25 replies to this topic

[Mister Phes]

I bid unsuccessfully for this eBay Auction for a mighty conquistador army.

I haven't posted this to show you how much the auction ended at, its because I think its interesting the way the seller has borrowed castle pieces to make the conquistador army go further.  Conquistadors are rare so amassing this many is no easy feat, but this might be a way to do it.

[Starwars4J]

That price is a little outlandish, especially considering they're not real conquistadors!  Not even for 8 real conquistados would they be worth that much...

ugh...I said "conquistados" >_>

[Mister Phes]

Are you crazy!!!  8 real conquistadors are worth US$10 each.  The Admirals can be worth upto US$15...
That's a very reasonable price.

[Bloody Jay]

mister_phes, on Nov 16 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

Are you crazy!!!  8 real conquistadors are worth US$10 each.  The Admirals can be worth upto US$15...
That's a very reasonable price.

Not for those. I'd appraise all those figs at USD $20.  Maybe.

[Mister Phes]

Yes, those are strongly diluted with castle pieces hence why I didn't bid any higher than US$15...  But obviously others disagree.

Now we must remember this is an Australian auction, and in Australia Pirate LEGO is more highly valued so it fetches higher prices.  In other parts of the world the auction probably won't go at that price.

[Starwars4J]

mister_phes, on Nov 16 2005, 12:48 AM, said:

Yes, those are strongly diluted with castle pieces hence why I didn't bid any higher than US$15...  But obviously others disagree.

Now we must remember this is an Australian auction, and in Australia Pirate LEGO is more highly valued so it fetches higher prices.  In other parts of the world the auction probably won't go at that price.

http://www.bricklink...chSort=P&sz=100

Actually, a new one costs only US$5, unless you only order from Austrailian BL stores...

Consider ordering from a bunch of US BL stores, having them ship to someone in the US, and having that person ship the figures to you for a nominal amount?  I wouldn't mind, if you wanted.

[Mister Phes]

Yes, Pirate LEGO is much cheaper in the USA...  How lucky those people are!

But how much in this nominal postage cost be?  It sounds like a good idea in theory, but has anyone ever done that with any kind of LEGO?

[Starwars4J]

mister_phes, on Nov 16 2005, 01:17 AM, said:

Yes, Pirate LEGO is much cheaper in the USA...  How lucky those people are!

But how much in this nominal postage cost be?  It sounds like a good idea in theory, but has anyone ever done that with any kind of LEGO?

Shipping inside the US would cost maybe $2, so you could order a few extra figs or parts you wanted, and then I could gather them up, and package them nice and tight (and as cheap as possible!) to ship out to you.  It's still a huge savings, seeing as how the used "but still in VERY good condition" ones can be under two dollars (US)...

[Sting]

I am pretty lucky living in Canada as we have lots of Lego Bricklink Stores, and we are close enough to the US that honest sellers can ship to me for low costs(unfortunately ,alot I have dealed with aren't too honest and I sometimes am asked to pay what I believe is too high shipping costs)

Those are pretty cool... but lack of the shiny plate mail kind of takes away from them as the COnquistadors had shinier and more elaborate armor... the dark gray armor looks amazing on knights but it loses some of its glory on pirate guys... (I dunno... could just be me... these are obviously the early Conquistadors who would be with Cortez... so the late 1400s/early1500s.

I actually think they look pretty cool... Lego should have made a line like this with actual Conquistadors and had a good Aztek line... it would be good for Pirate and Castle fans alike!

[Mister Phes]

Starwars4J, on Nov 16 2005, 04:35 PM, said:

Shipping inside the US would cost maybe $2, so you could order a few extra figs or parts you wanted, and then I could gather them up, and package them nice and tight (and as cheap as possible!) to ship out to you.  It's still a huge savings, seeing as how the used "but still in VERY good condition" ones can be under two dollars (US)...

Ahhhhh...  But the problem is these US BrickLink stores only have one or two mini-figures, so if I wanted say 20 then I'd have to buy from about 5 differen't stores.  So at $2 postage each thats an extra $10. Then to post these suckers from the USA costs another $10.  Next is the problem of me not having a credit card, so I've got to purchase money orders which costs another $10...  Not to mention it takes upto 4 weeks to get to the USA.  It also takes another 4-6 weeks for parcels to be sent from the USA.

Once upon a time I bought a Leopard Print Fez from the USA off eBay for $12.  By the time I got it home it cost me $40 and was 8 weeks later.


