LEGO IDEAS - The Medieval Blacksmith

[Grover]

I bought mine at 12:01 opening day and it still hasn't shipped.

[Aurore]

6 hours ago, Grover said:

bought mine at 12:01 opening day and it still hasn't shipped.

Shipping and delivery seems to be quicker in Europe then, as mine is also going to be delivered today! 

[GeoBrick]

Mine was delivered yesterday at the pickup point. Preparing to collect it as we speak.

[Dutch Thriceman]

I just picked mine up from the pickup point, other then the fact that Lego is using a shady delivery company (I was waiting at home yesterday in front of the window all morning only to receive a message "were sorry you weren't home" yeah right), I am so happy that we finally got something Medieval / Historical themed again and sincerely hope it does really well and convices Lego to release more Castle/Historical sets again after the long drought.

[leafan]

Mine came this morning after I ordered it in the wee small hours of 1st February.

[thekeeperofthereaper]

mine did arrive this morning but sadly the other set it came with 40463 easter bunny  was pretty beat up and damaged

so ill have to contact lego and ask can i get a replacement

 

[Friscorays]

Were the pieces damaged or is the box for a small GWP really that collectible?  I generally recycle the paper / cardboard and toss the plastic bags in the trash.

[Niku]

12 hours ago, Grover said:

I bought mine at 12:01 opening day and it still hasn't shipped.

Good for the we will get the set "eventually" part.
First day too also trying to buy it but it is out of stock.

6 hours ago, Aurore said:

Shipping and delivery seems to be quicker in Europe then, as mine is also going to be delivered today! 

I certainly seen that tendency.
From what I been looking on internet, seems the set selled very very well.

[AViewToALego]

Let me just say three words: I LOVE IT!

[Jamsplat]

Was meant to be getting mine delivered today but it appears to have been stolen out of the box! Only the GWP's and another small set arrived, and the package was 2 kg lighter than it should have been.

So frustrated right now!

[Friscorays]

What did the packing slip in the box say Jamsplat?  Sometimes Lego will ship partial orders.

[Jamsplat]

2 minutes ago, Friscorays said:

What did the packing slip in the box say Jamsplat?  Sometimes Lego will ship partial orders.

There wasn't one! That also seems incredibly fishy to me. Everything I can see on the website suggests it was all shipped together.

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Jamsplat
Unfinished

[Grover]

1 hour ago, Niku said:

Good for the we will get the set "eventually" part.

Yeah, I thought about it after seeing it, and decided I'd eventually want one, but after all the backorders and massive delays (they still don't have the Cantina back in stock since September!), I figured if I wanted to build it this year I better order it day one!

8 hours ago, Aurore said:

Shipping and delivery seems to be quicker in Europe then, as mine is also going to be delivered today! 

Awesome!  Enjoy!

[Aurore]

1 hour ago, Grover said:

Awesome!  Enjoy!

It's there!
First thought : what a beautiful box!
Second thought : wait, why did they cropped the roof like that on the instruction booklet??
Third thought : where is that very Mitgardian-looking horsie?

Edited February 5, 2021 by Aurore
typo

[BrickJagger]

Just got mine in the mail today! Looking forward to building it 

 

[Alexandrina]

Mine arrived today, along with a few smaller sets and the GWPs. It's gone straight to the back of my wardrobe until I can clear my backlog - if I set myself the precedent for skipping sets up in the order, I'll probably still have the Herbology Moments set in a sealed box waiting for me to get to it when I'm eighty! If I hide the Blacksmith, I won't be tempted.

It is a gorgeous looking set, mind. The black packaging definitely suits it, imo.

[GeoBrick]

Started the set from the last bag. 
That's the Falcon Knights en their wagon. It's deep enough to MOC it into a prisoner transport.

Love the interior of the room underneath the roof. The roof itself has a plate foundation with the 'shields' stacked upon it.
Not convinced with the roof removal part though, If you hold the room on an angle, it may fall out if you're not careful. But it does look gorgeous.

The apple tree is quite the intensive build. Amazing how the designers keep coming up with ways to build trees.

[Niku]

2 hours ago, Grover said:

Yeah, I thought about it after seeing it, and decided I'd eventually want one, but after all the backorders and massive delays (they still don't have the Cantina back in stock since September!), I figured if I wanted to build it this year I better order it day one!

Awesome!  Enjoy!

I should have followed the same course.

Everyone that has received enjoy it, share pics and thoughts.

[Dutch Thriceman]

16 hours ago, Niku said:

Good for the we will get the set "eventually" part.
First day too also trying to buy it but it is out of stock.

I certainly seen that tendency.
From what I been looking on internet, seems the set selled very very well.

I'm sorry it is out of stock for you but at the same time happy it is doing well as it'll hopefully send a bit of a message to Lego. I was on the fence of buying one as the price is quite steep for me, but this was a set I simply Had to support.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Dutch Thriceman

[Mikado]

Mine arrived in my city thursday, tracking now says error, customs, returned. Guess I have to wait until monday and contact Lego. Really dissapointed in dpd. 

[Roebuck]

6 hours ago, Mikado said:

Really dissapointed in dpd.

Usually it is postnord that takes over the shipping when it comes to Norway and they are not to be trusted in my experience

[Shiva]

No clue about the Norwegian PostNord, but the Swedish one has been quite good so far. Rather had a slow delivery on some Norwegian carrier.

[Pulp Detective]

Mine must be arriving this Monday,can't wait!

[Aanchir]

Jay's Brick Blog has posted an interview with set designer Wes Talbott, graphic designer Austin Carlson, and Ideas design manager Samuel Johnson about the Medieval Blacksmith set! One particularly interesting tidbit is that some of Wes's decisions about the scale and the foundation design began by thinking about what would be most conducive to potential follow-up sets in this style, as well as MOCs created by fans to accompany this build. For example, he opted for a curvy "vignette style" base rather than a square or rectangular one because of the way that medieval towns don't tend to be planned in an orderly grid like more modern cities.

Apparently, representatives of several other fansites got to ask questions of their own as part of this virtual roundtable discussion, although they haven't yet posted the answers on their respective sites. So that's something else for all of us to look forward to!

[Wolfpack Renegade]

I purchased this right about the second it became available at midnight on 2/2 (well aware how fast a coveted set first run will sell out) and it arrived on 2/5 before I got home from work, giving me something to do all night. As an old timey Black Falcons fan this set was enough to get me out of my dark ages. Well, that, and discretionary income. Knowing historically how expensive Legos are (when you're a poor kid it means you'll only see the 100USD+ sets around Christmastime!) I actually thought 159.99USD was very reasonable for a set including 2165 pieces (and they threw in a Year of the Ox freebie and another thing for first-time-ordering). While I haven't done the math extensively, there's a lot of repeated and bulk parts here, a lot of rare little pieces, new pieces, enough quantity to be MOC useful should I tear it down, and I feel like a baseline average of 10cents a piece can be worked with.

Anyway, I got home at 9pm, unpackaged carefully, and got to work. I'm rusty (and surprised to learn one can be 'rusty' at building) and was too excited to start to find better lighting which I also think slowed me down, but Ideas Medieval Blacksmith took me about six hours to complete, from 9pm to about 3am. I wasn't in any kind of rush to completion and spent extra time studying a lot of pieces I've never really seen before that seem ultra useful and even drifting off into what else they could be used for in the future. And probably way too long playing with the hot coals and gust bellows.

I'm already contemplating what would accompany it well, trying to decide between launching into a Black Falcon garrison, making it an official structure in their fortifications (necessitating maybe a modular chunk of Crenelated Wall, or setting it up on a landscape next to an Inn or Tavern in a village center and figuring out what I have that can make a similarly Tudor-styled Inn that's about twice as large but of a similar height and pitch of roof. A Stable also makes sense to be very near to the Blacksmith ... and the Inn. I suspect I'll attempt to do all of that - build a modular section of Wall and an Inn and Stable both, and populate it as well with MOC riffs on Classic Castle small sets.

As for a set review, I don't have a ton to contribute. I like the playability and adherence to modular Tudor-style construction techniques, unique pieces and flavor and theme. Certainly there's never been a shortage of Lego "Blacksmith Shops" so it's not filling a niche other than being a rather Well-To-Do, Well-Known Black Falcon associated Smith. I really like small details like the terra cotta pieces on the chimney. I think it comes with a generous amount of Items and Equipment for figures to play with, including more shields, swords and armor than required, but also the broom, buckets, pots, pans, and so forth. There's techniques I thought were very clever for setting angles and stabilizing but there's also some barebones and less pretty workarounds to things like stones on borders, keystones and the bricks in the walls feeling a bit pastiche and not unified - but that's a natural side effect of the translation from an MOC Idea to a Lego Set. I think the apple tree is a little oddly constructed, rather 'loose', and I understand both historical accuracy and needs of design and function and form, but the bottom floor Smithy shop itself is about one brick short, so the cellar door would have to be ducked through making positioning a figure say, standing in the doorway, a little awkward. Small gripes though! Overall super satisfied.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Wolfpack Renegade