Castle Team: The New Role of Fan Feedback

[ellerb]

My name is Ben Ellermann and I am a huge LEGO Castle fan! This article will tell you how several lifelong Castle builders and I contributed to the new castle line.

I first joined the LEGO Ambassadors in Spring 2006. Soon I found out that a group of Ambassadors, a Certified Professional, and fans had just started working with LEGO to help develop ideas for the latest Castle line in 2007. Knowing that my involvement at Classic-Castle.com gave me a good idea of what fans were looking for, I asked to join the team. Our team included: Nathan Wells, Paul Janssen, Robin Sather, Johannes Koehler, Luis Baixinho, David Tabner, Lenny Hoffman, and Andrzej "Shaggie" Szlaga.

Check out the rest of the article and fan prototype images on LEGOfan:

http://www.legofan.org/ambassadors/projects/castle2007.html

You can ask questions and leave comments in this thread.

Ben Ellermann

[Piranha]

Wow!! Thanks alot for this *y*

Its very interesting especially the part about a Skellie Dragon 8-

[iamded]

Awesome, and very interesting! Great MOCs, I especially liked the stall with food and weapons rack, and the kitchen. The well was rather neat as well! *y* *y* X-D

[TheFrisian]

Thanks for sharing Ben! It's really nice to read about what's going on behind the scenes at the design process. I noticed several great ideas that I really liked, especially the ones that focussed on every day medieval life, such as market stalls, stables for the horses, a kitchen to feed all the soldiers, and a fantastic water wheel powered blacksmith with lots of moving parts. I'd love TLC to produce sets like these (possibly all together in a "medieval life collection box" or something). And too bad they didn't make that skeleton dragon, it would have fitted nicely with the whole undead theme.

[Brick Miner]

wow that was a fun read !!! i especially like this line...

The theme should be more about the building experience than specific story driven play that does not allow much creativity for a child.

this is one of many nessesary fundamentals LEGO should follow.

its too bad you couldn't get the cypress trees back into production :-D thanks for trying !!!

BTW, Saint Louis... Missouri ??? that's where i live *sweet*

- BM

Edited September 23, 2007 by Brick Miner

[gylman]

Thanks for the information.

Were those sets that you were working on going to be part of the upcoming 2008 lineup?

I have a hard time seeing any relation between those sets that you designed, and what came out this past year. Except for the improved figs.

[ellerb]

Great job too on all the small MOCs you guys did,Nice kitchen with tile

Awesome, and very interesting! Great MOCs, I especially liked the stall with food and weapons rack, and the kitchen. The well was rather neat as well!

Thanks.

I noticed several great ideas that I really liked, especially the ones that focussed on every day medieval life, such as market stalls, stables for the horses, a kitchen to feed all the soldiers, and a fantastic water wheel powered blacksmith with lots of moving parts. I'd love TLC to produce sets like these (possibly all together in a "medieval life collection box" or something).

I thought the civilian modular models turned out fairly well. Unfortunately, these models (and other civilian models by the designers) did not test well with kids who wanted action sets.

BTW, Saint Louis... Missouri ??? that's where i live

Yes. You should check out Gateway Lug in Saint Louis: http://www.gtwlug.org

Were those sets that you were working on going to be part of the upcoming 2008 lineup? I have a hard time seeing any relation between those sets that you designed, and what came out this past year. Except for the improved figs.

These building workshops produce a very large amount of models and only six became sets. That being said, specific features from my designs were used in sets. These include the modular castle walls, 2x2x2 slope buttresses in the castle walls, 4x4 curved macaroni corner battlement, preliminary flag color scheme (blue and yellow), and arches in the jousting fence.

Ben

[TheFrisian]

I thought the civilian modular models turned out fairly well. Unfortunately, these models (and other civilian models by the designers) did not test well with kids who wanted action sets.

Well, that doesn't really come as a big surprise as kids are usually more focussed on action play. And since the new Castle theme is very much orientated towards the military aspect of medieval life, it should do very well with kids.

But TLC should not forget the fact that there is also a large AFOL community with quite some money to spend. And from what I've read on forums like Classic Castle and this one, there are a lot of AFOL's who would be thrilled to see more sets orientated towards everyday medieval life, because they provide a lot more depth to the medieval fantasy world TLC has created with this new Castle line.

