Artifex

I started another thread based on the same overall idea (future sets for the Castle/Kingdom line), but exclusive to civilian buidings because i hadn't seen this thread here. Apologies. As I said in that other thread, I would like to see something as a Hunter's Lodge (with a new Forestmen line/sets spin off). Some sort of dock, pier or bay fortress would be awesome too.

PRECISELY! That's EXACTLY what I wanted to say and couldn't find the word for it! I also miss more farms/farmhouses specificaly designed for the Castle/Kingdom line, but as you said, there's already a farm theme for the City line... A Tudor-style pier, stables or granary would be great, too.

Wow! Amazing! I'm no builder/designer or photograph expert, but you sure knew where you were going when you started building all these: that opening shot is truly something!

Nice idea: hairpiece wit pointed ears. I like that!

Ok, finished. Looks awesome. 'Really liked the design: elegant, functional and the tower looks beautiful after you finish it. The catapult is everything I expected, plus more: it's real, it's more than just a pic Must get, IMHO.

Looks awesome! Menacing! Those two ebon statues won't let me sleep tonight! Nice semi-circular wall, by the way.

Yeah, you are right - I wanted to say "a place where to store large barrels of wine" and that's what came out... My mistake, sorry!

The Guarded Inn is an unanimity among fans. So is the Medieval Village Market. Although the first one is not necessarily a civilian building, the second Blacksmith Shop most probably is. So, do you want more civilian buildings in the new Castle/Kingdom line? And what would you suggest? I most definitely do! Maybe a new, updated Guarded Inn, but also a Wine Cellar/Bakery (like the Medieval Village Market double buildings), a Hunter's Lodge (maybe starting a new forestmen spin off) and, why not, the City Dungeon (with secret passages, a burgomaster, a judge and things like that)?

Welcome there, James! Hey, wait a sec... - James? From England? You're no secret agent, are you? Hmm... :D

Just built mine - pretty good impulse set! It's a must get!

Just registered!

I always wanted a 6985 Cosmic Fleet Voyager, but I never got one. That's the coolest spaceship, IMHO. But I got a 6931-1, the FX Star Patroller, that was awesome enough to make me forget about bigger spaceships - modular, a robot and a small "car"? Cool enough! So although I think the Cosmic Fleet Voyager is the coolest, the Star Patroller is the best!

(I can't believe noone said this already, so) HOLY-brick building, Batbrick! Your park looks amazing! I feel inside a comic book, cartoon or a Lego videogame o r a movie, maybe? Great job!

Welcome!

Amazing design! All figs look great, but that German Wolfensteinn paratrooper is one of the most beautiful, detailed and [adjective yourself] I have ever seen!!!

I like your "final result" (but I believe you'll be coming back to this diorama for your own sake ). For starters, I believe you were expecting a little too much of yourself and your work. I think you are being very hard on yourself, but not because of what you did, which in my opinion is quite good, but because of what you wanted to do. That very same thing happened to myself more times than I can keep records of t. If your problem is lack of resources, try visiting places that offer discounts or buying online. If it's money, try not having that espresso after every meal (in the end of the week or in the end of the month, it might have saved you a few bucks). And most important: You have to know when something is done/ready/complete! I think your dio is quite done, IMHO. I'd take some of the green shirts off and maybe add one or two nazi at most, but I wouldn't change anything else, I guess. And try to have fun by not only building your stuff, but enjoying it: those pictures look great and I think you should go on and take a few more, exploring your own creation in ways that building it has nothing to do with it, but exploring it in ways you didn't foresee beforehand. If you are still disappointed after that, try looking for some of those WWII or any other "theme" dioramas on the 'net - you'll soon realise that size does not always matter: there are some impressive dioramas that are even smaller - much smaller - than your own. Oh, and don't you forget to check the dios in here too - try looking at the Star Wars vingnettes, for example: small, simple and just plain AWESOME!

Thanks for the tip! I'm planning to visit every store you guys are mentioning in here. Even if I'm not buying anything, it's a good way to do some city-seeing and going around.

Oh, man, great job! Your building looks awesome! The windows are just beautiful, and and the façade is amazing! I love the way the building looks in the inside because it feels so lively and real - what one would expect from a centuries year old building: high ceiling with lots of "blank space" from floor to ceiling. It just feels real! Although I never been to Italy (yet! *crossing fingers*), it feels so Roman/Italian - it reminds me of all the great shots in the movies in Rome. I love your selection of minifigs: those guys working on the sidewalk are just a nice and lively touch; after all, a city is not just about people going up and down the streets - there are people working in the streets too. Your choice of colors, your clean design... So many nice things brought together! And one last comment: congrats on your pictures too - you really got a knack for taking pictures.

