Review: 6079 Dark Forest Fortress

[metalandi]

Set Number/Name: 6079 Dark Forest Fortress

Theme: Castle/Dark Forest

Year Released: 1996

Pieces Count: 464

Minifigures: 7

Price: You should be able to get a used set for less than 100 euros on ebay.

This is the biggest set out of the only 3-set-strong dark forest theme, and the second one i own from this line. About 2 years ago i was lucky enough to get a brand new an sealed copy off ebay! Can you believe that? It's pretty rare you find this set at all, and then even sealed, it's almost impossible, so you can imagine i was quite happy about that. Let's have a closer look at the still shiny and new goodness!

The Instructions:

The Minifigs:

We got a cast of 7 figs here in total, 2 dragon knights, 4 dark forestmen and a skellie. That's a pretty good amount for a set that size, and the best is that you get all forestmen of this theme in this set!

Accessoires:

As in all bigger sets of that time period, there is a healthy dose of weapons and accesoires included.

Overall views of the Set:

Doesn't it look nice? I really like the baseplate and the usage of brown pieces to resamble trees and wood.

Detailed views:

What i also love about this set are the little details everywhere, such as this hideout with the blue window piece:

One "floor" above, is a little prison. Other than in some recent sets (i tell no names ) there is no way to escape from it, it even has a 1x2 piece with hinge on the bottom to prevent the door from opening:

Of course there are a few play features aswell, such as this mechanism, that enables you to put the big tree down...

...to reveal the backstage area! We got a little table with a goblet and a barrel there, and on the left side to it there's some space for the forestmen's horse to rest:

Of course the obvious catapult can't be missing..we're experiencing very new techniques here though!

Last but not least, the wagon of the dragon knights. An interesting detail here is, that from the box art it seems like the knights are actually helping the forstmen, as one of them is loading up the catapult. Also, there is a shield from the black knights included - there's some unsolved mysteries in this set, as you can tell!

You can open the upper part of the wagon to reveal some secret space to hide items:

Conclusion:

I've heard some negative opinions on this set, but for me it is absolutely awesome. Mayb eit's because i managed to get a new and sealed version of it, but i think it's very unique. It has a lot of play features, awesome minifigs, a lot of accesoires and a design that no other set has. Not to forget the many little details and places where minifigs could hide. It's for sure a set that i wouldn't sell again easily.

[not-in-use-anymore]

Amazing set, you're very lucky!

Are you sure you got that hinge on right?

Edited May 26, 2010 by indianajones

[metalandi]

You mean the piece in front of the prison door? Yep, that's how it says in the instructions. They obviously used that piece cause you get it off better than a normal 1x2 plate.

[posades]

Gah I'm so jealous of you, getting a sealed copy of this set. This one is probably in my top 5 greatest sets ever simply for the nostalgia factor. I remember lusting after it in the catalog and in the store; I was too little to have a steady income at the time so I never managed to pick it up, but hopefully one day I will.

Great review, I like how you pointed out a lot of details in, well, more detail.

[Paradosis]

Thanks for the review, it seems like a very nice set. I've eyed it for a few years now as I looked back on past sets that I never had the chance to own.

[josykay]

Well, the Dark Forest Fortress is a good set. It is well designed and a revivial of the forestmen is fantastic.

But I do not like the minifigs. Especially the grey helmet and the small kite shield of the Dragonmaster soldiers. Those parts simply have the wrong color! Dragonmasters do not have any grey helmets! The are all black! And they do not have Black Knight kite shields! The just have a green dragon at those larger shield type. The torsodesign of the minifigs is acceptable, but it could have been much better... All in all the minifigs seem to be the recycled remains of older castle sets

I would give the set a 3.5...

Edited May 27, 2010 by josykay

[ZO6]

Thank you so much for this great review of such a fantastic set!

Whenever I make any complaints about Castle sets being too generic looking, or too sterile, and I yearn for something different, I often have this set in my mind as one of those breaths of fresh air.

In my opinion, this set does so many things right. There are many aspects that greatly appeal to me - the raised baseplate, the unique and organic looking structures, the many play functions, and the great minifigures.

