Lion Knight History – Conclusion

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I have to admit that after studying the Lion Knights in detail for the past 2-3 weeks that it has taken to research this unofficial history, I am ever so slightly disappointed…

As a faction, they roared into life in 1984 with their huge castle and various knights and other pieces of equipment, but they faded to a whimper within 8 years and disappeared from sight.  For many of us, this was the period of our childhoods, and we had the delight of seeing the rise of the Lego Castle factions, and we played with the sets that we could get hold of.  By the time I was moving into my teenage years and therefore my Lego dark age, the legendary Castle factions were disappearing, and I wouldn’t return back to them for another 30 years.  I do remember finding the online instructions in my early 20’s and being reinspired by the glory days of the 1980’s, but it was another 2 decades before I was able to really invest in the great sets of my childhood dreams and develop the ideas in this article.

When we look at the Lion Knights closely, we find a huge variety of troops – some of whom were only represented in a single set that was released.  It has been suggested that means that we can change things around in a playing environment – some have even suggested that the Lion Knights were changing their trousers a lot, so were the cleanest of the factions in LEGOLAND Castle – but it makes it hard to create a group of similar troops when displaying them.  That might create a huge level of realism in portraying the Medieval armies that are represented, but it makes it very hard to work out who belongs in each set when you are collecting them!

For me, the key period for the Lion Knights was 1984-86 when the knights were supreme, and where the foot soldiers simply supported the higher ranked troops.  However, the knights seem to fall out of favour at the end of this period, and they are replaced with various levels of infantry and archers and other armoured infantry, which is why I suggest that the knights charged into battle against the Falcons in a desperate, but ultimately pointless, sortie and disappeared.  Perhaps that was more in line with the English armies of the time (noting the impact of the archers in the Battle of Agincourt).  After the golden age of Lego Castle architecture in 1986, the Lions reverted more to artillery and naval forces, and it felt as if they didn’t receive much more investment.  New factions were being developed and created, and once the Forest People arrived, followed by the Black Knight, the days of the Lion Knights were numbered.

It does feel, when looking into the sets of the late 1980’s, that the Lion Knights were forced into retreat.  They received only their second full castle in 1990 (noting that the Black Falcons received two in the space of 3 years in 1984 and 1986 respectively), but that was a result of the longevity of Castle Lion which lasted into the 1987 catalogues, so had one of the longest shelf lives of the sets.  By 1990, the new armour was coming into play, but the Lions received hardly any troops, and the fact that the last two sets in 1991 and 1992 didn’t even make it into the mainstream catalogues makes it clear that the Lions were no more – which leads into my suggestion that they were hunted down and captured.

I have been very pleasantly surprised – as have so many other fans of this era – by the emergence of the Black Falcons faction again in 2020 and 2021.  This gives some of us a small amount of hope that the Lions might one day roar again…

