2025 Castle [wishlist/speculation]

[Roebuck]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

The castle set is a playset and adding another 3 horses to pull the carriage would add to the cost without really adding much to the playability.

I would argue that adding at least another horse in that set would increase the playability instead. I see your point and do not think that every set need to have 4-5 horses included, however since Lego are selling the horses for a lot on PAB it seems they value them higher in budgets when designing sets also. So the designers must really want a horse to include it in a set, during the 80-90ties the horse was apparently much more realistically priced so the designers could include one or more in set if they liked without it eating up a huge part of the budget compared to other parts

[DonQuixote]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

The castle set is a playset and adding another 3 horses to pull the carriage would add to the cost without really adding much to the playability. If anything it makes playing with it harder unless they are rigidly joined together. Whereas the Santa set is primarily a display set so needs more than one reindeer for the effect to work. Quite a few people bought extras to make 9, a bit like the ringwraiths in LOTR.

So why has set 6055 prisoner convoy from 1985 5 horses?

It was a playset so your logic doesn't make sense.

I don't know how to upload a picture of that set here but www.classsic-castle.com has all pictures from retired castles sets from 1978 till 2000

Edited June 13 by DonQuixote

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

I would argue that adding at least another horse in that set would increase the playability instead. I see your point and do not think that every set need to have 4-5 horses included, however since Lego are selling the horses for a lot on PAB it seems they value them higher in budgets when designing sets also.

I think ever since they introduced the most recent horse with moving legs, they appear a lot less , but that could also be because the year they introduced those,  2013 was also the last castle year before a big pause and shift to icons type of sets.

70800 Getaway Glider seems to be the cheapest set with the "modern" horse, at €15, and but that was 11 years ago.

Friends horses have been updated multiple times , I think the most recent version is from 2021, but has no moving legs, LEGO also had a bunch of small horse variants with no moving parts at all, newest being the ponies in 42654 Pony Ranch & Stable , and the unicorns in the 3-in-1 set.

Surprisingly the small pony with 1 stud gap from 2024, is listed at €4,40, and a Friends horse at €8,63  , and both those exact animals are found in the €20 42634 Horse and Pony Trailer set from 2024 (still sold), probably some tradeoff of dual moulding vs moving parts.

Cheapest set with a Friends horse I can see recently would be 43233 Belle's Storytime Horse Carriage from last year at €16. (retired now)

So I think a set with 1 minifig, 1 horse, would be €15-20 minimum.

 

I was really hoping Dreamzzz would have more Castle stuff, as 40657 Dream Village seemed like a promising start, like a minifig variant of a set that reminds me of Elves, but they shifted to some cyber version of evil ancient greek/roman helmeted enemies + brains .

Time will tell how long themes like Dreamzzz or Monkie Kid will get new sets, right now both those themes + Ninjago have quite a disappointing year when it comes to location sets tbh. 

Edited June 13 by TeriXeri

[Black Falcon]

6 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Time will tell how long themes like Dreamzzz or Monkie Kid will get new sets, right now both those themes + Ninjago have quite a disappointing year when it comes to location sets tbh. 

Well as both themes are rumoured to retire, I would guess not that long. Monkie Kid will not get any more Sets at all and Dreamzzz was said to get one wave next year only, so might retire aswell.

[Yperio_Bricks]

8 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

So why has set 6055 prisoner convoy from 1985 5 horses?

It was a playset so your logic doesn't make sense.

I don't know how to upload a picture of that set here but www.classsic-castle.com has all pictures from retired castles sets from 1978 till 2000

Picture from brickset

Back in the day, when building blocks as a mass product were still fresh and innocent and greed had not yet creeped in (I am exaggerating but you get what I mean) they tried to maximize playability, despite the limited parts that the designers had at hand in comparison to what is available nowadays. Of course the heavy prison wagon gets a sufficient number of horses and of course the knight gets its own horse. So it's only logical the set has 5 horses! 

I mean, take this question to the streets and ask 100 people how many horses such a set should have. Most people would say at least three horses, no?

Nowadays all horses would get removed from the set and Lego would add a chain or handcuffs and every minifig must walk 

[TeriXeri]

23 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

 

Back in the day, when building blocks as a mass product were still fresh and innocent and greed had not yet creeped in (I am exaggerating but you get what I mean) they tried to maximize playability, despite the limited parts that the designers had at hand in comparison to what is available nowadays.

Not really exaggerating, there have been more then 50 sets over $80 in just Friends, City and Ninjago in the past 2 years (2024/2025), and even if you take away the AFOL / display / space stuff, that's still easily 30.

