The Medieval Castle was rumoured for months and months, amid palpable excitement. Much like the Medieval Blacksmith, when it was finally announced, the colourful design was perhaps a little startling.

However, it quickly became apparent that this was a glorious design, harking back to the magnificent Yellow Castle and Knights Joust in its exuberant palette. As a Creator set, the two alternate builds looked intriguing, but not strong enough to distract from the main build.

The modular build is extremely enjoyable, though the connection via Technic pins is far too weak, and the completed build cannot be safely lifted in one. However, the variety of colour is simply delightful: blue water with charming transparent turbulence, greenery, grey stonework (including a lovely kinked chimney stack on the outside of the mill), yellow panelling, brown woodwork, red and white banners, and returning to blue for the flags.

Yes, there are few minifigures, especially compared to the magnificent army from the Yellow Castle. However, the brick-built animals are great fun, the three-brick mouse with its cheese made of cheese a charming microbuild.

I don't understand those who dislike brick-built animals. If it's not to be built, it's not very Lego. The scarcity and alleged value of the Lego goat figure doesn't raise it above Brick to the Past's splendid brick-built version. If you like brick-built, this set is great fun.

There are some weaknesses, though. The corner columns, while initially interesting, seem unrealistic and improbable on reflection - the Medieval Blacksmith's gorgeous quoins a much more exciting detail for corners of stone walls. The open tower looks more like a US prison guard tower in design. Plus, of course, the Medieval Market Village still holds the crown by dint of having fully closed buildings, while this castle's rooms and towers are regrettably open-backed.

However, the interiors are nice, with a lovely red throne, and they've even thrown in a little Technic ratchet for the drawbridge and a waterwheel-driven hammer and anvil, albeit the latter having already been seen in the Medieval Market Village blacksmith.

Above all, though, the half-timbered yellow panel nod to Black Falcon's Fortress, and the hinged design harking right back to the beloved Yellow Castle, pay wonderful homage to this set's ancestors. And the set is absolutely minifigure-scale, and hence fits beautifully with most other Castle sets.

Read my other reviews:

WEETABIX1 · 375 · 383 · 677 · 3739 · 6035 · 6040 · 6041 · 6061 · 6062 · 6067 · 6918 · 7189 · 10193 · 10223 · 21325 · 21343 · 31109 · 31120 · 31132 · 70413 · 71002 · 71008 · 76208

This set is exactly what I wish every set was like; beautiful design and detail all over and just overall great value. I managed to get this set for $90, which is $10 below msrp, and it's great to see it today at around the same value. The set is just perfect. I mean, what else can I say? It's also a 3 in 1, so overall, just get it :> (5/5)

I didn't partake in Lego until 2014, which means I missed out on the Castle theme by just a year. There isn't much I wouldn't give to bring back the theme for just one more run and a handful of well-crafted sets.

Thankfully, Lego Creator has come in clutch time and time again to bring us individual sets from eras of Lego we miss greatly. Starting in 2020 with 31109 Pirate Ship, then in 2021 with 31120 Medieval Castle, and most recently in 2022 with 31132 Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent.

This set in question today is the middle of the list, 31120.

Building experience

The set is excellently well-thought-out and works with excellent building techniques. Anyone who loves a good, fleshed-out build will enjoy this one. The parts are generally unique pieces that work together to create a spectacular outside design.

Functionality

In the way of play features, there aren't too many, and they don't interrupt the design of the build, which definitely works in the set's favor.

• The drawbridge can be lifted and locked
• The water wheel when turned moves a hammer in the smith
• The wall can be removed in the dungeon cell

Minifigures

Creator 3-in-1 has never been known for their minifigures, but this set has two knights with excellent remade Black Falcon faction torsos. The other two figures are a blacksmith and a skeleton. The blacksmith is a figure most would expect from a Creator 3-in-1 set, being very generic. I can't hate on the skeleton, though, because skeleton minifigures are always welcome inclusions to any set.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Great design
• Excellent amount of "stuff" for the price you pay
• Good minifigures
• Fun for play
• Lego toilet included

Cons

• Lackluster B-Models
• Repetitive builds for walls
• A good but flimsy dragon build

Conclusion

All being said, I think this is almost certainly worth the money you pay. $100 is a considerably good price for nearly 1,500 pieces. I highly recommend this set for casual collectors, fans of Castle, and children to play with. Just a fun time all around.

