Skip to main content

Will It Motu or Notu? Schleich Big Knights Castle

Schleich has been around for quite while. They specialize in super detailed animals and fantasy creatures. More recently, they have been adding figurines and now "action figures". These toys are all pretty awesome and are in a 3 3/4 scale, like Star Wars and G.I. Joe. They have been making playsets and dioramas, as well, and a few of them really caught my eye.

Since I have been on a vintage MOTU binge, my mind immediately began trying to figure out just how well these playsets would scale with my toys. I asked sellers on Amazon.com who responded negatively, but it didn't sit well with me. Being a toy collector for as long as I have been, my mind has become pretty adept at this. Many of you, I'm sure, can say the same. I decided to reach out on He-Man.org.

Nobody was negative on it but they weren't really sure either. One member, Barbecue17, had the playset I was thinking about and had covered it on his blog, which you can check out here - http://www.actionfigurebarbecue.com/2015/09/action-figure-review-big-knights-castle.html. I really liked what I saw from his coverage so he offered to sell me his set for $60, much more reasonable than Amazon and Ebay's prices, which were in the $140s.

So let's look at it!

Firstoff, this thing is HUGE.





As a size comparison, here it is next to Castle Grayskull


The drawbridge opening is much wider and around the same height as the Jawbridge.



So no clearance for He-Man on Battlecat but the Battle Ram can glide through with ease.



So far, my instincts have served me well.

Now, on the walls of the castle, there is a lot of standing room. The figures don't have as much coverage as Grayskull's Right tower but significantly more than its Left.




You can even spice it up with other MOTU offerings.




Aside from the drawbridge and wall, the castle comes with a large central tower. It is here, and only here, where scaling is a bit of an issue.


As you can see, the inner rooms of the tower are a no go but the walkway that opens up is wide enough for He-Man and Battlecat to stride across.


So, let's just get straight to play time and really see what this thing looks like.


You could use this as an extension of Castle Grayskull, or as I will probably use it, the Palace of Eternia.








Minas Tirith much? And yes, that is a custom Evil Warriors battle barge type thing that I made using a Sentinel 7 boat from Toys R Us.


Another cool thing is the dungeon which can be displayed separately from the castle.






"We can all call on the Ancient Spirits of Evil down here."


"Lots of room for activities."


Poor one out for the Jabba's Palace Rancor Pit we never got.


Behind the castle walls, I think, holds the most fun.

Besides what fun is it to storm a castle if you never break through?




So, will it Motu or Notu? I think the answer is definitely in the affirmative. It will definitely MOTU. I am super thankful for Barbecue17 offering this to me at such a reasonable price. There are a couple other sets like this that I think I will get my hands on as well.


Good Journey!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toy Biz DC Superheroes Flash v2, Hawkman, Two Face

I started getting back into the DC Superheroes line early last year. Even though the Kenner Super Powers line is superior in a lot of ways, this line has a nostalgic value for me. Recently, I was able to add three more figures to my collection: Hawkman, Two Face, and the second version of the Flash! Version 2 is a HUGE upgrade over Version 1. V2 Flash doesn't rely on a wind up action feature so it actually has arm articulation. Now Flash can actually do some better posing... let alone throw a punch! V2 Flash also comes with a Quicksilver/Silver Surfer-esqe platform. It even moves forward on its own if you pull it backwards.  Toy Biz vs Kenner. The Kenner figure is obviously the better choice. Just one look at his weapon and his head sculpt and that is obvious. However, there is a dumb charm to the Toy Biz figure and I'm happy to have him. I really like this Two Face figure. He has a winding feature for flipping his...
Post a Comment
Read more

Transformers Legends Scale Jazz, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Starscream, and Thundercracker

Around the end of the G1 line, Transformers made the Pretenders which produced some smaller versions of some popular bots like Jazz and Starscream that would fit in different shells/skins. In 1989, they re-released these figures without the shells and just called them Legends. In the 2000s, Hasbro decided to bring this scale back with their Robots in Disguise, Transformers Universe, Reveal the Shield and various other lines. Over time, the scale has continuously fluctuated so that it is tough to understand just how different figures will line up. This proved particularly challenging for me when I was searching for an appropriately sized Optimus Prime for my GoBots. Well, now I have added some more Transformers to my collection, Jazz, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Starscream, and Thundercracker. They are all about the same size. This bothers me a little bit when it comes to Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, but when I put them with Optimus or the GoBots, it all works out pretty ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kre-O G.I. Joe Forces/ USS Flagg

Seeing this boxed set a few years ago is what got me back into collecting G.I. Joe. I had passed on the joy of G.I. Joe to my younger brothers, and to its credit, its one of the few franchises that has stuck with them. I don't feel bad about giving them my collection because most of my collections began when my cousins passed them on to me. Plus, with all of the vehicles and playsets, they are a little much to have up and displayed. Finding the Kre-O sets allowed me to keep showing my love for G.I. Joe on a smaller scale.  The fact that it was a Slaughter's Marauders set is was truly sold me. Love the Sarge. So anyways, here are my current Joes. I've already posted a blog about my Cobra collection, which you can find here,  Cobra Forces . After this, I'll make a post on my Iron Grenadiers and the rest of my Vehicles/Playsets. USS Flagg Not an official set. I found this Chinese knock off and modified the cabin so that it could hold figures. Also added...
Post a Comment
Read more

Super 7 Hordak and She-Ra 2 pack

As I've mentioned before, I was lucky growing up between the decades of the 80's and 90's. I was the right age to have TMNT, the rebirth of G.I. Joe, and the X-Men but also benefit from the collections and fandoms of my older cousins. I was one of the few kids my age who had an extensive collection of Star Wars, M.A.S.K., G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, and Masters of the Universe. And, as I've also mentioned before, Masters of the Universe is probably my favorite franchise, so of course I had the vintage Hordak. The Horde was such an intriguing group of villains, whereas Skeletor ruled a group of territorial warlords, Hordak was the leader of a technologically advanced army with hideous generals at his side. I was also lucky enough to have Leech and Mantenna, both of whom have better figure appearances than their animation counterparts. Now, I never had a She-Ra figure but I did have Teela. With all of that in mind, when I saw the prototypes for Super 7's ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kre-O G.I. Joe Battle Wagon

  G.I. Joe has always had amazing vehicles for your figures to interact with. As the line grew, so did the imaginations of the creators, as each year seemed to provide us with something bigger than the one before. After the U.S.S. Flagg and the Defiant, bigger was no longer an option but that didn't stop G.I. Joe from just going big and bold with their designs.  The 1990s era of the line is not universally loved but they gave us plenty of big vehicles, including the Battle Wagon. The Battle Wagon was heavily marketed as an essential item for Joe fans of the time, especially in the DIC cartoon. Unfortunately, I never had it as a kid. It was a high price tag item and, honestly, I never remember seeing it in stores. When I was in college, my younger brother bought two of them on ebay. Being able to see them in person, I had to agree it was worth the hype that Hasbro put around it. I've now moved away from collecting traditional Joes. I'm older and I want my nephews and nieces ...
Post a Comment
Read more