7037 Tower Raid and 7040 Dwarves' Mine Defender

Discussion of official LEGO Castle Theme sets and products
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man at ye old well
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Post by man at ye old well »

The blue one I think...

[runs off to check]

Yup the blue one.

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CVfan13
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Post by CVfan13 »

Mine was gold... meh, just some coincidence, right? I think I've had printed tiles have the printing on the wrong side in the past...
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dj2005
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Post by dj2005 »

CVfan13 wrote:Mine was gold... meh, just some coincidence, right? I think I've had printed tiles have the printing on the wrong side in the past...
There have been several reports of various new Castle sets coming with reversed flags of either color. I actually think this happened back in the early '90s Castle sets too. Just an error on TLC's part.

To the OP: thank you for the review. I am just waiting for my Tower Raid to arrive from Amazon. From the reviews I've read, it does seem to be a very good set. Plus, ~364 pieces for $30, including five minifigs, is a good deal.
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nanuck95
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Post by nanuck95 »

Thanks for the review. I bought both sets and thought they were both really cool. I especially enjoyed the siege engine from the Tower Raid set and thought it went well with the Troll Assault Wagon set. Lots of play action with the battering ram and the extendable bridge. Make some troll archers for the top and you're all set.

I bought two of the mine defenders actually, mostly for the figs (I wish there were more sets with dwarves), but I liked the little catapult. The brown pieces are useful though and when I have more free time, I'm planning on using the pieces from both to build a bigger dwarf tank/siege engine.
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Post by jakelongdragon »

Thanks for the review!

I was actually planning to get the Tower Raid but I was wondering if I should reserve myself for the full 7036 Dwarves Mine!!!

If you had to choose (I have to because I am still on allowance/birthday gift limit :oops: ) which one would you absolutely get first?

Please be totally honest! Thanks! :)
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CVfan13
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Post by CVfan13 »

Neither. Save your money and buy some old sets on Bricklink.
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Post by CastleLord »

Great review SavaTheAggie. :D I own both of them and i can say that i like the Tower raid
more than the Dwarves mine defender. :wink:

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Post by jakelongdragon »

I was kind of thinking of doing that but I would need to ask my parents anyway! :P Thanks for the tip!

Buying at those sites sounds kind of complicated tough! :?
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CVfan13
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Post by CVfan13 »

It's no problem, really. PM me if you want details.
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Post by Aliencat »

CVfan13 wrote:Neither. Save your money and buy some old sets on Bricklink.
Didn't he ask which of the mentioned sets you would buy? Not if you'd buy them or not. This thread is about these new sets, not about buying classics on bricklink, there's plenty of other threads about that on these boards.
Again I'm reading a great review thread and am very interested in all the responses people give on these two currently available and affordable sets, and you sort of turn it into a buddy IM chat.
CVfan13 wrote:It's no problem, really. PM me if you want details.
And why couldn't you send this by PM so other people can continue to read the responses to the sets this thread is about?

And jakelongdragon, I'd go for the Tower Raid, it's a great set with great parts, great figures, great playability, and looks very cool. It's much cheaper than the Dwarven Mine so you can use that money for more fun stuff if you can't afford to buy both.
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Post by Username »

I have both of these sets and think they are good.

Tower Raid:
Pros:
-Structure and vehicle
-5 Minis (2 Crown Knights and 3 Trolls/Orcs)
-Orc Armor
-Orc Shield
-Plenty of weapons
Cons:
-Flick fire missles
-Open spaces/walls on the tower

Dwarves' Mine Defender:
Pros:
-Neat vehicle
-3 Minis (1 Dwarf and 2 Trolls/Orcs)
Cons:
-Not enough weapons to go around
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SavaTheAggie
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Post by SavaTheAggie »

jakelongdragon wrote:Thanks for the review!

I was actually planning to get the Tower Raid but I was wondering if I should reserve myself for the full 7036 Dwarves Mine!!!

If you had to choose (I have to because I am still on allowance/birthday gift limit :oops: ) which one would you absolutely get first?

Please be totally honest! Thanks! :)
For me, personally, I would get the Dwarves mine first over any other LEGO Castle set of the 2008 production run. It's a great set with great parts and lots of playability. Plus it comes with the four dwarves, two Orcs ("Troll Warriors") with the older (and IMO better) helmets, Clancy the Troll, a suit of armor, and a nice assortment of weapons and shields.

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Post by Lord Brian »

I have not bought the mine defender however the tower raid is fantastic and i would definetlely be willing to pay more than $30. The floor boards are indeed frustrating sometimes, but everything else is nearly flawless. The troll's siege tower is a very cool element in the set and I have also used it for King's Castle Siege.
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Post by Karalora »

I need to break in my Mine Defender or something--there's too much friction in some of the parts and not enough in others, so the buzz saw blades don't actually spin with the wheels. Other than that, it's pretty spiffy for a $10 set.

The Tower Raid, on the other hand, is awesome. The domino effect of knocking out the wall, collapsing the floor, and freeing the imprisoned orc is a great feature! And the siege engine itself has a cool jerry-rigged look with the criss-crossing boards.
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Post by CVfan13 »

I picked up the defender the other day... neat little thing, but I have the same problem as Karalora: the blades don't work. At least we FINALLY have a logical catapult design with the pulling of the chain.
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