34 replies to this topic

[lt.Gonville brickhead]

Lately I've been wondering which is the better ship   IFS or SES, I for one prefer the SES   but I wanted to know what other people think.

Imperial Flagship

OR
Skull Eye Schooner


Also If you want to know more or just can't decide here's some reviews that might help you.
Reviews
IFS
SES

Obviously there two great ships so I think this is a tough decision.

[Mr. Gray]

I think the SES looks a lot better, I just like the way the ship is built. The new IFS, however, has a great selection of parts in IMO, better color choices.

I don't own either, but if I had to say based on look, I'd say the SES.

[Erdbeereis]

Added a poll for you.
Everyone should still discuss why they made their choice though.

[Scorpiox]

I'd have to say the IFS, I like imperials better anyway but the IFS has a more realistic colour scheme and a variety of figs. I think it is a shame that the SES crew is mainly clones when the IFS had a cook. At least the soldiers all had different faces.

[Sinner]

Imperial Flagship: it has more freeboard and less sails for its size and is thus more seaworthy.  

[lightningtiger]

The 'IFS' for me, looks more realistic, though our other choice still has a place the Lego world as a classic ship of a long gone classic pirates era !
Sadly I won't be able to buy one of these, as city, SW, Ninjago and Kingdoms take centre stage of making me even more broke !
Brick On Everyone......on the high seas !

[Captain Becker]

It depens alot of do you like Pirates more than Imperials, and do you like the Old or New Pirates line better.
IMO, SES has nice ship parts wich can be useful for ship building, and you get the very rare guy called "Steve" on it too. But the new IFS has also very nice parts, suchs as the admirals daughers dress and the dark blue parts. It has also better colour scheme, but the bow is somewhat difficult to build. Anyways, i wish you luck, i cant and i dont make the choise for you, so choose yourself. But if you have a change, get them both.

Captain Becker

[Admiral Croissant]

Very tough choice.. I think it really depends on what features you think are important.
When it comes to seaworthiness, I'd go for the SES. The masts are shorter and is has 2 latin sails (IF only 1) and latin sails make a ship easier manouvrable.
Also, the rigging and sails arrangement of SES is more realistic. IF should have another latin sail and the one it has shouldn't have a separate mast IMO.

They seem to have the same amount of cannons, but if you also count the small ones, SES is better armed, and it has a better figurehead.
The only real good point about the IF is that it has more brown parts, which are more useful when you build your own ships.

So I choose the SES for seaworthyness, but when it comes to minifigs and useful parts, I'd go for the Imperial Flagship.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

No doubt that these are two great ships. I'd have to go with the IFS. It is by far the largest ship which I think would mean she'd be carrying the heavier guns and larger crew which in my book makes her the powerhouse of the line up. There are a lot more parts in the IFS and you get a more sophisticated design. I also love the more realistic sails. I really like the SES and am glad to have both ships in my collection.

[Ratshot]

The IFS for me, it can hold far more men, weapons and supply's. It rules the seas!
SES is still a nice ship, I wish I owned it. Someday I will

[halfpenguinhalflego]

As much as I admire SES the IFS is so much better in terms of pieces,colour and it is nice to see LEGO make a big vessel for the imperial soldiers.

[j30spiff]

The Imperial Flagship just looks awesome to me. Although I'm a fan of other LEGO themes, this set caught my eye the first time I saw it and it's high on my want list, despite the price of the set.

[J-MAN]

I definitely like the SES better. I think the sails look cooler and it comes with nine pirate mini-figs. I admit it has some clashing colors, but I still think it's the superior ship.  

[FlyBoy]

IMO SES is the best looking of all the Pirate ships.. simply because of the sails. Even with the hull a little oddly coloured/shaped, the sails look excellent. IFS could do with some actual string rigging and properly stepped masts.

As for "seaworthy"-ness (we are talking about flat-bottom LEGO after all!), like was mentioned IFS would be more difficult to maneuver. It is however a much better protected ship. And if you really want to get into technicalities, IFS would be able to support larger -and more- cannon than SES. I think most people peg the LEGO cannons at around 18 pounds (based on cannon size, not shot size). These cannons would be huge on both those ships. More realistic would be 8-12 lbs. guns on IFS, and 4-6 lbs. guns on SES (I'd class the small cannon on the stern castle of SES as 6 pdr. -a more realistic size for a gun-brig).

