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Unusual Lego Castle retail display unit....Ever Seen One Like This?

cojiecojie IrelandMember Posts: 2
in Collecting
Hi guys and gals,

Posting this just to share with everybody, I have had it since I was a child and only recently took it out from storage.

Its a retail display model, all glued together, and is very tall 93cm, 45cm wide.  Its got some lovely features like the little cottage perched halfway up above a staircase and some dungeons and hallways all culminating in a jail at the very top with the princess trapped inside.

Please let me know what you think of it and if you have ever seen one before :)

Jay
teal93mr2stluxlarge88BumblepantsOnebricktoomanykhmellymeldmcc0sid3windrricecakeWolfpackBanditsonsofscevamustang69GoodCoffeeJoeyAllBrickMynattdavee123BlueTacoMooreFXJohnyk668bobabrickscatwranglerDaraghlentilmdtvandysnowhitieLEGO_Dad77GoldchainsAddicted2OxygenRoobotmadforLEGOomniumchuckpAdeelZubairFizyxmithridateMuftak1prevereRakulkbenjesCurvedRoadPlateRonyarFowlerBrickskiki180703

Comments

  • JCoolJCool Member Posts: 47
    That's really cool.  Never seen anything quite like it for castle before.  

  • oldtodd33oldtodd33 Denver 4800 miles to BillundMember Posts: 2,623
    I saw one a lot like this on Ebay several months ago in the U.S.. The seller wanted something like 800-1000 for it but it didn't sell as far as I know.
  • AllBrickAllBrick UKMember Posts: 1,485
    Soo pretty, like sunshine...
  • davetheoxygenmandavetheoxygenman Colorado, USAMember Posts: 211
    @Istokg - any info you can provide on this one?

    @cojie - thanks for sharing!!
  • davee123davee123 USAMember Posts: 832
    Huh-- I can't find any elements in there that were made after 1978, so it's probably a good guess that this was made in 1978 or later.  And since the grey castles took over in 1984, it's probably between 1978-1983.  However, one interesting thing is this door at the top of the tower:



    According to BrickLink, that element was only ever released in Minitalia sets!  Not that it necessarily means that it was made in Italy.  As I recall, @istokg has said that LEGO produced some of the Minitalia elements itself (rather than producing them solely in Italy), hence LEGO might well have had some of the doors floating around in its model shops, waiting to get added to a display like this.  Any idea where it came from? (I would assume Europe or the UK somewhere?)

    Clearly it's been raided for any minifig parts, as well-- I would assume that none of the heads were glued on, but that the feet and torsos probably were?

    Very interesting detail-work, too.  It uses jumper plates to give a half-stud offset to the merlons here and there, and uses the base to the steering wheel element as well!

    DaveE
    catwrangler
  • cojiecojie IrelandMember Posts: 2
    davee123 said:
    Huh-- I can't find any elements in there that were made after 1978, so it's probably a good guess that this was made in 1978 or later.  And since the grey castles took over in 1984, it's probably between 1978-1983.  However, one interesting thing is this door at the top of the tower:



    According to BrickLink, that element was only ever released in Minitalia sets!  Not that it necessarily means that it was made in Italy.  As I recall, @istokg has said that LEGO produced some of the Minitalia elements itself (rather than producing them solely in Italy), hence LEGO might well have had some of the doors floating around in its model shops, waiting to get added to a display like this.  Any idea where it came from? (I would assume Europe or the UK somewhere?)

    Clearly it's been raided for any minifig parts, as well-- I would assume that none of the heads were glued on, but that the feet and torsos probably were?

    Very interesting detail-work, too.  It uses jumper plates to give a half-stud offset to the merlons here and there, and uses the base to the steering wheel element as well!

    DaveE
    So the castle would have been definitely from around the early 1980's, it was on display in a Toymaster (same shop may have been an independent retailer at the time) shop in the South East of Ireland.  There are one or two damaged parts on it but it really is in the same condition in which I originally received it, its remarkable that the there hasn't been more discolouration on the white bricks in particular.

    If anybody wants more pics don't hesitate to ask.
    catwranglerkiki180703
  • catwranglercatwrangler Northern IrelandMember Posts: 1,892
    This is really delightful - such an attractive, imaginative build, and then there's that touch of surreality lent to it by the headless minifigures... I'd want to build a whole medieval village to go around it! 
    Fizyx
  • IstokgIstokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,313
    edited December 2017
    ^^ Nice model... doesn't look like it's in bad condition.... it's nice to see real 1x1x1 windows (along with 1x1x2 and 1x2x2)... and not the back of headlight bricks!  ;-)

    I would just add some 1980s castle minifig bodies and heads/headgear (they'll all be the old smilies anyway).... to the existing legs.  Doesn't look too hard to restore to something of the way it looked!
    Thanos75
  • SumoLegoSumoLego New YorkMember Posts: 14,899
    Nice acquisition!
  • RecceRecce Tiny Little Red DotMember Posts: 923
    Thanos75 said:
    It's 36"x36".....not really sure where I'm going to put it in my collection but I couldn't pass it up for $100.
    Very nice! Is it a glued model?
  • Thanos75Thanos75 Member Posts: 1,120
    edited December 2017
    Yes it's glued. It's missing some troops and a couple window shutters and could use a good cleaning but it's in pretty good shape.
    pharmjodSumoLegokiki180703Recce
  • alaskaguyalaskaguy Member Posts: 335
    Looks like the Highlander has paid a visit to that castle.
    catwrangler
  • Thanos75Thanos75 Member Posts: 1,120
    I would love to find pictures of it when it was new. Haven't had much luck in the research. I was thinking of messaging Lego to see if they had any info.
  • IstokgIstokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,313
    Well I would date this glued model to circa 1984-86.  The small classic windows were retired in 1987, and the castle minifigs with those torso's can be found in the circa 1984-86 Castle System era.
    Fizyx
  • M1J0EM1J0E Calgary, ABMember Posts: 644
    Nice incredible models!  Thanks for sharing
  • Thanos75Thanos75 Member Posts: 1,120
    As always your depth of knowledge is incredible.
    madforLEGOoldtodd33IstokgOnebricktoomanyFowlerBricksSumoLegoMynatt
  • FizyxFizyx ColoradoMember Posts: 1,227
    Istokg said:
    One of the new chapters to my LEGO Guide is on LEGO Retailer Display Models & Accessories, and TLG has had display models (always glued) going back to 1950.  The number of display models going back to that early era is absolutely mind numbing.  Online research of it is difficult, because info is very sparse.

    Here's a few of the models that I have images of for my glued model chapter.  I have a Dutch and UK LEGO friends who specialize in buying old models and restoring them.

    Here's some of my favorite examples that have been restored... and will be in my chapter...


    Every time I see one of your posts I get excited, because I know it will have some fantastically interesting bit of LEGO history in it.
    IstokgOnebricktoomany
  • drdesignzdrdesignz USMember Posts: 110
    I just randomly stumbled on this, from a page of a 1960s catalog.  No mention of it being a store display specifically.  But it's relevant, I think.  And pretty cool, too.  Notice the building method. 




    BumblepantsFizyxThanos75catwrangler
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