LEGO pumping out many,  and large sets , while also cutting shelf time on many, it gets quite silly for some themes. (and yes there are still polybags, and small sets under €50 too)

Imagine if "classic" Pirates or Castle would get like let's say a fraction of those sets a year, actual sets, not display models like buildable knight shields or pirate hats. (And I will never count CMF, Build a Minifig, Pick a Brick, Bricklink Designer Program, or Gift With Purchase/Insider Points as regular sets).

Edited June 13 by TeriXeri

[Black Falcon]

Well, in the end, I guess the Lego Community might also be to blame for this - everywhere when people talk about Sets, they always talk about the price per piece ratio - and of course that is pure speculation - but Lego might want to keep that ratio down by not including to many horses - that has nothing to do with the creator set, though. that one was cleart from the very start not to include moulded horses.

[Yperio_Bricks]

I could go on and on. See the 6021 Jousting Knights. Here it is even more blatant! Just two knights, their two horses and weaponry. A set like this is impossible for Lego nowadays.

And the reason is: Lego does not want people to get a simple set like this. A simple set which already offers some fun playing experience. As kids in the 90s we would often have our knights jousting each other and we would move them slowly towards each other on the floor and I would hope my brothers knight would topple and fall off the horse. Then we would slightly adjust the angle of the shield so the opponents lance would slide off to the side and start the next round.

But Lego only want people to buy the expensive sets like LKC or the Medieval Town Square.

It's the same for many themes. I have to stop now or I get more angry 

picture from brickset

13 minutes ago, Black Falcon said:

Well, in the end, I guess the Lego Community might also be to blame for this - everywhere when people talk about Sets, they always talk about the price per piece ratio - and of course that is pure speculation - but Lego might want to keep that ratio down by not including to many horses - that has nothing to do with the creator set, though. that one was cleart from the very start not to include moulded horses.

Okay, but why molded horses are so expensive in the first place? I want to understand why the production of a small plastic horse in 2025 can be so expensive. I wish we would get an official statement 

Why does the plain white chicken costs 46 cent at PAB while the printed chicken costs 2,45€? Printing the chicken is worth 2 Euros? What are the real costs to print the chicken?

I would like to understand!

Edited June 13 by Yperio_Bricks

[TeriXeri]

46 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

Okay, but why molded horses are so expensive in the first place? I want to understand why the production of a small plastic horse in 2025 can be so expensive. I wish we would get an official statement 

Probably the moving leg parts + the wrap-around bridle printing around the head , horses before 2012 had flat sides and no nose print, and static legs.

2012-2014 also had a lot more themes that would include those, then new horse designs, with Lone Ranger, Lord of the Rings, and Castle still around, and a few smaller sets with a horse found in LEGO Movie or Scooby Doo.

Friends horses don't have the bridle print but are probably even more expensive due to being 1: dual moulded (never had one in hand so I don't know if the "hair" is rubbery like those deer antlers too?) , and 2: each set seems to get a new color combo.

 

46 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

But Lego only want people to buy the expensive sets like LKC or the Medieval Town Square.

I sort of agree, and I really , really hope, things like the recent vote on the Sea Serpent GWP reminds them of good smaller sets are wanted too, instead of purely looking at Icons and Bricklink Designer Program.

Bigger isn't always better. (I love some of the smallest newer City space sets, they feel like their own theme)

 

Edited June 13 by TeriXeri

[DonQuixote]

We should have had the crossed axe torso with the medieval town square. So disappointed it didn't return. 

[Triceron]

11 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

I could go on and on. See the 6021 Jousting Knights. Here it is even more blatant! Just two knights, their two horses and weaponry. A set like this is impossible for Lego nowadays.

And the reason is: Lego does not want people to get a simple set like this. A simple set which already offers some fun playing experience. As kids in the 90s we would often have our knights jousting each other and we would move them slowly towards each other on the floor and I would hope my brothers knight would topple and fall off the horse. Then we would slightly adjust the angle of the shield so the opponents lance would slide off to the side and start the next round.

But Lego only want people to buy the expensive sets like LKC or the Medieval Town Square.

It's the same for many themes. I have to stop now or I get more angry 

picture from brickset

Okay, but why molded horses are so expensive in the first place? I want to understand why the production of a small plastic horse in 2025 can be so expensive. I wish we would get an official statement 

Why does the plain white chicken costs 46 cent at PAB while the printed chicken costs 2,45€? Printing the chicken is worth 2 Euros? What are the real costs to print the chicken?

I would like to understand!

Infrastructure.

Costs of storage.  Costs of transportation.  Costs of materials.  Costs of Molds.  Cost of machinery maintenance.  Supply vs Demand ( why some parts become bestsellers and some not).  Like anything that isn't a bestseller comes from Billund, and those pieces are shared around the world.  So the cost is relative to how those parts can be made available to get to your doorstep vs putting that same piece in a set that you aren't buying from the stores.  Like a simple hat can be $0.50 if mass produced and readily available or if from a $200 set a dingle hat could cost $10.

