Breakspear

I 100% agree: from the outset there was huge ambiguity over who the set was for (nostalgic adult collectors or young familes?) and what it was supposed to be (display set or play set?). With hindsight, I can see much of my initial grumpiness with the set was because I was holding it to the standard of recent display sets (e.g. Medieval Blacksmith, LKC, Ninjago City). I wanted it to be more realistic, more grown-up, based on an original design, infused with rich storytelling, and with more and better minifigures. However, once I switched gears and started judging the set on its own merits (i.e. as a playset), most of my gripes melted away. It really is an excellent play set, and the finest Imperial fort Lego has ever produced. The use of modularity to allow the fort to be split up and reconfigured is ingenious, with the separate towers/ramparts/docks etc. evocative of the many, many small Imperials sets (e.g. Sabre Island, Broadside's Brig). The smiling mini-figure face-prints feel entirely consistent with the light-hearted history of the theme. The addition of the trading ship is entirely unnecessary, but adds heaps of play value and shows the designers love of the theme. Similarly, if we assume that TLG defined the target audience for the set as "nostalgic adults building with their children", then I think the designer hit it out of the park. When my six year old daughter saw it at our local Lego store, she immediately recognised the bluecoat soldiers from "Daddy's collection" and got excited at the idea of us building it together (which definitely tugged my heartstrings!). So the design of the set (in the context of the presumed design brief) seems an unqualified success. Whether the brief was correct in the first place is unclear. I fear that if the set underperforms, TLG will erroneously conclude that there is no audience for future imperials sets, when in fact unmet demand (either for large display sets or smaller, more cost effective play sets) may still exist.

I'm really interested in how this turns out. In the film, the ship looks like a stylised fantasy version of a late medieval carrack. The set might offer some interesting MOC possibilities for both fans of pirates and castle. Wow, both figures look amazing. Love your work. I imagined that Winifred Sanderson would make a great historic fig, now you've proved it!

They look great! Thanks for sharing. My personal favorite is the one on the far left with the goatee faceprint.

I love those ideas. I agree Duplo, DreamZZZ and Creator provide great scope for Pirates crossovers. For City or Friends, I think the most obvious options would be do something themed around children's play, such as a Pirate ship amusement park ride (similar to 31084), or a pirate-lair themed playground or treehouse. Alternatively, a City/Friends set based on a film studio or a theatre production would provide good scope for including some fantastical pirate builds. Another idea (although one with low likelihood) would be a Pirates-Ninjago crossover. Pirates do exist in the Ninjago universe (I'm thinking specifically of the Sky Pirates that appeared in the Skybound series). The current 'Dragon's Rising' series has upended a lot of previous Ninjago lore, creating a sort of multi-verse (including a crossover with Chima). So, anything's possible.

Sorry, I see the language I used was inadvertently quite loaded. No offense intended. It was a clumsy attempt at self-deprecation saying 'Look, I have opinions about CMF design generally, but I lack the knowledge to judge the thematic aspects of this series fairly, and I'm keen to hear the views of those who know more about the Space theme and its history than I do'. I often find my appreciation of TLG designs improves after listening to the views of others.

I'm not a LEGO Space fan per-se I've been collecting CMFs for a while (history themes in particular), but I'm finding this series difficult to assess. Conceptually, I think the series boasts a good range of characters, calculated to appeal to as broad a market as possible. A nice mix of callbacks to classic LEGO themes coupled with a sprinkling of recognisable space tropes. Overall, I'd give the series high points on creativity. On execution however, the collection feels a slightly flat and lacking in detail. Maybe that's just the low res image. The range of accessories accompanying the minifigures seems underwhelming. These points notwithstanding, I'm very interested to understand what true Space fans (apologies, unintentionally loaded term) those with more knowledge of LEGO Space than myself think of this series. I'm also very interested in what this series might mean for TLG regularly producing more non-IP themed CMF series in the near future.

