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Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 2:37 pm
by Bruce N H
Hey all,

Barry from Brick Fanatics has been to Toy Fair London. Unfortunately LEGO does not allow photography in the booth at the London show (we'll get that from Nurnberg and then New York over the next couple of weeks). So we have no images aside from a couple of Legends of Chima statues outside the booth (remember, our policy is to not allow for leaked images from dealer catalogs here, so please don't link those, we'll get good Toy Fair pictures by Feb 10). That said, here is the listing of Castle sets, due out in August. Brick Fanatics reports that the protagonist faction will be blue and grey with lion heraldry, and the antagonist faction will be red and black with dragon heraldry.

70400 Forest ambush £7.99
70401 Horse carriage getaway £17.99
70402 Gatehouse raid £24.99
70403 Dragon peak £34.99
70404 Kings castle £79.99

For Tolkien he lists four sets (though I suspect there will have to be an additional wave of Hobbit sets in late 2013 to accompany the next movie), no release date listed but he said the sets displayed are preliminary. He notes that there will be an "eye of sauron which will be a print on a minifig head" - I strongly suspect that will actually be the Palantir of Orthanc, though it sounds like it would also be fun to use on a fig. Anyway, here's the list. The big set is presumably the Corsairs' ship with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and a bunch of ghosts from the Battle of Peter Jackson ... um, maybe it was called something different, I forget, I'll have to dig through the books again to find that scene.*

79005 – The Wizard Battle £11.99
79006 – The Council of Elrond £29.99
79007 – Battle at the Black Gate £59.99
79008 – Pirate Ship Ambush £89.99

Barry lists a lot of other sets from other themes as well. Some great sounding stuff from the Lone Ranger and Super Heroes lines. Also, Huw from Brickset has an appointment at the LEGO booth today as well (hmm, should be right about now), so expect a report from him later.

Again, please do not link to or describe any images you may have found online stamped with a confidential watermark.

Bruce

*Still looking for that scene.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:32 pm
by AK_Brickster
Hooray...... more lions and dragons. :cry:

Oh well, I guess I'll still be looking forward to the pics, but I'm almost hoping that these sets are terrible so that my wallet can catch a break for a few months. That, and my current Lego space is getting awfully crowded!

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:05 pm
by andhe
It is odd that they re-use the dragons vs Lions immediately after the kingdoms theme. Albeit in different colours. But the price points look good (which in my mind screams 'SMALL BASIC SETS' rather than LOTR detail) but should be nice to pick up some more troops. Hopefully we'll get some nice barding for the new horses.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 5:05 pm
by mitah
Bruce N H wrote: ... *Still looking for that scene.
.. and you won't find it in the book, as it was only a part of the Fellowship, Rangers and Gondorian soldiers that manned the ships - the ghosts were released from their oath before this battle (Battle of the Pelennor Fields)

From what I've seen on some blurry pictures the new Castle line will be one of the weakest, much too childish and simple. The LOTR sets sound OK-ish, but I would really like some official Gondor soldiers, and the sets do not feature any scenes where they could be expected (I guess they will be concentrating on the Fellowship at the Black Gate and ignore normal foot soldiers)

The prices seem rather low, I expect I will be paying a hefty premium on these prices here in Europe.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:20 pm
by Knight Man
So USA prices for Castle are about:
70400 Forest ambush $10
70401 Horse carriage getaway $25
70402 Gatehouse raid $30-$35
70403 Dragon peak $45
70404 Kings castle $105
I multiplied the Euro prices by 1.33 then rounded them off to the nearest $5.
So for about $110 I could get all but the King's Castle, just have to wait and see what the sets are like and most importantly what the minifigs are like.
AK_Brickster wrote:Hooray...... more lions and dragons. :cry:
Oh well, I guess I'll still be looking forward to the pics, but I'm almost hoping that these sets are terrible so that my wallet can catch a break for a few months.
I agree, LEGO is giving way to many good sets. :P
andhe wrote:It is odd that they re-use the dragons vs Lions immediately after the kingdoms theme. Albeit in different colours.
Yea, I don't git why they didn't just continue Kingdoms....

