Brinstar

Its difficult to place a precise value on sets because prices fluctuate so much. On ebay I've seen the same sets in roughly the same conditions for completely different prices. Bricklink is much less hassle but it can be difficult to find a UK seller selling complete sets at reasonable prices.

Agreed. Although a hassle I would strongly recommend selling this collection of separately. Granted it would take a lot more time but as has already been observed you could at least double the $900 you are willing to accept. $300 is an absolute insult frankly. Some of the sets such as the trading post and flagship are very sought after.

Thats a really fantastic collection of castles you have, its great to see them all together. Don't give up hope on 6086, I was able to get mine off ebay for a reasonable price. Ebay is a lottery but prices tend to fluctuate greatly. I was wondering if you owned 6074 Black Falcon's fortress? I think its probably one of the smallest castles but I would definitely count it as a castle and a fine one to. Its smaller than 6080 but is more aesthetically pleasing with the thatched tudor keep at the back.

I really like the designs of some of the rebels ships. The Mon Cal cruisers (both MC80 and MC80b) are excellent considering they are very difficult ships to make with Lego. You've really captured the look with just a limited number of pieces. I also like the Assault Frigate, that is one of my favorite ships from the expanded universe. Overall, a great job!

A great little MOC. You have captured the look and feel to the classic 80s sets very well indeed. The breached and hastily patched up wall looks very authentic.

Nice job. 6086 is my favorite castle and I like the modifications you have made. Increasing the height of the walls at the side and back was an obvious move but I like the way you have incorporated an extra keep on the right-hand side of the castle and the back tower now looks much larger and more impressive. I'd also be intrigued to see more of the ship than can be spotted in the background of some pictures.

A great way of displaying the Black Falcon's fortress. I look forward to see what you've done with 6086, my favorite lego castle.

Thats a really nice collection you have there. I like the way you have separated the civilian and military themes. I see quite a few sought after sets as well, including the elusive Dark Forest sets. Those sets were never released in the UK which I always thought was a great pity. You also appear to have some of the largest sets from the Royal Knight and Dragon Knight themes, a pretty substantial collection overall. On the subject of 6090, I really like that castle a lot. I think it might even be my second favorite castle behind 6086 Black Knights Castle (Although I'm also very fond of the new Kingdoms castle). Whilst the walls are very low from the rear, I think that was largely to allow for easier access to the interior. With the baseplate it would still be difficult to climb over even a short wall. Yes, it perhaps isn't the most solidly defended but I do think its one of the most impressive and beautiful castles Lego have done.

I like this a lot. You've taken the idea of the Kingdoms Outpost Attack set and turned it into something much more substantial. The construction of the outpost itself is solid and very much in keeping with the Kingdoms theme. The placement of mini-figs helps to tell the story whilst the landscaping and especially the excellent trees help to bring the scene alive. Absolute beginner? Not on this evidence.

