Review: 6248 Volcano Island

[Inconspicuous]

Hi everyone! Welcome to my review of 6248 Volcano Island, straight from the Academy! I picked this as my first review in the Academy because it's one of my personal favorites. Good luck facing the perils of Volcano Island :pir-skull:

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Dear Diary,

I have been floating at sea for 10 days now. There is very little space on my raft, and my food supply is running low. I am seeking the legendary Volcano Island and the treasure hidden inside. It is a perilous journey with an even more dangerous destination. The island has menacing skull rock patterns, boiling-hot lava, and treacherous footing. I am the 14th person to attempt to retrieve the treasure. All 13 before me died trying. I am placing these diary clippings into a bottle and casting them to sea, in the event that I do not return. I think I see the island in the horizon.

Farewell,

-H.R.

BASIC INFORMATION:

Set Name: Volcano Island

Set Number: 6248

Number of Pieces: 119

Minifigs: 2

Price: $12

Theme: Pirates

Year Released: 1996

RESOURCES:

Brickset

Peeron

Bricklink

Brickshelf (Now Public)

THE REVIEW:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Front:

A very nice little scene pictured here. I love the background. I appears to be an actual hand-made model, not just computer generated.

Front Pages:

Notice that the pictures are horizontal. This makes following the instructions a little tricky, but you can always take the easy way out and flip them around

Random Page:

I like the "parchment" background. It has a nice contrast to the colors used in this set.

Back:

Shown here are 3 alternate models. It’s a shame they don’t put them on sets anymore.

Folded:

The instruction booklet folds neatly in half. This is the reason why mine are so crisp despite their age.

Instructions:: Thoughts: Great backgrounds and colors, alternate models, and clear instructions. What more could you want?

THE PIECES:

Pieces (unsorted):

Out come the pieces. They look pretty promising already!

Pieces (sorted):

Quite a few colors for a small set! Good selection too!

Pieces of interest:

Those black spring pieces are very nice and only appear in 7 sets! I believe this is the smallest set they come in.

Pieces:: Thoughts: Nice selection and colors. The printed flag is great as well.

THE MINIFIGS:

Group Photo:

Shown here are the two great minifigs that come with this set: The blue-coated pirate and the "classic" skeleton.

Skeleton:

Nothing extraordinary, but “regular” skeletons aren’t as common these days. The ball-jointed arms are a relief and the helmet is just great!

Pirate:

Great torso print and peg-leg but nothing uncommon from that era. You have to love that hat.

Minifigs:: Thoughts: Two nice minifigs with great headgear and torso printing. Pretty decent for a small set.

THE BUILD:

Raft Build 1:

The first part of the build is the small raft.

Raft Build 2:

In a few short steps the raft is completed!

Raft Side:

There are smooth pieces underneath so it glides on the “water”. They are positioned so the raft glides, but the barrels will turn occasionally.

Raft Sword View:

The other clip can hold the Pirate’s sword. He must get tired of holding that thing some time!

Pirate with Raft:

It must get lonely on that tiny raft at sea. A parrot or a monkey would make a nice touch to this set.

Volcano Build 1:

After the raft is done, the main feature of this set is started. First the foundations are set.

Volcano Build 2:

Then the BURP is added. In some sets it feels out of place, but in this case it blends in very naturally. You barely notice it in the finished product.

Volcano Build 3:

Then the launching mechanism added. Nothing too fancy but it gets the job done.

Launching Mechansim:

Here’s how it works. The pin hold the spring platform in place. When it’s pulled, the platform launches anything on it upwards.

Volcano Build 4:

The main volcano is built, and it’s time to add the skull!

Skull Build:

And the finished face! Isn’t it beautiful?

Finished:

And the main model is done! The skull on the front complements the volcano very well.

Build:: Thoughts: Nice, easy build. No interesting techniques used, otherwise satisfactory.

THE COMPLETED PRODUCT:

With Skull Open:

Huh? What’s that ugly black piece?

Close-up:

The one thing I don’t like about the set is the random black piece and the exposed mechanism. However, the black piece can be modded, but I see no point in having it there in the first place.

Fire:

Another minor problem is that the edges of the volcano aren’t attached. This shouldn't be a problem when playing, and does add a "rocky" texture to the island.

