Castle is one of the core themes of LEGO and was introduced in 1978

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Originally it revolved around medieval life, with knights and castles. suspended to make way for the new castle. The theme is the third longest lasting in LEGO history, comparable to Town and Trains. The original Castle logo looked like part: 4495.

History

One of the earliest LEGO castle models produced was a retail model from a 1959-60 retail brochure. This model was also featured in a LEGO advertisement in a British magazine from 1961. It was a white castle that fit on two gray baseplates that took up an area of ​​20x20 studs.

The castle, known to LEGO retailers as #0746, had four towers, with waving LEGO flags atop two of the towers. The word LEGO embossed on 1x1 white bricks was spelled out on the front of the castle on either side of the entrance. Examples of this model would be glued together, generally the rule among LEGO dealer models.

LEGO Building Ideas Book #1, also known as #238, was also published in 1960. This 36-page booklet contained many building ideas that were turned into real LEGO display models. One photo was of a blue castle with two towers and a red roof. It is in a Northern European late Renaissance style. This blue castle was the first castle to be featured in a publicly distributed official LEGO product.

The first LEGO castle model available for purchase was 0 Weetabix Castle, a Weetabix promotional set released in 1970. First sets (1978 - 1983) The Castle theme started in 1978, the year minifigures were introduced. The initial release of the theme consisted of only one set, 375 Castle. The following year brought two other sets, 383 Knight's Tournament and 677 Knight's Procession. Initially those sets were only available in Europe, but were eventually released in the US in 1981. 383 Knight's Tournament, one of the first Castle sets ever.

Until 1984, Castle consisted only of these three sets and two other promotional sets, which were available from Samsonite. Many typical castle pieces were already present, such as the halberds, the first swords, the lances, the triangular shields and the helmet with neck protector. The knights had unique helmets that consisted of the visorless Classic Space helmets of the time, and movable visor pieces that were only available in these three early Castle sets. The horses depicted were not the later ubiquitous horse figures, but were made of normal stones. The knights of this era did not use a consistent weapon, but had many different crests. The Guarded Inn is one of the most famous older castle sets and one of the few semi-civilian buildings.

In 1984, the Castle theme was completely renewed.

Two new factions were introduced, the Crusaders and the Black Falcons (as well as a huge influx of new pieces). Among the new pieces introduced that year were the wall panels, spears, two new helmets (the chin guard helmets and the face grill helmets for the knights) and feather plumes. In 1984, horse figures were also introduced, which were also often seen in Castle. From now on, each established faction would have a unique crest on their shields, flags, or even the minifigures themselves.

In the 80s, Castle was not just about castles and knights, but also about civilian minifigures, such as a farmer or a blacksmith, and also civilian buildings, such as 6067 Guarded Inn, a direction that would later be lost as the theme became more focused. about the military aspects of the Middle Ages.

The Guarded Inn also included the second female minifigure of Castle (which did not yet have a dress but instead a normal leg construction). A similar minifigure appeared in the 6060 Knight's Challenge set.

In 1987 a new faction was added, the Forestmen, who did not live in castles but in shelters built in hollow trees and rocks. This was also the first time that black-colored corner wall panels were on display. Other black wall panels, which had already appeared in 1985, came into wider use when the Black Knights, with the first mainly black-colored castle, were introduced in 1988. 1990 brought some new pieces: a new elegant helmet with movable visor and an additional armor piece for knights. Another new addition was the glow-in-the-dark ghost.

LEGO 6081 King's Mountain Fortress, a crusader set released in 1990
This year also saw the first castle built on a raised base, a piece first used in Pirates sets a year earlier. That castle, 6081 King's Mountain Fortress, also featured the first female minifigure with a skirt, which was formed by a 2x2x2 angled stone. This made the princess a plate taller than the men, but her long pointed medieval headdress helped cover up the height difference.

