I received the Schleich Big Knights' Castle currently on clearance at Toys R Us for $99.99 (regular retail was $149.99) as a belated birthday present.
As usual with Schleich, it is an impressive playset/diorama. It is, however, much different in construction than the earlier gray Knights' Castle that I picked up multiples of on clearance.
It is far less modular and customizable, only really working in the configuration it is intended to go in instead of the multiple configurations the older Castle could achieve due to it's smaller and less specifically shaped pieces.
It also differs in materials as several pieces are made from a heavy, yet soft vinyl in addition to the more rigid plastic parts.
This castle is also a bit less sturdy than the older one, in fact, there are several points I am going to apply some super glue to in order to keep it from falling apart at the slightest bump. The main offenders being all of the ramparts, the tall tower and all of the slate "shingled" areas.
Front:
Front, elevated:
Rear, elevated:
The playset features 2 working drawbridges, one in the very front of the castle to allow entrance to the interior and one on the tower to link the freestanding "island" to the castle wall.
Front, drawbridges down:
The set also comes with some cool accessories, something that the older castles did not.
There are 2 reversible shields featuring the emblems of Schleich's "World Of Knights" factions (Dragon and Griffin armies) which can be placed on the front of the drawbridges
Reversible shields:
There are also 4 freestanding banner poles, 2 each featuring banners for the aforementioned Dragon and Griffin factions.
Banner poles:
The set also comes with 2 partially articulated (left arms only) figures, each figure is a spy for one of the factions. They are a bit short for 1/18 scale, but this makes sense as in general people were shorter centuries in the past.
Figures (l - Dragon Spy, r - Griffin Spy):
Overall, I am happy with this set despite the need for certain parts to be glued. I am glad I received it as a gift as could not justify the $99.99 clearance price for something I have to work on to make it truly useful to me.
Front, with 4" figure for scale:
Close up of tower drawbridge with 4" figure for scale:
