LEGO Castle 2013

[just2good]

And what do you say of Kingdoms, that appealed to both younger and older fans?

Kingdoms is long gone.

I think 'Darth Lurtz' has gotten LEGO's intended strategy for this new theme. But hey, I KIND OF like the new sets! But I REALLY love the new golden border.

Edited December 27, 2012 by just2good

[Vindicare]

From what I can see, I'm on the fence. I like the big Castle. That forest ambush isn't much of a forest, being the smallest of the bunch. I await better detail photos. Could be good.

[Mahtion]

The sets don't look so bad. The dragon mountain looks good actually, there's an incline which serves as a pathway through the mountain and everything is connected. We just need to see better pics to see what we are getting. Lego is using a lot of black new horse molds, I don't see any white ones. Lord of the Rings is the same, no Shadowfax! Maybe only Lone Ranger gets the new horse mold in white to boost sales for that theme.

The gate raid has decent architecture, looks like the Joust set in a sense. Also the roof panels are like that in Council of Elrond. No idea what is in the Forest Ambush, I see a tree but can't make out much details.

[Weil]

I'll be honest I'm not filled with excitement by these sets and I don't think they stand up to Kingdoms which I thought was a great line. I think it's too soon to judge them properly though. I'll reserve proper judgement until better pictures of non-preliminary designs.

These pictures are very useful though in being able to confirm the style of the sets as a classic castle theme that isn't re-makes.

Even if the sets do end up a bit of a let down it looks like we'll get some great new parts including what appears to be more of the new style horses with helmets and barding that fit them.

[ZO6]

Pretty harsh criticisms considering the low quality of the pictures.

That castle looks like the most classic-styled one that we've got since...classic castle. If we weren't just coming off of Kingdoms, I'm sure everyone would think that this line was the best thing since *insert something great*.

I'll reserve any more judgment until we have more pictures. But I do hope that these sets have more interior details then the recent castle themes have. We seem to always get these big structures with empty rooms. Guess we'll find out.

[dwarf-brik]

Oh look, Knight's Kingdom III!

~Dwarf

[Nintendawg]

I did get a bit of a Knights Kingdom feel from some of the sets. But I will reserve my judgement until I see better pictures atleast.

I would have personally preferred a continuation of Kingdoms.

[Kliq]

Yep, certainly looks like an ode to the original Knights Kingdom, but with a KKII style of build. I am just thankful these are preliminary, and am hopeful the final build will see them get a nice dressing up. Currently, I think 'duplo feel' is exactly what I'm seeing as well. Bleh for now, but still optimistic!

[frumpy]

Would be good if LEGO provided some reasoning around changes in the themes. Why was kingdoms ended? What's the plan for the new theme.

[Ardelon]

Yep, certainly looks like an ode to the original Knights Kingdom, but with a KKII style of build. I am just thankful these are preliminary, and am hopeful the final build will see them get a nice dressing up. Currently, I think 'duplo feel' is exactly what I'm seeing as well. Bleh for now, but still optimistic!

Exactly what I thought. Not that its a bad thing, so long as the figs dont go the KKII route. So far Im pretty optimistic.

[Rogue Angel]

I think it's really hard to tell with such low-rez pics. The King's Castle definitely has potential, I just hope they haven't reverted back to stupid King Leo and his lamest of standards - the Lion face.

[Combee]

The logo definitely looks different, it strongly resembles the old Royal Knights shield (as mentioned above). I spy new bardings and helmets for the new horses - exciting!! I also completely agree with the poster above who mentioned that Lego is trying to split the gap between these sets and the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit sets - this is evident in the color scheme they are using and the age ranges recommended for the sets.

[Artanis I]

Yep, certainly looks like an ode to the original Knights Kingdom, but with a KKII style of build.

I was thinking the same thing. Also wondering why we didn't get a Kingdoms Pt 2 instead... I will wait and see how this turns out but will probably buy whatever castle there is regardless.

[TheLegoDr]

I thought they said no fantasy elements in this wave, or was the original poster mistaken. A Dragon is definitely fantasy. looking at the pictures it is tough to discern a lot of details, but I will agree with the disappointment. The crest is very similar to the royal knights only under the ' castle' banner. I loved Kingdoms, but am a bit sad about this. The King' s castle is very similar to Kingdoms castle. I'm looking at it right now and the basic shape is very similar, only it has blue instead of red. I will wait for better pictures like everyone else. Thanks for posting the images.

Edit: After relooking at the pictures as zoomed in as I can be, it is neat to see new bardings (blue and a red), especially cool that they are compatible with the new horses. Someone mentioned the Bulls again? That could be neat since I never picked any of them up. I do wonder if there is anything good in the forest ambush set being the cheapest and most likely one I would purchase since this theme has plummeted after hearing the initial rumors. I think my money may end up going to Lone Ranger instead.

Anyway, I'll rethink this when I see better detailed photos.

Edited December 27, 2012 by TheLegoDr

[Fives]

One thing about these sets is for sure: it will provide what looks to be our first barding for the new horses. Other than that, this looks like they have brought back the old Lions from the days of King Leo, and thrown in a witch with a dragon that looks startlingly similar to the dragon from the 2007 Castle line. Thanks to LOTR, I don't think I'll be spending any money on this theme.

[Sir Walter Maugham]

Oh hey, pictures!

I can't really judge these sets 100% yet due to the resolution. But it doesn't look to good for this generation of Castle. Which really is a shame since I don't care for the LotR sets either.

[gundamz]

I really want a castle for my collection. Unless the LotR line releases Minas Tirirth (which seems unlikely), I think I will strongly consider getting the King's Castle.

[Jargo]

I'll buy the Dragon mountain or just Bricklink the dragon itself. Nothing else appeals to me.

[TenorPenny]

Don't commit to too fervent an opinion on low-rez pics.

[Hive]

Looks awfully like it, but hopefully it's something different. That's possibly the worst logo of any Castle faction ever. Otherwise the sets look quite standard. Still nice to have, though that shield would be a serious let down.

Agreed, terrible choice for a shield if that is the case. Worst one ever by far. Sooo dissapointing. And what's up with blue as the "good" color AGAIN? Try something new every now and then... The style looks like a mix of late KKII and Fantasy, far inferior to Kingdoms. Though again: hard to judge from such small pictures. If this is indeed a reboot of KKI, of all things, I'll be hugely dissapointed. There were sooooo much better factions to use than those two.

Oh well, at least the next wave of LOTR sets looks awesome - I'll bolster my Castle lineup with those structures instead.

[Brinstar]

I'm reluctant to draw to many conclusions based on such small and low resolution pictures. My initial impression is that Lego are being careful to draw a clear distiction between the Castle and LOTR themes. From an AFOL's perspective the Castle theme probably suffers as a result, with the sets seemingly aimed at the younger end of the market. The decision to resurrect the Royal Knights emblem is truly mystifying, that was always one of the most unpopular logo's.

On the plus side the castle looks quite substantial, I particularly like the design of the gatehouse. Overall I do agree with the sentiments being expressed here, these do like a step back from Kingdoms and even Fantasy era, which was one of my favourite castle themes.

[Kai NRG]

I'll agree with most of the rest of you that these don't look stellar, especiallly compared to kingdoms, but after all there's hardly anything visible! I kind of doubt that LEGO would return to the lion king shield (at least that's what I always called them) since apparently it doesn't have any apeal for older fans and younger fans just wouldn't be going for such a thing. The small forest set looks the nicest, at this res. I do agree with whoever it was that suggested that this line might be aimed more at younger fans since LotR is geared more toward older kids. I would like to point out that though the Castle's box does say 6-12, the text next to it says 7-12.

[Graysmith]

I do apologize for earlier saying that these would be Kingdoms-themed, but that's what my source said.

Hard to really judge any of these sets based on such microscopic images, but I really thought it'd be Kingdoms returning so that alone is a crushing disappointment. These could still be some pretty decent sets though.. Looks like there will be new barding for the rearing horses, at least!

But I'll join those saying (after just now realizing) that these are probably meant for a younger audience (than usual) to go alongside the more older-skewing and advanced LOTR/Hobbit themes. Makes a lot of sense, really, when you think about it. That way these "childish" Castle sets can be sold alongside LOTR/Hobbit for the next couple of years without them stealing too many sales from each other.

[robuko]

I won't commit to any opinion on these low-res pics, too early to tell. The sizes are well judged, I am hopeful that the "Castle" logo means a re-launch of the fantasy line. I am certainly interested in the Dragon Mountain, let's see about the others. I too am not a big fan of the lion head shield.

[october]

@Graysmith, maybe your source confused it with Kingdom. This is a 2 step back from the Kingdoms line. Dissapointed.