Why isn't there a thread for the 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle??????

[6129c04]

16 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

€90 over here 

At first glance it would seem you paid 2/3 of the EU catalog price which sounds pretty good generally speaking but when considering the unjustified increase in price compared to 31120 you actually paid 90% of full price (€100) because that is the correct price for 31168. Sad but true.

6 minifigs vs 3 minifigs + 1 skeleton let's say would offset the smaller mass of 31168.

Then the extra instruction pages (which are correlated with the more fleshed out C-model) translate into a bit more time spent building -> time which does tie in with what is generally referred as "the build experience".

^This would somewhat offset the crappier inventory/part selection, 31168 does have less color, the two grays + black + white are more abundant here than in 31120.

So taking everything into account, in the best case scenario, 31168 would be on par with 31120, they do trade blows in various aspects, therefore the asking price should be at best EQUAL.

But TLG's plan/scam worked, they pushed the minifig propaganda to create hype for a set which really does not look like it carries 4 years worth of progress and new parts over the older 31120. Also, instead of the verticality of 31120, they opted for stretching out the set horizontally in order to mask the mass deficit, and instead make it look like it occupies more space horizontally. Finishing off with a 20% price hike they made sure discounts are partially compensated for, therefore ensuring people would get less value than before. Not just less value for the actual set but less potential value for alt builds -> the bane of TLG, they made sure 31168 will be worse for alt builds compared to 31120, meaning people spend less time with the set and feel less satisfied about it in this regard. And we all know that less satisfaction is directly correlated with constant buying of other sets, always hoping for that dopamine rush king.

Numbers don't lie, vote with your wallets guys, if you really must have it, wait for crazy discounts, that's what I do, sometimes it does mean waiting more than a year but it's the only way they'll get the message apart from not buying and switching brands.

[Yoggington]

I understand your complaints, but inflation in the past four years has also been huge. Some examples (from my own country):

General cost of living: Up by 20%

Groceries: Up by 25% (Beef: +43%, Lamb: +33%, Poultry: +24%, Butter: +49%, Eggs: +29% Sugar: +60% Alcohol +20% etc.)

Electricity +52%, Natural gas +95%, Liquid fuels +37%

 

So I can see why a luxury toy could easily jump by 20%.

 

[6129c04]

@Yoggington

The inflation argument is a common trap.

Unfortunately for TLG there is no such thing as "adjusting for inflation" regarding their products.

I can give examples until I wear out my keyboard of sets releasing in 2026 for various price brackets and from various themes which are 100% comparable in content to sets released a few or more years prior, be it 5 or 10 or something in between.

When TLG does obvious price hikes it's not for inflation adjustment it's for IQ tests (to see if the consumers identify or not the increase relative to content and react negatively to the product's price by not buying early or at all), secondary market manipulation (now that they own Bricklink and get a cut of the profit) and most obviously greed (which is of course pathological in the case of a megacorp like this).

I mean the mold/sprue marks on pieces are at best the same size as 30-35 years ago, but honestly they are generally worse. Talk about progress, they haven't managed to keep them the same size let alone decreasing them. Then it's the color inconsistency, clutch power all over the place (some types of pieces have mild grip from the first connection while other types have absolutely brutal grip and make creaking noises), misaligned prints etc.

TLG can't claim increased costs because of inflation when they're cutting corners left and right.

One great example is the despickable hike they've done with 31109 first released at an absolutely fair 100 $/€ then a few years later turning into $120 and €130 for no other reason than greed. They saw the adult consumers were all over it so they knew the money was there thus decided to charge extra (just because they could) even though the set was cheaper to produce than initially, because what parts were initially special or less common now were absolutely ordinary.

[GeoBrick]

2 hours ago, Yoggington said:

I understand your complaints, but inflation in the past four years has also been huge. Some examples (from my own country):

General cost of living: Up by 20%

Groceries: Up by 25% (Beef: +43%, Lamb: +33%, Poultry: +24%, Butter: +49%, Eggs: +29% Sugar: +60% Alcohol +20% etc.)

Electricity +52%, Natural gas +95%, Liquid fuels +37%

 

So I can see why a luxury toy could easily jump by 20%.

 

At least my mortgage hasn't gone up. 🫡

[DonQuixote]

Inflation is a means of the system to keep the rich ,rich and the poor ,poor. 

[GeoBrick]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

Inflation is a means of the system to keep the rich ,rich and the poor ,poor. 

And automatic salary adjustion a way of keeping the managers grumpy. 