I for one would be very tempted to buy more civilian sets, especially if they are of the same great quality as Daniel Siskind's Blacksmith Shop. And from what I have read and seen in your article, that is definitely the case with the sets you designed!

[Batbrick]

Thankyou for sharing this with us! It is interesting to see how it all comes together!

Batbrick Away! >:-)

[Brick Miner]

hey ben, i'll check out the gateway LUG, thanks for pointing that out... i hadn't known one existed in this area. now, too bad you don't meet closer to the gateway arch... south county is quite far for someone living downtown, who's main transportation is their feet ;-)

These building workshops produce a very large amount of models and only six became sets. That being said, specific features from my designs were used in sets. These include the modular castle walls, 2x2x2 slope buttresses in the castle walls, 4x4 curved macaroni corner battlement, preliminary flag color scheme (blue and yellow), and arches in the jousting fence.

from this, i gather that the sets were composed by many builders and their ideas. interesting. before i had always imagined a small close knit team of 4-5 people working on an entire theme. or at least 4-5 people working in each stage... theme conceptualization, new element design, set design, etc. with maybe a general art director overseeing the all the stages.

can you say if all LEGO sets are composed this way ??? it seems to me this opens up the opportunity for a loss of cohesiveness within the theme. i'd almost rather prefer that an entire theme envision and executed by one artist. i guess this opinion comes from me being an artist, and not a marketer :-D

- BrickMiner

Edited September 23, 2007 by Brick Miner

[ellerb]

I for one would be very tempted to buy more civilian sets, especially if they are of the same great quality as Daniel Siskind's Blacksmith Shop. And from what I have read and seen in your article, that is definitely the case with the sets you designed!

I would also love to buy more sets in the style of Dan Siskind's shop. Since this set sold well, and is bringing high premiums on ebay, I hope that LEGO will make more sets like this.

hey ben, i'll check out the gateway LUG, thanks for pointing that out... i hadn't known one existed in this area. now, too bad you don't meet closer to the gateway arch... south county is quite far for someone living downtown, who's main transportation is their feet

I more central meeting location easily accessed by public transit (metrolink) would be ideal. It is something that several of the club members are looking into.

from this, i gather that the sets were composed by many builders and their ideas. interesting. before i had always imagined a small close knit team of 4-5 people working on an entire theme. or at least 4-5 people working in each stage... theme conceptualization, new element design, set design, etc. with maybe a general art director overseeing the all the stages.

The building workshop that I participated in was early in the process. Later a smaller group worked on final designs for the sets. Some sets are designed by several people and some by one designer. Many S@H exclusives, like the new UCS Millenium Falcon, are designed by one person.

Ben

[SuvieD]

Is LEGO considering using some of the other sets in the future or will there be a new building session. Also, did you or anyone convince them of anything like battle packs, accessory packs or new animals. I understand you probably can't say much but anything you could talk about would be great.

Thanks for helping the fans, heres to more feedback and a better castle theme in future.

[gylman]

I would also love to buy more sets in the style of Dan Siskind's shop. Since this set sold well, and is bringing high premiums on ebay, I hope that LEGO will make more sets like this.

Ben

Excellent....!

Does TLC look at things like that when considering what they might sell, or even"legendize"? I mean the popularity of a set on eBay or Bricklink? It seems to me they should, to some degree anway.

[Asuka]

Thank you very much for your work and the insight you provided to us. *y*

Like so many others I would love to see more civilian sets too. I always thought that

it could work well as some kind of mixture....

As an example, for the Viking line they could easily

[natelite]

great design ideas. would have love to see some of the sets you guys built made into sets. i like the stable. marketplace and others may be too tame for the kids. but a barrack, stable, guard tower/house, maybe a town center might be a good hit.

i like the modular concept with the castle. would have like expansion packs. :-P the back of the castle looked strangely empty. the throne room is too vulnerable too. :-P will we see expansion packs for afols? kinda like how cafe corner did for city fans, maybe they can start out with a center tower for the castle fans. :-P

i hope they are going to release the conceptual warhammer with the dwarves set! big gigantic ones! if only i can make my WoW paladin with them hammers :-P

[Siegfried]

Thanks for posting that great article. Shame about the pitchforks and cypress trees; I want both and the last time I checked the price of pitchforks on BL is silly. Telling you about what I think makes a good castle would be embarassing, but I will say that I agree with all of the ideas you wanted for the new sets, especially the modularity and avoiding one-piece baseplates.

