LEGO IDEAS - The Medieval Blacksmith

[Aurore]

@Aanchir Thank you very much for the link to the interview, it's really interesting! I'm thrilled by the little comment at the end hinting at more Castle sets. 

@Wolfpack Renegade Welcome here! Your village/castle project sounds really great, hope we'll see it progress! 

As far as I'm concerned, I'm halfway through the build. So many cool details!
I especially enjoy that clever bellow, and the tree features very interesting building techniques. I find the candle holders on the first floor very elegant, too...

Edited February 6, 2021 by Aurore

[Grover]

This is weird.  I just got my blacksmith today.  Still shows as "in warehouse" online.  My order says I was supposed to get a free year of the ox and a free valentine's day flower set, but I'm missing the flower set.  Something is weird in their ordering system.  I would guess they are swamped.  Oh well, I have the big thing I ordered sooner than I expected it!

[zoth33]

@Aurore The build was really fun to do and the interiors are so nice.  The whole build is so sturdy to.  The roof is very nice when you get to it.  Did you see the fruit flower mountain set from the monkie kid line it looks awesome for a location based set.  I think it's one of the best location sets I've seen from lego.  

[Wesley D]

This set's detailing, colors and setting are great, but as much as I want, I just can't fall in love with this set.

I just keep seeing it as oversized to represent a medieval house. I was thinking of modifying it, but in lack of time and creativity to do so, I can't justify spending €169,99.

Inevitably I make the comparison with Pirates of Barracuda Bay, that feels like the essence of LEGO Pirates, that I bought right away for only €199,99.

The blacksmith would have benefited of being a more humble cottage, a small but important part of a medieval setting, a harbinger of more sets to come!

 

[GeoBrick]

What is that there peeking behind the treetops?

 

[Niku]

On 2/6/2021 at 12:13 AM, Dutch Thriceman said:

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.

Thanks but No worries will buy it on Ebay or ask someone help so It can be ordered from Lego, as they dont send to PO boxes and I live in Guatemala.
I am happy the set is selling so well. I was afraid of the contrary(for the price tag) and that Lego could get the wrong message.
 

[GeoBrick]

Is it me, or do some medieval villagers here look a tad envious?

 

[Dutch Thriceman]

20 minutes ago, GeoBrick said:

Is it me, or do some medieval villagers here look a tad envious?

Haha rad bro, really nice to see how Lego has evolved from then to now.

[Aanchir]

9 hours ago, Dutch Thriceman said:

Haha rad bro, really nice to see how Lego has evolved from then to now.

Reminds me of some of the comparisons I saw a few years back between the LEGO Ninjago Movie Destiny's Bounty set and the Imperial Flagship set. It's astonishing how some recent sets have come to surpass even sets that 10–12 years ago seemed like the pinnacle of adult-level quality/complexity/detail (at least as far as set standards go… I know even back then, those sorts of exclusive sets still had to adhere to considerably stricter constraints than the most outstanding MOCs of their time).

In the Blacksmith's Shop's case, there's an argument to be made that some of the improvements like its impressive size and detailed interiors are only possible due to the higher price point and 18+ age range. But the creativity of a lot of the building techniques and color choices (such as the mottled colors and detailed textures of the landscaping, the lower level stonework and the upper level wattle-and-daub infill, and the shingles) shouldn't be downplayed either!

[Lego David]

I haven't kept up with this thread, so pardon me if this has already been discussed, but an interview with the Medieval Blacksmith designers was recently published:

https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/forging-the-medieval-blacksmith-interview-with-lego-designers-wes-talbott-and-austin-carlson/

In the interview, the designers stated that the reason why the Goat was not included was because the mold for it was destroyed long ago... despite their efforts to include it in the set.

. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Lego David

[MAB]

On 2/7/2021 at 7:36 AM, Wesley D said:

This set's detailing, colors and setting are great, but as much as I want, I just can't fall in love with this set.

