Opinions on the 2004 4+ Pirate Lego Theme

[Mister Phes]

My threads seem to at some point go completely off topic and turn into a discussion about something else. So to prevent that happening from yet another of my threads I'm creating this one to cater for the topic its about to turn into.

Irrespective of whether you like/dislike the old Pirate theme (1989-1997),

What are you opinions of the 2004 4+ Pirate theme?

Do you own/purchase any of the sets? For yourself? Your children?

Are the pieces any good for creating your own designs?

Have you seen them and thought "NO WAAAAAAAY am I buying that"

Also, if anybody has any statistics on how well this theme sold, provide those too. It would be interesting to know how well it did.

Here are my personal objections to the new 4+ Pirate Theme

[*]The sets aren

[Mister Phes]

Here are the posts I've salavaged from the unrelated thread:

Castle gets its own forum because Castle has new sets coming out and Pirates has been discontinued for years, save for a couple re-releases.

[Mister Phes]

Pirates had new sets released in 2004 and re-released sets in 2002 and 2001.

However I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to discuss the 2004 Pirate sets.

[xwingyoda]

I don't have any sets of that childish 4+ line.

On the overall, I think this is really disappointing >:( Too "Jackstone" and not really new parts!!!

However, at the end of the year, during the sales, if there are some sets left, I might grab some just for parts ;)

I guess if the sales are not that great, it might push TLC to have a new Pirate Line.

The actual question is who will go off topic first :-D

[Assassin]

The question should probably be, not who will go off topic, but how many posts will it take before it goes off topic.

[xwingyoda]

touch

[Mister Phes]

To be honest: I have two of the smaller sets (The one with the chrome scimitar and the little float, and the other set with the bottle and the monkey), but I only got them for the parts ;)

[Assassin]

Hey, does this mean we are already off topic ? ? ? ? ;-)

[Mister Phes]

I'll see during the automn sales. If there are any sets left laugh.gif I'll buy some for parts like you Apo.  :-D

Would you say that the the smaller sets are good value?

Or would it be more benefical to buy the parts you need off Bricklink.com?

[Mister Phes]

I guess it would depend on how good sales are in you country. Because this 4+ Pirates might not sell as well, who knows, buying the sets might be cheaper

[Mister Phes]

Treasure Island is great value - awesome accessories.

The rest are pretty horrible.

Ok, that's all of them. I would have liked to do them in one post but for some reason the QUOTE tag wasn't working if the name of poster was included. So I had to go and test and edit them one by one.

Now, continue the 4+ Pirate Theme discussion!!!

[xwingyoda]

Thanks you're too kind :-D ;)

[V()()D()()]

I think the 4+ sets are bad, they use a lot of over sized pieces which I dont like *sick*, but I wish they would make a new pirate theme with plain figs, not "Jack Stone"! *devil*

[The Middleman]

Phes, there is an EDIT button. ;)

4+ is a horrible line, one of LEGO's worst decisions. Horrible figures and pieces, save for the accessories. Oh, on a side not, this is the first line with a real gun piece in about a year, and it's intended for toddlers?

[snefroe]

"4+" indicates "age", people... i'd be very surprised if you, as an adult reader, would be happy with a book for a 4 year old...

just to put in some perspective here... :P

[xwingyoda]

Would be less boring than International Agreements: Share Purchase Agreements, Stockholders Agreement, Technical Assistance.... ;) :P

[The Middleman]

But are we positive the 'juniors' enjoy this line? Wouldn't they enjoy a good pirate ship and normal figures as much as the rest of us?

[xwingyoda]

I'm not sure that Juniors enjoy those jackstonish sets.

I know that when I was a kid I loved the "real" minifigs ;)

Kids always have Bob the Builder & Dora :-D

[Mister Phes]

I'm not sure that Juniors enjoy those jackstonish sets.

I know that when I was a kid I loved the "real" minifigs ;)

Kids always have Bob the Builder & Dora :-D

As I've mentioned a couple of times, my 4 year old nephew prefers my classic Pirate Lego over his 4+ crap.

The bigger pieces and simpler set designs make no difference - he still can't reassemble it any if he accidentally breaks something.

[SuvieD]

I was drooling over the large ship since it was released. Last month I finally got one when I found them BOGO 50% off. It only cost me $60 so for an extra $10-20 you could buy a bulk tub and fill it out nicely.

I combined the two into a very large beauty of a ship. I will, when I have some time, make it into a proper vessel though.

Pros

The ship itself is very large. :)

If built according to the instructions it is supposed to float! :oo

It has new mast parts and some other newly molded parts (at least 10).

It can be made into a very large and grand looking ship with some decent modifing.

Cons

The hull is not extremely sturdy (required to float). :(

It only comes with four pirates, one of which is an enemy walking the plank. *twisted*

The hull top doesn't have very many studs for connecting (only half covered).

