Makeover: 31120 Medieval Castle
Posted by Huw,
This article has been contributed by Zander:
When news emerged that summer 2021’s 3-in-1 Creator would be a castle, like many AFOLs, I was at once excited and apprehensive. Would it be a ‘true’ castle in the grand tradition of that theme? Or would it take after Nexo Knights, Ninjago or some other aesthetic? Long-starved of castle-y goodness, I really needed to know.
Weeks later, when images appeared, I was both relieved and delighted. The set was a worthy successor to the golden age of Castle. Hooray! I eagerly awaited its European release at midnight on 1 June and, when the day – or more accurately, night – finally came, I was among the first to place an order.
Not content with patiently waiting for the set’s delivery, I spent some of the time before it arrived looking into what fellow AFOLs thought of it here at Brickset and elsewhere online. It seemed to meet with broad approbation, but AFOLs being AFOLs, there were reservations too. They centred on three main aspects: its colours, its minifigures and its brick-built critters. I sensed a modding challenge…
Colours
Of the three criticisms, the vivid colours bothered me least. I could have lived with the banners not matching the flags and livery of the castle’s Black Falcon faction, and I had no strong feelings about the yellow infill of the half-timbered buildings. Still, I could understand the misgivings. It is pretty garish, so I set about correcting both just to see what it would be like.
The colours of the Black Falcon’s shields are (mostly) black and silver while their fabrics are blue. In heraldry, silver and white are interchangeable and known collectively as argent (French for silver). So I was OK with the white quadrants of the barbican’s pennants; it was the red quartering that needed fixing. I considered black instead of red and even tried it, but the banners’ backing pieces are already black, creating an unsightly black mass when viewed from the side. I gave blue a try and that worked better.
For the half-timbering, I also considered two options for the wood and infill: black with white, and reddish-brown with tan. For real buildings, I am partial to the black-and-white Tudorbethan revival style of the 19th and 20th centuries. But at LEGO scale it is too strong, drawing the eye in a similar way that yellow infill does, albeit to a lesser degree. I therefore opted for the reddish-brown timbering that comes with the set but replaced the yellow bricks with more subdued tan ones. In doing so, I was conscious that I was not honouring the call-back to #6074 Black Falcon’s Fortress with its black and yellow section, but I’m not beholden to nostalgia or atavism and was never very keen on that colour combination anyway.
Ironically, I substituted the one tan brick that is included in the set, the 1 x 2 brick with a hole over the entranceway. It’s the brick to which the shield is attached using a technic pin. The problem with it is that the shield is free to rotate and does so at the slightest jostle of the castle or brushing of the shield, setting it off-kilter. So I replaced the brick and pin with a 1 x 2 brick with axle hole. It’s the same colour (tan) but the shield stays in place that way – problem solved. I’m sure the set’s designer was aware of that solution, but the brick with the round hole is needed in the B-build’s trebuchet. Also, with my fix, when the shield is removed, it leaves a cruciform shape over the portal which could have been a problem in some markets.
Minifigures
The focus of 3-in-1 Creator sets is the build, not the minifigures. The dearth of people in this set is therefore understandable, though no less disappointing for it. The two Black Falcons that come in #31120 are great (younger versions of the ones in 21325 Medieval Blacksmith perhaps) but more members of the faction would have helped to fill out what is otherwise a sparsely populated structure. Castles are designed to be defensible with small garrisons, but even so; two soldiers are not enough. I decided it needed more and resolved to bulk out the numbers.
Some of the knights I added were assembled from official Black Falcon torsos and legs, but those are hard to obtain through Bricks & Pieces and expensive on the secondary market, so some chicanery was needed. I used blue torsos covered by armour pieces and gave those minifigures Black Flacon shields to give the impression that I had more official Black Falcon warriors than I actually do. Under his breastplate, one of the knights has an air stewardess’s torso! The set includes a throne room, so a monarch was an obvious choice and I added a blue wizard to round out King Falconblack’s court.
