52 replies to this topic

[Mister Phes]

Eldorado Fortress Pictorial Review

My digital camera technology is somewhat limited but neverthe less I've decided to attempt a pictorial review of Eldorado Fortress.




Here's an image taken from the left side I've decided to add a background to.


The mini-figures



For the Imperial Guards we get 4 blue coat soliders, a commander (de Martinet in the comics) and Governor Broadside.  For the pirates we get a Captain Roger and a run of the mill pirate.


The boats



Two boats are included with Eldorado Fortress, as you can see one is for the pirates and the other for the Imperial Guards.


Front



The limitations of my camera don't do it any justice.


Front Close Up



Here's de Martinet standing on the wharf.


Front Top Close Up



Not the best image with a rather hasty background edit but it'll do.  Here we have Governor Broadside on his balcony.



Front Middle Close Up



Eldorado has a small court yard in the centre which looks even smaller in this picture - I really need an anamorphic lens.


The Hatch



Underneath that courtyard lies a vast storage area to store all the gold!


The Hatch with better lighting



Here's a better lit image of the opened hatch.


From above



Here's Eldorado Fortress from directly above.  Well the left half anyway...


Right Side



Now we can see Eldorado Fortress from the right and how its magnificent crane system works...


The Crane



Here's the crane from another angle...


The Crane in action



Here's where it all comes together.  The soldier rows the treasure chest to the crane which then lifts it into the storage area.


The Back



Now we shall take a look at the back of Eldorado Fortress.




Getting in a bit closer...




The top from the back...


The Governor



And to conclude we shall have a close up of Governor Broadside sipping away on his grog with the musket aimed downwards in case any pirate dare interupt him.



Now...  Discuss and comment away!  Feel free to add your own pictures if you happen to have a build Eldorado Fortress of you own!

[Dino_Bot]

Good glassic set, and with the Pirates vs Spaniard soldiers classic thing.

[Mister Phes]

Except there's no Spaniards in this set!

[Berry Syedow]

The Eldorado’s a real beauty.  It would be wonderful if TLC began producing sets of this type again.  Aside from the inevitable juniorized wall pieces and baseplate the set’s piece selection is quite good.  It’s few flaws are the lack of more cannons and that two stud wide entrance.

Overall a good set.  There’s still room for improvement, but I can’t complain.  5/5

[Captain Roger]

Congrats Phes...That may be the first Lego photos i've seen specially first

[oo7]

Thanks for this great review Phes, I've seen a buncha pics of this fortress but I was unaware of the underground storage area. This is a great set, but for some reason I like the Impereal Guards better.

I have one question, how long have you had this thing assembled?

[Jacob C.]

This set should be released as a Legend.
But last I heard, Lego won't be releasing any more legends.
I hope thats not true.

This set deserves another run!

[Mister Phes]

 oo7, on Jul 16 2006, 12:53 AM, said:

I have one question, how long have you had this thing assembled?

About 3 years - what makes you ask this?  Does it look dusty or something?

 Jacob C., on Jul 16 2006, 01:23 AM, said:

This set should be released as a Legend.
This set deserves another run!

What do you think is so good about Eldorado Fortress that it deserves to be released as a Legend Mr C?

[TheBrickster]

Nice review Phes (although the images take a long time to load using dial-up).  This is why I usually post smaller images when I do a pic review.  I've wanted to see detailed images of this set for a long time.  Thanks for sharing.  I like your background in the first image as well.

As someone else mentioned, this set should be a Legend.  It's time Lego takes another vote for Legends like they did once before.  The existing castle Legend does not appear to be a classic set (but that's another discussion).

Great set!  I just wish I purchased it the year it was released.

[oo7]

 Mister Phes, on Jul 15 2006, 03:08 PM, said:

 oo7, on Jul 16 2006, 12:53 AM, said:

I have one question, how long have you had this thing assembled?

About 3 years - what makes you ask this?  Does it look dusty or something?

No, it looks fine, I was just wondering if you bought this when it came out in 1989, since your such a pirate LEGO fanatic, and you left it assembled for 17 years.

 Mister Phes, on Jul 15 2006, 03:08 PM, said:

 Jacob C., on Jul 16 2006, 01:23 AM, said:

This set should be released as a Legend.
This set deserves another run!

