Weekly Set Review: Vladek's Dark Fortress

Discussion of official LEGO Castle Theme sets and products
smegged
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Post by smegged »

plucky wrote:Third, what is with those two giant swords in front of the drawbridge?! Please, get rid of those and use the money saved to get the knights some real weapons.
This was the only part of that review I disagreed with. I feel that the swords give the castle a more imposing, menacing look, and without them it doesn't look as evil (or cool), but otherwise a very good review.
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Post by Patron of the lego »

A castle that has a suitable interior and it actually has a suitable living quaters a defense and lost of pieces! But no back :(
8/10
I am leniet ot all lego sets :) gooday to all
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PunkRockCowboy
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Post by PunkRockCowboy »

I actually just bought this this weekend. I saw it marked down to $50 at Wal Mart and couldn't pass it up. As someone said previously, the box sold it for me, all those accessories, good stuff.

The castle looks great in red and black, I don't like the giant swords and the fact that the third and fourth floors don't have ladders, but over all it is a very nicely designed castle, especially for this day and age.

In reality I bought this set for parts. I bought this set for the chains, I bought this set for all the weapons (minus the KK2 swords), I bought this set for the flags, lances, window pieces, special black and red harry potter style door, the wood staircases, for the dark grey saddle and the old school blue horse mask. It's a great parts set even if you dislike the castle itself (which is actually quite good).

Also, I think that the new falcon shield actually looks good with some falcons, and the blue and white sheilds are nice for BFs too. I do like the Scorpion shields, but I could care less for the other jelly bean crap, it looks like something toddlers would play with.
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Post by Rayhawk »

Hee hee, I just found a whole shelf unit of VDF's at a one-day sale at Goodwill on Saturday. I grabbed as many as would fit in my car.

For $22, I think Vladek's Dark Fortress is a very fine set indeed.
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Old_School_Fan
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Post by Old_School_Fan »

Oh you must be joking. This brings a whole new meaning to the word envious.
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Lord Felix
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Post by Lord Felix »

Holy Cow! That must have been amazing! I should check out Goodwill more often.
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smegged
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Post by smegged »

the closest I can find is a whole pile of half price Vladek encounters which Toyworld simply cannot move off the shelf.
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PunkRockCowboy
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Post by PunkRockCowboy »

All of these posts are making me think, did KK2 not sell so well?
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DNL
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Post by DNL »

i almost bought it when it was on sale at lego.com, but i was to late; a few days later it was sold out.

now i'm very glad i didn't buy it because castle 2007 is MUCH better and cheaper :D
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DNorton
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Post by DNorton »

are the 2007 sets really cheaper

and also this is one of the best sets i didnt have
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Post by superdave »

There are many good reviews of this set, which I think do it justice (about a 7 or 7.5, if the reviews are combined). My biases toward this set are significant (I bought it after Christmas for $25; it is the largest system-scale set I own; it is the only major castle set in my collection; I'm one of those who got an extra figure accessory bag). However, I believe that its rating as a "good" set is deserved. The play features are incredible (although the wall-top catapults can launch projectiles long distances across your living room, possibly destroying precious knick-knacks that may be on display) while the piece count and selection is good (although many of the large pieces are stifling to the imagination). My gripes: the drawbridge doesn't stay up, the turning wall section has a blocked-up window, and I don't know what to do with that big mask. Also, with the gaping holes in the wall, the only way this castle could be a challenge to assault is if I were less than an inch and a half tall and armed with plastic weapons. Of course, the defending army isn't exactly numerous, either.

If you can find it on sale, pick it up.
Last edited by superdave on Tue May 08, 2007 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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DNL
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Post by DNL »

i think it is a nice castle, but i like building gray castles better than building black ones, so this castle doesn't have many usefull pieces for me.
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Count Blacktron
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Post by Count Blacktron »

[quote="superdave"]... the only way this castle could be a challenge to assault is if I were an inch and a half tall and armed with plastic weapons. [quote]

Then the LEGO minifigure Knights will surely find this fortress a challenge as they are only one inch tall! :wink:
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Post by Hob Took »

A pretty good set by KKII standards. If you need large pieces this is a great set. My least favorite thing about the set is that it has the new colors. The blueish grey and dark grey, the maroon/red, etc. I wish TLC would keep with the "old" grey and brown and everything else, but all things must change.
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Re: Weekly Set Review: Vladek's Dark Fortress

Post by domboy »

Okay, this is the only set from Knights Kingdom 1 or 2 that I own (I got it for 1/2 price on ebay), and will probably stay that way. I don't like the look of most of the KK stuff, but this one is much better (at least in comparing pictures). The coloring is good (all the dark red, black, brown and tan), and when built the castle is HUGE!! I really does look impressive. I usually like the grey castles better, but this one really fits the bill well for an evil fortress. Vladek is a cool name too. :)
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