We have all wanted a new LEGO castle set for a long time and after the release of the Medieval Blacksmith 21325 earlier this year the hope was back. LEGO announced a castle in the CREATOR 3-in-1 series with 1426 pieces, which was released on June 1st 2021.
Feelings fluctuate between joy and disappointment because the look didn’t really match the Medieval Blacksmith. When I ordered the castle I wasn’t sure if it was worth the money and I wanted to build something better out of the individual parts.
But after I got the castle and built it, I was thrilled. I also fell in love with the second model, the tower, straight away!
The Castle (main model)
The Castle mainly consists mainly of three parts, the gatehouse in the middle, a small forge and the throne room on the left, and on the right a small market stall, a prison and a tower. The three parts can be clipped together and the castle can be opened using the hinges to the right and left of the gatehouse.
The alternative buildings also have these connection points and so you could combine several sets to a big castle.
As you know it from LEGO, there is of course a secret escape from the prison through the outer wall. The water wheel can also be turned and moves a hammer in the forge.
The Tower (second model)
When I saw the tower the first time, I immediately thought of Rapunzel and I fell in love with it. The tower also has some wonderful details.
In the trowel, the tower also has a dungeon with an escape route. On the right side above the main door, there are two nice dragon heads as decoration.
In the middle, there is a tower room with a bay window. In this room there is a small table with a book and two bottles. Moreover a telescope is mounted in the window.
In addition to the tower, you build a Trebuchet and a small target. It has a beautiful technique with a large brick build counterweight. The Trebuchet can shoot small brick stones at the target.
Minifigures
The Minifigures are actually my main criticism. There are three figures and one skeleton included. Additionally one brick-built dragon, three brick-chickens, two brick-birds, one brick-mouse and one frog.
There are two knights with the same printings as the knights from the Medieval Blacksmith. One is an old man with a bow, the other a woman with a spear and a shield. Two cool knight figures that you can never have enough of.
The third figure is supposed to represent a blacksmith, but he looks more like a pirate than a medieval blacksmith. The good point, the head printing turned out fine. Why couldn’t there be a more authentic blacksmith here? More like the one from the Medieval Blacksmith.
The second big point of criticism is why are there only three figures? But why not an additional king? There is a king’s room, but no king. It’s the first castle set or even medieval set in decades, so no child owns a king (or a knight). In the past there was a king at every castle set, why not anymore?
Last, the brick build dragon is simple but great, I like him!
Behind the scenes
In total I had three setups. One for the tower, one for the castle shots, and another for the detail shots of the castle and the figures. I did the last one indoors, the other two outside.
For the wide shots of the castle, I placed the set behind our house next to a lot of ivy. I used some stones and moss to create an overhang to put the castle on it. Behind the tree, I placed one of my flash for the main light direction. I placed the second flash with a small softbox on the left side in front of the castle.
To get some fog and atmosphere, I also used my fog machine with the heavy fluid and without the ice option. Due to the wind, several attempts were necessary until the fog was properly distributed.
To have easy access to the back of the castle to take some pictures of the details and the figures, I placed the castle indoor in front of my window. For the lightning I used the daylight and a flash with a small soft box to brighten it up.
I placed the tower in the forest on a small beaten path. Also here is used two flashes. One from behind and a second one with a snoot to highlight the window with the woman. On the right side of the tower, I placed also a face mister to get generate some atmosphere.
Conclusion
All in all, I’m happy that I bought the castle. You can see that the castle is intended for children to play with it and not for adults to exhibit. But still, it has wonderful details and I had a lot of fun building at photographing it.
I don’t like the brick-built animals (birds and chickens) but I will simply remove them and replace them with others. So that’s not a problem.
I also really love the tower and I think I’ll buy a second set sooner or later to be able to assemble the tower and the castle.
In my opinion, the only real point of criticism is the figures. That the blacksmith looks more like a pirate and there is no king.
Overall, including the build, the three models, the possibilities for pictures, the figures and the price of $99.99 (or even €99.99), I give the set a 8/10.