Weekly Set Review: Knights Battle Pack

[architect]

Join the Classic Castle Weekly Set Review discussion. Please post your opinions of the models' play ability, creativity, design, etc. Which models stand up to our catapult of critique and which ones crumble in shame!

This week’s set is 852271 Knights Battle Pack.

Knights Battle Pack was released in 2008 for the Crown Knights. This blister pack includes two knights, two foot soldiers, and a crossbowman. Various accessories such as triangular and ovoid shields, flags, a quiver, crossbow, lance, sheild, glaive, and spear are included.

[DraconisTerrena]

I like it a lot. I really miss the old minifig combo sets (6103 Castle Minifigures, 6105 Medieval Knights, etc.). While the battle packs don't offer a range of factions like the older ones did, there is the Skeleton Battle Pack for your undead needs. It's really nice to be able to drop a few bucks and get 5 fully armed minifigs (with four shields, no less). I bought four of these, and four of the SBP. Here's hoping they release one for the trolls and dwarves (the latter of which are very expensive to amass in large numbers).

[Robin Hood]

This could be difficult. Grading a minifig only set often is.

Obviously this set exists solely as a fig pack, and as such, and assuming the buyer is aware of the skeleton pack, it performs its job well. Certainly when it came out, people were wanting for minifig packs. The price for the five figs was decent, at least as far as modern prices go. The fig selection is...peculiar. TLC was certainally going for the army pack look, as the lack of kings, princesses and such shows. This is both good and bad. It is good, for it saves people who want to build an army from having a whole wack of useless (I use the term loosely) kings and such. On the other hand, it means you have to wait that much longer for a set that has those cool figs at an affordable price. That aside, I like how they gave us pretty much every type of Crownie soldier. And that fact that 4 out of 5 figs has a shield is a bonus.

All in all, for a army builder pack, which it blatantly states to be, this is pretty decent.

Dan

[legokilt]

I only just got the set, I have never seen it here (in upstate NY) so that is my biggest complaint. However I love it as a set. The assortment of weapons is good as is the the assortment of the minifigs. In all I think it is a good set.

[Old_School_Fan]

The lack of short swords had me a bit distressed, but gosh the amount of shields, armor, and a variety of just about every recent helmet makes this a great minifig set. Deff. my favorite between this and the skeleton one.

[outcast]

My feelings about this set are mixed: its a good selection of minifigs but you only ever need to get one, just like that minifig pack with willa in it. Who needs an army of generals?

[Heir of Black Falcon]

I like it. It is a good mix of soldier types, especially for someone like me who is not a huge army builder but still likes to have units and companies. The number of shields is good as they seem to be in small supply in most sets. I hope they keep these battlepacks up! I still need to get the skellie one.

Heir

[Memsochet]

I just saw this on Lego.com and I was thinking about getting a few along with the Skelly one. As for playability, I'd say if you need a mass of troops it is definitely up there, otherwise it's fairly limited(besides the fun multiple minifigs stuck on 1 stud MOCs). I don't see much creativity(to me creativity & playability go hand & hand) with this beyond setting up an army(of which you'll need more than 1 set) because they are just mini-figs, not a lot can be done with just mini-figs. Price, for what you get I think it's fairly decent, the only other way to get a mass of mini-figs is to buy a ton of other sets which might end up giving you too many pieces you can't use(who need 100 catapults for 200 minifigs?). For design I would have gone with either a glaive or a lance, but not both. Could have easily swapped one out for a short sword(since lances come with most horse units, a glaive would have been better). Overall, not bad but nothing to write home about either.

Playability/Creativity : 8(if army building), 4(otherwise)
Price : 8
Design : 8
Overall : 7

[Blueandwhite]

There really isn't much to say about this set. The figures are all readily available elsewhere, so there isn't anything particularly unique here. I suppose it makes a decent army builder, however in some territories it is incredibly expensive so it's not necessarily practical for that purpose either.


If you're looking to build armies this set is an okay purchase but I miss the days when minifig packs were a tad more affordable.

[gormadoc1]

I think its a great set to bolster any force i'd give it 8/10 because I would have prferred a bow as well. When I went to Legoland Windsor in April I was going to get this set but I brought the vintage minifigure collection instead and on my visit I brought some other castle stuff too.

[Griffon]

I have never seen it in stores around here, would love to have it though .
It has an archer in it so perfectly ok for me

[Teherean]

I almost bought this set in Köln a couple of weeks ago. Didn't do it, because the last thing I want right now is to invest money in a fantasy era army.
It'd be a good set if you're a fan though.

[BrianofBrick06]

Even though I do not collect the crownie armies, I think this set was a great release. It seems as if it has been a long time since any minifig packs have been produced, and I always loved any sort of minifig pack. In my opinion, there is plenty of playability with product as simple as a few minifigs. Such releases are great for army building AFOLs. Although, aside from a variety of ways an AFOL might use such a pack, this sort of set probably sells well with younger audiences too. It has been many years since I first started collecting legos, but I can remember days when I would take a few random minifigs across sofa mountains, or even up the winding staircase cliffs. Any product is playable to youthful souls (and even to those still young at heart). I would continue this post, but King Mathias is waiting for me on the Toshiba plateau ...

[Username]

I'd rather Castle battle packs be more lik Star Wars battle packs: 4 minis and a vehicle/siege engine/structure.

[Athos]

$3 per figure seems a little high. Especially when you think the little minifigure packs used to give you 6 figures for under $10. Though maybe the price i not too excessively expensive when you look at all the equipment they come with.

I do wish they'd have included a more unique figure. I'm not much of an army builder, so a pack like this doesn't appeal to me much.

I wonder if they could have cheapened the price by selling them in separate pieces and in cardboard boxes (like the old packs were), rather than fully assembled, posed and in plastic display boxes. I wonder why they went that way.

Steve