This second historical 3 in 1 gives us a proper castle, after a long hiatus of any appearing in their own theme. Buildings also usually work well as subjects for 3 in 1. Sounds like a recipe for success?

First the A model: a gorgeous castle with all features you would expect for this size, well executed. Good compromises were made between adding details and including larger pieces to build with. A lot of people complained about the colours as usual but for me, they work great. The Middle Ages have a bad reputation for looking drab, which I’m not buying. The water wheel has a cool function though I suspect it diminishes the defensiveness of the castle by being easy to scale. The dragon looks good for its limited number of pieces, but it follows an unfortunate trend of using regular clips for joints, offering bad stability.

The B model: a large tower with a working trebuchet! That’s cool. Though I would have preferred to have seen an additional floor: the height is the main selling point and there are enough leftover bricks to do it. It’s fantasy, it wouldn’t matter if the result is slightly wacky.

The C model: a marketplace with a mill and a little tower. A let-down for me, being small and offering little more over the A model, which already has a food stall, a (water) mill and a tree. I’d have liked a different take on the model, maybe use the hidden rock entrance from the B model here instead and make a robber’s hideout, forestmen style.

The let-down of the final model is largely due to the way 3 in 1’s are composed/marketed: the A model needs to have all bells and whistles to go on the front of the box and sell the set on its own. If only this rule was relaxed so we could have something unique in all 3 builds, providing more of a reason to switch between them.

The alternative models have connection points built in to combine multiple of the same set, suggesting we could buy multiple copies instead of rebuilding. It feels a bit pushy and I don’t like it. Combining the builds that way makes little conceptual sense to me. Then again, all the main tropes are present, proving this set has all the ingredients for an all in 1 castle set.

Following LEGO's release of two Pirates themed sets last year, 2021 continues the same pattern with two Castle themed sets, Ideas Medieval Blacksmith and Creator 3-in-1 Medieval Castle. As there are three builds, a lot of AFOLs on social media are thinking about buying three sets to connect the three builds. Benbarcardi and other reviewers have done detailed reviews of this set already, I will use this space to show what is possible with just two sets; I built a Grand Castle MOD of 31120, a trebuchet, and a four-legged dragon, no extra pieces required.

Here is just a summary of my current designs, a detailed ongoing design process topic thread is on the Eurobricks Forum, which I hope to update my designs with feedback, and help others who try to make this MOD. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/186014-mod-grand-castle-mod-from-two-31120-medieval-castle-sets-no-extra-pieces-required/

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY3fx][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY3fx]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34BE][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34BE]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXJD][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXJD]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1Fdn][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1Fdn]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXFN][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXFN]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1FbZ][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1FbZ]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

I started building both sets simultaneously bag by bag over a few nights. I find this is the most efficient way to build two of the same sets, learning the building techniques and sorting out the pieces by building them into the castle.

I wanted to build up four towers on the castle, incorporated the pavilion roof of model B into the great tower next to the yellow wooden keep. The keep is built up using two flipped window and chimney yellow wattle and daub buildings, shortened to fit inside the rampart. I added a second 1x8 reddish brown brick as a beam to the floor, rearranged them both so they are spaced equally from edges, moved the grey bricks to fit accordingly. With the watermill and dark azure plates only on 2 sides of the castle, my castle is sitting on the bend of a river, so I placed yellow wattle and daub structures with windows facing that way to have a waterfront view. I studied the towers on the gatehouse, which is composed of two sections each on the ramparts, I can use three sections for the great tower and one section to raise the corner tower by one level. The great tower became five storeys tall, I added two dragon gargoyles at the lower floor above the watermill to balance out the heavier top design.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34ru][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34ru]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1Fa1][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1Fa1]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

The crenels on all the battlements are raised by one brick high, the slope tiles on the merlons are flipped so they face outwards. Merlons on battlements should be as tall as soldiers to shield them from projectiles. I put the weathervane on top of the great tower, plenty of flags already on the other three towers.