The blacksmith included in the set is wholly inadequate. Its torso assembly is repurposed from 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, and it looks like a pirate. What is a mid-18th century deckhand doing working as a medieval blacksmith? It’s the kind of cheap disregard for period and genre that I would expect of clone brands, not LEGO. I swiftly replaced it with one I was already using as a medieval blacksmith, and I added a peasant to make the castle seem more than a military structure. The addition of the serf was also an excuse to include a goat and the new sheep mould. I’m a firm believer in including a System goat in any LEGO build where it makes sense – and a few where it doesn’t!
Creatures
I’m not a fan of small and medium brick-built animals. They tend to be blocky, overly stylised or robotic (I’m looking at you, Fluffy, from 76387 Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter). Large constructed creatures are fine, but none of the animals in this set are of that size. I get that it’s part of the Creator 3-in-1 design principles, but knowing that doesn’t make me like them any more. I decided they had to go. Sadly, it’s not possible to substitute one-for-one all the brick-built critters in this set for moulded ones. Some, like the cockerel, don’t exist in System. Where there was an obvious replacement, I took it but otherwise used considerable artistic licence to add moulded animals without regard to the original set.
Other changes
I made a few other changes, beyond the three main criticisms of the set. All of them are cosmetic: I replaced some plain parts with printed ones (the lock on the prison gate, the mushroom’s cap and the cheese slope for example), swapped other parts (the shield over the entrance, the pins in the waterwheel, the crossbow, the flowers) and added a few (some flora, the skeleton’s manacles and the king’s cup stand among others). The alterations are all superficial though and can be easily undone should I choose.
Conclusion
When I set out to modify 31120 Medieval Castle, I was certain the brick-built animals weren’t going in my display collection and the number of minifigures needed increasing. I was less sure about the colour changes but on reflection, the new look appeals to me more than the old and intend to keep it as it is with its additional minifigures and moulded creatures. What do you think?
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74 comments on this article
The colours are better but it still looks like a theme-park castle.
I'd have kept the yellow, but the rest makes perfect sense to me! Well done! Goats for the win all the time.
Btw: might be good to add side-by-side pic's at the end?
The tan is definitely an improvement on the yellow, which looks dated and is understandable when their were only several colours but not with today's palette. The blue and white banners match better with the soldiers. Still thinking about what could be achieved by combining two sets.
A potential good addition would be to make the door to the "throne room" brick built. The plain brown door just irks me.
What about keeping the yellow, replacing the brown with black for the Tudor part and change the roof color also to black in addition to the changes already made.
Nice article! It was a nice to read a reasoned discussion where you considered design restrictions of official sets vs MOCs. Great pictures as well!
I presume the green and red dragon is taking the white sheep safely back to Wales?
The flag of Black Falcons is GREEN and white!
Word of the day: Atavism
Good article - I like the mods, and I like the original. I think the brick built dragon is a better fit than the moulded one, but replacing the other animals was a good idea (which probably made the dragon look out of place). This also highlights how much more 'alive' a set looks with more minifigs.
Final note: like @eMJee83 stated - a before and after comparison picture would be helpful I think - I had to open two browser windows in order to look at both versions side by side, which isn't ideal.
Also, as @ambr mentioned, another good question is what do multiple combined sets look like!?
The yellow was used because this castle was clearly based on 6074: Black Falcon's Fortress
Tan looks good but It gives feeling of being old and weathered.
i had almost the same idea.
I love brick built animals so you lost me there. Also the bright colors both fit with the classic Black Falcon's fortress and are not inappropriate for the time period.
Yellow is OK in my book due to nostalgia reasons.
Minis are NOT OK as they are too few for a set that big (and at that price range)
While I get that brick built animals appear due to Creator line, I would much prefer if the castle initiated a new "Kingdoms" line of sets so that it can accommodate more moulded creatures and minis. Plus a new dedicated line would ofc contain smaller sets with more minifigs so that we could buy and populate our castle.
Oh and I really dislike low battlements. One brick higher would be ideal.
Be honest, Huw. You don't actually mind brick-built animals, you just wanted an excuse to put a goat in there, didn't you?
The loss of colour really damages the set's personality in my opinion.
if you want it to be a BF castle you need:
Black and yellow timber-costruction
Black roofs
your modification looks great, but for me, it is not a BF castle...
