Review: 6082 Fire Breathing Fortress

[Uvga]

Thank's you. you did a very good review of an excellent set.

Uvga

[Cinderbike]

This brings back memories. I remember this set when it was new!

On a sad note, it is blaringly obvious that the quality of the boxes and manuals has gone down since 1993. You could also argue that about the plastic itself, but I'm not opening that can of worms. Great review.

[legomaniac83]

Great Review! I remember getting this set off a friend for $50, along with 6086 Black Knights Castle. (Yeah I know, steal of a deal..... )

The set itself has great playability, and it matched the series perfectly.

I'm lucky enough to also own 6076, and both of them together look superb.

I might just have to dig this set out now......

[Lyichir]

Good review. This set was one of the first "action feature"-heavy sets I got, and I was certainly enamored with it at the time. One thing that bugged me about it even then, though, was that with all the functions and details on the interior, it was hard to play with. Even my then-tiny hands had trouble rescuing the minifigs after they had fallen in the trapdoor. This is probably one reason for the more open floor plans of modern castle sets. And there's a reason that modern action features tend to use more Technic parts: the mechanisms for both the dragon head and trapdoor could be fragile, and hard to repair if they broke.

It's a good set, mind you, but it had flaws.

[Cpt. Dan]

Great review, this is an awesome set. I love the old style of the Black Knights and Dragon Masters themes, those were the best.

[Hive]

I absolutely love those old baseplates.

[Hartfan]

Great review. I really like this set. Thanks !

[boba_jagoda]

First class review!

Especially since it was a MISB set.

As for the set - I am one of those not-so-fond-of-dragon-knights people

and prefer the classic castles - classic being:

no giant dragon head sticking out of the wall ,

but I guess the set has its appeal .

[Skystorm87]

It's a very good review

I have this set!!

It is not built in my city but I have transformed it into a medieval

castle:

My castle

I played a lot with that set and I probably got it for my 8th birthday.

I remember my mum kept it hide but I discovered it few days before my birthday.

[wednesdayware]

Wow, I have one of these on my window shelf, built new from the box. Feeling a little old right now.

[Lorentzen]

Excellent and very thorough review with great clear pictures.

This should definitely be frontpaged - also because it is a review of a formerly MISB set, making the review even more appealing and educational

[BearHeart]

I remember drooling over pictures of this set in the LEGO catalogue as a kid. I never did end up getting it though .

[DaleDVM]

Thank you for the very nice review and great pictures. Brings back memories.

I got this set at release and hated it. IMHO The Dragon Masters began a slide in quality of sets that continued through the fright knights line and culminated in the awful KK1 series. After purchasing the fright knights sets I went into a dark age.

No offense to the reviewer but I personally think this is one of the worst castle sets of all time. The large gate on the front has gaping holes in it and looks in no way strong enough to hold in a dragon. The build is chuck full of POOPs and really short on useful parts. The Dragon head looks utterly ridiculous. The only thing I thought was redeeming was the tree in brown built into the terrain. That was a nice touch along with the figs.

I can't believe so many people actually like this set in the poll. Perhaps it is nostalgia? I started collecting during the 80's when castle had some really good sets and this set just didn't make the grade when compared to those classics.

Edited January 13, 2011 by DaleDVM

[Hive]

I can't believe so many people actually like this set in the poll. Perhaps it is nostalgia? I started collecting during the 80's when castle had some really good sets and this set just didn't make the grade when compared to those classics.

I agree. While the set does have some pretty cool elements (as previously mentioned, I love the baseplate), it really doesn't compare with the classic castle buildings (or even the current ones) in terms of design. I'm surprised as to how many people seem to be loving this, especially the weird giant dragon head ruins it for me. However... I think if that dragon head along with the front gate were removed and modded into something else, this thing could be pretty damn cool.

I myself have a 6087 Witch's Magic Manor MISB that I have yet to open because the design is so utterly dreadful that I'm unsure whether or not to keep it. These were certainly not the best years for LEGO Castle...

[Abu Dun]

A great review of a set I always wanted to have once I saw it in the catalogues, too. The figures are great and I really love the design of the torso, especially that of the leader.

This set also was among the first I aquired after getting out of my Dark Age, as I started out searching for all the sets of the Dragon Masters as those always was my favourite series. But compared to the prices it's usually sold for when in MISB condition, I was lucky to get a MISB copy for extremely low 8€ + shipping costs - most likely the seller at the bay didn't know what he sold at all

I wonder why this review isn't indexed yet?

