running head on into medieval artillery

say what you want but, I think I know who will win...

Can you really call it a crossbow at that size?

I remember seeing a picture of what was apparently a prototype for the skeleton horse on Bricklink, a few years before they started appearing in sets. I was glad to see them become a production piece.

This was my first Castle set ever since the first era that joined my sets of 6021, 6030, and 6034. Fantasy Era was definitely going back to the original Castle feel with updates and little sets like this really made it so. (Also i rember how freaked out i was at this new skeleton head too!)

@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I remember seeing a picture of what was apparently a prototype for the skeleton horse on Bricklink, a few years before they started appearing in sets. I was glad to see them become a production piece."

There were a lot of transparent parts in those pictures. I can't even remember if all the parts shown have made it into production. Anyways, the difference between ABS and polycarbonate is enough that those parts would have been largely useless except as an obvious curiosity, but the point of molding them in transparent colors would have been twofold. One is that they could see any voids that resulted due to poor flow through the mold (and possibly even if weld lines, of which there would have been many, formed improperly), but they would have also been able to use polarized filters to check for stress that's formed into the part."

I had sort of wondered why it was in plastic. Come to think of it, I seem to remember a transparent version of the sword the skeleton is holding here was in the picture, too.

@PurpleDave: Well, you're 'right' about the skeleton vs. bows/crossbow thing...for the most part, a heavy enough bow or crossbow will shatter bone just like any sword, axe, and the like...also (and speaking of AD&D)...that's NOT a GIANT Crossbow...this is:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Great_crossbow_(siege_weapon)
Ah...had like SIX of these mounted to a GNORNMOUS Spelljamming ship "The Black Swan": one bow (as pre 'front of ship'), one stern, two port and starboard; and mounted to platforms that allowed arc-rotation and 'up/down' pivoting...ah (bad,wrong)fun times...:D

@Worrissey said:
"running head on into medieval artillery

say what you want but, I think I know who will win..."

The undead.

Not the most aptly named set, from the box art it looks much more like a "Skeletal Death Knight attack" scenario to me.

But given that Lego is, or at least was, above all a children's toy the name is perhaps more in tune with the average set.

@MCLegoboy said: "How does one kill a thing that's already dead?"

It's difficult, but hardly impossible.

@Heriol said:
"It's interesting that this is the kind of set that doesn't get made anymore. The closest I can think of recently, apart from polybags, are those small Ninjago mechs, which came with a few figures each, and even then, the price is a fair bit higher (although I know inflation etc). I suppose the build experience wasn't the most interesting thing here, although the firing mechanism probably adds quite a bit of value."

There are sets like 60455 60458 60459 71823 71824 71838

@CCC said:
" @Worrissey said:
"running head on into medieval artillery

say what you want but, I think I know who will win..."
.
The undead."

The Soon-to-be-Headless Horseman

@CCC said:
" @Worrissey said:
"running head on into medieval artillery

say what you want but, I think I know who will win..."

The undead."

Depends on how well he can keep going without a head. The body might be able to stay animated but can it fight with no eyes?

My first Fantasy Era set! And sadly outside of the three impulse set the only one. I had very low funds back then and my funds aren't high enough for what you get them for now either.

It was a great slice of the theme, and unlike the Kingdoms small sets the build doesn't feel anemic in favor of giving you figs. It's the perfect size, and the function works great! Giving you a skeleton and horse was amazing for the smallest set! And if you have a long pole yourself, you could upgrade the skeleton's sword to a scythe!

Even the colors are great, as the dark blue fits the mood perfectly and makes the reddish brown and silver pop!

@Arnoldos said:
"That skeleton horse is so cool.

I understand the need for articulate skeletons and this is one of the cases where they make sense, but I wish they didn't replace the flappy arms skeletons."

