Classic-Castle.com

Although the link is not completely devoted to the new Kingdoms sets, they are there at the bottom in the stills section.
LONG LIVE LEGO CASTLE!
http://www.spieletest.at/bericht.php?ID=865

Here are some deeplinks to the Kingdoms sets:

http://spieletest.at/pics/bericht/865/lego25.JPG

http://spieletest.at/pics/bericht/865/lego26.JPG

http://spieletest.at/pics/bericht/865/lego27.JPG

http://spieletest.at/pics/bericht/865/lego28.JPG

I see two pitchforks in the mill set!

All of these far surpass my original expectations, even the ambush set, which is my least favourite. I already want multiples of at least three of the sets: the smith for the new weapons, the dragon knights' jail for the new barding and oval shield, and the mill for all of its civilian goodness. Even the carriage set has some lovely details like the printed horses and what appears to be a new whip piece.

Between these sets and the Pirates of the Caribbean ones, the upcoming season looks like a real treat.

---Edit---

H3LLB0Y3 wrote:Although the link is not completely devoted to the new Kingdoms sets, they are there at the bottom in the stills section.
LONG LIVE LEGO CASTLE!
http://www.spieletest.at/bericht.php?ID=865

Did anyone else notice that the video about the collectible minifigures included shots of Series 5?! The gladiator and the dwarf really stood out to me.

I think these new pictures deserve their own thread.

New swords and new axes with the blacksmith.

The little dungeon one reminds me of Broadside's Brig from the old pirate line.

Steve

What an amazing year for LEGO Castle. This is the first time that LEGO has actually gone out of their way to make the castle theme as much about the peasantry as it is about the knights and soldiers! The Blacksmith looks like an absolute steal with two figures and a huge assortment of small accessories including a chicken. The fact that the breastplate is dark pearl and has no printing on it is a definite added bonus. Escape from the Dragon's Prison looks like a great parts pack with three soldiers, a great collection of brown jumper bricks, a mounted Knight with a dark pearl visor, and dark pearly gates too . I only wish that the mounted Knight had a dark pearl helmet as well. Still, it's a minor complaint. The King's Carriage Ambush looks alright but there's nothing that really pops out for me. The printed horses are nice and it's always useful to have more foliage but the set seems to be the weak link in the line.

The biggest news of course is the Village Raid. What an absolutely wonderful little set that really paves the way for the future of Castle. For over 20 years we've had a series of Castle lines that really emphasize the military aspects of medieval life while almost ignoring the civilian populations. The MMV was definitely a step in the right direction but it was still a S@H exclusive. For the first time ever we have a civilian set as the flagship of the Castle line this year. While Playmobil has never shied away from this sort of variety, so it's nice to see LEGO pushing in a new direction. I only hope that this proves popular with children as I would love to see the trend continue in the future. Heck, how about a galleon as the top end set one year instead of yet another uninspired castle? One can only hope that this trend continues for more than a single year.

This is enough to make one think that the folks at Lego are actually reading the "Dear Lego" forum here: Civilian sets, Pitchfork redux, and a Horse of a different color. And the mill set is practically the farm animal battle pack which people have suggested once or twice. I laughed when I saw the huge mallet in 7188 primed to bang into the carriage -- very much à la Wile E. Coyote, if you ask me. What intrigues me is the artwork on the boxes. With the two civilian sets, it seems like we're finally finding out what the big dispute is between the Dragon Knights and the Lion Knights -- nothing more than a feudal sqaubble over fiefdoms and land rights. Clearly the Dragon knights believe that taxes are due to them from the little farm village, but the villagers believe not -- I infer, because they believe that their taxes are due to the Lion knights. My only other observation: Oh boy, a spotted pig! And goats!

On Eurobricks there had been some confidential box images and one of the speculations there surrounded the barely visible peak of a dark blue plume on top of the barn in the Mill set. Some had speculated that it may be attatched to a 'rooster' version of the chicken. Looks like it's just a weather vane.

I am pretty excited about the new sets. They could have just hashed out some new buildings and slapped a 2011 release date on them. Instead they went the extra mile and are giving us a plethora of new pieces in these sets.

7189 - Obviously the centerpiece of this year's releases I'm excited that the year's biggest set is a civilian set. I am also happy that the set includes only Dragon Knight's to help correct the imbalance between Dragons and Lions. The buildings look well designed and the animals are an exciting new addition as well as the return of the pitchfork. These will look good in my village.

7187 - A bit of a letdown. I'm glad that the Dragon Knights get an outpost type set and the Dragon barding looks great. Unfortunately this seems like a smaller rehash of the old Knight's Stronghold set without the ability to connect it to any existing set. Not bad but certainly not a home run.