A couple of extra thoughts on the series, now that the official photos have been revealed: Barbarian: This one of my favorites of the series. The arm and leg printing is lovely. The idea of the new hair/circlet mold is great (more of these please!). The contour of the hair feels too a little too flat/dull for my personal taste, but I accept that it is accurate to the 'Red Sonja' source material. Personally, I would have preferred something a bit more windswept. Not sure about the hair colour: Dark red might or dark orange might have been preferable. A future re-colour with the hair in black and the circlet in gold might also look cool - perhaps one day! Batlord: Overall I love the level of detail in the figure. Clearly no expense was spared. New helmet mold, dual-molded legs, new torso print, leg and arm printing, dual sided cape (red and grey). New shield print. Presumably dual sided face print too. Exceptional. Query: While the overall effect is very cool indeed, I'm having trouble interpreting the print designs: What exactly is he supposed to be wearing? Torso: Is it a studded vest with crenellated/dagged sleeves? Legs: Is it supposed to be a studded leather belt/girdle (like a Roman cingulum?) over grey leggings and boots? Or maybe its a black crenellated/dagged tunic fringe hanging over grey leggings? Goatherd: Putting the goat accessory aside, I really like this figure. However, it also frustrates me. First the good stuff: I like that it is unambiguously medieval. I also like that it could be repurposed as a Forestman. However, I really dislike the face print: The CMF series has given us some fantastic 'stubble' face prints recently )e.g. the Series 22 Snow Guardian and the Series 20 Tournament Knight) - this attempt at '5 o'clock shadow' is not one of them. Also - and this is admittedly more of a nitpick - but the design of the torso print also feels a bit off to me. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's something to do with the combination of the hood cape print overlapping the sheepskin vest? Noir Detective: Still one of my favorites. I love the new hat mold and the trench coat torso print. I'm also grateful that they extended the printing of the trench coat down onto the legs. Crossfitter: This one is growing on me. The torso print design is good. New dual-molded legs. The waistband printing on the hips is a nice, if subtle detail. I like the new tattoo print on the arms (tattoos still being pretty rare on minifigures). The printed accessories are good.

I agree. Given the tsunami of "Space" cross-branded sets across other themes, It seems very likely that the upcoming 'Space' CMF series is not a code-name (unless it refers to s Space-themed licensed series - e.g. Star Wars?). Given 2024 seems to have been become the "Year of Space", I'm very curious as to whether there will be other cross-branded sets grouped around other classic themes in future years (e.g. Castle in 2025?) and if so, whether that will be supported by a specific themed CMF series. I continue to believe that this a very logical direction for Lego to pursue, especially if they remain committed to the idea of pure blind-bag CMFs (i.e. they don't add identification to the boxes). I know very little about Fortnite or its characters, but the character design in the announced skins pack look really impressive. Strong Vidyo-vibes, with some interesting thematic similarities to some existing Lego/CMF themes e.g. Castle, Monsters etc. A Fortnight CMF series could result in a number of new, interesting moulds e.g. a new visored Barbuta style knights helmet.

I'd be pretty happy with 10 or 11 mini-figures, provided the quality is good (e.g. on par with the Viking Village). The Lion Knights Castle included 21 minifigs (excluding skeleton) but only 5 of these had new/unique torso or leg printing. Given the civilian focus of the upcoming set, I'm hoping it will include a higher proportion of unique minifigures (with hopefully) minimal re-use of existing designs (e.g. the CMF Troubadour torso or the Medieval Blacksmith apron torso/legs).

I note the packaging design is different from the other retro releases (Forestmen's Hideout and the Blacktron Cruiser), but is consistent with other recent GWPs (e.g. Houses of the World, the Magic Maze). Notably: No yellow banner in the upper left box corner with the name of the set plus "Lego Castle System" in blue font. An age rating of 12+, rather than 18+ (which was the case for Forestmen and Blacktron) The golden yellow ribbon along the bottom saying "Limited Edition" These seem like odd design choices given the 'nostalgia' premise of the set.

Whether or not it was the intent, I agree it would make a fantastic Clouseau. Just need to swap out the head. Could also work as Inspector Gadget.

Wonderful to get a first glimpse at the full line-up for the new series, although I'm finding the yellow background of the character sheet a bit jarring! A couple of standout figures plus several I'm curious to learn more about. Overall, less consistent than the incredible Series 24. Some observations: Noir Detective: Seems to be inspired by Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe. Is the hat mould new? Looks smaller than past Lego fedoras. The red herring made me smile. Batlord: So fun to see a new interpretation of this classic Lego character. Interesting new helmet but surprisingly retro shield. Curious to see the back of the cape, as well as the print details on the torso and legs. Goatherd: Wonderful to set the return of goat. Will reserve judgement on the goatherd himself, as difficult to judge the torso and leg print design. Seems to be wearing a sheepskin waistcoat, with perhaps some sort of ribbon/necktie around his neckline? And possibly some subtle arm printing? Does not appear distinctly medieval, so might work in a variety of settings? Head print looks very unique - interested to see if there is an alternate face print. Mushroom Fairy: Cool hat, and lovely butterfly print accessory. I wish they had done more with the rest of the character, but I understand the look they were going for. Harpy: Happy that they attempted this character, but would have preferred a more naturalistic interpretation. Might swap out the head if there are good alternatives. Train Suit: Design of costume is very 'toy-like'. Perhaps a reference to the original wooden trains Lego made in the 1940s and 50s? Barbarian: Interesting, but hard to judge fairly due to poor image quality. Maybe inspired by Red Sonja. I like the idea of the moulded circlet/headband on the hair - that's pretty rare. Good use of dual-molded arms. The recoloured DreamZZZ sword works well. Eager to see the high res-images. The other characters (E-gamer, Athlete, Crossfitter, Triceratops, Dog groomer) are less interesting to me personally, but seem well executed.