After discontinuing the Forestmen faction, which included outlaws who might as well be the good guys since they largely resemble Robin Hood and his merry men, LEGO added a new faction in 1992, the Wolfpack, which is basically a band of robbers used to be. . This was also the first year that Castle minifigures were equipped with the new diversified printed headgear, which was first introduced in 1989 for the debut of the new Pirates line, and which added more personality to the characters than the simple smiley faces.


While the Black Knights only used dragons as crests and ornaments, a new faction introduced in 1993, the Dragon Masters, would take Castle more into the realm of fantasy and mythology by adding real dragons and wizards to the complement of subjects that covered by this theme. thus setting a direction that would continue to be followed by future Castle themes.

A dragon, introduced in the Dragon Masters faction.
The wizard Majisto was also one of the first minifigures to be named. Dragon Masters also brought some interesting new pieces, such as a new helmet and a large halberd, as well as several new faces.

For the time being, the fantasy elements have not been further developed. In 1995, the all-new Royal Knights theme introduced the first separate minifigure of a king wearing an actual crown. Another notable addition was the skeleton. There was a short-lived revival of Forestmen in 1996 when Dark Forest was released.

Fantasy was back in 1997, when Fright Knights brought witches and dragons, as well as a creepy-looking villain with a bat as his symbol of choice. Not only did this theme venture into more fantastical directions, it also featured some rather out-of-place flying machines.

The discontinuation of Fright Knights also marked the end of the basic concept of the Castle theme from 1984 onwards, where the various subthemes also represented different factions coexisting in a consistent environment and often appearing together in one set. The following years' themes were self-contained sub-themes with several factions of their own that were unrelated to those of other sub-themes.

What followed in 1998 was a quite unique intermezzo.

LEGO 6045 Ninja Surprise, a Ninja set released in 1998.
With the introduction of Ninja, the castle theme left its traditional European setting and visited medieval Japan, with samurai and ninjas. Many new pieces were also introduced, such as Japanese swords (Katana), ninja hoods and samurai armor and helmets. Ninja also included cannons and muskets, a novelty for Castle, and is apparently set in the 16th century. In 2000, Castle returned to a more conventional setting with the release of the new Knights' Kingdom theme, which involved two factions at odds with each other, King Leo and his knights on one side, and Cedric the bull with are evil minions on the other side.

Carlo the Bull launches an attack on King Leo's castle.
The minifigures were extensively designed and included new torso pieces, faces, helmets and armor pieces. However, the buildings had a rather simplified design, which was also reflected in other themes of the time, e.g. in Town Jr., a construction method later called "Juniorization". This theme was the first castle theme to feature two female minifigures: Queen Leonora and Princess Storm. Knights' Kingdom was discontinued the following year and there would be no new Castle sets until 2004.

Knights' Kingdom II, introduced in 2004, was a radical departure from all previous Castle themes. It featured colorful knights (in red, green, purple, and light blue armor) who all had individual names and personalities, much like superhero teams like the Power Rangers. The regular sets were also accompanied by the release of canned action figure versions of the new characters, in a style similar to BIONICLE. Knights' Kingdom II was more action-oriented and also introduced some new helmets, swords and shields.

This dragon from Vikings featured a new building system based on the Click-ball joint.
In 2005, LEGO released a new Vikings line that was more realistic than the contemporary Knights' Kingdom II theme, but still incorporated mythological aspects by adding dragons and other creatures from Norse myths, such as the Midgard Serpent. A new technique used to create these creatures and still used today is building large monsters (such as dragons) from a combination of normal bricks and TECHNIC parts. A rather important new piece introduced in this theme was the loose ax blade which was to be attached to a brown stick to form a complete battle axe. The theme was intended as a short interlude before the launch of the new Castle theme, but proved so popular that it was continued for another year.

