Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Discussion of official LEGO Castle Theme sets and products
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Sir Kohran
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by Sir Kohran »

Lego used to make castles without catapults stuck all over them??? :twitch:



Ahem...well it's difficult to review this set; it's just so ancient. It's contradictory really - if released today, this set would score poorly when it comes to the near total lack of accessories, but because all the accessories that are there are so rare now (helmets in particular), it ends up scoring well. It's similar with the colour scheme - in this grey/black era it would score badly for compatibility, but because it was released long before any grey/black Castle structures it can't fairly be criticised for that. So, despite all the praise it receives, I guess it's the fact that this set could never be released today that makes it so fascinating.

As such I will just leave a few of my random thoughts:

- Nice work on the red 'window' on the tower at the back.

- It's odd - and slightly sad - that despite this set's prominence, none of its minifigs/factions ever appeared in another set ever again.

- After three decades of moulded horses, this is a bit pointless of me - but I still think the brickbuilt horses look pretty absurd.

- The castle's got no royalty to speak of, yet the troops in it all have crowns on them.

- I know this problem is not specific at all to this set, but with no stairs or ladders how on earth do the troops reach the tops of all the steep walls and towers?!

- I've always found the drawbridge a bit strange, as there's no hint anywhere else in the set of a moat or ditch. This is even stranger when you consider that there's a simple doorway just across the courtyard, reinforcing the idea that there's no moat or ditch to cross.
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JoshWedin
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by JoshWedin »

Sir Kohran wrote:- The castle's got no royalty to speak of, yet the troops in it all have crowns on them.

- I know this problem is not specific at all to this set, but with no stairs or ladders how on earth do the troops reach the tops of all the steep walls and towers?!

- I've always found the drawbridge a bit strange, as there's no hint anywhere else in the set of a moat or ditch. This is even stranger when you consider that there's a simple doorway just across the courtyard, reinforcing the idea that there's no moat or ditch to cross.
1. The King's gone on a crusade. These are the guys he left in charge.

2. There's no stairs or ladders so that the enemy can't gain the high ground, after they sneak in the back door. How do the defenders get up there? Magic.

3. Obviously there's a teeny-tiny moat in front but none in back. Shh....don't tell the enemy that they can sneak around back and go in the door.

;)
Josh
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printer6
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by printer6 »

Sir Kohran wrote: - It's odd - and slightly sad - that despite this set's prominence, none of its minifigs/factions ever appeared in another set ever again.
I always thought of the Fantasy Era knights (aka, "Crownies") as being an updated version of the guys who held the yellow castle (as they both use a crown for their emblem).
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Sir Kohran
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by Sir Kohran »

1. The King's gone on a crusade. These are the guys he left in charge.
The old excuse :wink:
How do the defenders get up there? Magic.
Well along with the lack of royalty, I don't see any magicians in this set either :P
3. Obviously there's a teeny-tiny moat in front but none in back. Shh....don't tell the enemy that they can sneak around back and go in the door.
:raiseone:
printer6 wrote:
Sir Kohran wrote: - It's odd - and slightly sad - that despite this set's prominence, none of its minifigs/factions ever appeared in another set ever again.
I always thought of the Fantasy Era knights (aka, "Crownies") as being an updated version of the guys who held the yellow castle (as they both use a crown for their emblem).
The heraldry is similar, but given that the Crown knights came out a whole 29 years later and have totally different sets, I don't think you could call it a continuation of any kind.
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Evil Ben
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by Evil Ben »

Sir Kohran wrote:
Well along with the lack of royalty, I don't see any magicians in this set either :P
You can't have magicians without magic but I don't see why you can't have magic without magicians... :wink:

This was a great set, and it's not just the nostalgia talking. I positively like the design - it's less gimmicky than much of what followed, but it's robust, (whereas KCS, apart from being full of large pieces, looks a bit half-finished) and at the time I thougth it was dripping with play value. I have no problem with the colour - If we're not going to have whitewashed walls, well, I've seen as many fortifications that looked yellowish as looked bleyish. And I like those old-style visors - they move, which to me made them more fun than their immediate replacements, the grille helmets, but they're more in scale with minifigs than the later versions (cool as those undoubtedly are). Even the brick-built horses have an advantage, though not one which is exploited in this set, and which doesn't stop me using (and adoring) the moulded ones - they make brick-built barding a whole lot easier. I agree that it's a shame that spears and bows hadn't been invented yet, though.
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DarkTemplar
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Yellow Castle

Post by DarkTemplar »

I've always loved this set, specifically for the heraldry on shields and tabards. The yellow did bother me a little bit but this was back when Lego colors could be counted on one hand so I think they can get a pass on that. After all, this is the primordial ooze of Lego castle, it wasn't primitive for it's time.
JoshWedin wrote:
Sir Kohran wrote:- The castle's got no royalty to speak of, yet the troops in it all have crowns on them.

- I know this problem is not specific at all to this set, but with no stairs or ladders how on earth do the troops reach the tops of all the steep walls and towers?!

- I've always found the drawbridge a bit strange, as there's no hint anywhere else in the set of a moat or ditch. This is even stranger when you consider that there's a simple doorway just across the courtyard, reinforcing the idea that there's no moat or ditch to cross.
1. The King's gone on a crusade. These are the guys he left in charge.

2. There's no stairs or ladders so that the enemy can't gain the high ground, after they sneak in the back door. How do the defenders get up there? Magic.

3. Obviously there's a teeny-tiny moat in front but none in back. Shh....don't tell the enemy that they can sneak around back and go in the door.

;)
Josh
As for not having a King,I don't see a problem with it. I'd always just seen it as the King's top knight having tryouts for serving the crown at his own castle. The Knights that serve the kings should have their own respective castles/manors and plots of land sometimes, but as the crest is a crown, perhaps the King has popped out for a good ol' crusade. Personally I have more Kings to know what to do with, so it's nice to be absent one every now and then.

No stairs or ladders? No problem,for most sets minifigs have long defied gravity and levitated up towers and floors via the invisible hand. I think for most sets you have to see them as a section cut of the castle/building and figure the remaining parts are off the table, which would address accessibility and defense issues were it whole. Anyway, the largest factor in playability is imagination right? :wink:
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