Finally, one or two raking attacks from IFS could wipe out most of the gun crew on SES... whereas IFS's gun crew is protected.

However, I love both these sets. IFS is on display on top of one of my book cases. I'm currently trying to find a place for SES.

[Dread_Privateer_Roberts]

In terms of LEGO sets, the IFS is superior. It has Many more pieces, nearly double that of the SES, and a better color scheme. Aslo, because it is newer and not as rare, the $ per piece is MUCH lower (about 1/4) of what the SES costs. Because I prefer the original Pirates,however, I am not as fond of the newer figures.

In terms of Real world sailing, each ship would have its own merits.

Obviously the larger ship would have greater capacity, better ability to weather storms, and in all likelyhood faster on a downwind run due to the setup of its sails. In real life, the IFS would likely be a Brig, with the Fore, Main, and Mizzen masts squair rigged and one headsail off the foremast. The Fore and Mizzen are rigged with a Main and Lower sail and the Main mast is running with a Top Gallant. Lightly armed for its size in comparison to other vessels, it would have made an excellent transport ship in open areas with good steady wind (like the trade winds)

The SES, although called the schooner, is more of a Galleon with the Fore and Main Squair rigged and the Mizzen setup with a Lanteen Rig. This would have made the SES a more manuverable ship and better at sailing close to the wind, although not as fast on a Run. The Lanteen rig also requires less crew to manuver which means more crew available for fighting. With its lower profile (harder to hit), more manuverable configuration, and equal number of broadside cannon (assuming they are in fact the same cannon that the IFS has, probably demi-culverin) plus a small cannon, The SES is an ideal pirate ship and would have, in all likelyhood been able to disable and capture the Larger IFS. The Smaller hull of the SES would not take the abuse that the IFS would likely be able to absorb, but its manuverability would mean that it would probably be able to avoid a broadside from the IFS. The goal of the Pirates was seldom to sink another ship, but rather disable, board, and take its cargo...

Edited by Dread_Privateer_Roberts, 06 March 2011 - 06:42 PM.

[Captain Roger]

i think the Imperial ship is better.

That is because is more realistic, real sailboats i have seen are more similar to the Imperial ship than the SES, so i imagine ships like Imperial flagship are more seaworthy than ships like SES. SES is more manageable to play because you needn't  quit parts of the ship to access to the cannons...and I think this is the reason why is less realistic and seaworthy: It could become flooded with high waves

In any case I love SES...is the best pirate lego ship ever

[SirSven7]

Three mast's on the flagship, so that gets my vote

[Perfectionist]

Interesting question, when you look at the oversized sterncastle of the IFS it becomes quite clear however, that it would not perform very well in heavy seas, unlike the SES which has some tumblehome there.  

[JRBricks]

Let me just say that I am pretty much a City and Star Wars collector...and I had never bought anything "Pirates" before, but I purchased the Imperial Flagship last year because I thought it had that "wow" factor...and it is just awesome! One of our favorite sets by far.

[Dread_Privateer_Roberts]

As a LEGO set the IFS absolutely has the WOW factor...

I've got about 15 or so ships together right now, and the IFS sure stands out, even next to the likes of the Baracuda, SES, Red Beard Runner, and the Bounty

[Big Cam]

I say the Imperial Flagship, it just looks more like a ship.  I hate to be technical but older LEGO ships just don't have the same form as the Imperial Flagship.

[lt.Gonville brickhead]

Thankyou everyone for your replies.
I myself hope I can get both as that would even out  my bluecoat/redcoat fleets.
Still I love the SES and when I can afford to I will get it.

Thanks again
LGB

[brickmack]

Definitely the Imperial Flagship. It's bigger, more crew (I think, based on the pictures, please correct me if I am wrong), it actually has a kitchen, etc. Also I think the colorscheme of the Flagship looks a lot better.

[Dreamweb]

There's been some time since we had a poll frontpaged on Classic-Pirates.com, and this looks like a nice poll to be featured there, so...

...expect it there soon!

[Admiral Benbow]

I chose the Imperial Flagship
1. because it is a warship
2. ALOT of good peices came in the set (brown mast peices)
3. it has a decent crew


I noticed the skulls eye schooner had a rowboat on the back.  Its a bit more practical for life aboard the ship, but not very roomy for battles.