Collection Rating 7 out of 10
Pro: the architecture of the castle in nice with the two sides separated by the wall. I also enjoyed the big tower with the balcony on the internal garden. Very beautiful the minifig of the princess.
Cons: not so many minifigs and the second knight lacks the lance.. |
6081 King's Mountain Fortress (1990)The fortress of the Crusaders is built within the mountains of the north and so it is naturally protected by the nature of the place. Anyway it is guarded by four soldiers armed especially with crossbow to hit the enemies from the distance. The castle is characterized by a drawbridge in the lower part with also two big wooden doors and on the top of the entrance there is a watch place. In the upper part of the fortress there is the only real tower of the building: starting from the top we find a watch place equipped with fixed double crossbows, then the kings apartments with a beautiful balcony and finally the prison. The rest of the building is occupied by a garden with trees and even a secret hidden cave for treasures. The garden is separated from the main entrance by a wall and is surrounded in the exterior by other guarded walls. There is finally a secret small tower in the front where it is told to live the ghost of the king’s grandfather (the founder of the order of the Crusaders).
Knights King Richard: he is the King of the Crusaders and believes that his is the only real official kingdom in the East (that’s the reason why he nominated all his knights with the title of “Sir”). He lives in the castle of his ancestors with his black falcon (very rare animal) and his daughter Myriam who later will be engaged (after the end of the war) with King Leonidas. Equipped with grey armour and red plumes he rides a white horse with the Crusaders trappings. Differently from the other knights the Crusaders (starting from the king himself) are used to go in battle also with a crossbow in addition to the sword and the lance. Sir Robert Chamberlain: he is the guardian knight of the king and rides a black horse wearing a grey armour and red plumes. He is a friend of Richard since the young age and have always served the king with loyalty and courage. He’s also the personal counsellor of the king in political matters. |
Collection Rating 6.5 out of 10
Pro: lot of interesting weapons (especially hatchets) and the chariot is well built.
Cons: maybe an additional saddle would have been useful to allow the soldier ride the horse of the chariot. |
6016 Knight's Arsenal (1987)This is a typical chariot used during the battles to support the knights providing new weapons. In the back there is space for swords and hatchets and the soldier in charge of it is a blacksmith able to repair broken weapons and armours. When necessary the soldier is able to fight himself and therefore is equipped with spear and shield.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 7.5 out of 10
Pro: lot of minifigs and the colour choice for the bricks is nice. It is a classic set.
Cons: the sea dragon decoration is very minimal. |
6049 Viking Voyager (1987)Like the Black Knights also the Crusaders have a lake and a river in their territory (Torn River and Orion Lake) and like them they build a ship too. Compared to the Sea Serpent the Viking Voyager is longer and lacks of sails; it is equipped with four soldiers with paddles who move and direct the ship. Only the commander is armed and ready to fight but the paddles of the other crew are really spears and therefore could be used to fight. In the back part there is space to store treasures while both the back and the front of the ship are decorated with images of a type of sea dragon.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 7 out of 10
Pro: It is a classic set and the catapult is really well built.
Cons: the knight lacks of a real helm and plumes. |
6039 Twin Arm Launcher (1988)The offensive weapons of the Crusaders is this wheeled double side catapult: managed by an expert soldier and provided with spears and flags this catapult was often used to assault the enemy’s fortress and is a very powerful weapon. Moreover there is also a knight in charge to protect the catapult from being attacked and destroyed. The catapult is also kindly decorated with the colours of the Crusaders and has space for a small barrel to store money.
Knights Sir William Stone: he is the guardian of the catapult and he’s a knight of the old school with a lot of experience in many battles. Extremely loyal to the king he comes from an ancient lineage and he still wears the shield and the helm (without decorations and plumes) of his ancestors. He rides a white horse with the crusader typical trappings. |
Collection Rating 6.5 out of 10
Pro: you can get with the set a soldier, a knight and even a prisoner. Nice to play in combination with the fortress.
Cons: the chariot is quite poorly built with no decorations. |
6042 Dungeon Hunter (1992)The second chariot of the Crusaders is a prison chariot used to bring the prisoners (especially forestmen captured stealing in the territories of the king) to the castle. The chariot is quite small but enough to have a small cage with bars in the back and to be guided by one horse. In addition to the soldier on the chariot there is also a dedicated knight to escort the prisoners.
Knights Sir Nigel Velvet: he rides a black horse and has grey armour with red plumes and is the guardian knight of the chariot and probably the youngest knight of the king. He’s still on training and therefore this task is kind of a school before letting him participate in real battles. Due to his young age is very active and love partying and obviously has a secret friendship (they share interest for young women) with the White Swan Knight (who in theory should be his enemy). After the end of the war with the Black Knights this friendship came public. |