update: all 2008 (1st half) castle sets

natepc · Post by **natepc** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:02 pm

More pictures, oh hurrah! Maybe it's because I've now had a good night's sleep, but the attack ship looks much better than before. Still not a fan of the swords, dragon, helmets and the odd armour, but on the whole, my opinion has changed.

On the new pictures, hoo boy! I am especially fond of the two towers, the Crown Knight tower looks like it would fit well in the castle, but the Green tower, oh how marvelous! It looks like something quickly thrown together, and probably wouldn't last much longer than the first run towards the walls.

The dwarf's catapult looks ok, nothing to write home again, and it is nice to see a clearer picture of the mine. (And they called it a mine. A mine!) The beards look great as well. What a good line up!

maybe the yellow hands are gloves, I hear it gets quite chilly underground.

Nate

Mikael-o · Post by **Mikael-o** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:26 pm

I'd say the yellow hands on the goblins confirms that these are prototypes. They may not change a ton, but these types of little things will ...

Nice to have a new shot of the Dwarfs Mining set. I still like it ... I do imagine it being underground ...

I'm not usually a fan of seige engines, but one thing I do like about the goblin one is how 'imperfect' it looks with the boards added for support. A couple more goblins, a couple good guys .. nice balance

I will buy a few catapult sets for dwarfs and goblins .... three figs in the small set, not bad!

Still a fan of the green dragon! I do hope one day we see a blue and a grey/silver one. Is that the Dragonlance fan in me coming out after so long?

These are all the sets eh? Nice to see dwarfs in each one! I don't need anymore skellies!

Kel.

Count Blacktron · Post by **Count Blacktron** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:52 pm

You know these are prototypes because;
A) It's still six months from release,
B) The goblins have yellow hands.

Other signs are there but these are clearly retailer mock up sets and destined for fine tuning at the factory in the future.

Grain of salt with every ten bits of sugar, please.

FullNelson · Post by **FullNelson** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:29 pm

I like these sets but the swords and shields for the goblins look odd.

I dont think these are all the sets here is why

In 2008 we have two Impulse items, six new retail products including account exclusives and a very special item coming at the end of the year too (wait and see!). That’s all I’m telling you, but I’m sure you guys will be able to dig out some information from somewhere.

I count only 4

The whole article where I got the quote is here http://www.classic-castle.com/sets/arti ... ack07.html

Brickzone · Post by **Brickzone** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:32 pm

The orcs/goblins with the ship don't have yellow hands. I can't see that the production model version of the Dwarfs mining would differ in that respect.

Certainly these seem to be prototype pictures to some extent, but the production versions will probably be the same except in a small minor details?

I agree that the dwarf catapult is a bit weak - although I'd say it'll be cheap.

The siege engine I think is very nice, I like the orc's look in this and the ship, but they'd have been far better to have a castle wall section instead of the really silly looking tower that's smaller than the siege engine!

I'm happy enough with the dwarfs mining. It gives a good impression of the scene even if it is a bit pillar-and-platform, although it'd be nicer if there were a couple more burps to bulk out the back of it.

The Trojan Rabbit · Post by **The Trojan Rabbit** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:33 pm

I was hoping for another "human" faction. Not too thrilled about these sets.

Flail · Post by **Flail** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:46 pm

Boy, news has been dry for a long time then-BAM! Wow

I'm very excited about this line! I love the orcs and the troll is MUCH better than I expected.

Looks like the dwarves have two helms. I hope the new beard pieces look good without a helm but we'll have to see.

Lots of new molds and hopefully they will change/randomize some of the orc torsos.

One nitpik, I wish they printed the orc emblem on grey or black shields. I don't like the white shields. I also wish there were no gradients in the emblem - it makes it look too modern.

Blueandwhite · Post by **Blueandwhite** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:03 pm

I'm disappointed with these offerings, but I am happy that many of you are genuinely excited. Personally, I feel that the sets themselves are pretty lackluster when compared to last year's line; something that is cleverly masked by the gloss of the many new fantasy minifigs.

For me, my greater disappointment stems from the near abandonment of a non-fantasy faction. This year's Crown/Skele mix was ideal in that it appealed to fans of both fantasy and traditional medieval themes. Unfortunately, the new sets pretty much abandon this, focusing heavily on the fantasy element, making these sets pretty dull for those of us looking for more conventional medieval fare. My greatest concern is that the conventional knights of yesteryear will inevitably be faded out of this line completely in favour of pure fantasy.

Last year's line did a good job of appealing to both sides of the coin. This year, we see a definite move to the fantastical. I appreciate that fantasy fans have been waiting an age for something like this, so please don't take my opinion the wrong way. Personally, I just don't like fantasy that much, so this shift is a definite disappointment.

MarioDAlessio · Post by **MarioDAlessio** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:54 am

Thanks for new images

I also am not a fan of the fantasy castle elements but appreciate what has been said by councilors and LEGO previously that these things are more appealing to children then realistic everyday scene castle lines.

To be constructive, LEGO with the new boat if your going to mould 2x extra big brown elements why not incorporate 2x rocks into the set I already have enough little brown boats.

A ship running aground against a rock with a mermaid or more skelly knights might appeal more to the imagination then two crossbow boats? – That sought of imagery is more akin to modern naval fleets.

The troll ship should be alone in the ocean.

Mario

Donut · Post by **Donut** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:19 pm

The first link of the thread doesn't seem to be working. Could I please get a new link? Thanks.

CAI · Post by **CAI** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:21 pm

Yeah, not working. Did anyone notice beard colors. Is brown one of the colors?

LORD DOOM · Post by **LORD DOOM** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:23 pm

And a gosh darn unicorn! Don't forget the unicorns!

E of Alshire · Post by **E of Alshire** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:38 pm

Attention LEGO: keep those diagonally-sloped brown tiles in the seige to wer and I will buy one. Honestly, that set looks like a lot of fun, almost harking to the olden days.

doodstormer · Post by **doodstormer** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:19 pm

I think those goblin helms are the ones from the jabba sail barge, minus the visor part.

kelderic · Post by **kelderic** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:02 pm

Well, just asw this, and I can say that most of it is looking very nice. I actually don't like the dragon. With the big pieces of amor on it's head, it looks extremely junorized, like something Duplo would make. However, the ship looks nice, and I really like the trolls.

Kelderic