I love your corner tower. I wish Lego would bring back the old yellow/red and with black printing castle piece as you could achieve a similar effect with little pieces. Your castle stable was very cool as well. I hope that it does make it to S@H, and I hope even more that the skeleton dragon becomes a reality, even if it is made like the new ones.

Thanks also for being such a good Ambassador; from what I read you truly seem to represent what we want.... or at least what I want! :-D Hopefully this is a return to the castle I want, even if it means buying the civilian sets o nS@H.

[Brick Miner]

Shame about the pitchforks and cypress trees; I want both and the last time I checked the price of pitchforks on BL is silly.

ya, pitchforks are expensive, but at least you don't have to worry about spending 12-15 dollars on one that might ship and arrive crooked. i always get the most uneasy feeling when i consider buying a cypress tree from BL :'-(

--------------------------------------------------

as for the metrolink and new location, ben. i'll definitely keep posted to that site you linked, for any news that might bring me closer to coming. i'd love to meet some AFOL in-person, especially ones in my area !!! in the mean time, i'll see if i can arrange coming down soon.

- BM

[Siegfried]

ya, pitchforks are expensive, but at least you don't have to worry about spending 12-15 dollars on one that might ship and arrive crooked.

*sing* *sing* That would be horrid! I don't spend that much on parts normally.... although I did just buy a Fabuland boat hull for a similar price! :-$ How many of those do you have?

Incidentally, I was going though your folder and saw this...

I recieved two black wheels bases with mine but complained and was sent replacements. I tried for a few weeks to ignore it, but that train looks silly with two black wheels! :-|

[Brick Miner]

...Incidentally, I was going though your folder...

acutally, that isn't my BL folder, but i had remember seeing it and decided to use it as reference... i also notice that in hinckley's signature he has a disformed cypress.

in any case, i only have 4 cypress trees (all bought in new condition), but none are prefectly straight >:-(

- BM

[Siegfried]

acutally, that isn't my BL folder, but i had remember seeing it and decided to use it as reference... i also notice that in hinckley's signature he has a disformed cypress.

in any case, i only have 4 cypress trees (all bought in new condition), but none are prefectly straight >:-(

- BM

Oh! That makes more sense. :-$ I didn't think it looked like yours.

[Brick Miner]

ben, it really sounds like you had a lot of input into the preliminary designs... so you know, i have to ask... were you (or any ambassadors) compensated for your ideas ??? or was the trip, and bragging rights :-P your payment ;-)

thanks for answering all the questions !!!

- BM

[ellerb]

I understand you probably can't say much but anything you could talk about would be great.

Sorry, but I can not comment on the future of the castle line.

Does TLC look at things like that when considering what they might sell, or even"legendize"? I mean the popularity of a set on eBay or Bricklink? It seems to me they should, to some degree anway.

I am not sure. Unfortunately some of the last Legends sets were poor choices from a sales perspective. Due to this, LEGO currently is not planning on making more Legends. Of course we know that sets like 6071 and 6060 would sell like hotcakes....

I love your corner tower. I wish Lego would bring back the old yellow/red and with black printing castle piece as you could achieve a similar effect with little pieces. Your castle stable was very cool as well. I hope that it does make it to S@H, and I hope even more that the skeleton dragon becomes a reality, even if it is made like the new ones.

Bringing back the timber frame wall piece would be cool. I always wished that it had been made in white and tan. The real question, which I do not know the answer to, is will the current castle be in stores for several years (like 6080 King's Castle was) or will there be a new castle every year or two? If there are new good guy castles, it would be nice to include a timber structure.

Thanks also for being such a good Ambassador; from what I read you truly seem to represent what we want.... or at least what I want! :-D Hopefully this is a return to the castle I want, even if it means buying the civilian sets on S@H.

I am glad that you are happy with my input. Since I have been active in running Classic-Castle.com for the last four years, I got a good idea of what fans didn't like about KK2 and what they wanted in a new line. Hopefully it has something for everyone (Historic and Fantasy).

ben, it really sounds like you had a lot of input into the preliminary designs... so you know, i have to ask... were you (or any ambassadors) compensated for your ideas ??? or was the trip, and bragging rights

The trips were paid for. Ambassadors work is always voluntary and we are not paid for it. Of course sometimes we are sent a new set to review. That is always nice.

Ben