Medieval Market Village
©2009 LEGO Group
Following up on the first Classic LEGO: Classic Castle article, we now continue our look at Castle sets, this time from the early 2000's. The early 2000's really shaped Castle as a theme, bringing it to its present day look and structure. These themes introduced the use of story in the Castle line, and generally simplified the theme to "good versus evil" instead of having numerous different factions. Read on to find out which sets I think have stood out the most in the Castle line-up.
Small set: 7091 Knight's Catapult Defense
Knight's Catapult Defense was the Castle equivalent of a Battle Pack, with four minifigures, a vehicle and a small defensive structure. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Skeletons are the ones with the defensive structure, a small barricade, perfect for protecting archers while they fire. The barricade is equipped with several spikes, to ward off attacking knights. The Crown Knights' catapult takes up the bulk of the pieces in the set, constructing a large catapult capable of hurling full-sized boulders at the Skeleton soldiers.
Knight's Catapult Defense was the perfect introductory Castle set in its day. Now, you could get one of the newer mid-sized Castle sets for the same price, as Knight's Catapult Defense has tripled in price on the aftermarket.
Ship: 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack
Skeleton Ship Attack gave us a look at the naval side of castle that had only been hinted at earlier, with sets like Sea Serpent and Knight's Attack Barge. Unlike the previous sets however, Skeleton Ship Attack included a full ship and dock, in true Castle styles. The Skeleton ship included many elements from castle walls on the forecastle and around the wheelhouse. A mechanism was included for firing bolts from the forecastle, similar to the one from Crossbow Attack. The designers also couldn't resist sneaking in a plank off the port side of the ship. The skeleton ship's captain resembles a ghost pirate, which is strange, as pirates (especially the kind that wear bicorne hats) are a few centuries off still. The set also comes with a stretch of port for the skeletons to attack. The port contains a small galley for the Crown Knights, a gateway into the kingdom, a dock and catapult. The dock includes a mechanism that allows some of the planks to collapse, similar to the one found in Tygurah's Roar. The catapult is built over a cave containing a treasure chest overflowing with jewels.
Speaking of treasure, Skeleton Ship Attack commands a high price on the aftermarket, nearly quadrupling in value for a sealed set.
Siege weapon: 6096 Bull's Attack
While there have been numerous siege weapons released over the last twenty years, only one set has included four at once – Bull's Attack. Bull's Attack was the only medium-sized set given to Cedric the Bull in Knights' Kingdom I. The largest vehicle in Bull's Attack was certainly a strange one, being a siege tower, battering ram, and prison all in one. Almost as strange was the stationary Trebuchet that was activated by another of the siege vehicles in this set, the crossbow. The crossbow's only purpose for existing, at least according to the packaging, was to hit the target on the trebuchet to make it fire. (Apparently Cedric the Bull invented the Rube Goldberg machine…). The smallest siege weapon of the set is the most recognizable- a simple catapult. No bells, no whistles, no axes sticking out of it for no reason - just a regular catapult. Like most Knights' Kingdom I sets, Bull's Attack was underpopulated, with just four minifigures - not even one outlaw per siege weapon. But looking past the questionable design choices on some of the weapons, this set really delivers in playability.
It is little wonder that this set has hardly increased in value in sixteen years. Those who wish to complete their Knights' Kingdom I collection can buy this set for almost what it cost originally.
Fortress: 8813 Battle at the Pass
If you are a fan of Classic Castle sets, then Battle at the Pass probably looks familiar as it shares many of the same qualities as Knight's Stronghold. Both are smaller sets that form a gate and section of wall, but not a full fortress. Both have many minifigures for their size, and both include siege equipment. Battle at the Pass features a large gate, protected by a pair of oversized maces. The walls were somewhat modular, with the towers being able to detach from the main wall. To take the pass, Vladek's Rogue Knights brought a trio of siege weapons: a catapult, a battering ram, and some sort of wheeled ladder. A weapons rack was also included, but which side it belonged to is uncertain.
Fans of Knights Kingdom II would recognize the faces (or faces similar to) of the original heroes of the theme, disguised as regular Knights of Morcia, as well as Vladek posing as a Rogue Knight… twice.
Though I can't find any information on the subject, I recall this set being some kind of exclusive. Or perhaps Battle at the Pass not being included in the main storyline of the theme caused it to be rare. Regardless, Battle at the Pass has more than tripled in value on the aftermarket, with very few available for sale.
Civilian building: 10193 Medieval Market Village
Following seven years after the last civilian Castle building (Blacksmith shop, with deserves a fair bit of recognition in its own right for being the first set in the “My Own Creation” series), Medieval Market Village answers the question “what would happen if you combined Castle and Modular Buildings?” Medieval Market Village is a spectacular model, full of detail from the wooden beams of the buildings, to the brick-built birds that rest on them, to the re-release of the cooked turkey piece. Eight minifigures populate the Market Village, five of which are peasants, one a blacksmith, and two are knights. There were also several animals in this set. Most were repeats like fish and rats, but there were also two rare cows, which have only come in two other sets.
Medieval Market Village has been largely overlooked on the (Medieval) aftermarket, and a NISB one on Bricklink will only set you back around $150, relatively little compared to other Modulars of the time that have more than doubled in value.
Castle: 7097 Trolls' Mountain Fortress
Troll's Mountain Fortress is the last “bad guy” castle that we have gotten. Trolls' Mountain Fortress featured a unique layout and frightening detail. The ragged front gate was decorated with a large stone skull, while troll horns protrude from the walls. The gate is protected by a pair of Mountain Trolls, which reside in dual caves next to the gate. A pair of towers are placed above these caves, and are topped with a catapult each. Behind the gate, if the previous defenses were not enough to stop attackers, a pair of swinging axes stand ready to stop any intruders. A hinged pair of walls constructed mainly of BURPS and castle wall sections make up the sides plus part of the back of the fortress. At the very back of the fortress stands an enormous tower (though it has nothing on Knight Lord's Castle). At the base of the tower is yet another cave, however this one is unused. The next level contains a magical workshop for the Troll Queen. Above that stands a prison cell (complete with a destructible back wall for escapes) for the Knight's King. At the peak of the tower is a watchpost.
Trolls' Mountain Fortress has a strong minifigure line-up, featuring the exclusive Troll King and Queen, a pair of exclusive Mountain Trolls, the Crown King, and five other foot soldiers.
Troll's Mountain Fortress has also stayed relatively cheap, increasing only about as much as Medieval Market Village.
The prices on post-2000 Castle sets is a mixed bag - some have increased dramatically in price, while others have not. What sets would you have chosen to be on this list? Let me know in the comments.
Below are the links to find these sets on Ebay. As always, the commission Brickset receives from any sales using these links helps keep Brickset free to use and free of ads.
52 comments on this article
These are among the first sets I started collecting when I got out of my "dark age", and they were still quite easily available and so I was able to get them for a good price. Trolls are the best Castle faction of all time, just saying.
I must have missed the first article on classic castle Lego - can I get a link to it please? :)
Sure- here you go.
http://brickset.com/article/18242/classic-lego-classic-castle
I feel like such an idiot for not buying Medieval Market Village, that's a much better set, and value at $150 than many of this year's $250 sets.
What about the viking line. I really liked the longship, the heavy artillery wagon and the Fenris Wolf.
@SprinkleOtter - thanks!
PS - forgot to say, great article, I enjoyed reading it
7029 is a fantastic set, definitely worthy of the price imo. MMV is also another classic must have set for castle collectors.
@ Sinthoras
I didn't talk about Vikings for the same reason that my last article didn't talk about Ninja. Vikings was a great enough theme that it deserves its own article, not to be rolled into Castle.
@ Jason.
Thank you!
First and foremost, great article(s). I think that Classic Castle theme has been suppressed in recent years by TLG and with Nexo Knights, I fear for the future of one of Lego's most successful evergreen themes. So I'm glad you took the time to write about these sets.
They say hindsight is 20/20, but having collected Castle Lego (my favorite theme) since the early to mid 90's, I think the Fantasy Era sets are among some of the best products. I will always look at the old castle stuff (1990's and before) as the height of Castle, but all things considered, we were truly spoiled by Fantasy Era sets (skeletons, trolls, dwarves, and crown knights). I think this time period represented some of the best creative thinking on behalf of the designers and my only regret is not buying duplicates of some of these great sets when I had the chance.
