10305 Lion Knights' Castle 90th anniversary set

[eldiano]

16 minutes ago, Triceron said:

Argh..  This will be very tricky because I really want that GWP, but there is nothing being released around June here for it.  Monkie Kid Heaven set is also listed August 1st here.

Hopefully the GWP promotion will be pushed to August for Canada.  I think we get ours later anyways.

75% of the minimum alone is the new creator Viking ship, hehehe then you can pick and choose another set just in case

[Alegrispa]

No goats 

[eldiano]

Just a Lamb

[Aanchir]

Love what we're seeing so far! It does indeed seem to be what the outer wall and entry ramp in that Back to the Future video were modeled on, even though the gatehouse is different from the 6080-inspired one in that video (I suppose somebody at LEGO decided showing the whole 90th anniversary castle in the video would be TOO much of a spoiler).

Looks like there are also plenty of great interior spaces, which will hopefully be nicely furnished with details like a banquet hall, bedchamber, and stable. The hilly foundation and entrance ramp feel like a very deliberate callback to the raised baseplates from the sort of castle sets that I grew up with in the 90s, without the level of specialization or the compromises to the actual build that those generally entailed. Also, the hinged layout seems like it'll be easy to expand on, just like with the old-school modular castle system from 1984-1989.

Minifigures also sound like there's a nice variety there, though I suspect they'll be a lot more exciting once we can see the details of them instead of just a list of their roles/archetypes. Hoping the rest of the set's details will be just as impressive as this general overview once it's finally unveiled!

[brimbolet]

I can't believe it... a forestmen hideout GWP! Have still the blacksmith on my wishlist, now is the perfect time to get it. And the 150€ spending amount seems reasonable for once.

The castle sounds great too, I'm just a little worried about the ramp. Seems rather odd to have the gate on the first floor (looking from the back); I was expecting a solution more in the line of Helm's Deep, so that kids can drive a merchant cart more easily through it.

I'm really exited for the first pictures!

[R0Sch]

20 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

Looks like there are also plenty of great interior spaces, which will hopefully be nicely furnished with details like a banquet hall, bedchamber, and stable.

The castle consists of gatehouse with ramp and drawbridge, a dungeon with 2 cells, an armory, a kitchen, a millstone connected to the water wheel, a treasury, a dining room and the queen's chambers.

[SirBlake]

2 hours ago, eldiano said:

so it was literally the same castle we saw in the BTTF Video, hell yes!

It literally isn’t. Both the description and sketches say this implicitly.

 

2 hours ago, Blazej_Holen said:

Btw have you noticed that the sketch layout looks very similar to the castle layout in the Lego Back to the Future video? In that vid there are existing sets combined in almost same fashion as on the sketch from Promobricks…

There is some similarity in the path leading up to the gatehouse, that’s for sure. Thankfully, it’s not a rehash of 6080 though like the BTTF video. Also thankfully, it doesn’t appear to include the mish-mash of other sets.

 

Ho-lee crap!!!

This looks fantastic. I find these drawings to be pretty darn good, and if we’re not getting photos, this is a great stop-gap until photos are finally released. 

[Captain Pirate Man]

Video version of the news 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Captain Pirate Man

[kalexicon]

Wow, okay, lots to contemplate here... just going to put out a bunch of disconnected thoughts in no particular order:

1) It does not contain all of the new livestock in this year's City barn 60346. No piglets, no calf. No extra wool for sheep, but it still contains a lamb? Seems odd to have a baby animal without the parent so I'm wondering if that's a translation error. I'm certainly not going to complain about getting a cow, but for my budget it seems more likely to replace "buying an extra cow off Bricklink" than buying the farm sets to use its animals in a medieval village.

2) I am getting really, really, really bored of lion heraldry. We've had Crusaders (which seems to be the model for this new set), Royal Knights, Knights Kingdom, Knights Kingdom II, Kingdoms, and the 2013 Castle line. Plus the BAM shield that hybridizes keys and the Crusaders-era lion design. None of this would matter if they all matched, of course, but generally they're too different to form a single faction. Of those, I only personally own Kingdoms and Knights Kingdom II; I've managed a sort of story where because the lion in KK2 is wearing a crown (denoting him as king), the fantasy era crown knights are his royal guard and the Kingdoms lion knights are the noble house he comes from. But I specifically avoided buying sets from the 2013 line (back before it became clear that it was the end of regular castle themes as we know it) because I didn't want more than half of my castle factions to be different kinds of lions. Is that alone going to stop me from buying this new deluxe castle? No. The blue/red color scheme is different enough and I suppose my realm can support two lion factions. "A coat of gold or a coat of red, a lion still has claws," to quote a certain song.

To be clear, I do not mean this as a criticism of this set specifically - it's an intentional throwback, after all, and if we're trying to complement Black Falcons in the current lineup then it's probably the best retro choice. But if I'm looking for reasons to not spend money, this is something that could impact my decision. I just hope that following this throwback set we get some fresh, new iconic heraldry (like the Kingdoms dragon knights) to add to classic favorites like the Black Falcons. Even if it's just in Creator sets or BAM or Collectible Minifigures, as seems to be the case these days. Of course, "I want new heraldry [without having to feel through five boxes of minifigs]!" is a broken record for Castle fans by now, so I'll leave it at that.