I did not understand what I was looking at and could not see any difference. But apparently none of the images are of the original set with the original colours :)
Good point about the pirate torso's inclusion being something you'd expect from a clone brand, it has really bothered me since the first pictures emerged. Especially with the dearth of Black Falcons in the set. I'm glad I bought an old blacksmith minifig some time back which I'll be slotting into the set. I'll have to figure out how to bulk out my Black Falcons as B&P's stock seems to have been raided by the Bricklink hawkers. I can see myself reluctantly hunting on AliExpress if there are no affordable options.
I do like the changes, especially to the banner which I was planning too, but I'm too fond of the nostalgic yellow to change those sections.
Great work!
This makeover can be taken as a preview of 30 years - when the original placed sundrenched. ;-)
This look I prefer over the original screeming into-my-face style. But the castle still has an artificial touch (clean roofs, posts and tree).
It would be interesting to compare this castle in the black/yellow combination of 6074 Black Falcon's Fortress, but this makeover has already a better link to 21325 Medieval Blacksmith.
The splendid 31120 dragon is the only creature I like to keep.
Much better.
Well it's a different take. This way the castle looks more like a moc than an original set. Personally I find simple and colorful design of the sets more fun.
Would Hei Hei from Moana work as the cockerel? Or is he too cute and Friends-y?
Love your makeover, but to be fair, the original isn't bad by any means either.
Come to think of it, would anyone MOC 375 in tan instead of yellow? ;-)
This is very nice! Must more extensive than the limited mods I plan to make (I want to display this with 10223 Kingdoms Joust where all the flag poles have two different pennant colours, so am going to add some silver pennants below the blue ones)
At first look of the photo I thought you'd used Cool Yellow, not Tan, and was impressed how you'd got all those parts!
I'm not fussed either way by yellow or tan. I like the 3-in-1 brick built birds (there is lots of variety across the sets). The bulking out of the garrison is nicely done here and I agree about the blacksmith. The extra foliage seems like a must have (nice toadstools). The lock on the gaol is a really nice touch.
All of us in the states get screwed for releases all the time, I wish we had this available. Fantastic set. If we got Castle instead of the rotating themes like vidiyo, everyone would win.
It's a busy life in Camelot...
This looks nice, but I prefer the bright colours of the original as they are closer to what medieval buildings looked like at the time they were actually built. These muted colours are what we are left with after hundreds of years of wheathering.
Unlike most commentors in this thread, I like brick-built creatures. It's great to see what you can achieve without a special mold.
I think it highlights how AFOL's in particular prefer to use the more subtle palette of what I would call 'recent' colours (after about 1983!) in builds - I never use what I would call the 'traditional' colours of red, yellow and blue in buildings at all, although from a younger builder perspective, the fun bright colours are what toys are all about...
But modding builds is something I have always done - it's what Lego is all about - an endlessly take it down and put it back up again as something else tool where nothing should really be sacred; all of my Modular buildings (apart from the Parisian Restaurant) have been in some cases drastically altered...
Whilst I do prefer the original colours, as I believe they lend the castle a whimsical, toy like nature, It's great seeing the castle populated with a decent sized garison. I've already dug up my lego horses, but I'm going to have to go about sourcing my own knights and a lord for when it comes time to populate my own set.
I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds
@legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
same, I'm genuinely suprised there aren't any pictures of that yet. At least not ones I can find
@legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
A couple of people have done that on youtube.
Where did that sheep come from? is it new?
@MudkipDoom said:
" @legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
same, I'm genuinely suprised there aren't any pictures of that yet. At least not ones I can find"
I’m definitely planning to do it- I’ve picked up one copy of the set, but I’m trying to decide if I’m going to wait for a better sale price or just bite the bullet and get them soon…
@Andhe said:
" @legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
A couple of people have done that on youtube."
do you have any links?
@MudkipDoom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu-yWkNzys8&t=1260s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXDD2uj-qY
We actually have a very warped view of what castles looked like in the past. They weren't just grey walls. They were painted and colorful places where people lived. Beautifully painted walls, markets, homes and people, inside and outside the castle walls. The paint wore off over the ages, so they're all grey now, but that's not what they used to look like. I think adding the yellow in this set was a great compromise and it saddens me to realize that some people are gonna take it out when they get the set. The extra color and the liveliness of this set makes it one of the most accurate representations of a medieval castle by Lego in my opinion.
