Review: 910049 Adventure in Transylvania
Posted by CapnRex101,
Castles have always been extremely popular in the BrickLink Designer Program and I think the stunning 910049 Adventure in Transylvania will prove particularly successful, taking a distinctly gothic approach to the subject! Its architecture looks truly extraordinary.
However, there is more to this model than only its outer appearance, as there are a number of creative functions to be discovered inside. In addition, the building techniques are excellent and of the BrickLink Designer Program sets I have reviewed so far, this one feels most like a traditional LEGO set.
Summary
910049 Adventure in Transylvania, 4,056 pieces.
£299.99 / $349.99 / €349.99 | 7.4p/8.6c/8.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Spectacular on display and my favourite BrickLink Designer Program set to date!
- Beautiful display model
- Incredible architectural detail
- Innovative and brilliantly designed functions
- Great building experience, relative to other BDP sets
- Mediocre minifigures and maybe too many
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Completed Model
LEGO has attempted gothic castles a couple of times before, with 9468 Vampyre Castle likely the most notable example. However, this castle is an entirely different prospect, including over 4000 pieces and putting them to brilliant use, as the level of detail is exceptional. The design is fairly compact given its piece count, though offers great presence on display, measuring 27cm across, 37cm deep and 44cm in height.
I find the colour combination of dark bluish grey, red and black very appealing, particularly with the autumnal foliage outside. Almost one hundred leaves are provided in various shades of red, orange and yellow, scattered around all sides of the model to add more colour.
A few gravestones are placed outside the castle, each featuring the names of characters from Dracula, which surprised me. There is no need for a license because Bram Stoker's novel has long been out of copyright, but this is still an unusual addition to a BrickLink Designer Program set. The gravestone pictured below memorialises Abraham van Helsing, while others allude to Wilhelmina Murray and Jonathan Harker.
Strangely, the 'TC' grave marker introduced in 10273 Haunted House, as a reference to former LEGO designer Tiago Catarino, is supplied as well. This element appears in the parts list at the end of the instructions, but is not shown elsewhere in the manual or official images.
Even areas usually hidden are richly detailed, such as the walls behind the tree shown above. The section further back is constructed sideways using tiles and ingots, although it still blends flawlessly with the adjoining walls, assembled with standard bricks.
Also notable on the castle's back and side are reddish brown cranks, used to control functions within. I like how these are hidden in plain sight without need for disguise, as their rustic colour matches the style of the whole building.
Eleven stickers are used, including one for a banner beside the entrance. I like the bat design, based on the classic LEGO piece, although I am surprised the long-established Fright Knights symbol was not used instead, given the popularity of older Castle factions and the recent return of Basil the Bat Lord.
Interesting architectural features are spread evenly around the model, so it looks impressive on all sides. This hexagonal bartizan is a good example, decorated with bats underneath. Similarly, the ornate window beside the tower is stunning, albeit quite flimsy construction. Such issues are resolved the layers of bricks above are added.
The staircase up to the door looks excellent, consisting of three sections. The steps are almost seamless and I appreciate the occasional studs for posing minifigures. The door itself is superb too, designed to resemble planks of wood, with iron hinges mirroring the black decoration on the staircase.
I love the colour scheme for the roofs, comprising a selection of black, blue and purple 1x1 half circle tiles against dark blue plates. Moreover, the wrought iron details on top look splendid and make excellent use of black handcuff pieces above the main roof slopes.
910049 Adventure in Transylvania was designed by BrickLink user SleeplessNight, who earlier created 910029 Mountain Fortress. Much like the fortress, this building opens around hinges in the middle, providing good access to much of the interior. A window near the hinges ingeniously moves with the two halves of the castle, similar to a wall in 10305 Lion Knights' Castle.
The entrance hall is by far the plainest room, only including a candelabra mounted on the wall and a suit of armour, which carries a stickered shield. The next chamber is bigger, though also fairly empty, apart from the pipe organ and a chandelier suspended from the ceiling with chains. You can drop the chandelier suddenly via a switch on the roof.
Fourteen minifigures are included in total, with this spectral character a highlight among them. The selection seems to be very loosely based on characters from Dracula, but their execution leaves something to be desired, as is often the case in the BrickLink Designer Program, which can only use existing parts. Minifigures from the upcoming 31167 Haunted Mansion would be ideal additions.