[Yoggington]

4 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

At least my mortgage hasn't gone up. 🫡

Had I bought my mortgage four years ago instead of last, it would have worked out several tens of thousands cheaper

 

@6129c04 I don't see how any of your points mean inflation isn't a factor / is a "trap"? Surely it must be. Everything costs more - for us, and for them. Cost of their raw materials both for bricks & packaging, cost for transport, warehousing, even salaries for staff are up about 12% in the same period (at least in my country, I assume similar in Denmark) - if these are all more expensive for them, then the costs will no doubt get pushed onto the customer. 

I am sure they have cut corners too, as part of the general greed & a drive to increase profits, but these things are not mutually exclusive. These can be factors while inflation is also a big driver.

[Hive]

I'm building this set right now. I wasn't really interesting in the set itself as the build seems like a less impressive version of the last Creator castle. But I loved the figs and had to get them. So of course I decided to buy it 2 days before the figures went up on PAB... 

Nothing about the build impresses me. But the figures are great in hand. Really like those.

Not a fan of the brick built horses but I get that it's a Creator set. Though they are clearly bending their own rules for Creator with introducing the large panel pieces, so I wish they had bent the rules and given us molded horses as well. That would have been a huge improvement of the set. That said, the brick built horses are fairly clever.

[Khorne]

On 12/19/2025 at 12:52 AM, DonQuixote said:

€90 over here 

I second the thumbs up emoji. I very much wanted the figures and found the castle itself okay-ish, but I couldn't justify myself spending €120 for figures and a glorified parts pack. The €90 price for Sinterklaas and Christmas made the expenditure a lot more bearable in my mind . Felt more like the "right" price for what I got, whereas €120 felt too expensive for all in all a very basic castle.

I don't have much pro or contra the castle. It's an okay built and the brickbuilt horses are interesting. In the end, it was more about the figs and parts than the build itself anyway (for me).

[6129c04]

@Yoggington

I don't want to derail the thread so apologies beforehand, but I will say the following:

[spoiler]Yes inflation is a thing and no one is immune, not even TLG. However as years go by it is increasingly easier for them to manufacture their sewer pipe toxic waste plastic, even at the same quality.

The labor costs, paying the designers and such is increasingly cheaper because of the increasingly larger backlog of sets -> which constitute a pool of knowledge and potential inspiration for future sets, especially ones with recycled ideas (the dino in 31379 was "designed" in basically one afternoon by modifying the one in 31058, the portion of the set which actually required some effort was the nest). The whole designer cost is something that will soon be irrelevant given that AI will take their place, make no mistake it will happen eventually.

The new parts added yearly make the design process easier than before when designers had to struggle to work with sticks and stones basically. The implied cost of designing new parts is not that significant as TLG now steals from the Chinese knock-off brand which have had some cool parts for years before TLG copied them. If this cost (and also the cost of new molds) would be a thing Chinese brands wouldn't be able to sell sets at much lower price. Also "new" parts which represent the halving or doubling of an existing piece (like going from 37352 to 7126 or from 50950 to 24309) have no special engineering requirements as everything is already accounted for in the original design. So they just halve it or double it without some special additional testing as there is no need for it.

It's not easy identifying inflation creeping up in sets, as it should be a gentle downward trend, where year after year you get progressively less for the same price.

But when it's an obscene abrupt price hike that is in no way because of inflation.

In 2020 the 8-wide SC line debuted at price parity: 20 $/€ for single cars. In 2021 the single cars (except 76902) were increased to 25 €, that's not inflation, 25% after one year? And still same price for US? It's just EU market scalping. Only in 2023 the US price was raised to achieve the new price parity at 25. Then in 2024 another increase at 27. Because they could. And now in 2026 a new threshold at 28 in order to spread out the costs of their unsolicited "Hollywood Champions" sets.

Another example both from 2024, 60431 for 35 $/30 € and 71811 for 50 $/€. If that isn't an IQ test I don't know what is.

71774 from 2022 vs 71822 from 2024 -> reverse inflation pretty much.

Also if inflation were that bad for TLG how are they able to keep things at the same ratio (price to content) after 10 years or so?

31376 & 31377 are comparable to 31029 and 31030.

31160 & 31173 are comparable to 31031 & 31032.

31146 & 31147 are comparable to 31019 & 31021.

60448 & 60486 are comparable to 60053 & 60054.

I could go on and on.

