REVIEW - 6270 - Forbidden Island

[Lorentzen]

Sources:

Peeron

Bricklink

Brickset

Overview:

The Forbidden Island was the first place where Captain Redbeard and his new crew of swashbuckling swashbucklers found refuge. The built the place from a small cutter which had crashed and nearly sunk by the cliffs of the Eldorado Fortress. The Pirates gave up stealing the mighty treasure at the Eldorado Fortress to save themselve and the remains of their small cutter, and followed the stream southwards until they found a suitable baseplate on which they could set up camp. Thus came to be the Forbidden Island. The Pirates used what they could find on the island, and the driftwood from their cutter to build a place to fulfill their basic needs: A prison cell in which they could keep soldiers imprisoned for ransom, and a crow's nest, in which they could scout the far corners of the Caribbean sea for ships passing by.

A few years later, Captain Redbeard and his crew sailed further south to build a much larger island, the Rock Island Refuge, but is a completely different story - and baseplate...

For now they would have to suffice with what they had, here on the Forbidden Island. As we know, there has been quite a few pirates islands, but this was the very first one, and Captain Redbeard still holds this place close to his heart.

Let's begin with the box and the building instructions:

Box:

I simply love the boxes of the old pirate sets. I have quite a few of them, but unfortunately I do not have this box, so I have found some pictures of the front of the box on eBay. A member of eurobicks - Tully - has made a "Box Art" topic for this specific box, which you can find in the Pirate index on these boards.

The box art of the old pirate sets were magnificent because the did multiple things all at once: They presented the set as it was, with a clear picture  on the front of the box, but the boxes also had suggestions for alternative models on the back or the inside of the box. Furthermore, some of them had a background design as if it were a treasure map, and I just loved to look closely at the design even as a 9-year-old boy. Eurobricks/classic-pirates.com uses a similar design, so it must have made an impact to more than just me.

Instruction manual:

A nice A4-sized manual, with two nice simple pictures of the set on the front page.

The first things to assemble are the minifigs, the shark and the rowing boat:

On this same picture you can see that the baseplate has some white dots, and the first building step shows how to put the basic structure correctly onto the baseplate. Pretty clever, although it limits how much you can moderate the set if you don't want to see those white dots on you mod/moc.

Why can't LEGO draw the tricorne hat properly? It looks so stupid.

Random page:

You can see that there are smaller building steps within the building process. This is a good idea if you want to keep the younger kids' interest in the building process.

Here are two pictures taken from the back of the manual, showing alternate models, using the bricks from the set:

As you can see, the playability in this set is great.

Minifigs, special pieces, animals and accessories:

Minifigs:

You get four minifigs with this set: three pirate and one soldier.

This is great because the set is actually not that big. It is only the baseplate which is big, so four minifigs is a fair amount. The fact that one of them is a soldier adds to the playability, while the pirate captain is a must have for every LEGO pirate fan.

Accessories and special pieces:

You get a good number of weapons with this set, and even a cannon with cannon balls - excellent!

Suspense bridge, ship riggings, stairs, prison doors, barrel... so many possibilities for MOCing - excellent!

Animals:

Animal life was rich on the Forbidden Island

Be careful with that shark, you cunning parrot, you!

The baseplate:

As you can see, there are white dots on the studs, to help the builder. It is 32x32 studs and great for MOCing.

One thing that puzzles me is how the edge of the island is further from the edge of the actual baseplate, than it is on all official pictures I have ever seen of this set. The stairs go directly into the water, which must have been extremely annoying for the pirates. But I guess they could live with that... I mean, they were probably pretty drunk all the time. Too bad their mothers weren't there to keep an eye out for them... but as Charlton Heston said to one of his pirates in the film "Treasure Island" "...ahh, you never had a mother".

The rowing boat:

Along with the four minifigs, the three animals, the many, many palm tree leaves, the suspension bridge, the rope ladders, stairs, prison doors, gold chest and cannon, you ALSO get a rowing boat.

Look at him, enjoying life on the open sea.

Onto the actual island...

 

Here are a few pictures of the island itself, and the design. You will notice how green the island is, full of plants and stuff. This is because Captain Redbeard wanted to keep the island and their loot secret from the Bluecoats and Governor Broadside.

Closer view:

The set has some nice features, and one of the many, is the clever little trap in the floor above the prison cell. If an enemy is unfortunate enough to walk across this certain part of the floor, he will most likely fall through the secret hatch in the floor, which will open if one of the pirates pull the technic bar from the side:

...and the poor soldier is trapped for good.

Here, we have the weird stairway to heaven... to the ocean

Bird's view:

Concluding words

I love this set, and have spent countless hours playing with it as a kid. Back then, at the age of 9, I even built a butt-ugly ship using all the ship parts from this set. Maybe, if you're lucky, I will share an old photograph of me standing beside that dreadful MOC-ship.

This set is certainly great for many reasons:

- It has a classic LEGO Pirate design that has proven very popular among both young and adult LEGO fans.

- It has three animals and four minifigs with a good variety, and army builders get the popular soldier, along with a large amount of weapons.

- It has a suspense bridge, ship riggings, a mast, a barrel, stairs and prison doors. The building variations are endless.