Reaching deeper into the main hall is rather difficult, including to the staircase down to the all-important crypt! Even so, the steps include some great texture and the crypt is highly detailed. The floor pattern in particular looks marvellous and the items around the central tomb are very interesting, between a portrait of a vampire and a vial containing a dubious red liquid.
Furthermore, this room includes easily my favourite function in the set. Turning a crank on the back of the castle first opens the vampire's tomb and then lifts the minifigure inside, as though rising from the grave! The two-stage function works remarkably well, much better than the only comparable feature I can recall, in 9465 The Zombies.
The adjoining library and prison cell are excellent too. I love the colourful books on the shelves and the parchment displayed in the corner is a lovely reference to LEGO Castle, as exactly the same piece originally appeared in Castle sets released in 1993, plus the recent 40601 Majisto's Magical Workshop.
Among the books on the shelves is the Magia Posthuma, a treatise on vampires published in Olmütz, a city in modern Czechia, in 1706. This is rather an obscure inclusion, but a welcome one!
Returning to the main floor, a ladder leads to the roof. However, it is not safe for minifigures to linger here, as a trapdoor is found in the floor! This function is disguised exceptionally well and controlled using another crank on the outside, dropping figures into the prison below.
The rooftop features a lovely tiled pattern and a large spider web, concealing a treasure room above the entrance. The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted grotesque, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year.
Overall
910049 Adventure in Transylvania stood out as an amazing design in the BrickLink Designer Program Series 5 and so it has proven! This model looks magnificent, with wonderful colours and intricate detail throughout, so the castle is similarly impressive whether displayed open or closed. The functions are a pleasant surprise too, especially to open the vampire's tomb.
In fact, my only criticism of the set relates to the minifigures, which seem relatively bland, but unavoidably so. Otherwise, the building experience is far better than most BrickLink Designer Program sets and the price of £299.99, $349.99 or €349.99 seems reasonable to me, so I can absolutely recommend the Adventure in Transylvania to any LEGO Castle or horror fan!
152 likes
39 comments on this article
Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'
If I had the spare cash and space I would get this. But I don’t want anymore minifigures!
An Incredible and inspiring design from someone who obviously understands how to use colour. TLG designers could take several notes from this.
the minifigures aren't the best. The ones in the haunted house from the new creator set would be a good choice
Nice to see a BDP set with playfeatures/functions. This has notably been lacking from some of the finalists, whether thats because they are 'aimed at adults' or the difficulty of designing such features digitally. The figures are always going to be weak due to the limited selection of minifg parts in the BDP palette, but easily rectified with your own collection.
Worth noting, that as well as 910049 Adventure in Transylvania from series 5 and 910029 Mountain Fortress from series 1, @Sleeplessnight also designed the Siege Encampment from series 4 (which is shipping in July 2025).
It’s actually alot smaller than what I initially thought. And not really all that impressive. I think I’ll pass.
Hopefully will be getting this when it goes live. It's a very interesting castle and I like the vampire references, it's nice to see the research that was put into producing this.
Probably the first Bricklink Designer Program set by @Sleeplessnight which I'm not going to buy. Not because it isn't a great set, which it genuinely is, but because I'm not particularly interested in horror-related stuff. For those who are, I don't think you're going to get a better haunted mansion-type set than this one. So, if you have the cash to spare, make sure to get another awesome set by this great designer. I'm sure it'll do well.
However, I do agree with the critique of the minifigure selection being rather bland, but I'm sure that if you like this set and plan to buy it, you'll have at least a few horror minifigs in your collection already, which will go great with this set.
Read the summary but skipped the details. Looking forward to grabbing this. It's so beautiful, probably my last big castle from BLDP. I love builders who really dig into the architecture and make it beautiful. I got that from Studgate, and I get it here. The colors look top-notch, and it sounds like it's got fun features.
As for figs, those are typically the easier things to replace. Between Dreamzzz, CMFs, D&D, and my personal collection, it seems like they'll be easy to adjust if desired.
This set looks so amazing, might even be the best BDP set to date. Looks like I have to sit ready this afternoon
This is probably an unpopular take but I would have preferred more "naturalistic" colors. The red and black and blue and grey is just too much and sadly overshadow an otherwise amazing build.
I think there's a bit too much black. I know it's a vampire castle, and black is absolutely the appropriate color, but so many of the details, like that entire wrought iron window by the hexagonal turret, get completely lost. I wonder if more dark grey, with black used as an accent color for details, might have made those details pop more.
