The Lego Knights Kingdoms 1 Lion Knights Sets 2000 - 2002

A few weeks ago I wrote an article looking into the Bull Knights from 2000 (I’ll leave you a link if you don’t trust me The Bull Knights). Now those guys were portrayed as villains and crooks: a wicked group that wanted one particular castle but my review left a few questions unanswered. Who were they actually competing against? Whose castle did they want?

Well fear not for I am here to enlighten you on those questions and more you probably wouldn't have wanted to know. Yes (my dear readers) it is time for answers. Every "Yin" needs a "Yang" and these guys are definitely the Bull Knights "Yang"; you can’t have one without the other. They're like bacon and eggs or coffee and cream and, if you can’t tell, I’m writing this introduction whilst also eating my breakfast.

I’ll put my bacon and egg sandwich aside for a moment and introduce you to the Lion Knights and most importantly of all their King, a grey bearded fellow by the name of Leo.

From left to right: King Leo, Queen Leonora, Princess Strom, Richard the Strong and John of Mayne

As you can see the actual figures are wonderful we have leg printings, unique torso prints and a fantastic new style of helmet.I really like how all the figures are not sporting the factions emblem it make them feel more realistic and gives a collector a great opportunity to use a few of these as civilian torsos. It really does feel like a lot of effort was made on the figures however I do have a few problems with the overall concept and the repetition of the Royal Knight’s lion head (from 1995).

Firstly I really dislike the fact that every figure is named and that we only receive two troopers, it makes King Leo feel like a retired dictator forced into exile with his family and a couple of loyal bodyguards. I have no sense of command with him, a couple of generic soldiers would have gone a long way towards improving this.

My second biggest problem, and call me sexist if you will, is the inclusion of Princess Storm. Now as an adult I love the figure, I feel that her hips are way too large, but other than that I really like the design but when you’re a child the toughest figure is always a representation of you. I was always Robin Hood shooting arrows into the Crusaders fortress, I was the Wolfpack warrior with the eye patch stealing the treasure and I was always the Black Knight in the armour and visored helm.

I was not however at anytime a Princess. Please don’t misunderstand me and I could be completely wrong as I never owned any of these sets as a child but I feel that, as a child I would have been extremely disappointed by a girl being the best warrior with the coolest equipment. Now half of me wants to delete this paragraph as I am a little ashamed of myself, but it’s true, as a child I would have had no interest in the Princess Storm figure and I feel sorry of any children that missed out on that experience of representing themselves. Ok we got through that and to all girls reading please disregard it, I'm not about to get into the whole boy, girl, LEGO issues, as penance I will now divide up all my spare LEGO pieces into separate colours whilst you watch this movie.

Ok, I’m back, new parts for these guys come in the form of a new helm (exciting) new lion brick pieces (fancy) and weird curved towers (Juniorised) as well as the curved window piece we all know and love and a stained glass window brick.  Now that my Bacon sandwich has congealed into a disappointing cold lump I feel it’s a good time to move onto the sets.

Impulse

Set Name = King Leo’s Spear Cart 1286

Piece Count = 22

Year Released = 2000

Remember my Bull Knights review when I mentioned four impulse sets being released in Japan as part of a sweet promotion, well here is the third set from that little group. I’m not the biggest fan of it as it does go some way towards that retired dictator role, I feel a real King would have someone else to push his carts, but I can’t really fault it and if you’re looking for a cheap way to get a king (and most importantly that crown)  you can’t do much better.

Set Name = Richards Arrow seat / Defence Archer 1287/4801/4811

Piece Count = 15

Year Released = 2000

This is the fourth and final promotional set and it was also released in a boxed and polybag version in its own right. The warrior on the weapon is called Richard the Strong and I love both his helm and the fact that they gave him a quiver (yay); the lion shield is also a plus. The build is nothing special but the figure is just so nice I would happily own ten of these as that would give me some of the generic troopers I crave (or a clone army).