Appendix 1: Minifigure descriptions and set appearances

Minifigure DescriptionSetsYearSets
CAS092: Peasant – Light Gray Legs, Brown Hood119846010: Supply Wagon
CAS186: Breastplate – Blue with Red Arms, Black Legs with Red Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Red Plume119846021: Jousting Knights
CAS238: Crusader Axe – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Quiver119846022: Horse Cart
CAS111: Crusader Axe – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector21984 19876022: Horse Cart 6062: Battering Ram
CAS111A: Crusader Axe – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector, Blue Plastic Cape119856055: Prisoner Convoy
CAS089: Blacksmith – Black Legs and Hips, Yellow Torso and Arms, Black Hands, Black Cowl, Brown Plastic Cape119846040: Blacksmith Shop
CAS108: Crusader Axe – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector61984         1985 19876040: Blacksmith Shop 6061: Siege Tower (x2) 6080: King’s Castle (x4) 6103: Castle Figures (as an archer) 6102: Castle Mini-Figures 6062: Battering Ram
CAS189: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Red Plume119846061: Siege Tower
CAS189A: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Red Plume, Blue Plastic Cape119856055: Prisoner Convoy
CAS288: Crusader Axe – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Black Chin-Guard, Quiver119846061: Siege Tower
CAS192: Breastplate – Red with Black Arms, Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Blue Plume, Blue Plastic Cape119846080: King’s Castle
CAS193: Breastplate – Red with Black Arms, Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Red Plume, Blue Plastic Cape119846080: King’s Castle
CAS190: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, White Plume, Blue Plastic Cape119846080: King’s Castle
CAS414: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Yellow Plume, Blue Plastic Cape119846080: King’s Castle
CAS222: Crusader Lion – Red Legs with Black Hips, Black Chin-Guard, Quiver21984 19856080: King’s Castle (x4) 6055: Prisoner Convoy
CAS199: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector21984 19886103: Castle Figures 6039: Twin-Arm Launcher
CAS093: Peasant – Red Legs, Black Hood119856055: Prisoner Convoy
CAS113: Crusader Lion – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard119856102: Castle Mini-Figures
CAS113A: Crusader Lion – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Quiver119856102: Castle Mini-Figures
CAS116: Crusader Lion – Light Gray Legs, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Blue Plastic Cape119866012: Siege Cart
CAS372: Crusader Lion – Light Gray Legs, Dark Gray Neck-Protector, Quiver119866012: Siege Cart
CAS096: Maiden with Necklace – Blue Legs, White Cone Hat119866023: Maiden’s Cart
CAS109: Crusader Axe – Light Gray Legs, Dark Gray Neck-Protector119866023: Maiden’s Cart
CAS184: Breastplate – Blue with Black Arms, Red Legs with Black Hips, Black Grille Helmet, Blue Plume, Red Plastic Cape119866041: Armor Shop
CAS197: Breastplate – Red with Black Arms, Blue Legs, Brown Female Hair (6041)119866041: Armor Shop
CAS237A: Crusader Axe – Black Legs with Red Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Quiver21986 20016067: Guarded Inn 10000: Guarded Inn
CAS105: Crusader Axe – Black Legs with Red Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector21986 20016067: Guarded Inn 10000: Guarded Inn
CAS095: Maiden with Necklace – Blue Legs, Cape, Red Cone Hat, Blue Plastic Cape21986 20016067: Guarded Inn 10000: Guarded Inn
CAS200: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector119876017: King’s Oarsmen
CAS289: Crusader Lion – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Blue Plastic Cape119876017: King’s Oarsmen
CAS198: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs with Black Hips, Black Neck-Protector119876049: Viking Voyager
CAS107: Crusader Axe – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard119876049: Viking Voyager (x3)
CAS115: Crusader Lion – Blue Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector31987 1988 19906049: Viking Voyager 6039: Twin-Arm Launcher 6042: Dungeon Hunters
CAS119A: Crusader Lion – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard, Quiver119876062: Battering Ram
CAS119: Crusader Lion – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard119886103: Castle Mini Figures
CAS201: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Blue Legs, Dark Gray Neck-Protector, Blue Plastic Cape11987 (or 88)6016: Knights’ Arsenal
CAS553: Peasant – Blue Legs, Black Hood, D-Basket119886103: Castle Mini Figures
CAS195: Breastplate – Red with Blue Arms, Black Legs, Dark Gray Grille Helmet, Yellow Plume, Blue Plastic Cape21988 19891584: Knight’s Challenge 6060: Knight’s Challenge
CAS110: Crusader Axe – Red Legs with Black Hips, Dark Gray Chin-Guard21988 19891584: Knight’s Challenge 6060: Knight’s Challenge
CAS120: Crusader Lion – Red Legs with Black Hips, Black Neck-Protector21988 19891584: Knight’s Challenge 6060: Knight’s Challenge
CAS216: Maiden with Necklace – White Legs, Red Cone Hat21988 19891584: Knight’s Challenge 6060: Knight’s Challenge
CAS220: Peasant – Red Legs with Black Hips, Brown Female Hair21988 19891584: Knight’s Challenge 6060: Knight’s Challenge
CAS121: Crusader Lion – Red Legs, Dark Gray Neck-Protector119896077: Forestmen’s River Fortress
CAS169: Breastplate – Armor over Blue, Dark Gray Helmet and Visor, Red 3-Feather Plume119906042: Dungeon Hunters
CAS097: Maiden, Red Cone Hat119906081: King’s Mountain Fortress
CAS112: Crusader Lion – Black Legs with Red Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector119906081: King’s Mountain Fortress (x2)
CAS147: Scale Mail – Red with Blue Arms, Black Legs with Red Hips, Black Chin-Guard119906081: King’s Mountain Fortress (x2)
CAS170: Breastplate – Armor over Red, Black Helmet, Dark Gray Visor, Red Plume119906081: King’s Mountain Fortress
CAS171: Breastplate – Armor over Red, Dark Gray Helmet and Visor, Red Feather119906081: King’s Mountain Fortress
GEN002: Ghost with 1 x 2 Plate and 1 x 2 Brick as Legs71990 1990 1992 1992 1992 1993 19956081: King’s Mountain Fortress 6034: Black Monarch’s Ghost 1888: Black Knights Guardshack 6075: Wolfpack Tower 6086: Black Knight’s Castle 1596: Ghostly Hideout 6090: Royal Knight’s Castle
CAS148: Scale Mail – Red with Red Arms, Black Legs with Red Hips, Dark Gray Neck-Protector119911480: King’s Catapult
CAS114: Crusader Lion – Blue Legs, Dark Gray Chin-Guard119921463: Treasure Cart

Appendix 2: Reference material

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