While it was nice to finally have skeletons that could properly hold things, there were many issues with those arms. Since they simply reused the new straight Battle Droid arm from 2007 (which even looks a bit odd on them) it looked way to mechanical rather than an organic "bone". Also that pose was way too stiff. Whilst the Ninjago skeletons fixed both issues, they still don't look as good as the old "flappy" ones. Also the older one's ball joint allowed for way more flexibility in certain situations. I wonder if they could ever make it possible to have the old ones with friction, giving us the best of the two worlds.

Anyways, Fantasy Era was a great theme. The rather unrealistic apperance of the ballista/cannon thing was a bit of a minus for this one, but it did was a nice starter (and army builder) anyways. You also got the new double sided "scared face" for one of the knights (which was used in Mars Mission too).

It's a bit funny they redesigned the spoked castle wheel back then, so they could be used with the pullback motors :D

EDIT:
Ok - seems I was wrong about the scared face.

@MCLegoboy said:
"How does one kill a thing that's already dead?"

Science and boomsticks.

@CCC said:
" @Heriol said:
"It's interesting that this is the kind of set that doesn't get made anymore. The closest I can think of recently, apart from polybags, are those small Ninjago mechs, which came with a few figures each, and even then, the price is a fair bit higher (although I know inflation etc). I suppose the build experience wasn't the most interesting thing here, although the firing mechanism probably adds quite a bit of value."

There are sets like 60455 60458 60459 71823 71824 71838"

I suppose those also fill a similar role... in my mind they are more in keeping with classic £9/10 sets, but I suppose I have to remember inflation exists etc...

@MCLegoboy said:
"How does one kill a thing that's already dead?"

This question could also undermine the point of all zombie movies.

@Heriol said:
" @CCC said:
" @Heriol said:
"It's interesting that this is the kind of set that doesn't get made anymore. The closest I can think of recently, apart from polybags, are those small Ninjago mechs, which came with a few figures each, and even then, the price is a fair bit higher (although I know inflation etc). I suppose the build experience wasn't the most interesting thing here, although the firing mechanism probably adds quite a bit of value."

There are sets like 60455 60458 60459 71823 71824 71838"

I suppose those also fill a similar role... in my mind they are more in keeping with classic £9/10 sets, but I suppose I have to remember inflation exists etc... "

A bigger issue is what else is available now compared to then. CMF were not around at the time and it is now easy to get minifigures and small builds for themes like City, Friends, Ninjago and the licensed themes through magazine poly/paper bags, and polybags are widely available (depending on region) and fulfill a similar role. And more recently, PAB online for figure parts. So it is quite easy to get together a collection of minifigures and little builds to enhance the bigger sets, which somewhat squeezes out the need for the smallish sets with a few figures and a small build if you want either a smallish LEGO toy or to add to a main purchase.

32 comments and no reference that this is a predecessor to yesterday's RMOTD, Skulkin? I'm surprised.

@Maxbricks14 said:
"I've got this one. Honestly a very good set for it's size, with the skeleton horse, two figures and working crossbow."

Three figures? Or you don't see a skeleton as a "figure"?

If this theme had been two or three years earlier, I most probably would have got this set. I was even interested in the theme at the time, particularly for the skeletons - with new faces! some with black bones instead of white! with skeletal horses too! - since I was a big fan of the skeleton classic but already had several of them by this point, and this was just the more-or-less impulse-buy-size set that most of my collection was comprised of.

While I appreciated these sets in the catalogue, though, 2007 was the start of my slide down into the dark age, so I didn't actually get any. It would take until 2010 for me to enter the dark age fully - although by that point it was mostly just Bionicle (and Lego Toy Story, when it came around) that were keeping me on board even that long - but this was definitely the point where my Lego spending on anything that wasn't Bionicle drastically declined.

It would have been nice - and possibly have kept me on board longer - if the theme had included some named characters amongst their minifigure cast. That had been the thing I liked most about Lego themes for as long as I'd been aware of their existence, from Johnny Thunder and co. onward, and the fact that 2007 cut back on the story-driven approach with none of the that year's new themes - Castle, Aqua Raiders, Mars Mission - having characters with specific identities surely alienated me more quickly than otherwise would have happened, even though the sets themselves were cool.

