Classic-Castle.com

Username wrote:

Count Blacktron wrote:
That set was $80+ when it was available and it didn't really have all that much of use at the time. Heck, I still can't seem to find a construction I am happy with for the castle wall pieces in this set, likely where much of the $$$ came from it it. The minifigures in this set, well, they ain't my favorite.

Notice I said similar, not exactly alike. I've seen plenty of Lego bucket sets for 15$ - 30$ that could work for what we want. Heck, they could have one for each side (one for good guys and one for bad guys). Just have a few minifigs, accessories and castle parts along with some bricks and plates.

I got it. I'm just saying that there are days when my budget says "nothing over $10+" and days when I am more in the mood for certain types of parts over others, and still other times when all I really feel like is a pile of minifigures and gear. Switch it up a bit and leave out the expense of a molded tub and things get more interesting. I'm not happy with most of what I see LEGO doing with tubs and their cost lately anyhow. $10 still qualifies as somewhat of an "impulse purchase".

I just bought this set yesterday, and I think it's a great $10 set. It's great that today's set designers have done an homage to the original Yellow Castle.

This set has a couple of new parts. One of them is not really a new part; the torso just has differently colored arms than what other torsos with that printing have had before. Torsos with that printing usually have Dark Blue arms, but the one in 6193 has regular Blue arms:



There's also an entirely new piece--a 1X2 plate with horizontal clip on 1 end:

Robin Hood wrote:...every set can be rebuilt to however the kid wants, but without a specific set of instructions, its more likely that the kid'll do it.

Actually this set does come with a set of instructions. They're for the model pictured on the front of the box.

metalandi wrote:I thought this is a 2009 release?!

The box does say 2009 on it. Often stores get the upcoming new sets for the next year in December for Christmas shopping. They seem to be doing it a bit earlier.

David

I think this is a nifty little set but I really wish the inverted corner slopes were in light gray instead of dark gray. There's not enough of those around.

I havent brought this set but it looks good for an MOC.

Robin Hood wrote:The concept behind this is really what Lego is all about. Building. This isn't some set with a pre-made design, well, not really. It doesn't do the imagining and designing for the kid. Not to say that every set does, and granted, every set can be rebuilt to however the kid wants, but without a specific set of intructions, its more likely that the kid'll do it. Sets along this line are something I'd like to see more of. If Lego came out with a castle bin, that would be awesome. A few figs, and a whole bucket of basic castle pieces. They'd be all grey and black and brown, with some green plates thrown in. Then a bunch of arches, weapons and such.

I agree with this, especially the bucket idea. Maybe multiple different smaller buckets for different factions. Like maybe one that comes with dwarves, their weapons/tools, and pieces like the ones in the DM, and DMD sets. It would be good for getting a different range of pieces, and each could have a booklet with a ton of building ideas.

Now, to get back on topic:
This set isn't my favorite. Not to say it's a bad set, I'm just not a big fan of brick-built horses. Also, I think they could've chosen a better head for the soldier, but otherwise...

We got this for my two year old and he loves it. I think this is a great idea and hope TLC keeps making them. They are perfect for that inbetween age from duplo to the themed sets.

Thinking of buy the pirate one.

Heir

I wish the figure had been more unique like the one the pirate set. Then I'd have picked it up. As it is, I have all the parts from this set.

Steve

Three things leave this set warming shelves across the worlds:

1. The minifigure included is nice, but available everywhere. He's about 2-5 years late, whether you consider the head or torso.

2. Yellow bricks don't draw us in as much as grey. The colors are very 1979, and we've become a bit more sophisticated since then.

3. Not a shield, accessory or part in there that's not elsewhere. If this had been a peasant pack with a pitchfork it would have sold million$.

Count Blacktron wrote:1. The minifigure included is nice, but available everywhere. He's about 2-5 years late, whether you consider the head or torso.

Not true there, this guy is actually one of kind. He is in fact the only crownie that comes with regular blue arms.

Count Blacktron wrote:2. Yellow bricks don't draw us in as much as grey. The colors are very 1979, and we've become a bit more sophisticated since then.