@mikesray said:
"I think there's a bit too much black. I know it's a vampire castle, and black is absolutely the appropriate color, but so many of the details, like that entire wrought iron window by the hexagonal turret, get completely lost. I wonder if more dark grey, with black used as an accent color for details, might have made those details pop more. "
I agree. I'll still be buying one, but wish the interior was more dark grey. The black on the interior is just overwhelming. I think an alternate color would have made it more interesting. With the black exterior showing through to the interior though, it may have been a challenge.
@mikesray said:
"I think there's a bit too much black. I know it's a vampire castle, and black is absolutely the appropriate color, but so many of the details, like that entire wrought iron window by the hexagonal turret, get completely lost. I wonder if more dark grey, with black used as an accent color for details, might have made those details pop more. "
During the whole review I was wondering if the camera had an issue, but I think it's more the model being really to dark to show any detail :(
This is a fantastic BDP set. The building techniques and colors are great. I love the details and that function with the vampire’s tomb is phenomenal. The minifigs are very boring and yes, there are too many of them here.
@CaptainMoore said:
" @mikesray said:
"I think there's a bit too much black. I know it's a vampire castle, and black is absolutely the appropriate color, but so many of the details, like that entire wrought iron window by the hexagonal turret, get completely lost. I wonder if more dark grey, with black used as an accent color for details, might have made those details pop more. "
During the whole review I was wondering if the camera had an issue, but I think it's more the model being really to dark to show any detail :("
It probably is the camera in part, to be fair. I only finished building the set last night, so had to race through photography faster than I would like. Depending on lighting where the model is displayed, I do not think the black pieces are a problem.
In my experience, neither white-heavy sets nor black-heavy sets photograph nearly as nicely as they look in real life.
This really is a masterpiece of design, the detailing is just simply stunning! For BDP the price is pretty solid too, although the model does seem to be deceptively more shallow when you see it from the back
@StyleCounselor said:
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'"
Yes, crashed several times but hopefully worth it. really looking forward to this set since I missed out on the mountain fortress!
I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly....
Its peak. Thats all
@yellowcastle said:
"I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly...."
Are you mumbling about the voluminous Yellowcastle progeny? They're your children, man!! Wear a hat, for goodness sakes.
Speaking of which (grabs hat).
@BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'"
Yes, crashed several times but hopefully worth it. really looking forward to this set since I missed out on the mountain fortress!"
I'm sorry. I grabbed MF at the outset, and then placed an order for one more in the rush at the end. My son tells me he that I'm no longer 'papa' if I give up the other copy. >_<
Amazing architecture. I wish I could get one but where to put it. I think I'll settle with the pictures.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly...."
Are you mumbling about the voluminous Yellowcastle progeny? They're your children, man!! Wear a hat, for goodness sakes.
Speaking of which (grabs hat)."
LEGO has a better return/cancellation policy than my wife, unfortunately/fortunately.
I only saw this set today via a Bricklink email. Thought to myself ‘That looks cool.’ Then headed to Brickset to be met by the review. So it would appear I have ordered myself a copy.
@yellowcastle said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly...."
Are you mumbling about the voluminous Yellowcastle progeny? They're your children, man!! Wear a hat, for goodness sakes.
Speaking of which (grabs hat)."
LEGO has a better return/cancellation policy than my wife, unfortunately/fortunately."
Just so long as you get to hang onto the exclusive gift with purchase. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. ;)
@StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly...."
Are you mumbling about the voluminous Yellowcastle progeny? They're your children, man!! Wear a hat, for goodness sakes.
Speaking of which (grabs hat)."
LEGO has a better return/cancellation policy than my wife, unfortunately/fortunately."
Just so long as you get to hang onto the exclusive gift with purchase. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. ;)"
Great, she's now suspended my account.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'"
Yes, crashed several times but hopefully worth it. really looking forward to this set since I missed out on the mountain fortress!"
I'm sorry. I grabbed MF at the outset, and then placed an order for one more in the rush at the end. My son tells me he that I'm no longer 'papa' if I give up the other copy. >_<"
haha, I was very upset about the second chance since I got it in my cart then it disappeared during checkout. I'm hoping to build it or something very close with my 3x 10305, 31120s, 10193, and 7094 ...
@BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'"
Yes, crashed several times but hopefully worth it. really looking forward to this set since I missed out on the mountain fortress!"
I'm sorry. I grabbed MF at the outset, and then placed an order for one more in the rush at the end. My son tells me he that I'm no longer 'papa' if I give up the other copy. >_<"
haha, I was very upset about the second chance since I got it in my cart then it disappeared during checkout. I'm hoping to build it or something very close with my 3x 10305, 31120s, 10193, and 7094 ..."