I said:"I had sort of wondered why it was in plastic. Come to think of it, I seem to remember a transparent version of the sword the skeleton is holding here was in the picture, too."

Arg, I meant to say I wondered why it was in *transparent* plastic. I hate it when I don't see a mistake until after the edit window has passed.

@tne328 said:"32 comments and no reference that this is a predecessor to yesterday's RMOTD, Skulkin? I'm surprised."

Probably because it was yesterdays, and not today's. Streaks or other similar connections betwwen two selections within one RXotD feature get commented on, and when both of one day's have some similarity (I'm still hoping to see a day where the RMotD comes in the RSotD), that will get commented on, but I don't know that I've ever seen anyone commenting on there being a connection between one days RMotD and a previous RSotD, or vice versa, except for yours.

I would choose this one over every 18 + set currently available now. This is what Lego was all about for me: An appealing box, world-building and a loose story.

The current Lego selection is so impressively soul- and charmless. Even though Lion Knights' Castle LOOKS amazing, it still isn't a charming set sparked with appeal and joy for builders of all ages, imho. And the price tag of course...

@Atuin said:
"Also the older one's ball joint allowed for way more flexibility in certain situations. I wonder if they could ever make it possible to have the old ones with friction, giving us the best of the two worlds."

Think of how hard it is to connect and disconnect friction ball joints like the Mixel joint. How long do you think the thin plastic bar connecting the shoulder ball to the torso would last?

@Librarian1976 said:
"Ah 2007, the year Castle jumped from its lowest point ever (Knights Kingdom II) to its rebirth (Fantasy Era) and then had a great run foe the next seven years."

Preach, brother! I would kill for the Fantasy Era to make a comeback. Sets like Lion Knights' Castle and Red Dragon's Tale scratch the itch, but it just isn't the same as a whole theme. Heck, I'd be happy if they used the D&D license to make a quasi-Castle theme. The CMF line and Red Dragon's Tale were amazing, but I'd love to see a whole theme, with sets at multiple price points.

This was before my time. But trying to collect a Crownie army now is ridiculous. $6 for this set and get two soldiers, but trying to buy them at $6-8/each is rough.

Castle and Pirates are the best non licensed themes ever. I have spoken.

I very much dug the Fantasy Era subtheme, especially in comparison to the preceding one, Knights' Kingdom II, which did not appeal to me. Fantasy Era had a more traditional castle aesthetic with a little fantasy spice thrown in as something new and different. It was a time before LEGO Lord of the Rings, D&D, Zelda, or even Ninjago. Lots of army-building potential (which is good/bad for those compelled to hoard minifigs), and I suppose it helped if you loved skeletons, like...a lot. But lots to like about Fantasy Era. Hard to believe it's almost 20 years old at this point.

@FARLANDER said:
"Castle and Pirates are the best non licensed themes ever. I have spoken. "

You forgot one or two. ;)

I was iffy on fantasy era. I was a big fan of KK2 and just naming the replacement theme "Castle" felt like an uncreative simplified downgrade without much of a story or characters. Still, I liked a lot of what the theme introduced - non-dangly skeletons, new weapon pieces, the first modern-type bigfigs in the form of the troll giants, and multiple fantasy races to duke it out.

In terms of the set itself, I miss when Lego would creatively make projectiles and launchers without slapping in a specialized piece - I know I'm kind of a hypocrite since I'm nostalgic for the old Technic cannon and all of the Bionicle launchers, but there was a window of time where a projectile function could mean many things instead of "insert stud or spring shooter here." Sure, sometimes you got flick-fires that would slide out if you tipped the model (and who can forget that they made the specialized flick-fire piece to address that issue but it made them more annoying to shoot), but other times you'd get stuff like this - just simple parts and a rubber band make a functional ballista, or in 7048, you use a technic beam, a soccer piece, and gravity to make a semi-auto turret.

