ShrikeArghast Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 Why doesn't Lego ever mix up their stock castle designs a bit? Over the past two decades, we've basically seen variations on two themes: 1) a castle built on a baseplate, or 2) a castle with hinged or connected walls that can be opened up. Something that they've never seriously attempted is a castle on a smaller footprint that's a bit taller. You know, sort of a wizard's tower, or compact, high keep. Even something like this, even though it's constructed on a standard castle plate, has a much taller keep than we're used to seeing. I've really wanted to get back into Castle sets for a while, and have wanted to start off by buying a large flagship set, but was hoping for something a little more unique than the typical fare. I realize that there isn't going to be a new castle in 2014, but '15 seems likely. What do you think are the chances Lego changes things up? Quote
ManInATopHat Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 I think the main reason we've never seen a more "realistic" keep style castle is basically because of the playability factor. Let's face it, younger kids want a castle with lots of features and easy access. They want a castle that looks cool, with lots of fun features. I definitely agree that tower castles are nicer, but they subtract from the playability. I kind of am surprised that Lego hasn't found a way to throw a curveball and change it up a bit, but alas, perhaps we can expect a special castle keep or a Cuusoo project in the future. Quote
jodawill Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 It'd be awesome if they released a giant, Lego exclusive castle that's like four stories tall all the way around with tons of details. I could see that happening. Quote
SirBlake Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 I think this is a great idea. It would be really fun to have a large vertical tower/keep. Maybe with the ability to connect other Kingdoms/Castle walls. Quote
Artanis I Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 They should make a really tall tower with detailed exterior & interior, have an open back so that the interior & any play features are accessible, and add a giant tree-man thing to attack it. Do it all in black. I would buy that. Quote
ShrikeArghast Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) They should make a really tall tower with detailed exterior & interior, have an open back so that the interior & any play features are accessible, and add a giant tree-man thing to attack it. Do it all in black. I would buy that. Yeah, but Orthanc is really just a tower. I was talking about a more vertically-oriented fantasy style castle. Something like this but less elaborate. Edited March 3, 2014 by ShrikeArghast Quote
Artanis I Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 I was talking about a more vertically-oriented fantasy style castle. I think the main limitation is that it would be too expensive to get height without compromising stability. The castle sets that went for many levels didn't turn out so well. The ones we got last decade & the Fright Knights castle were a step in that direction but were very insubstantial, and/or <insert that tiresome argument>. I think TLG could do something more vertical that is dolid enough, but it probably wouldn't look as good as the style they can currently get away with (unless it costs a fortune). Maybe? Quote
The_Cook Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 The Night Lords castle is the closest that there is to a tall tower. You might also want to look at the Vampyre Castle from the recent Monster Fighters theme. As mentioned before by previous posters in relative terms it is a lot easier to play with a castle that opens up or has access from the top than it is to play with tiny little rooms stacked on top of each other. Ultimately the Castle line is a play theme so it needs to be playable, even the D2C castle sets (both pure castle and the LOTR) have always been playable rather than purely display items. Quote
ShrikeArghast Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Couldn't a vertical castle feature an open rear for access to interior scenes, or a dollhouse-style split opening with hinges? As a former child and current manchild, I fail to see how the present castles feature enhanced playability. To be honest, the reduced realism that current castles embody (as opposed to the more believable baseplate-founded castles of yore) would seem to me to be a step in the wrong direction. The most 'playable' castles I ever owned were either King's Mountain Fortress or Black Knight's Castle, neither of which could open or be rearranged. Flexibility ≠playability. Edited March 3, 2014 by ShrikeArghast Quote
The_Cook Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 It's based on the premise that it's easier to place minifigs into a flat open castle from above than it is to squeeze hands through small openings in tall tower rooms. Personally I've always found it harder to place Minifigs into rooms than to place them on open battlements or into the central square of a 6080; your mileage may vary. Lego do lots of studies with kids to see how they play with potential sets, if tall castles were getting the kids excited then we'd see more. Quote
Skalldyr Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 You might also want to look at the Vampyre Castle from the recent Monster Fighters theme. Yes, it has a little bit of fantasy-style, is pretty vertical, with open back and with hinges. Just throw in some castle figures remove the car and your done! http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Vampyre-Castle-9468 Quote
LEGO Historian Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) How about the ultimate vertical castle.... circa 1980 glued display model... Edited March 5, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
The_Cook Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 How about the ultimate vertical castle.... Ooooh, yellow! Quote
fhomess Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 On that yellow castle... the front left castle has some crennellations that have a jumper plate with some other part on top of it. What part is that? It almost looks like a steering wheel base without the black wheel. Also, there seems to be a headless puker in the main hallway! Quote
Artanis I Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 On that yellow castle... the front left castle has some crennellations that have a jumper plate with some other part on top of it. What part is that? It almost looks like a steering wheel base without the black wheel. I think that it actually is the steering wheel part with the wheel pulled off. No jumper. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted March 8, 2014 Posted March 8, 2014 Good eyes... I hadn't noticed that... back in that era there weren't as many SNOT techniques used in LEGO display models (and virtually none in LEGO sets)... One thing I noticed was the minifig in the small house at the base of the castle... it had that very rare minifig white pigtail hairpiece... $$$ http://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=x103&colorID=1 Sigh... somewhere I have 2 of these sitting at the bottom of a super huge lot of unsorted LEGO! Quote
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