10305 Lion Knights' Castle 90th anniversary set

[SirBlake]

5 minutes ago, jodawill said:

I still want more female castle and pirate minifigures, but I want actual females. All of the female roles are still very under-represented. I would like to see more female nobles, a milkmaid, and a forestwoman torso, among others.

I feel the same way. For this reason, I have combed other themes like Harry Potter, PotC, CMF, etc. (even Chima had a good one) and converted them to nobles and common folk. 

Some good minifigs that translate well, starting with the ladies…

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=tlm037#T=P

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?id=114991#T=P

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=hp093#T=P

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?id=105485#T=P

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=hrf008#T=P
 

 

 

 

 

[zoth33]

11 hours ago, Withacee said:

Well, my wife and I are long-time LEGO-fans, but she was so p*ssed off with the "dragged in there by the hairs" female representation malarkey of this castle set that she decided on two things: 1. We're definitely not buying this one, out of sheer principle (sod being able to change the fig heads). And two, she went straight over to BlueBrixx to buy Burg Eltz :-) First non-LEGO set we ever bought in 50 years. For the life of me, I could not stop her. I can live without this castle set, though, so we saved a lot of money.

I'm sorry this is just sad.  I can't believe this is something to get that bent out of shape about.  You literally can just swap the heads it's not really that big of a deal.  I've even swapped out the Shang chi red torso because it looks female to me and made a custom female fantasy fig with it.  The beauty of lego is you can make it anything you want.  When I was a kid there was only a handful of female figs in the castle sets from the 80's and 90's.  It's your opinion and you are entitled to it I just find really sad is all I'm going to say.  

[BTappel]

Anyone else notice the beehive in the big tree?  And whats that black square on the left side of the castle when open and viewed from the front?  Looks like it comes out of the mill room.

[SirBlake]

4 minutes ago, BTappel said:

Anyone else notice the beehive in the big tree?  And whats that black square on the left side of the castle when open and viewed from the front?  Looks like it comes out of the mill room.

Oh wow! I hadn’t noticed the beehive. That’s a fun detail. Not sure about the black square. 

[zoth33]

4 hours ago, danth said:

Lol, this is a 100% made up story.

Also, talk about cancel culture!

Seriously why even post that comment here.  That's just a really bad take.  I mean was he thinking everyone was going to agree with him.  

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

1 hour ago, jodawill said:

I was born in 1989. My family was never able to afford any of the large or even medium sets when I was a kid. I got a few small castle sets. Black Monarch's Ghost was my first Lego set ever. As an adult, I bought a few of the smaller sets, like the king's carriage. The castle sets they made during this period weren't appealing enough to me to warrant saving up for them. I actually did buy Helm's Deep, but I didn't like it once I put it together, so I sold it.

It's only been the past few years now that I've actually been able to afford things like this easily. I've considered buying the Black Knight's Castle or the Black Monarch's Castle, but I feel like I couldn't truly enjoy them if I had them because I'd be so afraid of breaking or losing pieces after paying so much for them.

With this new castle, I'm going to stock up on all the great parts so I'll never feel stressed out about pieces breaking or being lost. (And I have to tell you - when you grow up poor and not having access to Bricklink, losing a piece is absolutely heart wrenching. I think I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with having backup copies of everything now. If I like something, I always buy at least two, whether it's records, Playmobil, Lego, or whatever.)

Thanks for the detailed response. Interesting. I can relate, since I was born at a similar time as you. I think at this point the Black Knight's Castle is the only retired set that I have dreamed of owning recently. But the problem with buying 90s sets at this point, especially sealed, is that one has to buy them at such a premium that, like you said, any damage to the set would really hurt considering the price paid. If I ever have more money than I know what to do with, though, I might pick it up. Until then, it will remain something nice to imagine, but that I will never actually own. However, I think I am OK with that, considering other things I do have in my collection (which will hopefully include this bigger, better castle).

Edited June 20, 2022 by 1980-Something-Space-Guy

[Lyichir]

10 minutes ago, BTappel said:

Anyone else notice the beehive in the big tree?  And whats that black square on the left side of the castle when open and viewed from the front?  Looks like it comes out of the mill room.

If you mean what I think you mean, the "black square" is just a wrought-iron window (which uses a bar piece and jumper plates instead of a typical window frame).

[Sir Dano]

9 minutes ago, BTappel said:

Anyone else notice the beehive in the big tree?  And whats that black square on the left side of the castle when open and viewed from the front?  Looks like it comes out of the mill room.

Looks like a window of some kind.

[Triceron]

11 minutes ago, BTappel said:

Anyone else notice the beehive in the big tree?  And whats that black square on the left side of the castle when open and viewed from the front?  Looks like it comes out of the mill room.

You can see more clearly on the 360 turnaround on the Lego page for the set

https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/lion-knights-castle-10305

The black square is actually just bad lighting for a dark grey window for the mill.  For some reason, it looks like a darker grey window than the other windows in the castle.

