2025 Castle [wishlist/speculation]

[Triceron]

On 6/1/2025 at 6:52 PM, hikouki said:

So, Krakens I feel is a very unique sub theme - mostly Castles, but part-Vikings and part-Pirates.

What unique sub themes would you want Lego to explore? What's on your wishlist?

For me, I have two:

One is a desert-based faction. I think Snake would have been a good faction for this!

Second is an Eastern-based group. Could be Oriental-inspired (Japanese/ Chinese/ maybe even Russian).

I've had lots of ideas.

I'd like to see a Bear-totem barbaric faction, like berserkers and runed-axe wielders wearing furs or animal skins.  I want them to ride giant grizzly bears into battle!  A bit of inspiration from the wodewose (wildman) from medieval lore and arthurian legend.  They wouldn't have a traditional emblem.  Their faction symbol could be more tribal like large claw marks in a crude runic sigil.

I'd also like to see a faction of Adventuring knights.  Treasure hunters, bounty seekers, Relic Hunters.  They'd be like the Grail Knights of Arthurian legend, Noblemen and common folk banded as brothers seeking magical artifacts and ancient lore.  This could tie into a broader Lego history, where many of their 'artifacts' are parts from long lost Lego themes, like Atlantis or Time Twisters.  Some knights could even be distant relatives of some Adventurers characters.

And I really double on the Desert-Snake faction.  We could really use one for Castle.

Edited June 6 by Triceron

[hikouki]

36 minutes ago, Triceron said:

I've had lots of ideas.

I'd like to see a Bear-totem barbaric faction, like berserkers and runed-axe wielders wearing furs or animal skins.  I want them to ride giant grizzly bears into battle!  A bit of inspiration from the wodewose (wildman) from medieval lore and arthurian legend.  They wouldn't have a traditional emblem.  Their faction symbol could be more tribal like large claw marks in a crude runic sigil.

I'd also like to see a faction of Adventuring knights.  Treasure hunters, bounty seekers, Relic Hunters.  They'd be like the Grail Knights of Arthurian legend, Noblemen and common folk banded as brothers seeking magical artifacts and ancient lore.  This could tie into a broader Lego history, where many of their 'artifacts' are parts from long lost Lego themes, like Atlantis or Time Twisters.  Some knights could even be distant relatives of some Adventurers characters.

And I really double on the Desert-Snake faction.  We could really use one for Castle.

Love the idea of a barbaric faction! Were you thinking of a clan/ faction that lived prior to the Medieval times?

[Triceron]

49 minutes ago, hikouki said:

Love the idea of a barbaric faction! Were you thinking of a clan/ faction that lived prior to the Medieval times?

Probably more like a fantastical version of the tribal barbarians from the 13th Warrior.  Sorta like barbaric tribes of Roman times that survived into Medieval era.

[Khargeust]

New pictures showing new angles for set 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle are online. Lifestyle photos & video are available too.

[TeriXeri]

4 hours ago, Khargeust said:

New pictures showing new angles for set 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle are online. Lifestyle photos & video are available too.

Actually quite large, especially when folded open, and the windmill variant of the build looks better then the one from 31120 tbh, especially as it can close up and be it's own little fort.

Looks like some sections can be moved independantly and changed further , within the builds as well, via those clip hinges.

As a 3-in-1 set, this is closer to the 80s Castle "system" , and architecturally as well, with those 45 degree corner panels etc.

For a playset with limits , I think they did a great job with all 3 builds by leaving out larger tree or rockwork, in this case, more focus on wall sections.

Edited June 7 by TeriXeri

[DaleDVM]

Thanks for the heads up on the new photos.  The 3 in 1 castle is pretty nice.  The alternate builds look great as well.  

I am in it mostly for the new faction parts... torsos, legs, shields.  But the set being a nice design will help it sell better among the general populace.  

