BrickArms Musket and Flintlock Pistol

[Admiral Croissant]

Yesterday I was very happy to receive a package with the finest non-official LEGO arms I'd ever seen.

The new BrickArms musket and flintlock pistol are a must-have for every non-purist in the Pirates forum!

In this review I'm going to explain you the reason why.

This is how the weapons were sealed. In a box with a rather large piece of paper wrapped around them.

And this is what the muskets look like on both sides:

Muskets were used from the early seventeenth century up until the end of the nineteenth.

They were slowly replaced by rifles during the Crimean war and the American Civil war.

I've even heard stories of the Dutch still using them in WW2 due to a lack of money and proper firearms.

A disadvantage of the neutrality we hoped to keep...

Compared to this real musket I must say it looks excellent!

The flintlock is clearly visible and the design is a great middle between the LEGO blunderbuss and a real musket.

Here's a comparison with the official LEGO blunderbuss.

I prefer the BrickArms plastic to the (new) LEGO plastic as it seems more sturdy and I like the edges more.

The trigger is also far more realistic. But because the musket is all-brown it still looks like it could have been an official LEGO piece.

And here we have the flintlock pistol. This is a great piece as well.

This is the musket with different clips and bayonets. Which one do you like the best?

From the top down is light grey U-Clip, soft grey and dark grey.

This knife doesn't fit perfectly to the musket but it looks quite well.

The LEGO cutlass suits quite well too, but it doesn't look very realistic IMO.

Time for some experiments!

Looks quite fierce doesn't it?

I'm sorry, let's go back on topic.

The pistols look nice with bayonets too.

Even though the bayonet is quite large, the idea is more realistic than one would think:

A random shot. Bluecoats with the new musket, Redcoats with the LEGO blunderbuss.

And a close-up:

A frontal view:

And finally, a few soldiers between my own collection of musket bullets from the 80 years war.

I don't have any complaints about the new weapons. They look great and are a nice variation to the blunderbuss.

The reason of this review wasn't to encourage you to buy these weapons instead of official LEGO weapons.

They are both of good quality, and they can be used for different MOCs.

The blunderbusses still look great in a pirate scene, and for 18th/19th century weapons I would prefer the BrickArms weapons.

So I can only give you the tip to obtain a pair of LEGO blunderbusses and a pair of BrickArms muskets. Then you will be ready to build any kind of pirate-related MOC

Thanks for your attention and feel free to comment!

[Horry]

Aw, no, why did you do that review! I am trying to stay away from those muskets and U clips ever since I heard about them! And now you comfirm everything that I thought about them: great, nicely worked additions to every army-scene!

Thank you for the review, it's great to see all the details

[Hive]

They are very detailed and the quality looks impressive.

However, I for one actually prefer the official LEGO versions. Somehow, I think their lack of detail makes them more charming. But maybe that's just me.

[Skipper]

Thanks for bringing these to my attention. I agree with Hive, the firearms are a little overdetailed for me. But the bayonets are amazing!

Really cool musket ball collection too.

[Captain Becker]

I also prefer Offial Lego Muskets, i really dont want to use any kind of Lego brands in any way. But Brickarms did great whit them i agree, especilly the flintlock pistol looks really nice. But as for me: No thanks, im staying whit offical Lego ones.

Captain Becker

[purpleparadox]

Thanks for the excellent review! They look awesome. I guess I'll be dishing out the money for some of these. Even though I don't really collect Pirates.

[Durins Bane]

None of those pictures are flintlocks. What?

[Sebeus I]

These look great and more important (In my opinion atleast) they look LEGO-ish, those clips seem very useful, so many things you can attach

[MCNwakeboard]

I picked up some of these at Brickfair this weekend and I really like them.

[tedbeard]

Although I am a huge fan of BrickArms and love the muskets better than any others I have seen, I have to say the bayonets miss the mark. The BrickForge bayonets are far superior. Certainly the U-clips are a wonderful accessory but the sheer bulk in conjunction with the BA bayonet is absurdly huge. If you are going to be fair you really should compare the bayonets from the two manufacturers.

[Spike8720]

Great review and really great looking custom pieces! I believe that I may be making a purchase soon as well.

[Admiral Croissant]

Thanks for all the comments so far! I'm glad you liked the review.

Indeed it's a matter of personal taste for a big part. Some don't like too much detail, or are purist.

Perhaps it were better if it was just as detailed as the official grey rifle.

But when you're building a big army with custom decals these weapons are excellent.

If you are going to be fair you really should compare the bayonets from the two manufacturers.

Unfortunately I don't own a Brickforge bayonet and this review was mainly about the musket and pistol, not about the bayonet.

Still, I thank you for the comment as the Brickforge bayonet needed to be mentioned.

I think the Brickforge bayonet looks better, but the U-clips are also very useful.

And for some brickfilms, comics or dioramas it could be a nice feature that the bayonets can be held in the hands.

Again, I think it's a matter of your own preferences

[tedbeard]

... it could be a nice feature that the bayonets can be held in the hands.

Totally, I think an assortment of both would be the best solution, BF for mounted on the muskets and some BA ones for holding or mounted in BF belts.

Edited August 24, 2012 by tedbeard

[Mister Phes]

I like this one the best...