BrickJagger

Future Castle Sets?

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Certified Stores are not proper LEGO stores. As they don't give out VIP points and similar promotions they are allowed to discount sets if they want to so that they can have similar rebates that LEGO offers through its own stores. LEGO (over)prices exclusives to take into account things like double VIP points that is currently going on.

 

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14 hours ago, zoth33 said:

The new Harry potter chess set has some great swords and helms in new colors and here's to hoping with all these new recolors that we will get an actual castle theme someday with even more recolors and parts.  I really want the new sword in a different color.  Hope to see pics soon of the 3in1 set soon.  

I'm really excited for that set, if I can buy it on discount I'm going to get a couple. Otherwise I'll just buy the helmets and swords separately. I'm most excited for the black helmets for a diversified new Black Falcon army (really didn't want to use silver or grey since it doesn't differentiate from my Kingdoms factions as much).

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5 hours ago, Lego David said:

I just checked my local LEGO Certified Store's website, and I was very surprised to see that the Blacksmith Shop was being sold for 20% off. That's very unusual, especially for a large D2C set that only recently come out, so I am wondering... is the Blacksmith Shop not selling very well? Otherwise, I see no reason why a big set like it would be given on discount. If this set fails to bring in the profits LEGO wants, I very much fear we might not get anymore new Castle-related sets at all in the near future.

I think it's not uncommon to see 10-15%  off IDEAS after a while once they aren't exclusive to LEGO.com anymore, same thing happened to Barracuda Bay, but I never really have seen huge discounts on those sets either.

2 LEGO specific webshops in my country have the blacksmith 15% off as a preorder promo right now, with the date stating May 1st, so it's probably planned all along by LEGO to have secondary stores sell those after a couple of months, but it's not as widely sold as a regular set.

That said, even with 15% off, the set is only €5 cheaper then the "regular" retail price in Germany , somehow the set is €169,99 here instead of €149,99 :shrug_confused:

Edited by TeriXeri

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9 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Harry Potter sets do almost bring back the Castle vibes for me, but I'm not interested in the theme/figs at all.

I can see how an expandable Hogwarts is probably more collectible compared to a 80s style wall section pack, even moreso with being helped by a series of books/movies and named characters for a collector's audience, but personally I do hope the Blacksmith Shop and 3-in-1 Castles sell high enough to signal the want for more unlicensed Castle type sets as well.

Also Hogwarts being traditionally Tan walled with Sandgreen roofs, and enclosed towers, would still be different from more traditional Grey/Blue or Grey/Red or even Black/Red Castle sets.

I'm definitely all for the idea of modular castles that can be rearranged both vertically and horizontally, and was extremely passionate about the Harry Potter books, movies, and LEGO sets as a kid. But in light of J.K. Rowling's vocal animosity towards the rights and dignity of transgender people like me, I can't really enjoy any of those forms of the series the way I used to.

I personally feel that tan is a great color for stone walls in medieval or fantasy settings — there are loads of great examples in the Elves theme, which I thoroughly enjoyed! And by contrast, traditional black or grey castles often strike me as cold, sterile, and even a little tiresome. That said, I unfortunately doubt we'd see any non-licensed castles with tan walls while the Harry Potter theme remains active. :sad:

Some other features Harry Potter sets often feature that I'd love to see in a future castle theme include:

  • Round towers, spires, and parapets (rather than just square or octagonal ones). If you asked me to picture a castle in my head, it would pretty much always have these features, and at this point LEGO has more than enough curved parts to make it happen.
     
  • Lifestyle-oriented features like places to eat, sleep, study, and wash up. I still find it kind of galling that we've practically never seen a castle with a great hall/banquet hall, bedrooms, or a library in a traditional Castle theme! And while bathrooms like we see in Hogwarts would not be authentic to a medieval setting, chamber pots or garderobes would not only be fitting, but would likely appeal to kids who enjoy "potty humor".
     
  • Magical creatures besides just dragons. For example, griffons are an iconic medieval fantasy creature, which would almost certainly be cool enough to draw kids' attention. And unlike, say, unicorns, they don't have any connotations of "girliness" that might be off-putting for kids and adults who are bothered by that sort of thing.
Edited by Aanchir

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I'm definitely going to download the instructions for several of these sets to digitally recreate the best parts in other colors. If we want Castle to really come back, maybe we need to be developing our Ideas or Lego Worldbuilder submissions using design elements that have made it into actual sets.

