LEGO Disney 43222 Disney Castle appears to be doing just in filling in for 71040 The Disney Castle, impressing early reviewers immensely.
Out on July 1 for VIPs and July 4 for everyone else, 43222 Disney Castle is the follow-up to 2016’s 71040 The Disney Castle, but with more pieces, more minifigures and a bigger footprint.
Those who missed out on 71040 The Disney Castle will seemingly be satisfied with the 2023 model for the asking price of £344.99 / $399.99 / €399.99, and we’ve collected a few impressions from early reviews to give you an idea of what to expect next month.
— Set details —
Theme: LEGO Disney Set name: 43222 Disney Castle Release: May 1, 2023
Price: £344.99 / $399.99 / €399.99 Pieces: 4,837
LEGO:
There's a much-appreciated map for almost every Easter egg
43222 Disney Castle is, much like its predecessor, rife with references and Easter eggs to the wider Disney portfolio. Thankfully, the instructions include a guide to most of these to save you from searching and overall confusion.
“Thankfully for someone like me who is not a huge Disney nerd, the instructions kindly point out each and every one of the Easter eggs,” claims Cheesey Studios.
However, the guide doesn’t reveal every secret in 43222 Disney Castle, encouraging you to find the rest while building, or afterwards.
“Not everything here is mentioned on this page specifically,” states Ashnflash, confirming that there are a few secrets left to find.
Great minifigures, but Tiana isn’t exclusive
The minifigure selection is universally praised, apart from one of the eight included characters. Princess Tiana is the same minifigure from 71038 Disney 100, only otherwise missing the printed poster and frog included in the Collectible Minifigures series.
“You can view it as a good thing or a bad thing,” notes Alex Nunes. “I would encourage you to think that you don’t have to buy a $400 castle to get a $5 minifigure, and that’s a good thing I think.
“You’ve got lots of good stuff going on here.” continued Alex, noting the entire minifigure selection of 43222 Disney Castle.
However, there's something else about Tiana that links back to 71040 The Disney Castle.
"The other castle had Donald Duck from the Collectible Minifigures series, so Tiana is just the Donald Duck of this set,” says Ashnflash.
That’s an interesting point of comparison to 71040 The Disney Castle but it is far from the only one that can be made.
It’s better than 71040 The Disney Castle
71040 The Disney Castle came before 43222 Disney Castle and it’s only natural to compare the two and while some outlets believe the 2023 model to be an improvement over the 2016 build, others were less convinced.
“It is undeniably similar to the 2016 version, as one would expect for a model representing the same real-world object at the same scale,” determines The Brothers Brick.
“If you simply glance at the two models, not comparing them side by side, it’s hard to see most of the differences apart from colour.”
However, other outlets were taken aback by the changes in 43222 Disney Castle, particularly noting the changed colour scheme, which reflects the 2021 repainting of the Walt Disney World castle.
“What an upgrade, unlike 75159 Death Star, I really thought that that’s what would happen with this set – the 2016 one just maybe some new colours, but no, completely redesigned, completely new figures. Wow. Wow. Wow.” concludes Ashnflash, disagreeing overall.
It's hard to move and display but looks great
43222 Disney Castle’s various sections can be removed from one another to more easily move the model from place to place and there’s even a section of the instructions dedicated to proper handling. However, some early reviewers still needed convincing as to how convenient it is to move and display the larger 2023 model.
“While this is clearly a display model, I find the size of it all being something that stands in the way of it being a perfect display model,” explains Tiago Catarino.
“It’s really hard to handle and turn around to see all the nice details and references in the back, especially when you display it on a bookshelf or against a wall.”
Tiago notes that finding a place big enough to keep 43222 Disney Castle is going to be a challenge in itself too.
“You can disassemble it slightly to make moving it around much easier because it is very tall it’s a little scary to carry around, though it’s plenty sturdy I assure you.” agrees Cheesey Studios.
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