[Black Feather]

Are there any photos of the queen’s torso under the armour?  Every photo I’ve seen she’s in armour.  

[SirBlake]

1 minute ago, Black Feather said:

Are there any photos of the queen’s torso under the armour? 

Not that I’ve seen. Lots of hope that it’s unique, but my gut tells me it’s a regular lions torso. 

[mcbbvb]

Not sure if this has been noticed already but the LEGO shop website now says it will be available on August 8 instead of August 2. VIPs will have access on August 3. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by mcbbvb

[iragm]

 

2 hours ago, jodawill said:

I've considered buying the Black Knight's Castle or the Black Monarch's Castle, but I feel like I couldn't truly enjoy them if I had them because I'd be so afraid of breaking or losing pieces after paying so much for them. 

I was in a similar situation to you growing up.  You need to find a way to build 6086.  Buy a few thrift store bulk lots on eBay and bricklink the remaining parts.  A lot of the fun of 6086 can be had at a fraction of the price:

• Use the baseplate from 6082, it's a lot cheaper
• Skip the white dragon plume (3 pieces of plastic for $30 each is insanity!!), bardings, flag, and minifigs and get black falcons from PAB for $3 each
• Use stickers to replace the half-timber pieces or just drop the cash on them, they're a pretty nice looking part

As someone who had 6081 (KMF) growing up and considered it the best set of all time when I was 6 years old, I have to admit that 6086 is better in almost every way.  It's only missing something like the queen figure from 6081.  The build is a ton of fun and much less repetitive than other castles, the wall pieces are well hidden behind the texturing, the pit/well area has the best use of that area of any set (except maybe Eldorado or the Imperial Trading Post where the cranes give it some more play value), the black/red/yellow color scheme is beautiful -- all in all, 30 years later it stands up very well to adult eyes.  It really is the perfect castle and it's a shame that TLG switched gears afterwards, none of the newer castles can hold a candle to it.

[SirBlake]

3 minutes ago, SirBlake said:

Not that I’ve seen. Lots of hope that it’s unique, but my gut tells me it’s a regular lions torso. 

Looking at it again, peeking under the armor, it appears that there’s something besides just red under there. Fingers crossed. 

[Black Feather]

Yes.  Went back and looked that high resolution photo and seems like  it is different. 

[Doddsino]

As far as the argument about this being a toy for children, I have to say that most people who buy this are going to be adult collectors, not children. My parents would never spend this kind of money on something like this when I was a kid.

I wasn't even aware of the "female representation" by initial photos but I was already likely going to swap out the heads for classic 1989-1997 designs. I was initially even going to swap out everyone and make the castle be a Black Knights or Royal Knights castle, but I don't think the color schemes work in their favor. I was also going to switch it over to Black Falcons, but I think they work better as the aggressors. I kind of wish Lego would separately release a large Black Falcon Siege Tower. I like the idea of a Queen, but I don't really like this Queen design.

But can we all agree we hate stickers?

[SirBlake]

9 minutes ago, iragm said:

As someone who had 6081 (KMF) growing up and considered it the best set of all time when I was 6 years old, I have to admit that 6086 is better in almost every way.

I had both growing up, and I still maintain that KMF is an outstanding set. It and 6080 were by far the sets I spent the most time with as a kid. KMF is still my favorite, but that’s subjective. 

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, Mr. Cube said:

When I'm looking at this set, it's like the travel through the time into my childhood. LEGO knows what they're doing, hehe.

I don't understand complaints about black trees. Yesterday I was i forest and many, many trees are very dark grey or nearly black. Having all trees in brown is more innacurate than having black tree there and there. It's also more fitting to the theme.

Given that LEGO sets are generally colorful, and this one certainly is. And that the reason the trees were black in the old sets it's because they didn't have the parts in brown. It just feels a bit odd to have a black tree today, when it could easily be brown. Not sure there are complaints about it, but certainly something to have an opinion on. If I had a choice, I'd go brown. But I probably won't change it when I get it.

And although trees can appear much darker when together. A single tree like that is much more likely to look brown.

[Triceron]

So taking a more indepth look at the Lion emblems, I do start to have nitpicks.

The classic Lion logo has a red 'Tongue' in the mouth, making it look like it's roaring ferociously.

The new one has a wavy red line some distance away from the mouth, which makes it look like the new Lion is breathing fire.  I wish they could have planted it right in the mouth or at least closer to the lips.

Also I wish the emblems were changed up for the Barding.  The original Lion Knight's barding had a different pose for the lion which I half-expected them to update as well, but they just stamped the regular Lion emblem on there.  Same with the Black Falcon ones.