I agree with Teri.  While I do a lot of rockwork and foliage on my MOC's because it adds a huge amount of realism to the overall look of a scene, LEGO terrain only eats into a playsets part count making the rest of the build less...  Not only that, the TLG can't really devote enough parts to terrain to make it look really good.  So, you end up with blocky rocks, overly steep ramps, and barely there trees.  Just my opinion of course.

 

[Doddsino]

The good thing about 31168 to me is that it'll be saving me some money by not buying it.

 

I love the Minifigures, but everything else ESPECIALLY the decision to build the horses is a major pass for me.

[Blazej_Holen]

18 hours ago, Doddsino said:

The good thing about 31168 to me is that it'll be saving me some money by not buying it.

 

I love the Minifigures, but everything else ESPECIALLY the decision to build the horses is a major pass for me.

Thats Creator… ;)

I think that the set is a great parts pack for those who builds… The structure itself is meh, for me the horses are also not usable but the bricks are most welcomed. And figs are great. 

Edited June 10 by Blazej_Holen

[Doddsino]

2 hours ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Thats Creator… ;)

I think that the set is a vreat parts pack for those who builds… The steucture itself is meh, for me the horses are also not usable but the bricks are most welcomed. And figs are great. 

Ha, yeah I know. But I'm a sucker for any castle sets, but that was a sticking point for me. Unless I'm looking for specific pieces, I'm probably going to make purchases exclusively for the set itself.

[SpacePolice89]

If I buy the Horse Knight Castle I'll immediately replace the brick built horses with normal Lego horses. Especially if ordering from Lego directly it's easy to add a couple of horses from pick a brick. I prefer the old style of horse so I might use them instead if I buy the set.

[Triceron]

I have more than enough classic horses to spare.  I just wish they would make an updated white horse (with reins, not the one from the one marvel set)  and black horse so we can get more variety than just the reddish brown and tan ones.

[Blazej_Holen]

29 minutes ago, Triceron said:

I have more than enough classic horses to spare.  I just wish they would make an updated white horse (with reins, not the one from the one marvel set)  and black horse so we can get more variety than just the reddish brown and tan ones.

Yeah, mee too. I am curious, why they didnt put the white horse form Tri-Wizards tournament: Arrival in PAB. I know that there is a licence, but not for the common pieces right? If they can put the white horse from Marvel in PAB...

[Cyprinus]

2 hours ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Yeah, mee too. I am curious, why they didnt put the white horse form Tri-Wizards tournament: Arrival in PAB. I know that there is a licence, but not for the common pieces right? If they can put the white horse from Marvel in PAB...

They didn't because 3-in-1 sets in principle don't use moulded animals (stuff like frogs aside). The unicorn castle has them, but in place of actual minifigs. Would you prefer moulded horses and brick-built knights?

[Yperio_Bricks]

It's 2025 and brickbuild horses in a set with minifigs are so very out of place, it's farcical 

[Blazej_Holen]

2 hours ago, Cyprinus said:

They didn't because 3-in-1 sets in principle don't use moulded animals (stuff like frogs aside). The unicorn castle has them, but in place of actual minifigs. Would you prefer moulded horses and brick-built knights?

I was talking about PAB and white horse from HP set. Read it again :)

[GeoBrick]

4 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

It's 2025 and brickbuild horses in a set with minifigs are so very out of place, it's farcical 

Its a matter of company policy. Get into corporate and change things from within? 

[Cyprinus]

On 6/10/2025 at 3:30 PM, Blazej_Holen said:

I was talking about PAB and white horse from HP set. Read it again :)

Ah, sorry about - clearly wasn't fully awake when posting ;)

 

[SpacePolice89]

On 6/10/2025 at 2:39 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

It's 2025 and brickbuild horses in a set with minifigs are so very out of place, it's farcical 

I agree. Especially with the new horse being in production since 2012 and molded horses available since 1984.