3) FORESTMEN!!! Not sure if I'm sold on the red/green color scheme, but it's better than nothing and I'll withhold judgement until I see pictures. Nice to have the GWP to look forward to in the meantime. Honestly, Lion Knights + Black Falcons + Forestmen seems like the perfect way to celebrate the history of Castle themes, so personal taste aside, I have no complaints about the factions included.

4) Very, very excited for a Black Falcon barding piece to lead my Bricks & Pieces army! It's been too long since we've had new barding, so I'm glad they didn't lose the mold like they did the goats.

5) The civilian minifigures sound decent, especially the maid. One of the figures in the BTTF preview video seems to reuse this year's troubadour torso, and it strikes me as odd to reuse a CMF print (only other case I know of is 80015), so that would be a bummer, but I'm still going to treat all of that as a prototype. Frankly, I'm just glad there are ANY civilians.

6) I could see the queen minifigure being very nice, especially if it reuses the wider skirt from the CMF queen. Majisto is fine; he's from before my time so I don't have much nostalgia, the Kingdoms blue wizard that I own is near-identical, and I'm much more excited for the latest BAM wizard. I'm glad he's there for those with more connection.

7) Absolutely none of this is as exciting as it would be if Pick a Brick online was still getting new parts as they came out. There's a big difference between "here's a new, very expensive set with some new prints" and "here's a gorgeous new set to debut some new prints and if you want more civilians or forestmen or soldiers to supplement it you can go buy them online too."

8) Does anyone know if this trumpet is brick-built or a new mold?

9) I'm not too bothered about the lack of a throne room since every other castle ever made seems to include one. Conversely, I'm quite excited by the "queen's chambers," depending on execution - we don't see too many private living quarters in castle sets and it has the potential to be gorgeous.

10) The sketch looks very pretty. Lots of good signs such as inlaid masonry textures, climbing foliage, and extra-large flags. The tudor-still huts overlooking the wall seem nice too. But as far as builds go, I really don't have anything to say (shocking, I know) until I see actual pictures and a final price point for my region. The glimpses I saw in the BTTF video did NOT inspire confidence.

[INTENSS]

2 hours ago, eldiano said:

75% of the minimum alone is the new creator Viking ship, hehehe then you can pick and choose another set just in case

Except the US and Canada (among some others) won’t see the Viking set until August.  I’ll need to rely on PAB.

[Rattlebricks]

4 hours ago, R0Sch said:

Fresh from promobricks:

Looks like an upgraded Black knight castle😎

[morvit]

Honestly, need to see the real model. The castle in the Back to the Future video had a lot of BURPs, can't see how it adds up to 4500 pieces.

[Robert8]

This might be the set of the year!

Cant wait for the pics

 

But still..... no goat

 

 

[eldiano]

2 hours ago, SirBlake said:

It literally isn’t. Both the description and sketches say this implicitly.

 

There is some similarity in the path leading up to the gatehouse, that’s for sure. Thankfully, it’s not a rehash of 6080 though like the BTTF video. Also thankfully, it doesn’t appear to include the mish-mash of other sets.

 

Ho-lee crap!!!

This looks fantastic. I find these drawings to be pretty darn good, and if we’re not getting photos, this is a great stop-gap until photos are finally released. 

Ehh, the sketches confirms it I think, the castle is hidden because of forced perspective but I feel that’s this is the real castle:

if you match the angle of the bridge you can see the holes in the wall, same room on the top right with the windows, bridge is identical with the angled ramp for the mini moat, better seen in the lego reveal when they jump it.

im getting vibes this might be modular and could be rearranged because the final piece to the puzzle missing is the middle room which could be seen in a a video of entrance of the castle

Then again might be paradolia but I can completely see the same castle outline just re-arraigned a bit differently I think! 🤔

Now that I think about it, the trees is the biggest giveaway now that I took a closer look, the far left of the section in the castle has the same layout as seen in the sketch; down to the plant life 

Edited May 21, 2022 by eldiano

[SirBlake]

43 minutes ago, Rattlebricks said:

Looks like an upgraded Black knight castle😎

I can see that with the wattle and daub portion, but I’m sure color will dictate that similarity or lack there of. I predict this one will be mostly light bley with dark bley for the rock foundation. 

10 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

This might be the set of the year!

Cant wait for the pics

 

But still..... no goat

 

 

hahah!

[Sir Dano]

I was right about the minifigs but wrong about the castle, which is fine with me. The set in the drawing looks just as cool, I'm just happy to have more castle sets.

Really hope one of the Black Falcon minifigs has a visor helm, they haven't been made in black in like 20 years and are getting insanely expensive on the aftermarket.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Sir Dano

[Lion King]

Oh boy - Forestmen Hideout GWP?! That’s great news! But I’m little worried about GWP being sold out so fast… Do anyone know how much we purchase in order to get GWP? $100? $120? $200?

And the castle set sound so great to me. 

