Lego story #018: Building the Medieval Blacksmith (Part 4)

A job well done.

Here it is, fully built!

I hadn't shown the set's four minifigures and two animals before, but you get to see them now.

First, let's watch the blacksmith at work.

The photo below shows a battery-powered feature which lights up the "coals" when you press on the bellows. Neat! Here you also have a good view of the blacksmith's ponytail. I love this hairpiece.

In the photo above, I removed the blacksmith's beard. This beardless version could be his son, learning the father's trade.

Next, let's see what the blacksmith's wife is up to.

By the way, I don't know if this archer minifig is actually his wife.

I mean, she could be a close friend who hangs out here, using the apple tree for target practice. Maybe a kind neighbor who brings over (or mooches) a roast turkey leg every Sunday.

The photo above shows how high the dining chairs are. Blacksmith's son looks really short next to the woman who is his mother. Or not his mother. (There could be a story there.)

Anyway, after lunch she heads up to the bedroom attic and engages in her grand work: writing a novel.

Writing is difficult work. Take a closer look (below) and you'll see that she has trouble getting past the opening sentence. Once upon a time . . .

Ahhh, I know the feeling. The fanciest technology and helpfullest aids, be they MacBooks or blue-feathered ink pens, can only do so much to aid the aspiring author.

I'm afraid I failed to get a good shot of the rest of this bedroom attic. My previous post has pics of the bed, bearskin rug, and chest. But they're a bit blurry, and I've given up. So let's move on to our other minifigures.

The Black Falcons cometh! Bearing a sack, weapons, and armor.

This is right up the blacksmith's alley. He welcomes them heartily.

"Woof!" The soldiers are greeted by the family dog. A husky?

"Come on in!" says the blacksmith. "Park your wagon round the back, by the pumpkin."

This is a good time to show you different angles of the blacksmith's house, while the Black Falcons get parked.

"Did you bring the gold?"

"Gold?! I thought we agreed on potatoes!"

The grey-haired commander receives his newly forged weapon.

He holds up the glinting blade (imagine the glint) and says, "I will give you a name . . . You shall be called Sting! Oh, is that taken? Well then, you shall be called Swing!"

All decked out for a farewell photo.

These hairpieces are so good. They all are, including the archer-wife's double braid and bun style.

"Farewell! Farewell!" Their cries echo from a distance.

Or so the story might go. A pretty boring one; I'm sure you'd do much better at making up a tale for Blacksmith and Co. 

A stellar set like the 21325 Medieval Blacksmith makes me wish I were a kid again. Sadly I've lost the ability to pretend-play alone and get lost in a world of my own making. Or maybe I haven't, who knows?

In any case, this is a super playable set. It's real easy to remove each floor and interact with pieces within. Even the roofing is easy to remove, as I mentioned in my last post.

And there are lots of new things you could build out of this large set, which contains over 2,000 pieces.

For now it's the best Lego set I know, considering all aspects important to me: build experience, display value, flexibility for rebuilding, theme, size, price.

While it may not look large in these photos, it's really impressive to see close up—in terms of both size and beauty—when you place it on the dining table. And that blue-tiled roof just takes the prize, doesn't it?

I hope you enjoyed looking at this set as much as I did!

Epilogue:

"Wait," shrieked the horse. "What about me? You didn't talk about me!"

Alas, I am due for an afternoon nap so that's the end of the story. Good day to you! (Cue: Final, final photo)