Knights Kingdom Press Kit Review
Thursday, July 15th, 2004 at 9:20pm
Knight’s Kingdom Press Pack Review: Part 1
The other day I was looking at my LEGO magazine, at the Knight’s Kingdom page. I was looking at all the cool new sets they had. My dogs started to bark, the next thing I heard was the rapping on my front door. I rushed over and saw a package laying there! The Press Pack had come!
I tore open the box (actually, my brothers did...), and to my amazement, IT CAME WITH 2 SETS! My brothers once more got ahead of me. They tried to tear into the Vladek Canister before I could even think! I stopped them and lectured that I had to do a review!
Vladek: Knight of the Scorpion!
Canister: When I first opened the press pack box, I noticed the turret first. The tall, grey canister with a black lid. The front of the canister (shown in first image) displays Vladek in a menacing pose. But when you flip the case around, it shows some of the cool features the knights have! It displays how you battle with two knights (more on that later), and the how the face armor lifts up. I personally like the design of the turret a lot! One major flaw with the turret is the fact that it does not stack well on top of other turrets like the BIONICLE canisters do. It would take a simple bump to send the knight’s turrets tumbling to the floor. A thing that I discovered is that the top of the turret is the perfect size for displaying your knight!
One major thing that I must bring up, DO NOT REMOVE THE LABELS! Yes, there are some designs behind the labels, but I tried to remove the labels, and it was even difficult to remove the yuck left behind after the feeble attempt of trying to remove the label. Even hot water didn’t do a good job. I believe you are supposed to dig your fingernails into the grooves through the label. And when you are finished, it gives it a look like the picture was pasted onto a brick wall.
So, what’s in the box?
Actually, a lot of cool things are! The first thing you will probably notice is the torso. Or perhaps the shield? Maybe even everything! I thought the new array of parts was cool! Tons of new parts that had cool functions. Technic has a bendable joint, so it is about time that System does! And you sure as heck will find plenty of them in the Knight sets.
One thing I thought was a little depressing, was the fact that the Knight masks cannot be used on Toa in, I believe, any possible way. I don’t even think any sort of modification would work. The only thing I can find any use of them is on the Knights themselves.
One thing that will really excite you BIONICLE fans, are the new swords! Yes! They are the perfect size for Toa, and can be held by Toa, just like Tahu holds his Flame Sword! So, BIONICLE fans, REJOICE! Vladek comes with a good sword for fire characters. I believe the sword is in the bright red, so that adds to more MOC’ing!
Another thing that can come in handy for any BIONICLE fan, is the shields! They also connect using a plus rod-like thing. One of the features of the shield, is that when a knight hits it enough times with his sword, it knocks you shield off! Actually, the shield connector blows off, sending the shield falling to the ground! Now that you have penetrated your foes defense, slice ‘em up! By the way, the shield is made of a thin, flimsy plastic. Although it can crease easily, it is very stable and can serve its purpose without getting any harm.
I personally like the cool new joint system. They are very common on the new larger Designer Sets. They click when rotated, just like the Galidor limbs. It makes them more stable, due to the fact that they are slightly heavier than a Toa Metru.
Besides all the cool parts and pieces the set also comes with 3 Vladek Cards! The neat thing about the cards, is that you can use them as shields! They don’t really look all that great as a shield, due to the fact that they have numbers and a huge thing hanging off the bottom. But hey! At least it is another feature! Also included, is instructions to play the card game! Look out for more cards in the board game available at your local Toys R Us and in other Knight’s Kingdom sets!
After you have him all together...
You will notice he is no taller than Toa Nuju or Toa Nokama, in fact, he is a tiny bit shorter! He appears to be a lot taller than he really is. From the back side, he appears small; from the front, he appears larger than he really is. His features are very cool! He has over 22 points of articulation! And nearly an endless supply of poses! A neat feature of the Knights is the knob on their backs. If you roll it, his left arm moves! Just like a real world knight, they held their swords with the left hand, and defended with the right! Vladek has the most pieces of all the knights. I personally find his chest armor a little strange. There is a pyramid in the middle, and then those two weird pieces sticking off on either side. They look out of place. That is probably my only complain with the design of Vladek. His sword is way awsome, his Scorpion shield is very cool, and his mask is Da’ BOMB! Nothing appears more sinister than the age-old Black and Red combo.
As you can see in the image above, Vladek can pose some wicked poses! These are probably the most poseable things LEGO has ever conjured up! So use this to your advantage and whip up some awesome battle scenes for your Knight’s Kingdom display! Or make some cool scenes for your own enjoyment! Or, for playing, throw the dang knight across the room! I would suggest removing the shield firth though. It is fun to watch your knights battle, and then with a powerful explosion, send one flying across the room and landing on the furniture! Don’t worry, they shouldn’t fall to pieces! Some armor may come off, but that is a pathetic fix! Or, by accident, they hit the floor and explode! Even more excitement! The nice thing about the Knights is, you really don’t need to have any fear of braking parts, they are very stable and sturdy!
The back side of Vladek isn’t all for admiring at. It is a bunch of exposed stud holes. Although, it does leave plenty of space for add-ons! Give him some cool wings, or give him some wicked back designs! The possibilities are endless! Yes, the back does look ugly at first sight, but to a master designer, it can be a mine full of designs!
Here you can a sliver of the awesome movements that Vladek can do! Twist his arms around, make him do push ups, make him get down on his knees, flex, kick, Karate, and so much more! Make him look like he got in a bear fight with Santis and he needs to get his bones re-positioned back in place! So much fun, so much to do! You can even pit him in a fight against a Toa, since they are eye level, after all! And even though you will hate me after this... GLINCH WITH GALIDOR... okay, I said it quick... that was for you Galidor fans...
So, now you want a Knight?
All-in-all, the Knights are a must buy! They are the cheapest of the Knight’s Kingdom sets, and are one of the best! I suggest you buy a knight, you won’t be sorry! LEGO has so much potential with Knight’s Kingdom, but it is only possible if you buy it! And after playing with Knight’s Kingdom, I can assure you, it will never replace BIONICLE. You can rest peacefully now. I do have a feeling that we will be seeing Knight’s Kingdom for a while. Plus, I like the Renaissance era anyway. Once you see them, buy at least two! One isn’t enough! LEGO has really outdone themselves on this one! And you will agree with me when you have one for yourself!
We'll have the review of the system Knights Kingdom set soon.
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