The Evolution of the Castle: The 1990s

This is part three of a four part series on the evolution of the Lego castle.

6081:  King's Mountain Fortress

The King's Mountain Fortress was released in 1990, and is the first Lego castle to feature a raised baseplate, a dramatic shift from the flat baseplates and regular flat plates that housed previous castles.  As a result, this set has significantly fewer pieces than some other castles, especially castles for the Lions faction.  Other than 6059:  Knight's Stronghold (released in the same year) this is the first set with molded wooden doors, as opposed to earlier sets that only had a drawbridge or makeshift grate to block the entrance.

Like many sets, this one includes towers, a drawbridge, flags, and knights.  Two interesting inclusions are that of the maiden and of the ghost minifig, which began appearing in sets around this time.  Compared to a lot of castles it is a bit lacking, but it does have a small courtyard which is rare among castle sets.

6086:  Black Knight's Castle

The Black Knight's Castle from 1992 also features a raised baseplate, the same baseplate from 6081, but the castle itself is much more impressive.  This Dragon Knight castle features the first molded gate piece along with the requisite drawbridge.  Take a look at the color scheme compared to past sets.  While there is an overwhelming amount of black, there is now a fair amount of grey to offset it, along with a beautiful red roof that really catches the eye.  Not only is this castle large, it is also much more aesthetically pleasing than past castles, and is a much more complex build compared to the square castles of the 1980s.  Lastly, check out all the horsemen!  Very much like the original yellow castle, having so many horsemen.

6090:  Royal Knight's Castle

The Royal Knight's Castle, released in 1995, features a new and very large baseplate and is one of the most impressive castles that Lego has ever released.  This castle features several very tall towers and some new play features like a catapult.  Additionally, it is one of the first (maybe the first??) castles to not have a drawbridge, opting instead to have doors and a grate.  This Lions faction set makes me nostalgia hard and is one of my favorites of all time.  It also features a king with chrome sword and crown, which will become more popular in the 2000s.  Lastly, there is a cloth flag and a cloth cape, two items which became popular in the 1990s.

Next will be the final installment, focusing on the 2000s.

The Evolution of the Castle: The Late 1980s

This is part two of a series on the evolution of the Lego castle.

6074:  Black Falcon's Fortress

This set, released in 1986, is another mid-sized castle which can open up.  One interesting aspect to this castle (which I only know about because I own the 2002 re-release) is that the outer walls of the castle have holes for pegs, meaning that you can connect other sets to it in order to create larger castles.  Otherwise, this set is a fairly standard design.  The front entire front of the castle is raised up which is something different, but not something significant.  One oddity, however, is the lack of any swords.

6085:  Black Monarch's Castle

Released in 1988 (the year of my birth!) 6085:  Black Monarch's Castle is a dark monolith among other Lego castles.  It's an enormous set, with two towers in the back and a two-story gate tower in the front.  This set also uses a flat baseplate (the last major castle to do so) and has hinges so that it can open up for play.  The attached army is the first iteration of the Dragon Knights, another faction among many.  There's not much else to note, except again the lack of swords, which I do not understand.

6059:  Knight's Stronghold

A simple expansion to 6085:  Black Monarch's Castle, this set is the epitome of the "Battle in a Box," with both Black Falcons and Dragon Knights.  Fairly basic design, but the ability to add it to an already existing set and the inclusion of two warring factions makes this an interesting set.  Additionally, it calls me to question which of these factions are to considered good and evil.  More than likely it is futile and immature to label these factions as being good or evil, when really they may just exist as opposing factions fighting for land and glory.  It may not be until 2000 with Knight's Kingdom I that we can with certainty assume that one faction is good and the other evil.

Part three of this four part series will be on Castle sets in the 1990s.