@EvilTwin said:
"It's a busy life in Camelot..."
"It's only a model"
;-)
The tan color makes the buildings look like unpainted wattle and daub - which makes the castle look shabbier as any self-respecting knights would have had their buildings painted!
@nickvang:
I agree - many people want to view Castle sets as aged weathered structures not well-maintained instead of as intended: as buildings in their heyday during the Middle Ages!
This problem also applies to MOCs/mods of LEGOs' other major "historical" theme: Pirates (especially the ships). Sailing ships were/are often painted in bright primary colors. While I understand the ship in 21322 is supposed to have been shipwrecked and thus may justify more faded colors, I do think replacing the primary colors of the Barracuda with their more muted counterparts (e.g., dark red for red, tan for white, etc.) makes for a rather ugly ship.
Who else thinks they copied some of my building techniques from the castle in the forest ;)
Great article & the improvements are very good. I would also change the angles of the roofs. For example for the tower i would try out what it would look like if it's more pointy like set 6071). I'd add another color to the olive green for the grass (maybe some bright green or even some lime vegetation, just to include a little more flashy colors). Remplace the tan plates with medium nougat. Change all the pearl gold windows for white (like in set 10193). Remplace de Redd. Brown antenna 4H with 6L bars in black. And eh, no dragon. Get some red lion knights (or mybe kingdoms). Give them a second horse and add a siege tower ! (redo the battle of sets 6061 or 6062). Now it's perfect ;)
The blue banners work better for the Falcons.
But Tan or Yellow is mostly a personal choice of how "Classic" / "Realistic" it has to look. Both colors work well in that regard.
As someone how collected Nexo Knights, and other 3-in-1 sets however, I prefer the yellow, as the more cartoony style allows overall a more common color palette, and Nexo mostly had brighter knights and shield tiles, and squirebot helmets came in many colors.
Another variant could be keeping the yellow and using dark brown wood around them.
Or maybe Light Yellow instead of regular yellow walls.
Overall a lot of Timer Frame and wall color options from towns across the world.
@Huw Key sentence:
I’m a firm believer in including a System goat in any LEGO build where it makes sense – and a few where it doesn’t!
I'm always secretly believing/hoping, that you use your privileged position with Lego to petition for more (read significantly more) animals in Lego sets (town/city Lego animals as opposed to Friends animals which are plenty).
Your changes are nice. Also not a fan of brick built animals but I am aware that many prefers them. To me the colours were not so much a problem. In my view, what needed to be changed are the banners: the back piece should be a 2x5 plate (not existing yet) so the upper and lower parts are seemingly the same height (now the lower part(5 studs) looks vastly larger than the upper part(3studs)) - making it 3 and 4 studs would be more balanced.
@AustinPowers said:
" @EvilTwin said:
"It's a busy life in Camelot..."
"It's only a model"
;-) "
Shh!
@LegoBro4Studio said:
"Where did that sheep come from? is it new?"
Yes, it is new. 10775 . 4 animals included in that set (animal battle pack!)
This looks amazing. The tan really fits well. Even if the yellow is "more accurate" or "more nostalgic" this still looks great.
I haven't decided yet what I'll do with it when it comes out here. I'll likely not build it at all and opt for my own redesign altogether since everyone will own this castle as is. But this has the makings of a neat castle.
I would buy this. But I’m not interested in the current Lego 31120 set, it’s too Creator to be castle
I like them both. The original is good for me, but I do appreciate replacing the brick built critters.
@AddictedToStyrene said:
"Would Hei Hei from Moana work as the cockerel? Or is he too cute and Friends-y?"
He'd be perfect for the job. :o)
That sheep though... it needs to be mass produced and bagged.
@HOBBES said:
" @Huw Key sentence:
I’m a firm believer in including a System goat in any LEGO build where it makes sense – and a few where it doesn’t!
I'm always secretly believing/hoping, that you use your privileged position with Lego to petition for more (read significantly more) animals in Lego sets (town/city Lego animals as opposed to Friends animals which are plenty).