Yay, I got two: Train Costume and Noir Detective.

Curious! The silloutettes are interesting. While not immediately suggestive of any specific types of figure(s) (i.e. no distinctive headgear, ears, horns, antennae etc), it does prompt a couple of thoughts: Can we infer anything from the 'naked' minifigure head on the far left? Figures with no hair or hat pieces are unusual in CMFs so it immediately make me think of the Series 1 Demolition Dummy and Super Wrestler (luchadore) figures. The looping 'arm' shape immediately below may be the hair of a figure with pigtails (perhaps the Lego Batman Movie CMF Series 2 Harley Quinn hairpeice?) The bulbous shaped head (centre-left) could be a costume fig or perhaps some type of new helmet. Perhaps a 'scrum-cap' worn by rugby football players? The shape on the far right of the image reminded of the Series 16 Rogue but on closer inspection I think it is different.

Here are my guesses: Wicked King - with fabric cape and ermine collar pieces plus recolour of crown/hair combo with black hair Parrot Costume Person - with a macaw style headpeice, torso has wings instead of arms with pinapple accessory Noir Dectective - with torso-printed trenchcoat with fabric high collar piece, hair/hat combo and magnifying glass accessory Tooth Fairy - with wand accessory and printed 1x1 round tile with tooth symbol Train Driver - with waist-attaching steam-train cosume accessory Love Goddess (Aphrodite) - white toga-style robe, printed sandals, heart-peice accessory. Penny-Farthing Rider - with new penny-fathing style bicycle accessory Fairy Queen - with new crown/hair peice and harp/lyre accessory Imperial Sailor (tie-in to Eldorado Fortress) - with new staw hat/hair combo and a boathook accessory Rugby Union Player - with striped football unform with printed boots and rugby ball accessory Samurai Lord - with long bow, new chonmage-syle bald/hair piece ,and new printed war fan accessory Vet Nurse - with new guinea pig accessory Initially I thought they might do a special mystery figure/chase figure (like Mr Gold or the Highwayman) to help boost uptake/acceptance of the switch to blind boxes. Having seen the carnage of ripped packaging at some stores, I'm now convinced that Lego launching a chase figure would be precisely the wrong thing to do!

Older kids definately can enjoy Duplo. My nearly six year old girl has graduated to Lego at home, but loves playing with Duplo when she visits friends who have a large sack of it. I think she enjoys the feeling of near total masterty that comes from working with such a simple/familiar/intuative product: the size of the bricks and limited range of shapes make it super easy for her to construct quite large, stable builds very quicky, in a way which is very satisfying. This compares with the slower, fiddlier experience of building with Lego, where the smaller scale and greater menu of bricks choices require with much greater thought and concentration. I'm not saying one is better then the other, but they offer distinctly different play experiences and sources of satisfaction to kids in the 4-6 year age range. I know there is a tipping point somewhere when kids suddenly reject toys they consider 'too baby-ish', but she hasn't reached it for Duplo... yet.

Fantastic to get confirmation that this set is coming. Given its civilian-focus, I'm hoping it inlcudes a diverse mix of new/unique minifigure prints. If the level of detail matchs the recent Viking Village then we will be in for a treat. The rumoured professions of the figs already mentioned are delightfully specific: tax collector, guard, cheesemaker, jester, tapestry weaver, carpenter, crook (thief/rogue), sheildsmith. This makes me hopeful that Lego will give most figures distinct torso prints, rather than just spamming a bunch of generic peasant outfits. Given the presence of an inn and a farmhouse, can we perhaps expect the inclusion of a farmer and an innkeeper too? On the question of which military factions will be included, the Lion Knights and Forestmen seem most likely to me. The specific mention of the 'Broken Axes' Inn makes me hopeful that we get a new Crossed Axes torso varient for the Lion Knights. The sheildsmith opens up the possibility that the shields/heraldry of other factions could be included in the set as easter eggs, even if they are not present as figures (similar to the Lion Knights Castle 10305). I'm very curious about the likely design and layout of the buildings. The Prelim image somewhat reminds me the Harry Potter Diagon Ally set (i.e dolls-house style shop fronts on seperate baseplates that you can display in a row).

I think this idea would work well as a themed series. At a rough estimate, there have only been about 15 or so CMFs that could be thought of as representing aspects of conteporary nations/cultures (e.g. the Royal Guard, the Geisha, the Lederhosen Guy, the Flamenco Dancer, the Bagpiper, the Mariarchi etc). This compares with the nearly 50 or so food/animal suit CMFs, and 40+ sport/recreation themed CMFs. So lots of scope for Lego to more in this space.

