The Top 10 Most Expensive LEGO Castle Minifigures

26th July 2022

Castle is one of longest running LEGO themes, having been introduced way back in 1978. The theme not only focuses on castles, kings, queens, and knights, but also other aspects of medieval life. In addition, there have been various departures from the traditional, with the theme extending to fantasy and mythological elements, such as magical wizards and witches, ghosts, skeleton warriors, trolls, dwarves, and dragons. Consequently, there have been a variety of minifigures belonging to a number of different factions and subthemes.

In this article we provide a rundown of the top ten most expensive Castle theme minifigures. The prices presented are the average sale price of each minifigure (inc. both new & used condition) from the past 6 months.

10. Royal Knights - King, with cape and blue legs

Current Value: £32 / $38

This is one of four kings of the Royal Knights faction that LEGO produced. All had the same chequered torso piece and gold chrome crown. Of the four, this was the most grandiose, as he was the only one to come with a cloak. The cloak is slimmer than most and contains some nice printing of the Royal Knight’s lion emblem. The King also came with a shiny chrome-plated sword, which together with the crown, are now highly sought after. This is because LEGO chose to discontinue use of chrome-plated pieces over quality concerns, much to the dismay of many Castle enthusiasts. This minifigure appeared in 1995 in the Royal Knight’s Castle (6090), which ranks among the best castles LEGO have ever produced. Together with all his accessories, this is one of the finest kings out there.

9. Forestman - Pouch, Green Hat, Black Feather, Quiver

Current Value: £35 / $42

There have been many different Forestmen minifigures, all of which have a similar design and are distinguishable from one another due to variations in torso printing and the colour of their arms, collar, and hat feathers. This particular Forestman has one of the most muted colour schemes and therefore is one of the most aesthetically pleasing. He is also among the rarer Forestmen, having only appeared in the Smuggler’s Hayride (1974-3) set of 1989.

8. Forestman - Black, Green Hat, Black Feather, D-Basket

Current Value: £38 / $46

This Forestman is another of the most attractive of the woodland archers, thanks to his black arms and collar printing. This colour scheme only featured in one other Forestman minifigure, as blue and red were the preferred shades. This minifigure appeared once in the Camouflaged Output (6066) set of 1987, which also makes it one of the oldest Forestmen. This figure is also unique because of his bucket-shaped backpack accessory, which no other Forestman was equipped with.

7. Forestwoman - Original with Quiver

Current Value: £47 / $56

The merry band of archers known as the Forestmen were, as the name suggests, predominantly made up of male members. This Forestwoman was released in 1990 in the Forestmen’s Crossing (6071) set and was the only female in the testosterone fuelled group for 20 years. Women got slightly more representation in the Forestmen subtheme when LEGO decided to release a Vintage Minifigure Collection set in 2010, which featured all female protagonists. This first Forestwoman was reissued in that set, as well as in a later minifigure collection coming out in 2012, and can be distinguished from the original by its larger prongs in the torso’s interior and the addition of a quiver accessory. Hence the original has remained unique.

6. Fantasy Era - Gold Knight

Current Value: £48 / $58

The Fantasy Era ran from 2007 to 2009 and brought in a strong mythical element to the Castle theme. The adversaries to the King and his Crown Knights became skeletons, trolls, and dragons. Much of LEGO’s attention went into producing some menacing minifigure villains, while the knights themselves were a bit neglected. Most of the Crown Knight minifigures were standard affairs, with the exception being the Gold Knight, who was released in the Drawbridge Defense (7079) set of 2009.

With all gold armour, this knight looks very impressive and as if he could be royalty. If the quality of his fighting skills matches that of his armour, this knight is the best in all the LEGO kingdoms. Therefore, it’s not surprising that he has become highly desirable and one of the most expensive knight minifigures to buy today.

5. Dark Forest - Forestman 1 with Quiver

Current Value: £49 / $58

This is one of only seven Dark Forestmen, which were released under the short-lived Dark Forest subtheme. The exact story behind it is unknown, but the subtheme’s name suggests that these are the regular Forestmen’s evil counterparts who have been outcast into the gloomier parts of the forest. The reason for the high price of the Dark Forestmen is because there were only three Dark Forest sets made, all with a limited release. Many LEGO enthusiasts will not recall being aware of the Dark Forest sets, which is because they did not feature in the European LEGO catalogues and were not available in all European stores. They were however more widely available in the US. Because of this limited release and the scarcity of sets, Dark Forestmen are now amongst the most expensive minifigures in the Castle theme.

4. Dark Forest - Forestman 1

Current Value: £49 / $59

This Dark Forestman was included in the Dark Forest Fortress (6079) set, which was the flagship set of the Dark Forest subtheme, and the largest of all the wider Forestmen sets. While technically it was exclusive to that set, it is nearly identical to the Dark Forestman that sits at fifth on this list. The only difference between the two is that one came with a quiver of arrows on his back and the other didn’t. Unsurprisingly both now have a very similar price tag.

3. Dark Forest - Forestman 2 with Quiver

Current Value: £55 / $66

This is the best looking of all the Dark Forestmen, due to his beautiful leather armoured torso and distinctive blue arms. The torso is the only rare part in this figure, with the others having been commonly used across the Castle theme. Although this minifigure was exclusive to the Hemlock Stronghold (6046) set, a near identical Forestman appeared in the Dark Forest Fortress set. Again, the only difference between them was that one was quiver-less, while the other wasn’t.

2. Dark Forest - Forestman 2

Current Value: £63 / $75

The most expensive Forestman on this list is the near identical version to that in position three. This variant came without the quiver of arrows, and appeared in the Dark Forest Fortress set of 1996. Although this minifigure can therefore be acquired by buying either the Dark Forest Fortress set or the Hemlock Stronghold set, both now have very large price tags due to their limited release, having predominantly been available in the US. The price difference between the two Forestman 2 variants can perhaps be explained by this one appearing in the headline set of the Dark Forest subtheme.

1. Knight with Armor over Blue, Dark Gray Helmet and Visor, White Dragon Plumes

Current Value: £70 / $84

At first glance it’s not obvious why this particular minifigure is so expensive, as he doesn’t appear all that different from other knights. You might be thinking to yourself that it’s possible to put him together from various parts you have in your classic castle collection. However, when you get to his helmet you’re likely to hit a problem. That’s because the two wing-shaped plumes on the side of this headgear, and the dragon-shaped one on the top, are extremely rare, having only appeared in white in the Black Knights’ Castle (6086) and two accessory packs.

The red variant of these pieces is the most common (13 sets), followed by yellow (6 sets), and then blue (3 sets). Although the blue plumes were included in the same number of sets as the white variant, these three were all regular sets, which were more frequently bought than accessory packs. It’s definitely worth checking if you have some white plumes lying around, as even these tiny parts can fetch a handsome sum on the secondary market!

Comments