Your changes are nice. Also not a fan of brick built animals but I am aware that many prefers them. To me the colours were not so much a problem. In my view, what needed to be changed are the banners: the back piece should be a 2x5 plate (not existing yet) so the upper and lower parts are seemingly the same height (now the lower part(5 studs) looks vastly larger than the upper part(3studs)) - making it 3 and 4 studs would be more balanced."
The amount of people who think Huw wrote the article is quite amusing, it says contributed by Zander
I would have also switched the black windows for brown
The yellow looks more authentic to an actual historical castle. They weren’t grey and drab.
Last year: excellent pair of throwback lego Pirates creator and ideas sets
This year: excellent pair of throwback lego castle creator and ideas sets
Next year better be throwback lego space!
(I know I have the lego movie Benny sets and the Peter Reid exo suit but I’m greedy)
@legogeek said:
"That sheep though... it needs to be mass produced and bagged."
Could only dream of an Xtra set with a Sheep and a Chicken or something, as there have been Shark+Parrot version before.
40341: Sea Accessories
Also horses, the last time a Black minifig horse was made was in 2013 and the new version was only made during that year, past years mostly had Friends horses.
Thanks for making this! It's cool to see different versions side by side.
The official set has almost no texture. It's all basic bricks, with some round 1x1 parts. It needs the bright colors for contrast and visual interest. The more muted tan would work if there was more texture contrast. As is, it looks a bit muddy.
With some more texture though, the muted colors would definitely look better than the official set.
The inventory of the set 31120 doesn't list any minifig (only the skeleton)
@AustinPowers said:
"Love your makeover, but to be fair, the original isn't bad by any means either.
Come to think of it, would anyone MOC 375 in tan instead of yellow? ;-) "
Jojo did the tan version in 2004
https://brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=742307
What set is the substitute medieval Blacksmith from? I don't recognize it.
@HOBBES said:
" @LegoBro4Studio said:
"Where did that sheep come from? is it new?"
Yes, it is new. 10775 . 4 animals included in that set (animal battle pack!)
"
Obviously sold out on Lego (bricks and parts) but a Canadian managed to buy 172 of them which he now sells at 2-3 times the price.
If you look at bricks and parts for this set, the cost of the 4 animals represent 25% of the cost of the whole set. Rabbit and chicken do not use much plastic yet they are above $2.00 each.
It's better but I still prefer a real Castle theme castle to either of them. Without those classic Castle wall pieces and such, it's just not the same for AFOLs who adored the Castle theme back in the '80s.
@Andhe said:
" @MudkipDoom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu-yWkNzys8&t=1260s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVXDD2uj-qY
"
thanks for these, when you put it all together it looks like a proper castle!
Are there any Images of all builds of 31120 all together as the complete castle assembly?
@namekuji said:
"Are there any Images of all builds of 31120 all together as the complete castle assembly?"
See the links in the comment just above yours?
Responses below to some of the comments thus far.
If I haven't replied, it's because I have nothing to add, I agree or I haven't had time to reply properly. No-one is being ignored.
Where multiple posters have made the same or similar points, I have addressed the first poster but my reply should be taken as being to all.
@eMJee83 et al, I considered a side-by-side with the original and my version but lack the resources to do it. There are four possible approaches. The first, and best, is to build two of the set - one original and one modified - and photograph them together. Unfortunately, my LEGO budget barely stretches to one set, let alone two. The second is to build one, take pictures, build the other, and snap that. To make that look OK, the position of the subject (the castle), the lighting and the camera all need to be exactly the same. Any deviance will look 'off'. Regrettably, my photographic set-up doesn't allow me to do that. The third is to photograph one version and alter it digitally. I have exceptional colour acuity (for a man) but lack the software needed to do it. Also, adding elements that way or making changes other than swapping colours can be challenging. The fourth is to do it entirely using graphic software (e.g. LDD) but I lack the application and knowledge of how to use it. Besides, Brickset tends not to feature articles that are illustrated with digitally created images of LEGO builds.