An interesting topic. I think its quite difficult to compare the two because the fantasy theme, although falling under the castle umbrella was quite different from Kingdoms which felt much more like a throwback to the classic castle sets of yesteryear. Fantasy and had many more sets and thus you could argue more opportunity to make an impression. In reality I think both themes were a great success. Being a classic castle fan, I would have to give the edge to Kingdoms but I understand why many prefer fantasy. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the suggested match ups. 5615 The Knight. I didn't really understand the presence of a wizard in what is otherwise a realistic castle theme. The Knight wins hands down because it is a useful army builder. 7950 Knights Showdown. A tough one to call. I'd give it the knights showdown because the siege weapon is better and although there is one less figure, the two included are knights rather than just the standard crownie grunts included in crossbow attack. The skeletons were not particularly exciting either. 7037 Tower Raid. I actually prefer the Kingdoms outpost to the crownie tower but the orc siege tower is awesome and far more substantial than the dragon knights catapult. The Tower Raid is a much more substantial set and IIRC not much more expensive than outpost Attack. 7188 Kings Carriage Ambush. No competition really. I picked up the Kings Carriage Ambush recently on sale and was really pleased with it, although I understand the original RRP was to high. I still think its a great set and the carriage is one of the best Lego carriages ever. Didn't care for the battle chariot although it came with a good selection of figures for its size. 7497 Prison Tower Rescue. The Prison tower was a good sized fortress for the dragon knights. Its certainly an imposting fortress from the outside, although I felt it could have done with a more substantial interior. I really didn't care for the skeletons and much preferred the orcs introduced later in the theme. 7946 Kings Castle. The Kings castle siege may be larger but I much preferred the Kingdoms castle. It has a proper gatehouse and is aesthetically much more pleasing. A comparison between the open kings tower in the fantasy set with a proper enclosed tower in the Kingdoms version illustrates what I'm talking about. 10193 Medieval Market Village The MMV is a work of art and is rightly considered to be one of the best castle sets ever. Despite the crownies I do think it fits in better with the Kingdoms sets than the fantasy sets. The Joust is also a great set and one I look forward to owning. The Advent Calenders Nothing to choose between them really, I'll sit on the fence on this one. 7029 Skelton Ship Attack Unlike seemingly most AFOL castle fans, I'm not obsessed with civilian sets. The MMV is a great set and I quite like the Guarded Inn (because it can attach to other castles) but generally much prefer military themed sets. That is what castle is about after-all. The MVR was a decent set but I didn't quite understand the attraction and would have preferred Lego to make a large structure for the Dragon Knights. Despite my dislike of skeletons, the Skeleton ship attack is a great set, both for the ship and the crownie fortress. I would also point out that there were some great sets from both themes not included in this poll. Most notably the brilliant 7079 Drawbridge Defense and the 7187 Escape from Dragon's Prison.

I think its a definite improvement over 4502/ 6212. The engines and the laser cannons in particular look a lot better. Despite owning 4502 I will probably pick this up. Its certainly a more drastic improvement over a previous version than some of the recent remakes (Slave 1, Naboo Starfighter just to name a couple). I also think at £50 it represents surprisingly good value for money. I can't really fathom Lego's pricing policy this year. The X-Wing is the same price as the Tie Fighter despite being obviously a much bigger set. The new X-wing is also only £5 more than 6212 which was released back in 2006. Considering how the latest Slave 1 set was twice the price of its 2006 counterpart, I'd be very happy to pay £50 for this.

If there are any Kingdoms sets you want I would act quickly. They do seem to be discontinued. I'm surprised because the most recent wave of Kingdoms has only been out for around six months. I can't remember the last time Lego discontinued sets so soon after releasing them. It is an ominous sign that Lego don't want anything to clash with the upcoming LOTR theme. I myself still have to get the Mill Village Raid, which is suddenly increasingly scarce around these parts. Its irritating because I've had multiple opportunities to get it a discount and always passed them up, but now I have to pay full price. I fear if I don't get it soon the price is only going to skyrocket.

I don't hold out much hope that there will be any more Kingdoms sets or indeed any non licensed castle sets for the time being. I think LOTR is just to close to castle for two to be able to co-exist. A similar thing happened with Space when Star Wars was introduced in 1999. There were no separate space themes that year or the year after, although we did see the Life on Mars series in 2001 and then no more space until 2007. If this is the case it would be a pity as castle is one of my favorite themes and I was particularly fond of the Kingdoms line, which I think is probably the best Lego castle sub theme since the early-mid nineties. I also think there was plenty of scope for more sets, with more siege weapons and a large fortress for the Dragon Knights obvious sets to make.

This is the least inspiring of the new wave of Star Wars sets. Whilst I agree that it is much better than the one in 4478, that set also came with the Geonosian fighter and all for £20. Now lego are charging just £20 for the cannon! It doesn't look like a £20 set and although I accept that the sets comes with two exclusive mini-figures, I still don't think its worth getting. To be honest it feels like a battle pack but at twice the price!

I will get this at some point but my bank balance has taken a bit of a battering over Christmas and I prefer to spend what money I do have on sets that are reduced. The Kingdoms Joust seems to be a very impressive set though and a fitting finale for the Kingdoms line. For the number of pieces I think the price is very reasonable and there is a good selection of figures. The main structure is imposing and should be a great companion to the Kings castle, although I will need to find a way of filling that large opening. I do wish they had given the dragon knights some sort of presence in the set as they were one of my favorite parts of Kingdoms, the inclusion of the Black Falcon is a pleasing nod to classic castle fans but its a shame they couldn't have got a dragon knight in as well.

