18 replies to this topic

[Lord Arjay]

So thanks to you I've recently bought many classic pirates sets. The first one being Harbor Sentry, I noticed a gap in your index and thought why not give them back something. A review I mean.
Lets start with the stats:
Name: Harbor Sentry
Set Number: 6245
Theme: Pirates
Minifigures: 1
Pieces: 25 (according to Brickset)
Year of Release: 1989
Price: You can find it for about £2-10 on ebay usually

Now that that is out of the way let us get on with the review.

Intstructions:

Sadly I do not own the box so we shall go straight to the instructions.

The front of the instructions. It is in the style of many impulse sets in that it folds out.

A nice image at the end of the instructions. I'm not sure what it is, maybe an alternative model?

Parts:


Here is the parts selection excluding the minifig. As you can see there is a little bit of old grey and some black.

Interesting Parts:

Not much has disappeared has it? Here we have the black turntable piece, a cannon, a printed flag and the red rowboat aswell as some minifig accessories. This is a very good way to build masses of cannons IMO.

Minifigure:

Ah the minifig. That is what impulses are for is it not?

Here he is. Apparently his name is Lt. de Martinet only he isn't wearing his tricorne for some reason. This was the cheapest way to get him.
As you should know if you are reading this Pirates came charging into the LEGO line which previously only consisted of Castle, Space and Town in 1989. They brought with them more detailed heads and new minifig molds such as a hook. This features one of the new heads aswell as a bicorne hat (which is sadly not printed) and yellow epaulettes. You can see from this picture that the torso printing is a little off but it is not too noticible.

Back printing was non-exsistent when this was released so naturally it is just plain. Unfortunetly the white on the back does not suit the printing on the front and I can't  help thinking that blue would have been better.

Now that Martinet has his arsenal he is ready for battle! Hey wait who's that?
Excuse me, out of the way! I shall be conducting this review now!
But how are you here, you aren't part off the set.
Ah-hem, I am Captain Arjay! Captain of the.. well err nothing yet, but I know I'm better than you! Now go away!
Well, err...

That is better. Now that the weirdo and the bluecoat have gone we shall continue.

Overview:


Here is a general view of the set. The pathetic blue coat is sitting on his bench rowing with his flimsy paddles.

Play Features:
Yes this has play features, whatever they are. If this was a modern set then on the back of the box there would be a huge picture to aware you that the cannon spins 360 degrees. Here is a diagram to make it clear what I mean:

(Apologys for the badly drawn arrows, you should be able  to make them out.)
Shut up crazy voice! Anyway there are a couple of problems with this. Say I want to swing the cannon to my right until it goes back to its starting place.

Oh No. It cannot go any further to my right because of the stupid bluecoat flag.
Ok maybe I'll just swing it to my left then.

Ouch!
See what I mean? The blue coat who is rowing gets hit in the face.
That wasn't very nice.  
Oh shut up! Now the cannon may not spin 360 degrees but it does fire! And I'm going to show you how.


This is a non-US version so it really fires. All you do is pull back the bar, load one of the round bricks provided and let go! But you should know that.
Let's see if I can hit de Martinet over there.
What?
Nothing.

After using up all of my ammo...twice, de Matinet is finally down.
Yes if it is good enough to fly across the room to be eaten by the hound of death (for Lego) then it is good enough for me. Hey why hasn't that guy interupted me yet?

That really hurt!
HeeeEEeelp MeeEEee!
BANG!
And with that we'll rap up this review.

Conclusion:

Design: Well there isn't much design to it is there? It's basically a cannon on a row boat, though in real life I doubt it would stay afloat under the weight. I can't mark it down for doing what it should do well though.7/10
Price: I got it for about £2.50 which I find very nice. 10/10
Parts: You get a cannon, a red row boat and a printed flag. The other parts are very useable aswell. 8/10
Minifig: I have no idea if the off torso printing was just me but forgetting that, de Martinet gains a 9/10
Overall: This is not a calculated average, this is my opinion of the set overall and I give it a 8/10
If you can find it at a good price then I suggest buying it.

Thanks for reading my first review I hope you've enjoyed it. Please note that the blue baseplate does not come with the set. Neither does my sigfig.
Comments and Criticisms welcome and feel free to leave your opinion on the set.

PS: If a mod could add a poll to this I'd be most appreciative.

Edited by Lord Arjay, 24 May 2010 - 09:32 PM.

[legitimatealex]

Very good review for a very nice impulse set. Reading these old reviews reminds me of when the Pirates were just coming out. I love them all dearly and wish they would come out with more, and not only more but more creative sets. I like your minifig btw : )

[Perfectionist]

Sweet review on a tiny yet classic set! Well done!  
I believe noone has ever reviewed it before, so it's good you did. Thanks!

I would give it a 4. Come on, Mods, we need a poll here!