@BovineBrick, You may, if you like, believe that the sheep spent many happy years enjoying the verdant pastures of The Valleys. Sightings of the dragon later the same day with traces of mint sauce around its mouth suggest a different outcome. :~P
@blackdeathgr, I considered making the parapet higher (even though it wasn't among the criticisms I found online before I received the set). If you raise it all by a brick, the crenels become too high for a minifigure to target large areas below. In theory, the machicolations at the top of the gatehouse's towers should help, but it's hard to position minifigures to stand close to them yet still be able to aim through them. You could increase the height of the merlons by a brick. That makes perfect sense defensively, but it upsets the proportions and doesn't work aesthetically.
@TheOtherMike, I didn't want to include a goat. It's a new rule at Brickset that you have to feature one! (I'm kidding of course. The inclusion of the goat was entirely my doing.) :~P
@AddictedToStyrene, I considered Heihei for the cockerel but it's too cartoony for my liking.
@BrickRandom et al, First thing to note is this is a fantasy castle despite the set's name. That said, the colours of the structure in my mod are most definitely not ahistorical. The colour of buildings in Medieval/Early Rennaissance Europe is one of those topics that has swung wildly online from one point of view to another (various questions about arms and armour have too). The truth is somewhere in between. Castles were often exposed stone or brick, and sometimes whitewashed - with or without plaster. At some points in time and place they were covered in render ranging from puce to salmon pink. Very occasionally, they were brightly coloured. We know from archaeological research that there was a castle in Italy covered in colourful frescoes for example. Roofs were made of stone, brick or (coated) wood, or covered in slate (shown as blue in Medieval art) or clay-based ceramic shingles (shown as brownish-orange). The infill of half-timbering varied in colour depending on time, place, availability, tastes and cost. It could be bare brick, plaster or daub. Colours were sometimes bright (pink for example), but manuscripts of the period clearly show that dull colours were common (we know the colours of those texts haven't dulled or - when they have - exactly how and to what extent). There has been a tendency in the intervening centuries to imagine the Medieval/Early Renaissance period as visually muted due to the aging, weathering, damaging, dirt and pollution affecting extant buildings. But that is not to say that town
....towns and cities at that time were a kaleidoscope of rich, saturated colours. For the most part, that wasn't the case.
@The_Creator, It's the blacksmith from 10193 Medieval Market Village: https://brickset.com/minifigs/cas413/fantasy-era-blacksmith
@Zander said:
"....towns and cities at that time were a kaleidoscope of rich, saturated colours. For the most part, that wasn't the case.
@The_Creator, It's the blacksmith from 10193 Medieval Market Village: https://brickset.com/minifigs/cas413/fantasy-era-blacksmith
"
Oops, got a little confused, brown legs and green torso minifigure I'm curious where that is from?
I like the number of figues but it's way too much realisticly for a set in that price range. I think that's an unfair comparsion. The added animals too which are a big draw for AFOLs (at least for me), if they came in the original set they could contribute much to it's original value. I think it distracts a bit from the real point here, which is the color scheme.
To be honest I came to like the kid-friendly colors since I grew up with the classic themes. But still, I think the color swap is great, people who prefer realistic castles could really enjoy it!
@The_Creator said:
"Oops, got a little confused, brown legs and green torso minifigure I'm curious where that is from?"
Hat, torso/arms and legs are from the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow from TLM2 CMF series: https://brickset.com/minifigs/tlm165/scarecrow-minifigure-only-entry
Hands are just ordinary minifigure hands in yellow.
Head is this one that has appeared in several ranges: https://brickset.com/parts/4276244
@HappyLEGOfan, You make a valid point about the comparison being unfair on the grounds that the additions would cost more. What is of interest though is what might have been if this set had been released not as a Creator 3-in-1 but as a set from a Castle line aimed at slightly older kids, TFOLs and AFOLs. If this set had cost £30 more but had come with more - and more appropriate - minifigures, moulded creatures and printed parts, I would have still bought it despite having a very limited LEGO budget.
@Zander said:
" @HappyLEGOfan , You make a valid point about the comparison being unfair on the grounds that the additions would cost more. What is of interest though is what might have been if this set had been released not as a Creator 3-in-1 but as a set from a Castle line aimed at slightly older kids, TFOLs and AFOLs. If this set had cost £30 more but had come with more - and more appropriate - minifigures, moulded creatures and printed parts, I would have still bought it despite having a very limited LEGO budget.