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5IxrJ20.jpg

I think it’s fair to say Forestmen Fans are the ones getting kicked to the curb here hahaha.  

 

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2 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Lifestyle-oriented features like places to eat, sleep, study, and wash up. I still find it kind of galling that we've practically never seen a castle with a great hall/banquet hall, bedrooms, or a library in a traditional Castle theme! And while bathrooms like we see in Hogwarts would not be authentic to a medieval setting, chamber pots or garderobes would not only be fitting, but would likely appeal to kids who enjoy "potty humor".

I was surprised that the 2 Nexo Knight Castles had actual beds, also the bathtub in Jestro's tower was quite unique, Fortrex also had a lesser kitchen (Chef Eclair bot) and a Round-Table when stationary, and still had extra space for weapon rooms and the usual jail cell.

The Merlok Libary set was nothing more then just 1 book and a small wall/tower however (or the book vault in Jestro's Lair), so no true library,  but in recent years, there also were the Hidden Side School/Castle, which also had books and food areas.

Castles certainly are more then just combat areas, and while Harry Potter obviously leans towards the school/magical rooms aspect, I still would love to see a kitchen/dining area/bed in a traditional in-house Castle set.

2 hours ago, Aanchir said:

 

  • Magical creatures besides just dragons. For example, griffons are an iconic medieval fantasy creature, which would almost certainly be cool enough to draw kids' attention. And unlike, say, unicorns, they don't have any connotations of "girliness" that might be off-putting for kids and adults who are bothered by that sort of thing.

Certainly agree that more Magical Creatures would fit into Castle themes, looking at Warcraft, there have been many Gryphons, Wyverns, Hippogryphs, and many others used as pets or battle/travel mounts. 

(If there's one Licensed Fantasy theme I would not be opposed to, it'd be Warcraft , but more in the traditional sense, maybe with some of the steampunk, but none of those nearly Sci-Fi type of airships and Mechs, also has a distinct art style between races, factions and worlds)

1 hour ago, eldiano said:

I think it’s fair to say Forestmen Fans are the ones getting kicked to the curb here hahaha.  

Forestmen got some teasers in recent years but that's about it.

cty1218.pngnex107.png

But there's still a chance with Castle in the Forest Bricklink Designer Program : 

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/designer-sets-for-adult-fans-of-lego/215665/The-Castle-in-the-Forest

Edited by TeriXeri

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Ok now that pictures are official, this is just genius with how it can customize from a wall, to a tower set : 

tn_76395_alt5_jpg.jpgtn_76395_alt7_jpg.jpg

If there was something like that in the near future for Generic Castle or even Pirates/Soldiers themed but with 2-4 generic knights or maybe 1 horse, that'd be amazing.

The idea is clearly there, modular, expandable castle design with this Harry Potter wave.

tn_76389_alt8_jpg.jpg

Edited by TeriXeri

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2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Ok now that pictures are official, this is just genius with how it can customize from a wall, to a tower set : 

tn_76395_alt5_jpg.jpgtn_76395_alt7_jpg.jpg

If there was something like that in the near future for Generic Castle or even Pirates/Soldiers themed but with 2-4 generic knights or maybe 1 horse, that'd be amazing.

The idea is clearly there, modular, expandable castle design with this Harry Potter wave.

tn_76389_alt8_jpg.jpg

Yeah just think of the possibilities with this style.  Lego could do something really good with an in-house castle theme and really give us something different color wise like dark blue, dark green, dark red, sand green, nougat, etc.  I really hope I can get some helms from the chess set on B&P if they are on there.  Right now HP, Marvel and Ninjago are giving me some great options for figs, heads, weapons for customization.  HP and Ninjago are giving some great parts too.  I really do hope by 2022 we get word that at least something fantasy or castle is coming.  

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2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

I was surprised that the 2 Nexo Knight Castles had actual beds, also the bathtub in Jestro's tower was quite unique, Fortrex also had a lesser kitchen (Chef Eclair bot) and a Round-Table when stationary, and still had extra space for weapon rooms and the usual jail cell.

