Classic-Castle.com

This is - on the face of it a really nice set. Lots of interesting pieces. Sure the purists out there (yeh, and I'm amongst them) would prefer flat baseplates and solid - i.e. non-gappy - walls (Castle Lion anyone? Black Falcon's Fortress?) but we have to accept that these are sets aimed at the Nintendo generation with less patience than their forebears.

But... and I hate to be negative on my first post here - It looks like it's been designed by a committee! Sure, give the king Gold Armour, but wouldn't A chrome gold armour/sword/crown combo be even better? Plain torsos? Even for the wizard? (and am I the only one who would have prefered him in robes, rather than with legs?) Stickers? Surely we'd all prefer either blank flags or even using the current KK ones if production cost is an issue? Can you see M*g*bl*cks using stickers? Thought not...

As for the cost? 99.99USD? At today's currency rates that's under 82Euros! So why does will it cost over 100 euros in Europe/Britain (£79.99? that's 115 euros! - 40% more that the states, and the Guys in the US say it's too expensive!) - costs even more in Denmark, the home of lego...

So to buy or not to buy? Well, my eight year-old and I will be heading to Legoland Windsor and stopping by the gift shop next month. If this was being sold at the same price as in the US then yeh, we might blow our budget on this. but at a 40% mark-up for not biying in the US? (ok we get the "Free" flags and poles. Whoop-de-do! The canadians only pay 30% more than the Americans do, and they don't get the flags?) At this price, TLG, you've lost some of my respect here, which is not an easy thing to do.

Lego won't be losing out though. The latest KKII sets look good (and represent good vlaue IMHO) chances are we'll buy them instead. And be tempted by this set at a later date.... I can see her piggy bank and my mankmanager weeping now...

8/10 Lego: Must try harder. (But will probably buy when the price comes down...)

I got my Classic Castle (or King's Castle in the US) in the mail Friday. We were out of power and there was not enough light to complete it then I was able to build the set yesterday.

This castle has a lot going for it:

-12 figures including a King, two knights, blacksmith, new ghost (a blue glowing one would also be cool), 2 skeletons, a siege worker, a wizard, and 3 generic soldiers
-5 new light bley lion bricks
-a large quantity of 1x bley bricks and inverted bley slopes. Now we need bley arches and wall panels
-nice castle areas including a dungeon, blacksmith shop, torture area, and wizard's tower
-generic soldiers (ok I said that before) that have grey torsos and legs to look like mail underneath
-The castle is enclosed on all sides. Rear towers face the back. The blacksmith area has bars under the drawbridge and metal gates behind. LEGO did a nice job not just building a one sided castle.

Here are a few drawbacks:

-String and winches are not included for the drawbridge or portcullis
-All shields and flags are stickers. Also the stickers are smaller than the shields. They may last longer this way but it looks strange.
-The figures do not have printed torsos
-All crossbows. There is not a bow or quivver in sight. The figures still have zwords and not the classic short sword....
-The details are a bit rough especially with crenelations and the inverted slopes. Earlier designs were more appealing and structurally sound regarding these details.
-Odd colors such as blue headlight bricks which would be much more useful in grey for castle builders and kids. Highlight roof colors are ok but those colors should not migrate into other areas. This was a major downfall of Knight's Kingdom II. We want more greys and not blue.
-It uses the same old one piece arch and portcullis. This Jack Stoned solution should be retired permanently along with the zword, purple armor, etc.

The final verdict:

In the line of castles built on the 32x48 baseplate (6091/6098, 8781), this one by far has the best design. The figures and bricks alone warrant purchasing it. Plus it will be rare and hard to get in the future. While I do not like castles on raised baseplates, this is one of the better versions.

Ben

Yeah I like it enough that Im planning on buying it, althou I dont like the yellowhands on the ghost, or the plain torso and black hat on the wizard.

Stickers?!

Itzik wrote:
Stickers?!

Yes, this was mentioned several times earlier if you read the entire thread. All of the sticker in the sheet are used for the castle. There arent any leftover ones.

Ben

I know I've been disappointed with the castle sets because they don't contain more plain bricks for building more extensive walls. I'd still like to get this set before it disappears, but it's just so dang expensive!

I was in Orlando on vacation last week, and I saw this in the Lego store. I thought this was supposed to be a shop at home exclusive :

Kelderic

kelderic wrote:I was in Orlando on vacation last week, and I saw this in the Lego store. I thought this was supposed to be a shop at home exclusive :

Kelderic

It is a shop at home exclusive. LEGO Brand Stores carry most Shop at Home items. You will not find this set at Walmart, Target, or TRU. Of course if it sells really well, those retailers could request to sell it in the future.

Ben

Sorry to bring this up again, but I am confused about something.

architect wrote:Please keep in mind that this is a Shop at Home exclusive...

When I was in Orlando, I saw this set at the Lego store. How can it be exclusive to shop at home if it is in a Lego store?

Edit:
Somehow I asked this question twice. Thanks to Architect also.

Kelderic

kelderic wrote:Sorry to bring this up again, but I am confused about something.

architect wrote:Please keep in mind that this is a Shop at Home exclusive...

When I was in Orlando, I saw this set at the Lego store. How can it be exclusive to shop at home if it is in a Lego store?

Kelderic

Shop@Home exclusive usually means it's only available directly from LEGO. This could be at any LEGO outlet store or any LEGOLand, as well as being on S@H. However, there are some things that are only at any of the three types of stores, or any combination.

~smcginnis

Shop@Home exclusive usually means it's only available directly from LEGO. This could be at any LEGO outlet store or any LEGOLand, as well as being on S@H. However, there are some things that are only at any of the three types of stores, or any combination.

Thanks, Smcginnis.

Kelderic

How about if a Lego store or Lego merchant makes a bulk order? The number of sets is not limited so if you want 10, you will get them without trouble. Then the set could easily flow into dealer's hands at a higher price compared to Lego S@H but the dealer will soon be able to say that it is hard to find and discontinued since Lego will not have this on offer forever.

Maybe, I will get this set when Lego offers it on sale. The minifigs are OK but the overall castle design seems to be a bit lame and far behind the 6090 (and 6098) sets that this set is based on. Well, I am not too sure about 6098 but 6090 is certainly a better design.

I have to say the castle looks pretty uninspired. It looks only half finished. and for $99.99 I would expect a few more minifigs and at least 1 horse. I did like the use of the Royal Knights flags. and the blacksmith in the basement is a good touch that I think is way overdue in a Castle. I dont think this is a set I'll pick up.

It does have some nice features, but overall it looks too colourful and crazy to be truly outstanding. I like the idea of what looks like a dungeon underneath, but in my opinion, it is of a much lower class than Vladek's Dark Fortress.

Bruce N H wrote:

E of Alshire wrote:

Bruce N H wrote:Did anyone notice that the whole middle section of the castle is missing from the instructions?

That would be because Lenny's link is to Book Two of the instructions.

Doh! And so he did. Here is the first part.

Bruce

Does anyone have the second part for me? I allready have the first part, but I could not find the second one