Surely you have heard though of people's great lamentation of the Yellow Castle. Surely if nothing else, the going price of one on Bricklink should tell you just how popular it is. Can Lego really be blamed if they want to give yellow another try?

Dan

Count Blacktron wrote:Three things leave this set warming shelves across the worlds:

1. The minifigure included is nice, but available everywhere. He's about 2-5 years late, whether you consider the head or torso.

2. Yellow bricks don't draw us in as much as grey. The colors are very 1979, and we've become a bit more sophisticated since then.

3. Not a shield, accessory or part in there that's not elsewhere. If this had been a peasant pack with a pitchfork it would have sold million$.

With all due respect, I think the criticisms here are a bit unfair. While you're right that this set has little to offer an adult fan that is unique and the colour scheme may strike us as garish, I think these complaints effectively criticize the set for not doing something that the designers didn't seem to want to do. Allow me to explain.

Lego is, by and large, a children's toy, and this is even more true with this particular set those from the castle line. The recommended age listed on the box is 4-7, and this is far below other sets like the Dwarves' Mine (7-14) or the Troll's Mountain Fortress (7-14). It's lower than the simpler sets as well, like the Knight's Catapult Defense (6-12) or The Final Joust (5-12). It's even below the age recommended for the battle packs (6+). So the designers were clearly aiming for a particularly young audience.

With this in mind, the weaknesses you identified turn out to be strengths. First of all, the fact that the minifigure is generic means that it's simpler (and possibly slightly cheaper) to produce the set. After all, they don't need to set up a unique run just for this set. My suspicion is that children in the 4-7 range are just happy to have any knight to play with, so this is a good place to scrimp a little.

Secondly, the garish colours are much more in keeping with the targeted age range. When trying to stimulate a young child’s imagination, bright colours are the way to go, and thus it’s a good thing that the yellow, lime green and red feature more prominently than the greys.

As for the lack of a pitchfork, well I won’t argue with you there.

So, I think that this is a great set that does exactly what it seems to have been meant to do. It’s got wide variety of generic bricks, and I’m sure that this encourages children to build whatever they dream up. There’s no need to be limited by the directions here. It’s got brightly coloured bricks, and if I was four or five I’d love that. Finally, I like the fact that it includes one minifigure in what is otherwise a random assortment of creative bricks. That way once I had built something, I’d have a little guy to drive it, live in it, fight over it, dance on it, or whatever I came up with. I love the execution of this set.

With all that being said, I wouldn’t buy it. My lack of a four or five year old bears a strong influence on my decision.

I think the last two posts really are along what I am thinking. This set is not an AFOL set in most aspects.... thought the unique minifig is tempting, it is for that inbetween age of early lego to themed sets. Lego did very well doing this. It does contain some nice pieces in other than standard lego colors as well that are nice, the inverse corner and slopes and others, brown plates, green bricks and plates and plant life. Not too bad for 7 pounds here.

Heir

Let me explain my assessment a bit. I think that the set is very well designed and a great childrens' toy. Out here in the USA South they seemed to have slowed in sales to a big crawl (looked like stores really stocked up (before) Easter too) where other LEGO assortment sets in the $10 range seem to sell very briskly (Pirates, Rock-things & Star Wars). As for the torso... blue arms isn't really all that new and the basic design dates back to the Vikings. It IS a kid friendly set, a kid color set and has a interesting selection of parts... so it could be a interesting set, but us growed ups' don't have as much NEED for it and the kid crowd doesn't seem to WANT it as bad as others in the range. Probably a gift favorite, which is what it is. Not bad, just starting to keep our shelves warm.

Username wrote:Meh, I'll pass on this one. I do agree there needs to be a caslte bucket similar to the Castle Dacta set:

• Minifigs for each current faction
  Weapons & accessories
  Animals (horses, dragons, owls, falcons, dogs, etc)
  Castle wall pieces
  BURPS/LURPS
  Lots & lots of bricks and plates
  Castle specialty pieces (catapult buckets, wagon wheels, etc)

yea that would be nice to have some thing like that in like 2010 or some thing. I like this set though and might get a few just for the peices. I'll rate it a 8/10 for its kind.