Weekly Set Review: Crusader's Cart

Post by **architect** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:01 pm

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 1877 Crusader’s Cart.

Crusader’s Cart, part of Variety Pack 1675, was released in 1990. This was the last forestman cart to appear in LEGO castle. The cart carries hay and has a secret compartment to hide a forestman. Two forestmen, a saddle, a pitchfork, a whip, and various weapons are included. Set 1680 is identical to 1877 except it has an additional forestman with a red collar.

Lord Resta · Post by **Lord Resta** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:12 pm

Don't have it, but it look's great! Very old english!

Sir Terrance · Post by **Sir Terrance** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:29 pm

I like how the Forestmen with brown hat has a peasant torso, gives more possibilities. Nice how it comes with horse and saddle. Great little set!

Jojo · Post by **Jojo** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 3:35 pm

Hello!

That's a nice set.
It's one of those sets that made me almost cry when I first discovered they existed in the year 2000, because TLC had kept them away from me.

Bye
Jojo

Post by **rogue27** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:25 pm

I absolutely love this set. It is so perfect for the forestmen theme, with the compartment for smuggling a guy into a town or something.

I was fortunate enough to get this as part of a value pack around 1990 when it first came out. Now I wish I had more of them.

The fact that you get two forestmen minifigs and a pitchfork doesn't hurt either.

If I recall, the entire value pack was only $9.99 and it came with 3 sets of similar size. Great deal. Too bad TLC doesn't offer things like this anymore.

Lady Val · Post by **Lady Val** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 5:11 pm

It`s a nice design, but it`s very bright, no? I`d prefer it in something a bit more muted, like brown. Or even green or red.

Pitchfork is nice though.

cnelson · Post by **cnelson** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 5:57 pm

One word: Pitchfork!

medib · Post by **medib** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:13 pm

d'oh!! that was my reaction to the set...

One word: Pitchfork

Benjamin Medinets

Post by **architect** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:39 pm

This is one of my favorite carts. I love the secret compartment part of it. The perpendicular studs (snot sort of) for the sides is also unique. It was appropriate to have the blue collar driver, but the green peasant fig is over used. I admit the blue colors are bright, but it fits in to the overall use of bright colors in Legoland Castle. Although, I doubt these smuggling forestmen would want to draw attention to a cart they painted bright blue

Ben E.

Jojo · Post by **Jojo** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 7:01 pm

Hello!

architect wrote:Although, I doubt these smuggling forestmen would want to draw attention to a cart they painted bright blue.

Maybe it was quite common to paint their carts in bright colours. So it was probably even more suspicious carting around with an "unsuspiciously" painted cart...

Bye
Jojo

Webrain · Post by **Webrain** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 2:37 am

As Jojo said one of the sets that we only knew about in 2000. Probably the best one from the none 60xx sets (beside 1906). The set included 2 forestman minifigs, one with the green/blue troso which is not that common one. Also a pitchfork and a round shield by the years that those parts were almost extinct.

The basic concept of this set of smuggling a minifig with in the cart was first introduced in the 250 idea book http://www.classic-castle.com/sets/arti ... k250b.html.

The same set came out in another version as 1680 which is almost the same with an extra forestman minifig.

A very nice model overall.

Final score: 9.5/10.

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:41 am

This was a decent cart, Forestmen figs are always welcome and the pitchfork was a great piece. 9/10 then, 14/10 compared to the sets out now.

Will

David Girard · Post by **David Girard** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 10:39 am

This is a good set. One of the best done, because you can hide a forestment inside the cart. Plus: this set inlude the pitchfork and the round shield. This is the last set which include the pitchfork and the round shield.

I possess the 3 forestmen version (1680).

9/10

coyote · Post by **coyote** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 1:03 pm

Well, well ... I found this set in 1990 at Woolworth in London during a trip to England.

Quite surprising as this model wasn't listed here in Germany and it was the first hint for "specials" in other countries.

I like the model very much, because it is one of the few civilian sets of that days, that made the castles more "lively".

A true legend, I suppose.

9.8/10

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 2:28 am

This set was an inspiration to me. When I came across the instructions on Brickshelf, I started thinking hard about SNOT constructions. This set made me go into my "won't ever use them" box and pull out a lot of parts that hadn't seemed very useful before.

So even though I don't own it, I consider it one of the better designed sets.

Stephen