Which set is better?

[Aragorn]

I was looking at helm's deep on lego shop when I noticed Vampyre's castle. Which set do you guys think is better? I thought that helm's deep was the greatest set ever but now I'm not so sure...

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/The-Battle-o ... -Deep-9474
http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Vampyre-Castle-9468

Vampyre's castle is bigger, but helm's deep has better minifigures.

[BrickGarurumon]

Vampyre Castle

[sydra]

Definitely liking the Vampyre Castle better. But I think most of the LotR sets are a bit on the bland side...

[barbecue17]

My wife and I are huge Lord of the Rings fans. Huge. We met in a J.R.R. Tolkien class in college. We were checking the Legos out (not intending to buy anything, as other than a Batman Lego or a keychain, I haven't bought Legos in years) when I saw the Vampyre Castle. Bought it in a heartbeat, along with 3 of the other sets. Just amazing! Love this theme!

The Vampyre Castle, to me anyway, has a really unique look to it and lots of interactive elements. It seems relatively big (not sure how large in comparison to Helm's deep) and packed with interesting features. I agree that while some of the LOTR stuff is really cool (the figures, weapons, and stuff like Shelob or Gandalf's cart) some of the sets themselves do seem a bit bland. Very large and impressive, but bland when you look closely.

[Deathleech]

It's really a matter of preference. I personally have no interest in the monster theme set so I don't really see the appeal of the Vampyre Castle, but I know lots of people are going crazy over the theme. Besides just the LotR theme, the Helm's Deep set can also hook up to the Uruk-Hai Army set to make it much bigger which is a really cool feature imo too.

If you want actual facts though and not just opinions, the Vampyre Castle comes out to be about 11 cents per piece. The Helm's Deep set is 10 cents PP. Helm's Deep also comes with 8 figures and a horse where as the Vampyre Castle only comes with 6 figures. That's about 158 pieces per minifig for the Vamp Castle and 152 for Helm's Deep (if you include the horse).

As you can see, they are extremely close in terms of value. Really though it all comes down to your personal opinion and what you think looks cooler and you will have more fun with!

[vynsane]

It's really a matter of preference.

This. Which is why, generally speaking, topics such as this are quashed pretty early on at other sites. That said, if we can repurpose this topic as a place to house all inquiries about comparing two sets that members are on the fence about, then I think we can keep it going and actually add value to the discussions here.

If you want actual facts though and not just opinions, the Vampyre Castle comes out to be about 11 cents per piece. The Helm's Deep set is 10 cents PP. Helm's Deep also comes with 8 figures and a horse where as the Vampyre Castle only comes with 6 figures. That's about 158 pieces per minifig for the Vamp Castle and 152 for Helm's Deep (if you include the horse).

Mainly because of comments like this! I had never considered the piece-per-minifigure count before, but it is a good additional indicator of value in conjunction with the price-per-piece.

[unclephn]

I had never considered the piece-per-minifigure count before, but it is a good additional indicator of value in conjunction with the price-per-piece.

I never have either! But now that's it's been mentioned, it is definitely a good calculation to consider along with price-per-piece, especially nowadays when more and more sets being released contain fewer parts and more minifigs (I'm looking at you, Star Wars!).

[SpaceNinjaDino]

If you don't apply the stickers to the castle, it won't be as good as the exterior pictures. (I avoid use of stickers because I always think I'm going to use the pieces in other ways.) Both sets are good so it comes down to if you want to recreate the coolest LOTR scene or have imagination take full control.

With Helm's Deep, you have to buy at 2-3 (or 2500) Uruk-hai Army sets to make it worth while. Vampyre Castle does pretty well on its own.

[legitimatealex]

Vampyre Castle. Awesome figures, awesome look, great piece selection and interesting to look at.