Review: 6236 King Kahuka

[Inconspicuous]

Hi everyone! Welcome to my second Pirate review. I selected another of my favorite sets: 6236 King Kahuka.

This tiny set cowered in the shadows while its larger brothers took the spotlight. I now give it the spotlight in my review of this "Islander Impulse"

BASIC INFORMATION:

Set Name: King Kahuka

Set Number: 6236

Number of Pieces: 42

Minifigs: 1

Price: $4

Theme: Pirates

Year Released: 1994

RESOURCES:

Brickset

Peeron

Bricklink

Brickshelf (Now Public)

THE REVIEW:

BOX:

Front:

The image on the front displays a lovely scene in which King Kahuka is walking from his treasure to his throne. The background appears to be sculpted and not computer generated.

Back:

The back of the box shows two alternate models on a map background. They really should include these alternate models in current sets.

Box:: Thoughts: Nicely designed with good pictures. However, I'm surprised they didn't show anything about the only "play feature": The treasure storage under the throne.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Front:

This is just a cropped version of the box art. Notice that no treasure chest is pictured.

Front Unfolded:

The instructions are just one sheet. The first 9 steps and the minifig are on the front.....

Back Unfolded:

And the last 7 steps are on the back.

Instructions:: Thoughts: I personally don't care for one-sheet instructions, but they are fine I guess.

PIECES:

Pieces (unsorted):

Just look at that lovely green plate Quite a bit of red and gray as well.

Pieces (sorted):

A very nice selection of colors in this set. Quite a variety of pieces.

Pieces of interest:

A decent amount of accessories as well. In fact, too many for Kahuka alone!

Pieces:: Thoughts: Great selection and colors. Very satisfactory for a small set.

MINIFIG:

King Kahuka:

Here is the minifig that comes with the set. No back printing, but a fantastic grass skirt and shell necklace. The mask is excellent as well. Everything about this minifig is superb.

The Man Behind the Mask:

Extraordinary face painting on the head! Might be good for a mime MOC.

Minifig:: Thoughts: A great minifig with great printing. Absolutely stunning!

THE BUILD:

Build 1:

At Step 4, the foundation is started.

Build 2:

At Step 8, the chest and cover are added

Build 3:

The spear clips and back of the chair are started in Step 12.

Completed:

And in 16 short steps the product is done.

Build:: Thoughts: Done faster than you can say "Kahuka". Fine for a small set.

COMPLETED PRODUCT:

On Throne:

The gray slopes on the back of the chair are an excellent detail.

The Whole Set:

The staff is yet another accessory for Kahuka.

Throne Folded:

The only "play feature" of this set is the unfolding chair and the storage space. They did a pretty good job a making a throne "playable".

_______________________________________________

Now for those Totals!

Design: 10/10 Excellent details and colors, everything blends well.

Parts: 10/10 Good colors and selection, plenty of accessories. Nothing left out.

Build: 8/10 Nice and fast, but one-sheet instructions are a bit annoying.

Minifigs: 10/10 One excellent, detailed minifig here. Perfect for such a small set.

Playability: 6/10 Here's the major downside: on its own, it does nothing. However, it is in a way an impulse set, and adding it to other sets makes them much more fun.

Price: 10/10 $4 for 42 pieces is just superb. Throw in a splendid minifig, and this is a must have. They average at around $4.50 on Bricklink, which is still fantastic

Total: 54/60 For a tiny set, this is just amazing. If you are a Pirate or Islander fan, buy this now! If not, you'll probably still enjoy it anyways.

Thanks for reading!

-Inconspicuous

Edited August 12, 2009 by Inconspicuous

[guerrillatyphoon]

I remember getting this set when I was little and adding it to my other islanders sets, but I had like three King Kahuka's. Great review!

[Erdbeereis]

Very nice review Inconspicuous! I quite like this set; it's a great way to try out the Islanders theme to see if you like it.

It's great to get 2 lovely printed shields in such a small set.

Thanks a lot for the review.

[Destroydacre]

I remember getting this set when I was little and adding it to my other islanders sets, but I had like three King Kahuka's. Great review!

Yeah, I know what you mean. If you purchase all the Islander sets, you get a ton of Kahukas compared to the regular Islanders. I liked this set, but it seems kind of redundant when you compare it to King Kahuka's throne. The premise behind both sets was basically the same (a throne for King Kahuka) but the latter came with servants and pirates to attack. Still this set was good in its own right and it's always appreciated getting gold pieces in a $4 set. Thanks for another good review!

Edited August 12, 2009 by Destroydacre

[colincmr]

I remember this set!

It was easy to incorporate it into the rest of the pirates/islanders world

[Dreamweb]

Another set I don't have. But from the pictures I'd say it's average. At the time it was released it could be considered a good army builder (and treasure builder ).

Too bad I was never that much into collecting Islanders - always preferred pirates and soldiers (of all kinds). Now I kind of regret having neglected the Islanders.

[Zorro]

Ow, looks like I missed this review!

I find this to be a very good and playable set, I own two of them, one with and one without a box.

Back then, I liked the Islanders sets a lot and this is really one of the classics IMHO.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

Well it is a classic Pirate set so you can't go wrong with that. I love islanders and have loads but there doesn't seem to much special about this set other than its a classic.

[Admiral Croissant]

Nice set with a lot of usable parts. I have one myself and I have played a lot with it (of course mixed with other lego).

4 dollars is a very fair price for such a set and I was amazed it's still around $4,50

Good review