Thanks for all the tips, guys! Today was a very productive day! I read all your posts and tips and decided to go to Bluewater, to the official Lego store. After a couple of hours trying to plan my "trip" there, off I went. The mall is, in and on itself, quite a view. Not really beautiful nor exquisite, but HUGE! The Lego store is much more than I had expected (I saw a couple of pictures of it and it looked so small...). It was big, spatious and more important: They had every single set I could have asked for and even more! I ended up getting almost all Kingdom sets (but for the ones I already owned and the keychains). The prices are a bit higher than S@H, but not that much more (a couple of pounds on the pricier stuff like the bigger sets, a pound on the small ones). If you S@H you'll pay less even with the shipping included, but I DO advise everyone to go to an official Lego store and spend a couple of hours in it. I only left because a couple of parents were staring at me and asking their kids to get away from the big adult creating his own minifigures among the children... I got a nice looking female fig, though. All in all, this was one of the best days here in London: walking, trains, buses, first trip to another city, seeing the landscape. And a lot of Lego! Cheers! P.S.: Oh, I almost forgot - although I was buying a lot of stuff, there was no discount; they only give discounts when you spend 1000,00 Pounds or more. Sadly, it was not the case

Beautiful! The beautiul design reminds me of the Airwolf (yes, the 80s series).

Hail all! I'm a 31yo Lego enthusiast. I was always a great Lego fan, but I'm not a great collector: Yesterday I bought my first set in more than a decade (although i've bought a couple of small sets/minifig sets during this time). I've been so busy reading (and even doing some posting in) the forums here and searching Lego in ebay that I apologize for not saying "Hail" before. By the way, GREAT REVIEWS! I love the way people write their reviews here and the great pictures that illustrate them. I also (try to) collect 25th anniversary GIJoe (I gave up buying ARAH and I'm not really into the movie figures), but I feel this is a "Lego Year" for me... I have a couple of Playmobil too, but my favorite Playmobil theme (and the only one I actually collect) is western, which has not been produced for a time (I usually try to get things (both Lego and Playmobil) from my childhood/teen years). My favorite Lego theme is Castle. I really like the overall theme (be it Castle, Kingdoms or whatever!), although I'm not really one for the most magical side of it (I'd have wizards in my own creations, but magic would be distant and hard to get by - like Merlin in most Arthurian legends and tales, or Gandalf and Middle-Earth, and never as shiny and bright as in Dungeons and Dragons - I love RPGs, but for my Lego I like a feel more akin to A Song of Ice and Fire and Bernard Cornwell's Arthur: there may be magic, but noone can tell for sure or use it with enough precision). I just recently bought and built the Outpost Attack set of the new Kingdom line. One word: cool! I really like this new line, although unhappy with the poor plastic of the Battle Packs figures... I also like Lego Pirates, and they were always the menace (and a couple of other factions) im my Legoverse. Luckily the Imperials got lost in "that storm" with some of the newcomer Pirates and ended up right by our shores - that allowed for the alliance with the Castle guys and their building of those outposts and piers by the sea. I love some of the Town sets and the amazing creations around. I'm also looking for people (not just sellers) from whom I can buy sets and figures of old. People I can become friends with. It feels so comforting to find and meet people who like myself (and to a much greater extent than me) have kept on with their love for Lego and (I'm sure) building and playing... Sorry, I have to go to the corner over there and get this thing out of my eye... EDIT: Spelling.

Great work: sounds tasty, looks promising! Keep the images coming and keep up the good work!

Hail and well met! I recently moved to London. I have been coming and going around the city, and I'm sort of familiar with it as of now. But I can't really find a nice store where to buy Lego. I've been to Hamleys, and although the place is great (it TRULY is!), some Lego sets there are a bit overpriced (I can get the new King's Castle for about GBP 80.00 in S@H, and Hamleys has the same set for GBP 94.00 - that's more then even full price + shipping). To be fair, some sets are worth buying there (like the Outpost Attack, which you can buy for GBP 20.00 which is only 1 pence/cent more then S@H). I've been to Harrod's too (another interesting walk), but when I was there I didn't really check the price of any toys (shame on me)... :( I know the model store near Holborn (no Lego there last time I visited) and I've been to Forbidden Planet, but no Lego there too. So where should I go in London to buy Lego? Is there a store that sells older sets/items as well? I have no problem in having to take the tube/buses, so distance is not an issue (although going to other cities may be a little expensive). I live around Stoke Newington (hope that helps). Thanks in advance!

Josykay said pretty much everything. What was supposed to be a good army builder turned out to be... A big disappointment? One option in my opinion would be changing ALL figures for the ones in the Battle Packs so you can't really notice the difference - but that is just as frustrating, I guess (paying for figures to hide them away?) The only other option would be thinking of the Battle Pack figures as "battle-hardened" knights/soldiers, I guess. But if lack of quality is now solved by imagination, I wonder where this new line is ging to end.

Thanks for another great review, Metalandi! This set looks great, but for the grey whiskers/black beard thing and the no-detail torso. But look at that hat with the golden dragon! And the printed grimoire/scroll - spells or alchemy? (I guess I'lle have alchemy in my Legoverse, not real magic - but is that a dragon? Like in DRAGON? Oh, my! Poor Lions!)