The new version of the Castle logo, introduced for this theme.
The Castle theme was relaunched in 2007 as Castle (2007) and dropped some aspects from Knights' Kingdom II, but also reprises previously established fantasy elements such as dragons and wizards, while also adding some new ones that were originally known from the Lord of the Rings novels or Warcraft computer games, such as Skeleton Warriors, Trolls and Dwarves. Another difference is the fact that it is not about people fighting each other. The humans are represented by one united kingdom that must fight against groups of non-human opponents. In 2009, the largest all-civilian castle set ever was released, 10193 Medieval Market Village, which also included the first cow figure, as well as a rare piece of turkey.

Kingdoms, is the successor to Castle (2007). It returns to a more traditional and realistic medieval setting.

Kingdoms Joust, the tour de force of the theme.

7189 Mill Village Raid, a civilian Kingdoms set.
The theme depicts the good knights of the Lion Kingdom defending themselves against the evil warriors of the invading Dragon Kingdom. The only fantasy elements are the Dragon Wizard and his pet dragon. Kingdoms launched in June 2010, with several sets including a large castle, and followed by four more sets in 2011. In early 2012, 10223 Kingdoms Joust was released, the last Kingdoms set before The Lord of The Rings was released.

In 2013, a new version of Castle returned with 5 sets, 4 of which are already out and one to be released in August.

List of themes and factions

• Factions (1984 -1998)
• Crusaders (1984–1992)
• The Crusaders were the strongest of Castle's first two factions. Their coat of arms featured a crowned lion in a red, blue and yellow pattern. In Canada and Australia they were initially known as the Lion Crest until the 1990s when they reverted to the Crusaders name.
• Black falcons (1984–1992)
• The Black Falcons were one of the first two Castle factions, but always had fewer/smaller sets than the Crusaders. They were never officially recognized as a faction by The LEGO Group, although at least one catalog mentions "Guardians of the Gray Castles". Their symbol was a bird in a black, white and blue (although sometimes yellow) pattern. In Canada and Australia they were known as the Eagle Crest.
• Woodmen (1987-1990)
• The Forestmen were dressed mainly in green and brown with small plumed hats and resembled traditional characters from Robin Hood. They settled in elaborate shelters in the forest and most carried bows and arrows. Their crest was a brown deer head with black antlers on a green background.
• Black Knights (1988-1993)
• The Black Knights mainly used black buildings with gray borders, unlike the previous factions who all used gray castles. Their crest consisted of a dragon in a red, blue and yellow pattern.
• Wolf Pack (1992-1993)
• The Wolfpack was a band of robbers dressed in black and brown clothing with occasional red trim. Their symbol was a white or gray wolf head on a black background with a brown border.
• Dragon Masters (1993-1995)
• This faction consisted of some exotic-looking knights led by the wizard Majisto and used dragons as their main symbol, much like the Black Knights, but with a different color palette: red, yellow and green. Unlike the Black Knights, the Dragon Masters had real dragons in their inventory.
• Royal Knights (1995–1997)
• The Royal Knights were a fairly small faction based around their king and his great castle, and had no notable war materials. Their coat of arms consisted of a crowned lion's head.
• Dark Forest (1996)
• A short-lived extension of the late '80s Forestmen line, the 1996 Dark Forest sets went so far as to recycle the deer shield crest in Forestmen. The faction consisted of a diverse band of tree-dwelling thugs and robbers, led by a leather-clad villain with the imaginative name of Rob N. Hood, according to LEGO Mania Magazine.
• Fright Knights (1997-1998)
• The Fright Knights were a faction with some of the craziest vehicles ever. They were led by an evil lord, Basil The Bat Lord (or simply "The Bat Lord") and a witch. Their symbol was a bat.

