The Side Quests of LEGO’s Medieval Town Square
As the newest LEGO Icons release, I have no doubt that 10332 Medieval Town Square has been popping up quite a bit on your social feeds. Even now, you can likely summon up a dozen different written reviews and a myriad of videos. This presents me with a pickling quandary since I do not wish to be redundant. Then, at the same time, if you’ve clicked on this article, perhaps you ARE looking for a one-stop shop of basic information.
So I’ve decided I am going to do a super blitz one-sentence review, followed by a single picture. Then I will dub myself free and will continue to ramble on in a LEGO set daydream, going on as many side quests as I can muster. Here goes!
“Set good, Fun build, Figs nice, 3.3k pcs, $230, Haz goat, Can buy March 1.”
And the best set overview visual is probably… “The Back of the Box! Tadaa!”(Shocker, I know…)
The back of the box
Okay, I jest… but only a little. We’ll develop some more set, build, and piece commentary as we progress though our side quests. So in no particular order, let’s take a look at some highlights, starting with the minifigures!
The Wolfpack is Back!
Includes 8 unique Minifigures
In terms of minifigures, the set includes a wide variety of characters:
A Cheesemaker Mongering Chef
Wolfpack Bandit
Kid staying at the Broken Axe Inn
A Lion Knights’ Guard
The Queen’s Tax Collector
The Felsa Village Carpenter
The Shield Maker Maiden
The Tapestry Weaver
I took slight liberty with the titles, but the roles seemed fairly straightforward. All of the minifigures are truly excellent and any LEGO kingdom would benefit from their addition. However, since I’m the one writing this, I am going to be overly biased and highlight the revamped Wolfpack! In fact, here are some shields I made as proof of my fandom for the minor castle factions (and probably why I was considered for getting this set on behalf of BrickNerd!).
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The Wolfpack Bandit is clearly the coolest character this set includes! I absolutely love him. However, I am sad about one thing because I am an avid collector of faction shields. If you look closely at the torso next to an older shield from my collection, we now have brand new artwork! The wolf is more wolf-like, but I just wish it came with a new triangular shield to go with the torso.
What do you think of the new Wolfpack logo? I think it managed not to be too rat-like, but it came close. (Speaking of which, a rat faction could be pretty cool! The rat pack! — Hey, I said this article would be full of side quests…) And as much as it behooves me to say it, if I’m perfectly candid, the best faction relic in this set is probably this ovoid Lion’s shield.
Clearly the Shield Maiden, maker of rare artifacts, is skilled at her job regardless of her allegiance. Do you know who else I found is skilled in the crafting of LEGO shields? Dez @ Upscaled Prints! If you haven’t already, definitely check out some of his stuff! (As for the handful I made, some found their way to AtlantaBrickCo. I’m not sure if any remain)
Other than the criminal invader, many of the minifigures give stylistic nods to some wonderful classic castle themes. The Shield Maiden and even ironically the Queen’s Tax Collector, have very similar styles to various Forestmen. The money pouch print and gear-toothed collar are always welcome figures for any castle collector.
Follow the Signs
Speaking of Forestmen though, let’s take a look at this cool tree!
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This might be my favorite part of the entire build. I simply love parchment tiles that represent medieval messages nailed to a tree or quest notices in a guild hall. These three would like to inform us to beware of Basil the Bat Lord, a discounted goat price, and that there is a wanted Wolfpack vagabond wandering nearby.
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For those curious, the three tiles mounted to this tree are stickered. Regardless, I am simply thrilled to see more of these personalized touches. Speaking of which, here are some of my favorite custom printed medieval tiles made by KtownBricks (plus some others I found on eBay).
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Going to Market
The next side quest we are going on is to the market! I wanted to highlight this adorable Cheesemaker stand. They have a fun variety of cheddar and gouda (and maybe some brown cheese?), but I would imagine they specialize in goat cheese!
My first thought when seeing this stand was: “How reproducible is it in a variety of colors?” (For man cannot live on cheese alone, as much as I would like to...) For the first step, I wanted to simply gather what I had on hand. Note, this isn’t an exhaustive representation of all the alternate LEGO colors, just an off-hand litmus test to see how easy it might be to populate more stalls into the village.
