Castle: Forestmen

Forestmen (1987–1992)
A Forestman minifigure.The Forestmen theme was introduced in 1987 when Lego Castle released the first Forestmen set Camouflaged Outpost. This set was a hideout that featured a large tree adjacent to a cave where the Forestmen lived. The interior of the set could be opened to see inside the cave and enabled more play. The set included six Forestmen minifigures, the most Forestmen minifigures in a single set. This set was also one of the first sets to have a brown colored horse. In 1988, the Forestmen's Hideout was released; it was a small tree hideout that housed two Forestmen. The following year, the Forestmen's River Fortress, which was the largest Forestmen set, was released. This hideout was an abandoned castle covered with trees, vines and leaves, where it was surrounded by a moat. It included five Forestmen, and a Lion Knight paddling a raft.

In 1990, the last original Forestmen hideout set, Forestmen's Crossing, was released. This set had a unique baseplate of a small stream printed on it with white dots marked on the studs to indicate where to place the pieces. The set featured an old tower and a large tree which were connected by a rope bridge that ran across the stream. This was the only set to include a Forestwoman minifigure. A few forestmen were included in other small non-Forestmen Castle sets, such as Castle Mini Figures. At the end of 1992, the Forestmen were discontinued as a faction, along with the Lion Knights.

The Forestmen were considered the foes to the other factions who had knights and castles, such as the Lion Knights, Black Falcons, and Black Knights. Some have suggested that the Forestmen could be compared to Robin Hood and his outlaws, while the Lion Knights (with their Lion Crest) represented King John and the English throne. (In legends, Robin Hood did support King Richard the Lionhearted who led one of the Crusades, but after Richard's younger brother John succeeded to the throne Hood was declared an outlaw.)

In 1996, a re-make Forestmen sub theme was released, called Dark Forest, which featured an evil band of outlaws. 1989 Leaflet depicting the Forestmen besieging the castles of the Black Knights and Black Falcons.