[ENTRY] 6244 Armada Sentry Remake

[Brickshipyard]

Hello Eurobricks community, I was studying this contest for quite a while (felt like half of summer!) and came away so impressed with the range of pirate builders submitting, I had to submit an entry also :). I introduce you to my 6244 Armada Sentry Remake. The original set was a simple, dare I say minimalist, little, one manned dock with a singled roomed fort, plus boat. Still, it had a lot of charm and was a cheap way to obtain white walls and exclusive green doors!

In this remake, I added many things:

 - another level and upgraded architecture with a fully working crane. I felt some height would be advantageous for the crane, plus more real estate for the figures. I also added an extra ladder so each floor is accessible. I am really happy with the railings and arches. They offer substantial character to the outpost's vibe.

- many characters with perhaps a love story going on. The original had just one lonely Armada Guard. He's back of course with an extra bushy mustache haha. Same demeanour though! I mean, you could still write a brave story about him, but in this remake I included a Spanish Lady (maybe royalty?) who lives at this sentry post, maybe she is the lover of the sailer? Who knows. She has some accessories like the letter to imply she is educated and has a connection to the someone, like the sailer. The other two are a Pirate skeleton and the boat's Captain who makes good use of the ruff piece around his neck. I think 4 diverse figures offers a very compelling story.

- fun accessories and furniture - naturally I had to include some swords and muskets, barrels for the crane and ship. Yet, I also included a map, compass, candles, and even flowers. Items that really bring the place to life. Furthermore, the residence needed furniture so I went witht a small table, a figure bust, a chest, and lastly a colorful bed. Hey, somebody's gotta get some shut eye on this outpost!

- some tropical/swamp vegetation (Spanish Moss tree) and sandbar landscape. I experimented with using seaweed upside down to make a Spanish moss like tree. Also, the original set was just in the middle of the ocean, so some land (just a sandy island near the coast) helps here.

- animals - Chameleon, crocidile, Parrot, and Tucan bird. The original didn't have any wildlife, so these additions were badly needed. 

- The boat was also given a massive upgrade to include sails. Before anyone has a heartattack (LOL) that I cut up original Armada Ship sails, relax, I most certainly did not! These are custom printed ones, that I then cut down to scale. The rear most sail is rough (literally on the edges). I will have to seal them later. But for now, they work in their role and have nice color contrast. You can believe this ship is from the Armada. Additionally, the hull of the sailboat has colors resembling the original Armada Flagship. Yes, a bit over the top, but I wanted to have fun and stay in theme with that palette. While the ship uses the original red dingy, it's expanded over the sides for a more midi look. Not much storage room though! You will note the minifigure horse serving as the ship's figurehead. Maybe the ship would be named "caballo de mar" which in Spanish means seahorse.

- play features - The shallow base and medium size doesn't allow for a ton of play features, but between the working crane and hidden first floor compartment, you get a few.

- piece count - I kept track of the pieces in the build and it comes to a total of: 425 pieces (+/-) 10 pieces if my count was off. Not a crazy amount and definitely within reason for Lego to work with. I would price the set at around $50 fair value in today's Lego market. Perhaps $60 to $70 because of the special elements like sails and figures.

I welcome all feedback and criticism, but you should know I spent days on this design and am pretty much at the final stages. In other words, I am very happy with the results, even if flawed in some ways. Also, keep in mind that realism was not at the top of my goals here because I view the Armada Pirate theme up there with the Islanders which is more fantasy based. I interpret that to mean fun expression with colors and sometimes wild designs. Similar to the Dragon Masters in the Castle theme.

Thanks for reading. Here is a link to my Flickr to view more images: https://flic.kr/ps/3mi3BG

- The Brickshipyard

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Brickshipyard

[MstrOfPppts]

The LBG masonry bricks and other details work really well in the combination of white for the fort. I don't understand the offset of the floors in the fort, makes the whole build look a bit unstable. Everyone is trying to replicate the official LEGO waters and shores, though many go for too much water. The blue plates are meant to only indicate where the water starts and of course it continues along the floor to the next island. All these wave connections to make the water bigger don't work. Either the waves are not consistent or the connections don't hold the mass of the plates together. The old torsos on the minifigs aged quite well and go together with the newer heads. But I miss the consistency - either go for the old or the new style of eyes. I also really like the color scheme of the boat though it's a lot on the chiby side and the sails look too big for it.

[Brickshipyard]

36 minutes ago, MstrOfPppts said:

The LBG masonry bricks and other details work really well in the combination of white for the fort. I don't understand the offset of the floors in the fort, makes the whole build look a bit unstable. Everyone is trying to replicate the official LEGO waters and shores, though many go for too much water. The blue plates are meant to only indicate where the water starts and of course it continues along the floor to the next island. All these wave connections to make the water bigger don't work. Either the waves are not consistent or the connections don't hold the mass of the plates together. The old torsos on the minifigs aged quite well and go together with the newer heads. But I miss the consistency - either go for the old or the new style of eyes. I also really like the color scheme of the boat though it's a lot on the chiby side and the sails look too big for it.

Thank you MstrOfPppts for taking the time to review my entry and offer your feedback. I will agree my water base is a bit exaggerated and maybe the very left plate too loosely connected. I kept the water effects to a minimal to keep the parts down, but maybe revisiting this area I would only have the island and just a bit of water where the dock is. I could improve a lot the water.

Actually the sand bar base and building is extremely sturdy, even with the 1 stud floor over hang. The way the bricks overlap and large piece use ensure the stability.

