When I was a kid I never really got the chance to build a LEGO set. What I had was a huge tub of LEGO bricks of all different shapes, sizes, and colors that got handed down to me. There weren't any instructions to follow, just a pile of building blocks to paw through and my limitless imagination. And during this time of my life I built my fair share of castles. LEGO bricks are perfect for building castles; it feels like what they were meant for. So having that chance to build the childhood castle of dreams as an adult was something I was really looking forward to.
The Medieval Horse Knight Castle is a full-on castle with a ton of intricate details that made it fun to build the whole way through. LEGO provided IGN with a copy of the set for a test build and I was lucky enough to be the one to test it out. At 1,371 pieces, it took me the better part of the day to put together, but I never felt bored by the experience. Each section of the build is unique enough to feel like its own set and ends with a substantial chunk of the castle you'll get to attach to the larger whole. The instructions were overall pretty straightforward, which is what earns it a 9+ rating. All-in-all, it's a delightful build with an end result that is worthy of play or display.
Set #31168 is actually the second iteration of the 3-in-1 castle set. Previously there was the standard Medieval Castle that included more pieces and a dragon. The newer horse knight version that I built features many of the same ideas as this version, but with horses instead of a dragon. The colors are also toned down a bit in favor of a more classic castle style and more towers for guards to keep watch. You also get a total of five minifigures with the horse knight castle as opposed to three. It would have been nice to have a dragon included as well, but that's easily remedied by purchasing the 3-in-1 version of that separately.
The build itself is split up into 11 different bags with each section representing a significant portion of the castle. Since it's a 3-in-1 set, you also have two other builds you could potentially start with, but it's recommended you start with the main castle. The castle is the primary build and utilizes all of the pieces, so the instructions for it are the largest. The first step is pretty straightforward and you build what will essentially become the corner of the entire castle. It's a a single tower set upon a bit of the moat. You'll even put together your first knight in this step, which I chose to place atop my first guard tower. A sword won't be of much help defending from this high up, but he looks great up there.
The next part of the build really starts to bring the set to life. You begin with a larger section of the moat and start piecing together the gate and drawbridge. This is where you already start getting into some of the smaller details, like adding stones in the water. The walls of the main gate are pretty straightforward, but the actual gate mechanism is really cool. It requires two chains that connect to a larger spinning axel. The end result is a fully functional drawbridge that you can raise or lower using just the little wheel. There's even a lever that will hold the bridge in place at whatever height you choose.
Once the gate is fully built, you'll be able to connect the first two pieces of your castle together. There's a hinge you built into the first section that easily connects the gate to the castle wall. The connection works on a swivel, so after this first step you can already play around with widening your castle wall or closing it in. This functionality is built into the entire base of the castle, which I found to be a really cool piece of LEGO engineering. It was at this point that I took a bit of a break and played around with my drawbridge and placed my first knight at various points in the wall.
The next step in this build is what I'd consider the end of phase one. You'll start by putting together your second knight minifigure, who wields a spear instead of a sword and has significantly less plumage on his helmet. I would assume this means he is lower rank, but we don't even have a king yet at this point so my knight hierarchy is irrelevant. He gets placed atop another wall that you'll build. This wall goes on the other side of the gate, but it doesn't feature a tower like the first step did. What you get to put together is a fun little tree growing from the mote. You also get your first barrel piece here, which really starts bringing that medieval vibe together. Once this portion of the build is done, you'll connect it all together and make a sort of mini castle.
At this point in the build you'll have something that resembles a tiny castle. More of a fort really. The next step is a bit of break from the larger build so you can put together the king, his enemy, and both of their horses. This may seem like the easiest step so far, but it was actually what gave me the most trouble. The horses aren't your standard minifigures, so you actually have to build them from the hoof up. There are lot of little tiny pieces that need to be facing the right direction and I struggled a bit getting everything snapped in place. I think I would have an easier time if I had smaller fingers, but alas my hand sausages really struggled with the finer details.
The actual end results of both horse knights are actually really cool though. Both the head and the legs of the horse can be articulated into various positions. There's also a saddle for each rider that a minifigure can easily slide into. And while it wasn't actually in the instructions, there are also a couple of little horns you can choose to put on the horses. So this doesn't have to be a Medieval Horse Knight Castle if you would rather it be a Medieval Unicorn Knight Castle – which of course I do.