We need to get more people talking about the past and future direction of official Castle sets, so every article helps. While the MOCing community remains healthy on the castle front, I'm seeing more MOCers incorporate custom, third party elements from other companies into their creations. I think Lego is slipping on this front; they need to diversify more accessories and elements for the Castle theme, or lose this opportunity to other companies, who make very accurate and realistic products to supplement the castle line. I still would prefer to buy LEGO first and eschew these other companies, but I cannot deny their creativity and increasing quality. Hopefully LEGO also sees this and has an answer in the upcoming year or so, before it's too late.
I am so glad that you included 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack. finally it gets the recognition it deserves! So expensive on BrickLink though.....
^ I agree. Fantasy had some of the best sets. I wish I had grabbed more of them the first time around.
Same. I was young back at that time and had no clue about how much of an investment they are. I look back on what I thought was lame and uninteresting back then and it's all tripled in pricing.
Some of the only Lego sets I still own are from 2007-2008 Lego castle as well as a few from 2004, 2007 was/is the best year in a long time for lego castle.
Great article, thanks @SprinkleOtter. Retrospectives likes this make for interesting reading and it's something we'll do more of in future, I think.
^ I think the Fantasy Era castle sets are by far superior to all other sub themes. But that's just my opinion.
There was a window of time there between 2007-2009 where we didn't realize how fortunate we were to be Castle fans. I remember seeing 7048 Troll Warship in TRU for like $60.00 CAD and somehow not buying it. TO this day, I'm gutted over it.
I might even suggest that 2010-2011 were STILL good times to be a Lego fan. Mill Village Raid and Kingdom's Joust come to mind as quite possibly the end of truly great Castle offerings. I really hope the current state we are in doesn't last forever.
Once, I was in a Wal-Mart and saw several 7094: King's Castle Siege's for $50 each. Half off the original price. I didn't buy them and now its gone from $50 to near $280. What a mistake.
Have to agree with Matt Z, Fantasy Era is the best castle theme and I'm happy to own the entire line. I miss having multiple good/bad factions. If it had ran longer perhaps we would have gotten an elf faction. Too bad LotR/Hobbit fizzled quickly really only the first wave was good; then it was just minifigs and walls.
Unfortunately due to Fantasy Era setting the bar high I think anything afterwards faces a tough act to follow. Hopefully I'm wrong and after Nexo Knights ends we can return to something semi normal for a castle theme.
A new Viking line would be nice but I guess Lego did all they could; everything would be a rehash.
Interesting that MMV is still available for that price. When it first came out, people were falling all over themselves talking about how incredibly awesome that set is, and how it's the saviour of all things Castle...I guess all of us that wanted one, already have one, and thus the demand isn't there right now?
I do have a copy, and it is indeed an amazing Castle set - fun build, nice display, lots of useful little bits to flesh out your village. If you don't have one, and like Castle, you should seriously consider adding a copy to your collection.
I've always had a soft spot for Castle sets . I really wish LEGO would do more of them. That being said, I'm thrilled that I have two of the sets on this list, since I came out of my Dark Ages gradually, and Castle is what helped pull me out.
Sigh... another article that makes me sad I wasn't collecting LEGO in the early noughts. :(
I have gone out of my dark ages tew years ago, only to find that TLC is reluctant to offer new Castle sets.
Castle is what made LEGO great when I was a kid (80's-90's), with Pirates (sad to see that today Pirates are being a bit mistreated as well).
I've thrown myself on the Queen and the Frightening knight in the last collectibles series, but that's not enough.
Thanks for this article though.
Battle at the Pass was a Toysrus exclusive. I received it for my birthday one year. The ad for TRU that week said that it would include two knights and horses as well, but they were not included. My parents contacted LEGO and they sent me the Eagle knight (Jay?) and the Bear knight with two white horses and gear for them as well!
I always regretted not buying any Vikings sets, but I was only just coming out of the dark ages then and didn't go full in until Fantasy Castles. Fortunately, that means I missed the whole Knights Kingdom I and II debacle.
I was lucky in finding a lot of the Fantasy sets on sale during their term so I picked up quite a few sets from the Crown Knights, The Skeletons, and the Trolls. I think I only got one Dwarf from the advent calendar, but their sets didn't impress me much. I was very disappointed when the planned Elves race never came, as was hinted on numerous promotional posters. Still, the Kingdoms theme that followed I retconned into the Fantasy theme by using them as two additional human peoples, the Crimson Knights and the Green Knights. I even created a dynastic marriage between the Crown and the Crimson Knights, who together almost always fought against the Greens who were often allied with the Skeletons and Trolls, when they weren't fighting each other. I was sad I never bought the Kingdoms Tournament Grounds but perhaps I will pick that up next time I have some cash. It wasn't as nice as the Medieval Village, but it was quite visibly stunning.