[TeriXeri]

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)

 

Edited June 12 by TeriXeri

[Black Falcon]

3 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

(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)

Yeah, the saddle retired last year - I ordered some of them (and some white horses) when they reduced it´s price to sell it off. 

What I still don´t understand, why they don´t use the dark brown horse for any sets, since they keep it in production anyways and you also can order it on PAB.

[Yperio_Bricks]

One would think that putting horses in a set with knights, or a medieval set like the town square, is a no-brainer. You could add horses to many sets because they will make any set better! So I came to the conclusion that lego do not want their customers to have the best playing experience, instead hey want their customers to buy horses for 6 kriffin' euros at PAB. I mean, 6€ for a small plastic horse wtf? A printed chicken costs 2,45€, the cow 7,50€  What the hell is going on? Lego really must have a lot of problems producing these animals and a whole team of expensive rocket science engineers is working on them, right? Right?

Edited June 12 by Yperio_Bricks

[DonQuixote]

7 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

One would think that putting horses in a set with knights, or a medieval set like the town square, is a no-brainer. You could add horses to many sets because they will make any set better! So I came to the conclusion that lego do not want their customers to have the best playing experience, instead hey want their customers to buy horses for 6 kriffin' euros at PAB. I mean, 6€ for a small plastic horse wtf? A printed chicken costs 2,45€, the cow 7,50€  What the hell is going on? Lego really must have a lot of problems producing these animals and a whole team of expensive rocket science engineers is working on them, right? Right?

6055 prisoner convoy from 1985 had even 5 horses. And it was a smaller set. I think there is no other set with such an amount of horses.

[Blazej_Holen]

“So I came to the conclusion that lego do not want their customers to have the best playing experience…”

Sometimes (infact mostly) I think that too… :/

[Roebuck]

16 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

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.

That is probably a part of it since previously we would get normal horses in sets like that, like Paradisa and Town. More important:

16 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

There used to be tons of small sets with 1-2 horses

is probably that we do not have a Castle, Western or other theme that require a lot of horses. 

13 hours ago, Black Falcon said:

What I still don´t understand, why they don´t use the dark brown horse for any sets, since they keep it in production anyways and you also can order it on PAB.

It's strange indeed, but they have one in this odd set that never retire:

Maybe they made a lot in 2012-2013 and then suddenly had no sets to use it in after Castle, LOTR, Lone ranger was shut down
 

17 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

now there was just 1 with the Blacksmith ,and 2 with the Lion Castle, but 0 in Town Square for some reason....

12 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

One would think that putting horses in a set with knights, or a medieval set like the town square, is a no-brainer. You could add horses to many sets because they will make any set better! So I came to the conclusion that lego do not want their customers to have the best playing experience, instead hey want their customers to buy horses for 6 kriffin' euros at PAB. I mean, 6€ for a small plastic horse wtf? A printed chicken costs 2,45€, the cow 7,50€  What the hell is going on? Lego really must have a lot of problems producing these animals and a whole team of expensive rocket science engineers is working on them, right? Right?

It is plain greed with the animals prices these days, Lego knows we love them so they make us bleed for them Lego really did miss the mark with the Town square and cut the budget so bad they could not even include a horse in the set

5 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

6055 prisoner convoy from 1985 had even 5 horses. And it was a smaller set. I think there is no other set with such an amount of horses.

No that is the first place, not even the flagship castle sets of that time had more than 4 It's more realistic that carriages are pulled by 4 horses then 1 like here:

However Lego could apparently still include a lot of horses in a smaller set even if it probably is not very likely and there would have to be a "need" for them in the set like this one with the deer:

[MAB]

2 hours ago, Roebuck said:

No that is the first place, not even the flagship castle sets of that time had more than 4 It's more realistic that carriages are pulled by 4 horses then 1 like here:

However Lego could apparently still include a lot of horses in a smaller set even if it probably is not very likely and there would have to be a "need" for them in the set like this one with the deer:

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.

Edited June 13 by MAB