"
A set can indeed come with lots of figures,
While not Castle for many people due to being under Nexo, this was one of the last big Castle set with 11 figures :
70357 : Knighton Castle at €130 / $130
And when it comes to current sets, I guess 76389 : Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets would count too , also around the same price range $130 / €140.
Figures/Horses are currently the most lacking from a 3-in-1 strategy.
Nice modifications, I like the tan and reddish brown wattle and daub change. Tan is definitely better than white to create the aged weather look, though I am curious to see what tan and dark brown would like, then I realised that there are not many dark brown parts available.
The white and blue banner is the right choice, better than white black, I have seen people trying with black blue, a big no no.
I like the simple fix for the coat of arms, and understand why LEGO didn't use that piece due to the model of trebuchet.
I agree with the oversized brick-built animals verdict, the crow and chickens are huge compare to minifigures. Some brick-built animals can be good, especially the large ones like dragons. I modified the dragon with 4 legs, longer wings and tail.
I bought 2 sets of 31120, created a MOD of a grand castle, MOC of Imperial watchtower, a photo summary is posted on brickset, https://brickset.com/reviews/60120
A details topic on eurobricks forum, https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/186014-mod-grand-castle-mod-and-imperial-watchtower-moc-from-two-31120-medieval-castle-sets-no-extra-pieces-required/
@MudkipDoom said:
" @legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
same, I'm genuinely suprised there aren't any pictures of that yet. At least not ones I can find"
Check out my review mate (YouTube DownUnder Bricks) , I combine all 3 builds. Video is linked in the video reviews for 31120
@Wurger said:
"I bought 2 sets of 31120, created a MOD of a grand castle, MOC of Imperial watchtower, a photo summary is posted on brickset, https://brickset.com/reviews/60120
A details topic on eurobricks forum, https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/186014-mod-grand-castle-mod-and-imperial-watchtower-moc-from-two-31120-medieval-castle-sets-no-extra-pieces-required/"
I already saw that on Eurobricks and it’s brilliant! If I ever get a second 31120, I may have to pinch your idea - substituting tan bricks for the yellow ones of course ;~)
@Zander said:
" @Wurger said:
"I bought 2 sets of 31120, created a MOD of a grand castle, MOC of Imperial watchtower, a photo summary is posted on brickset, https://brickset.com/reviews/60120
A details topic on eurobricks forum, https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/186014-mod-grand-castle-mod-and-imperial-watchtower-moc-from-two-31120-medieval-castle-sets-no-extra-pieces-required/"
I already saw that on Eurobricks and it’s brilliant! If I ever get a second 31120, I may have to pinch your idea - substituting tan bricks for the yellow ones of course ;~)
"
Thank you! let me know if I need to explain any of the modifications in more detail, I had to give a bit more detail to friends when they tried to build it themselves. :)
@DownUnder_Bricks said:
" @MudkipDoom said:
" @legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
same, I'm genuinely suprised there aren't any pictures of that yet. At least not ones I can find"
Check out my review mate (YouTube DownUnder Bricks) , I combine all 3 builds. Video is linked in the video reviews for 31120"
Your review is the best out there right now which showcase the 3 builds combo, thank you! looking forward to your MOD to a bigger castle!
@Wurger said:
" @DownUnder_Bricks said:
" @MudkipDoom said:
" @legoapprentice said:
"I like the updates but the original is good as well.
Still waiting to see someone combine 3 sets and make a castle that combines all 3 of the builds"
same, I'm genuinely suprised there aren't any pictures of that yet. At least not ones I can find"
Check out my review mate (YouTube DownUnder Bricks) , I combine all 3 builds. Video is linked in the video reviews for 31120"
Your review is the best out there right now which showcase the 3 builds combo, thank you! looking forward to your MOD to a bigger castle!"
Thanks mate, I'm making good progress and I'm really happy with it so far. Hopefully I'll have a MOD video out in a couple of weeks.
I dunno that tan was a better color. The yellow is a little jarring, but it gave it a pop of color. maybe just go with white? but then still have one section of the castle still in the yellow. And while I loved the old dragon molds I like the set's brick built dragon. I wish Lego would just make the joints in all the colors rather than just gray. so many builds get ruined because of the random grey pieces at their points of articulation.