What do you think is so good about Eldorado Fortress that it deserves to be released as a Legend Mr C?

I think this set should be released as a legend... so I can buy it! But the Impereal Soldiers should be changed to Impereal Guards! Mwahahaha

[texas_jack_can]

Beautiful set review, makes me want the set even more. I think I'll be doing some saving for this one. :)

[Mister Phes]

 TheBrickster, on Jul 16 2006, 05:21 AM, said:

Nice review Phes (although the images take a long time to load using dial-up).  This is why I usually post smaller images when I do a pic review.

I thought I was the last of the dial up users at Eurobricks and did not realise there were otheres!  Up until this time last year that is when I upgraded to a 512K broadband connection which is by no means fast by today's standards, but its a hell of a lot better than a 56K dial up connection!  I shall take this into consideration next time I do a picture review.

 oo7, on Jul 16 2006, 05:36 AM, said:

No, it looks fine, I was just wondering if you bought this when it came out in 1989, since your such a pirate LEGO fanatic, and you left it assembled for 17 years.

No, 17 years ago I was too poor to afford big sets like Eldorado Fortress which were exceptionally expensive in this part of the world.  I dreamed of having one however, but it wasn't until 2003 till that happened.  Now I've got two of them, the second is disassembled for parts however.


It seems this review has attracted a few Eldorado Fortress aficionados so I'm wondering what their opinion(s) are of the views expressed in the The Eldorado Fortress Debate?

[Darkness Falls]

Hummana Hummana Hummana...
So THAT'S where I got that plate!
I never knew that this was the set it was for... Thanks for alerting me!
Sweet, I need to rebuild this, it probably explains why I have a buttload of white and yellow pieces in my collection.
I got a lot of bricks from my brother, who collected them in the 80's and early 90's. ^^
Thanks, and GREAT review!

[snefroe]

just out of curiosity, Pirate Phes, was this a second hand set? i mean, some white parts really need some attention... or better replacement...  ;-)

My only item of this is in a bag since i bought it a few months back and i don't see any point in buying a second. It's not that I hate the set, but it's most definitely not an unforgetable one...

[Mister Phes]

Yes, this Eldorado Fortress is second hand, however the white parts actually look white in real life.  Its the poor quality of the images produced by the digital camera that is responsible for the yellowing.  If you look at all the pictures closely you'll notice that the parts that look yellow in some of the pictures look completely white in others.

[christopher110]

 Jacob C., on Jul 15 2006, 03:23 PM, said:

This set should be released as a Legend.
But last I heard, Lego won't be releasing any more legends.
I hope thats not true.

This set deserves another run!

I totally agree with you...... I've always wanted to own this set. My cousin has/had it and we played together when we were children... I was so envy of him...... He's not playing LEGO now and lost most of the pieces.... :'-(

[Mister Phes]

 Jacob C., on Jul 16 2006, 01:23 AM, said:

This set should be released as a Legend.
But last I heard, Lego won't be releasing any more legends.
I hope thats not true.

Where and when did you hear that?  Apparently 6090/10176 is going to be the next Legend.

[prateek]

i want it!! >_<

[Djole]

 Mister Phes, on Jul 17 2006, 06:42 AM, said:

 Jacob C., on Jul 16 2006, 01:23 AM, said:

This set should be released as a Legend.
But last I heard, Lego won't be releasing any more legends.
I hope thats not true.

Where and when did you hear that?  Apparently 6090/10176 is going to be the next Legend.

I'm sure our friend hear that on cc forum...
We have recently a discussion of that there... Member Reejoc has reported according to Jan Beyer of the LEGO Community Team that no more Castle Legend sets are planned.  :-(
But who knows... We're just keep on hoping...

I agree that,if there is going to be any more pirate legends,Eldorado Fortress SHOULD BE the next legend.
It reminds me on my favourite set 6081 King's Mountain Fortress... it's structure is quite impressive...
These pictures (even if they've been so bad  :-P ) help me a lot,'cause I've never seen this set in live...
Thanks for that

[Mister Phes]

So to be more precise Jan Beyer means there will be no more Castle Legends after 10176?  

My pictures aren't that bad are they?  They could be much worse!