- It has a large quite special baseplate

- It has lots and lots of green leaves which are great for MOCing.

The only major negative aspect is the stairs that go directly into the water, but I could *almost* live with that as a kid, and I can *almost* live with it now. And so can the drunken pirates.

If I had to grade this set, I would give it an overall 9 - the pieces that you get with this set are amazing. It is definitely high up top of my "Classic Pirates" list of sets, and as this review has shown you, it is not merely because of nostalgia - it has so many positive things about it, that it deserves all of our praise and attention. With SO many useful parts in one set, and with MOCing being one of the most important parts of the LEGO experience for most LEGO fans, this set is one of THE best sets released in this size category (below 200 pcs).

I hope you enjoyed my review - don't forget to vote.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Lorentzen

[ZO6]

Thanks for this wonderful review!

I find many modern sets to be "sterile". Some may be quite detailed, and have loads of those ever popular cheese slopes, but many lack that good old fashioned bricky feel. I realize that this set has a handful of larger parts, but I don't find it to be cheating in this case. Overall I think Forbidden Island has a nice organic feel.

As you mentioned, the piece count for this set is relatively low, however each piece is used to it's maximum potential to create a fantastic looking final product. The 2009 Shipwreck Hideout has significantly more pieces, but in my opinion doesn't do as good of job of recreating a small island hideout.

Edited April 19, 2010 by ZO6

[RoryoCox]

Very nice review. I always liked this set but never got around to buying it.

Your pictures are nice and clean. Also, the parts in this set are great for any builder

[squiz]

Great review, thanks for adding it. The pictures are really nice. I had this set as a kid and really liked it. As you say, its good that such a small number of bricks can make such a large structure. I also loved the bluecoat, he was the only one i had as a kid (sorted that out when i came out of my darkage !! ebay is great)

I think this set is still in my old loft, these pictures are making me want to go and dig it out !

And@ ZO6 i can see where you are coming from with the comparison to the 6253. I think its because there isnt a base plate or any land based pieces, its literally all the ship. I still really like the set though, i think its the best of the 2009 line.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

Thanks for the great review. This was the first pirate set I owned and the only one I received brand new. Pirates came out well after I was into my dark ages (high schoole and college). I received it as a christmas gift....and I still have it...mixed in with a billion other pirate sets and bricks

[General Armendariz]

This set is one of my favorites of the classic line. Sadly when I bought it, it had no instructions.

Here we have the weird stairway to heav... to the ocean.

A Zeppelin fan I see?

[Erdbeereis]

Another lovely review, thanks Lorentzen.

I'll add this to the index.

I really like this set, it was one that I won from the first Pillage the Village contest. Good memories!

[Lorentzen]

The long awaited MOC or whatever you wanna call it.

I was nine, looked weird and my parents thought that their kitchen was good looking...

[Dreamweb]

I remember seeing this set in a catalogue and wanting it so much... Never got it though.

I voted above average, it has this nice classic feel and overall pleasing look. But it has some design flaws, like the mentioned stairway to the ocean, or the fact that the prison is also partly in the ocean.

Funny thing about those white dots on the baseplate, in all those years I had no idea about their existence...

[Big Cam]

I have this set and I plan on reviewing it one day. It's one of the few 80-90's sets that I still have the box for. I think you did a pretty good job of covering the set.

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Hmm, didn't really care for this one. I thought Rock Island Refuge was much better. It and the one with the big skull gate were great Pirate bases. I actually think some of the alternate models are better. Nice review though. Thanks for making me aware of the trap door feature.

[Lorentzen]

Hmm, didn't really care for this one. I thought Rock Island Refuge was much better. It and the one with the big skull gate were great Pirate bases. I actually think some of the alternate models are better. Nice review though. Thanks for making me aware of the trap door feature.

I also think that the Rock Island Refuge is better than this set, but it is also a much larger set, with more features and accessories. For a set this size, I think it is a great design and a perfect mix of bricks

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

I also think that the Rock Island Refuge is better than this set, but it is also a much larger set, with more features and accessories. For a set this size, I think it is a great design and a perfect mix of bricks

Well that cake doughnut shaped island baseplate is pretty cool, and it does come with stairs (that go into the water, >_< but maybe it's high tide. ), a swinging bridge, rigging, two jails, goodness all that foliage,and a crow's nest!

Only problem is, how do you work one of those crow's nest into your ship? I notice none of the ships actually use that piece, and it doesn't have a hole in it for the masts to run though, or any real way to attach from the bottom, for that matter. I suppose you're just supposed to make one out of bricks on one of those dark gray platforms with the clips?

[wylun]

man this is ooooldd schooooll

[-obelix-]

Very nice review, thanks for making us aware of the trap! Lots of fans surely had no idea it was there!

[Lorentzen]

Very nice review, thanks for making us aware of the trap! Lots of fans surely had no idea it was there!

Seriously?

[reptile_smile]

Lorentzen, I love that kitchen. I wish I had that kitchen. haha <3

anyway. Great review! Now I really want that set too. lmao i didnt notice the stairs going into the water until you said so, and then it kinda annoyed me too, but hey, the probably went up there from their boats anyway..

also, that trap just made this set a lot better imo. I didn't know it had a trap! ooh i want this set now, lol!