metalandi

Probably so the ground floor doesn't look so empty

Well, you can just take them as another faction in the lego kingdoms (like i do). Cause as far as i know, the old faction was actually called "lion knights" and the newer one "royal knights".

Yeah, it's a bit pricey. I'll probably wait until they are in stores here (though the waiting will be ahrd)

Thanks for the link Kumpelkante, that's an awesome shop! @xilefsson: I just tried to order king's castle, and when it comes to choose the country to ship to, i actually can choose austria! It is there, among germany, denmark and sweden. And then, when you register you can also choose austria. I tried it out until the end, you get through the whole ordering process without trouble.

A new one? It looks the same as the old bows to me. Is there any difference?

Can you tell me the name of that online shop? And what set do you mean when yout alk about a horse without saddle? I don't remember any lego set that contained a horse, but no saddle for it.

Thanks, just checked that site out. They have a few nice sets, but they don't even have last year's castle sets, so i'm a fraid they aren't very up-to-date.

We don't even have proper online stores that sell lego sets, here in austria (besides amazon, and even they ship from germany)

Check out the first post.

That's good news. So the release date seems to be august, for europe too. Now i just need to decide which bank to rob to afford all the sets

That's interesting. Gotta check at my nearest TRU store sometime the next days if they have them too, and if not ask them when they'll get them. Too bad there is no lego store even close to where i live.

Really? Well, Hamburg isn't quite next to em unfortunately I wonder if the sets are only available at lego shops yet, or at normal ones as toys'r'us too? I thought i read somewhere they won't be released before august in europe.

Yeah, i haven't found that set anywhere either, just the one with the wagon. Let's hope it shows up somewhere soon, cause i really love it

This is kinda old news, they are promotional sets. I just know that a dealer on bricklink had a few of the battle wagon sets a few months back, and i bought one then. I don't know wether you also can get them directly at shops or not.

There are green trash cans in reality, too. And i'm not sure if anyone really shares his thoughts on "does it clash with the grass?" when it comes to a thrash can :P

Such a pity us europeans have to wait until august till they come out. Well i'm short on money right now anyway, but hopefully they'll upload the instructions soon so i can study them in the meanwhile

Thanks for the words so far! I appreciate that you like my reviews. Yes, i indeed also have the dark forest fortress, that's what i'm gonna review next!

I don't think there's really much to complain about this set. It's obvious there can't be EVERYTHING in a house this size, there just isn't space for a bathroom or another bedroom. It would have got to be at least half the size bigger to fit all that into, and then it would get too expensive. I would totally get it, if i didn't stop collecting city recently.

Have you ever thought about that the kid probably has dyed hair? (or also maybe the parents)

I'd have a little request if you don't mind...could you take a picture of the king without his armour on? Maybe it has been posted before somewhere, but i don't remember seeing a picture of his torso. I assume it actually is printed, isn't it?

I agree that it is similar, but it's still very different. The new castle has a gatehouse, while the "old" one doesn't have one at all. Then, the newer one has a big tower with roof on the right back side and another tower on the left side, while on the older one the second tower is in the middle of the back side. I agree it is built with the same "style", but calling it "very similar", i wouldn't go that far. Actually from the overall look it reminds me much more of a combination of these 2 sets (plus modern elements added as gold colours and cheese slopes):

I don't think there will be more fantasy in the new theme, than it already is. I see the kingdoms theme as to take place in the same "castle world" as the previous castle line, but, like in another part of the world, where are no dragons and such. And i think that was TLG's idea too, maybe..making theme, that fits perfectly with the previous one, but concentrating more on humans in this theme. Because well, magicians are kinda fantasy, but these characters possibly really esisted in the medieval age. Also, the mini dragon does not have neccessarily got to be a "real" baby dragon, but some magician accesoire that has been "built" by the wizard himself. I could imagine that the next wave of sets could even include some civilian medieval sets. (or maybe it's just wishful thinking )

I would really like to see that aswell. The 2 castles have a pretty similar shape partly, and i always think of them belonging in the same timeframe and medieval "world".

Set Number/Name: 6046 Hemlock Stronghold Theme: Dark Forest Year Released: 1996 Pieces Count: 216 Minifigures: 5 Price: You should be able to get a used set for less than 30 euros on ebay. I'm in the review mood, so let's continue with digging out some classic sets! This time we take a journey into the deep, dark forest I see the dark forest theme as a continue of the forestmen theme, though dark forest had some "darkness" surrounding it, it feels like the characters are a bit more "evil" than the forestmen, if you know what i mean. Anyhow, the theme lasted only for one year, but in my opinion brought us some nice sets, and even nicer minifigs. Let's start it up! The Instructions: The Minifigs: Overall views: Detailed views: You can turn the BURP on the right side of the hideout to..well, i don't really know for what that feature is. Maybe the forestmen can push the rock as an excercise to stay in shape Back on the ground we have a lovely fountain for thirsty knights that pass by... ...and then find out that the water was poisoned! Right beside the fountain surprisingly there is a catapult! I must say i like the design of it: Conclusion: It's a nice et, but it could have been better. The overall design of the hideput isn't that great, and the "hiding place" between the rocks isn't worked out that good either, since you basically can axccess it from everywhere and it doesn't realyl "hide" anything. Still, things like the fountain are very nice little details, i'd like to see something like that in recent sets aswell. the main reason to get this set though would for sure be the minifigs, which are great in my opinion, especially the forestmen.

Thanks for the review, so now we have a good look on all the new sets! I like the look of this one, the tower is simple yet effective. As for many others, the only thing bothering me is the lack of interior in the tower. But as in other sets this can easily be solved by just adding a little table, or putting in something from the advent calendar.