Another great review Mutley! I'm really impressed with this years battle packs. This is a great companion to the larger Endor sets we've seen in previous years and makes the Endor Rebels in particular much more accessible. The speeder bike is a nice addition and although the gun turret feels a but tacked on its still a nice little set. I look forward to getting copies of both battle packs in the near future.

As a medium sized soldiers fort, I enjoyed this a lot. I remember people complaining at the time that it didn't quite measure up to the Eldorado Fortress or Imperial Trading Post but the comparison always seemed unfair considering the sets fell into a different price bracket. I do think the buildings could have been fleshed out a little more but that is my only complaint. The fort is reminiscent of the classic soldiers sets but is also unique in its own way. I liked the modularity and this is one set that I think would really benefit from buying more than one of. Two or three would create a nice little dock for the Imperial flagship.

Thanks for this very early and informative review Mutley! The price hike is a little disappointing but I do think these still offer good value for money. The elite clone trooper is indeed an impressive figure and its nice that it comes in a very affordable set. The supporting model is also better than some and I can imagine a few of these gun turrets would be useful to army builders. I'm in two minds about the move to two separate factions in a single set. On the one hand I think its better for children as it enables them to have a battle straight out of the box but for army builders I think it could lead to having a lot of figures they don't necessarily want. Personally I'm more interested in the clone troopers than the battledroids and I'm not sure I'd have much use for the commando droids. Others may have a different perspective.

I prefer to reserve final judgement until high definition images are available but these watermarked images certainly haven't dampened my enthusiasm. I do think Helms Deep looks like the stand out set at this stage with an impressive, imposing looking structure and a good variety of mini-figures. I will certainly be looking to pick up a copy when the theme is released next summer. Gandalf Arrives looks like a nice starter set and I may also have some interest in the Uruk-hai Army and the Attack on Weathertop as well.

You got an excellent deal there, 20 euro's is an absolute bargain especially as you had the means to remove the yellowing. I've tried to buy this set on ebay but it tends to go for a very high price, especially for a set its size. As a mid-sized castle set I like it a lot. Although not as good as 6074 Black Falcon's fortress I think it remains one of the better classic castle sets. The structure itself looks good if a little plain and it comes with a good number of Black Falcons. As with a number of sets from that era, the modularity enables it to be connected to other sets to make a much larger castle. I don't understand why Lego hasn't done this with any of there castle themes since the 80s.

Managed to get a copy of the 7961 Sith Infiltrator off ebay for £43. A considerable saving off the UK RRP. I'm really pleased with the model, I always liked the infiltrator but didn't think either of the previous lego versions did it justice. This one is a massive improvement and the excellent mini-figures including the excellent Captain Panaka and the elusive Padme really round off the set nicely.

I agree with the general sentiments expressed here. I think Lego more than any other toy needs to be opened and built to be enjoyed. I understand that MISB sets can and generally do skyrocket in value and some people see it as a business investment but for me Lego is a hobby and one I would struggle to enjoy if I left the sets unbuilt in their boxes just to accumulate value.

As much as I'd like to own it I simply cannot justify spending that much on a single set. Even if I had the finances I think I would prefer to own the UCS Executor or the UCS Shuttle.

I managed to pick up the advent calendar. I'd been debating whether to get it for a while and once I'd finally decided to make the purchase it seemed to be out of stock everywhere and I thought I might have missed the boat. Thankfully Amazon got some back in stock a few days ago. Although its not earth shattering, 8 figures and 16 mini models seem to be pretty good value for £25.

Nice job! I still love Blacktron so its always nice to see MOC's inspired by this classic theme. The two smaller ships definitely capture the feel of the fast maneuverable ships used by the Blacktron. I think it can be difficult to make good looking original creations in micro scale but you have managed it impressively. I particularly like the DG-418. Is there any chance we could see a minifig scale version of this? I think it would look wonderful!