The Merlok Libary set was nothing more then just 1 book and a small wall/tower however (or the book vault in Jestro's Lair), so no true library,  but in recent years, there also were the Hidden Side School/Castle, which also had books and food areas. 

Castles certainly are more then just combat areas, and while Harry Potter obviously leans towards the school/magical rooms aspect, I still would love to see a kitchen/dining area/bed in a traditional in-house Castle set.

Sometimes I wonder if the number of lifestyle-oriented features in themes like Nexo Knights compared to "traditional" themes like Castle or Pirates might have something to do with how story- and character-driven they are.

After all, if you show a kid an unnamed knight minifigure and ask them what he does, they'll probably say stuff like "protects the castle" or "has swordfights with other knights" or "rides a horse" or "slays dragons" — you know, the sort of stuff they associate with the job/task/role he's "dressed for". Same as how you'd expect to see a police officer minifig pursuing and capturing criminals, a firefighter minifig fighting fires, or a pirate minifig sailing a ship or searching for buried treasure.

By contrast, giving a character a name and some general personality traits helps to flesh out their identity and lifestyles beyond the job/task/role they happen to be dressed for, and thus helps kids to care more about what their lives are like when they're "off the clock", so to speak.

That's all just sort of a side note, though — suffice to say, I agree that I'd love to see these sorts of features in LEGO castles more often, regardless of whether or not they're part of a story-driven theme. Especially since themes like Elves and Nexo Knights demonstrate really effectively that lifestyle-oriented play features don't have to come at the expense of action-oriented play features like sieges, catapults, ballistas, trap doors, or dungeons!

2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Ok now that pictures are official, this is just genius with how it can customize from a wall, to a tower set :

If there was something like that in the near future for Generic Castle or even Pirates/Soldiers themed but with 2-4 generic knights or maybe 1 horse, that'd be amazing.

The idea is clearly there, modular, expandable castle design with this Harry Potter wave.

Yep! It has a lot in common with the modular style of the early LEGO Harry Potter sets from 2001 and 2002, but a lot more substantial-looking. Many of those early sets suffered from the same issue as a lot of late 90s and early 2000s sets, with more of an emphasis on columns and arches than solid walls, and some of them like Snape's Classroom or the Chamber of Secrets were only meant to be viewed facing the "inside", diorama-style (the outside was messier-looking, and didn't match the overall Hogwarts Castle color scheme or design language very well).

This latest wave is a lot better about this, and I think that helps to prove that it could work in a traditional castle theme without the weaknesses of those gappy, poorly-enclosed early 2000s sets.

Edited by Aanchir

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46 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

Sometimes I wonder if the number of lifestyle-oriented features in themes like Nexo Knights compared to "traditional" themes like Castle or Pirates might have something to do with how story- and character-driven they are.

After all, if you show a kid an unnamed knight minifigure and ask them what he does, they'll probably say stuff like "protects the castle" or "has swordfights with other knights" or "rides a horse" or "slays dragons" — you know, the sort of stuff they associate with the job/task/role he's "dressed for". Same as how you'd expect to see a police officer minifig pursuing and capturing criminals, a firefighter minifig fighting fires, or a pirate minifig sailing a ship or searching for buried treasure.

By contrast, giving a character a name and some general personality traits helps to flesh out their identity and lifestyles beyond the job/task/role they happen to be dressed for, and thus helps kids to care more about what their lives are like when they're "off the clock", so to speak.

That's all just sort of a side note, though — suffice to say, I agree that I'd love to see these sorts of features in LEGO castles more often, regardless of whether or not they're part of a story-driven theme. Especially since themes like Elves and Nexo Knights demonstrate really effectively that lifestyle-oriented play features don't have to come at the expense of action-oriented play features like sieges, catapults, ballistas, trap doors, or dungeons!Yep! It has a lot in common with the modular style of the early LEGO Harry Potter sets from 2001 and 2002, but a lot more substantial-looking. Many of those early sets suffered from the same issue as a lot of late 90s and early 2000s sets, with more of an emphasis on columns and arches than solid walls, and some of them like Snape's Classroom or the Chamber of Secrets were only meant to be viewed facing the "inside", diorama-style (the outside was messier-looking, and didn't match the overall Hogwarts Castle color scheme or design language very well).hThis latest wave is a lot better about this, and I think that helps to prove that it could work in a traditional castle theme without the weaknesses of those gappy, poorly-enclosed early 2000s sets.

