Bat Lord Catapult - Medieval Madness!
Written: Dec 01 '02 (Updated Jan 16 '03)
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Pros: Bat Lord shield, black horse, silver sword, barrel, 2 sets of wheels.
Cons: No decorative cover for the horse, only two figures.
The Bottom Line: Castle lovers will go crazy over the Bat Lord Catapult! Could have used some more weapons, but overall a nice set.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Bat Lord Catapult 6027 |
The Lego Castle series is one of my all time favorites for many reasons. The highly detailed dragons, colorful knights, plethora of battle objects and of course the castle elements drew me in to becoming a hard-core collector. As with almost every Lego theme, there are larger sets that serve as suitable play scenes and smaller ones that can be used as accessories or to make a unique setting. My ongoing castle project is coming to a close thanks to a recent purchase of several of the Bat Lord Catapult sets. I purchased these mainly for the black horses, armored guards and faux wooden barrels with the rest of the pieces being used around the castle or added to my stock.
One of the nicest things about this set is that it can easily be converted from a battle cart to a village supply cart, vendor cart in the square or even for assembling a large caravan. If you have any other Lego sets you can swap out the weapons for more barrels, cups, magic potion bottles or even treasure chests. If you are planning on building a huge medieval scene you can incorporate these carts into it with a few minor modifications. Since they are on wheels they can easily be moved within the scene or propped up on the brown barrels that are found within the set. With a little bit of imagination there’s no limit to what you can do with this set. If you don’t have a lot of Lego sets available for spare parts, you can pick up the bulk packs [800, 1,200 and 1,500 count packages] that will give you a lot more building options.
Catapult Cart
This functional cart has many applications – it can be used to carry prisoners, haul food and supplies, to move larger weapons around the outside of the castle or just for day-to-day uses. Since this cart has two sets of different sized wheels it makes it easier to move around the larger items that are found in most castles but that doesn’t mean that this can’t be modified for other uses. My son started collecting the brown barrels a few months ago and thanks to a very cool brick broker he managed to pick up twenty near-mint condition barrels that he used to create an armory cart. Remove the tops of the barrels [the older styles have removable tops] and you can store weapons and arrows in them.
Since this is called the Catapult Cart you would expect it to have a functional catapult. Well, there is a catapult built into the back section of the cart but it doesn’t work very well when built according to the instructions. Unless you ‘flick’ it the right way you aren’t going to get much of a launch from it. Even so, having it assembled and attached to the cart gives it a good look but don’t expect to fend off any bad guys with it. If you get rid of the two flames that are located to the left and right of the catapult and add a few pieces under it you should be able to get a nice launch from it. You might want to build the catapult according to the directions then start to play around with modifications to it. If you build it following the instructions you’ll have the basics of how it works – from there you can change it around or eliminate it completely if you don’t like the end result.
The black horse is a definite plus for this set. Older Lego Castle sets featured horses with highly detailed covers – perfect for jousting or parades however the designers overlooked this necessary element and opted to go with a pull cart harness and small bat figurehead that rests on the horses back. I really didn’t like the yellow piece that was supplied with the set so I swapped it out for a black one – it gives it a much smoother look in my opinion. The only movable part on the horse is the head which can be moved up or down depending on your own personal preference. Since sets that feature horses are a little on the rare side you might want to take extra care of the horse that comes with this set. I invested in some small plastic zipper lock bags [available at craft stores] that I store the horses in when they are not in use. This keeps them from getting scratched as well as the colors from fading.
The Figures
Two armored warriors are supplied with this set. The first figure features a slip over type of armor and the second has linked chainmail. Since you are given two different colored leg pieces [gray and red] you have your choice as to which figure gets which leg section. There are also two different helmets in this set – the first one is a highly detailed head cover with a dragon on the top. This wraps around to almost cover the front of the face but the nice break in the front allows you to see a small portion of the face. The second helmet is plain but wraps around the entire back portion of the neck. Both of these have sections where decorative plastic plumes can be attached [provided]. The faces of the figures are common to the Castle series – the first being that of a rather mean looking guard with a moustache and the second one having a full beard with an almost pleasant look on his face. One of the nicest things about this set is that the torso, legs, face pegs and helmets are different. This allows you to have a bit of fun building them or changing them around when you get bored with them.
Accessories
What would a Lego set be without the little perks? One of the nicest accessories is the small sword. For once we are given a regular gray castle sized sword instead of the silver metallic swords that always seem to peel and crack with the slightest bit of use. Yes, the metallic ones do look nice but unless you treat them extremely gently [or coat them with a sealer] they will look horrid in no time. The lance and whip that are provided are great stock pieces and I chose to add them to the small castle armory rather than have them with the cart. Same with the two plastic flags [one red, one yellow]. These are great for the jousting mound or to place atop the castle. You are also blessed with two flames, a very cool shield, a brown barrel, several spears and plumes for the two guards.
Instructions
The small set of instructions for this set are easy to follow and should have you up and running in about ten minutes from start to finish. There are two figures included with this set however there is only one illustration on how to assemble the medieval warriors. Each figure is comprised of four pieces [helmet, head, torso, legs] so building them isn’t difficult. Smaller kids might need a little help getting the helmets centered on the heads but other than that this is a piece of cake. The cart is assembled in eleven steps and the illustrations provide you with more than adequate guidelines for building it with little chance of error. Overall the instruction sheet with this set is easy to follow and gives you the step-by-step information needed to build the cart and figures without any major issues.
The Bottom Line
This is a great set for those that love the older style of the Castle series. The horse could have used some type of protective or decorative cover but even without it, this set is still extremely attractive. There are a lot of great accessories in this set and that is a definite plus. This set would be great for use with any of the Ninja sets or sets within the Castle theme. They scale of the elements match almost perfectly but you will notice that some of the weapons from this set might be a bit too large to use with the Ninja series. Overall this makes a great addition to any medieval scene you are building and with the bounty of accessories that are provided this is also a great set to purchase to boost your overall stock of elements. This set is a little hard to find on the open market so be sure to check online auctions and small toy stores.
The Stats
Set Name: Bat Lord Catapult
Family Set: Castle / Fright Knights
Lego Set: 6027
Number of Pieces: 51
Age Recommendation: 6 - 12
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 10 Minutes
Cost: $ 5.99
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Other sets of interest ...
Fright Knights Catapult [2540]
Fright Knights Crossbow Flamer [2538]
Fright Knights Batwing Flyer [2539]
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): See above
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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