The location of the old staircase is awkward with my modification, I decided to move it to the corner tower section. This allowed me to complete the flooring on the keep, add in a tapestry table, plus the well on the ground floor.

I had the stone battlements on the great tower for the first three versions of my MOD, then I finally realised it does not need to be there, as the alchemy study is enclosed and has no use for the machicolations. It was an easy fix; I swapped the stone battlements with the yellow wattle and daub boards. I added a brick high of yellow and brown bargeboard to the watch tower roof to add a splash of colour to the otherwise entirely grey corner.

Moving to the front of the gatehouse, I tiled up the entire footbridge and build up the outside moat bank with olive green round half plates and some other pieces for support. A protruding portcullis was made by a clipped-on horizontal barred door. I find the coat of arms above the gate fiddly; it moves around with the slightest amount of motion. I swapped the two round bricks with two palisade bricks, topped them up with a pyramid tile, they lock in the crest securely and no more movements. The treasure chests have been moved to the gatehouse. I used two 22385 2x3 light bluish grey pentagonal tiles to replace the 2x2 dark bluish grey tiles above the gate. Those two dark bluish grey tiles went to the pavilion roof of the great tower, I didn’t like how the pentagonal tiles stuck out of the roof.

The apple tree moved into the wall by one stud, has five 6x5 leaves, two green apples with four arches acting as branches, using a twig to connect two 6x5 leaves that are offset on top of each other. I changed all pink studs to yellow studs on the ground, so apple tree has pink flowers, and the ground has yellow daisies.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXru][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXru]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcTctr][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcTctr]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1EYQ][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1EYQ]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcTcwN][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcTcwN]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

I raised the ramparts to the same height on the second level of the four towers. I started on the section next to the five-storey great tower. I built a second set of clip and bar to secure the wall connections. I tried different arrangements of 1x3 and 1x4 arches, but only the 1x3 arches allow for the even spaced machicolations on battlements with no overhang onto the next section, I wanted to keep the castle in three sections for ease of move and storage. All hinge connections are removed from the model, so the plates are secure on both floors.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY33i][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY33i]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

The river is now connected on the two sections, as side walls can’t open up after I removed the hinges. I took out two round corners and one 2x4 plate, replaced them with one 4x12 plate, added some waves, an olive green slope and medium azure 2x2 round. The river is also lengthened by two bricks with a new green mossy rock tower base and buttresses.

A phoenix shrine is built using round corner bricks. I used the 4x8 dark tan plates with 6x6 plates, so the footprint of the space is the same as a tower. Before I started, I changed the base of the corner tower section to the 8x16 tan plate, so there is enough depth for the columns. For the connection of the round bay window corners to the square battlements, I tried a few variations, I decided on the sloped version using 3665 2x1 inverted slopes; I used one 3676 2x2 inverted double convex slope for the connection of dark tan plates.

There are ten furnished spaces inside the keep tower and the corner tower sections: most of the designs are taken from the original LEGO model and modified.

• Double beer barrel dispenser
• Kitchen with bench and fire stove
• Fruit stall
• Well with a bucket
• Blacksmith workshop
• Phoenix shrine
• Dining room with a tapestry table
• Throne room
• Lookout room with a monocular
• Alchemy study

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1FaG][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md1FaG]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34o3][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2md34o3]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY34k][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcY34k]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr

I still had enough pieces to make the trebuchet, though had to use some different pieces. Lastly, I modified the LEGO dragon to a four-legged dragon, built up the torso so the ball joints for the wings and front legs are three plates apart, new shorter and slimmer front leg, a longer tail and wingspan with a new connection for the wrist claw.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXMQ][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2mcWXMQ]LEGO 31120 Medieval Castle MOD, Version 5[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/128106728@N04/]R Y[/url], on Flickr