It was very kind of you to make such an offer Mr Starwars4J, but purchasing from the USA is so much of a headache when you're not a billionaire.

[Starwars4J]

mister_phes, on Nov 16 2005, 04:05 AM, said:

Starwars4J, on Nov 16 2005, 04:35 PM, said:

Shipping inside the US would cost maybe $2, so you could order a few extra figs or parts you wanted, and then I could gather them up, and package them nice and tight (and as cheap as possible!) to ship out to you.  It's still a huge savings, seeing as how the used "but still in VERY good condition" ones can be under two dollars (US)...

Ahhhhh...  But the problem is these US BrickLink stores only have one or two mini-figures, so if I wanted say 20 then I'd have to buy from about 5 differen't stores.  So at $2 postage each thats an extra $10. Then to post these suckers from the USA costs another $10.  Next is the problem of me not having a credit card, so I've got to purchase money orders which costs another $10...  Not to mention it takes upto 4 weeks to get to the USA.  It also takes another 4-6 weeks for parcels to be sent from the USA.

Once upon a time I bought a Leopard Print Fez from the USA off eBay for $12.  By the time I got it home it cost me $40 and was 8 weeks later.


It was very kind of you to make such an offer Mr Starwars4J, but purchasing from the USA is so much of a headache when you're not a billionaire.

Alright, I just figured that overall, the cheaper prices of the figures would outweigh the cost of shipping and money orders.  If you ever need anything from the US, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

[Mister Phes]

Yes, you're right about the cheaper prices outweighing the cost of shipping and money orders, but the catch is I'd have to buy heaps before that worked out.  Unfortunately, at this point in my existence I can't afford a great whopping shipment of LEGO. :') Maybe one day!  I'm also saving for technology like a digital camera so I can begin MOCing.

But it depends which system you had in mind.  If you paid for the BrickLink sellers with your own money, then I gave you the money it would work out cheaper.  But if I had to pay the BrickLink sellers and tell them to send the order to you, I'd have to purchase money orders for each seller and that would make it way too expensive.

However, you are a goodly creature and deserve to be rewarded.  Someone reward Mr Starwars4J immediately!

[Norro]

Why I question the word 'diluted' those figs do suit the spanish very well...

         God Bless,

              Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Sting, on Nov 16 2005, 04:47 PM, said:

Those are pretty cool... but lack of the shiny plate mail kind of takes away from them as the COnquistadors had shinier and more elaborate armor... the dark gray armor looks amazing on knights but it loses some of its glory on pirate guys... (I dunno... could just be me... these are obviously the early Conquistadors who would be with Cortez... so the late 1400s/early1500s.

I agree with Mr Sting, the lack of lustre in the armour loses its glory on these conquistadors.  Consquistadors need chrome armour!  Nice shiney chrome armour, just look at me...




The other problem is the knights' armour is plate mail, isn't it?  Conquistador wear cuirasses which have a different design.

[Sting]

Seeing that auction really makes me want a Conquistador theme of lego... it could be part of the Castle theme and have the Explorers and the Natives... who would be based on the Azteks... the 2 big sets in the theme would be the Aztek Temple and the Explorers ship.

It would be amazing.

[Mister Phes]

What do you mean it could be part of the Castle theme?  That just doesn't make sense!  Castle is supposedly located within Europe while Conquistadors and Aztecs were located in Central America.   It would be more logical to just expand the existing Imperial Armada theme and add Aztec and Explorers sub-themes to the Pirates theme.

[Sting]

Well this theme would take place in the 1500s whereas the Pirates took place in the 1700s. It is obvious that the conquistador army you showed us from eBay is based on earlier expeditions as they are are all armed with Crossbows, swords and armor.

And I recall you wondering whether Ninja is part of the Castle Theme - but yet Ninja takes place in Japan... so how come with my idea it is all of a sudden NOT Castle based on geography but yet you think it is possible to put Ninja within the castle theme. LoL.

[Mister Phes]

Sting, on Nov 18 2005, 10:28 AM, said:

And I recall you wondering whether Ninja is part of the Castle Theme - but yet Ninja takes place in Japan... so how come with my idea it is all of a sudden NOT Castle based on geography but yet you think it is possible to put Ninja within the castle theme. LoL.

