Drawbridge Defense

[DerBum]

I did a search and didnt see any discussions of this set which I found relevent to the comments I am about to make, so I hope I am posting this correctly.

I was looking for something "new-ish" so I could save my classic sets and still have a nice set for when my daughter wants to play Lego. Initially, I was going to buy the Chariot, but I decided to put that off for another day. So, last night I picked up the Drawbridge Defense and I must say that I am fairly impressed.

The build is straight forward and the tower is an impressive structure. As an engineering student, I really appreciate the mechanism for raising the drawbridge (which is a very nice gearbox with a pawl to prevent the drawbridge from lowering until you want it to). It would be nice to see a mechanism and gate house like this one in a new full size castle. There is some form of easy access for bad guys right below the bridge, which might get a gate or something on mine. There is one other thing, this tower seems very stand alone... there isnt much way for people to get out of the other side of the tower once they enter via the drawbridge. It would have been nice if a set of stairs or a ramp exist on the other side. Taken as only a tower though, it is very nice.

The figures are ok, I like the Golden Knight, the soldier seems like he needs a shield. The jester and queen do not really belong in a set like this, but it does provide and easier way to get those figures (in the end they are very nice figures). My daughter loves the jester, she isnt really big on the skellies.

Again, I was impressed overall. Construction is very solid (with the exception of the opening below the bridge). The Golden Knight is very nice (his torso would look nice on a gray background). I give the set a solid A.

[Blaze Ryder]

An amazing set which I've only had the privilege to examine at a friend's place. The first a foremost thing I noticed about this set is that it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not; it's a drawbridge, plain and simple. The second thing(s) are the unique minifigs, perfect for completeing a royal court with a queen, jester, paladin, and assuming you have King's Castle Siege, a king, knight and guards. A royal court you could MOC out of this set, KCS, Tower Raid, Dwarve's Mine and the Skeleton Ship's port perhaps? It's very feasible IMO, as a majority of them already have technic pins. I would like to see one of those, even though I much prefer the orcs/trolls over the crownies.

Back on-topic, the set features unique minifigs and excellent play features; such as the bridge, waterway and missile-thing. At $50 CDN it is a great buy, much more manageable then the Troll Fortress, though the cost still *is* a little much. I'm not complaining though, you get a plethora of figs (seven I recall ) for which to stage battles over a key strategic point (control of a bridge = control of a portion ofthe river when I play any sort of lego game).

I give this set an 9/10 because the cost is a little high (I'd prefer it'd be $40-45 CDN) for what you get in terms of land space, but it appears to be able be MOC'd to connect with KCS quite easily, which makes up for this fact. The 7 figs are a nice touch and river-crossing outposts are always a nice touch to use in any game, increasing playability value.

I can't wait to aquire my own Drawbridge Defense and see what I can do with it!

[domboy]

As an engineering student, I really appreciate the mechanism for raising the drawbridge (which is a very nice gearbox with a pawl to prevent the drawbridge from lowering until you want it to). It would be nice to see a mechanism and gate house like this one in a new full size castle.

I agree. I think this gearbox mechanism is much better than the pulley + rubber band drawbridge system used in sets like 7093 Skeleton Tower and 8877 Vladek's Dark Fortress. I don't know how long these Lego rubber bands last, but I would imagine that the gears in 7079's drawbridge system will last longer. The gearbox is a more interesting build at that.

There is one other thing, this tower seems very stand alone... there isnt much way for people to get out of the other side of the tower once they enter via the drawbridge. It would have been nice if a set of stairs or a ramp exist on the other side. Taken as only a tower though, it is very nice.

Funny, you're the first person to mention this that I've noticed. I've pondered this issue myself, and I'm not sure what to think about it. I can't decide if the idea is for the tower to be the final destination on the other side of the bridge, or if the terrain level is supposed to be higher on one side of the river than the other, with the second level of the tower being at ground level once one exits the tower structure after crossing the bridge (which could make the first level of the structure a cave of sorts).

[Vilmar]

In USA this set is $40, not $50.
I do like the back printing, but in all honesty, I could care less about it. Why bother? if it increases the price, Id take a back-print free one.
Just saying.

[Ye Olde Republic]

Yup, we could have save probably a whole $0.50-$1 without the backprinting...
These are some really nice points about this set that may have convinced me to get a copy.

[DerBum]

The back printing wasnt important to me, but my daughter loves it. I think it is funny how she chooses the newer, more detailed, figs over my classic guys everytime. Maybe Lego knows what it is doing with the whole focus group thing. Personally, although fig detail isnt a make or break for me, it is nice and adds some interest to the set. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see the Gold Knight's printing on a different colored torso...

[Username]

The back printing wasnt important to me, but my daughter loves it. I think it is funny how she chooses the newer, more detailed, figs over my classic guys everytime.

I've had Lego for over 20 years, and I prefer the new to the old.

[Blueandwhite]

This is actually a very nice set. The drawbridge mechanism works well and the figure assortment is absolutely first-rate. Even if the other sets for this year were a bit lackluster (excluding the awe-inspiring market village), this set more than makes up for it.

[dyntar]

This is actually a great set and a good way to get an extra couple of figures that aren't in any other sets. I'm still not sure how the queen and jester came to be at the draw bridge. Doesn't seem like the obvious set to put her in. But I'd gladly buy this instead of having to buy another castle.
Theres a few interesting features in it that I like. The gearbox.. as mentioned and there seems to be a dock under the tower to land a small boat. if only the Crownies had boats....

My only problem with this set is that the archway on the castle is too low for a knight to ride a horse through. .. could have been 1 brick higher.

[JoshWedin]

I think I'm going to have to get this set. I keep going back and forth, but now all you people have made me want it. Darn you!

Josh

[DerBum]

I think I'm going to have to get this set. I keep going back and forth, but now all you people have made me want it. Darn you!

Josh

I doubt that you will regret it. The more I interact with this set, the more I am impressed with it. I hope the next year of Castle will bring out another set of this calibre.

[Blue Moon Knight]

I can't really say anything at the moment, since I don't have it yet, but maybe I'll start the BMK set reviews with this one... It sounds like a good set from what I've read.

[smegged]

I can safely say that I was incredibly impressed with this set when I opened and built it. The structure is much, much better than I thought it would be and the minifigs are just brilliant. I really bought it for the figs, but the whole set is really, really fantastically good.

[Ye Olde Republic]

Agreed. I was really quite impressed by the build althought the connection of the ramp to the rest of the tower seemed a bit shaky. The mecanism for raising and lowering th bridge is top-notch too, it works very well. What impressed me the most was what I was finding as I parted the set out into my bins though! When I build a set, I don't seem to notice what parts are in it quite the same as I do when I take a set apart. Excellent parts set!

[Aimsworth]

This is actually the Lego set I bought that brought me back into the Castle line. Sadly it was only a few months ago so I've missed most of the line (I've since picked up 7078 King's Battle Chariot and 7097 Trolls' Mountain Fortress... and look forward to snatching up 10193 Medieval Market Village before it's discontinued).

Before I had just been sticking to the creator series for a few years, so a lot of the pieces are all new to me.