Weekly Set Review: Skeleton Tower

[Username]

I could have lived without technic pieces holding the little towers on though.

I'm getting quite tired of that technique being used in so many sets. It feels like a cheap shortcut to me.

Steve

I think it's a good stabilizer for how the model is built.

[DerBum]

I never bought this set. To me it was too much like the KKII sets we had just gotten away from. The figures were nicer (especially the princess/queen), but the overall theme was just too much for me. Even in a fantasy setting this thing just seems too much for me. I would have rather seen an entirely black tower than a skull. This thing just never appealed to me. I never really liked the fantasy "bad guys" anyway, so when I bought a set from the Castle line, it either had to be mostly Crownies or really neat. I did buy the 7038 Troll Assault Wagon but, as I really didnt like the wagon it's self, I did so mainly just to get one of the ogre/big troll guys. Overall I give this set a 2/5.

[bsmith13]

I enjoyed building this set. There were a lot of construction techniques I hadn't seen before, and my kids and I liked playing with it.

[nanuck95]

I purchased this set at the Lego store off Michigan Ave in downtown Chicago, it was also my first visit to a Lego store so I was really excited to get it. This was the last of the 2007 sets from the fantasy lineup for me to purchase, and I was really glad I picked it up before they discontinued it.

Overall, my favorite part was the figs. I really liked the evil wizard and princess, and having another fully armored knight in my lineup was another plus. I also liked all the great accessories that came with this, including the blue lightning bolts, the spider web and the spider itself.

The design of the tower was pretty neat, I liked how the jaw opened and closed, although the way it split open to allow access was a little goofy. I liked the design of the crank for lowering and raising the drawbridge, and thought it was much more clever than the lift in the Kings Castle Siege. I know the technic bricks in castle sets are viewed as unpopular, but I thought it was nice to give kids ideas of how you can not just build something cool, but use pieces that make it DO something as well. The skeleton cage was well designed and was much better than just having a standard prison cell with bars. The design of the skull was also pretty neat, and it integrated nicely into the tower. I was worried it was going to look like a skull slapped on the front (which when you build it, it kind of is), but it really filled it out and made the perfect base for the wizard.

[Blueandwhite]

This isn't my favourite set, but as far as mid-sized castle sets go it is pretty solid. The figures are great (save for the redundant skeletons), and the tower itself is actually an interesting design. It would have been interesting to see a larger, top-of-the-line version of this. I often find that the designs for some of the mid-sized sets are far more interesting than the flagship models, however a restricted piece count limits the potential of what this model could/should have been. It really reminds me of a set like the 6077 (Forestmen's River Fortress) where the exterior outshines what the decidedly bland rear view.

7/10

[Elephant Knight]

A decent set. Could be worse, could be better.

Best parts are definitly the silver barding, the princess, and the decent amount of bricks. The design is quite nice. The skull, as others have mentioned, is a very good design. The dragon is quite cool, though rather simple.

Not really anything really bad about this set, not that I can think of, anyways.

EKnight

[ottoatm]

I agree with those who were pleasantly surprised by this set. It was my first KK2 set, if I remember correctly, and it led to many more. I actually wouldn't mind buying more of this set for the parts.

[chump]

Finally built this set over the weekend. Yes, it cost way too much, but other than that a great set. As other have mentioned before, mixing this set as the front gate of Vladek's Fortress seems to be the way to go with this set.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2989270 Not my pics.