Brinstar

Without doubt the Skulls Eye Schooner. I already own the Imperial Flagship (new version), BSB, QAR and Black Pearl. Of the remaining large lego ships I also think the SES is conformably the best, certainly a lot better than Brickbeards Bounty or the Red Beard runner. Unfortunately the price it fetches on ebay/ bricklink casts doubt on whether I'll ever be able to afford it. Used copies can fetch between £150-200. Put quite simply I'd rather spend that money on new sets rather than a used SES. I'd also like to get hold of the old Imperial Flagship (6271). I have a certain affinity for the red coats and although its a small ship, I've always quite liked it. At least that one is more affordable.

Great review of a nice little set. I still have mine, I think I paid about £5 for it back in the day. A good way of building up your redcoats and the redcoat flag, rowing boat and assorted weapons make this a good set to buy in multiples.

A great review of a less than stellar castle. I actually liked the raised baseplates and felt the use of it worked particularly well in 6086 and to a lesser extent 6081. In comparison to those castles Fire Breathing Fortress is a disappointment. I don't care for the BURPS as they detract from the overall look of the set. The castle looks good from some angles but terrible from others (particularly the left side) and overall the design is far to open to be considered a 'fortress'. The dragons head that fires rocks is also a bit silly. As a faction I quite liked the Dragon Knights and they deserved a better castle than this.

Thanks for the update. I hadn't checked your blog in a while and am pleased to see you are making good progress with your Kings castle. I've also enjoyed your posts on other topics including your excellent review of the LOTR Uruk-Hai Army. I do hope you continue blogging even after your castle is finally built.

This was one of my first pirate sets. I still have my copy somewhere. 3 blue coats and a cannon in a set of this size made it well worth getting. It makes a nice outpost to add to the eldorado fortress.

Thanks for this super detailed review of the Kingdoms chess set. As a fan of the Kingdoms theme I was delighted when Lego released this, completely out of the blue. I agree with your criticisms, the baseplate isn't very attractive and feels completely out of place alongside the rest of the set. The quality issues are also regrettable, with the figs made of the cheaper chinese plastic rather than the better quality plastic found in most Lego sets. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives. The chess set is a fantastic army builder, with 28 mini-figs for £40 which is excellent value for money. The price certainly offsets the lower quality plastic. I think it also compares favorably with the similar fantasy era chess set where I didn't really care for the skeletons. It also plays a very good game of chess! I may get further copies to build up my Kingdoms armies further.

A fantastic review of a great old set. This was by far the best of the old monorail sets and your wonderful pictures show it in all its glory. I can't think of a better town set from the early nineties. I'd love to own this myself at some point but its such a rare and sought after set, I doubt I could ever afford it.

Thanks for the very detailed review, I've been waiting for a review and to get one as comprehensive as yours makes it worth the wait. Its often assumed that the main reason to own this set is the Amidala fig (and she is very impressive), but you show that the model itself is also very impressive. Although not the most popular of SW vehicles, I also rather like it and find this Lego rendition to be a particularly accurate and impressive rendition of the source material. It goes without saying this is a huge improvement over the 1999 set which looks quite primitive in comparison. In may ways I think this is the pick of the SW summer sets (Jabba's palace is probably my favorite but the price is very off-putting). I look forward to owning it.

This is a very impressive display. I like the way you have taken official sets such as the the Kingdoms castle, MMV and MVR and placed them on an detailed and intricately designed landscape. In some ways I think the Kingdoms caste works better as a wall and entrance than as an enclosed castle.

Thanks for this excellent review. I to have been waiting for a review of this set before considering making a purchase. This seems to be one of the less popular LOTR sets but I'm quite fond of it. My liking for this set stems less from its LOTR origins and more from the fact that I think it will make an excellent generic mine to integrate with my other castle sets. I missed out on the fantasy era's dwarf mine and although this isn't as good, it costs a lot less. The minifigs are so so but the but I think the set is worth £40 overall.

Its a nice set but with 4 figs for £40, I don't think it can be described as an army builder by any stretch of the imagination. There are much cheaper ways to build up your forces, at the moment the Urak Hai army is probably the best option.

I've not played the Old Republic game but I do like the design of this ship. I think the Lego have produced an excellent rendition of it. Your excellent comparison photo's however highlight the major problem. There is no way this is worth £80. The fury isn't even as large as the X-wing which is £30 cheaper. I take the point that it has over 200 more pieces but for the size of the model it doesn't feel like its worth the high price. I will wait for a sale to get this one.

