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.

Another cool review. I just wonder why TLG only released 3 sets. Did they somehow run out of ideas mid-theme, or was Wolfpack only intended as a filler theme? Or maybe when someone came up with the Dragon Master concept, TLG liked it so much they threw Wolfpack overboard? I see parallels with Dark Forest, which was also scrapped after three sets to make way for a fantasy-style faction with dragons and a magical character... Also, does anyone know if the keychain guy is one piece, or can his head/torso/legs be separated?

Looks like a helluva project. Time, money and location constraints prevent me from taking part but I look forward to a lot of inspirational MOCs, maps, backstories, etc. Good luck to all involved, and may the best guild win!

I don't think TLG would produce Barad Dur. No part of the storyline takes place there, so there would be no reason for TLG to create the set and face the wrath of the fans who would be disappointed by the inevitable non-epicness of it. Isengard and Helm's Deep, could be done in LEGO scale, I think. - As Tyrant mentioned, Helm's Deep is basically a keep, a ramp and a long wall, which could be done on a 32x32 baseplate (if TLG decides to use baseplates). - Orthanc could be just 3-4 stories high, as the height of the tower isn't all that important to the story. - Rivendell, a house or two, a bridge over a river, and an open area for the Jewelry Jamboree. - Lorien, a big treewith a platform, maybe 1 or 2 smaller trees. - Mount Doom would just be a vignette with Frodo, Sam ad Gollum on a ledge over a pool of lava. Minas Tirith might be tough, I wouldn't expect TLG to do the whole city. The lighting of the beacon scene, sure. Meeting with Denethor in the throne room (with courtyard with withered tree), maybe, if the lisence lasts. A segment of the outer/1st wall, with an orcish catapult, siege tower or even just orcs climbing a ladder, could be - maybe as part of a Pelennor set, with a mumak and Rohirrim thrown in. For The Hobbit, a corner of Lake Town, for example. I can't think of any other Hobbit passage which would merit a large set. I doubt we would see all 13 dwarves, but who knows? The key, I would say, is to think small.

Cool creation; I wonder what it will lead to... I have two isuues though: - I would put the Bulls next to the old lion knights, as they were their official adversaries - I think the Dragon Masters work better as a forest faction, as intended by the color of their baseplates. They just seem too European to me to be a mideastern/desert faction. Wild, dragon-infested woods suit them better. Awaiting the placement of other faction, like Black Knights (some coastal region, as they have the only fleet worth mentioning), Persians from Alamut, possibly the Chinese and east Indians from Orient Expedition, who seem to be stuck with pre-industrial technology, maybe even some lost island of Spartans/Greeks with Atlantis architecture , etc And by the way, who gets the island in the middle of the map?

Hmm... I never thought of the set name as intentionally ambiguous, just as a poor formulation of a name. I tend to prefer an explanation which keeps the Monarch alive and hopefully to be seen someday (if only in my MOCs). I also see the Black Knights as the last classic faction, for purely subjective reasons - my golden age started in 1993 with the Dragon Masters, and while Wolfpack were still in the catalogs (and the largest DM set), the previous factions were "prehistory" as far as I saw it. I read a few times (and sourced it to brickipedia, in the 1992 chapter) that the 6086 Black Knights castle was originally called the Dungeon Master's Castle. (Maybe you would like to include it in your article, SirSven7?). I sometimes thought of the newer Black Knights as a splinter faction of the original ones, using new dragon plumes and ovoid shields and calling themselves Dungeon Masters. This in contrast to the original Black Knights, who kept their allegiance to their unseen Black Monarch (whether ghost, missing, hidden away, or otherwise).

Very nice! I especially like the palisades, the 3 trees in the back and the fields - the fields look like they would also work in minifig scale. What bricks did you use for the castle windows?

Very nice, especially the stripe (probably the highlight of the build)! And in contrast to lightingtiger, I also like the use of the PoP arches above the front wheels - creative usage of the piece.

Why not? I can't imagine TLG passing up an opportunity for another fire station. Seriously, it's a staple set, and the fact that it would be in a forest location would enable TLG to break the "another fire station" monotony. And look at this years police sets - they released the massive 7288 Mobile Police Unit alongside the police station without batting an eyelid.

