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Weekly Set Review: Dark Forest Fortress

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:41 am
by architect
Join the weekly Classic Castle set review discussion. Please post your opinions on the set play ability, piece selection, design, etc. Which sets stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!

This week’s set is 6079 Dark Forest Fortress.

Dark Forest Fortress was released in 1996 for the Forestmen. The fortress has a defensive catapult, living area, a jail with a skeleton, and a collapsing tree. A Dragon Master wagon complete with a driver, soldier, and treasure must pass by the fortress and its four forestmen. This set had a limited release in Europe and was not pictured in many catalogs.

Image

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:55 am
by HenrytheV
This looks like a great set. It has 6 minifigs and a skeleton, it also has a catapult and carriage. Wish I had this one :cry: :P

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:06 am
by castlebrickman
Yah this is a great set I realy like DF its one of my fav castle themes. :D This set comes some great pieces and the baseplate rocks 8)

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:19 am
by Jacob C.
This is the best forestmen set in my opinion!
I still have the base plate from it but it's collecting dust.....I should probably use it some day.
This set had a limited release in Europe and was not pictured in many catalogs.
I don't think the set was just limited to Europe....
I bought this set in a store here in the U.S. (Florida) back in 96 or 97. I remember spending my christmas money on it.

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:34 am
by porschecm2
Jacob C: I think he meant the release in Europe was limited, not that the release was limited to Europe.

Hmm...I need to get you those catalogue scans, Ben...at least one of them had this set in it.

Anyway, kool set. One of my favourite Forestmen sets. I always the mixture of trees and buildings. 7/10.

Cm2

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 4:37 am
by Robin Hood
Jacob C. wrote:I don't think the set was just limited to Europe....
I bought this set in a store here in the U.S. (Florida) back in 96 or 97. I remember spending my christmas money on it.
I think he meant that it had a limited release in Europe. He said nothing about it not being in North America, just that it was hard to get in Europe.


I love this set. I got it for Christmas, and it stands today as the best Christmas gift ever.

The set design is somewhat riddiculas. I mean, the hideout isn't exactly hidden. The Dragon Masters/Black Knights would have to be really stupid not to see the Blue roofs and the stable.

Apart from that, its a great set. The pieces alone make it a very worth while thing to buy. Between the figs, baseplate and the brown corner pieces. Also, it was the last set with both Dragon Master and Black Knight shields.

And then there is the Black Knight/Dragon Master guys. A nice addition, if somewhat strange. The whole concept of different factions makes the set way more fun to play with. Though TLC obviously didn't care about the faction part of things if they had two different shields on the same wagon. But then, those shields are very similar. Still bugs me though.

Dan :wink:

EDIT: porschecm2: You beet me to it. :)

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:24 am
by Athos
This is a nice set. Looks better nice, but not all that much fun to build, but still not bad. Some good playability elements too. I like the forestmen minifigs too.

Steve

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:34 am
by Formendacil
A poor design in my opinion from an aesthetic/parts assessment, but a fun one to play with, and that's what matters, right?

I love the fig complement of the set, although the Dragon Master with the Black Monarch shield always annoyed me. As a set, it's a good source of greenery and has some useful plates and bricks, but too few in my opinion...

Parts: 7/10
Playability: 9/10
Figs/Accessories: 8.5/10
Design (contemporary): 7/10
Design (universal): 7/10
Nostalgia: 8.5/10

Overall score: 7.83/10 (B)

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:40 am
by TwoTonic Knight
I walked into a walmart once after Fright Knigts had pretty much disappeared from the shelves, and there on an endcap were 23 Dark Forest Fortresses. :shock:

The set itself does not rank amongst the greats, but by today's standards, it's not bad. a fair number of figs, a coach for the bandits to rob, and the makings of a forest lair. It also has my very favorite generic fig torso: studded leather. It is an absolute shame that this great torso only appeared in one large set. 7/10

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:12 pm
by Jojo
Hello!


When I first roamed www.brickset.com in the year 2000 I was struck by the sight of this set. Although I had gotten a catalogue every day I had never seen this Forest Fortress before, and I swore and cussed in the general direction of Billund/DK.... Well, I later learned that it _was_ available in Germany and that I just didn't go to the right shop to buy it. But how was I supposed to know that I would have to search for this set at all when there was not the subtliest indication of this set in the catalogue?

However, I like this set. Maybe I like it because it is rare (in Germany), but I like everything green and wood-ish in General. And the Dark Forest Figs are amongst my favourite figs of all. I like the gulch that's used to ambush the gold transports, and the fallen tree is a cool idea. The design of the prison in the treetop is somewhat weird, though.


Bye
Jojo

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 7:20 pm
by Troy T. Moore
The figs :D I still use the cart/wagon in it's original form.

As others have pointed out the set looks neat, but not realistic. Since it's a kids toy, that's fine by me.
and there on an endcap were 23 Dark Forest Fortresses.
So did you buy all 23, TTK?

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:08 pm
by Heeck
I remember my brother received this as a gift one year. We never assembled it, and now we've long since lost the pieces. It looks to be quite a nice set. The design isn't necessarily the best, but it's a fun one, at least.The trees are very attractive, in my opinion. One holds
a long since deceased prisoner, and the other is a ploy to stop travelers passing through. The mini-figs are great, I still have them. Nice baseplate, too. I can't say much more, since I technically do not own this set anymore. I would love to pick one up eventually.

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:26 pm
by Sir Dillon
I always wanted this set, but never got it :(
The design isn't the best, but it is still a cool set, + the figs are awsome.

Re:

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:34 pm
by The Wolfpack Boss
You know, I REALLY wanted Dark Forest Fortress. Badly.

But it was thirty dollars, and I only had twenty, so I settled on Hemlock Stronghold, which is a great set, but doesn't have as many men, weapons, tree (brown) parts, gimmicks, or what not. And I love the baseplate too ... those hilly forest roads ... they're really cool.

Something I loved about the Dark Forest hideout sets, you could get this, and Hemlock Stronghold, and basically link up the baseplates with some 2x2 gray plates or any grey bricks, and have a secret forestman village behind those 'trees'.

Anyway, it's a great set, and I wish I could get my hands on it.

lovely set

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:22 pm
by st0815
I just bought this set last summer, and just loved it. However, it was strange that black knights shield and dragon master shield were both used, then I just changed all of them to the dragon masters.