def Posted August 28, 2009 Last March, I got my first castle set in 20 years, the Dwarves' Mine. Since then, I've gotten Castle fever, picking up 7009, 7037, 7040, 7090, 7091, 7092, 7094, and the almighty 10193 Yesterday I got my first of the 2009 sets, the Drawbridge Defense. Having been swimming in Castle sets for the last few months, I can judge this more impartially than perhaps I did the Dwarves' Mine. Let's take a look! Set#: 7079 Name: Drawbridge Defense Theme: Castle Year: 2009 Pieces: 335 Minifigs: 7 total: Fantasy Era - Skeleton Warrior 1, Black; Fantasy Era - Skeleton Warrior 2, White; Fantasy Era - Skeleton Warrior 6, White Black Hood and Cape; Fantasy Era - Jester (Dual Sided Head); Fantasy Era - Gold Knight; Fantasy Era - Crown Queen; Fantasy Era - Crown Knight 36, Metallic Silver Helmet with Neck Protector Price: 4,700 yen MSP: U.S.$39.99, £26.45, euros Peeron Brickset Bricklink Led by a powerful skeleton rider, the skeleton warriors are attacking the drawbridge tower! Even the Royal Jester knows how serious this battle is. Raise the drawbridge and send out the legendary Golden Knight to drive the enemy back and save the princess from capture! Includes skeleton horse and 7 minifigures: Golden Knight, princess, jester, knight, and 3 skeletons! Defend the tower with the included medieval weapons or raise and lower the working drawbridge! Drawbridge tower is over 9 inches (22.9cm) tall! The box The box was surprisingly big, about 50% bigger than my last set at a similar price, 8036 Separatist's Shuttle. I quite like the action here, the flaming arrows, the frothy water, the knight running into battle. It's simple and nice. The action features are on the back, plus more play concepts. I love the skeleton running off with the queen, and the traumatized jester forced to bear arms. The figures are arranged with the knight as the sample size at 1:1. The booklets Nothing special, same features as the back of the box, and an ad for this year's new sets. The Pieces Four numbered bags, with some bags in the bags. The only loose pieces are the oversize rock pieces. Besides the soldier on the right, these are all new figures for me. I admit, I pre-ordered it when I saw the jester, he's an awesome little guy. The queen has a nice tiara, and the printing is great on all of them. No back printing for most, but the queen has a two sided head. And the poor jester has an upset face, showing his depth as a character The knight looks fantastic in his metallic tones. Real nice job. On top of that, he gets a printed torso. I like the choice to make him gray-haired, it gives him sort of a grizzled Sean Connery feel. The skeletons are pretty much what was released in 2007, but the hooded skeleton is a nice addition. The Build This is not an AFOL set, it's very simple to build. There are no more than 8 pieces per step, and the bags are broken down. First, bags one and two are but together to make the base of the drawbridge, and the figures. No trouble here. The other two bags are opened, and with little trouble we come to... The Finished Product Head on, it doesn't look like much, but I wanted to show the amount of open space in it. At the 3/4 view, you get a much better feel of it. It really is an upgrade from the entrance of the 7094 King's Castle Siege. I think the sets could be combined to make a really fantastic playset. The moat and walkway are modular, and easily come off. Like most Castle sets, the back doesn't look all that great, mostly empty. The one feature is the drawbridge, which has a really clever winch system. The blue piece locks the switch. Lift it up to release the drawbridge. The drawbridge is up. Also common in these Castle sets is a loose munitions stock. I like this feature a lot. And here it is in all its shaky-cam glory! The Final Verdict Design: 9/10 This is quite nicely done, and uses the modular build style that this year's Soldiers' Fort used. The slope and water are easily removed. The winch on the drawbridge is cleverly made. The castle makes a nice silhouette, and the 'water' is charming. Build: 8/10 Not outrageously clever, but interesting, and well planned out. Playability: 8/10 Knight and skeletons, plus some civilians. You can act out various abduction and siege scenarios. Minifigures: 9/10 Four different figures, plus skeletons. I'm quite happy. And I love the jester. I love the jester. Price: 9/10 Not 10 cents per piece, but there aren't so many little little pieces making up that number. A good price for a substantial set. Overall: 9/10 This is possibly my favorite castle set. A nice size, nice price, great mini-figures, and great looking. If this is the final year for fantasy in the Castle line, then it is definitely going out in style. If fantasy is going to continue, then bring it on. He gets what he came for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted August 28, 2009 Great review. The video makes the set look better than the pictures. Thanks for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UsernameMDM Posted August 29, 2009 I think the set has a good selection of minifigs, but I'm not so much for the structure itself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted August 29, 2009 This set will be classic in the future! Great minifigs, nice building, and with some mods it can be attached to main castle! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandy Posted August 29, 2009 Actually, the Medieval Market Village holds the crown for the best Castle set of 2009 (and at least to me, the best set of the year in any theme). But I recently bought this set, and it's a great one as well. The minifigures deserve a 10/10 (even with the skeletons), and the build has great aesthetics, even though it's a bit lacking to be a part of an actual castle. I paid 42 euros for the set, by the way, but the prices in Europe are heavily increased in comparison to the US prices. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
def Posted August 29, 2009 Actually, the Medieval Market Village holds the crown for the best Castle set of 2009 (and at least to me, the best set of the year in any theme). Sorry, you're right, Medieval Market Village is the best Castle set. I'd meant it as the best "castle" set, compared to the Dwarf Mine, King's Castle, and Tower Raid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ziljin Posted August 29, 2009 After a 14 year haitus, I just started collecting lego again at the beginning of this month. So I missed out on most of the 2007/2008 sets. So this was the only set I could get with skeletons. Well I could try for King's Castle Siege, but its expensive plus seems to be out of stock everywhere I checked (on the verge of being OOP?). I might get more later on for the gray bricks + skeletons + Gold Knight. Dunno what I would do with all the queens and jesters. Although its probably cheaper if I just buy gray bricks + skeletons via online Pick a Brick, but the shipping is outrageous, kind of cancel outs the savings. I think the drawbridge is awesome. And the minifigs are definitely the best part of the set. The Jester is practically exclusive, gold knight and queen are exclusive. And aside from King's Castle Siege, no other current castle sets have skeletons. The Crown Knight is the only minifig you can get plenty of in other sets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jedi Master Fangorn Posted August 29, 2009 Great review, with great pictures. I've been sitting on the fence about whether to get this set or not, I think you convinced me to get it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hound Knight Posted August 29, 2009 I was given this set recently, and I must say, it's one of my all time faves! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
domboy Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) Great review. I really like this set, and got it soon after it came out. I didn't get the Castle Advent Calendar, so including the Jester in this set was very nice of Lego. I think the build is actually very good, with lots of arches and very few large pieces. The thing I was happiest to see was a new set with the Skeleton faction released alongside the Troll sets. I'm glad to see they both continued this year (I was worried the Skeleton faction was ending already). The Skeleton rider with the hood and cape is really cool! I don't have many skeleton horses either so another plus for this set. Edited September 2, 2009 by domboy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted September 2, 2009 For the price this set looks amazing, great review too. That sword is awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
