Deluxe Medieval Castle Play Set

Do I really need a Deluxe Medieval Castle Play Set? No, not really. Is there room for this in my apartment? Oh, Hell no. Can I pass up a giant size play set marked down to $7.50?

Sigh. Apparently not.

In my defense, I did have a reason for picking this up at the Toys R Us Express that was unloading it. As is often the case, I was far less interested in getting this for whole than I was in getting the pieces. Specifically the walls, bridges, and planks: with a little work, could those be transformed into action figure stands?

Well... maybe, but it's not ideal. Most of this is made of a soft, squishable plastic that lacks stability. The drawbridge is sturdy, but I'm actually a little reluctant to disassemble that: it's functional, and interests me more as a backdrop (assuming I'm ever willing to paint the damn thing).

This isn't a bad set, at least when clearanced, and there are some cool extras. The soldiers are pretty lame (they can't even stand on their own), but their horses are cool. The catapults are also neat, though I can't think of much to do with them. Oh well, I'm always happy having miniature fantasy props lying around. Same goes for those ladders.

I should probably mention that I'm not really giving this set a full opportunity to shine in the pictures. It comes with a number of decals I'm supposed to add. Also, there are tons of miniature weapons and figures I didn't bother to unpack or display.

Like the drawbridge, the siege tower has a pair of cranks that can lower a bridge. These work well, though it takes forever to raise or lower anything.

The honest truth is, had I known exactly what the set would look like, I don't think I'd have bothered. I might end up eating those words when I start disassembling and appropriating parts for custom projects, but for now, I'm a little disappointed.

Still, there's promise here.