Review: 70412 Soldiers Fort

[Mike S]

Along with Treasure Island, I also got the Soldiers Fort set. After building it, I'm not nearly as enthusiastic about this set as Treasure Island. While there are one or two nifty play features, there are also some parts of the build that could have been done better. I will explain further what I think could have been improved in my conclusion. Now on to the pics:

The Box

Contents

Bag 1

Bag 2

Bag 3

Extra Pieces

Minifigs

All the figs are quite nice and have back printing on the torsos. The lady is an especially nice addition to the Pirates line and one of the highlights of the set.

Conclusion

The Pros:

1.The jail.

Help the pirate break his matey out of jail!

Haha, that wall wasn't as sturdy as it looked!

2. Possibly the best piece of the entire set... the Bluecoat Flag!

The Cons:

1. The set has a working crane that looks great. While this should have been a nifty play feature, it doesn't work all that well and also is bulkier than it should be. While it hoists the treasure quite well, the treasure is not heavy enough to pull the rope down should you try to lower it.

2. The four pronged lantern piece that is mutually used as a lantern and tree piece only comes in black. While it works well with the lantern, I would have preferred it in brown for the tree.

While it is not a bad set, I am a bit underwhelmed. However this set is meant to be combined with 70410 making the fort a bit bigger. Unfortunately I still think that the pirates' hideouts are far more appealing especially when combined. Meanwhile, my son, who is four, has been making good use of the jail, filling it with bad guys and misbehaving soldiers.

[GeneralWashington420]

Great set!

[dr_spock]

Thanks for the review. I think I prefer the 6242 Soldiers Fort from 2009. Although it costed more than this one. That one the hoist had an actual hook and more string. Also it has a monkey but no girl.

[Orange Leader]

Thanks for your review. I think that It's a very decent fort and I want to have one later this year. The whole Pirate 2015 theme looks very good anyway.

[Spud The Viking]

I would prefer another bluecoat just to add play ability but overall a nice review of a good set!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Thanks for the review.

I'd agree to your pro's and con's.

... but it's a must-have in the end anyway

[Hive]

Thanks for the review. I think I prefer the 6242 Soldiers Fort from 2009. Although it costed more than this one. That one the hoist had an actual hook and more string. Also it has a monkey but no girl.

I agree, the 2009 was far superior. Though I will say that the figures in this one are better.

While a bit underwhelming, I still look forward to getting this set. Thanks for the review!

[Mike S]

Thanks for the review. I think I prefer the 6242 Soldiers Fort from 2009. Although it costed more than this one. That one the hoist had an actual hook and more string. Also it has a monkey but no girl.

I agree, the 2009 was far superior. Though I will say that the figures in this one are better.

I have to agree with both of you here. Even though 6242 was more expensive, keep in mind that 70410 & 70412 are meant to be combined to make a similar setup, so the cost is very similar. While the minifigs have radically improved, I think the 2015 fort is inferior.

[Captain Hannibal Joost]

What a strange piece for the angle... sure can be used for something else ;)

[Dreamweb]

Thanks for the review!

Looks like a pretty standard soldiers' set to me... Nothing we haven't seen in earlier sets. A tower, a crane, a jail (wait a minute, is it me or is the jail missing the back wall?). But the minifigs do look great, except perhaps for the redshirt pirate - the shade of yellow on his torso is so different from hands and face, it almost looks like a clone brand thing. Not good LEGO! The lady is excelllent though and finally presents some improvement over the previous years. Same can be told about the flag - really like its design, classic and yet with a fresh touch.

I will probably get it anyway, for parts and for minifigs.

[Capn Frank]

(wait a minute, is it me or is the jail missing the back wall?)

Dreamweb, do I predict you sharing a MOD of this set once you get it?

Price wise:

= +

Lets look at other comparisons respectfully.

Minifigs:

4 Imperials & 2 Pirates vs. 4 Imperials, 3 Pirates, & Gov's daughter

Pieces:

367 vs. 164 + 234 or 398 total

Cannons:

vs. +

Minus the opinion of poor design from some folks, which I think both 2009 and 2015 pirate lines are close enough in "impressive" design, I do believe we are getting a better deal with two "mini-forts" compared to one big one. More figs, more pieces, and more cannons.

[Hive]

(wait a minute, is it me or is the jail missing the back wall?)

I honestly hadn't noticed before. That's a huge letdown.

[David Thomsen]

The missing back wall of the jail was the reason I was convinced the preliminary pictures weren't the finished sets, because when have they ever included a prison cell without a back wall? It's like having a large Creator building without a barbecue.

