Classic-Castle.com

This was a limited edition Lego Castle set that sold through last Fall ('08), kinda hard to find for cheap now. I'm trying to expand my grey castle pieces and the dock seems pretty nice but I've always been hesitant to get anything with a ship because for some reason the large lego hull pieces have always slightly annoyed me, guess I'm a bit of a brick purist at heart.

Nonetheless I'm interested in scrounging for this set if I can find it for less than collector's price, but if anyone has it (or has at least seen it out of box), any thoughts on the set quality? Any thoughts on its comparison to the troll warship? Am I on my way to building a Lego armada whether I like it or not?

I'm reasonably fond of it; I have two (one for assembly, the other for parts). The ship itself is so-so on design, but it has a good array of parts. With a couple copies of Skeleton's Prison Carriage, you can make it pretty nice. The only downside is that, short of buying multiple copies of the set, you'll have a hard time extending the ship's length. (The bearded skeleton with the pirate had was also kind of silly.)

Any idea how well it might combine with the Troll warship to make some sort of massive necromantic galleon of doom?

I wish I had got it but I do not care for it enough to buy it for the prices I usually see it at.

I think the dock is the best part. It looks like a nice fortified little set up for the crownies to land goods and supplies.

Heir

Well, I couldn't totally afford it but I snagged a copy of this for about $80 and I kind of can't wait to build it in conjunction with my King's Castle Siege. That and Tower attack and MMV I feel like the Crownies actually have a pretty impressive little cluster of buildings to play around.

Of course skeletons on one side and trolls on the either, here's hoping they're well fortified!

I have never seen this set before. It looks great from the picture and theres a chance to create an MOC and expand the dock. I'd like to see a ship for the kings army though because theres ne for trolls and skeletons I dont mind if they make a Dwarf one though.

kiznit wrote:Any idea how well it might combine with the Troll warship to make some sort of massive necromantic galleon of doom?

I don't think you would be able to directly attach the ship onto the troll warship, but yes, the hull and prow pieces can be combined, as they are both the Viking ship style hull pieces.

I thought it was pretty neat. The dock was cool. I'd just go to bricklink and get parts instead of buying this set for them. I got mine at a Lego store which had some that were smushed boxes for 50% off, boy that was a while ago. Before trolls came out. Anyway, I like it.

This set is my latest acquisition (and probably the last for awhile as my Lego budget is spent... ). I hadn't originally planned on getting this set as I figured it would be hard to get since it's retired and was also a "special edition" or "limited edition". Can anyone explain what that actually means? I noticed my copy of 7036 Dwarves' Mine also said "special edition" on it.

Anyway, for some reason I started getting hooked on the idea of getting as many of the Skeleton faction sets as possible, as I really started to develop a liking to this faction (hard to explain why exactly). After I got the Troll Warship, I began to really want to get this set. I managed to get a copy off ebay for not too outrageous a price... it arrived early this week. I thought I'd post my thoughts as well...

The Harbor/Dock
I don't recall anything like this in a castle set before, so just that fact alone makes this part really unique. I really like the dock house (or whatever it is) on the right hand side in the picture. It's not very big, but it just looks really good. I like how it sits out over the water on wooden pillars. A nice little hangout for the soldiers, and the turkey leg is a nice touch too. It's my favorite of the three dock modules.
I like the idea of the little cave in the rocky shoreline for hiding the treasure, it almost starts feeling like a pirate set in the castle theme, especially since the skeletons are after the treasure (at least on the box pictures). The frog is a really nice inclusion as well... never had a Lego frog before. The catapult on top is nothing special, but I like the round projectiles Lego included in this set... that's a new piece to me.
The actual dock section is pretty cool too. The trap is kind of cool, though I've accidentally set it off several times. The gate is cool, and the two towers aren't bad either, especially since the turret piece isn't my favorite, but they work here I think. I like the small rock pieces with the green growth on them... gives it a nice high tide water mark look.

The Ship
I really like the ship. The whole idea of a "ghost ship" is nicely represented... the tattered skull sail, the dark coloring, the spikes and bones, etc. I actually like the captain with a beard... it makes him unique (nice hat too). Besides, Captian Barbossa in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie had a beard even when he was a skeleton.
Some have said the ship looks half-built. Sure, it is kind of small compared to the Troll Warship, but I see it more like a fast attack boat for a quick strike and a quick get away, whereas the Troll Warship is a big ship designed for massive invasion, destruction, and ramming other ships. Kind of like a destroyer compared to a battleship. Besides, a skeleton crew doesn't need much of a ship... it's not like they need a lot of space to store food and water supplies.

All in all, I'm really glad I got this set. My only problem now is that my crown knights are going to have a hard time trying to ward off both the Skeleton ship and the Troll Warship! Even if I include the green dragon, I think they're still outnumbered! Hmm... too bad I don't have any of the older castle boats.

domboy wrote:I figured it would be hard to get since it's retired and was also a "special edition" or "limited edition". Can anyone explain what that actually means? I noticed my copy of 7036 Dwarves' Mine also said "special edition" on it.

Generally, Limited Edition or Special Edition means that it was only available from Lego directly and a very limited number of retailers (usually only one). The Dwarves' Mine was originally only available from Target. If I remember correctly, the Skellie Ship was only available from Toys-R-Us.

Josh

JoshWedin wrote:

domboy wrote:I figured it would be hard to get since it's retired and was also a "special edition" or "limited edition". Can anyone explain what that actually means? I noticed my copy of 7036 Dwarves' Mine also said "special edition" on it.

Generally, Limited Edition or Special Edition means that it was only available from Lego directly and a very limited number of retailers (usually only one). The Dwarves' Mine was originally only available from Target. If I remember correctly, the Skellie Ship was only available from Toys-R-Us.

Josh

Ahhh, I see. Thanks for explaining that.
I was thinking maybe Limited Edition meant it was only available for a short time, or they only made a few of them. I hadn't thought of retail location availability being the limiting factor.
Special Edition sounds like perhaps there would also be a regular edition of some sort... but when the special edition was the only edition I got confused...

There's not much to it that you couldn't replicate from an average supply of spare parts, bricklink, or other Castle sets. The only really unique parts were the black hull and sail.

Still, I thought it was a fun set.

Steve

Athos wrote: Still, I thought it was a fun set.

Fun, but to me it's not worth the current price. Would have gladly snagged one while in stores though. Oh well!

This is a set I really wanted when it came out. I had not bought legos in almost a year and when I saw the new castle line, I wanted almost all of it. It took me till june 2009 to get kings castle siege. This is a nice set while the boat is not special, I love the dock. It, with a few more grays, could be added as a walled dock to Kings Castle Siege

Vilmar wrote:This is a set I really wanted when it came out. I had not bought legos in almost a year and when I saw the new castle line, I wanted almost all of it. It took me till june 2009 to get kings castle siege. This is a nice set while the boat is not special, I love the dock. It, with a few more grays, could be added as a walled dock to Kings Castle Siege

Yeah, I was thinking it would be cool to incorporate it with Kings Castle Siege somehow... haven't got around to trying anything though...