LEGO Castle 2013

[vriverajr3]

Where are you located? Pictures?

I'll probably try to get a review up tomorrow. It will be my 1st and won't be the best of quality haha

But at least it will give people a better idea if the set.

[The Black Falcon]

I was going to wait for my visit to Legoland in Denmark to pick up these sets in June if they were available. Anyone have any news on a release date for Europe?

[australopithecine]

Found these at TRU here in Texas. Didn't think they'd be out already. The only one they didn't have was the set wiith the dragon.

[CM4Sci]

*oh2* Thanks for this, J2G! I'll try to go there today. I can't make a review due to my iPad screen functioning wrong at the moment. Might have dropped it.

EDIT: From Brickset

Found in Colorado

-Sci

Edited May 14, 2013 by CM4S

[just2good]

I saw

*oh2* Thanks for this, J2G! I'll try to go there today. I can't make a review due to my iPad screen functioning wrong at the moment. Might have dropped it.

EDIT: From Brickset

{pic}

Found in Colorado

-Sci

I saw that. Those boxes look better than they did at NYTF! The yellow looks fantastic on the $20 box!

I'll be going to TRU in the afternoon today, so we'll see.

[Echo]

Got Gold Getaway and Forest Ambush at TRU today. The employee I talked to said to check back in about a week for the rest. I'll get a review of Gold Getaway up later.

[SkaForHire]

Dang it my wallet is not ready! If they are out in Texas, I guess I better start searching... I need a new army to build, CFM are getting way too expensive.

[vriverajr3]

Kings Castle Review!!!!!

Edited May 15, 2013 by vriverajr3

[Lordofdragonss]

This castle seems like it really is not worth the price...

I really like the king face though and all function they packed in this set.

Am I the only that is annoyed that we are not getting new heads for the good guys soldiers since Fantasy era? I bet you all have like 213 of the serious guy face...

Edited May 15, 2013 by Lordofdragonss

[JeagerEX]

Kings Castle Review!!!!!

Great review! I cannot wait to buy those sets, but the knight in the right is possible to be Ivan von Brickroot's son.

[gundamz]

Pleasantly surprised by the amount of play features in this set. Excellent!

[just2good]

I love that new catapult feature! I'm worried though by the way you can seperate the castle sides. Last time they had that, the castle would collapse (Vampyre Castle).

[basnz]

I love that new catapult feature! I'm worried though by the way you can seperate the castle sides. Last time they had that, the castle would collapse (Vampyre Castle).

The Kingdoms castle set has it as well an it is reasonably stable, enough to move it as a complete build.

[The_Creator]

I can't watch a 17 minute video review... I'll have to keep waiting for a pictorial review. But, one thing, I really like the king! Especially his gold sword that I've wanted since the new swords came out! To bad it has to be in the most expensive set.

Edited May 15, 2013 by The_Creator

[TeufelHund]

Ugghhh...that castle is hideous. I kind of like the way they did the drawbridge/gate this time but everything else is entirely forgettable, particularly with the garish blue highlights and the stupid Lion head sprouting out everywhere. The Dragon catapult is also lame...even my 5 year old described it as "stupid-looking". Some of the torsos on the minifigs are semi-interesting and the dragon armour looks cool but otherwise this is a big fat fail IMO.

[Echo]

I like the castle well enough, but one thing that really bugs me is the "throne room." That looks incredibly awkward. The king is just perched on an open platform that he gets to via a ladder? Uh, no. That will need to be fixed. Anyone have any opinions on how to integrate the Gatehouse Raid into the castle?

[The Black Falcon]

It seem to me a lot like the kingdoms castle 7946 set (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7946-1), which I own. Can't say it is a huge advancement. The colour scheme blue instead of red. The throne room is still exposed. However it does have the room above it that could be converted to a enclosed throne room. A bonus is that the prison is bigger and the catapult has more kick.

As for the Dragons catapult, it looks nice but I prefer the simplicity of the catapult in 7948 (http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7948-1).

I am a fan of the Dragon torsos but that is about it. So I will be skipping this set. Too many horrible lions.

[SkaForHire]

Isn't the price point for this at TRU 129 (on a good day?). I don't know if it is worth it, although I really like the figs (other than the shields). The castle looks too much like KK2.

[Knight Solaire]

I really want to get the princess and the evil sorcerer figs but I don't want the set they come in... Ill probably just have to buy them off bricklink for a high price. And does anyone ave any idea as to what the prices in the UK will be?

[Aanchir]

That King's Castle is even more beautiful than I imagined. I figured both of the corner towers would be more or less empty except maybe a few weapons. Instead, there's a brilliantly-designed dungeon in the rear corner tower. I was personally wondering if this one would have a dungeon, since that was the main feature from the Kingdoms version this seemed to lack. However, I figured a dungeon built into the walls would be awfully cramped. Building it into one of the towers solves that problem quite neatly.

The castle looks very imposing, as was to be expected on account of that magnificent gatehouse. I am a bit disappointed that the interior of the gatehouse is simply empty space for the portcullis, rather than including a keep like I was hoping. But I guess that may have been a bit too much to hope for given the lack of a proper keep in any previous LEGO castles in my lifetime.

The minifigure designs are great, with a lot of personality but still a certain genericness that keeps them from having to represent particular characters. I'm impressed that all the torsos seem to have back printing. The lion knight's suit of armor makes great use of the lion heraldry, which brings back fond memories of the sculpted armor pieces of the 2005 KK2 action figures.

The siege engine looks great, and the slide-rail function for launching the catapult is very cool even though it probably makes the dragon head on the front less effective as a battering ram. At first when I saw the slide rails I thought it was just to allow the battering ram to move separately from the cart so you wouldn't have to ram the whole cart into the castle wall. The catapult function is still cool but it kind of nerfs that potential to have the battering ram and catapult integrated.

The drawbridge is cool, but if I were to get this set I'd make certain to get those strings straight before operating it. The wrinkly look they have in the video review has got to go. I'm also a bit disappointed that the drawbridge doesn't seem to close completely (or at least if it does, they don't show it in the video).

The pop-out wall on the castle's right side is a nice function but frankly I'm a bit disappointed that it leaves a gap above that wall segment. The LEGO Agents Mobile Command Center had a more effective pop-out wall simply by using cheese wedges instead of a flat tile on the upper edge. But of course, that style can only be pushed in from one side, whereas I suppose that TLG might have wanted this wall segment to pop in as easily as it pops out.

I see now that the catapult on the castle uses not a Technic axle, but a piece of Technic flex hose. It seems to serve its purpose quite effectively, even though it takes up a lot of space inside that corner tower. A bit odd that the ammo for the catapult is a level below the catapult itself, but there is no ladder connecting the two levels. Granted, attaching a ladder diagonally like that wouldn't be easy, but it'd be a worthwhile modification IMO.

The rear tower is a nice design but it's a bit of a shame that the space to either side of it is more or less unused. The throne room and treasure room are nice, and as I've stated before, I'm glad that all the walls of the towers are around the outside perimeter of the castle, rather than having some towards the inside perimeter as on the Kingdoms version. The modular wall system is definitely nice. It adds both customizability and compatibility with the previous King's Castle and this year's Gatehouse Raid.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this set. It's definitely just as good as the last King's Castle, if not better. I can only hope that we continue to see castles of this caliber in future waves, such as perhaps a more impressive villainous castle.

[CM4Sci]

Oh look, Your Creative Friends. Not surprised to see a review from them already.

Anyway, picked up the Gold Getaway set. The carriage is really well built and the new "armor" pieces for the horses is interesting. I can't film anything for the time being, as I said, dropped my 'camera'.

-Sci

[SkaForHire]

To correct my earlier assuming, as I just went to my local TRU - The castle is currently only 109, and has not been marked up to the 120s range like they normally do around here. With the BOGO right now, two would run you around 165 without tax. I still couldn't fork over that kind of money for this set, it just didn't speak to me. I did pick up two of each of the three smaller sets. I am opening them now, and very impressed with the mini-figs. Too bad that red sideburns guy is only in the castle set... I just found out that I got a misplaced head in the first set I opened. I have never had that before. I got two of the same "serious" looking face, and no red sideburns guy... Then I read the review posted in the forum, and saw that I actually did not get the right head in my set!!! That is the weirdest mistake I have ever seen.

Edited May 15, 2013 by SkaForHire

[just2good]

With me being sick earlier this week, family problems, and a college exam Friday, I have not been able to go to Toys"R"Us. I'll probably go straight after the test Friday. These sets look better in video! I'll probably get the third one along with the first two.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Sooooooo tempted to go grab that castle right now, but with all you AFOLs poo-pooing on it I think I might have to hold out until the winter for a sale price. Heck, I got the Kingdoms Castle at HALF PRICE and you guys even liked that one.

Personally I love it and can't wait to move my Crownies into it. Heck, I've even. Named it and am planning a MOD to hang vines across the left side!

[Echo]

i wish people would stop comparing the new castle to KK2. Have you guys forgotten what KK2 was like? This new stuff is NOTHING at all like KK2. I also can't fathom why everyone is so negative about the new castle when it is so incredibly similar to the Kingdoms castle that everyone has put on a pedestal. The only things that one can really say are <insert that tiresome argument> in comparison are the blue cheese wedges, but that isn't a major part of the design or structure. (I will admit that the Kingdoms castle's tower is better though.)