Don't cry for me, Argentina....
Alas, if only money weren't an object...
It's a shame there's no male vampire head available from PaB that would work, the crypt corpse doesn't feel right being a clothed skeleton (I guess this is after Dracula was slain). The CMF Basil head would've been perfect but that was discontinued by the time this was produced and wasn't a part of the BL parts pallet.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!
Getting 2. See ya at the crash.
Great review from my favorite reviewer of my favorite set. Well done, all.
Word of the day: 'bartizan,' meaning 'object which causes inordinate spending on bricks.'"
Yes, crashed several times but hopefully worth it. really looking forward to this set since I missed out on the mountain fortress!"
I'm sorry. I grabbed MF at the outset, and then placed an order for one more in the rush at the end. My son tells me he that I'm no longer 'papa' if I give up the other copy. >_<"
haha, I was very upset about the second chance since I got it in my cart then it disappeared during checkout. I'm hoping to build it or something very close with my 3x 10305, 31120s, 10193, and 7094 ..."
Don't cry for me, Argentina...."
It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange.
I've been really trying not to spend money lately, but this one is mighty tempting, especially since I've missed out on all the previous designer program sets.
Looks like a typo in the description of the tower treasure room. I think you meant gargoyle and not grotesque.
" The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted >>grotesque<<, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year."
@ol_bubba said:
"Looks like a typo in the description of the tower treasure room. I think you meant gargoyle and not grotesque.
" The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted >>grotesque<<, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year."
"
How can a roof spout exist beside a chest in a room?
@ol_bubba said:
"Looks like a typo in the description of the tower treasure room. I think you meant gargoyle and not grotesque.
" The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted >>grotesque<<, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year."
"
Gargoyles are technically only figural roof sculptures with built-in channels through which water runoff flows...or the pop-culture monster archetype based on those water-runoff sculptures. Purely decorative roof figural sculptures with no water channel are correctly called grotesques.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @ol_bubba said:
"Looks like a typo in the description of the tower treasure room. I think you meant gargoyle and not grotesque.
" The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted >>grotesque<<, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year."
"
How can a roof spout exist beside a chest in a room?"
Looks like I'm wrong about the typo, from Wikipedia - Gargoyle.
"When not constructed as a waterspout and only serving an ornamental or artistic function, the technical term for such a sculpture is a grotesque, chimera, or boss. There are also regional variations, such as the hunky punk. Just as with bosses and chimeras, gargoyles are said to protect what they guard, such as a church, from any evil or harmful spirits."
@ol_bubba said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @ol_bubba said:
"Looks like a typo in the description of the tower treasure room. I think you meant gargoyle and not grotesque.
" The standard treasure chest and some printed coins are kept inside, plus an intricately sculpted >>grotesque<<, which was produced for the Wednesday theme last year."
"
How can a roof spout exist beside a chest in a room?"
Looks like I'm wrong about the typo, from Wikipedia - Gargoyle.
"When not constructed as a waterspout and only serving an ornamental or artistic function, the technical term for such a sculpture is a grotesque, chimera, or boss. There are also regional variations, such as the hunky punk. Just as with bosses and chimeras, gargoyles are said to protect what they guard, such as a church, from any evil or harmful spirits.""
Now I know what a hunky punk is. Interesting.
Overrated and messy looking, just like most of the bdp sets. They look like mocs most of the time. I see this program really good for scalpers and maybe to some rich afols without other passions and knowledge beside Lego in their life. I mean, there are enough sets every months, and these are less quality all around and fomo starters.
@yellowcastle said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"I can't get them all. i can't get them all. I can't get them all.
I'm seriously considering cancelling my Series 4 Siege Encampment....Series 5 has 5 winners for me while Series 6 has at least 2 if not 4. Thank goodness Series 7 mostly does nothing for me....mostly...."
Are you mumbling about the voluminous Yellowcastle progeny? They're your children, man!! Wear a hat, for goodness sakes.
Speaking of which (grabs hat)."
LEGO has a better return/cancellation policy than my wife, unfortunately/fortunately."
Just so long as you get to hang onto the exclusive gift with purchase. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. ;)"
Great, she's now suspended my account."
Somehow we've got to free you and ol' Ridgey.
Not with Mrs. YC, of course. But, you understand this is all connected somehow.
No kings!!