7188 - I really like this set. To me this is probably the best looking carriage that Lego has produced. I also think it has a very nice "royal" feel to it. The trees and Dragon Knight figures are a nice addition but I do think that the set needs to be combined with other sets for true playability. I doubt that the King would be riding around the country side without several knight escorts.

6918 - I like this set but personally I would rather have had a different type of merchant. How many blacksmiths do we already have? When LEGO does produce a civilian medieval set it seems like it is always a blacksmith. Maybe it isn't exciting but I would have liked a cobbler or seamstress, or carpenter, or something that we haven't yet seen for this dragon knight to terrorize. Still a nice set and I'm glad it is loaded with new pieces.

Ok so in the mill set, does the barn have doors at either end? I can't quite tell.
I'm assuming it is a hinged building.

I am very impressed with the blacksmith set. A waterwheel! Nice touch. As mentioned the unprinted pearl dark armor makes the set worth multiples, to be sure. Good cheap way to build the dragon army.

Re the gate, I wonder if it will have pins for modular expansion?

I've got to also say the king's carriage is awesome. When is the last time we saw a set with more than one horse? Seriously? I'm not counting the skeleton carriage as those were skeletal horses.

With the quality of designs, I am still hoping fo ra large dragon home base, but am also eager to see what els elego comes up with.

OMG! I want so much 7189!!! We get more civilian buildings! A farm!! I believe this is gonna be a best seller like MMV!
On the other hand, although i love the new items in 6918 i believe we don't need more blacksmith shops...We already have...hmmm...4? or 5?blacksmith buildings (not even including the Dwarfs!). And waterwill is no "new" idea, the mechanism looks like the one in MMV blacksmith. However i will buy it
The rest sets are not that much apealling to me, although they are still good looking.

Hope someday will finaly make a church or something like that, since religion was really powerful during medieval ages or a port since boats were also used much for trade those days.

I was literally staring at those pics last night debating whether or not to post them here (not sure if those counted as a leak or not).

Love the new printing on the animals and the new shutter piece on the barn windows (like the ones from POTC).

Really don't know about the new weapons. Look real Mega Blokish to me. Here is another pic via Eurobricks of the Heroica games that have the weapons (and HELMET!):

http://spieletest.at/pics/bericht/865/lego17.JPG

Vrio wrote:Hope someday will finaly make a church or something like that, since religion was really powerful during medieval ages or a port since boats were also used much for trade those days.

I highly doubt we will ever see a church released by LEGO. Considering how PC most toys have to be these days I am sure the higher ups at Lego would consider a church to alienate their non-christian customers. Not saying that this idea is right or wrong, just how business seems to work these days.

As for a port, I would like to see that although I feel that it would probably be released as a Pirate set sometime down the road before it would be a Castle set. We have all been talking about more civilian sets and tossing around ideas for tradesmen but some non-descript houses would also be a welcome addition.

ezehogan wrote:

Vrio wrote:Hope someday will finaly make a church or something like that, since religion was really powerful during medieval ages or a port since boats were also used much for trade those days.

I highly doubt we will ever see a church released by LEGO. Considering how PC most toys have to be these days I am sure the higher ups at Lego would consider a church to alienate their non-christian customers. Not saying that this idea is right or wrong, just how business seems to work these days.

As for a port, I would like to see that although I feel that it would probably be released as a Pirate set sometime down the road before it would be a Castle set. We have all been talking about more civilian sets and tossing around ideas for tradesmen but some non-descript houses would also be a welcome addition.

There's no reason for ships and ports to be limited to the Pirate theme. We've had city ports and ships, so I don't see why it wouldn't be unreasonable to have a medieval port. Heck, we've even had a few lackluster castle ships over the years so I certainly think it's about time that we received something with a bit more substance.

As to your idea; I don't mind the idea of a few non-descript houses but I get the feeling that these might not go over as well with younger buyers who are looking for a few more play features. Perhaps such a house could serve as a hideout for a band of cutthroats or thieves. Still, it's probably more important to stay focused on what we've received this year. Right now LEGO is really on the ball so I'll be supporting them as much as I can.

Amidst all the other coolness-- is that a green 4-long bar holding up the sunflower?

DaveE

I'm incredibly impressed with all of these sets. The success of MMV obviously opened the eyes of Lego's executives and this is the result! I agree with the critical comments about the weapons. The bow looks especially bad with those thick plugs at either end and in the center.

Looking at the Dragon's jail/gatehouse, I can't help but wonder if this is a first step towards modularity. Okay I know I'm dreaming, but wouldn't it be great if they next come out with a tower and wall section that can connect to this set to make a proper castle?

That helmet in the heros game set is very interesting! Where else does it appear? It's verrrry nice!