Crusaders The Crusaders were one of the various factions of LEGO ' s " Castle " theme . The first set s that involved " Crusaders " first appeared in 1984 . The last regular appearance was in 1992 . History . The " Crusaders " were introduced together with the " Black Falcons " in 1984 when The LEGO Group relaunched their " Castle " theme after the discontinuation of the first knights faction that started in 1978 . In Canada and Australia , the " Crusaders " and " Black Falcons " were known as the Lion Crest and Eagle Crest factions , respectively , however in 1991 - 92 the Lion Crest knights used the " Crusaders " name . One of the first sets of the Crusaders included a castle ( 6080 King ' s Castle ) , which was considerably bigger than its counterpart from the Falcons ( 6073 Knight ' s Castle ) . During the following years the Crusaders would grow to one of the biggest Castle - themed factions ever , with at least one release in every year from 1984 to 1992 , a tally rivaled in number only by the Black Knights or the later Crown Knights . As contemporary factions , " Crusaders " and " Black Falcons " were shown to engage in peaceful competition with each other , as seen in 6021 Jousting Knights from 1984 , as well as in military conflict , as seen in 6062 Battering Ram from 1987 . Both sets were the only ones were the two factions appeared together , except for the " Accessories " sets . Another set where the Crusaders appeared with another faction was 6060 Knight ' s Challenge from 1988 , this time with the Black Knights . " Crusaders " also featured many halfway civilian buildings , 6040 Blacksmith Shop ( 1984 ) and 6067 Guarded Inn from 1986 , which was one of most popular " Castle " sets ever and also the first one to be reissued as part of LEGO ' s " Legends " line in 2001 as 10000 Guarded Inn . After the advent of the Forestmen in 1987 , it was implied that the Crusaders were at odds with these newcomers , since a Forestman appeared as a prisoner in 6042 Dungeon Hunters and a lone Crusader was seemingly attacking 6077 Forestmen ' s River Fortress in 1989 , which was the last guest appearance of the Crusaders in a different theme . A second castle was added in 1990 , 6081 King ' s Mountain Fortress , which was the first castle ever built on a raised base - plate . This set ' s release marked more or less the beginning of the end of this theme , since the small catapult from 1991 and the last " Crusaders " set , 1463 Treasure Cart from 1992 did not appear in any catalogs . Although it has always been implied that there was some kind of king , there was never a distinct minifigure that filled this position . The first king minifigure would not appear until the introduction of " Royal Knights " in 1995 . Castles and equipment . The Crusaders owned two castles , a wall segment ( included in 6061 Siege Tower ) , the Guarded Inn , a blacksmith shop , and possibly an armor shop . They also had rather huge complement of vehicles at their disposal , comprising two prison carriages ( 6055 Prisoner Convoy and 6042 Dungeon Hunters ) and several smaller carts ( 6022 Horse Cart , 6016 Knight ' s Arsenal and 1463 Treasure Cart ) . The Crusaders ' army encompassed an impressing and varried array of siege engines , comprising two siege towers ( included in 6061 Siege Tower and 6062 Battering Ram ) , two catapults ( 6039 Twin Arm Launcher and 1480 King ' s Catapult ) and even a ( Ballista ) . Their fleet was only comparable to the one of the Black Knights and comprised a larger rowing boat ( 6049 Viking Voyager ) and a smaller sailing boat ( 6017 King ' s Oarsmen ) . Symbol . The symbol of the Crusaders is an upright lion with a crown on its head . This symbol was featured on shields which were available in two variants with either a golden lion on a blue background or a blue lion on a yellow background . There was also a unique red flag piece with the lion crest on it which was only available in 6041 Armor Shop . Some guards of the Crusaders had the lion crest emblazoned on their torso pieces , while others had a crest with crossed axes . The axe crest was already present in 6080 King ' s Castle from 1984 and was last seen in the two " Knight ' s Challenge " sets from 1988 . There were also horse barding pieces with the lion symbol . Backstory . According to a catalog from 1992 , " The Crusaders are the bravest knights in the kingdom . They are the protectors of the innocent and the keepers of justice . " This is the only official word on the matter . They also presumably have a king , who is never explicitly identified . The woman in 6081 King ' s Mountain Fortress is also never explicitly identified , though she is quite recognizable . Some have noted that if the Forestmen are meant to represent Robin Hood and his merry men , then the Crusaders would be analogous to the army of King Richard I , AKA King Richard the Lion - Hearted , who participated in the crusades and supposedly lived during the same time period as Robin .