Weekly Set Review: Mistlands Tower

[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 8823 Mistlands Tower.

Mistlands Tower was released in 2006 for Knight's Kingdom II. King Jayko and Sir Adric attack Mistland's tower guarded by Vladek, Karzon, and his catapult. The tower includes two doors, a catapult, a blacksmith and his forge, a skeleton, various weapons, and a magic crystal.

[The Phantom]

Ewww, Knights Kingdom...







Well, not in this case. It actually looks cool. How much did it cost?

[Athos]

Here is my full review:

http://www.classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7700&highlight=review

How much did it cost?

$50, though you can find it at some Tuesday Mornings for $35.

Steve

[jokkna]

It has some bricks that are useful... There is not much more to say.

[Tedward]

I just picked one up at a discount store and started sorting right into my collection without even building it once (almost unheard of for me.) I picked it up because it has lots of parts I like and especially because it has a lot of weapons for the number of figs.

[preterosso]

King Jayko and the blacksmith's shield are a good beginning for making a Sir Gawain: his armor is gold, his shield has a golden pentangle/star on it, and his name means "hawk." But I only bought these pieces -- didn't think the entire set was worth it.

[Sir Kohran]

If Battle at the Pass is the 'realistic' set of KK2 06, then this is undoubtedly the 'fantasy' set.

If you're into the style here, then there are lots of nice elements here - the spider web, the numerous weapons, the rat, etc. The minifigs are also very good (though some new heads would have been nice). The structure is quite solid, if a bit too open to the elements and I like the forge in the blacksmith's room. The dropping skeleton is another one of Lego's clever little devices. I doubt long-time Castle fans will find much use for all the new colours, however.

The weak part of this set would be that it could have done with some more figs (early photos also included Kentis and Dracus), and the amount of polearms and halberds all over the place looks a bit ridiculous. And then there's the ubiquitous catapult, and this one appears to have been obtained from the Viking Fortress.

A good set if you're willing to spend money on it, though there are more worthwhile sets to buy.

- Matt

[Kozai13]

Useful, but crappy design.

[ericgizmo]

I hate the series and would never buy this set only maybe if i found it realy REALY cheap at a store then maybe i would buy it.

[Coatsy]

This set can definitely been seen as a blend of the "fantastic" and some realistic designs. When the set first came out I thought it was a step in a better direction for the KK series. Little did I know that this was to be the last series of KK aka KK 2.3. As with most reviews I like to focus on the postive as well as the negative of the set.

Lets begin with the negative...
~"Zwords". I dislike the wacky Zwords and wanted a return to the long sword and short sword of classic castle, which was a part of KK1.

~The eagle motiff, and overall the animal "totems" of the knights of KK 2 series 2 and 3 really bugged me. I liked the hearaldry on the sheilds, excluding the monkey of the green knights, (name escapes me, sorry all) but the animals on the amor was very "Power Rangers".

~ The wacky catapaults of the siege engine and on the tower. huh? really now lets try to keep some things in perspective. The KK series had all types of wacky catapauts, ballistas, and other rock tossing siege engines. Urrgh!

~Super Crystal with crazy dragon mouth!!!! It looked very Mega Block esq.

The good:

~The new knights introduced in this series had great armor, helmets, and heraldry. I liked bull, unicorn (or armored horse with horn) and serpent.

~The tower itself fits nicely into the existing sets and for my purposes was modified to add to the other KK sets I have. Just some additions and subtractions gets rid of the goofy stuff and bingo! You have a nice tower set.

~The blacksmith! My first "dwarf" mini fig. Love the dwarves.

I give the set a 4 of 10. It is just a touch below average, but the silliness with the zwords and superflous siege stuff keeps it from a 5 of 10.

[Spongey]

This was actually pretty decent for the KKII line. There are some useful pieces, but the design is still lacking. Nothing compared to anything from the 80s.

[Black Ranger]

This set can definitely been seen as a blend of the "fantastic" and some realistic designs. When the set first came out I thought it was a step in a better direction for the KK series. Little did I know that this was to be the last series of KK aka KK 2.3. As with most reviews I like to focus on the postive as well as the negative of the set.

Lets begin with the negative...
~"Zwords". I dislike the wacky Zwords and wanted a return to the long sword and short sword of classic castle, which was a part of KK1.

~The eagle motiff, and overall the animal "totems" of the knights of KK 2 series 2 and 3 really bugged me. I liked the hearaldry on the sheilds, excluding the monkey of the green knights, (name escapes me, sorry all) but the animals on the amor was very "Power Rangers".

~ The wacky catapaults of the siege engine and on the tower. huh? really now lets try to keep some things in perspective. The KK series had all types of wacky catapauts, ballistas, and other rock tossing siege engines. Urrgh!

~Super Crystal with crazy dragon mouth!!!! It looked very Mega Block esq.

The good:

~The new knights introduced in this series had great armor, helmets, and heraldry. I liked bull, unicorn (or armored horse with horn) and serpent.

~The tower itself fits nicely into the existing sets and for my purposes was modified to add to the other KK sets I have. Just some additions and subtractions gets rid of the goofy stuff and bingo! You have a nice tower set.

~The blacksmith! My first "dwarf" mini fig. Love the dwarves.

I give the set a 4 of 10. It is just a touch below average, but the silliness with the zwords and superflous siege stuff keeps it from a 5 of 10.

Rascus is the monkey guy... For a year I loved these guys. But I agree with Coasty said, but I say a 3 out of 10. Why? because of: 1. The "blacksmith" area is not in any cover. 2. The Dragon Skulls look a little odd. 3. To many weapons used as decorations. 4. The skeleton on a near useless chain. 5. A all together no real cover. 6. No steps (I believe in there has to be steps). 7. Over priced. 8. Only a few new pieces....

the good things that keep it at 3: 1. Good armour and catapualts. 2. It's a leaset a "fortress". 3. Plenty of weapons...

-Black Ranger

[Formendacil]

One of the best KK2 sets, which is not surprising given that it comes from their third year, though it suffers from the major deficiency of the line: it relies too much on premoulded parts and gimmicks. In other words, there is a deficit of building, which was supposed to be a major part of LEGO.

Parts: 3/10 (It's bley and they're big)
Playability: 7/10 (Opposing forces and a decent structure)
Figs/Accessories: 8/10 (Coolest figs in KK2)
Design (contemporary): 5/10 (VDF was much better, to compare with a similarly sized KK2 structure)
Design (universal): 3/10 (If the VDF beats it, imagine 6086 or 6090)
Nostalgia: 5/10 (No feeling plus or minus).

Overall Score: 5.17/10 (D-) A Passing grade, by the slimmest possible margin.

[Ben the lego king]

come on give this set some slack. I like this set. nice parts. good play abilaty. I wish it was cheaper though maybe Ill check brick link

[Athos]

Design (contemporary): 5/10 (VDF was much better, to compare with a similarly sized KK2 structure)

That's hardly a fair comparison, since VDF costs double the price of MLT...

Steve