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I don't think this makes a good comparison to Black Monarch's Ghost. I'd buy this set for the parts (after assembling it without the goofy trap, of course), whereas I'd buy Black Monarch's Ghost for the great knight.

Well, this set is great, i'd buy it just for the shields and minifigs, I'd just use the bricks and peices for upcoming castle projects etc.

I'd buy this set, and as always, you can never expect LEGO to have a sturdy-enough ser but i give this set an 8/10!

And it has a decent quantity of minifigs for such a small set.

This a inpsired, awesome, terrific set.

First lets look at the pieces. Not bad, a baseplate, a soldier (not a knight), a skeleton, a cup, a nice bit of pieces.

For me this was one of my favorite sets. My brother (Mike) got the large Royal Knight Castle and I really wanted a building for my few Royal Knights. That is great thing about this set. It gives you a building (if small) without having to sell your mother into slavery to buy the giant castle.

I fondly remember spending hours making things out of that set. Just that set. No others. I made so many different variations of that set. I never actually played a lot in it, but the building more than made up for that.

Dan

This is a cool set, it has a skeleton, a solder, and some really nice pieces.
7/10

While not a particularly awesome design, or even a great number of figs, this set is more than adequate, and is a great source of building material, particularly when you were a little kid, and didn't mind prefab walls. I never owned it, but my brother does, and it was amazing the number of different little forts/castle-lets he could make just using the pieces from this set. More than worth it for that alone.

Parts: 8.5/10
Playability: 7/10
Figs/Accessories: 7.5/10
Design (then): 7.5/10
Design (now): 8.5/10

Overall Score: 7.8/10

This looks like a good set. I like the baseplate and bricks that come in the set, but it doesn't have anything special other than that. I'd like to have it( any lego set is a good legos set ), but sadly, I don't.
I give it a 6/10

I remember getting this set brand new when it was first released. I liked it then, and I still do today. A neat little outpost. Just add an archer or two and another couple of soldiers. I don't like the skeleton thing. I didn't even when I was young.

7 of 10.

Well, first set review in a while I happen to own . This was on of the first castle sets I ever got, and back then it was the playability that really stood out to me. Anyway, looking back on it I start to realize what a clever little set this was, some nice wall pieces, a skeleton, and while the lion soldier might not be such a plus, his equipment isn't bad. Hey, you gotta love it ...8/10

Hey all,

I always like this set, something about it seems more sturdy than the other small sets and I really like this particular fig (with a black helmate). I only wish I had gotten a few dozen more... but that goes for a lot of sets...

God Bless,

Nathan

One of the few sets that I had chance to own and didn't.
My mom promised it to me, but she never gave it .
Good parts and minifigs.
11/10(for the melancoly).

Forgot to mention:

It always used to bother me that you could see the skeleton's arms before the 'trap' had sprung...

God Bless all,

Nathan

This set is special because both:
- the skeleton;
- the unique small building.

About the skeleton, if one doesn't like fantastic castle sets (Frying Things, Dragon Masters, etc.), one should doesn't like the idea of a skeleton.
As being an adult, I don't like it!! And the name "surprise" gives a "less serious" line to this set.
But the idea of a mausoleum, said by Azaghal, is very good and logical: now this set becomes very less fantastic to me, very more realistic.

About the building, I like it for its design. This is not a too small building made by two bricks (like the Black Monarch's Ghost), this is a real building: I was thinking it was for supply, but it seems indeed to be a mausoleum...
A cross on the top would be better for a mausoleum... and please remove these torches!

This could fit great as a mausoleum

Agreed! I have bought the set for the sake of having all Royal Knight sets. I never actually thought of it being a mausoleum. I never looked after the skeleton, now it's part of my skeleton army . But it's a nice thing, but it can't compete with the Black Monarch's ghost(you don't get a full euro-armor in the Skeleton Surprise ).
I'll gave it a...

8/10

Something I forgot to say: I really dislike the columns painted on the walls (about this set and about other). Lego is to be built, not to be painted! So, if the set has columns, they have to be built with round bricks!

I was never too thrilled with this set. It was OK for parts, if you want a bunch of black wall sections.

The minifig is my least favorite castle torso design from Lego. I bought one of these when it came out and hated the fig so much I never purchased any of the other sets in this line..... except the set with the crossbowman:

http://guide.lugnet.com/set/4801

Now that's a great fig!