Subthemes (1998 – present)

• Ninja (1998–1999)
• The LEGO [Ninja' Collection moved the castle theme to medieval Japan, where graceful oriental architecture set the stage for an eternal battle between two factions of daring and masterful martial artists. The Shogun Gai-Dan and his ally Ito, the gray ninja, defended a treasure of mystical rubies against the Bandit Chief Kendo and his band of robbers, as well as Bonsai, the black ninja.
• Ridderrijk (2000)
• Knights' Kingdom focused on a storyline of the evil Cedric the Bull trying to overthrow King Leo and take over the kingdom. Knights' Kingdom focused on a conflict between the Lions, led by King Leo, and the Bulls, led by outlaw Cedric The Bull. The main castle was 6098 King Leo's Castle, while the Bulls had no castle. However, the Bulls have their own castle in LEGO Island 2: Revenge of the Brickster.
• Ridderrijk II (2004-2006)
• Knights' Kingdom II didn't have much in common with its predecessor. It revolved around a battle between a group of good knights on one side and a bad knight on the other. The conflict takes place in the fictional kingdom of Morcia.
• DUPLO Castle (2004-2008)
• This cross between DUPLO and Castle was originally released in 2004 and lasted for four years, until 2008. This theme featured two unnamed warring factions, one colored blue, white and silver, and the other (presumably the villains of the theme), colored black, red and sometimes yellow.
• Castle (2007–2009)
• This 2007 Castle theme does not have human factions fighting each other, but one human kingdom, represented by the Crown Knights, battling various groups of fantasy creatures such as the Troll Warriors or the Skeleton Warriors. 2008 also introduced dwarves to the Castle subtheme.
• Kingdoms (2010–2012)
• Kingdoms replaces the idea of ​​a fantasy world full of dwarves and trolls, returning to a more realistic world. In Kingdoms this time there are two separate factions competing against each other. The Lion Kingdom, led by the Lion King, fights the Dragon Kingdom, which is (presumably) led by the Dragon Wizard.
• Bricks and More (2011)
• Only one castle-themed set was released from Bricks and More, namely 5929 Knight and Castle Building Set.
• Castle (2013) (2013-)
• The new Castle theme combines elements from Kingdoms and Castle (2007). It offers a new story, but the royal elements are the same as Kingdoms; Lions and dragons. However, the colors are blue for the Lion Knights and red for the Dragon Knights, somewhat similar to the 2007 Castle theme.

