80 replies to this topic

[TheBrickster]

Svelte_corps returns with an awesome review!  I love it!  Your pictures of this fabulous set are outstanding.  It's been a long time Lego's offered a pirate ship of this caliber, and it is well worth the wait.  I'm so glad Lego decided to pursue this theme in a traditional fashion incorporated classic pirate style.  This is probably the best of the lot, followed by the Soldiers fort.  Excellent review and thanks for taking the time to share on EB!

And welcome back.  Thank you for the congrats.

EDIT:  I challenge you with my new pirate ship

[Arawos.]

.....and the review is AMAZING, it cant be better

[ZCerberus]

Thanks for the review!  Now I will have to wait to find one in Minnesota-- come on Imagination Center in the MOA!  

svelte_corps, on Nov 17 2008, 11:18 PM, said:

Further down the prow... two guns (muskets? some Pirate weapons enthusiast please correct me as this is not my area of expertise!). Notice the red curved slope and dark green tooth - a nice little SNOT detail to smooth out where the brick built walls of the ship meet the hull piece.

svelte_corps-- those are muskets, well they would be if a soldier or pirate was just carrying them around-- but I think, as arranged, they are supposta' be "swivel guns".  We have had several members add them to their ships in a more brickbuilt fashion!

Edited by ZCerberus, 18 November 2008 - 02:59 PM.

[Lego12]

Great review! Its a lovely ship! I would have loved to get that, but I could only afford Soldiers Fort and Loot Island. I'll have to go back there and pick this set up!

[metalandi]

Fascinating review of a beautiful ship, i can't wait to get it but it probably will take a long time until then

Just one question: You mentioned  the "code starting with 4 that Legomilk always asks for on the back of the booklets doesn't work yet" in the review, so my question is, where are those codes on the instructions, and could you post it so we kann look for the pdf instructions from time to time? That would be very nice.

[pr0visorak]

Great review Love the pictures

[blueandwhite]

The ship is actually alot nicer looking than I expected.  My only real quip is that the new masts (Viking style) don't hold a candle to the older design.  Still, it's hard to quibble about a set like this.  It's a nice large set.  Sure, it may be pricey but on the other hand it has an absolutely stellar selection of bricks and figs.  An easy purchase!

Edited by blueandwhite, 18 November 2008 - 06:03 PM.

[Erdbeereis]

Absolutely fantastic review of a stunning set.    By the way, welcome back!

I never owned any of the old pirate ships but I must get this one.   The minifigs are excellent, it has great part selection, nice design and just looks darned good!

The new hull pieces look nice, I'm glad they are quite similar to the old ones. My favorite part has to be the captain's quarters with all of the gold and dark red.

Thank you so much for the review Svelte_Corps! I hope to see you in the Academy sometime.

[QuartermasterRobert]

This ship is amazing. I love the new hull pieces. They have more probable use than the old ones!

[Fluyt]

I like some of the parts, the colours, minifigs and there's like 6 (!!!) sets of those awesome lattice windows. But I don't like the design that much (the middle and bow seem pretty empty/bare, cannons point too low, etc.) or the masts and the sails (they're like 4+ sails). The new hull parts seem nice and usefull for moccing, although I don't think they are really better than the old ones, at least not for me, since I don't build huge ships that could benefit from expandable bow and stern parts. I don't like there are those empty spaces in the bow/stern with no studs, like the viking bow/stern. It could be nice that there are no holes in the side of the bow or back of the stern, but those didn't bother me that much, they have their uses as well.
So it's ok, but I easily like any of the old (big) pirate ships better (BSB, SES and RBR), and it's a bit expensive, doesn't seem like it's worth the money to me.

Edited by Fluyt, 18 November 2008 - 08:54 PM.

[Svelte]

metalandi, on Nov 19 2008, 03:18 AM, said:

Just one question: You mentioned  the "code starting with 4 that Legomilk always asks for on the back of the booklets doesn't work yet" in the review, so my question is, where are those codes on the instructions, and could you post it so we kann look for the pdf instructions from time to time? That would be very nice.

Hi metalandi, I didn't have the numbers with me when I posted the review, so thanks for reminding me to add them!

