Weekly Set Review: [Black Knight's Battering Ram]

[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 1971 [Black Knight's Battering Ram].

Black Knight's Battering Ram was released in 1993. It is a part the multi-theme Variety Pack 1967 which was only available in America. The ram has a raised panel to stop arrows. This set comes with one siege worker and various accessories.

[Dragon Master]

A good part set, but thats all the goodness to it.

Is not your typical BK set, as it is pretty crappy in design and would make a highly ineffective ram. Its more like a parade float than a ram.

DM

[Lord Mikal]

One guy to man a battering ram? That's a little stingy, yes? Beyond that, though, I like all the pieces in the set. The wagon wheels are always usefull, and the weapons make up for the sad excuse of a battering ram. The guy with scale maile is also pretty cool, that's one of my favorite torsos.

[JoshWedin]

This set is okay. Good for parts, decent fig, some weapons. Not a great design, might be good for besieging chicken coops, that about it. I give it a 5/10.

Josh

[BuilderQ]

I got this set years ago, when I did not have very many pieces. I remember being annoyed by there being only one red slope brick of each type, making them hard to use in symmetrical models of even width. Otherwise, it's a fine set.

[Bruce N H]

might be good for besieging chicken coops, that about it.

LOL! Thanks for the giggle, Josh, I needed one. Perhaps we can use this to assault RubberChickenKnight's fortress? Or Emperor-James' chicken faction.

Agreed on the flimsyness of the battering ram. I've always thought those wheels look too thin for a large siege weapon and go with 4x4 round bricks in brown instead. Perhaps Black Knight's Go-Cart would have been a better name for the set?

Bruce

[Commander Redbeard]

Nice one, Bruce! This looks like an OK li'l set. I wouldn't keep it together, but I'd give it a healthy 8/10 because as I speak the remains of my latest Vladek Encounter purchase poke their ugly wierd-colored pieces out of the pile of Lego in front of me. This comes with a nice fig, wheels, and some weapons, and probably wasn't too expensive either.

[lil Jon]

I've never seent this set before. In my opinion it looks a little weak. There aren't very many good pieces, even thought any pieces from the older sets are better than what is offered now.

I don't think one guy will do much damage with that "batteringram"

[howie]

Not a very good set at all. Not much of a battering ram. I dunno what you'd call it. I give it a 5/10 because of the soldier and wheels and because it includes some parts that can be used here and there.
howie-

[Sir Terrance]

Nice fig(with shield), but the design stinks. Cool idea with the arrow shield, however it seems a little to far to the front to be effective.
Parts: 9/10
Playability: 8/10
Design: 4/10

~Chris Perron

[Sir Kohran]

I never liked this set. You can't use a battering ram with just one soldier, and a battering ram that size would be just big enough to trash a chicken coop, like others said!

[Jojo]

Hello!


Hm, I'm surprised nobody mentioned the magical term "army builder" yet. It's a cheap classic minifig with a lots of weapons after all...

The battering ram is ridiculous. But -- it's the only portable siege weapon the Black Knights possess. How were they ever able to gain their realm?


Bye
Jojo

[forester3291]

I must agree with JoJo and most of te others. It may be a poor battering ram but it has some great pieces. A knight with a weapon or two four brown wheels. And yes the realistic part isn't realistic at all, and it is terribly small, but hey, it's better than a lot of sets then and now. A 8/10 then and a 9/10 now.

[Teh Stud]

Hello!


Hm, I'm surprised nobody mentioned the magical term "army builder" yet. It's a cheap classic minifig with a lots of weapons after all...

The battering ram is ridiculous. But -- it's the only portable siege weapon the Black Knights possess. How were they ever able to gain their realm?


Bye
Jojo

It wasn't really that great an army builder set, because you would end up with four wheels for every figure. The figure is great, but you could get him in quite a few other sets at the time.

The Black Knights gained their realm by being the only faction with a boat. They owned every island.

[Rubberchickenknight]

i like the fig and wheels but that's about it
bruce is evil he's besieging chickenland! by the way, chickenland isn't full of chicken coops, its full of KFCs!