Too bad LEGO never took Lord of the Rings or Hobbit as seriously as they took Fantasy. Those LotR/Hobbit sets were rarely that good and often just depressing, a few excellent sets aside.
I have the joust one and the market village one as they seemed like UCS castle to me. Am really hoping to see another someday. If memory serves me correctly there was a cool one in Ideas that unfortunately got rejected. Love the castle theme, but can't collect everything and gotta draw lines somewhere.
@whaleyland: I'm glad you brought up LOTR and The Hobbit. The former has got to be one of the more tragic subplots in Lego history. In my opinion, LOTR deserves to be celebrated as much as Star Wars. It is at least as epic and revered. I'll never know what exactly went wrong there from a marketing standpoint, but the fan base was clearly not tapped into, nor was the theme fostered properly for new fans. The potential for so many great LOTR sets was astronomical. It just never came to fruition.
Personally, the mishandling of the marriage between LOTR and LEGO will haunt me for quite sometime. Maybe someday they'll pick it up again, but that doesn't seem likely. A true tragedy.
Matt Z. I think Lego blew it with LotR/Hobbit (Hobbit more so) by not being original and basing their sets off of the Peter Jackson interpretation. The Hobbit should never have been a trilogy and all the extraneous plots/characters that were not part of the original book is what we ended up getting in Lego form (crap).
Unfortunately I don't think TLG will ever revisit the LotR/Hobbit. Its really unfortunate there was a lot of potential just poor execution.
While I agree on the Hobbit, I feel that all the interesting locations were made, aside from Minas Tirith. I would have loved to see that one in a UCS set...
Thanks for a great article. Its nice to link the evolusionary dots of these historic themes. Specially these years where the shelves don't seem have too many of them.
These scifi-history sets (ninjago pirates / nexoknights) don't really tickle my Lego-cravings. I'm down to hunting CMF's. My budget is happy though!
I'm really into the castle theme. And I got the most since 1978, but it is a shame to see what TLC has done with the Nexo knights. I will keep waiting for another year where the classic knights will return. And hopefulley not only with a castle, but also with another market scene, an ancient farm, city life etc.
I'm still waiting for another advent calendar that is something other than City, Friends, or Star Wars. City and Friends calendars are all the same and Star Wars calendars are never really that fun. I miss the Castle, Kingdoms, and Pirates calendars.
I will join the Fantasy Castle fan team. Best castle themes for sure.
Really enjoyable article... thanks :)
I am surprised that the Dwarves Mine set wasn't selected for this article. Seemed to be pretty popular. I guess there are plenty of good sets from this era...hard to pick.
Ugh, why did I miss all the good fantasy castle sets...
Overall, I definitely agree that Fantasy Castle was the BEST castle line Lego developed, with all the different races and stylistic designs...
*sighs*
Great article, by the way!
"Classic Castle?" More like cream of the crap. Other than 10193 most of these aren't worth mentioning. I think are much better sets in nearly every category (and the categories themselves are questionable). To me the only really interesting thing in the whole article is how the value of 10193 hasn't kept up with the Modulars and the like. Anyway, like most of the post-millennia Castle sets thumbs down on this article as a whole.
Dude, Who peed in your cheerios?
Brilliant and interesting article SprinkleOtter. Thanks for that.
The Fantasy Battle Pack brought me out of my Dark Ages back in 2008. It was how the knights should have always looked, excellent armor and helms, and simple but perfect printing. Then to be spoiled with dwarves, undead and orcs...it seemed like my childhood dreams finally coming true. I hoarded as many orcs as I could with visions of Helms Deep and Gondor epic battle scenes......then what happened! However I think these green guys can mix it with the other orcs - with the right mish-mash of weapons and armor that is.
Missed out on 7029. Rueing that day still.
Medieval Market Place was a joy to build and beautiful to look at afterwards. The interior showed what TLG could do when they put their minds to it. Marvelous detailing. Pioneering maybe?
Still love the old classic castle too though. Nostagia can forgive a lot of things :o)
Themes like Nexo Knights and Ninjago bum me out, because I would much rather have fantasy or classical castle and classic ninja. Not laser beams and snake monsters.