My only complaint is that I missed buying this set (both when it was first released, and when my local wannabe Lego store started selling copies during the early 2000s) and it now fetches quite a lot of money for a new kit on Bricklink or ebay. Fortunately, I was able to open a sealed copy of the set, and construct it during a local Lego event many years ago - and I loved every moment of it. That experience only confirmed my lust for this set.

For me, this set receives top marks. In the future, I'd love to see TLC try some neat set designs like this again.

Cheers once more for the wonderful review of this absolutely brilliant set.

[WesternOutlaw]

Seeing reviews like this really makes me feel sad that I missed all of these wonderful themes/sub-themes during my Dark Ages. Since the Kingdoms line was released, I've been looking closely at these older castle sets admiring all the tricks, traps, no longer available elements, and simple yet fantastic set designs. I use to not like baseplates like the one that provides the foundation for this fortress, but I now think it adds to the charm of the set. I also like the color palette of this set, esp. the green and brown. Great figs and a lot of accessories. This is a 5-star set for me. Front-paged!

[Lord Arjay]

Lovely review metalandi.

I do not usually like raised baseplates but in this case it is used well.

[Destroydacre]

Great review. The Dark Forest sets never seemed to be particularly popular, but I always thought they were very cool. This is one of the favorite castle sets that I own. I think they always got compared to the forestmen line, which is kind of unfair as the forestmen were maybe the most popular castle theme Lego has ever made. The layout of the structure is fantastic (although it might be tough getting prisoners in and out of the cell. I guess that's why there's a skeleton in there!) and the wagon that comes with this set is pretty sweet. A great set that I guess was hard to get in some places.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

This is one of my favorite Lego sets. Looks beautiful in your review. Really great job. Thanks for your efforts.

[RoryoCox]

Thanks for a review of this great set.

I love this set and I am jealous of you having it

[Dunjohn]

Wow, lovely looking set. This whole line is buried so deep in my dark age that I didn't know it existed until about six months ago. But, um....

Of course there are a few play features aswell, such as this mechanism, that enables you to put the big tree down...

...that poor guy in the red sleeves did get out of the way in time, right?

[tiggerkiddo]

Probably my favorite castle set. I own it and pictures do not do it justice. Thanks for the great review...I always love to assemble this with my older Forestmen sets nearby for a little forest, lol

[Tacitus]

What I find interesting about this set is that the structure is more baseplate than actual bricks. It's one massive BURP. I think I would like it more if there was more architecture to the hideout and the forest.

[not-in-use-anymore]

You mean the piece in front of the prison door? Yep, that's how it says in the instructions. They obviously used that piece cause you get it off better than a normal 1x2 plate.

Whoops, I meant the two seperate hinge parts underneath it, not the handle. I don't know why they used a hinge for that if they were going to have it where it won't bend.

[metalandi]

Where do you see a hinge piece? There is none.

[not-in-use-anymore]

One "floor" above, is a little prison. Other than in some recent sets (i tell no names ) there is no way to escape from it, it even has a 1x2 piece with hinge on the bottom to prevent the door from opening:

Isn't that black peice the hinge?

[Kumpelkante]

Despite the raised baseplate this set looks a lot better than on the box, might have bought this one, if it originally was released in europe/germany. Nice review, Andi... nice review

I'm a conformist!

[metalandi]

No. Thats just a normal 2x2 brick under the prison door. Those are everywhere between the brown corner wall pieces to hold them together.

[not-in-use-anymore]

No. Thats just a normal 2x2 brick under the prison door. Those are everywhere between the brown corner wall pieces to hold them together.

Then why did you say there was a hinge in the review?! I'm getting very confused here...

[metalandi]

Sorry, what i meant with hinge is that grey 1x2 plate with the..thing on it. I just don't know what it is exactly called like.

[squiz]

i think you two might be getting confused over the two trees. The mechanism for the tree that falls down is shown here

and the hinge to open the prison door is shown here

Great review metlandi, shame this was only a limited release as i would like this set.

[metalandi]

No, the confusion was about something other (i think) I was writing "hinge" in the review because i didn't know the name of the piece. But i was actually talking about this piece: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/4623 It's in front of the prison door, so it can't be opened.

[lightningtiger]

Excellent review of an AWESOME set - a mega play set of Robin Hood and his merry men !

Those knights helping must belong to rightful king of England !

I'm a conformist! !