But …. NO GOAT?! Darn it…

[mirkwoodspiders]

From the drawing, I'm guessing it can't be closed together? It's not a deal-breaker at all, but I'm curious if it is facade only or can be closed to look like Fort Legoredo.

[Shroffy123]

It's going to be an expensive summer! Can't wait!

[SirBlake]

1 hour ago, mirkwoodspiders said:

From the drawing, I'm guessing it can't be closed together? It's not a deal-breaker at all, but I'm curious if it is facade only or can be closed to look like Fort Legoredo.

People are speculating that it can be closed together, and I think it can too. As a tribute to classic castle, all of the old ones did, and I expect this will be no exception.

1 hour ago, Sir Dano said:

I was right about the minifigs but wrong about the castle, which is fine with me. The set in the drawing looks just as cool, I'm just happy to have more castle sets.

You were right on about those minifigs and I’m so glad you were. They’re really good and that many civilian minifigs is a real plus. Very exciting!

You guys have me second guessing on the BTTF video. It would be cool if they worked in details. I’m just so thrown off by the 6080 gate.

Edited May 21, 2022 by SirBlake

[Roebuck]

I must say my expectations was tempered some what after watching the big Castle reveal yesterday (probably a good thing).

I know the castle and minifigs from the back to the future promo is a "prelim" model of the set, but do not look so impressive to me, however the sketch from promobricks looks decent so I hope the finished set is better

From the description it sounds like a low budget set unfortunately. If we compare it to Ninjago city gardens a set that cost 50$ less this has almost the number of minifigs. 19 (when did skeletons start to count as one) is a good number and with 3 fractions and a few civilians it is more or less what I expected (except the king, but queen is better anyway) and I feared it would be fewer. The "gardens" have over 1000 parts more, but the castle may have a lot of bigger parts so that is fine I think. The castle have more animals than the gardens set, but this is my biggest disappointment with the new we got so few I would say 4 horses should have been minimum for a huge set like this, that we only get 2 is a disappointment I get my "ox" cart and a lamb from the City farm set, but with a better budget they should have been able to include more of them (and brought back the goat)

The forestmen GWP is a nice surprise, but no way I am waiting a month to see if it is still around when the Castle show up. I will get the GWP day 1 and probably wait to buy the castle until I get a nice GWP or similar later 

[kalexicon]

5 hours ago, INTENSS said:

Except the US and Canada (among some others) won’t see the Viking set until August.  I’ll need to rely on PAB.

Nooooo! I forgot about that! Maybe they'll open up pre-orders in time, but I doubt it. I suppose I may be buying that Friends community theater a little earlier than planned. Especially since the "Standard" PaB service in the US is still "paused" and "expected to resume in May." Fingers crossed that maybe the pause is a sign of 2022 parts being added and not just an effort to catch up on orders? Pretty please?

 

3 hours ago, eldiano said:

Ehh, the sketches confirms it I think, the castle is hidden because of forced perspective but I feel that’s this is the real castle:

 

1 hour ago, SirBlake said:

You guys have me second guessing on the BTTF video. It would be cool if they worked in details. I’m just so thrown off by the 6080 gate.

It's possible that it's an unfinished sketch model of the anniversary set. That would explain broad details being similar while some details don't seem to add up. Especially if you factor in the lead time needed to prepare the animation compared to the release schedule of the final set.

[morvit]

If the set is going to be the one from the Back to the Future video, it doesn't look very good at all. But at 4,500 pieces, I can't imagine it ending up looking like what was shown in that video. Though the artistic rendition makes it look very similar to it. 

I think the majority of the not approved castles I've seen in Lego ideas look better than the one in the video.  LEGO IDEAS - Discover

Edited May 21, 2022 by morvit

[Agent Kallus]

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

 the number of minifigs. 19 (when did skeletons start to count as one?

 

From what I gathered there are 20 minifigs and the skeleton is not one of them

1: queen, 2-10: lion knights, 11-12: black falcons, 13-14: Forest men, 15: girl (young ranger?) , 16 : maid, 17: baker, 18: farmer, 19: boy, 20: Wizard

 

And then the skeleton would be 21 if they counted as minifigs but they don't and shouldn't.

 

 

 

[Roebuck]

2 hours ago, kalexicon said:

It's possible that it's an unfinished sketch model of the anniversary set. That would explain broad details being similar while some details don't seem to add up.

From what I understood this is exactly what is is, is this still a discussion? Someone who speak German please confirm that the set in the BTTF video is a prototype of the set we are getting

Here are the B-bay prototypes, so as you can see they are very similar, but the details change

26 minutes ago, Agent Kallus said:

From what I gathered there are 20 minifigs and the skeleton is not one of them

1: queen, 2-10: lion knights, 11-12: black falcons, 13-14: Forest men, 15: girl (young ranger?) , 16 : maid, 17: baker, 18: farmer, 19: boy, 20: Wizard

 

And then the skeleton would be 21 if they counted as minifigs but they don't and shouldn't.

I hope you are right, the skeleton kept popping up in the minifig line-ups, so it might been lost in translation for me