I bought the Medieval Market Village as soon as I laid eyes on it, back then. It's awesome. :)
I still own the Medieval Market Village :) it is an awesome creation and in SELF MAKING creations you can easily use this design to make alter buildings. Got a Blacksmith here and such, why not make a Cavern or even an Alchemist shop. The Nexo Knights are ok in my eyes but I think Castle is one they should stick to original structure likes. There is SO many things they could do and even the Dragon Knights and such are still favored on EBay to get.
I'm really hopeful that we will see some new castle stuff in the near future. The knight in the new series of mystery bags is amazing. I would love to see more modular builds in castle like the medieval market place. I've always thought that civilian/expansion buildings were lacking in castle. I'd like to see them do a castle and then add a village to it as a theme. They could have the castle as the main set and then add stuff like a fletcher, blacksmith, dock, stables, tourney area, baker, etc.
Thanks for the article, great read. Why o why did I not buy the medieval village!!
Great Article @sprinkleOtter! I think part of the hit or miss is the amount of many of these sets that are available right now. Medieval Market Village I like, I still have two because I am toying with the idea of combining them to make a large village (or larger buildings). I think the brown cows (or bulls depending on who you ask, and if you ignore the udders) being in other sets keep the value of this one down a bit, but when you look at the detail and the figures it in it really is a nice set.
Wow, awesome! I am tempted to buy a Medieval Market Village, maybe the reason it didn't increase in price very much is because it stuck around for a while. Regarding myself, I will forever be a good old fashioned Castle fan, the 2008 theme being my favorite iteration (I have the Dwarve's Mine and several others). Great article, I enjoyed this blast from the past.
About 8813: Battle at the Pass, I'm pretty sure this was a widely released set, at least in Europe where I got mine. I was surprised when I saw the resale value, although I'm saving mine for MOC purposes.
Wonderful article, and I'm glad to be pointed to the earlier one as I missed it when it went up! Classic Castle is my absolute favourite thing about Lego; I look upon my late 80s/early 90s sets with affection, and was lucky enough to get the Royal Knight's Castle set later on. I love the modular nature of the early stuff, and it certainly helped to stoke an interest in medieval history that continues to this day...
...all of which makes it all the more ridiculous that I watched the Fantasy stuff come out and didn't buy any of it. I'm kicking myself so hard! Luckily I got some of the troll, dwarf and orc minifigs in a charity shop's mixed lot of Lego, but I regret that my non-Lego-buying period (kicked off, ironically enough, by disappointment at the Cedric the Bull-era stuff, as well as the abysmal City builds of the time) coincided with the sort of Castle stuff I'd have killed for as a kid.
Still, the Medieval Market Village helps ease the pain. I wouldn't mind at all if they made more medieval sets in similar modular level of detail - the interiors of those buildings are just wonderful.
I really wish LEGO would keep a Castle series in constant rotation, like they do with City. The current fantasy series, which I guess are Chima and Nexo Knights, are too stylized for my taste; what I always liked about the classic Castle sets was that as a kid I could tell my own stories with them.
Bring back Kingdoms! The Medieval Market, The Mill farm and the Jousting sets all were awesome. Not this NEXO Knight rubbish. Got all the moulds for elves and other such creatures...come on LEGO bring back a proper castle line!
The fantasy Castle range of the early 2000's seemed to be LEGO's answer to Lord of the Rings before they acquired the licence. Wizards, elves, dwarfs, knights and kings....
I always loved the classic Castle range of the 80's but when I came out of my dark ages I didn't continue with the theme with the exception of the wonderful Market Village. With Castle as one of the 3 primary themes of classic era LEGO, it's a shame that they don't invest more time into it.
^ LEGO seemed to be doing that a lot at the time- making unlicensed versions of films, like with Pirates, which seemed to be based strongly off PoTC.
I think the Dwarves Mine should be on here. It was such a cool set and had a lot going on. I loved Fantasy Era Castle and the fact that Castle is simply called Castle these days says so much. With all they are doing with the CMF lines it so clear that they could do so much new amazing things but they don't. Also with LOtR and Harry Potter gone there is nothing to fill the Castle void and I feel like something great is missing in my life. A few years back they made the Imperial Flag ship, a must have for boat lovers and those who like period models. I wish they would do an UCS castle for the AFOLs and make something really worth while for Castle lovers.