Now that you have a king, his horse/unicorn, and an enemy knight, it's time to start putting together the main parts of the castle. These are the actual living spaces where the minifigures can be placed and also where all of the finer details start to come together. You'll start by building what will become the throne room. The actual structure here includes little window pieces that feel correct for the time period as well as the base structure for the higher floors. The little candles, throne, curtains, and dining table add additional little details that bring the whole space together. You'll even get little food pieces that will complete the bountiful LEGO feast placed upon the king's table.
Once you finish this room, you'll notice that one wall is completely missing. It will quickly become apparent why this is when you start building the other bottom floor section. You start out with a fireplace that is meant to be part of the blacksmith's core workspace. This is a fairly large fireplace that will also be featured in the throne room on that empty wall. It's a great way to utilize a fireplace for two different rooms. The blacksmith room is fairly straightforward, but the smaller details really bring it together. There's a little anvil and hammer, a pot over the fire, and even little horse poops you can place wherever. Truly a peasant's workspace. It's in this room that you'll also add what will be stairs up to the final room of the castle.
The next part of the build is perhaps the most boring in terms of pictures, but it is an essential step for tying everything together. You start by building your first true peasant who I assume takes care of the horses and blacksmithing. He also has some excellent hair despite his line of work. Alongside him you'll put together a chest full or royal jewels that you can choose to place anywhere. After this, you'll really just be adding important details and structure to the main floor. This includes things like doors, crests, and the actual roof of the place so you can attach an upper floor.
Once all of these important pieces are in place, you'll start working on the main tower that will overlook the entire kingdom. The tower is pretty much just a larger version of the first part of the build, but with the addition of a little room with a writing desk. This is the perfect place for someone to go write correspondence to foreign entities or pen a love letter to a love interest. Above this little nook is the top of the tower, where you'll likely want to place your archer minifigure. Once this part of the build is done, it will sit atop the king's throne room.
At this point in the build I was already hours in and was starting to get a little tired of following instructions and just wanted to play around with what I already had. Despite that urge, I soldiered on and got to work on the final piece of the castle. This is what I assume is the king's bedroom seeing as you start with a bed and some well-designed walls. There's also a little window included here that can open and close, perfect for gazing out at all of the commoners going about their daily lives. This part of the build also includes the second fireplace, which is much smaller and less impressive than one on the first floor.
The final touches are the roof and the pointiest part of the whole shebang. At the very top of this roof you'll add your final flag. You'll want to make sure it's facing the same direction as all of the other flags on your castle (to account for wind direction), but other than that all that's left is attaching this final piece to your larger castle. Once that's secured, you'll connect phase one of the castle to phase two to get the final result. You can check out the overhead image below to see how all of those pieces finally come together.
The actual price of this set is fairly reasonable for what you get. $130 may seem like a lot, but when you compare it to some of the more expensive LEGO castles on the market, it's fairly affordable. The recent Beauty and the Beast Castle set for example costs $280 and doesn't include that many more pieces. The lower price point on this particular castle is thanks to it not being affiliated with any major franchise. You're paying for just the LEGO bricks without the markup from licensed IP.
All-in-all, I think this was a fun build worth adding to your collection – especially if you love medieval architecture. It isn't exactly a LEGO set made for adults, but it was difficult enough that I'm not sure I could recommend it for any kids who don't have a decent attention span. I took a lot of breaks while building it, but it still took me about a total of six hours to fully put it together. The end result looks great as a display, but I can see how it would be really fun to play with as well. If you're looking for a build to do together with your kid, I think this is an excellent option.
What About the Other Two Builds?
Like I mentioned above, this is a 3-in-1 LEGO set. So in addition to the main castle build, there are two other directions you can take these pieces. I had initially planned to build all three of them, but after finishing the castle I just didn't have it in my heart to tear it down. And that's unfortunately what you would have to do to build the other two options here. There's a windmill scene as well as a jousting tournament scene you can choose to put together if you want to tear down the castle to do so. Both of these options look really cool, but they can only be built by taking apart the whole castle. I think it definitely adds a great bit of freedom for those who don't plan on displaying the actual castle, but for me I decided it wasn't worth the effort to try these alternate builds.
Connexion