It hasn't been confirmed that Ninja was a sub-theme of Castle.  There is no cross over from any other sub-themes in Castle.  Usually (well back then) when something is a sub-theme of something else it includes a mini-figure or two from another sub-theme within that theme.

Ninja may well be a theme independant of Castle which people have mistakenly assumed is part of the castle theme. No doubt it'll be probably be my next poll topic...

Sting, on Nov 18 2005, 10:28 AM, said:

Well this theme would take place in the 1500s whereas the Pirates took place in the 1700s. It is obvious that the conquistador army you showed us from eBay is based on earlier expeditions as they are are all armed with Crossbows, swords and armor.

Upon researching you'll find piracy in the Caribbean was most prevelant between 1560 to 1720.  So by the 1700's onwards the pirates of the Caribbean phenomenon was dying off rather than being at its most prominent.    Meanwhile, the good old Spanish Armada was assembled in 1588 and was dominate in the New World seas until the Dutch kicked its butt at the Battle of the Downs in 1639.  So there in plenty of overlap, and that doesn't mean the Spanish widthdrew all their prescence from the Caribbean  over night.  Unless I'm mistaken their descendants are still living there now...

LEGO was never 100% historically accurate.  I don't get how you think this conquistador army is based on earlier expeditions because the seller (who I've bought from many times) has just thrown a bunch of pieces together which he thinks looks good.  He hasn't gone out and done any research, that's just what he happened to put up for auction, which also included a lot of castle pieces to make things go further.

Besides, why would you want to add this to the Castle theme?  LEGO has Knights Kingdom.  It doesn't have anything for pirates right now.

[TheBrickster]

It's Attack of the Mister Phes Clones!

[Mister Phes]

I must be having a slow moment, The Brickster because I don't get what you mean...  You mean the 4 conquistadors in the front row all look indentical?

[Sting]

Phes you both intrigue me and irritate me. Because this theme idea I thought of is indeed of my own, everything I say on the matter of the idea is correct! For the theme in my mind, it was to be around the time of first contact. So in my idea it would be set in the latr 1400s or early 1500s! Hate it or love it is my idea and I am not arguing for this to be a pirates theme... but if you look it is closer to the Castle Timeline (500-1500) than the Pirates of System Lego (Which due to many hints (like the Imperial Armies using Flintlock weapons and the uniforms) ) took place in the late 1600s-1700's.

I researched and it says the Golden Age of Piracy lasted from 1560-1720 - which would mean it only started dying out AFTER this time... as the dates inside were the golden age. The Pax Romana was when the Roman Empire was at its best... you don't say Rome was falling in the later years of the Pax Romana... you say it was falling apart after the Pax Romana.

I think we can probably assume that Pirate lego takes place from 1670-1720.  Besides... if you look at the models that inspired me... they are armed with Crossbows, breastplates and broadswords. Certainly not the main weapons of imperial armies in the 17th and 18th centuries. And it doesnt matter what your seller friend thought he was doign when he put those pieces together! His little lot made me think of an idea that I liked and I presented here. Because it is the late 1400's/early 1500s... I thought it would be closer to castle... but due to the fact that the Castle we know and love is not even truely historical(They are all made up factions)... this Conquistador Idea would have to be of its own. I have figured out the flaw with my comparison... and it was none of the reasons you presented!

Whether or not my idea belongs with Castle isn't the point. It certainly doesn't belong with Pirates though as this is in the early stages and there was little piracy going on in the Carribean(not enough to make a theme about it) in the late 1400's/early 1500s. And it would consist of two NON-PIRATE factions - the Azteks and the Conquistadors!

And Castle has nothing right now! KK2 is crap and I would hardly consider it true castle! It is more like He-Man as blueandwhite pointed out!

Now lets put our differences on my idea aside Phes. You know as well as I do that this theme... or anything historically and carribean related - would be amazing. Us Pirate fans have to stick together. If we didn't than the poll on Pirates vs. Castle would be even more catastrophic than it is.

[TheBrickster]

Noting the resemblance all of them have to your avatar.

[Sting]

mister_phes, on Nov 18 2005, 05:00 AM, said:

I must be having a slow moment, The Brickster because I don't get what you mean...  You mean the 4 conquistadors in the front row all look indentical?

  I believe what he means is that all of these Conquistadors look alot like your avatar - Breastplates, Morions, red torsos, and unshaven faces.

[TheBrickster]

Even my long lost cowboy head in the top middle!

[TheBrickster]

It's a great army none the less.