[Djole]

No,no,I was just kidding...  ;-)  you're pictures are really good... they've helped me to view all the beauty of Eldorado Fortress... thanx once again...
And,yes... the worst pictures are those when you don't have a camera  ;-)

And I don't take 10176 much as a legend... TLC made a good step in the right direction,but nothing big...
6067,6074 and 6085 are good examples what legends should be...
We've never seen this one before...
So it isn't a legend re-release... It's just a new set with design influence of older sets...
Nothing more...

Greetings from Serbia

[Mister Phes]

Ah, but is that what The LEGO Company marketing 10176 - a new set with influences from older sets?  According to their website their slating 10176 is an older set with updated pieces and they seem to have mentioned "Legend" in the title.

So what if The LEGO Company did the ssame with Eldorado Fortress and released a version with "updated" parts.

[Djole]

 Mister Phes, on Jul 20 2006, 02:00 AM, said:

Ah, but is that what The LEGO Company marketing 10176 - a new set with influences from older sets?  According to their website their slating 10176 is an older set with updated pieces and they seem to have mentioned "Legend" in the title.

Ah,but I don't know about it... Can you link that???

 Mister Phes, on Jul 20 2006, 02:00 AM, said:

So what if The LEGO Company did the ssame with Eldorado Fortress and released a version with "updated" parts.

I would prefer it without any changes... But if it's going to be on that way,we can just wait to see how it's gonna look...
I'm gonna buy it,that's for sure... if that's what is your "what if"question about...

Greetings from Serbia

[SkaForHire]

 Mister Phes, on Jul 19 2006, 08:00 PM, said:

Ah, but is that what The LEGO Company marketing 10176 - a new set with influences from older sets?  According to their website their slating 10176 is an older set with updated pieces and they seem to have mentioned "Legend" in the title.

So what if The LEGO Company did the ssame with Eldorado Fortress and released a version with "updated" parts.

A couple responses to this thread:

1) Nice Pictures! I enjoy the labor you put into the review, it will allow those who have never seen the set in its full glory know what they are trying to bid on on ebay :)

2) I actually have an incomplete model of this i got extra from someone in britain when I bought my first Imperial Flagship, they just sent it along as an "extra" ! I was pleasently suprised! I crave finding a whole one, but it is not the top of my list. I am a ship person before I am a fortification, so if i could find a cheap ship i would buy it over a cheap fortress... nonetheless, this is a great little set.

3)onto the topic of legends. I have two opinions on the legends line and a third pirates orientated one... first, if lego is not going to pull itself out of the gutter and make decent models then please give us legends. (though i really like the model quality of dinoattack, exo-force, and most of the Viking stuff so they could be moving in the right direction with this all.) second, if they are going to improve their models like some of their recent stuff... then I say no new legends. two reasons, 1) because I feel that is one less set they are going to make each year they offer a legend, and 2) because those of us that have spent money on items like BSB before they rereleased it were pretty unhappy when we found out we could have bought it much much cheaper. (I bought my first BSB and my second like six months before they announced it, for what I payed at the time i could have bought four from TLG in a couple months :( )

now my pirate related opinion on legends, the same as my first opinion, if they are not going to build  more pirates then give me the legends, though even though i just ranted about it, i would like to see SES over a fortress... even though i will probably smash a brick over my head for buying one, this would allow new people to get into the pirate adventure. But most of all, if they bring back a pirates theme then we won't need legends to supplement our lust for pirates. damn, I know half of this group would design the sets for free as long as they rereleased them! maybe i should write TLG and offer my services?

4)like i said, i never was into the islands as much as i was the ships (probably why i have become a Naval Historian and not a historian of like forts... lol) so it is good to see reviews like this! keep up the good work.

[Mister Phes]

 dJOLe_sk8, on Jul 20 2006, 10:42 AM, said:

Ah,but I don't know about it... Can you link that???

I already had...  Here is the link to 6090/10176 on Shop at Home again.  

 SkaForHire, on Jul 20 2006, 11:38 AM, said:

now my pirate related opinion on legends, the same as my first opinion, if they are not going to build  more pirates then give me the legends, though even though i just ranted about it, i would like to see SES over a fortress...

The Skulls Eye Schooner would make a great Legend, however The LEGO Company has already re-released 3 ships from the Pirate theme (Armada Flagship, Red Beard Runner and Black Seas Barracdua) so it would be nice to see something different.  The Imperial Guards have had no sets re-released whatsoever...