Small

Set Name = Knight’s Catapult 4816

Piece Count = 50

Year Released = 2000

This set was one of the four sets to include a shiny item of some description, two were previously looked at in my Bull Knights review, but the other two have a home here. As you can see the shiny item in question is a sword which is fairly disappointing as this has been seen before, indeed I would have been far more excited by a different chrome weapon (even if it was the short sword version) simply because it would have been new (like the helm and shield for the Bull Knights). As for the set itself you receive a fairly generic catapult (thought I love the arm piece) and a couple of loyal Lion Knights. The build is very simple and I dislike the big fat grey brick it comes attached to, but the set is not in any form bad. I really love both the figures as well so for them alone I would recommend the set and again we get a crossbow with a quiver (yay), but I can't stress enough how the build feels very juniorised.

Set Name = Dungeon 4817

Piece Count = 38

Year Released = 2000

This is the fourth and final shiny item set, in this one we receive a chrome breastplate which was more commonly seen equipped with the Armada minifigs from the pirate theme in 1997. The build for this set is again very blocky and juniorised; to call a little tower with a skeleton in it a dungeon is almost an insult, however the set is very pleasing to build and again I love the figure of John so much that I can forgive the set its flaws. This is quite a common experience for me in a lot of these sets, the builds are poor but the wonderful figures allow me to forgive them.

Set Name = King Leo 6026

Piece Count = 21

Year Released = 2000

I think this set is intended as the battle pack for Knights Kingdom however if it is I find it hugely disappointing, two figures, a horse and some pathetic attempt at a tower. It all feels so bland and incomplete, even if you look at in terms of a parts pack we are seriously missing out two swords, one shield and a flag is not a great number. Overall this set feels like an incomplete find at a car-boot sale (or garage sale if you’re American) where the owner has scrapped together what little Lego he could find in order to make a sale. Very disappointing.

Medium

Set Name = Guarded Treasure 6094

Piece Count = 103

Year Released = 2000

This set is a very interesting build, despite the fact that it feels very juniorised you can see some new elements being combined into a new style of LEGO castle, I would almost class this set as the missing link. The lion bricks and barred window are both new elements and the blue roof is a nice addition to the build, whereas the use of far too many large elements and the blocky base plate is really detrimental; this set feels both 'good and bad' and 'old and new' at the same time. 

The instruction manual also includes an alternate build (something I greatly appreciate) and the figures included are wonderful, the fact that this set can be picked up on bricklink for about a tenner makes it a very attractive option for anyone wanting to ‘dip a toe’ into the waters of Knights Kingdom. By no means is this set revolutionary but I see it as the very first pebble with started the avalanche, to what we have now.

Set Name = Royal Joust 6095

Piece Count = 101

Year Released = 2000

The previous jousting set was released twelve years earlier and it was a grand affair with eight figures, a weapon rack, barding for both horses, a drinks butt and many other things, this set is very much inferior to that. As you can see the jousting set has been stripped down to the bare minimum, the King and two competitors.

The build for this set slightly hit and miss, I love the stained glass window but hate the blocky baseplate; I like the lion bricks but dislike the swinging axe mechanism. The parts for this set are very appealing, visored helm, two chests, shields, axes, chains, ect... this set comes with a lot of stuff and that alone can make it enjoyable to build but it looks like a bit of a mess after its done (with far too many weapons on display) and I actually find myself liking the simple gateway alternate build far more from an atheistic point of view.

I mentioned it in passing above but I need to spend a little longer on it, what really lets this set down is the swing axe play mechanic, I see no reason in changing the excitement of a joust into a silly ‘hit the target to swing the axe’ game. LEGO is taking the magic of imagination away from the child and dictating how a toy should be played with, they win it back somewhat with the alternate build in the instructions but I still feel like the set would have benefited greatly from simply having a fence instead. Overall the set isn’t bad but it cannot in anyway compete with its predecessor.

Large

Set Name = Blacksmith Shop (My Own Creation) 3739

Piece Count = 619

Year Released = 2002

Now this set was not officially part of Knights Kingdom and in fact it wasn't released until a couple of years later under the ‘My Own Creation’ title, however the fact that it includes prints from this era and  the timeframe involved places this set in either Knights Kingdom I or II, I chose here.

