Castle 2016?

[NovelNinja]

I can't say this is "worst fears realized," but it's definitely useless for me, as well as just plain boring. This looks like someone watched [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQY9ZJPnsg& ... laidler123]Mystic Knights of Tir na Nog[/url] and said "That was cool; we should make a theme that just focuses on everything that sucked about that show." Or maybe it was that space knights 80s show that I couldn't even like as a kid in the 80s. Can't remember the name, just the feeling that high-tech and low-tech doesn't really work unless it's Thundarr the Barbarian. (And even then . . . well . . .)

Or maybe I'm just bitter and out of touch with kids these days.

[Bruce N H]

Hey, don't be dissing Thundarr the Barbarian! Ookla doesn't take kindly to that.

As to the theme, I'm hopeful for some interesting new pieces and heraldry. Good helms and visors. The squared-off shields look a little too "tech-y" to fit in a more historical castle world, IMO, but would work well for a dwarf army perhaps. The studs at the top of the shields are an interesting connection point. In the picture you can see two books that kind of look like books of magic, one right below the group of main knights in the middle and you can see the corner of a book held by the evil jester - new printed books that would be great. It looks like there might be some new elements of bars with different connectors (look closely at the battle axe and also the weapon being held by the giant knight in the upper right) - I could imagine those pieces having use in lots of building themes.

Bruce

[Maedhros]

Well, it's hard to say very much from that picture, but I myself feel quite underwhelmed. That nightmarish jester might make up for all of it though

[Wilfred of Ivanhoe]

[quote="durazno33"]Brickset posted this image today. Looks like just a Castle goes to Space but still uses swords. At least some of the armor could be interesting to work with.

This could be very interesting. I am confident there will be many useful parts in here both new and old. Looks like an early Christmas this year!

[Bluesecrets]

So I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here. I haven't really bought any new castle sets in a very long time, because quite frankly...all I want is certain fig parts and what not. If I'm honest, castle sets leave me completely disappointed because they never just build what I want. SO having said that...parts are parts. And while I cant' say this line is my thing...the parts are. Having some castle is better than no castle. And even KK2 gave me useful things.

SO...bring it on, I'm sure there is something to be excited about. Woohoo! New castle!

[NovelNinja]

Then I shall play devil's prosecutor.

You haven't bought any Castle sets in a long time. Okay. Neither have I, at least off the first-rung retail shelf. (I've collected two Medieval Market Villages post-discontinuation, one of them a few months ago. And no, I don't count LotR as Castle for the purposes of this discussion.) Lego hasn't been living up to its glory days in that theme for a long time now.

This is the Lego version of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inEYLrha5mo& ... Juggernaut]Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light[/url]. (I found that 80s cartoon I was thinking of earlier.) I don't see it as good for parts, at least not without getting a bunch of Ninjago-style excess parts that don't work for Castle themes.

And I'm honestly worried about it. Ninjago was its own thing; when it came along, it was a new venture and it didn't replace anything. Chima replaced Ninjago. Now Nexo Knights replaces two themes.

If it winds up being popular, then Lego says "Hey, we don't need any of the old Castle themes." If it winds up tanking, then Lego says "Well, kids don't care about Castle anymore."

So, no . . . I don't think that "some" is better than none. It does, however, make me more determined to do builds in my current style. I like building in ways that fit the off-the-shelf techniques, if perhaps a bit magnified, because I want kids to realize that this isn't some sort of complex thing that only adults can do (even if it takes an adult's budget and patience to build it). And if I can spread the word about spectacular builds, and grow the theme at BrickFair, then maybe I can increase interest and Lego will respond.

Hey, everyone needs a dream that's just out of reach, right?

[Bluesecrets]

But you forget, we are not the target market. Yes they are nice and sometimes give us amazing things like MMV or the Joust set, which were intended for us. The lines they bring out are researcher and tested. Kid tested. (As any company that wants to stay in business does.) Pretty much every line of castle since kk2 has been full of action elements. Kids like action. Kids like buying sets from movies and tv shows. Talk about almost license to print money...The LEGO Movie for almost a year.

I'm not disagreeing with you that a nice line of castle would be very nice. But what makes a nice castle line? Even in the castle world we are fragmented in likes. People want fantasy. People want an abundance of elves. People want forestmen or wolfpack type factions back. People want castles that are made with bricks and not giant wall pieces. This list could go on and on.

But until then, I'm happy to get what we get. New armor, new weapons, new dragons, on and on. Parts are parts...we all buy sets just for a new part or something exciting in them in lines we may not ever actually build. City has great bears that enhance my castle world...so I buy some city...and get some nice parts.

[Leo of Rothenburg]

As I see it, Nexo Knights will last about as long as Chima (2013 - 2015) or another story orientated castle line known as Knights' Kingdom II (2004 - 2006) So if we put Knights' Kingdom II into the picture, (We didn't get a "normal castle line for 7 years, however we did get two sets re re-released the my own creation blacksmith shop, but three sets don't count as a theme so I'm ignoring these for now.) we wont get a standard castle line in quite some time unfortunately.

[Mark of Falworth]

Very interesting stuff. I'm hoping some of the visors end up being useable in a more historically accurate setting. The bad guys are a bit disappointing, they don't look too different from Ninjago, which is not a good thing for me.

Anyway, I'm sure my opinion will change with more pictures, whether that opinion will be good or bad remains to be seen.

[Dubbadgrim]

They look a bit war hammer-ish upon first impressions, but as per usual I'm sure the castle community will find a way to fit them into some mocs.

[athronieth]

As a classic castles fan, I am less than thrilled with the Nexo Knights space knights theme. The poster is not encouraging, and the emphasis on cartoonish kids action won't do me any favors, but like many others, I am a Lego fan first and foremost and will find some sets or parts to buy that fit my building interests. Thirty years buying Lego leaves me hopeful that my interests will be met again sometime in the future, but the company has to pursue the what he market research says its target audience wants. The big worry I have is that the "old school" castle interest I have may never again match the market research. TLG says castle is evergreen, but Is CLASSIC castle dead?

[Bruce N H]

Hey all,

I'm going to lock this thread and shift discussion over to [url=http://classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26205]this thread[/url] now that we have actual images to discuss and not just speculation. Please continue your rants and raves over there.

Bruce