I just keep seeing it as oversized to represent a medieval house. I was thinking of modifying it, but in lack of time and creativity to do so, I can't justify spending €169,99.

Inevitably I make the comparison with Pirates of Barracuda Bay, that feels like the essence of LEGO Pirates, that I bought right away for only €199,99.

The blacksmith would have benefited of being a more humble cottage, a small but important part of a medieval setting, a harbinger of more sets to come!

 

 

21 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Is it me, or do some medieval villagers here look a tad envious?

 

That is my issue with it too. It just doesn't fit well with previous Castle sets. Why would the Blacksmith have what is more equivalent to a huge manor house, more opulent than the King's castle? Whereas POBB feels much more Pirates if you had to sum up a theme in a single set - well, it needs Imperials too to really sum up Pirates, but you know what I mean. To me, it doesn't fit at all well with Castle, unless we get other larger Castle builds to go with it. This is more like Cafe Corner compared to what was in City.

[MAB]

36 minutes ago, Lego David said:

They also clearly state that the sales for this set are going to be a deciding factor in whether LEGO will release more Castle-themed sets or not, so my advice would be to purchase the set regardless of your disappointments with it, if you want to see more Castle-themed sets in the future. 

Where do they clearly state this? I didn't think designers were allowed to comment on set sales and future sets.

[Weil]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

They also clearly state that the sales for this set are going to be a deciding factor in whether LEGO will release more Castle-themed sets or not

I don't see this even referred to either, let alone clearly stated. Also, it seems the interviewer and blog author actually speculates that new castle sets are already coming.

If a new wave of Castle is on the way any time soon then lego will have already been planning it, I can't see it being a knee-jerk reaction to the sales of this set, which is rather different to a typical Castle set anyway.

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

Where do they clearly state this? I didn't think designers were allowed to comment on set sales and future sets.

My bad, a friend messaged me about that and then sent me the article link afterwards. Sorry about that... 

 

[Merlo]

The Blacksmith is an amazing set and the designers really outdid themselves on this one. Pictures just don't do it justice.

I'd kill to have Lego make something like the recently rejected castle in the forest idea, but on a 3x blacksmith brick count at a ninjago modular price... well, one can dream.

[Niku]

Are there any pictures on how the new falcons look besides the old ones?
And pictures of the new falcon torso with plain black pants?

[Aurore]

@Niku I can't help with the new vs old comparison, but here is how the new torso looks with plain black pants :

[Niku]

Thank you very much Aurore.

Looks nice too. 

[natesroom]

5 hours ago, MAB said:

 

That is my issue with it too. It just doesn't fit well with previous Castle sets. Why would the Blacksmith have what is more equivalent to a huge manor house, more opulent than the King's castle? Whereas POBB feels much more Pirates if you had to sum up a theme in a single set - well, it needs Imperials too to really sum up Pirates, but you know what I mean. To me, it doesn't fit at all well with Castle, unless we get other larger Castle builds to go with it. This is more like Cafe Corner compared to what was in City.

I do feel like this is more of an Inn with a blacksmith shop under it from outside. Obviously, inside would be to small to be an inn.

[leafan]

3 hours ago, Niku said:

Are there any pictures on how the new falcons look besides the old ones?
And pictures of the new falcon torso with plain black pants?

Hope this helps.

Edited February 8, 2021 by leafan

[MAB]

For me, the new ones are the nicest but when paired with plain black legs. Maybe even replacing the arms for black would be even nicer.

[Roebuck]

6 hours ago, Lego David said:

In the interview, the designers stated that the reason why the Goat was not included was because the mold for it was destroyed long ago... despite their efforts to include it in the set.

I applaud their efforts, but if we keep the customer pressure up sooner or later the goat will return

[koalayummies]

1 hour ago, leafan said:

The old knights wore red thongs on the outside of their pants.

[LettuceBrick]

@leafan and @Aurore How do the old torsos look with the new legs?

[leafan]

10 minutes ago, LettuceBrick said:

@leafan and @Aurore How do the old torsos look with the new legs?