely discontinues good pieces. However, it wasn't until last year that the actual content of castle sets contained good numbers of building bricks and other useful pieces. Every crownie tower, dock, and castle seems to have a great selection of pieces. Even some of the bad castles that came out over the years had useful and rare pieces. All that being said I like the direction the genre is taking right now.
I do worry about the apparent lack of castles in the castle sets lately. I just hope they come out with a more substantial fortress for the trolls or dwarves. Or at the very least when they come out with the elves... I can only do so much with ginormous siege equipment and ships!
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Here's What I Think
Here's my general 5-star review of all of the series.
Black Falcons Sets- ***
Yellow Castle- ***
King's Mountain Fortress- **
Forestmen sets- ****
Black Knights- *****
Wolfpack sets- ***
Dragonmasters- **
Royal Knights- ****
Fright Knights- *
KK1 Sets- ***
KK2 Sets- *
Crownies- ***
Dwarves- ****
Orcs- **
*=Poor Series
**=Boring or Juniorzed Series
***=Average
****=Fascinating and Advanced Series
*****=Best Ever
Black Falcons Sets- ***
Yellow Castle- ***
King's Mountain Fortress- **
Forestmen sets- ****
Black Knights- *****
Wolfpack sets- ***
Dragonmasters- **
Royal Knights- ****
Fright Knights- *
KK1 Sets- ***
KK2 Sets- *
Crownies- ***
Dwarves- ****
Orcs- **
*=Poor Series
**=Boring or Juniorzed Series
***=Average
****=Fascinating and Advanced Series
*****=Best Ever
Question: Why do we drive in PARKways and park in DRIVEways?
- davestadel
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the lego castles of the present and the past
That last post was what i was looking for - thanks Bandit.
Although I do miss certain elements of earlier castle sets/series, I think they're currently at they're best level ever.
I specifically miss the ninjas and the classic green and black dragons that looked like LEGO designs. I don't miss the huge molded plastic bases and completely uniform brick colors.
I think the biggest advantage of the current castle sets is the variety of races available (humans, skeletons, orcs, trolls, dwarves and maybe soon elves). I also like that the sets are more than just the standard four walls with turrets and that there seem to be more action features to sets than ever before.
After the elves, I think the only thing really missing is some creatures like minotaurs, centaurs, pegasus, unicorns, griffons, etc. and a variety of dragons more like the classic black and green designs - hydra, Chinese (serpent), European (four-legged), etc.
In the words of Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion, and I could be wrong."
I specifically miss the ninjas and the classic green and black dragons that looked like LEGO designs. I don't miss the huge molded plastic bases and completely uniform brick colors.
I think the biggest advantage of the current castle sets is the variety of races available (humans, skeletons, orcs, trolls, dwarves and maybe soon elves). I also like that the sets are more than just the standard four walls with turrets and that there seem to be more action features to sets than ever before.
After the elves, I think the only thing really missing is some creatures like minotaurs, centaurs, pegasus, unicorns, griffons, etc. and a variety of dragons more like the classic black and green designs - hydra, Chinese (serpent), European (four-legged), etc.
In the words of Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion, and I could be wrong."
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- Sir Nelson
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Re: the lego castles of the present and the past
I don't know about the others, but my peoples responses are that the early castles ares amongs the bestes, evens thoughs perhaps theys haves nots the bestes pieces. Long lives the Weetabix and the Yellows Castles!!davestadel wrote:I think that the first lego castles all the way until 1999 were the best and that they have the cooler pieces. I don't know about you guys, but I will stand firmly with my opinion unless a certain post can change my mind. What about you people? Well I would like to know about you peoples' reponse. Please post your opinion below. :
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- Sir Kohran
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I'm a bit puzzled as to why you put 1999 as the 'cut-off' point - firstly there were no actual sets released that year, and secondly I wouldn't quite put these from 1997 as the pinnacle of quality.
Most people would put 1993 as the end of the 'golden age', because the Dragon Masters were the first line to be widely disliked for their juniorised designs, and from here onwards there was a marked decline in Castle - sure, we got Royal Knights and Dark Forest which were good, but the ridiculous Fright Knights and later KK1 basically ended Castle. It wasn't really until about 2005 that things started improving with the Vikings and improved KK2, and then 2007 with the new Castle.
Personally I think Castle right now is at its strongest since 1995, or even 1992 - the quality is much higher than anything we've had for ages.
Most people would put 1993 as the end of the 'golden age', because the Dragon Masters were the first line to be widely disliked for their juniorised designs, and from here onwards there was a marked decline in Castle - sure, we got Royal Knights and Dark Forest which were good, but the ridiculous Fright Knights and later KK1 basically ended Castle. It wasn't really until about 2005 that things started improving with the Vikings and improved KK2, and then 2007 with the new Castle.
Personally I think Castle right now is at its strongest since 1995, or even 1992 - the quality is much higher than anything we've had for ages.
Last edited by Sir Kohran on Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.