[James Wellington]

I recently picked up this set, and while combined with the Soldiers Outpost, it is bigger, alone it looks sort of like an outpost itself and doesn't have a ton of minifigure space. While I like that it is branching out to a few more lady minifigures such as the Governor's Daughter, I sort of wish it came with another soldier or two. I really like the new Governor minifig, though. And, the big Bluecoat flag really is one of the "golden nuggets" of the set for me. I'm very glad that they've released these new sets, and despite a few cons, this is my favourite of the Pirates sets, personally. Here are my pros and cons to this set.

Pros:

*Bluecoat flag

*Rowboat

*Governor Minifig

*Combinable with Soldier Outpost

Cons:

*Lack of Bluecoats (although, technically it comes with 3 people on the Bluecoat side, only 1 of them is an actual soldier, and although I like the Governor's Daughter minifgure, I think I'd prefer another soldier or two, this set being the soldier's fort and command centre)

*Small Jail

*Jail and room above have no back wall

*A few minor problems with the crane

* The fort has a bit of a smaller look for me, I didn't get the Soldiers outpost yet, so I am yet to combine the two, but alone it looks a bit small.

Although the set could've been improved a bit more, I still really like this set, and I'm glad there are new Bluecoats, and I am yet to build up my Bluecoat army.

Edited March 2, 2015 by James Wellington

[luvembricks]

Great review, I'll have to get this one.

[Ltfalcon]

Dreamweb, do I predict you sharing a MOD of this set once you get it?

Price wise:

= +

Lets look at other comparisons respectfully.

Minifigs:

4 Imperials & 2 Pirates vs. 4 Imperials, 3 Pirates, & Gov's daughter

Pieces:

367 vs. 164 + 234 or 398 total

Cannons:

vs. +

Minus the opinion of poor design from some folks, which I think both 2009 and 2015 pirate lines are close enough in "impressive" design, I do believe we are getting a better deal with two "mini-forts" compared to one big one. More figs, more pieces, and more cannons.

I agree the mini sets combined are a better value. I just put these sets together and the small added details stand out on the new sets, for example, the stone rock around the bases. The new sets also boast dark red brick blocks not painted brickwork on panels. The details are cleverly added throughout. If your a pirate fan these are a must have. The only con I have is the red shirt pirate needs better paint for the yellow details, they may need to print white first then cover with yellow as it looks transparent as it is.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Ltfalcon

[parksroad]

Dreamweb, do I predict you sharing a MOD of this set once you get it?

Price wise:

[pics]

Lets look at other comparisons respectfully.

Minifigs:

4 Imperials & 2 Pirates vs. 4 Imperials, 3 Pirates, & Gov's daughter

Pieces:

367 vs. 164 + 234 or 398 total

Cannons:

vs. +

Minus the opinion of poor design from some folks, which I think both 2009 and 2015 pirate lines are close enough in "impressive" design, I do believe we are getting a better deal with two "mini-forts" compared to one big one. More figs, more pieces, and more cannons.

Agreed! Not to mention the added brick-built raft. And while I don't want to get into the debate, the Governor's Daughter is a unique figure and much more valuable than another soldier variation that you could easily pick up on bricklink or ebay.

[legoguy1984]

Thanks for the review. I am waiting for the Ship to come out and will probably be the only thing I will get from this line. I'm more into Castle and suprisingly Town is starting to really look good but who wouldn't want a pirate ship? I've been wanting one since I was a kid.

[Trainmaster247]

looks just like the old fort

from the older line when most things were yellow

[Capn Frank]

Thank you Mike S.

I've added this set to the Pirate Set Reviews Index.

[Captain Roger]

Personally I don't like this set because jail lacks a wall, so prisoner could escape easily. In my opinion, that detail makes that set really poor. Ah, the coffer has only diamonds, not gold...too bad.

For me, that set has only 3 good points: minifigs, pearl dark grey cannon and jolly roger with crossed blades instead crossed bones. In any case, thanks for the review anyway, new reviews are always wellcome

[Maxim I]

Personally I don't like this set because jail lacks a wall, so prisoner could escape easily. In my opinion, that detail makes that set really poor. Ah, the coffer has only diamonds, not gold...too bad.

For me, that set has only 3 good points: minifigs, pearl dark grey cannon and jolly roger with crossed blades instead crossed bones. In any case, thanks for the review anyway, new reviews are always wellcome

I totally don't agree with you...

The so fantastic classic Pirate lines were worse... Sabre Island had only 2 walls for example.

Talking about the Classic Pirate lines... I bought 2x Soldiers Fort and 1x Outpost for a total of 80$. With these 3 sets, I made a very nice (Imperial) Trade Post.