That's why I think Ninjago works so well with the different characters being easily relatable to kids.  I think Nexo knights just tried to follow Ninjago to closely and that's why it didn't last.  I mean both shows have a tech savvy girl character and a dark brooding character, and a funny guy.  With Ninjago you can see the characters growing and advancing each season.   I haven't watched the Elves show yet so I have no reference there.   

Legends of Chima was different but seemed to cringey even for kids at times, I mean my son liked the show but some of the characters and plots were bad.  Some of the characters were good and good story arc's.  

Hidden side had some good and bad too.  The 2 main characters could be annoying at times.  The plot of the show was a good idea.  I wish they had expanded to more ghost realms in my opinion.  

Hopefully if they decide to bring castle back and with a show it has some interesting and intriguing characters that keep your attention.  I think that would be the main thing to keep people engaged in the show and the sets with characters that have a realism to them and something in each character that you can't put your finger on yet.  I think developing the characters stories would be key and could lead to some very interesting stories and sets.  I just don't want your basic quirky wizard as always, I want a more complex character with some depth you could get invested in like giving him/her a long lost child or possibly having had to battle a love interest in a war in the past.  Or even make the wizard an ex-knight or something like that.  Or even having a hero that embraces the fact that he/she is the hero revels in the challenge instead of not wanting to be the hero or king/queen.  Just something new would be nice.  You could even have the villain the main character and tell the story from that side would be interesting.  

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Ninja go is cool and all but still, pirates/castles set’s storytelling comes from the actual sets and not the characters, I’m talking about the king’s castle, the pirate ship, the imperial armada, the villagers, etc.  Friends is the same way and that works for them sure, My daughter’s name is Olivia, therefore it makes sense to buy every Olivia themed set, I was at Legoland discovery center and saw the 4d ninjago movie, I’m sure everyone here’s seen it but the focus is on the ninjas and the elements they represent which is cool and all but that’s just superficial stuff, then you get a dungeon/castle dark ride where you save the princess and shoot elf’s, spiders and goblins, it’s a simple dark ride but the castle inspired themed is what sells me.

It makes me wonder why Lego doesn’t release more historic themes, Harry Potter does an amazing job of doing this, you get the characters that are full of lore using the colossal backdrop of Hogwarts that could forever inspire sets for years to come.  

I was inspired by the 2015’s pirates wave of lego group trying to attempt this at least minimally, but they gave up on it of course, the potential would had monumental because I’m sure they could had added more ways of expanding the soldier’s fort and the pirates lair to make bigger sets and they heavily implemented this whenever they decided to completely change up the original Ideas set of the Pirate’s Bay to the Pirates of barracuda bay.... 

I would love to see like you mentioned the Harry Potter modular system of changing your rooms as you see fit, imagine trying to set up the hall to the library and the throne room or dungeon? 

As much as am I looking forward to the 31120, I’m also nervous to see it, 31109 only had 3 mini figures for that price but I get it the focus is just the bricks but in our case our last true castle sets were like 7 years ago, and the medieval blacksmith set only has 2 knights and 2 civilians so we will see, my expectations are super low so I wouldn’t be surprised but kind of goes to show up how we grew up, we invented character names and roles, now they got everything done for them and you can tell, before, all the sets had zero numberings, now they have it all evenly spread out haha

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21 hours ago, Aanchir said:

I'm definitely all for the idea of modular castles that can be rearranged both vertically and horizontally, and was extremely passionate about the Harry Potter books, movies, and LEGO sets as a kid. But in light of J.K. Rowling's vocal animosity towards the rights and dignity of transgender people like me, I can't really enjoy any of those forms of the series the way I used to.

This is an issue I think all trans people of the Harry Potter generation have to grapple with. My personal boycott doesn't extend to Lego, though I obviously completely respect the many like you for whom even the Lego sets are a bridge too far. I stifle my completionist tendencies though, limiting myself to the Castle-related sets - because I see those Castle parts as a useful way of channeling my creativity into projects from a trans voice. In addition, I like to support the modular castle sets specifically because I want to add my voice to the chorus of approval for the style. A modular non-licensed Castle theme is in my opinion the perfect theme.