Sure, the cannon in that rowboat is ridiculous nonsense, but it improves the value for money!
I also like the non printed bicorne, I think this set was the only one to have it of all the classic sets.
It's also nice to have a brown cannon base in this one; I use reds in all my ships but that's mostly because they're easier to aquire  
Old brown looks quite good there, maybe better than red!

(Psst this is my 60th post today)

Edited by Perfectionist, 24 May 2010 - 07:55 PM.

[Zorro]

Thank you for writing this review for us, Lord Arjay, I enjoyed reading it!
I own multiples of this neat little settling, and see it as a natural addition to eg. Sabre Island or Eldorado Fortress.
Are you interested in becoming a member of the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy?

[Lord Arjay]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Zorro, on May 24 2010, 09:01 PM, said:

Are you interested in becoming a member of the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy?

I'd love to join, I'll get right on it.

[General Redwater]

This is a great (and funny ) review.  I really like this set, and I`m glad that I got it many years ago.    I just have one question, my cannon in this set seems to be gray with a black handel, is this normal?
-
general Redwater

[Perfectionist]

General Redwater, on May 24 2010, 10:09 PM, said:

I just have one question, my cannon in this set seems to be gray with a black handel, is this normal?

Almost all of the classic Pirates sets in the US had non-shooting cannons; the first ones where like the normal ones with a black handle; later they used a different mould with the imperial ensign on top of the barrel!

[General Redwater]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 04:11 PM, said:

Almost all of the classic Pirates sets in the US had non-shooting cannons; the first ones where like the normal ones with a black handle; later they used a different mould with the imperial ensign on top of the barrel!

Thanks for the information.

[Admiral Croissant]

Good review, I think you would do very well in the reviewers academy

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 07:55 PM, said:

Sure, the cannon in that rowboat is ridiculous nonsense...

It isn't thàt strange:

This boat is a bit larger but it's pretty similar

[Lorentzen]

Excellent review. Thanks for doing it :)

I remember getting three of four of these when I was a kid. They were excellent as supplements to my existing pirate collection

[Perfectionist]

Admiral Croissant, on May 24 2010, 10:42 PM, said:

It isn't thàt strange:
This boat is a bit larger but it's pretty similar

May I ask you where you got that picture from? Looks interesting that some people actually put cannons in boats... not sure how they managed with the recoil...

So you're certainly right in the sense that some people apparently did put cannons in row boats, but still th eboat looks a LOT larger than the Lego one and the cannons much smaller  

[General Redwater]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 05:26 PM, said:

May I ask you where you got that picture from? Looks interesting that some people actually put cannons in boats... not sure how they managed with the recoil...

Benedict Arnold (the American turncoat) was fighting the British on........I think a great lake, anyway, he didn`t have a navy, so he outfitted many small boats with cannons to challenge the Royal Navy.  He didn`t win, but his delaying actions stopped the British and made  them leave for the winter quarters.
I hope this helps.
-
General Redwater

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'Lord Arjay' for this review of a cute (if you can pirate stuff that) set !
But mounting a standard size cannon on a row boat - me thinks trouble brewing !
Still a boat and rotating cannon - SWEET !
Keep on bricking !

[CallMePie]

Ah. The prehistoric impulse. An interesting speciman.   Good review.

[Admiral Croissant]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 09:26 PM, said:

May I ask you where you got that picture from?

It's the gunboat USS Philadelphia. A very well preserved salvaged shipwreck.
Oh, but you asked where I got the picture from. It's from the internet

Btw:

Edited by Admiral Croissant, 25 May 2010 - 04:11 PM.

[Uvga]

This was my first lego pirates set !!!!
i had many good time with it :)

thanks a lot
Uvga

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Thanks for the review of this lovable little set.  It reminds me of a similar set I had as a child, the Bounty Boat, which I have very fond memories of.

Also, I wouldn't be too 'sad' about that unprinted bicorner hat!  That was the only way to get that hat until the 2009 Pirates line came out, I believe!  So yes, very useful if you want to have a guy with that type of hat that wouldn't have the fancy decorations of an Admiral or Governor, or the   of a Pirate.  

Yay, the little gunboat isn't nonsense!  Thanks to the person who posted that awesome preserved wreck as well!  Anyway, I think that other fellow was asking where you got it because perhaps he figured someone forged a mock scene of cannons on a row boat.  But nope, it happened!  

Also, this doesn't have anything to do with anything, sort of... but while we are on the subject of hats, why does Vader have a graduation cap?   

[Cpt. Dan]

This set just came in the mail from ebay... I got it for $3.00 and it is in mint condition. It is great I love it, awesome addition for the army with the accessories cannon balls flag boat etc... I would get another one for the right price. Perfect Navy buider.

[Big Cam]

I also have this set and it was one of my first sets as well.  Come to think of it, this would be a good way tog et a small army of boats and fig's.