Considering the price of the ITP would be 110 (or even more) $ nowadays (it was 85$ back then, so with the index taken in count). You can even buy another Soldiers Fort and add it!

The result will not be as big as the classic ITP because in the new sets, there are NO one piece walls and there are no baseplates (which were really cheap back then). And yes, there is no Merchants Vessel (but I consider the raft be the same value).

So honestley, if there will be an UCS Trading Post, I hope they will include at least some houses in it (like the MMV) and a smaller vessel, because IMO, I don't miss a trading post right now thanks to the possibility of combining these cheaper sets together :)

[Captain Roger]

The so fantastic classic Pirate lines were worse... Sabre Island had only 2 walls for example.

Are you telling me 1989 sets were worse than 2015 sets? I can't believe it!! Sabre island had only 2 walls, but it haven't a prison at least. Old sets with prisons (Eldorado Fortress, Rock Island Refuge, Cannon Cove, Lagoon Lock-up, etc) had completed prisons at least.

Talking about the Classic Pirate lines... I bought 2x Soldiers Fort and 1x Outpost for a total of 80$. With these 3 sets, I made a very nice (Imperial) Trade Post.

Considering the price of the ITP would be 110 (or even more) $ nowadays (it was 85$ back then, so with the index taken in count). You can even buy another Soldiers Fort and add it!

The result will not be as big as the classic ITP because in the new sets, there are NO one piece walls and there are no baseplates (which were really cheap back then). And yes, there is no Merchants Vessel (but I consider the raft be the same value).

So that custom ITP is worse than the 1992 ITP. Yeah, is cheaper, but is worse too.

In any case, if you are happy with your custom ITP, good for you

[Maxim I]

Are you telling me 1989 sets were worse than 2015 sets? I can't believe it!! Sabre island had only 2 walls, but it haven't a prison at least. Old sets with prisons (Eldorado Fortress, Rock Island Refuge, Cannon Cove, Lagoon Lock-up, etc) had completed prisons at least.

So that custom ITP is worse than the 1992 ITP. Yeah, is cheaper, but is worse too.

In any case, if you are happy with your custom ITP, good for you

I am just saying you are way too negative about the new wave... There were many flaws in those classics sets as well. Let's take for example Sabre Island, there is no point in only having 2 walls + there is no decent battlement on top of the tower...

And yes, the classic ITP does looks nice because of the base and that's something the new sets are lacking (like I said, baseplate are really expensive nowadays).

Don't forget Lego is still aiming for children. So if they left out a wall because they think it is better for playability, it makes sense to me. And if a kid doesn't like it, he can always build a wall himself (that would cost maybe 30 cent...

[Captain Roger]

I am just saying you are way too negative about the new wave... There were many flaws in those classics sets as well. Let's take for example Sabre Island, there is no point in only having 2 walls + there is no decent battlement on top of the tower...

Sabre island does the job as watchtower, 2015 Soldiers fort doesn't the job as fort (it doesn't seem a fort), and its prison doesn't work as a prison because it lacks a wall.

In any case, I think comparing homologue sets is better than comparing a fort with a watchtower. If we talk about if Sabre Island is better than Soldier's Outpost or not, I think Sabre Island wins over the 2015 set, because Soldier's outpost tower is more simple and less detailed than the 1990 set. But the 2015 set has some nice accesories (crab, octopus, diamonds, coffer, and a raft with broken sail and crow's nest), so I can admit a draw.

2015 Soldiers fort is much worse than 2009 Soldiers fortress and 1989 Eldorado Fortress. And if we count 1992 ITP (We can count it as a homologue set of 2015 soldiers fort or not. On one hand, is not a fortress, but in the other hand, is a soldier base), 1992 Imperial Trading post is much better than 2015 fort. 1 Point to old sets

1989 BSB and 1993 SES were much better ships than The brick Bounty. 1 point to old sets

70411 was better than 6260. 1 point to new sets

So:

Old sets ->2

New sets ->1

And that, being REALLY generous (I think I can't judge a star set, like a pirate ship or a soldiers base, in the same way of a minor set like a treasure island. And I might give 2 points to old sets when I am talking about ships, because BSB and SES were better than the new...same as soldiers base. Oh wait...about soldiers base, I might give 3 points, because EF, ITP and 2009 Soldier's fortress are better than the new fort):

Don't forget Lego is still aiming for children. So if they left out a wall because they think it is better for playability, it makes sense to me. And if a kid doesn't like it, he can always build a wall himself (that would cost maybe 30 cent...

You are right about that point