I completely agree with you - we need more representation for the parts of a castle that don't concern themselves with knights and swordplay, and while I appreciate that devoting the big set in a conventional Castle theme to a great hall might not be too much of a hit with kids, having such a room as the key feature in one of a number of large sets would I think satisfy plenty of AFOLs.

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1 hour ago, Alexandrina said:

I completely agree with you - we need more representation for the parts of a castle that don't concern themselves with knights and swordplay, and while I appreciate that devoting the big set in a conventional Castle theme to a great hall might not be too much of a hit with kids, having such a room as the key feature in one of a number of large sets would I think satisfy plenty of AFOLs.

That's where a modular setup could come into play. On the one hand sets created with the classic view in mind (ramparts, towers, knights, prisonblock, armory, you name it...), and on the other hand the abovementioned Great Hall, Castle's Kitchen, Servants' Quarters, Stables, Lord&Lady's room(s). And to meet both ends, secret passage in and out of the castle for the Lord&Lady's offspring latest tryst interest. :poke:

Edited by GeoBrick

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13 minutes ago, GeoBrick said:

That's where a modular setup could come into play. On the one hand sets created with the classic view in mind (ramparts, towers, knights, prisonblock, armory, you name it...), and on the other hand the abovementioned Great Hall, Castle's Kitchen, Servants' Quarters, Stables, Lord&Lady's room(s). And to meet both ends, secret passage in and out of the castle for the Lord&Lady's offspring latest tryst interest. :poke:

Exactly. I think there's a decent market for a Castle theme that's generally your typical Castle theme with action-oriented sets, with the addition of an annual large-scale modular set which when combined makes a grand castle.

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All great ideas, but for that kind of line of sets to be successful with kids, the castle itself would have to be a named place. That requires at least some kind of story to go along with the sets. I've been suggesting for some time a line of sets that are castle components to add together to get a large castle. The current Hogwarts sets are a good way of going about doing the physical structure. I've also been suggesting Lego return to an idea that didn't get enough of a chance in KKII, the castle faction specific decoration be swappable (Castle of Morcia).

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Here's how Lego can do castle fans a solid: Just, look at the "classic" theme on Lego's website, how much plastic per-dollar that is. Then, imagine that, but just in light and dark bluish grey. Just, pick the part composition of one of these sets, have fewer and the right colors and... Presto. Look at Bricks Bricks Bricks, or Bricks and Animals, or Bricks Bricks Plates, or Creative Building Bricks. Now imagine a  monochrome version. I mean, a dark bluish grey brick bucket with that kind of value per-dollar, I would buy five.

I guess this is an even simpler version of my old-timey notion of classic-themed brick buckets. (I mean you can fill in the details in your mind; imagine a "castle bucket", or an "M-Tron bucket" or whatever; just parts in those colors appropriate to the theme, and a couple minifigs.)

But, forget about themed buckets. Just give me monochrome or restricted-palette buckets. (Reminds me to call and ask about buying some K-boxes of 1x4 bricks.) Sure, I get it; Lego's testing must say that the kids want as many colors as possible available. (Hmm, what did we think when we were kids? I think I'd have enjoyed having high quantities of specific parts/colors.) But, just, they can easily sell these big brick buckets to me now, if there's higher quantity per part/color combination, and fewer colors. Look, many of these colors are great; I just don't want that many in the same box. You can sell me a box of 1,500 lavender bricks; I'll build a lavender castle.

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13 minutes ago, Flak Maniak said:

Here's how Lego can do castle fans a solid: Just, look at the "classic" theme on Lego's website, how much plastic per-dollar that is. Then, imagine that, but just in light and dark bluish grey. Just, pick the part composition of one of these sets, have fewer and the right colors and... Presto. Look at Bricks Bricks Bricks, or Bricks and Animals, or Bricks Bricks Plates, or Creative Building Bricks. Now imagine a  monochrome version. I mean, a dark bluish grey brick bucket with that kind of value per-dollar, I would buy five.

I guess this is an even simpler version of my old-timey notion of classic-themed brick buckets. (I mean you can fill in the details in your mind; imagine a "castle bucket", or an "M-Tron bucket" or whatever; just parts in those colors appropriate to the theme, and a couple minifigs.)