31163 from 2025 has a very good price to content ratio at 25, 31382 from 2026 has a worse price to content ratio at 30 because it has less pieces and slightly less mass than 31163, so even at 25 it would score slightly worse. Does this make sense? Inflation was present in 2025 relative to previous years so why would TLG be generous with 31163 only to be stingy with 31382 a year later???

It seems that big sets, like Ninjago dragons and mechs are getting more expensive than before, admittedly these sets even if cheaper by about 10-15-20 $/€ would still realistically be out of the reach of most children so while some are disguised as playsets they're likely aimed at adults who have more money. So the question now is are these sets getting more expensive because of inflation or because TLG is scalping adult fans? The SC line is clearly not aimed at children, in this case TLG is constantly pushing prices higher because if an adult has 25 to spare for a toy car he surely has 28 as well. 71846 is 20% higher in price compared to 71834 and 71821 (all three have comparable content, except minifig count) simply because it's the most "adult" oriented one.

They are using the adult angle to dupe people like never before, look at 21588, it says 10+ on the box, ahahah what, for that pile of trash? It's mostly classic bricks, plates and a lot of tiles built studs on top and only after that some segments connected sideways, can we compare that to the sideways built stripes on the 31129 tiger which was 9+? Or the acrobatic build for 77237 also 9+? That pile of garbage is really 7+ and overpriced in the EU. The US price is closer to the correct one which should've been 35 for both markets.

TLG got bigger than ever starting with 2020,  it's because of adult fans, they are the reason for higher prices not inflation, the sets aimed at kids are spared most of the time, if adults would drop Lego, then prices would drop as well. Their post-2020 profits are at a completely different level than before. The best Lego sets we would get are if TLG got another close call with bankruptcy, only when they will be forced to put in real effort to keep the business running that's when they will give 100% because their existence would depend on it, that's when we would see microscopic sprue/mold marks, outstanding color consistency and jaw dropping designs made from the heart. But that is behind us, what lies ahead is single-use bio-degradable printed plastic, AI-generated derivative designs and premium prices because "big brand tax".

What we need to always remember is that TLG is always selling at a profit, maybe sometimes just big instead of huge, but even the set with the best price to content ratio is sold for a big profit.

So my verdict remains, even if TLG is not immune to inflation, most price increases are not because of it, but because of the deeper pockets of adult fans.[/spoiler]

@Hive

The large panel pieces are indicative of the cash grab intention and also sabotaging the part selection when it comes to alt builds. Also not a single masonry brick.

The brick-built horses are nicely done and true to Creator spirit. They do look surprisingly good for what they are but obviously most people would've preferred molded horses -> they had no issue putting them in set 31175.

The thing is people most likely have whatever structures/buildings from past sets, but they need more people and animals to populate those structures in order to create a more lively playset or a better looking/more organic display piece. And that is what TLG is furiously gatekeeping, the elements needed to give life to the sea of gray walls. At least for Spaceballs they have the overpriced battlepacks which are a way to get minifigs, droids and guns.

[Yoggington]

You're right in that we shouldn't derail this thread. I don't think we're going to agree about how much of a factor general inflation is on their prices, so we'll just leave it at that.

[DonQuixote]

9 hours ago, Khorne said:

I second the thumbs up emoji. I very much wanted the figures and found the castle itself okay-ish, but I couldn't justify myself spending €120 for figures and a glorified parts pack. The €90 price for Sinterklaas and Christmas made the expenditure a lot more bearable in my mind . Felt more like the "right" price for what I got, whereas €120 felt too expensive for all in all a very basic castle.

I don't have much pro or contra the castle. It's an okay built and the brickbuilt horses are interesting. In the end, it was more about the figs and parts than the build itself anyway (for me).

Yes, I completely agree with you. 

[AmperZand]

On 12/25/2025 at 1:38 PM, Khorne said:

I don't have much pro or contra the castle. It's an okay built and the brickbuilt horses are interesting. In the end, it was more about the figs and parts than the build itself anyway (for me).

Depending on where someone is, the minifigure parts are mostly available on Pick a Brick and the castle/horse parts are available either on PaB or on BrickLink. 

The set is available for 30% off at a couple of retailers in the UK where I'm based. At one of them, I had loyalty points so my cash outlay for the set was less than £40. I then spent another £15 on PaB to add a few minifigures to my Horse Knight and Serpent Knight factions. So my total spend, £55, is half the RRP of the set of £110. My point is that with patience - and yes, some luck - it's possible to get Lego for reasonable prices.