Upon entering the showroom, the gigantic Vladek statue immediately commands your attention. Well, that is to say, it would if you could see it when you walk in. Tucked way back in the far right corner like it was, it takes a bit of walking to get to it.

One of the biggest things about Toy Fair this year was the reintroduction of the Castle theme…in spite of the fact that Harry Potter is still being produced. Even bigger news is the jumbo-sized figure line. Five of the characters have been magnified to stand nearly 8″ tall. What BIONICLE® did for TECHNIC®, and Galidor failed to do for basic action figures, the Knights Kingdom line seeks to do for the more traditional System bricks. The four hero characters are Danju, Jayko, Rascus, and Santis, and their foe is Vladek. Oddly enough, they’re all left-handed, and since the attack mechanism is permanently built into the torso section, there’s no way to make them attack with their right arm.

Much like the BIONICLE characters (and quite a few other themes, at this point), the large Knights come in reusable packaging. These ones are shaped like small castle towers with tops that can either be popped off or twisted 1/4 turn. From what I understand, the North American packaging (not shown) is going to be similar to the European packaging that was on display, but it’s going to be larger. The top section has a small pit that’s just big enough to fit a 4×8 plate, and the four corner crenellations have small holes on top that will grip a minifig weapon (most likely intended to hold lances as flagpoles).

For BIONICLE fans, the big news is new attachments. Each of the five big characters comes with a unique sword, a basic shield-mount, and 2-4 of these little armor plates with twin-pin connections (too bad they don’t come in white…).

Vladek faces off against Danju in Vladek Encounter.

Santis has to find a way past traps, trials, and a Citadel guard in Border Encounter.

The Grand Tournament sees Jayko defending the kingdom against Vladek while the King of Morcia looks on.

Santis and Rascus pit themselves against the Citadel of Orlan in an attempt to secure the Heart of the Shield from the Guardian and another Citadel guard.

The main playset is the Castle of Morcia, which features all five Knights, the King, and a Citadel guard who appears to be helping Vladek by manning the scorpion-flinging catapult. After Vladek wins, you can flip all of the banners and flags around to show that he’s now in charge.

And, of course, with all of the cool new minifig accessories, I had to include a lineup of the new minifigs. All five Knights come with unique faceplates that match their larger counterparts, a new generic Knights Kingdom sword in one of five colors, and a large tower shield with their emblem painted on the front. The Citadel guards feature completely a completely new helmet design with a T-shaped visor. The King and the Guardian don’t use any new pieces, but they’re the only other two minifigs (and interesting enough in their own right) that I figured it made sense to include them. Finally, a new horse-hat has been designed for this line (oddly enough, the old style has been featured quite prominently in this year’s Harry Potter lineup, but this one seems to be exclusive to Knights Kingdom for now).