LotR looks great and the Hobbit sets will probably be good too.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:42 pm
by Vladimir
Let me get this right, they are releasing brand new Castle factions this year? A new theme within the Castle theme?

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:04 pm
by Knight Man
Vladimir wrote:Let me get this right, they are releasing brand new Castle factions this year? A new theme within the Castle theme?
Yes, a new theme called 'Castle'. Confusing right? :?

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:16 pm
by Vladimir
Knight Man wrote:
Vladimir wrote:Let me get this right, they are releasing brand new Castle factions this year? A new theme within the Castle theme?
Yes, a new theme called 'Castle'. Confusing right? :?

Haha very funny, my fault because I worded it wrong.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 11:27 pm
by lord_of_orks
not really exited about more LotR, I wasn't to impressed with the first waves(though I did like the orks :orc: ).
I'm glad to see Lego's getting back in to a more classic non-licensed castle line, but this one seems way to much like kingdoms(how many king's castles have we had now?)and I'm more than a bit disappointed at the apparent lack of any civilian sets.

BTW, do any of you know if the lion guys secondary color is light or dark gray?

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 11:36 pm
by AK_Brickster
It just occurred to me that a blue and gray crest would be a really nice fit for the LCC Garheim faction. Hmm.... maybe this won't be so bad after all! :eyebrows:

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:12 am
by Aeridian
I was kinda hoping for more foresty-type sets. Like back when they had forestmen and bandits and stuff. I agree, recycling lions, dragons, and crowns (oh my) is getting old... but because it's castle I'll probably be buying some for the minifigs and the pieces. I wish they would come out with another fantasy theme, with Elves instead... :wink:

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:25 am
by Knight Man
Descriptions for Castle:
Huw wrote:Yes, Castle is back, and it's called Castle, not Kingdoms. There will be five sets which, just like the reversion to the name 'Castle', are a true return to the theme's roots. They feature two warring factions. The lady telling us about them didn't know if they had names, but I can tell you they are blue and grey knights, with lions on their shields -- the King's forces -- and black with red dragons on their shields -- the baddies. It doesn't look as if there are any new armour, helmets or weapons, they all looked familiar to me.
The five sets are

70400 Forest ambush, £8: Two knights pulling a cart loaded with gold being ambushed by 2 baddies from behind a tree
70401 Horse carriage getaway, £18: red/black carriage being pulled by a single black horse, a small chunk of castle, two knights and a crossbow cart.
70402 Gatehouse raid, £25: A section of castle wall with a gate in it, two knights guarding it, a black/red catapult and two baddies, one on horseback.
70403 Dragon peak, £35: Damsel imprisoned in a small prison, which is raised up and reached by spiral staircase. Two of knights with a large catapault, a red/black wizard (I presume) and a red dragon, not unlike those in the fantasy-era castle sets.
70404 King's castle, £80: Excellent looking 4-sided castle with drawbridge, three turrets, 3 or 4 knights plus the King, 3 baddies and a siege machine of some sort.

I am sure Castle fans will appreciate these very much! They are out in August.
So it sounds like it could be pretty good, but the finial factor is how many prefabs there are and what the minifigs are like.

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:28 am
by AK_Brickster
70400 Forest ambush, £8: Two knights pulling a cart loaded with gold being ambushed by 2 baddies from behind a tree
Two words for you: ARMY. BUILDER. :eyebrows:

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:32 am
by Aeridian
AK_Brickster wrote:
70400 Forest ambush, £8: Two knights pulling a cart loaded with gold being ambushed by 2 baddies from behind a tree

Two words for you: ARMY. BUILDER. :eyebrows:
Booyah! I guess I better start collecting some more money... hehe :tasty:

Re: Castle and Tolkien sets for 2013

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:03 am
by Knight Man
AK_Brickster wrote:
70400 Forest ambush, £8: Two knights pulling a cart loaded with gold being ambushed by 2 baddies from behind a tree
Two words for you: ARMY. BUILDER. :eyebrows:
As long as the figs are good could might aswell just skip the rest of the sets and horde this one, and if the US price is $10... :sly: