71040 The Disney Castle Discussion

[Tech Artist]

Incidentally, for anyone intending to buy two castles in order to place them back to back--do note the castle is asymmetrical...as in it won't work without tremendous effort!

That would be an expensive mistake!

Or, an expensive challenge.

[Alonzo Brickovsky]

This was one of the most enjoyable large builds I've ever done. There was a lot of repetition of small things, but since each one didn't use very many pieces, I didn't mind. There were however many instances where I wanted to high-five Marcos Bessa and the design team, because very creative and satisfying building techniques were used. I found myself saying "Wow, this looks awesome!", many times during the build.

While the Ghostbusters HQ feels a bit small considering it has 4600 pieces (mostly due to the double thick walls), this castle despite having 600 fewer pieces looks far more impressive (which is no small feat, as the GB HQ is massive and looks great). Minifigures shouldn't be a deciding factor when you have a castle that looks this great. It will be frustrating when I put this up on a shelf to display it, as I'll constantly want to take it off again so that I can poke around with the detailed interior. Luckily the castle can conveniently split apart into 3 sections (the main floor/mains walls, the 2-4th floor the tower), making it easier to transport.

A note about the big grey front walls: these are built up of A LOT of pieces and have quite an involved build. Sure the big panel pieces could have been made up of individual bricks, but then the cost would likely go up even more. I never felt like big pieces were being over-used in this set; most of its size comes from the use of regular bricks.

I'm super happy that this set exists. I'm really impressive with it. Love it!

Wow. Your comment hyped me even more than I am now, which is hard to imagine. I love how the Castle looks, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting such an interesting build judging only by pictures.

Can somebody post a picture of the Castle next to GB HQ or some other large D2C?

[Cmay91472]

If someone doesn't by later tonight (ET zone), I'll post one once I get home of the Disney castle and GBHQ side by side.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Cmay91472

[ZO6]

[atomic80]

^^^Wow...the disney castle really is MASSIVE!

[ZO6]

My images don't do a good job of showing it, but the castle is exactly twice the height of the Ghostbusters HQ.

[Aethersprite]

...That's incredible.

It's too bad I don't have the cash (and space!) to shell out on this, but I'm glad Lego made this! Lots of people are gonna love it.

[BrickOCD]

Oh no! Now I want the GBHQ too! And a cat!

That looks awesome. Thanks for posting those pics ZO6. Tinkerbell looks great up there at the top.

[rob-ot5000]

Oh no! Now I want the GBHQ too! And a cat!

LOL! That's easily the best LEGO cat build I've ever seen.

@Z06 - Thanks for the comparison images! That thing looks brilliant!

[Tech Artist]

My images don't do a good job of showing it, but the castle is exactly twice the height of the Ghostbusters HQ.

What was the build time on this castle and level of difficulty?

[KCMatze]

That's 700 Euros and a cat in one picture!

Really nice to see the 2 sets compared, thank you! Makes me want the Ghostbusters set even more, but these are just too expensive I guess. I hope you guys and girls can enjoy your builds :)

[xboxtravis7992]

I was afraid the "force perspective" of the real castle and it's size couldn't have been properly rendered in an official Lego set. Every photo I have seen of it has proved that initial fear wrong. Your two photos showing its height has fully confirmed to me this set is awesome.

[ZO6]

Took about 8-9 hours to build, at a leisurely pace. I like to savour the construction of a big set, but I'm also a perfectionist in that I like to get the LEGO print on the studs facing the same way, hide injection marks on pieces, and square up 1x1 tiles.

Going back to the Ghostbusters HQ, the castle was a more challenging build. In the grand scheme of things though, this would be a medium difficulty. It could be easy to miss adding details here and there, and some sub assemblies can be a bit fiddly. Anyone newer to building Lego kits may have difficulty figuring out how certain pieces and assemblies are suppose to go together. Mainly there are hundreds of smaller pieces that could quickly and sloppily be added. Things will be crooked, but it won't affect stability. A lot of precision is required though if you want everything to look nice and tidy.

[BrickOCD]

Took about 8-9 hours to build, at a leisurely pace. I like to savour the construction of a big set, but I'm also a perfectionist in that I like to get the LEGO print on the studs facing the same way, hide injection marks on pieces, and square up 1x1 tiles.

When you say "Lego print", you don't mean the word lego that's stamped into the top of each piece do you? (If you do - I would very much like you to come and organize my shelves. Maybe even my entire home. You can bring the cat.).

And I agree with ro-bot. Nice build on the cat lol

[ZO6]

When you say "Lego print", you don't mean the word lego that's stamped into the top of each piece do you? (If you do - I would very much like you to come and organize my shelves. Maybe even my entire home. You can bring the cat.).

And I agree with ro-bot. Nice build on the cat lol

Yes, I like to get all the moulded LEGO prints on the top of the studs facing the same way whenever possible. It has become a habit over the years for whatever reason (I guess mainly because I keep my sets built and on display for a long time, so I like them to look as good as I can).

Also, I forgot to mention that I came across an error in the instruction manual while building. On page 360 (step #558), there are two white plates added that don't show up in the part call-out until the next step. Nothing major, but it caused me to do a double-take while building.

[CedBricks]

That castle is a very, very nice set, good job from LEGO once again. Though the weak side of this set is definitively the minifigs, they could have included more exclusive minifigs to such a big set, and of course included more of these

[BrickOCD]

Yes, I like to get all the moulded LEGO prints on the top of the studs facing the same way whenever possible. It has become a habit over the years for whatever reason (I guess mainly because I keep my sets built and on display for a long time, so I like them to look as good as I can).

Also, I forgot to mention that I came across an error in the instruction manual while building. On page 360 (step #558), there are two white plates added that don't show up in the part call-out until the next step. Nothing major, but it caused me to do a double-take while building.

I don't know where to start. A big thanks for the tip on page 360 is a good place I guess. Thank you. But now I'm looking at all my Lego sets thinking - Should i really reassemble all of them because the Lego print is askew? (Yes -I checked - all kinds of askewed!). My castle gets here tomorrow - could start on that one and work my way backwards. The TB is half way built now, it could be taken apart and made perfect. Or I could just admit there is someone on the planet who is more anal than myself and settle with it. But I think we both know that's not gonna happen. Why did you do this to me? Whyyyyyyyy!

The Tumbler is gonna be a nightmare.

[CM4Sci]

Appaaaaaarently...

Early VIP Access is cancelled and they'll be doing the normal full release on September 1st to keep up with stock.

[PicnicBasketSam]

Well THAT'S bogus. So are they delaying orders until early September, or what?

Also, what do I care, I'm not a VIP nor do I have money.

[Actor Builder]

That picture...Makes it a Catsle, right?

[sunhuntin]

That picture...Makes it a Catsle, right?

Ba-doom tish!

I am hopefully going to work a deal with a local who has two coming. fingers crossed he will let me pay it off over a few weeks, but if not, will figure a way around it.

[Agent 86]

Yes, I like to get all the moulded LEGO prints on the top of the studs facing the same way whenever possible.

Wow. I thought I was the only person to do that. I also like to hide the injection marks / flashing. I still haven't discovered a great way to square up / align 1 X 1 tiles though.

[blackie]

When you say "Lego print", you don't mean the word lego that's stamped into the top of each piece do you? (If you do - I would very much like you to come and organize my shelves. Maybe even my entire home. You can bring the cat.).

And I agree with ro-bot. Nice build on the cat lol

This thread is getting better and better :)

[x105Black]

Thanks for the pictures. They look great together, and I definitely get a good sense of scale. Cute cat, too.

[0tter]

Yes, I like to get all the moulded LEGO prints on the top of the studs facing the same way whenever possible. It has become a habit over the years for whatever reason (I guess mainly because I keep my sets built and on display for a long time, so I like them to look as good as I can).

Yay... it's not just me.

Has there been any word of upcoming promotional products on Shop at Home? I'm ready to pull the trigger on this one, but have no use for the Police Chase Race product that is currently acompanying purchases (at least, in Australia). And I would kick myself if there was an actual Disney polybag or something available next/later. Maybe when the castle is available to everyone?