 

There are numerous factors going into raised costs of individual parts.  I don't think Lego is intentionally gouging the printed chicken market, it's just that they're not being produced in a capacity that makes it affordable for the region.  Kinda like how price of a carrot in different cities can be wildly different based on supply, demand, inflation, standards of living etc.  There's no one answer, and explaining economics is never simple.

Edited June 14 by Triceron

[Yperio_Bricks]

2 hours ago, Triceron said:

Infrastructure.

Costs of storage.  Costs of transportation.  Costs of materials.  Costs of Molds.  Cost of machinery maintenance.  Supply vs Demand ( why some parts become bestsellers and some not).  Like anything that isn't a bestseller comes from Billund, and those pieces are shared around the world.  So the cost is relative to how those parts can be made available to get to your doorstep vs putting that same piece in a set that you aren't buying from the stores.  Like a simple hat can be $0.50 if mass produced and readily available or if from a $200 set a dingle hat could cost $10.

Yes, that's the arguments that usually get repeated in forums and blogs but I am sorry, I don't buy that anymore. Lego is introducing new parts all the time, so there is no problem at all. Even new colors from time to time.

I still remember the interview in which the designer was talking about limited storage containers rofl.

Granted, many of these new parts purely serve the purpose to get them registered so competitors can't use them. Because when you register a part in Europe the part in question is NOT checked at all. [EDIT: The EUIPO checks if the application is formally correct.] Only later at court if a case is opened.

 

Edited June 14 by Yperio_Bricks

[Lion King]

On 6/12/2025 at 8:11 AM, TeriXeri said:

Brickbuild horses only make sense due to it being 3-in-1, however , the parts aren't used in any other major way, 2 of the builds still have 2 horses, 1 even looks unchanged, so regular horses would've worked just fine without major loss of a build.

Tbh, the main factor of lack of horses in recent decade, is that minidoll/princess stuff gets their own style of horses, and are also produced a lot more often.

There used to be tons of small sets with 1-2 horses, now there was just 1 with the Blacksmith ,and 2 with the Lion Castle, but 0 in Town Square for some reason....

(and yes you can order 3 colors of horses via pick a brick at €6 each but the saddle piece looks to be out of production again after 2022/2023 + Mountain Fortress)

 

You think buildable horses make sense? Uniconr says hello….

[Cyprinus]

9 minutes ago, Lion King said:

You think buildable horses make sense? Uniconr says hello…..

Yes, they are moulded - in place of minifigs. An unique exception for a 3-in-1.

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, Lion King said:

You think buildable horses make sense? Uniconr says hello….

I said they would make sense , BUT I am still critical as the parts aren't majorly used in alternate builds.

It's like some of the Dreamzzz sets as well, they call them 2 in 1 but they really have very small changes, like the new paint truck, it basicly just splits the paint section off, without changing much of the build at all. Compared to the small 20 in 1 sets , or the 3 in 1 nightmare witch creatures changing the builds entirely, from a bird to a mech, to a wolf, etc.

Edited June 14 by TeriXeri

[MAB]

On 6/13/2025 at 12:15 PM, DonQuixote said:

So why has set 6055 prisoner convoy from 1985 5 horses?

It was a playset so your logic doesn't make sense.

I don't know how to upload a picture of that set here but www.classsic-castle.com has all pictures from retired castles sets from 1978 till 2000

I stand by my logic that adding further horses to a carriage doesn't add to the playability of the set. They become one object. The playability of a carriage attached to one horse is the same as attached to four.

[Triceron]

5 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

Yes, that's the arguments that usually get repeated in forums and blogs but I am sorry, I don't buy that anymore. Lego is introducing new parts all the time, so there is no problem at all. Even new colors from time to time.

I still remember the interview in which the designer was talking about limited storage containers rofl.

Granted, many of these new parts purely serve the purpose to get them registered so competitors can't use them. Because when you register a part in Europe the part in question is NOT checked at all. [EDIT: The EUIPO checks if the application is formally correct.] Only later at court if a case is opened.

 

Introducing new parts has nothing to do with this though.  Those parts would be used in other sets, abd have their own pricing relative to the volume of production and the cost effectiveness of keeping them in storage during and after production cycles.  Like the bardings in LKC are unique to a single large set and aren't being mass produced at the same scale as Ninjago new molds, thus prices will differ despite using the same plastics and techniques.

You scoff at limited storage containers but each one used to store an out-of-production piece is one that isn't being used by modern sets.  Let's factor how many new molds will need storage vs pieces that get phased out.  Keeping old parts for the minority who demand it is not cost effective, and the buyer pays that price.  Supply and demand is the first thing taught in economics, and this is exactly what this is.