I can't think of a superlative to describe just how good this MOC is but here goes...Incredible work! Comfortably the best Helm's Deep I've ever seen. The attention to detail is astounding. How long did this take to build?

Great job Hive! I would never have thought of using Soldiers Fort in a castle context but your MOC illustrates how well it actually works. Considering the general derth of castle themed ships its perhaps not surprising that harbours are difficult to come by. Skeleton Ship attack is the only comparable example that springs to mind. I actually think this is an improvement over the original, the building in the corner is much more substantial and you added a door to the building on the right, much needed in my opinion. I'm also pleased to see you have preserved the modularity of the original. My only (exceedingly minor) criticism is with the name, surely it would be better to call it a harbor? Although there is a prison its more of a harbor rather than a prison. Although its your MOC so you should call it what you want.

In terms of intricacy of design and value for money then I think the MMV takes some beating. If you are looking for a companion piece then (as people have already said) the Joust is undoubtedly your best bet. Its the only other castle set that has comparable attention to detail (except maybe Helm's Deep) and the tower actually complements the MMV very well. I've made an impressive scene with just these two sets. The open archway prevents the castle structure structure means its best utilised in the centre of your town rather than at the entrance.

Not out in the UK until October. I may pick this up when it is released. Some of the builds look quite substantial. The farm and village models are quite nice. The first page claims that all the models were built with pieces from existing lego sets including those from Castle, creator and Harry Potter themes.

Interesting find. Its plausible that this could be a prototype Dutchman, although its a little to distant to make out for sure. I don't think its the QAR given the wildly different colour scheme, although the cabin is somewhat reminiscent of Blackbeard's ship. It actually looks quite big, certainly in comparison to Brickbeard's Bounty. Unfortunately its unlikely we'll see a Dutchman in production any time soon.

If this is a sign of things to come then I can't wait for the hobbit sets! There isn't much to say beyond what has already been said. The model of Bag End has a level of intricacy you would rarely associate with non exclusive sets. The quantity of green pieces will be great for MOC'ers. I also think the interior is very impressive with the tables and the shelves. At 60 USD I expect this to be around £50 in the UK and I think that is a price well worth paying.

Red coats. Even as a child I always preferred being soldiers than pirates. I even modified my BSB to serve as the red coats flagship. I'm sure I not the only one to do that.

In regards to other castle themed ships, you may referring to any of these: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=6018-1 http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=6017-1 http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=6049-1 I take your point about the troll warship, I to purchased one recently and found it to be much larger than I expected. Cost is also an issue. I paid almost double the original RRP for a MISB copy and even second hand copies also cost an arm and a leg. I had great plans to build up a troll fleet but its not really feasible given the expense. Second hand Sea Serpents in contrast can be picked up relatively cheaply, so its much easier to build up a fleet.

I love this MOC, I'm perhaps biased because I've always loved the wolfpack and they've never really had a large fortress to call home. As has been pointed out the model is very unique, and I simply love the design of the Wolfs head at the front. You certainly deserve praise for your innovation. Whether this will be successful on the roulette wheel of Cuusoo remains to be seen. I for one would love to see the wolfpack return, so I wish you every success with your project.

I'm also fond of this classic set, it may be quite small but can still accommodate a surprising number of mini-figs. I missed this one back in the day but was able to purchased one off ebay second hand a year or so back, once I'd given it a thorough clean I was impressed with the finished model. I always felt the naval element of medieval warfare is something Lego could have made more of in their castle sets. IIRC of the classic castle sets, there were only three ships and this was the largest. It was not until the fantasy era that we saw larger ships such as the skeleton ship and the excellent troll warship. I would dearly have liked to have seen a dragon knights warship in the Kingdoms theme.

It depends what you want it for. If you are only interested in the buildings I would say this is a much better bet than London Escape, which doesn't feel very substantial for the price, even with the carts and exclusive figures. I actually quite liked this set and found that it could be integrated into either my pirate and castle collections without to much difficulty. If you dislike the large castle wall parts then give it a miss but at half price I'd say its worth a shot, particularly if you are looking for a generic mill.

I like it! Your model is very faithful to the original but in most cases I'd say the use of newer pieces actually enhances the original. I particularly like the decking which is certainly preferable to the old BSB's black and grey combination.

This is probably my favorite Lego set of the year. Over 1,300 pieces seems very substantial for a model at this price point, particularly a licensed one. The finished model is undoubtedly very impressive and the look of the set is faithful to the source material. The modularity with Uruk Hai army is an added bonus. Kingdoms Joust perhaps remains my favourite castle set since the MMV but this is a close second.