It should have come with some extra pirate gear and loot.

I also got some of the small marketplace sets and the little black ship to bolster my pirate crew. I like all the little rarities and special parts.

Bottom line. If you like pirates pick up at least the large ship. It will work well in a MOC and some of the pieces are great. If you can find them for a cheap price, pick up some of the nicer sets. If you have a 3-8 year old buy them all the sets. A friends child was recently over to my house so i let him play test the ship for me. Even under his rough play the ship held together very well, he behaved excellently and I was able to repair the ship in just minutes. 4+ pirates is a winner if you are a fan or have small children (now or on the way).

[snefroe]

But are we positive the 'juniors' enjoy this line? Wouldn't they enjoy a good pirate ship and normal figures as much as the rest of us?

no we're not sure at all. i'm not saying that they will enjoy the line, i'm only saying that we are just a little bit older than the intended audience, therefore might not be happy with the line. perhaps 4 year olds aren't happy with it either... But perhaps it's up to the 4 year olds to give us their opinion... :P where are they? :P

[Mister Phes]

But are we positive the 'juniors' enjoy this line?  Wouldn't they enjoy a good pirate ship and normal figures as much as the rest of us?

no we're not sure at all. i'm not saying that they will enjoy the line, i'm only saying that we are just a little bit older than the intended audience, therefore might not be happy with the line. perhaps 4 year olds aren't happy with it either... But perhaps it's up to the 4 year olds to give us their opinion... :P where are they? :P

I can give my 4 year old nephew's opinion:

He likes the old Pirate stuff better.

If you know a 4 year old that plays with Pirate Lego, get their opinion too! (If possible)

[Mister Phes]

I was drooling over the large ship since it was released.  Last month I finally got one when I found them BOGO 50% off.  It only cost me $60 so for an extra $10-20 you could buy a bulk tub and fill it out nicely.

I combined the two into a very large beauty of a ship.  I will, when I have some time, make it into a proper vessel though. 

Please post pictures of your creation! Even if its not finished, document the process of creation on this message board. We will love you for it! We really will!

Pros

The ship itself is very large.  :)

If built according to the instructions it is supposed to float!  :oo

It has new mast parts and some other newly molded parts (at least 10).

It can be made into a very large and grand looking ship with some decent modifing.

Cons

The hull is not extremely sturdy (required to float). :(

It only comes with four pirates, one of which is an enemy walking the plank. *twisted*

The hull top doesn't have very many studs for connecting (only half covered).

It should have come with some extra pirate gear and loot.

This is a great critical analysis! The good and the bad. Very helpful. Thanks!

I also got some of the small marketplace sets and the little black ship to bolster my pirate crew.  I like all the little rarities and special parts.

Bottom line.  If you like pirates pick up at least the large ship.  It will work well in a MOC and some of the pieces are great.  If you can find them for a cheap price, pick up some of the nicer sets.  If you have a 3-8 year old buy them all the sets. 

I do intend to purchase ALL these sets when they're on sale. Preferably when they're reduce to 50% off. However I'll probably leave them sealed in their boxes and if I want the parts for MOCs I'll wait till they become available on eBay or BrickLink.

A friends child was recently over to my house so i let him play test the ship for me.  Even under his rough play the ship held together very well, he behaved excellently and I was able to repair the ship in just minutes.

The one advantage to these sets with the larger pieces would obviously be there's less to put back together. However my 4 year old nephew plays with my classic Pirate Lego and doesn't usually do too much damage to it. No more than he does to his 4+ Pirate Lego anyway.

4+ pirates is a winner if you are a fan or have small children (now or on the way).

Well I'm a Pirate fan but 4+ Pirates aren't giving me that winning feeling. Not like purchasing a Skulls Eye Schooner for example.

[Brett]

I have to say this:

THESE SETS WERE NOT DESIGNED FOR ADULTS! :)

These sets are catered to a very specific age group...hence the title of the theme. These kids have not typically been building LEGO very long, therefore the 4+ theme is a great way to introduce it. The bigger parts and figures are a for the hands of a 4 year old. LEGO is attempting to reach a market that thy have always had a hard time with, and this is starting to work.

I won;t talk sales numbers or the like, but the line IS doing well. :)

-Brett

[Mister Phes]

I have to say this:

THESE SETS WERE NOT DESIGNED FOR ADULTS! :)

And neither was the original Pirate theme, that was supposedly aimed for people between 7 and 12.

However, why make a pirate theme catering for children around the age of 4 when there is an abundance of older people who enjoyed the original Pirate theme and would enjoy new Pirate sets. So what makes children

around the age of 4 so special that the Pirate sets were aimed towards them and not another age group? Its a rather big let down to the older people interested in Pirate Lego.

Knights Kingdom was aimed at the 7-12 market, so why wasn't Pirates?