Enlighten 2302 Ent WitchClaw

The War of Glory!

Welcome back to my first review of the new year. And we are starting 2020 off with something a little different...

Though they originally started out as yet another LEGO bootlegger, Enlighten has build up quite a good reputation over the last few years with their original designs and themes.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Lord of the Rings and World of Warcraft, the 'War of Glory' line features the many of fantasy tropes you would expect.

Though not really in my usual wheelhouse. This cheap and cheerful set caught my eye primarily for its bargain price and the fact the included 'Ent' tree monster would be a worthwhile addition to my LEGO Hidden Side graveyard scene once I get around to working it into my city.

With a listed piece count of 141 for just £3.94 (including shipping!) I thought it would be a good parts pack if nothing else. This was my first ever experience with this manufacturer.

After 3 months(!) of wait time I was beginning to think this set was lost in the post. I never bothered raising a dispute with the seller, over such a small amount, but it did show up finally over the Christmas break. So let's see what £3.94 gets us...

The set was sent without the retail box, just one bag of parts and an instruction manual, folded inside here was the single sticker used for the Knights shield.

On to the construction... and let's start with the Ent himself (itself?) This brick built Tree Monster is a far cry from the heroic Ents from Lord of the Rings. Branded in the set description as an Ent Whiteclaw. This creature is clearly the villain of this little set.

The claws are big enough to hold a minifig.

The Ent's main core is built in 2 halves that simply stack up. His arms and legs are separate builds that connect to the body via Bionicle style ball joints. It's a tried and tested technique that allows a fair amount of pose-ability in the finished model. 

We get various shades of brown and green, including a few pieces in trans luminous green, most notably for the creatures printed eye tiles. Some white studs and spikes make up the teeth. 

 Brick quality is good but not excellent. Considering Enlighten is a legitimate company now, these parts still fall a little short of the best bootleg brands that we get nowadays. The top of the studs are all printed with 'ENLI' however, which lends a nice feel of legitimacy to the set.

The completed monster is bigger than I anticipated, He will need a little MOC work before I can add him to my haunted graveyard, but there is a lot of toy here for the price. His face though, looks even goofier than those found on the hidden side haunted scenery.

For articulation, we get ball joints on the shoulders and elbows, as well as the hips and ankles. All 6 claws can open and close too, giving this creation a lot of playability.

As well as the Ent, we get 3 minifigs and a horse included to represent the heroic side. The horse is similar in design to the classic LEGO style horses that came with the Castle themed sets. He comes in white with a brown mane and minimal print detailing.

This trusty steed comes with Blue and Gold armor with clips on either side to allow the attachment of the shield (Decorated with the single sticker from the set) and a spear/pike decorated with flags in the same colour scheme. Printing on the horse armor is very well done and looks as close to LEGO standard as I've ever seen.

If you've ever owned of the LEGO horses before, you'll know that the riders attach by simply 'standing' in the slot cut into the animals back, there's something very 'classic' feeling about attaching a minifig like this!

The minifigs included in this set are decidedly average quality, the Knights armor is nicely detailed, comprising of a breast plate/shoulder piece and a well sculpted helm with a separate plume piece, it is unfortunately let down by the 'swirly' silver plastic. A sign of cheaper manufacturing if ever there was one. At least the printing on the minifig torso and chestplate is well done, even if it's only on the front. He comes with a golden broadsword as his primary weapon.

Aside from the night we get 2 identical dwarves, these very simple minifigs come with a brown tunic, again printed only on the front of the torso, blue short legs, blue bandanas and a white beard piece. They both get flintlock/blunderbuss styled rifles in plain brown.

On the image below, the dwarf on the left is assembled per the instruction, I swapped the one on the right's head with the Knight and left the beard off him for a bit of variation between the 2.

Being as only the eyes will be visible on the Knight most of the time, The head piece is of better use on the second Dwarf.

Apart from the swirly silver plastic on the knight and the lack of ANY back print, the minifigs serve their purpose well enough, considering the ridiculously cheap price point here, there really is not a lot to complain about and this would be a perfectly good set to gift to a younger brick fan.

Aside from the Ent, I don't know how much use I have personally for the rest of this set. Castle themed sets aren't heavily promoted by LEGO these days unfortunately, and aren't something I am invested in. Maybe some of the sets from this line would fit in with a Nexo Knights collection?

If nothing else, this has made me want to check out some other sets from Enlighten, if I can find something that fits my tastes a little more.

I bought my copy of this set from EnlightenTOY Store on aliexpress, please be aware of the long wait time I had on this if  you're ordering from that link.

Thanks for looking as always.. 

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