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My first two steps were to identify which brackets and tiles I had and in what colors. The rest of the mini-build was quite simple, and many of the pieces can be color-swapped without ill effect. I ended up making a fruit stand and a meat vendor. What should be next?
An Excuse for a Bird’s Nest
It’s about time we took a look at the first of the two buildings. So let’s start with the bustling Broken Axe Inn!
This building is striking and, in my opinion, is the better of the two buildings. They didn’t bother making the roofs detachable, and as a result, the hinging function seems a bit smoother and straightforward. The Broken Ax Inn looks good from most angles, whether open or closed. If I were to be picky, the roof is a little funky from one angle, I’m not sold on the olive green and tan color combo, and the build feels slightly cramped. This is partially due to a door and staircase that are only two studs wide (and because a lot of minifigs are doing many different things in one scene—is there such a thing as too many side quests?).
But the cutest part of this building is on the outside! Growing beside the tower is a small cherry tree with an adorable little bluebird in a bearded nest. This building is by far the best excuse for a birds nest!
Busy Buzzing Bees
Moving onto our next side quest, the second building looks good from multiple angles and includes an appropriate hodgepodge of three buildings and trades—and a red bird. (I really do love these modern bird elements!)
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I used to apprentice as a beekeeper, so I always love seeing hives included in sets like this one. They simply give a happy ‘buzziness’ and a honey sweetness to any outdoor LEGO creation. And while we're here, let me share one of my favorite upgrades I like to use for my LEGO bee hives.
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Once upon a time, LEGO came out with Minifigure Speech Bubbles. They were all the rage and took the LEGO-verse by storm! Or rather, they totally did not catch on at all. This might even be the first time you’ve heard of them. It seemed like a cool idea at the time, but I digress. Here’s what I’m talking about:
It turns out if you use the clear ecstatic speech bubble and put the ironically sleepy “Zzzzzzz” on it, it makes for a pretty good perpetual honeybee din. Now only if the set also included a hive smoker and honeycomb…
An Unhinged Hinged Set
Unlike the other part of the set, this part of the model hinges out with two wings, and then two of the rooves detach for easier access. I’ve mixed feelings on this one. I think I prefer the fixed rooves with a singular more exposing split down the middle. Then again, the fact that it is essentially three houses in one makes the odd hinge angles make sense. And maybe it’s just me, but detachable rooves never seem to fit as perfectly as I would hope when you put them back on. (This personal feeling goes for most any set.) Ultimately, I find it a little difficult in these small hinged buildings to interact with and reach into the interior.
As an aside, the Carpenter has some fun woodworking elements. The primary tool in use is a lathe. She appears to be turning a fourth leg for an unfinished table that is temporarily propped up with a stump. I love these bits of storytelling!
The Master Weaver’s tapestry has a few historical nods to classic LEGO castle sets, like the Yellow Castle and Knight’s Tournament. (And hey, that Yellow Castle was built on hinges that could open up, too!) There is at least one other set referenced in the Easter eggs I’ve seen in this build, but I’ll leave that surprise for you to find on your own side quest.
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And then there is the Cheesemaker’s house. Most of her stuff can be found with her cheese stand, so here we’re mainly looking at a white cat, a reddish brown squirrel, and of course the goat. (Despite the hype, I refuse to force yet another closeup goat picture out into the LEGO world.) But just like everyone else, I’m glad for the new farm animal.
One Set In Front of the Other
Ultimately, 10332 Medieval Town Square is a lovely set. The best part about it, aside from the charming design, is that the value isn’t likely to depreciate, even despite its high price tag of $230 US. This is one of those particular LEGO product lines that most always retains its value. And if you already have the Lion Knights’ Castle, getting this will only serve to accent it by putting one in front of the other. I can’t show this better than Peter Keith already has:
Medieval Town square with Lion knights’ castle
And if the price tag or footprint is too big for you, check out this amazing mini model of this set by Chris Tromans! They even got the birds in there!
Mini Medival town square
Hopefully you have enjoyed this compendium of side quests about his new Medieval Town Square. From Wolfpack symbols to market stalls, the journey has been a fun one! (Now, where did I put that goat?)
DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by The LEGO Group. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Do you have any other LEGO side quests that need to be completed? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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