But, forget about themed buckets. Just give me monochrome or restricted-palette buckets. (Reminds me to call and ask about buying some K-boxes of 1x4 bricks.) Sure, I get it; Lego's testing must say that the kids want as many colors as possible available. (Hmm, what did we think when we were kids? I think I'd have enjoyed having high quantities of specific parts/colors.) But, just, they can easily sell these big brick buckets to me now, if there's higher quantity per part/color combination, and fewer colors. Look, many of these colors are great; I just don't want that many in the same box. You can sell me a box of 1,500 lavender bricks; I'll build a lavender castle.

For me personally that do not MOC I would have no interest of such a set. Animals, minifigs and other details are the most important that I miss from the lack of Castle sets not a bunch of grey bricks.. However MOC builders could find them useful, but I assume the sales would be too low for Lego. It is not possible to get grey bricks cheap from Lugbulk, B&P or BL anyway :shrug_oh_well:

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10 hours ago, Flak Maniak said:

Here's how Lego can do castle fans a solid: Just, look at the "classic" theme on Lego's website, how much plastic per-dollar that is. Then, imagine that, but just in light and dark bluish grey. Just, pick the part composition of one of these sets, have fewer and the right colors and... Presto. Look at Bricks Bricks Bricks, or Bricks and Animals, or Bricks Bricks Plates, or Creative Building Bricks. Now imagine a  monochrome version. I mean, a dark bluish grey brick bucket with that kind of value per-dollar, I would buy five. 

I guess this is an even simpler version of my old-timey notion of classic-themed brick buckets. (I mean you can fill in the details in your mind; imagine a "castle bucket", or an "M-Tron bucket" or whatever; just parts in those colors appropriate to the theme, and a couple minifigs.)

But, forget about themed buckets. Just give me monochrome or restricted-palette buckets. (Reminds me to call and ask about buying some K-boxes of 1x4 bricks.) Sure, I get it; Lego's testing must say that the kids want as many colors as possible available. (Hmm, what did we think when we were kids? I think I'd have enjoyed having high quantities of specific parts/colors.) But, just, they can easily sell these big brick buckets to me now, if there's higher quantity per part/color combination, and fewer colors. Look, many of these colors are great; I just don't want that many in the same box. You can sell me a box of 1,500 lavender bricks; I'll build a lavender castle.

I doubt we'd ever see an entirely monochrome bulk brick set like that — even for Castle/historic creations, that would be fairly limiting, since you'd need additional colors for stuff like roofs, trees, roads, hills, waterways/moats, etc. And I think a lot of the Classic theme's appeal is the promise of being able to build lots of different types of subject matter, even from just a single box. But I could definitely see the potential for one that is mostly "earth tones" like shades of grey, brown, tan, green, and blue — sort of like a non-licensed version of the LEGO Minecraft "Crafting Box" sets (21116, 21135, and 21161).

It could potentially have a set name like "Creative Landscaping Bricks", "Creative Environment Bricks", "Creative Nature Bricks", or "Creative World-Building Bricks". That would not only tie it together with other LEGO Classic set names, but also with the sort of eco-conscious societal trends that LEGO has leveraged with other sets like "Plants from Plants" or various jungle- and ocean-related City and Friends product lines.

And like other types of Classic sets, it would be able to have plenty of different example builds on the box to show off its versatility: like, say, a castle, a tree, a pyramid, a brown bear, a mountain, a shipwreck, and an elephant. That way it would resonate with kids with lots of different interests, not just with the historic builders who would benefit greatly from it as a parts pack.

Edited by Aanchir

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1 hour ago, Aanchir said:

I doubt we'd ever see an entirely monochrome bulk brick set like that — even for Castle/historic creations, that would be fairly limiting, since you'd need additional colors for stuff like roofs, trees, roads, hills, waterways/moats, etc. And I think a lot of the Classic theme's appeal is the promise of being able to build lots of different types of subject matter, even from just a single box. But I could definitely see the potential for one that is mostly "earth tones" like shades of grey, brown, tan, green, and blue — sort of like a non-licensed version of the LEGO Minecraft "Crafting Box" sets (21116, 21135, and 21161).

