Weekly Set Review: Fireball Catapult

[architect]

Join the Classic Castle alternate model 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 8873 Fireball Catapult.

Fireball Catapult was released in 2005 for Knight's Kingdom II. The shadow knight launches his fireballs from the rubber band powered catapult. Sir Santis is mounted on horseback and fully armed to attack.

[Anubisconq]

A good catapult: one of the best Lego has made in a while. It would be better without Santis. He probably makes it $3 more.

[RichardAM]

Poop poor set, perhaps it would be better with another Shadow Knight instead? Two men to a catapult?

I know I myself would prefer to bulk buy them if that was the case.

[eNiGMa]

This was the set I bought with my school refund last year. Because it was my first set of the summer, it has quite a sentimental value to me. I love Santis's shield, and a horse is always a plus. The catapult is nice and simple and has some useful brown pieces.

Fun to play with, too.

[HenrytheV]

I bought one just for the red horse helmet. I know, a lot of money to spend just for one piece but I still think it was worth it.

[The_Fright_Knight]

This is my only KK2 minifig scale set. I think it is really cool, especially if you replace the Shadow Knight with a couple zombies. Lots of fun.

[ZIGGY!]

As I`ve said in a recent post awesome set!I really like santis`s sheild and armor,a SK is always good and these catapults are really neat and great fun!Thinking of buying a third...

[J_Chartowich]

This is a good set, but I agree, santis is RUBISH! About the only good things about him are his breastplate, horse, and shield.

[The Hordesman]

Good:
Shadow Knight
Horse helm
Horse
Face
Heater

Neutral:
Catapult

Bad:
Santis
Sword

Thats all folks.

[Lord Mikal]

Eight bucks for this?!? No flippin way. I'll build my own catapult,. maybe something realistic. The only good parts in this set ar the horse, the armor, and the Shadow Knight's helm, and maybe the penant (glad they brought that back) but I refuse to pay eight dollars for it. I'll pick one up when it's half-price.
I heartily agree that even one more Shadow Knight would make it worth the price, though.

[Formendacil]

For smaller sets put out lately, this one's not bad at all... Two figs, one of them the ever-useful Shadow Knight, and the other a Santis (who, in my opinion, is the most multi-purpose coloured KK2 knight for MOC fodder). Not to mention a horse.

The catapult... is a catapult. As official TLC catapults go, it's one of the better ones, especially for KK2. But still... a catapult.

Parts: 6/10
Playablity: 7/10
Figs/Accessories: 8/10
Design (then): 8/10
Design (now): 6.5/10
Nostalgia: 6/10

Overall Score: 6.92/10

[Blueandwhite]

5/10

Not a good set, but its not that terrible either. Santis' armour is pretty much useless, but the dark tan helmet, hips and hands are pretty nice, as is his face. The shadow knight is ok, but I'm not really a big fan. The barbute is far too space-aged for my tastes, and the Scorpion heraldry doesn't feel too medieval either. The catapult has an ok assortment of bricks (ignoring the flaming-saw-blade-of-doom).

I guess when it comes down to it, most of the KKII figures just don't work for me. Honestly, the whole line is just a retread of that 80s cartoon, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light(you know, the one about the jellybean coloured space knights fighting against a bunch of equally goofy villians). The funniest thing is, those rainbow-coloured-knights had funny names just like the KKII characters.

If you've never heard of this cartoon, I urge you to look it up. The similarities are sure to make you smile (I'm almost positive that somebody on the KKII design team must have been a fan).


Later.

[LegoAddict]

6.5/10

Good:
Shadow Knight
Horse helm
Horse
Face
Heater

Neutral:
Catapult

Bad:
Santis
Sword

I bought 5 of these sets. The main reason, is for the Shadow Knight, the heater, the horse, and the horse helm. The catuplt as far as lego catapults goes is one of the better ones Ive seen. The knight is not very useable I guess the armour is ok, but the rest of the parts are pretty much useless(ie. helmet, sword). I find that the KKII sets tend to be very juniorized, and more of a fantasy look then historical, which personally I find very boring and lame. I guess thats why I like Mocs, so much .

kyle

[Sir Kohran]

THis is probably the second best KK2 set of 2005, behind the Dark Fortress, of course. That's because it's a great army builder (a Shadow Knight in a small set under £10!), and comes with a red horse hat, the first of its kind, which works wonderfully with Royal Knights. Also, Santis looks very cool to me in his red armour, and the catapult is one of the best designs I've seen in recent years. It's also one of the most realistic, as it actually comes in brown (wood), unlike the unrealistic black of the older sets.

So overall, a very neat little set. I like it.

9/10

- Matt

[Slobey]

I quite like this set. Comes with a shadow knight and probably the best 'jellybean' IMO. The catapault is ok but mainly for peices. 7/10