This set was not actually made by a LEGO designer but rather a fan by the name of Daniel Siskind and was available exclusively through the online shop of LEGO. Truly I find this set remarkable in every way, it was designed by a fan, it has a detailed interior, it fully closes, and it was the first true representation of a civilian set for LEGO Castle.  Most amazing of all was the fact that this set was only £30 when it was first released.

This set is a groundbreaking moment, a point in time were everything changed, take a second to realize how important that is. Without this set I have my doubts that we would have received the Medieval Market Village (which is possibly my all time favorite set). I would like to say thank you to Daniel Siskind for that.

Set Name = King Leo’s Castle 6091/6098

Piece Count = 529

Year Released = 2000

Now we come to the final set for Knights Kingdom I, King Leo’s castle, and if you have been following the story, the reason for all this conflict.

This set comes with every figure released for KK1 (except Weeezil) and is the first castle to feature a decent number of combatants on both sides (rather than the token one opponent for most castle sets); the child receives decent play value straight out of the box and can instantly start his own little war without needing any of the other sets.  The fact that the set includes the exclusive Queen Leonora (if you discount the Blacksmiths shop) is also very welcome.

Parts  wise the set almost has it all, shiny weapons, barding, cloth flags, a skeleton, a catapult, a cannon, flames, shields, a brown bird (which I haven’t seen anywhere else), a chest, a stained glass window, a throne, gems, traps and so much more. I really feel LEGO went all out when it came to filling every inch of this set with pieces.

As for the build itself I find myself less enthused, the set is on a wonderful baseplate but each section is divided up and placed on the baseplate separately so you don’t feel like you’re building a castle at all. It’s a very disjointed affair where you build each part solo and then add it to the plate one set at a time, the Guarded Treasure set can actually replace certain towers (so one can be taken out and another placed in) because they have exactly the same dimensions. The alternate builds on the instruction manual go some way towards pacifying me but its still a disappointment.

But a poor builds ok if the sets nice right? Well yes that is correct but sadly not apt in this instance. The castle looks nice from a distance and there’s plenty of space within it to stuff it full of minifigs but it has an incomplete feel to it, from the front the set looks wonderful but on closer inspection you will find that there’s lots of gaps and that big space in the centre is completely wasted (with nothing but a throne). The set has play features coming out of its foundations but none of them add a great deal (a flying chest section, a simple axe trap, a rotating window, a hidden coin stash in the throne, ect)

The set just doesn’t live up to its full potential, I like it but I feel alienated by it, it has none of the elegance of design I have come to expect; this set reminds me more than any other that LEGO is a child’s toy. Now there is nothing wrong with that and indeed that was probably the designer’s intention but as an AFOL I am disappointed.

LEGO Limbo

Looking back I feel my review of King Leo’s Castle is slightly harsh, as a child I would have loved this castle because there was so much to play with. As an adult however I am bored by it because for me the was build is dull and as a display piece it is lacking; this set and many from this theme have none of the simply beauty that we see in sets from the 80s and 90s and they also have none of the design beauty of the sets from Fantasy and Kingdoms.

This faction (and to some extent the Bull Knights) are stuck in an awkward kind of limbo, I still think as a child I would have been very happy with them, but sadly they don’t quite live up to the test of time like many of their older compatriots.

The figure design for this wave is some of the highest quality I have seen so far indeed they far outstrip the simple smiley’s of the 80s; so in some respects progress was being made, the inclusion of alternate builds in the instructions and the new elements used also reinforce this. But the sets are lacking a great deal with overall design none of the sets are as fun or as satisfying to build as the older ones and therein lies the problem for me, these sets are less about construction and more about play features, I feel that to some extent LEGO lost was made their toy so unique.

I can buy hundreds of different toy products that have spring firing mechanisms and targets to aim for, I can by lots of toys that focus on collecting them all and combining the shiniest elements. I can only buy one toy that allows me to break it apart and build it back together again however I want.

There is only one LEGO; somehow I feel that is missing just a little bit in these sets.

As always thank you very much for reading,

Until Next Time.