Lion Knight History – The Characters Two
- 1986-87:
CAS116: A new form of infantry soldier is introduced in 1986 in the form of 6012: Siege Cart with grey legs and the Crusader lion crest. This chap appears to man the ballista while his colleague provides defence. I work on the basis that he is an artilleryman before anything else, and he carries no other weaponry.
CAS372: Another of the new form of infantry – this soldier provides close support to his colleague that is operating the ballista-style device in 6012: Siege Cart in 1986. These grey-legged troops don’t last very long in the official sets, but they do appear a couple of times in the 1987 Ideas Book, where they are supporting their colleagues in construction projects, or in one case are in charge of a group during the great assault on the Black Falcon fortress.
CAS096: One of the very first female figures to appear in the LEGO Castle kingdom, she is unique to 6023: Maiden’s Cart in 1986. Based on the materials available from the catalogues, I see her as the young queen of the realm, going out on a tour of her realm and ensuring that peace and order is restored after the violence of the earlier periods. I don’t see her appearing in any other publications such as the 1987 Ideas Book (unlike the red-hat maiden), so her reign was extremely brief indeed.
CAS109: Here is another new style of infantryman – this time he has a single role, which is to escort the Maiden and her treasure chest in 6023: Maiden’s Cart. He carries only a spear, so he is lightly protected, but he doesn’t seem to need anything else. This is a time of peace and prosperity in the kingdom, so any extra armour or weapons would seem to be unnecessary.
CAS184: This unique knight from 6041: Armor Shop in 1986 must be one of the most valuable soldiers in the range – with his legendary black sword and his red flag that is unique to the Castle range. What made this particular knight so special that he was able to carry these items? Was he some form of royal envoy that was entrusted with making sure that the commands were carried out?
CAS197: Another civilian figure in the Castle range, there is some debate whether in fan circles whether this is a man or a woman. I admit that I see this character as a male armourer with long hair, supporting the new troops from his shop in 6041: Armor Shop. His shop is made up of the small inner wall sections consistent with the Lion Knights + Crusaders, and carries the yellow flags of their faction, but he carries Falcon weaponry in his merchandise. Unlike the earlier Squire, who seemed to be willing to sell to the highest bidder, I see this person as being loyal and under royal command.
CAS237A: On the face of it, this is an old-style archer with the minor changes being his grey helmet and Crusader Axe tunic, but he is unique to 6067: Guarded Inn. The set is of such classic status, though, that he reappears in the 2001 Legends version.
Interestingly, there is no official CAS237 – the coding online refers to a non-existent archer with a black helmet, who never appeared in a set.
CAS105: One of the 1986 grade infantry, he is slightly changed from his more common counterpart CAS108. He only officially appears in 6067: Guarded Inn, but the legendary status of the set meant that he also appeared in 2001. He appears to be involved in a few construction projects in 1987 Ideas Book, and a squad of them charge the walls in the assault on the Black Falcon fortress.
CAS095: Another of the female minifigs to join the Castle era, this lady has the power and clout to run a Medieval tavern (specifically 6067: Guarded Inn), so watch out! She runs her business under the Lion Knight banner, with guards watching out over her stables, and her business was so legendary that it returned in 2001! Whilst looking similar to CAS096, I get the impression that this lady was very tough, and able to control the various soldiers (including Falcons) that came through her tavern.
CAS200: This new variant of an armoured infantryman appeared in 1987 in 6017: King’s Oarsmen as a unique character. He carries a shield and appears to row one of the new boats with an axe – a couple of years before oars elements became available via the Pirates theme. Given that his only purpose is to steer a boat, he seems to be more of a marine than an infantryman or sergeant than his more similar type of colleagues deployed as.
CAS289: This new variant of sergeant in 6017: King’s Oarsmen in 1987 appears to stand at the head of the small boat, so I assume he is a commander of the new naval force that is being built in this period. He also appears to be leading troops into battle against the Black Falcons in the 1987 Ideas Book, so would appear to have a strong level of responsibility in the Lion Knight forces.
CAS198: This armoured infantryman appears only at the prow of 6049: Viking Voyager in 1987, which suggests that he holds the same role as a marine officer to the similar CAS200 from the same time. He seems to have no other function and plays no role in the Ideas Books either.
CAS107: There are three of these troops in 6049: Viking Voyager, operating as rowers or oarsmen on the largest of the boats of this period. Despite his general duty level of appearance, these troops don’t seem to have any other role.
CAS115: This is a new variant of infantry soldier who appears originally in 6049: Viking Voyager as a rowing captain, but he also shows up as an artillery soldier in 6039: Twin-Arm Launcher (guarded/ commanded by CAS199) in 1988, and then driving a prisoner escort carriage in 6042: Dungeon Hunter in 1990, so he had a decent level of service in comparison to most of the other troops in Lion Knight service. His specialism may have been in siege equipment, as there are signs of this character driving forward the engines in the great assault against the Black Falcon fortress in the 1987 Ideas Book.
CAS119A (left) + CAS 119 (right): A new variation of archer that appears in 6062: Battering Ram in 1987, he looks very similar to CAS289 who was on the boats, and he may be an upgrade on CA113A from 1985 (only difference being the red legs). This version of the archer only appears in a single set, although a group of them were seen storming the Black Falcon fortress, so may have been recruited only for offensive duties. The basic version of CAS119 carries an axe and shield in 6103: Castle Mini Figures in 1988, so may have been some form of sergeant in the late era of troops that were coming through.
CAS201: As the Lion Knights stormed into battle, they were given a new supply cart to make sure key provisions got through in 6016: Knights’ Arsenal. The new armoured infantryman must have some importance (perhaps he was carrying royal messages to the generals) because he wears a cape, but he doesn’t appear in any other sets. There is some debate whether this set appeared in 1987 or 1988 – the online records say the later date, but he was appearing in UK catalogues in 1987, which is why I have included him in this period.
