Prototype Old Castle Set

[Vladimir]

Hey guys,

Does anybody know if the black barding with the golden lion and the black shields with the golden emblems have ever been released?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r62hijxo9aA/TrKvbwDnUWI/AAAAAAAAAWI/NIk3hS95zV4/s1600/556px-Castle_Proto_U.png

It's definitely a promo photo showing items never released to the public so it may be a lost cause trying.

But if anybody has any information please throw it my way!

Many thanks

[AK_Brickster]

A quick BrickLink search for "Barding" didn't turn up any catalog entries.

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=barding

It does look awesome though! I want one!

[Vladimir]

Yea I searched all over the net including Bricklink....

Any ideas on the shields? Think I may have seen them somewhere else but a differnt colour. Hmmmm.

[AK_Brickster]

I've never seen those before either, but they look like they'd be easy enough to replicate with a decal. There is a how-to guide on the CC home page, if you're interested

[Vladimir]

Yea I saw them. Don't have the right paper or a good enough printer to do them myself .

Any online service that provide custom requests? I've checked out quite a few brick shops but to no avail.

[AK_Brickster]

Ill bet if you posted a "decals wanted" thread in the customizations forum, someone would hook you up.

[mencot]

That would be an awesome barding to own. Yea like AK said post in the custom. thread about it and I think someone will make you one in no time.
Back to the proto/promo image, what do you guys think happens to those parts made that never get released?
Like here on EB we can see more protos: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52994
Do they make the garbagebin, hit the forgotten archives of Billund or some desginer takes them home!

[OverLoad]

Do they make the garbagebin, hit the forgotten archives of Billund or some desginer takes them home!

I imagine they keep the pieces for potential later use. In the Loch Ness Monster set, you can see a great helm on one of the knights, and it's practically identical to the great helm released at the start of Kingdoms in 2010. Also, I forget where I saw it, but the initial skeleton horse mold was made sometime in the 90s, despite not being released until 2007.

I can only hope and pray that LEGO decides to use those unreleased crowns someday. We need variations of crowns, LEGO!

[Bruce N H]

Those things are probably in a drawer in Billund. There was an interview with a set designer in BrickJournal a couple of years ago about the new Space Police sets. When they discussed the new alien molds, they talked about pulling out some prototypes from never-produced space sets from the 80's for ideas.
OTOH, when those prototype images you linked on Eurobricks were released it was stated that the reason they were releasing those is that they had decided to not do some of those themes (gangster, France from the 1700s). That said, I don't think you can ever say never.

Bruce

[andhe]

I never get bored of seeing these make an appearance again. Some great details when you look closely at printings (like the shield, bardings and torsos) and parts (double headed axe, and the beard and beret moulds in the French looking set).

I guess a lot of the unproduced parts and ideas go into a file until cheaper/easier ways of producing them are invented.

[rogue27]

I suspect the designers come up with lots of ideas that the marketing department doesn't believe they can sell. It's somewhat sad because many of these prototypes seem more ambitious than the stuff that is produced for retail.

[Vladimir]

I agree, the black and gold barding looks the best out of them all and it is unreleased.

Shame.

[Aeridian]

That does look like a pretty cool set. And as I looked closer, I might be seeing things. Does the white horse on the bottom near the drawbridge look likes its front legs are in a different position than the other ones? I know it's hard to tell because of the similar colored background, but it looks odd to me.

[Owen]

That does look like a pretty cool set. And as I looked closer, I might be seeing things. Does the white horse on the bottom near the drawbridge look likes its front legs are in a different position than the other ones? I know it's hard to tell because of the similar colored background, but it looks odd to me.

That front white horse does look different than the rest. Its front legs look reared up and its bridle is a darker shade than the other white horses. It almost looks like it's mid jump and being held up by a black rod. Most likely one of several new pieces made for these prototypes that were unfortunately never released.

I wish an interview with one of these classic LEGO designers existed to shed light on all these mysteries.

[6086ftw]

Well, ive stated this once before but im still planning on trying to rebuild that set, the only issue is that in order to succeed id need a decal for that black crusader barding, as well as for some of those black knight oval shields..as im pretty unskilled when it comes down to designing decals.