It could potentially have a set name like "Creative Landscaping Bricks", "Creative Environment Bricks", "Creative Nature Bricks", or "Creative World-Building Bricks". That would not only tie it together with other LEGO Classic set names, but also with the sort of eco-conscious societal trends that LEGO has leveraged with other sets like "Plants from Plants" or various jungle- and ocean-related City and Friends product lines.

And like other types of Classic sets, it would be able to have plenty of different example builds on the box to show off its versatility: like, say, a castle, a tree, a pyramid, a brown bear, a mountain, a shipwreck, and an elephant. That way it would resonate with kids with lots of different interests, not just with the historic builders who would benefit greatly from it as a parts pack.

This is honestly such a good idea imo that I'm surprised Lego haven't already thought of it. Even if their internal research isn't solid on a castle theme, they're aware of the existence of the AFOL community - and a well-chosen bulk brick box in the right colours could leverage this community's desperation for good sets and bricks while also appealing to kids who just want some plastic blocks they can click together and don't care a jot about medieval settings.

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1 hour ago, Alexandrina said:

This is honestly such a good idea imo that I'm surprised Lego haven't already thought of it. Even if their internal research isn't solid on a castle theme, they're aware of the existence of the AFOL community - and a well-chosen bulk brick box in the right colours could leverage this community's desperation for good sets and bricks while also appealing to kids who just want some plastic blocks they can click together and don't care a jot about medieval settings.

I figure it's a thing that's probably been thought of but not approved for production yet for some reason or another — maybe LEGO's had a hard time coming up with a version of that concept that tests well with kids. Or maybe sales data for other sources of bulk parts like Pick-A-Brick or the old-school service packs has led LEGO's higher-ups to think only brightly-colored brick assortments would sell. Or maybe they were simply reluctant to release a set like this until they fixed the issue with brown parts being unusually brittle (which was only resolved fairly recently).

One way or another, though, sets like the LEGO Minecraft sets I mentioned above definitely reassure me that kids would buy a set like this under at least SOME circumstances, so I think a non-licensed brick bucket like that could potentially do well with the right design and branding. But I can't really speculate too much more than that without further insights about what's held this sort of concept back in the past.

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Classic theme does have it's "themes" as of recent years ,like eyes, wheels, windows, transparent, lightbricks and such, so I think a themed Classic box could work.

I don't know how succesful those 60th anniversary 2018 Building Bigger Thinking sets were overall, but those were my favorite type of bulk boxes, containing generic minifigs + minifig accesoires and a little bit less of a rainbow compared to Classic.

That said, Castle and Pirate themed builds frequently do appear as the minibuilds examples / instructions.

 

 

Edited by TeriXeri

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You know, for a rumored set that’s supposed to come out June 1st, it’s scary not seeing any more info from this, we have already getting leaks of the upcoming summer sets but the creator set 31120.  LOL oh well 

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30 minutes ago, eldiano said:

You know, for a rumored set that’s supposed to come out June 1st, it’s scary not seeing any more info from this, we have already getting leaks of the upcoming summer sets but the creator set 31120.  LOL oh well 

I agree Creator 3-in-1 is certainly my most anticipated theme remaining for summer pictures, not just the Castle but also the Shuttle, Ferris Wheel and even the Crocodile/Fishbowl could be fun.

On Topic, the 3-in-1 Castle was rumoured to have Black Falcons , makes sense with the prints being used for the Blacksmith, but it makes it wonder if LEGO will go into more factions going forward, maybe 1 faction per release year to keep the requirement of conflict down, and also make prints reuseable, but also keeps the need for side builds like siege vehicles lower. 

I don't think all themes need to turn into action vehicle themes, so sets via IDEAS/3-in-1 having 1 faction is no problem to me, even so, the Pirate captain from the 3-in-1 and IDEAS ships are still different enough to be roleplayed as rivals, etc.

2020 Summer Ninjago changed up the action-vehicle routine however, and I loved the skull journey+dungeon set a lot, probably the closest to a "Castle" set that I own of recent years, and unlike Hidden Side Castle, it's still available for now.

And before I forgot the Hidden Side Castle, it was very short lived (5-6 months?) and didn't even get a Jangbricks or Brickset review :shrug_confused: ( I don't have it either  as I was focusing on the Ninjago Wave instead)

Edited by TeriXeri

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