Back View:

Another random black piece and the pin. Having the pin off-center allows the skeleton to stand up in the middle on the smooth tile.

Mechanism:

Here is how the instructions picture it. Will it work?

Looks like it does! Positioning the skeleton certain ways changes the direction it flies, but it mostly goes backwards. It's quite fun to make it do somersaults in the air.

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Now for those Totals!

Design: 8/10 Pretty well designed, but random colors make it less attractive. The BURP, skull, and rocks all go well together and blend perfectly.

Parts: 9/10 Good selection. No stickers and good colors. The black spring pieces are rare and add a certain level of "specialness" to this set.

Minifigs: 8/10 Standard figures at the time but still excellent. No battle-droid-arms on the skeleton, and great headgear.

Build: 8/10 Quick and easy. No special techniques used.

Playability: 7/10 Not much to do besides launch the skeleton, open the skull, and take the treasure. However, adding Soldiers wouldn't make sense.

Price: 10/10 Perfectly priced! 119 pieces for $12 is good, and with 2 great minifigs is awesome. On Bricklink they get around $17 average which is still excellent.

Total: 50/60 A great little set with nice functions and good minifigs. It is much better with a few mods but still stands at a solid 83%.

BONUS: CUSTOM ALTERNATE MODEL.

For fun I designed a custom alternate model using all the pieces.

Front:

My favorite part is the “ghost” face.

The "Ghost Face:

A close-up of the face. Notice the black eyes.

Back:

In the back is a cave with the skeleton and treasure.

Cave:

Another close-up. A little detail I added is including stalagmites.

But wait! There’s more! The mouth is actually a working barrel launcher!

Function revealed:

I’ll be releasing picture instructions soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

“Nice hat. Wanna trade?”

Thanks for reading!

-Inconspicuous

[Erdbeereis]

Great review, I just indexed it.

For such a small set, this is quite nice. It comes with two fun minifigs, and the skull rock is a cool touch. I never knew it had such an interesting feature, thanks for making a video of it.

I'm sure this will get on the CP frontpage at some point.

[Destroydacre]

This was one of my favorite pirate sets that came out during the Spanish armada era. I like this much better than the shipwreck island despite the fact it's only about a third of the size. My skelly from that set has a lot of dings in him from being launched so many times! Excellent review of a very good set. Your alternate model is very nice as well.

[Svelte]

Thanks for that brilliant review!

This set always looked sort of average to me, but like Erds I was unaware of that amazing function!

You have stimulated my interest such that I will have to go look at the instructions now.

Lovely bright and clear pics too!

[Fluyt]

I really like this set, good part selection, good minifigs, lots of fond memories. For a set this size it has a decent amount of funtions, especially the erupting volcano, the only downside is the "raft", which doesn't look that great. 4/5 from me.

[The Cobra]

I rated it "Above average". It's great to have videos showing moving functions.

Thanks for the review!

[prateek]

Another great review. This set is awesome. 119 pieces for $12 is a steal. BTW, that's not a BURP, it's a LURP (I think)

Edited August 13, 2009 by prateek

[Rick]

Not really a fan of the set (little to offer to an AFOL, except parts), but you did a really nice review, with the movies and alternate model. Bravo!

[Wout]

Nice set with some nice features.

Thank you the review.

[-obelix-]

Excellent review! A really good job...

[Dreamweb]

I gave it above average. My collection is missing many of the sets from the end of the original Pirates era (1996-1997), this one as well. I only based my judgement on pics and your review. I like the minifigs in this one - skeletons are always great, and the blue-coated guy has one of the best pirate-related torsos out there.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

Great review. Great Classic Pirates set. I have always really liked that minifigure in this set. He is a good one.

[ciano]

I think I got one of these for my sixth birthday (and I already had one, too). I had a pirate themed party. It was pretty sweet. I never understood that the island was supposed to be a volcano, though, until this year.

[ILikePi]

Great review Inky!

The brick-built swiveling skull head is awesome, as well as the "exploding" feature!

If this was released for $12 USD nowadays, I would snap this set up immediately.

By the way, great alternate model! the ghost head looks very cool, and the barrel-barf feature is hilarious.

[MadAboutLego]

wow looks like anice set :pir-skull: keep up the good work