The LEGO castle theme has been a perennial favorite of several generations. The previous LEGO castle line (discontinued in 2009) was called Fantasy Era, where LEGO knights were fighting against dragons, skeletons, trolls and wizards.
The current castle line is called LEGO Kingdoms, and goes back to the more traditional good knights fighting bad knights theme, while occasionally rescuing a distressed princess. 😀
An interesting development in the world of LEGO Castle started while Fantasy Era was still in full swing; instead of just the traditional good-knights/bad-knights castles, battle-packs and war-machines aimed at younger kids, LEGO also released some more advanced-builder sets for older kids and adults.
These larger LEGO castle sets include more realistic details and scale, and focus on the more everyday aspects of medieval life. Here are the LEGO castle sets so far released in this series:
#10193 LEGO MEDIEVAL MARKET VILLAGE – released in 2009 (still under Fantasy Era), this was the first set in the series of more advanced castle sets. It has been popular with both adults and children with its lovely details and playability. This set is set is 1601 pieces and costs $99.99 – which is an excellent deal at only 6 cents a piece – and is still available at the online LEGO store: BUY MEDIEVAL MARKET HERE
“Expand your LEGO Castle kingdom! This classic medieval village with marketplace is a perfect match for any LEGO Castle. Full of authentic features, fun accessories and all-new animals to expand and enhance your kingdom; it includes two complete buildings with detailed interiors like a blacksmith’s shop with waterwheel-driven hammer, a food stand, tree, table, cart, cows, chicken, rooster, duck, peasants, knights, rare elements and colors, and more!
#7189 LEGO MILL VILLAGE RAID – released in 2011 under the LEGO Kingdoms series, this set made LEGO castle fans very happy due to the addition of cute farm-animals never seen before, nicely detailed villagers, and the long discontinued (but now revived) pitch-fork! This set is $69.99, which is not the best deal with only 663 pieces, but if you take into consideration the special parts, it is reasonable. This set is currently available at the online LEGO store: BUY MILL VILLAGE RAID HERE
“Defend the village from the evil dragon knights! It’s a call to arms! The evil dragon knights have come to the village to loot and plunder, but the villagers are ready to fight back! Armed with pitchforks, buckets and booby traps galore, the villagers are ready to defend their peaceful home. Even the animals won’t surrender without a fight!”
#10223 LEGO KINGDOMS JOUST – the third in this series, this set is scheduled to be released in 2012. The piece-count is 1575 and the announced price $149.99 – which is pretty average. Pictures of this set are already causing a stir amongst LEGO fans! See it for yourself! COMING SOON! 😉
“Watch the Knights battle it out at the Royal Joust! It’s the most exciting event on the LEGO Kingdoms calendar! Join the King and Queen at the Royal Joust as the knights on horseback battle it out for the hand of the beautiful Princess. This detailed set recreates all the majesty of a medieval pageant, from the large, 6-roomed castle with linked wall extensions, 2 knights’ weapons tents, royal viewing box, jousting fence and of course 2 magnificent jousting horses. Combine 2 Kingdoms Joust sets for a scene that is truly fit for a King!”
Did you notice how the little building on the right uses the same details as the Medieval Market Village? The scale is also the same. These sets are obviously meant to complement each other and build a larger castle scene! (Please note that the Medieval Market Village is due to be discontinued, so if you would like to combine these two sets, you better get it now, otherwise you will have to try to find it on the secondary market for exuberant prices.)
Also, note the Black Falcon knight! Is this an indication the LEGO is going to bring back the much loved Black Falcons of the 1980s? 😛
I’m very happy with these advanced-builder, more detailed LEGO castle sets! The building experience is so much more interesting, the finished sets are wonderful for both play and display, and they just appeal to me more as an adult. I hope that LEGO will continue adding future sets in this series! What do you think? 🙂