Great review, as usual. I myself consider the 6086 Black Knights Castle the best ever, even though I prefer gray castles overall. As for raised baseplates, I have no problems with them. 6034 Black Monarchs Ghost was one of my most treasured sets, as it gave me my only ghost and breastplate. But ever since I learned the name of the set, it had me wondering: was it the ghost of the black monarch, or was it a ghost that somehow belonged to the black monarch, and if so, was the knight the black monarch, or was he just a knight of the black monarch who was to check on the ghost, or ...???

I think Tintin would lend itself well to a LEGO license in terms of recreation of scenes from the books (haven't seen the movie yet). In this respect, I feel it would be more doable than LotR, for instance. The problem is, I think Tintin isn't well known outside Western Europe. It wasn't always easy finding Tintin books in NYC (and yes, I have all of them! ), and it isn't a household name here in Slovakia either (though it's getting better). Maybe the movie will fix that, and by the time of a sequel, the market could be there...

Much better!

Glad to hear it, I was afraid I'd have to memorize the numbers...

Plan 3001 from Outer Space: replace all authority figures with brain-eating aliens to prepare the stage for Alien Conquest! Well, thanks to Aanchir we know what the numbers stand for; now the main question remaining is: why?

I love your reviews, SirSven7! I hope we won't have to wait as long for the next one! I'm not too keen on the forestmen myself, I prefer Wolpack or Dark Forest as outlaw factions. I find the forestmen too bright and clean, or not rugged enough. Though I guess that in their time they were pretty revolutionary compared to the classic factions. I'm just surprised TLG didn't use the new pirate heads on the figs along with the wench, and waited until Wolfpack.

Hmm, not many trees for a forest setting, and these new brickbuilt trees put the old moulded ones to shame. They should make a tree/plant/vegetation "battle pack" for more scenery! As for animals, I'm hoping for deer (with interchangeable antlers for moose, santa's reindeer, etc), but I don't see it happening, as animals are not the focus here. While I like the new twist on the police sets, maybe TLG should have waited a year to bring them out, so as not to have 2 police subthemes in a row. I'm afraid that next year, when this forest theme is done, they'll unroll another city-based police theme, making it 3 police subthemes in 3 years...

I can't see any pics either. Shame, based on the reactions, it seems this MOC would be worth seeing!

Very nice, especially the use of dark green plates instead of regular green - it gives an apporpriate dark atmosphere to the scene. Strange to see a couple of mummies in a cemetery though! What's with the 3001/_ names, by the way?

This reminded me of the movie even before I read the text... and I like it all the better for that! A toy story soldier or an Indy Jones Russian would make it even more authentic (if you have those figs or if you were going for authenticity, that is).

Yeah, I learned this the hard way, when i shoved a lightsabre blade into a round 1x1 brick. My dad had to get it out for me with a pair of pliers... (it left marks ) Maybe if they made the torso and small legs one piece, or the legs connect to the torso via regular studs. And the shoulder connections could be like the old skeletons, with the hands and arms also being one piece. But that's just me rambling.

Then again, why not? Just take the current dino theme, replace the dinos with zombies, and we're all set! Or maybe a theme similar to the Van Helsing movies, with some adventurers hunting supernatural creatures?

A link to the 'EB User Groups and Tags' thread in the member guidelines, then.

I don't recall anything about this 10-post limit in any introductory topics, and I've actually read the stuff when joining. I think it should be mentioned somewhere, as a footnote in the member guidelines for instance. I was pretty confused about this myself when I was a complete newbie, and I almost asked the same question...

AFOL: with an "a" like in "apple" or "staff" (though i miht try to change it to ay-fol to adapt to the mainstream) MOC: mock LEGO: mostly leh-go, but sometimes lay-go, vignette/bignette: vinyet/binyet WIP: whip CUUSOO: coo-soh decal: dee-kal (I think that's the standard pronounciation) I don't spell out the letters or say the whole phrase, since these acronyms are easily pronounceable as a word, and it takes less time to pronounce them as such. TLG is an exception, which i spell out, as "tlg" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily.