Collection Rating 10 out of 10Pro: this is a limited edition set and it will be gain value in time. In addition there are a lot of unique pieces and animals and as a whole it looks great. The two buildings are designed with extreme attention to every internal and external details (the bed in the inn is awesome).
Cons: the main tree is good looking but very fragile. |
10193 Medieval Market Village (2009)This is the mail village in the kingdom of the North. The main places there are the blacksmith shop and the inn. The first one is located in the base floor of the yellow bricks building with black roof: there are all the blacksmith instruments which are automatically moved by a small mill near the building. There is the forge for the metals and in the back part there is also an horse stable. In the upper part of the building we find the blacksmith’s apartments with a dining room and a big black stove. The inn is the building with the blue bricks and with two separate entrances: one on the basement and the other on the first floor. In the base floor there is the hall of the inn and the open bar where there is the best beer of the North. On the upper floor there are the rooms with a wonderful elegant beds (of course you should not be afraid of rats...) and a dressing room for ladies; the windows of this tavern are very well decorated. The other main attraction of the village is the weekly market which is held in the main square near the old tree: all types of good are sold, from vegetables to flowers and even already cooked food or cheese. During this event all the farmers bring also animals like cows in the village and there is also a chariot for transporting wheat. All the money and valuable things in the village are protected by two local guards of the King.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 9 out of 10Pros: very nice classic castle (like the old ones..) and quite well detailed, especially in the contrast between the grey and the red pieces in the towers. Another plus is the fact that it is formed by 8 different sections that can be combined in different ways in order to let you build your personal castle.
Cons: the interior of the two back towers is quite simple (the throne for example) and I’d preferred decorated bricks instead of many stickers. |
7946 King's Castle (2010)The architecture of this castle reflects perfectly its history. The King and his people left the territories of the Black Knights and moved to this northern part of Altaria many years before the birth of the Empire. Therefore the basic structure of the castle (a square with four towers at the corners and an additional big one in the front) reminds the one of the Black Monarch Castle and does not have the typical features (like the building on top of a hill with a ramp to access) of all the later castles of the East. Like the monarch castle it has a small prison on the back (with a secret passage to escape) and the two rear towers are taller than the front ones and the main entrance (a tower itself) is protected by a drawbridge as well as by an iron gate. During the war with the Dark Wizard the castle was attacked and severely damage and so there was a complete restructuration. The two tower on the back were completely rebuilt: one became the house of the guards and on top was equipped with a powerful rotating catapult. The second one was equipped with a room for the treasures and on the second floor the room of the king with the throne was placed. Also in the front tower two small rotating catapults were added. In general all the decorations reflected the changing of the times and this is evident from the red roof of the king’s tower, from the king’s throne or from the decoration in the front tower: all these aspects are reflecting and architecture style very similar to the one of King Leonidas’ castle (more recent than the Black Monarch one). Finally the castle is decorated with the Lion symbol of the King on shields and with the red and yellow flag and there are also a Lion head in stone at the entrance and torches everywhere: these symbols are also on the uniforms of the four guards (two with crossbows and two with spears).
Knights Prince Alexander: he is the son of the King and the heir of the throne. He’s a “child of the North” and was educated to be a warrior king since young age. One day he would be king but for the moment he’s the head of the Knights of the Kingdom and inherited the golden sword from his father as well as the golden armour. He wears also the golden king helm and rides the regal white horse. Alexander is also involved in economic matters of the country and he’s struggling to know and to travel all around the world. Despite his role, he’s really a nice and normal guy: quite often you can see him in the village at the inn drinking beer with the fellows like a normal guy or near the Crystal River relaxing and writing stories. Duke Of Rain : coming from on the most ancient families of the North, he was one of the knights of the Dark Wizard but he soon got captured (with his own two private squires) by the King’s army an became a prisoner in the castle. Once there he slowly understood the risks linked to the abuse of dark magic and asked mercy to the King. Now he’s still a prisoner but can freely walk inside the castle or even outside (followed by guards) and in some occasion also helped the king’s soldier to defend the fortress. |
Collection Rating 10 out of 10Pros: very detailed in each part and do not forget it is a limited edition set. It takes some time to build but it is also a very playable set after. It is a perfect match with the King’s castle.
Cons: to have a complete joust you should buy two set (as specified in the box) but it will be very expensive... |
10223 King's Joust (2012)The joust is the principal attraction of the Kingdom. The King strongly believes that his people need also some ways and form of entertainment from taking a small break from the war and the general daily issues. Moreover he thinks that is important to create opportunities to show the power of the kingdom and to let people feel protected and even proud of their king. For all this reasons twice a year a big joust tournament is organized and all the most famous and brave knights come from all the north territories to participate and of course to win the price (which is a huge amount of money, a kiss from the princess and the title of Knight Champion). The joust court is located in a plan in front of the King’s castle and is decorated everywhere with flags and shields of the kingdom and also of the other participant knights; near the main field there are the tent of the knights (brought directly by each of them) in which you can find all the weapons needed for the fight. The rules are very simple: you fight another knight riding your horse and you have to use a lance and a weapon at your choice. The winner of each fight passes to the following round until reaches the final. Coming back to the joust, in front of the ground there is the royal fully decorated stage in which the king and the queen watch the fights: it is a wooden stage with a colour tent on the top and there is also space for the royal couple to eat and drink. Behind the stage there is the main stone body of the joust: at the very centre there is the wooden arc which is the main entrance of the road that leads directly to the castle. All around the arc there is the stone building starting from the top in which there is a covered passage to let people to watch the tournament from a top view and on the sides there are two guarded towers with decorated red roofs.
The tower on the left contains the apartments of the princess and there is also a balcony from which the princess herself greets the winner; the other tower is instead the chapel of the kingdom and contains also a library with rare precious books. Last but not least the joust area is equipped also with a small stage from which the start of each fight is given with a flag and a small shop in which you can buy food and drink. The tournament happens twice a year but for all the other months this building remains and it is used as the main entrance of the castle as well as a stronghold from the attacks on the enemies. Knights King Carl: he was one a king of the East, a close friend to King Richard of the Crusaders (they come from different branches of the same royal family), but he always thought that it was not worth fighting a war against the Black Knights and all the other Kings and there was also some particular form of internal rivalry between him and Richard. For all these reasons he soon decided to migrate to the North and to have no more contacts with anybody in the East (therefore there were legends about his death in the land of the North). One arrived in the North with a little bunch of fellows he started building his own kingdom and his own castle; the village was settled and the royal road was constructed. The problems within the local people and the wizard became soon evident and the war was the logical conclusion at that moment: the Ice Mountain became the division barrier between the two territories and none of the faction was able to prevail. Anyway Carl proved himself to be a brave and wise king and made his reign be prosper and relatively happy; he is respected by his people and considered a great king. Of course his desire is to put an end to the war, also because he realized in his deep soul that he left the East to avoid a war and ended in the North with another war. Queen Victoria : the King’s wife is a quite old but still good looking woman who dedicated all her life to her husband. Since she married the King she had always been on his side and had followed personally all the matters of the kingdom, from the foreign to the internal politics. She represents with her husband the official image of the kingdom and she’s extremely keen on public relations. Her public life didn’t stop her from well educating her children and so she’s well respected all over the North. Princess Leira : she is the daughter of the King and she is very young. Famous all over the kingdom for her beauty, everybody is wondering who will be the lucky man who will marry her. But honestly at the moment, even though is rumoured that she has a little crash on Alexander’s friend, she is more interested in clothes, shoes and jewels. She is for some aspects the opposite of her brother: quiet and reflexive and adores spending hours reading book in the library rather than travelling around. Sir Andrew : we can say he’s a young self made man. Andrew doesn’t come from a noble family and is instead the son of the village’s blacksmith but two facts changed his life and made him become a knight. The first is that since he was three years old he became friend e grew together with the son of the King, the second is that his father taught him how to fight and ride and he became soon one of the most brilliant fighters in the kingdom. Therefore the King when he turned eighteen gave him the title of “Sir” and made him knight. Now Andrew is the champion of the king’s knights in the tournaments and the beloved one of all the people, also because he’s very kind and generous with everybody and he’s very good looking too (that’s why Princess Leira has a crush on him). Baltazaar the Dark Champion: quite a mysterious this one, nobody knows exactly from where he comes (it is only known that he’s the heir of the Falcon Knight family) and very few has seen his face. He always wear his dark helm and all his armour is black indeed. He won the joust more times than anyone else and he always refused the kiss of the princess in order not to discover his face: someone tells that he has a giant scarf on it, other say it has only one eye.. He is the master of the double axe fighting and he’s almost lethal. During the war he fight on the King’s side but always alone and does not accept orders from anybody. He trusts only his black horse and he usually disappears in the forest for many weeks. |
Collection Rating 6 out of 10Pros: the jester minifig is unique and nice and it fits very well if you have already purchased the King’s joust set.
Cons: very simple set with and there is almost nothing to build |
7953 Jester (2010)This is the jester with his wooden stage. The wooden stage is directly build during the joust tournament to let the jester perform and is decorated with the typical flags of the kingdom.
Knights Jess the Jester: he is the jester of the King and has an incredible ability in playing any type of tricks and jokes (especially with coloured balls). In addition to the King’s Joust Tournaments he performs in many courts of the North during the whole year and also in the squares of the villages where hundreds of people come to assist. He came from a very poor family and he has also some mental and linguistic problems but it does not affect his ability in performing and maybe it gives that crazy taste to his performances. |
Collection Rating 7.5 out of 10Pros: the decorated horses are unique and also the carriage is well built.
Cons: the spider web on the trees seems too fake |
7188 King's Carriage Ambush (2011)In order to travel all around his Kingdom, King Carl built a royal carriage. This carriage is very luxury and decorated in red and white with red and gold flags and shields of the Kingdom everywhere. It is trained by two white royal horses and has even space in the back to transport treasures. The carriage is guided by an armed royal guard (trained in axe combat) but often is the target of the dark wizard soldiers attacks, especially when travelling through the Sacrewood Forest and therefore, when transporting treasures, it is followed also by some Kingdom Knights.
Knights Lord Constantine: he is the younger brother of the King and to be honest he is the person that uses the carriage more often; this is due to the fact that he is the internal affair minister of the Kingdom and therefore he has to travel all around the territories to meet people and analyze the issues and of course uses the carriage to travel. He studied in the East and is a very practical person, keen in negotiating as well as in obtaining the best from every collaborator. He never wanted to be King and he is very supportive with his brother and he’s also his first counsellor and the tutor of all the children of the King. |
Collection Rating 6.5 out of 10Pros: nice to play with and has both factions items and minifigs. The catapult is also quite nice. Could be combined with the King’s castle.
Cons: it is a quite simple set without not much fun in building it. |
7948 Outpost Attack (2010)In order to add a line of defence in the northern part of his Kingdom, just behind the Ice Mountain, King Carl built this outpost which is basically a defence tower (decorated with the shields and the flags of the Kingdom). On the ground floor of the tower, just after the entrance there is place to stock the weapons while in the upper flood there are the apartments of the guards and on the roof top plenty of space to hit the enemies with the crossbows. The tower is defended by two guards: one dedicated to defend the tower itself and the other (equipped with crossbow) dedicated to hit the enemies from the top. In order to destroy this outpost, the Dark Wizard build a giant catapult, which is able to launch even four big stones at a time and has a dedicated guard to be manoeuvred.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 5.5 out of 10Pros: in a small set you can have minifigs of both the factions.
Cons: the set is quite simple and not very funny to built. There are two knights and no horses. |
7950 Kinght's Showdown (2010)In order to provide the outpost with an attack weapon to assault the enemies rather than only defending the borders, the king built this small catapult. Although made principally of wood and relatively small, it is very precise in the shots and very easy to move into the right direction. Moreover a skilled guard was put in charge of it: this soldier, called knight-guard like a knight without the title and the horse, is trained in firing the shots as well as in direct combat with the sword in order to defend the catapult itself.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 8.5 out of 10Pros: plenty of animals (some of them really beautiful) and also the mill mechanism is well built.
Cons: the farm is not as well built as the mill. |
7189 Mill Village Raid (2011)At the end of the village just near the Crystal River is located the biggest farm of the Kingdom. The farm is held by a local family composed by the farmer, his wife and their son. In the plain between the river and the forest there is the mill which is used to produce the bread for all the village: it is greatly build windmill with a precise mechanism in order to utilize all the strength coming from the wind. In addition to produce the bread the farmer is also occupied in harvesting and breeding animals such as chickens, pigs and goats. The main part of the farm is composed by the house of the farmer: on the ground floor there is a big wooden door which is the entrance of the stables while on the upper floor, just under the roof, there is plenty of space to stock wheat and fruit. There is also a pulley to bring the goods from the floor to the roof and a small chariot with a horse to transport things all around the farm and to the village.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 7 out of 10Pros: despite the size this set contains the dark Wizard minifig with an awesome hat and also the minifig of the green dragon.
Cons: maybe it is a too small set. |
7955 Wizard (2010)This is the dark Wizard “office” provided by all his spell charts, his potions and of course his personal trained baby green dragon.
Knights Verminaard The Dark Wizard: he is the ruler of the land of the North and one of the most powerful Wizards of Altaria. He was once part of the Wizards of the East under the guide of Saphirus but he soon left those lands and migrated to the North to follow the path of the dark magic. He believes that the dark arts (especially the manipulation of the human minds) are the key to the power and are to be used to rule the entire world. Once arrived in the North he slaved all the local people and create a sort of Dark Magic Kingdom whose power is contrasted only by the King. He’s an expert of the art of the potions and has a wooden staff made with the wood of the Dark Forest with which can cast all the spells. He possesses knowledge of the dark language and is able to talk with the green dragons of the North (the symbol also of his army while the green is the official color) which he trained and uses as a weapon; differently from the green dragons of the East, these creatures do not breath fire but are able to petrify or to make people mad with their voice. He’s a fearful Wizard and nobody is able to resist his power. |
Collection Rating 5.5 out of 10Pros: the horse black cap is nice and in a small set you can have three minifigs
Cons: the carriage is quite poorly built |
7949 Prison Carriage Rescue (2010)It is a small carriage used by the soldiers of the dark wizard to transport the prisoners to the tower fortress. The carriage itself is quite simple and consists basically in a small cage with iron bars trained by a horse and protected by an armed guard. The carriage is quite quick but it is often attacked by the knight-guards of the king in the attempt to free the prisoners. The guard of the wizard anyway is trained too in combat with shield and sword.
Knights n/a |
Collection Rating 6.5 out of 10Pros: there are many unique types of weapon in this set.
Cons: the blacksmith building is quite elementary. |
6918 Blacksmith's Attack (2011)The main focal point of the village in lands of the Dark Wizard is the blacksmith. Since the dark wizard’s army is build only to one purpose, that is to destroy the kingdom, it should always be equipped with the best armour available. The blacksmith is not only able to repair the broken weapons and shields etc.. but is specialized in building new and more powerful types of weapon to use during the battles. Although quite small the forge uses the stream of the river to light the fire, like the one in the kingdom village. This forge is able to treat almost any type of metal and is always in function so the blacksmith can never rest.
Knights Duke of Clouds: he is one of the four knights of the Dark Wizard and is the weapon master. Despite the code of the knights he is keen on fighting with unconventional weapons and always tries to overcome the enemies by using tricks and hitting them when the do not expect an attack. He’s totally loyal to the Wizard but not to the other knights because he hopes to be the chosen one by the Wizard when the war will be over. |
Collection Rating 7 out of 10Pros: the knight’s horse trappings are wonderful and the prison could be used also as a stronghold for the fortress.
Cons: the cage itself is quite poorly built. |
7187 Escape from Dragon Prison (2011)The Dark Wizard didn’t want to keep the prisoner in his fortress (in order not to let them see by accident his spells and scrolls) and so built a separate prison which was also a stronghold for the fortress itself. The dragon prison is therefore characterized by a big black iron gate guarded a dragon soldiers equipped with crossbow who can hit the enemies from the top of the stronghold. On the sides of the gate there is the high black wall inside which there is the cage for the prisoners on the right and a barrack for the guards at the left. The prison is also equipped with a small rotating catapult on the top and his decorated with the shields and flags of the Dark Wizard Army. In order to break into the stronghold the Kind built a small attacking machine which throws spears even at a long distance (to hit the guards on top) but he never succeeded into going through the gate.
Knights Duke of Lightning: he is one of the four knights of the Wizard and probably the most powerful one. He is always on his black horse with green and gold trappings which he loves more than anything else; moreover he’s very good in sword fighting and is one of the quickest riders in the North. But he has one even more particular trait: he is a gay knights, always searching for beauty rather than power simply because he thinks that beauty is the most powerful source of power. He’s attracted by other men even though he thinks than nobody (man or woman) is more beautiful than himself. |
Collection Rating 8 out of 10Pros: it looks very dark and the idea of the prison on the top of the tower is not common. There are also some fine details.
Cons: a real Dragon night with horse included would have make the set more valuable. |
7947 Prison Tower Rescue (2010)Located in the northern part of the continent, the fortress of the wizard is neither a fortress or a castle, it is more a tall black and scary tower with a giant black iron gate at the entrances. Statues of green dragons and shields and flags make it even more scary; it is guarded by one of the knights of the Wizard and a guard with crossbow. At the ground floor there are the apartments of the guard and a place to stock treasures, while at the upper floor there is an open space with a small rotating catapult. Some stairs let you go to the top floor where there is a room converted in a prison for the princess and an open space of the roof from which the guards can use the crossbows. Strange but true the Wizard does not live in the fortress: he prefers to stay alone in the near mountain (nobody knows exactly where) in order to practice the obscure arts: differently from the wizards of the East he does not believe that the art of magic should be taught and spread and wants to keep the power all for him.
Knights Duke of Thunder: he is one of the four knights of the Dark Wizard and is the war counsellor of the wizard and the head of the fortress as well. He is very good in sword fighting but has the particularity that he doesn’t ride a horse and doesn’t wear an armour. Some tell that he possesses magic powers but it has not been proven. He’s totally loyal to the Wizard and hopes to be King when the war is over (and secretly hopes to marry Princess Leira too). Princess Lara: she is the second daughter of the King and has been kidnapped by the wizard. For sure she was taken at a young age by the force and for sure he doesn’t want to leave the fortress because she is in love with the Dark Wizard. What is not sure is if it is true love or she is victim of a spell: of course the King believes in the second option and is trying everything to rescue her. She has always been more independent than her sister and did never agree on the fact that the King should rule over the local people, but on the other side she had always been against the dark magic. Sir Simon: he is one of the King’s knights and he’s openly in love with princess Lara. Therefore he offered immediately himself as head of the rescue mission and promised to himself that he would have never come back to the castle without her. He grew up with Prince Alexander and Sir Andrew but has always been the more solitary and timid of the three: anyway he trained and became a knight and then decided to leave everything trying to fight for his love. |