***

High in the mountains, the Royal Nest stood silent under the moon. Inside the yellow half-timbered house, King Theron of the Griffins studied an old map, while his archer stood watch on the round bastion. Down in the kitchen, the cook stoked the masonry oven, her warmth a contrast to the cold prison below, where a figure in black, a prisoner from the Snake faction , waited in the shadows. But the peace was fragile, and everyone knew that the Snakes would not forget their captured brother.

In a desperate move, the Snake clan had forged an alliance with the Wizard of Dark , who summoned the terrible black dragon Valkhoro s from the Abyss. To face this shadow, King Theron sent a plea to the Wizard of Light , calling upon the noble griffin Aurethir to defend their home.

***

This set is a combination of the Royal Nest and The Griffin.

The round bastions, the decorated main gate, Gothic windows, the yellow half-timbered house, the plants, and many other details make this castle a worthy home for the king of the griffin faction. It can be displayed either closed or in multiple open formats, and in the open configurations, the interior becomes accessible. It includes a throne room, the king's bedroom, an attic with a treasure chest, a dining hall, a kitchen with a masonry oven, a blacksmith's forge with an anvil, a prison in the basement, and servants' quarters. All the doors are functional.

The Griffin is not actually based on an existing character, I studied some cool pictures about griffins, and some cool griffin and eagle builds, but I built something brand new. My intent was to create a poseable animal instead of a static statue and also added a wizard to the set for more playability options.

I prefer the brick built solutions to keep the flexibility of the used parts in further builds, and therefore only two stickes are used for the griffin eyes.

The set includes 9 minifigures and some animals including one horse which provide many playability options.

Dimensions of the castle (closed):
Width: 51.2 studs / 16.1 in / 40.9 cm
Length: 51.9 studs / 16.4 in / 41.5 cm
Height: 55.2 studs / 17.4 in / 44.1 cm

Dimensions of the griffin (as it is shown on the main picture):
Width: 21.9 studs / 6.9 in / 17.5 cm
Length: 39.6 studs /12.5 in /31.7 cm
Height: 35.4 studs /11.1 in / 28.3 cm

Picture 10 shows the rotation joints of the griffin and approximate rotation ranges. The griffin may be unstable in some of the depicted poses without additional support, particularly in the one shown in picture 8.

My name is Laszlo Torma and I love LEGO, it is one of my hobbies. I prefer minifigure scale and I design usually but not exclusively Speed Champions style car models. My LEGO nickname is TLG which is the abbreviation of my full name (in Hungarian order).
I love castles as well and the new griffin faction and my love for fantasy creatures inspired me to design a brick-built griffin to Bricklink Designer Program Series 9.

I hope you enjoy this set. Many thanks for your support and feedback!

All the best,
Laszlo Torma