Here are the codes for all the sets I have:

6239 Cannon Battle - 4550002
6240 Kraken Attackin'- 4550158
6242 Imperial Fort Book 1 - 4550173
6242 Imperial Fort Book 2 - 4550174
6243 Brickbeard's Bounty Book 1 - 4550864
6243 Brickbeard's Bounty Book 2 - 4550862

& the Impulses:
8396 Soldier's Arsenal - 4550209
8397 Pirate Survival - 4550211

And this is the URL, where xxxxxxx is the number above.

http://cache.lego.co...ons/xxxxxxx.pdf

As I said, they are not yet up though.

blueandwhite, on Nov 19 2008, 05:03 AM, said:

The ship is actually alot nicer looking than I expected.  My only real quip is that the new masts (Viking style) don't hold a candle to the older design.  Still, it's hard to quibble about a set like this.

I didn't note this in my review, but the masts do look better than the Viking ship as the long thin pieces from that set now sit atop the much sturdier 2x10 long column pieces. This helps with the proportions (as well as making them stronger) as the masts have a clear narrowing effect the higher you climb. It's hard to describe exactly, but the overall effect is that they look a lot more solid as well (as opposed to the mast piece by itself, which is kind of hollow on one side.)

Fluyt, on Nov 19 2008, 07:52 AM, said:

I like some of the parts, the colours, minifigs and there's like 6 (!!!) sets of those awesome lattice windows. But I don't like the design that much (the middle and bow seem pretty empty/bare, cannons point too low, etc.) or the masts and the sails (they're like 4+ sails).

I can see what you mean. The deck is a bit sparse and there's nowhere for the gunners to stand on the bow - there could have been a little cabin or some storage area built in that section, but I think that's easily modded. I do like how they have left room for four cannons (even if you have to purchase some smaller sets to fill them up) and if you want to raise the area, you can. As for the sails, I think they have tried to make them as easy as possible to construct (ie no string etc). When I was taking pics it was quite a windy day but the sails held up quite well.

Edited by svelte_corps, 18 November 2008 - 10:11 PM.

[Adam]

svelte_corps! svelte is back! Everyone do the svelte dance! Once again, your review is stunning. Stunningly superb. Superbly stunning. All that jazz. By far your best review yet!

[iamded]

This is probably one of the best reviews I've seen, svelte_corps! Packed with pics, descriptions, entertainment and amusement! Congratulations on a very well done review, and thank you very much!
And I share your monkey-phobia.
~Peace

[I Scream Clone]

A beautiful review of a beautifully built ship! Bravo sveltecorps. Man you must have some contacts in US to get this baby so quick?

Are the hull pieces the same colour as the Orc ship? If so I may be able to MOC up a bigger ship later on.

Cheers
ISC

(welcome back btw)  

[legotrainfan]

I've been waiting for someone among us to review this set, and here it is: a wonderful review!

This ship is really beautiful. Now I'll be able to get a pirate ship for a moderate price. Those prices on bricklink for a new pirate ship are often highway robbery. The only thing I dislike is the oversized shark. Must be a great white one. I prefer the older, smaller sharks, obviously belonging to a different species since they are - as I've said - smaller.

The cannons are of no use to scare our cat anyway, by the way. Our cat would surely rush after the cones to catch them.

You've given the size of the box in centimetres; I didn't know that people in Australia use the metric system.

Edit: ...I've voted for "outstanding," of course.

Edited by legotrainfan, 18 November 2008 - 10:37 PM.

[mania3]

Great review.  I love reading reviews about sets that I already own.  It helps me appreciate the finer details, and this one was no exception.  Keep up the good work!

[VBBN]

Quote

Amazing...But is the treasure chest two toned?

Love the mermaid torso!

And the rest of the set is fantastic as well!

Great review, a must buy for me.

Edited by ~VBBN~, 18 November 2008 - 10:55 PM.

[Darth_Legois]

Adam, on Nov 19 2008, 07:34 AM, said:

svelte_corps! svelte is back! Everyone do the svelte dance! Once again, your review is stunning. Stunningly superb. Superbly stunning. All that jazz. By far your best review yet!

He has a dance?   

Yes...ermm Welcome back Svelt!

We missed your reviews!

Anyway another great review as usual

You convinced me to get this set...I was still not to sure about it...now im sold!   

I voted 5 - Outstanding!

[Svelte]

I Scream Clone, on Nov 19 2008, 09:33 AM, said:

A beautiful review of a beautifully built ship! Bravo sveltecorps. Man you must have some contacts in US to get this baby so quick?

Are the hull pieces the same colour as the Orc ship? If so I may be able to MOC up a bigger ship later on.
(welcome back btw)  

Just a superfast Bricklink shipper - the same one I used to get the big Agents truck earlier this year! I think it will retail in Aus for $150 and I couldn't wait since it is not yet confirmed (that I've seen) when these come to Aus (Jan or March or May? We'll probably find out when the catalogue comes out with the next issue of Lego Club mag). I would have ordered it off S@H anyway when it presumably becomes available like the first-half of year sets did Jan 1, so I paid probably $50 extra for the convenience of having it 2 months early (at least!). And I paid for it before the Aussie dollar dipped again last week which saved me 10 bucks!

As for your other question... the hull pieces for 6243 are red-brown; the Orc ship ones are dark brown. The Viking ship ones are compatible and you could probably find some spares on Bricklink.

legotrainfan, on Nov 19 2008, 09:37 AM, said:

You've given the size of the box in centimetres; I didn't know that people in Australia use the metric system.

I assume it's because we still followed the UK in a lot of things, being a colonial country and all. This set was produced for the North American market so they do have inches marked on the box as well! As for things you didn't know about Australians... we also drive on the wrong side of the road, everybody has a pet kangaroo at home and Russell Crowe is our current President!   (Kidding.)

~VBBN~, on Nov 19 2008, 09:55 AM, said:

Amazing...But is the treasure chest two toned?

It isn't supposed to be - probably just the mix of pearl gold plastic was a little denser when the lid was produced. It isn't so noticeable in the flesh - the difference is emphasised here because of the camera flash.

Darth_Legois, on Nov 19 2008, 10:07 AM, said:

He has a dance?   

Yes... Dance of the Brick... it describes the graceful leap into the air one makes when stepping on a sharp, upturned brick. It is usually accompanied by a sweet, short yelp of pain.

Edited by svelte_corps, 18 November 2008 - 11:32 PM.

[General Armendariz]

I have one too! Its a great ship. And just like the RBR! Three cannons!

[gladiator]

Many thanks for Svelte-corps. Fantastic review
It will be better if you directly compare with BSB, SES
A must buy for me, and great job for TLC. Especially for hull design and gold colored.

[Kliq]

I thought LEGO's next pirate ship was going to be something along the lines of the Red Beard Runner.  Thank the Heavens that's not true.  I would place this at least third among the ships that Lego has ever produced, and only because there is no string rigging, and space could have been used a little better.  I do love how there are two of each skull and non-skull large sails, so non-skull sail lovers can easily get theirs replaced.  I can't wait to get one of my own.  Lego set design still continues to improve!  

[JimButcher]

Yes! Svelte Corps is back! And with a great review! This set looks pretty good, especially with minifigs like the mermaid. The ship itself is good, but the interior could have been much more detailed. The boat was a nice addition, if juniorized. I always thought that the hull pieces were all one piece, but thankfully I was wrong. This set is way to expensive considering the price-per-piece ratio and even the new/ renewed molds. At most, I think this would be $80, so I'm a little iffy on getting this. But, you never know...

[Pickerel]

Nice review, Svelte Corps! You aare very deserving of being the "awesome set reviewer!"

This set is great! You pretty much said everything in your review!

P.S. I believe the rifles on the robot hands are supposed to be swivel guns, small cannon-like guns that rotate and could be clamped to the side of a ship.

[legobear]

These ratings should really be ZERO to TEN and not ONE to FIVE.  The feedback here at Eurobricks is seriously taken into consideration by TLG.  Look at how many sets Eurobricks has influenced on creating.  We have a strong AFOL community presence here as well.  I think if we want to see improved sets, we need to change the rating system.  According to the polls, about 70% of people here like the ship but of those 70%, they also want to see minor improvements as well.  In order to take into account their opinions, having a ONE to TEN scale would allow them to pick a very high 9 score or a high 8 score instead of a pure 10 (or in this case a 5 which is absolutely perfect in every way from piece count to aesthetics, to playability, pricing etc.).  TLC takes all our comments seriously, if we want to see improved products, we have to allow room in our rating to realistically represent our judgements.  Therefore, I highly recommend the moderators as well as users to adjust their rating system in order to not marginalize our important feedback that could result in even better products being produced in the future.  Although this set is truly truly fantastic, there is always room for improvement, and here at Eurobricks, the community is central to helping TLG improve their products.  I highly recommend the rating system to change from One to Ten because we are important to pushing TLG to improve their products continually.