How I miss this era of castle! This was a nice small set.

@ThatBionicleGuy said:
"It would have been nice - and possibly have kept me on board longer - if the theme had included some named characters amongst their minifigure cast. That had been the thing I liked most about Lego themes for as long as I'd been aware of their existence, from Johnny Thunder and co. onward, and the fact that 2007 cut back on the story-driven approach with none of the that year's new themes - Castle, Aqua Raiders, Mars Mission - having characters with specific identities surely alienated me more quickly than otherwise would have happened, even though the sets themselves were cool."

I don't mean this in a bad way: this is a fascinating take to me--probably a generational fault-line of sorts. Because for me (probably around a decade older if I can typecast off your username and comment), this was return to form: one of the problems with KK2 as a Castle theme was that it was almost entirely about the named characters, and that left a gaping hole where smiley-faced clone armies should be. It took until the second year for Vladek to get a proper army and till the third year for the good guys to start thinking about having anyone who wasn't a named character.

In that respect, for someone whose LEGO collection started with turn-of-the-80s-into-the-90s, named figs were cool and rare (Redbeard, Majisto), becoming more common towards the end of the decade, taking a while before they felt like more than suggestions, around the Adventurers in 1998 and the start of Star Wars in 1999. And while I have basically committed to a life revolving around those characters, I had been disappointed enough by KK2 as a hard-core old Castle fan (the first set I sought out as a kid was 6086 and my parents came home with 6080, because it was cheaper). The Fantasy Era sets were a HARD course correction back to, say, 1994ish, with the return of the old helmet moulds, old sword moulds--and old freeform "suggestion only" characters.

That said... this is a good set. I got two of it and would have gladly got more if I had more money lingering around.

@Formendacil:
I've had it both ways. G.I.Joe had nothing but named characters on one side of things, and a pretty even mix between Cobra army-builders and named villains. Star Wars favored named characters, with the main heroes appearing in nearly every outfit worn during the trilogy, and most of the aliens having names assigned to them. They did release some army-builders, but they also skipped a few on both sides of the conflict.

In terms of LEGO sets, I always figured that the mounted knights in the Yellow Castle were supposed to be unique characters, even if they weren't named (though I think the first to be openly named was also dead). Space, I don't recall having unique minifigs until Ice Planet. Pirates had a few right in the set names. Some of the other themes were a little tricky, where I don't recall names ever being stated, but the subthemes were sometimes so small that you didn't really see many duplicates. But KKII, between the vibrant colors, and the distinct lack of generic characters, did feel an awful lot like they were based on some 80's cartoon. Shows like The Real Ghostbusters and TMNT revised the original character art in a way that was designed to make it easy to tell the different characters apart, and therefore ensure that you knew if you were missing any in your toybox.

So I'm coming back to this just to say that I'm amazed there haven't been any additional articles today. I don't have the front page curated, I see everything even if I don't read it, and wow, the Random Set of the Day is still the latest article, AND that's likely to be the case for the remaining few hours before a new Minifig and Random Set are selected again.

@MCLegoboy said:
"So I'm coming back to this just to say that I'm amazed there haven't been any additional articles today. I don't have the front page curated, I see everything even if I don't read it, and wow, the Random Set of the Day is still the latest article, AND that's likely to be the case for the remaining few hours before a new Minifig and Random Set are selected again."

I'm not particularly surprised, since most of the focus the past few days has been on the BDP S5 launch. Until the dust has settled, or something major happens, that's not likely to change.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Atuin said:
"Also the older one's ball joint allowed for way more flexibility in certain situations. I wonder if they could ever make it possible to have the old ones with friction, giving us the best of the two worlds."

Think of how hard it is to connect and disconnect friction ball joints like the Mixel joint. How long do you think the thin plastic bar connecting the shoulder ball to the torso would last?"

It's pretty easy to picture for me, all I have to do is think about the original clip pieces.