That being said, Lego still has control over that supply and could make bardings dirt cheap if they introduced them into more sets, just the way Black Falcons became cheaper as they appeared in more sets.

Why do they only make a goat of one color in one set and not a dozen?  To get people to buy the one set.  It makes the set less valuable if you could freely PAB that unique piece and bypass the set.  They are a business, and so of course they will control supply and demand as much as they can.  They want people to buy sets over parts.

Edited June 14 by Triceron

[TeriXeri]

29 minutes ago, Triceron said:

Why do they only make a goat of one color in one set and not a dozen?  To get people to buy the one set.  It makes the set less valuable if you could freely PAB that unique piece and bypass the set.  They are a business, and so of course they will control supply and demand as much as they can.  They want people to buy sets over parts.

Yeah , that's pretty much what the whole CMF system is built around, and also the restrictions on licensed parts etc.

Definately is a part of regular themes as well, with the Friends sets basicly getting a new horse color in each set with a horse, or even down to small sets with otters or guinea pigs, being mass-sellers for the animal mainly just being in that set.

Or even recently putting unique colors of like classic space figs in sets, for the people who want to complete those etc, a lot of it is marketing.

That said, doesn't mean that Pirate or Castle fans etc can't be critical in the way the handle things, and currently at least LEGO has introduced 2 new castle factions in the 3-in-1 set (I consider kraken/gryphons more as collector-items for the next years), but for now i'm sceptical , can't really judge things for the near future until we know if there will be followups for sets like LKC , 3-in-1 Pirate Ship, or Blacktron etc. (I just hope LEGO does not decide to just move those classic themes to Bricklink Designer only, buying a set, only to get it months later is no fun, even if they increased production numbers)

Edited June 14 by TeriXeri

[Black Falcon]

1 hour ago, TeriXeri said:

(I just hope LEGO does not decide to just move those classic themes to Bricklink Designer only, buying a set, only to get it months later is no fun, even if they increased production numbers)

I don´t think they will do - though, of course it also depends on how all of those Sets are doing - the Lion Knights Castle seemed to do quite well, but Eldorado, the Renegade and the Medieval Market Square all retired sooner than originally planned - but from the outside it is quite hard to see if they were just selling bad or if they maybe sell good at release, but sales drop a lot after the first few months. 

Eitherway, I don´t think that leaving the sales to BDP is really a thing that would happen - after all, the BDP has a very limited audience and is mainly bought by AFOLs - whereas a normal Set, like the Creator Castle has a much wider range of potential consumers - granted the Retro Sets are more limited themselves, but not nearly comparable to BDP sets.

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, Black Falcon said:

Eitherway, I don´t think that leaving the sales to BDP is really a thing that would happen - after all, the BDP has a very limited audience and is mainly bought by AFOLs - whereas a normal Set, like the Creator Castle has a much wider range of potential consumers - granted the Retro Sets are more limited themselves, but not nearly comparable to BDP sets.

True, I don't think classic themes are going to be AFOL only, looking at 3-in-1 pirate ship lasting 5 years, maybe it'll get a followup pirate set (probably not another ship exactly like that , but a bit different due to the One Piece ship being somewhat similar, could even have different pirates vs  some new style of soldiers/armada or whatever, seeing how horse/serpent knights appeared in Creator too, and the Viking Ship had unique figures as well.

The new 3-in-1 castle isn't even officially released yet, still 2 months to go, but I definately plan to get more then 1 (especially since it looks like it's not exclusive, the last one was in my country) , this one has more figures too, and you can easily make 2 sets into a king and queen couple with those different torsos and crowns, and mix up the knights with those headpieces/faces.

 

Edited June 14 by TeriXeri

[zoth33]

Dustmark Keep was selected for BDP series 8.  Hopefully I can get one when it's up for preorder such a great looking set.  I voted for it,  I wonder if they would be able to change the minifig line up with all the new knights coming out.  

[DonQuixote]

Dustmark Keep has been chosen for BDP 8 !

It will be a great castle for the Snake faction! 

[zoth33]

1 minute ago, DonQuixote said:

Dustmark Keep has been chosen for BDP 8 !

It will be a great castle for the Snake faction! 

The creator said there is a chance that he may change the faction.  

[DonQuixote]

Just now, zoth33 said:

The creator said there is a chance that he may change the faction.  

Really? Is it still possible after the set got selected? 

It would be fantastic if they put Snake knights in this set.

I am definitely going to buy this set as a hardcore castle fan.

[zoth33]

Just now, DonQuixote said:

Really? Is it still possible after the set got selected? 

It would be fantastic if they put Snake knights in this set.

I am definitely going to buy this set as a hardcore castle fan.

The designer said it's a possibility on Reddit.  He was thanking everyone for their support and people asked if he could change the faction and he said it is possible.