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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

30th Anniversary Tribute to the New Adventures of He-Man

This year marks the 30th Anniversary to the New Adventures of He-Man. I never cared for the show as a child. It was just too different: different themes, different characterizations, different characters, different voices, different settings, etc. It was just too much change to accept. I did like the action figures. I still remember when my brother and I found He-man and Skeletor at a Kay Bees. We loved them and even bought a Flipshot because we thought it was Man at Arms. As the years went on, it really bugged me that I didn't care for the show. I mean, what is not to like? You've got He-man... fighting Skeletor... in space... with a lightsaber. I was a big Silverhawks fan so this screamed awesome to me. The DVD sets were released in the early 2000s so I decided to give it another try. Unfortunately, I still didn't care for it. With this being the 30th Anniversary of the line, I made the firm decision to actually sit down, watch the show, and withhold my biases. The...

Mega Bloks Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 - Lord Zedd and Custom Squatt

So, 29 Blind Bags later, I completed the official collection with Lord Zedd. I've really enjoyed this series. Sure it is not the most detailed or articulated but there is just a certain fun factor that radiates from these figures. And now that it is complete, my focus has turned to what customs I can create. I've already posted about Rita Repulsa. By Zedd, she looks pretty great. Now I've added another custom with Squatt. It was challenging finding which lego pieces would best reflect the character. Here are my current Evil Space Alien leaders. I still have a few more in the works.

Star Wars Power of the Force Classic Edition 4 Pack

I had no idea this 4 pack existed until a few weeks ago. As I've previously mentioned, my first Star Wars toys were hand me down vintage figures. Later on I would get Bend-ems and the Micro Machines sets, but the vintage figures were my Star Wars figures until Power of the Force 2 came out. Apparently, this pack was released ahead of their arrival in a way to both build anticipation and also create a neat throw back for classic fans. If I had known about this, I would have been ALL over it. I only had Hoth Han Solo and Bespin Luke in my collection at the time so having these versions of the two would have been amazing. I didn't even have a Chewbacca or a Darth Vader, so yeah. I would have bought this. I probably would have bought two, one to open and one to keep as a memento. Star Wars toys were just so rare at the time that the idea of having one complete in package would have been a piece of art for me. I had been watching some of these on ebay for awhile but I finally found ...

Star Wars Power of the Force Deluxe Red Card Figures - Luke with Desert Sport Skiff, Han Solo with Smuggler Flight Pack, and Crowd Control Stormtrooper

  When it comes to the 1990's Kenner Star Wars relaunch, there are a lot of things people love and a lot of things people hate. The Deluxe assortment was something I absolutely loved. These kinds of figures showcased Star Wars as a toy line vs a collector's line. And Kenner wasn't new to these types of gimmicks. Just one look at their Batman line and these things make complete sense. Unfortunately, I don't think everyone else felt the same way. The first wave of these figures were brand new concepts that felt  like they could belong in the universe. The second wave that would come with the Green cards gave us more things that actually existed in the films, save one. I can only imagine what a deluxe Chewbacca or Darth Vader could have come with. My only complaint about these toys is that all of the backpack accessories will only fit VERY few figures. This is because they were made to insert into a medium sized hole in their back. I'm absolutely sure that they could h...

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 ...