SirBlake

Was there yesterday, hoping to get my hands on these and the (very nice) guy working there said that they had sold out of them 3 separate times. They may be getting more today, but alas, I'm flying back to Texas this morning. Good luck, y'all.

It would make an interesting poll: what's your favorite faction or castle generation. Seems like there should have been one like that, but I've never run into it.

Nothing wrong with that, but you are in the minority. Eh, only partially. To be defined as a classic, surely a certain age is necessary, but also a certain quality. A good analogy might be with cars... A 1971 Lamborghini Miura is a timeless classic. A 1971 AMC Gremlin is a forgettable footnote. I'm sure someone somewhere feels nostalgia toward an old Gemlin, but I wouldn't call it a classic in the sense that we collectively regard classic LEGO castle.

I dont know where that one went, and miss the Historic Themes Index thread. The reviews are nice.

It isn't classic, and we don't like them. If it's a recolor of the Royal Knights from the mid 90's, which was rehashed in KKI, then the reference is apt.

This is an odd post for a couple of reasons. First of all, simply because it's off topic and confusing: are you insinuating that series 10 CMF is gold because it's the final series? To address the rest of it, yes, detail is nice, but the overwhelming majority of us here are less hung up on detail (BURP conversations not withstanding), and more focused on good design. It's this last part that can often get lost in translation with the dreaded "juniorization". The simplest answer is actually the best answer: return to Castle's roots, and everyone will win. Kingdoms was actually doing a pretty good job of this before it got cut off too early. The low-res pictures we've seen so far are on a similar path as far as types of sets, and that's fine. TLG could hit a home run by doing simple, small castle builds much like they have, but echoing the golden age of Castle with modular builds and references to factions that AFOLs and kids have always responded to. King Leo ain't one of those. My only real concern is that TLG had the great idea to revive an old faction, and they picked one of the only ones that nobody has ever cared about, kid or adult.

Very cool idea! Love the details, some inventive solutions to the shields on the sides. Nice work!

So you have seen these catalog pics up close? Any other minifig details that you can give us? Are they using the new sword mold from the variant chess set/CMF heroic knight? What about details in the horse barding and head armor? I was afraid of that old lion heraldry being reused. That is baffling and beyond lazy if that is used on the final product. That one of very few factions that nobody bothers to collect. I get that it's a bit more kid friendly than some, but at least come up with something new, TLG! That aside, a wolf faction sounds great.

Well, everyone here seems to have "what kids want" on lockdown. I remember being a kid and I happen to have one myself, and what you are saying as fact is simply not the case. Some kids are locked into characters, others are not. Now what? The case for battle packs in a licensed theme has already been made with SW anyway.

As a kid, there was no such thing as a "named character", and I jumped at every chance to get more soldiers for my castle armies. Heck, they even sold "battle packs" for classic castle before there was even a term for it. Kids haven't changed that much, and any kid that likes castles and knights and horses and monsters and such, wants more to flesh out their own little armies.

I'm going to be disappointed with anything that doesn't result in Gondor soldiers. I swear, Uruk attack aside, this theme seems to be trying to avoid raking in the cash with army builder opportunities.

It's tough to tell what's going on there with that low resolution, but first impression isn't too good. I'll reserve judgement for better pics, but my initial optimism is waning.

Wow, I'm not sure which is cooler, this build or the prospect of having 17 CMf elves. LOL Seriously though, great build. Love the details like the gold trophies at the corners of the pillars.

Great idea! I'll be paying close attention to this thread.

I'm ok with that. It's just too massive to represent in one set without being comically tiny.

Well, that answers that.

This is a great point. Makes me think I need to be more patient as far as the continuation of an unlicensed castle theme (like Kingdoms, which would be great). Amen! Agreed. I think there could be room to continue with the Lions and Dragons, but expand on the teaser Falcon from the joust set, and sprinkle in some other classics like we keep mentioning like Forestmen. I don't know how to measure such a thing. As far as modern toy buying/collecting goes, I come from a background in Hasbro Star Wars. In that case, even through anecdotal local retail, it's painfully obvious what does and doesn't sell. With LEGO, there are only a handfull of sets of any given theme a year, and they're always readily available, so I don't have a feel for how you tell what's successful and what isn't.

These are really fun! I'd love to see another set including the sheriff, his deputy and some townsfolk that make up the rest of his posse. (the Doc, the saloon owner, the banker, etc.) Though it's a small detail, I love the "shoes" on Mr Tibbs. That adds a lot to the character. It would be a great addition to an eventual Sauron fig for LotR.

I stopped by the FW location where I got them last week. Totally cleaned out, but they did have the warg set. (I passed on that one, waiting for barrel escape)

I think Kingdoms was a return to 80's castles. It just got cut short when they won the LotR/Hobbit license, so they never got the chance to add to the modular aspect to Kings Castle or give the dragon knights a proper castle of their own. That said, in it's own way Kingdoms is sort of hobbling along in 2012 with Joust and the chess set. Whether the rumors that this thread are based on turn out to be true or not, I think there's a chance that the theme might live on in small ways, then come back to the forefront after the Middle Earth properties are retired. Maybe some wishful thinking there, but I'd be good with it. A chance to have our cake and eat it too, as it were.

I'm betting new chess set mold as well.

Looking at the poster with date, my first thought was that I needed a time machine to go back to March 12, 2012. I suppose I need to keep in mind that it is EURObricks, after all, and be mindful of the different convention when displaying dates across the pond. :P I love the teaser. It's nice to put some of the debate to rest about the details (what helmet will the Heroic Knight have?!?!), while still keeping much of the design a secret.

This is super-cool. There's just so much cool detail. Really, really nice work.

Awwww, man. You got me all excited. Has there ever been a licensed chess set?

Excellent, thanks!