I was lucky enough to get two much desired sets for my birthday this year; the Green Grocer (10185) and the Medieval Village (10193). The Grocer was from my lovely wife, and the village from the mighty Finny. At the insistence of the latter, I decided to build the Medieval Village first.
There are two main buildings, the Blacksmith shop with stable, and the Inn. Both of the buildings hinge in the middle, so that they can be displayed open or closed.
There are a large number of small detail pieces. There is a bucket filled with apples, one with fish, and one with flowers. There is also a carrot for the horse, as well as a few “presents” from the horse. Lots of Minifigs included in the set, and a pair of oxen. Also a horse, duck, rooster, and chicken. Also a Turkey, but of the roasted variety. Lots of smaller builds (i.e. tables, stalls, chairs, etc.)
I suspect the Castle guys will be very pleased with this set. It’s sure to spark a lot of Castle builds over the next year or two. My favourite aspect was the furniture, something that tends to be missing from the bigger sets like Cafe Corner. The blacksmith’s shop is the highlight of the set, with a working trip hammer attached to a water wheel.
The fireplaces are made with translucent pieces , and some thought went into the design of the rooms themselves. This is a set that is fun to build, has some interesting elements and designs, and can be played with as well.
The build was fairly straightforward, but I did notice a few too many sections where the set calls for the same color of brick stacking upward, going 3 or 4 levels before being secured to the building with another piece. I suspect the color scheme makes this necessary, but it was a bit annoying, as it makes the structure a bit unwieldy while building. Even the roof suffered from this problem. On the whole, a great set. I feel very lucky to own it, and enjoyed putting it together with some “help” from my sidekick. There were even some signs that the young boy from the village may go on to greater things, like toppling an Empire of some kind.