All Castle sets so far

00-1 Weetabix Castle
0011 Castle 2 for 1 Bonus Offer
10000 Guarded Inn
10039 Black Falcon's Fortress
10066 Castle Accessories
10176 King's Castle
10193 Medieval Market Village
10223 Kingdoms Joust
1099 Ninja Blaster
1126 LEGO Royal Knights T-Shirt
1184 Ninja Blaster
1185 Mini River Ninja
1186 Mini Siege Cart Ninja
1187 Glider
1269WhiteNinja
1286 King Leo's Spear Cart
1286 Knight's Kingdom Cart
1287 Defense Archer
1288 Fire Cart
1289 Catapult
1463 Treasure Cart
1476 5 Item Bonus Pack
1480 King's Catapult
1491 Dual Defender
15 Castle Mini Figures
1547 Black Knight's Boat
1584 Knight's Challenge
1596 Ghostly Hideout
1597 Castle 3-Pack
1624 King's Archer
1680 Crusader's Cart
1695 Treasure Cart
1712 Crossbow Cart
1723 Castle/Pirate Combo Pack
1732 Crossbow Cart
1736 Wizard's Cart
1746 Wizard's Cart
1752 Crossbow Boat
1794 Dragon Master Chariot
1804 Crossbow Boat
1843 Space/Castle Value Pack
1877 Crusader's Cart
1888 Black Knight's Guardshack
1900 Special Bonus Pack
1906 Majisto's Tower
1917 King's Catapult
1960 Dragon Masters Adventure Pack
1967 Bonus Pack
1971 Battering Ram
1974 Smuggler's Hayride
2538 Crossbow Flamer
2539 Batwing Flyer
2540 Fright Knight's Catapult
2586 LEGO Chess Promotional Set
2848 Fright Knights Flying Machine
2872 Witch's Fireplace
2889 Treasure Cart
2890 King's Catapult
2891 Wizard's Cart
2892 Thunder Arrow Boat
30061 Attack Wagon
30062 Target Practice
3016 Ninja Blaster
3017 Mini River Ninja
3018 Mini Siege Cart Ninja
3019 Gray Ninja
3050 Shanghai Surprise
3051 Blaze Attack
3052 Ninja's Fire Fortress
3053 Emperor's Stronghold
3074 Red Ninja's Dragon Glider
3075 Ninja Master's Boat
3076 White Ninjas Attack Cart
3077 Ninja Shogun's Small Fort
3344 Ninja 1
3345 Black Ninja and 2 Robbers
3346 Green Ninja & Samurai Lord
3739 Blacksmith Shop
4127417 Walmart Co-pack
4202053 Knights Kingdom Playing Cards
4202054 Sew-On Cloth, Knights Kingdom I, Lion Shield
4270909 Knights' Kingdom II Party Cups
4270911 Knights' Kingdom II Party Plates
4270915 Knights' Kingdom Party Napkins
4270922 Knights' Kingdom II Party Table Decorations
4527617 Castle Photo Frame
4559922 Troll Warriors Battle Pack
4559923 Dwarfs Battle Pack
4775 Knight and Squire
4776 Dragon Tower
4777 Knight's Castle
4779 Defense Tower
4784 Black Dragon
4785 Black Castle
4801 Defense Archer
4805 Ninja Knights
4806 Ax Cart
4811 Defense Archer
4816 Knights' Catapult
4817 Dungeon
4818 Dragon Rider
4819 Rebel Chariot
4862 Ambush
4863 Sentry & Catapult
4864Castle
4941 Rascus
4942 Shadow Knight
4943 Vladek
4944 Jayko
4945 Santis
4946 Danju
5059 Castle Equipment
5135 Castle Accessories
5138 Castle Equipment
5184 Castle Elements
5372 Skeleton Chariot
5373 Knight and Catapult
5383 Castle Accessories
5614 The Good Wizard
5615 The Knight
5618 Troll Warrior
5924 Castle Photo Frame
5994 Catapult
5995 Danju
5996 Rascus
5997 Santis
5998 Vladek
5999 Jayko
6004 Crossbow Cart
6007 Bat Lord
6008 Royal King
6009 Black Knight
6010 Supply Wagon
6011 Black Knight's Treasure
6012 Siege Cart
6013 Samurai Swordsman
6016 Knight's Arsenal
6017 King's Oarsmen
6018 Battle Dragon
6020 Magic Shop
6021 Jousting Knights
6022 Horse Cart
6023 Maiden's Cart
6024 Bandit Ambush
6026 King Leo
6027 Bat Lord's Catapult
6028 Treasure Guard
6029 Treasure Guard
6030 Catapult
6031 Fright Force
6032 Catapult Crusher
6033 Treasure Transport
6034 Black Monarch's Ghost
6035 Castle Guard
6036 Skeleton Surprise
6037 Witch's Windship
6038 Wolfpack Renegades
6039 Twin Arm Launcher
6040 Blacksmith Shop
6041 Armor Shop