[Lobberuno]

Ahh! I remember when this set was just released in the stores...this it's very cool

Personally, I think this set it's a great castle to have... many elements you can combine and also it has a green dragon. I liked the alternative buildings so you can do experiments.

Also a great review! Congratulations!

Edited May 19, 2011 by Lobberuno

[Aanchir]

This was a set I had during my childhood. That poster was on my wall for many years...

Anyway, the reason it is called Dragon Masters instead of Dragon Knights is that Dragon Masters was the North American name for the theme, which appeared in all catalogs and media. Dragon Knights was the name favored in European countries. This was a theme I collected a fair amount of sets from, probably in part inspired by the poster. In retrospect, this set was pretty weak. A bunch of large and specialized pieces limit its intricacy, and the overall result is neither impressive nor foreboding. Back then, I don't remember if I liked this set that much, either. It's been in pieces for years, and I seem to have more memories of MOCing with the pieces than I have of actually playing with the set.

[Gabe]

Thanks for the nice review, ZO6! It's always nice to see reviews of old sets, and looking at the way it was all packaged back then is certainly hitting my nostalgia buttons.

I have to say though, that this isn't a set that resonates with me at all. It all seems a bit... disorginised? The half a roof on the tower bugs me. And the big dragon head looks very odd sticking so far out from the wall, surely they could have developed that idea a lot better? But the play functions are cool and it looks like a nice little parts pack.

[Palathadric]

looks to me like the original castle sets were better

baseplates, awesome minifigs, awesome structure with cool features and thank god no generic catapults or flick fire missiles

You could not be more right there. The castle sets from those times were awesome. Such a shame. The early 90s were Legos best year, in my humble opinion. This set is very, very, very nice. Love it! I'd agree though, that there certainly are some things that could have been made better on it, but for the most part I think it's very nice.

[K-Nut]

Thank god this was bumped...

Awesome Review! This is my favorite set ever, and is where my sig-fig originated. The minifigs in this set are wonderful, as is the overall design. This was one I missed out on, but managed to get my hands on it right before this review was created. This was my first Classic Castle set, so the build was more challenging then I was used to. Dragon Masters are officially my favorite faction now.

Thank you for this stunning review!

[Ardelon]

Dragon Masters were the faction that drew me in to LEGO Castle, so they have a special place in my heart. I didn't have this set (I had the Dark Dragon's Den), but it looks fine to me, probably thanks to the great review.

I guess I prefer castles on raised baseplates, as it gives them a certain character, i. e. being built on a mountain or cliff and towering above the minifigs, instead of just standing on a flat plain. The dragon head might look out of place, but this is a fantasy castle after all - how many real castles have pits for dragons in them, for instance?

The secret door next to the main entrance is a bit weird, but it does have its uses - for example an attacking army would concentrate on the main gate, when all of a sudden the DM army would appear right next to them!

I prefer the Dark Dragon's Den, though, since it also had the other knight, so you got one of each face and torso pattern. I'm ok with the BURPs, as it would take forever to build the DDD without them. And good memories play their part too.

[dragunov]

You can't help but love the simplicity of the older sets, and the better attention to detail. That tree is the best non creator tree I've seen!

[Palathadric]

I guess I prefer castles on raised baseplates, as it gives them a certain character, i. e. being built on a mountain or cliff and towering above the minifigs, instead of just standing on a flat plain.

I prefer the Dark Dragon's Den, though, since it also had the other knight, so you got one of each face and torso pattern. I'm ok with the BURPs, as it would take forever to build the DDD without them. And good memories play their part too.

I totally agree. The castles on raised baseplates look far more interesting. The other ones are too low and too squarish, for the most part.

Frankly, I have no problem whatsoever with the BURPs. Maybe it is just because they are dark grey and, therefore, look more rockish. It's difficult to get dark grey bricks in sets from that time otherwise. In fact, oddly enough, when I was younger I prefered the Dark Dragons Den over the Fire Breathing Fortress for the very fact that is contained more BURPs. Odd, I know.

[fuavarra]

Thank you for your great review. I absolutely love this set, as it was the first Castle set of my childhood.

[Brinstar]

A great review of a less than stellar castle. I actually liked the raised baseplates and felt the use of it worked particularly well in 6086 and to a lesser extent 6081. In comparison to those castles Fire Breathing Fortress is a disappointment. I don't care for the BURPS as they detract from the overall look of the set. The castle looks good from some angles but terrible from others (particularly the left side) and overall the design is far to open to be considered a 'fortress'. The dragons head that fires rocks is also a bit silly. As a faction I quite liked the Dragon Knights and they deserved a better castle than this.