The emblem print on the new barding is smaller than the print on the shield. I think they should have made it bigger or more prominent, or somehow more integrated into the barding design than just being stamped-and-centered.  Even the classic barding above has a larger Lion print than any of the shields or torsos.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Triceron

[SirBlake]

5 minutes ago, Triceron said:

So taking a more indepth look at the Lion emblems, I do start to have nitpicks.

The new one is like an updated version of the old one, but keeps all the general shapes in tact.  The one thing that really irks me though is the red tongue, which is firmly placed in the mount to look like a tongue, where the new Lion emblem is a wavy red line some distance away from the mouth, which makes it look like the new Lion is breathing fire.  I wish they could have planted it right in the mouth or at least closer to the lips.

Also I wish the emblems were changed up for the Barding.  The original Lion Knight's barding had a different pose for the lion which I half-expected them to update as well, but they just stamped the regular Lion emblem on there.  Same with the Black Falcon ones.  And even if the logo is just stamped on there, I kind of wish they made it bigger or more prominent, or somehow more integrated into the barding design than just being stamped-and-centered.

Keen observations. While I totally appreciate your perspective, I must say I prefer the new versions. The “breathing fire” gripe is a fair one, but regardless of position, the new shape is just more pleasing to my eye. 

[Black Feather]

I like the way they did the Lion Knight barding except I would prefer they had an all blue and/or red version.  The split goes with the whole split shield etc thing they have going with the queen specifically.  Would have liked four horses with barding though, so there could be nonsplit versions.  The black falcons I don’t really like the stripes.  But I’m happy to have barding for that faction at all as I don’t think they had one before.  Prefer the old version of tongue in mouth to breathing fire on the shields but not really that big a deal to me.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Black Feather

[iragm]

1 hour ago, SirBlake said:

I had both growing up, and I still maintain that KMF is an outstanding set. It and 6080 were by far the sets I spent the most time with as a kid. KMF is still my favorite, but that’s subjective.  

6081 is still an outstanding set.  Certainly one of the best sets of all time.  But it has obvious flaws - lack of minifigs compared to 6080, lack of wall pieces, the doors bind on the drawstring of the bridge, the "palm" tree, the inexplicable jail door on the tower, the trap door that doesn't open with gravity, the courtyard isn't level, and the arches along the side allow the forestmen to sneak through.  The queen, barding, crossbowmen, black bird, and overall aesthetic of the build more than make up for these flaws, but overall the set just isn't as good a build as 6086.

[SirBlake]

30 minutes ago, iragm said:

6081 is still an outstanding set.  Certainly one of the best sets of all time.  But it has obvious flaws - lack of minifigs compared to 6080, lack of wall pieces, the doors bind on the drawstring of the bridge, the "palm" tree, the inexplicable jail door on the tower, the trap door that doesn't open with gravity, the courtyard isn't level, and the arches along the side allow the forestmen to sneak through.  The queen, barding, crossbowmen, black bird, and overall aesthetic of the build more than make up for these flaws, but overall the set just isn't as good a build as 6086.

All great points that I can’t refute. All I can say is that my little kid self didn’t care about those legit concerns one bit, lol. 

Edited June 21, 2022 by SirBlake

[Lord Insanity]

Up till now I definitely would have considered 6086 to be the best castle Lego has done.  I always viewed 6081 as more of a small fortress like the Black Falcon Fortress.

 

For the tree, of the currently produced colors dark brown would have been the best.  Seriously go outside and actually look at trees.  Most real trees are more grayish than brown.  Old dark gray with its greenish hue was probably the closest Lego color to what most real tree bark actually is.  Between modern reddish brown or black I would have to go with black.  Reddish brown just looks wrong as a tree, like its made of mud or chocolate.  Now making several trees a few of them being reddish brown can look good when balanced with other trees in black and dark brown.

 

22 hours ago, Something_Awesome said:

Agree, but it's harder to suspend belief when it's all women. You sort of want to use your imagination, but as things that provide a fantasatical touch to something "historic" become increasingly unrealistic, the suspension of disbelief becomes harder. It's like having a WW2 video game where half the army is women. Yeah, sprinkle some women in there, but my grandparents fought for the Soviet Union against the Germans. There weren't any women.

This analogy seem a bit off.  The new castle would be more like comparing it to Hydra Agents fighting Captain America during WW2.  If half of them are women it doesn't matter because in real life none of the soldiers were Hydra Agents fighting Captain America at all.  The new castle has a wizard and "Robin Hood's" merry men included.  Historical accuracy is no where to be found.

What is really funny is you don't even have to swap heads, all you have to do is keep the knight visor down (or full helmet on) and you can't even tell what gender the figure is one way or the other. 

[jodawill]

How is this set affecting everyone's thoughts on LUG bulk this year?

I haven't participated in LUG bulk in a long time. I'm considering going back to the LUG this year for the bulk order, and also to see what people are doing with this set. I can't wait to see all the new MOCs.