That's a really interesting thought and would reflect with how some other blind bag/blind box systems seem to work: each series is released as a unified collection, with the design of all figures reflecting some overarching theme or style. This reduces the level of consumer uncertainty, even if they don't know the specific figure they will receive. Lego should understand this principle as its licensed CMF themes already operate on this principle. I note that some toy/collectable brands which use 'themed series' (I'm thinking Popmart and LOL Dolls) tend to compensate for the lack of thematic diversity within a series by releasing lots of niche themed series concurrently or in quick succession. This allows them to maximise their appeal to a wide range of consumer tastes at any given time (e.g.. you didn't like the recent 'pyjama party' and 'world of sports' themed collections? Don't worry, the 'famous people from history', 'fairy tale', and 'greek gods' collections are coming out next month!). Of course nobody is going to complain if its their particular niche that is being served. . But seriously (and to the point made by Accio Lego above) I do think the switch to blind boxes changes the calculus and makes the idea of niche/themed series more palatable. One thing that excites me (and for the record, I'm not a Space collector) about the idea of a themed series for Space is the greater range of new Lego character designs it could result in. Characters that wouldn't otherwise be included in a mixed-theme unlienced CMF series because they arn't architypal enough to represent their theme/genre alone. Things like a space doctor, a space scientist, a space courier, a space cowboy, a space engineer/mechanic, a space farmer/colonist etc. That's my hope anyway!

Difficult choice! My favorites are Govenor Broadside and the classic bluecoats as they were the main imperials of my childhood. Sabre Island forever! The classic redcoats ended up becoming my younger brother's imperial faction, which probably put me off them just a tiny bit! That said, I'm extremely keen to see a modernised take on the classic Redcoat minifigures (i.e. without the blue details of the 2009 versions).

The new grey hair/beard combo piece from the DreamZzz Mr Oz's Spacebus set (71460) gives me strong castaway vibes (think old Ben Gunn from Treasure Island).

In terms of full figures what I'd like most are: An updated version of the Imperial Armada nobleman with the silver gorget printed on his torso. An updated version of Captain Ironhook with torn shirt and bandolier A updated version of pirate/merchant captain "Steve" (Ascot Guy) An imperial navy sailor figure (it has always annoyed me that the infantry/soldiers have to sail the imperials ships): Flat straw hat in tan or black, dark blue jacket over blue and white striped shirt, red waist sash, white trousers with printed shoes. A male Roccoco aristocrat (counterpart to the recent female CMF Roccoco Aristocrat) - could be repurposed as a gentleman pirate. A female Islander (counterpart to the existing CMF Island Warrior) A female Aztec (countpart to existing CMF Aztec Warrior or CMF Ancient Warrior) In terms of specific new pieces/elements, I'm mainly hoping for new hats or hair/hat combos. In particular: A straw or tarred "boater" style hat, suitable for imperial naval seamen (similar hats worn by gondoliers or barbershop singers). Ideally would want this available in both Tan and Black options. An imperial armada morion-style helmet in Flat Silver (to compliment existing breastplate in that colour). A bicorne/short powdered wig hat/hair combo A tricorne/long powdered wig hat/hair combo

I agree, its pretty hard to imagine the effort it must have required! I'm no expert on all this, but certainly war-time emergency enlistment rules (no medical checks etc) seem to have helped a lot in enabling them to sign-up in the first place. I can imagine some recruiting officers turning a blind eye. In all four examples I gave, all were ultimately discovered (in some cases pretty quickly): In case of the female soldiers, one was 23 and one 24. I'm not sure how long they maintained their secret within their unit. What's clear is that by the time the truth was known, they had already won enough respect/reputation with their comrades that they were permitted to continue in their careers. In the case of the mistresses, its doubtful they needed maintain an authentic disguise as they could rely on the protection of their generals. The uniform was just a fig leaf to get around army regulations.

Indeed, and some of the individual stories are pretty amazing! Like Friederike Krüger who recieved the Iron Cross for bravery, and was granted special dispensation by the Prussian King continued to serve in the Prussian Army after her gender was discovered. Or Nadezhda Durova, who served with distinction in the Imperial Russian cavalry but struggled to gain promotion due to her youthful appearance and inability to grow a moustache. More amusing are the stories of the mistresses of senior generals who accompanied them on campaign, disguised in the uniforms of male junior staff officers. Napoleon's mistress Pauline Foures and Marshal Massena's mistress Henriette Lebreton are two notable examples of this. All of this is to say, for those that need historical inspiration for their Lego characters, there are a few interesting avenues you can pursue.

Given the approach taken with the recent Forestmen and Blacktron promos, I think a reboot of Dragon Masters via a GWP is actually a real possibility. My only concern is that the printing on the figure might be too simple (e.g. torso only). We shall see. if instead LEGO decides to use one of the existing rebooted factions, I expect it would be the Lion Knights.