6042 Dungeon Hunters
6043 Dragon Defender
6044 King's Carriage
6045 Ninja Surprise
6046 Hemlock Stronghold
6047 Prison Transport
6048 Majisto's Magical Workshop
6049 Viking Voyager
6054 Forestmen's Hideout
6055 Prisoner Convoy
6056 Dragon Wagon
6057 Sea Serpent
6059 Knight's Stronghold
6060 Knight's Challenge
6061 Siege Tower
6062 Battering Ram
6066 Camouflaged Outpost
6067 Guarded Inn
6071 Forestmen's Crossing
6073 Knight's Castle
6074 Black Falcon's Fortress
6075Castle
6075 Wolfpack Tower
6076 Dark Dragon's Den
6077 Forestmen's River Fortress
6077 Knight's Procession
6078 Royal Drawbridge
6079 Dark Forest Fortress
6080 King's Castle
6081 King's Mountain Fortress
6082 Fire Breathing Fortress
6083 Knight's Tournament
6083 Samurai Stronghold
6085 Black Monarch's Castle
6086 Black Knight's Castle
6087 Witch's Magic Manor
6088 Robber's Retreat
6089 Stone Tower Bridge
6090 Royal Knight's Castle
6091 King Leo's Castle
6093 Flying Ninja Fortress
6094 Guarded Treasury
6095 Royal Joust
6096 Bull's Attack
6097 Night Lord's Castle
6098 King Leo's Castle
6099 Traitor Transport
6102 Castle Mini Figures
6103 Castle Mini Figures
6103 Knights
6105 Medieval Knights
65767 Attack from the Sea
677 Knight's Procession
6918 Blacksmith Attack
7009 The Final Joust
7029 Skeleton Ship Attack
7036 Dwarves' Mine
7037 Tower Raid
7038 Troll Assault Wagon
7040 Dwarves Mine Defender
7041 Troll Battle Wheel
7048 Troll Warship
7078 King's Battle Chariot
7079 Drawbridge Defense
7090 Crossbow Attack
7091 Knights' Catapult Defense
7092 Skeletons' Prison Carriage
7093 Skeleton Tower
7094 King's Castle Siege
7097 Trolls' Mountain Fortress
7187 Escape from the Dragon's Prison
7188 King's Carriage Ambush
7189 Mill Village Raid
7946 King's Castle
7947 Prison Tower Rescue
7948 Outpost Attack
7949 Prison Carriage Rescue
7950 Knight's Showdown
7952 Kingdoms Advent Calendar
7953 Court Jester
7955 Wizard
7979 Castle Advent Calendar
852001 Castle Chess Set
852132 Castle Tic Tac Toe
852231 Castle Coin Bank
852271 Knights Battle Pack
852272 Skeletons Battle Pack
852293 LEGO Castle Giant Chess Set
852701 Troll Warrior Battle Pack
852702 Dwarfs Battle Pack
852761 Troll T-shirt
852921 Red Lion Knights Battle Pack
852922 Green Dragon Knights Battle Pack
853373 Kingdoms Chess Set
8701 King Jayko
8702 Lord Vladek
8703 Sir Kentis
8704 Sir Adric
8705 Dracus
8706 Karzon
8770 Danju
8771 Jayko
8772 Rascus
8773 Santis
8774 Vladek
8777 Vladek Encounter
8778 Border Ambush
8779 The Grand Tournament
8780 Citadel of Orlan
8781Castle of Morcia
8782 Danju
8783 Jayko
8784 Rascus
8785 Santis
8786 Vladek
8790 King Mathias
8791 Sir Danju
8792 Sir Jayko
8793 Sir Rascus
8794 Sir Santis
8795 Lord Vladek
8796 King Mathias
8799 Knights' Castle Wall
8800 Vladek's Siege Engine
8801 Knights' Attack Barge
8802 Dark Fortress Landing
8809 King Mathias
8813 Battle at the Pass
8821 Rogue Knight Battleship
8822 Gargoyle Bridge
8823 Mistlands Tower
8873 Fireball Catapult
8874 Battle Wagon
8875 King's Siege Tower
8876 Scorpion Prison Cave
8877 Vladek's Dark Fortress
922421 Castle Game
925746 Fright Knights Playing Cards
9376 LEGO Dacta Castle Set
Brickmaster Castle
G31317 Knights' Kingdom Save the Kingdom Board Game
G678 Knights' Kingdom Chess Set
Jayko Knights' Kingdom Wallet
K7029 Complete Castle Collection
K7094 Castle Collection
K8800 Vladek's Attack Kit
K8809 Ultimate Knights Collection
Pin24 Ninja
RoseArt Ninja Puzzle
TS13 T-Shirt, Knights' Kingdom I
70400 Forest Ambush
70401 Gold Getaway
70402 The Gatehouse Raid
70403 Dragon Mountain
70404 King's Castle