Per your faces criticism.. hmmm... not sure I see the issue as the old heads are the few with the right mustaches (Spaniard looks) and are well hidden under the helmets. The original Armada guard has such a big mustache you can't really see his face anyways. The updated lady's head has a much better expression than the old female ones (far too simplistic IMO). If I had make the skins tones flesh tone vs. classic yellow, than yeah that lack of consistency would be bad. Always interesting to see what others focus on and you definitely studied the details closely, so that I appreciate. :) Lastly, I'll take the compliment on the boat and totally agree it's pushing it for scale and the sails are large - more of the size seen on the most recent Eldorado ship.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Brickshipyard

[MstrOfPppts]

I understand your point for the heads, but you have to take in consideration that it's an official set you're trying to create and as such all the pieces would be used in other creations by kids, where the heads would not necessarily be so hidden. As for the mustache guy it's even more irrelevant if you used any other head just to include the newer style pupils. And in the end besides the Lego Movie sets, which was a kind of a parody of themselves, LEGO never mixes the different eyes styles, skin tones with yellows and minidolls with minifigs ...

[iragm]

What a great little design, quite an upgrade over the original set!

When viewed from the back, the overhang on the left side is a bit awkward, an arch would improve the look, I think.  Also, there is a bit more gray than the original set had.  I would swap out some of that for white or green bricks to keep the original's look.  A bit of gray is OK, kind of like a bit of dark red is OK in Eldorado style builds, IMHO there's just a bit much here.

The tree is an interesting design, but it feels more 'bayou' and less 'Caribbean island'.  Either the sand should be changed, or, more simply, the tree should be swapped for a simple palm tree.

Very nice minifigures, the accessories nicely modernize the classic torsos.  The faces don't bother me at all.

The sails do not really work for me; this ship is too small to have the full emblem on it.  Print up some sails with just a blue stripe and it would be better.  That said, the rest of the boat is a great little design, I love the figurehead and how it extends and expands the standard rowboat.  Especially the curves on the sides are nicely shaped.  Overall this is a great entry, and considering that I really dislike the original set, you've done a great job making something that actually looks good!

 

[Rogue Redcoat]

Aye, a lovely entry indeed, the updates look nice and so does the boat, I would however add an updated tree and make it more tropical? I don't know what tree it's supposed to represent, if it's grown in the tropics you're good. Anyway, make that dock black, and try to remake those old pieces they used to have, the doors the walls, the crane, it's supposed to be a remake so, I would update it a bit more. Other than this the Minifigures and back story are great, so happy building :)

Wait, how is that horse head attached to the ship?

[Brickshipyard]

6 hours ago, iragm said:

What a great little design, quite an upgrade over the original set!

When viewed from the back, the overhang on the left side is a bit awkward, an arch would improve the look, I think.  Also, there is a bit more gray than the original set had.  I would swap out some of that for white or green bricks to keep the original's look.  A bit of gray is OK, kind of like a bit of dark red is OK in Eldorado style builds, IMHO there's just a bit much here.

The tree is an interesting design, but it feels more 'bayou' and less 'Caribbean island'.  Either the sand should be changed, or, more simply, the tree should be swapped for a simple palm tree.

Very nice minifigures, the accessories nicely modernize the classic torsos.  The faces don't bother me at all.

The sails do not really work for me; this ship is too small to have the full emblem on it.  Print up some sails with just a blue stripe and it would be better.  That said, the rest of the boat is a great little design, I love the figurehead and how it extends and expands the standard rowboat.  Especially the curves on the sides are nicely shaped.  Overall this is a great entry, and considering that I really dislike the original set, you've done a great job making something that actually looks good!

 

The overhang is not popular and I get it. Does look a bit awkward and I was thinking of adding arches in the back, but wanted to keep access to the rooms open. Yep, I can see your point I went far into the gray side, maybe I should have added bits of green besides just the doors to break it up.

The tree is fun experiment and you are right, I was going for bayou or Coastal Georgia or Florida. Swapping the tree would be the simplest solution and I think a classic Palm tree would look equally nice. Thank you for the insight and saying bayou because that was the missing word I could never put my vocabulary on.

Yes the rear sail isn't my favorite either and even as I created it, I was like man, I am throwing off this build a bit. Unfortunately, I was at the deadline, so had to go with it. Not sure if I can make small updates past the turn in deadline? Thanks for taking note of the design language in the boat! Anyways, I am really glad you enjoy the entry overall and it made you rethink what the original set could be!

[Brickshipyard]

2 hours ago, Rogue Redcoat said:

Aye, a lovely entry indeed, the updates look nice and so does the boat, I would however add an updated tree and make it more tropical? I don't know what tree it's supposed to represent, if it's grown in the tropics you're good. Anyway, make that dock black, and try to remake those old pieces they used to have, the doors the walls, the crane, it's supposed to be a remake so, I would update it a bit more. Other than this the Minifigures and back story are great, so happy building :)

Wait, how is that horse head attached to the ship?

The tree is bayou like and was I was going for a Spanish Moss. Perhaps I should have used whips more than seaweed, but that's what I had in my collection at sufficient quantities. You know, I thought about making the dock black like the original. I would be fine with that, but since I went with the modern sand and water, I felt I had to go with brown. Well, I did incorporate the old white castle walls into the build, plus the white railing. Truthfully, not many more pieces I could add from the original set, therefore I went into expansion and creative mode. As a result, I had more real estate and rooms to work with which lead to, like you say, room for the great Minifigures and a story :). Some trade offs there. I could have gone with just a pure modernization, but same scale of the Armada Sentry, but that still would have been bland in my mind. Thank you for all the feedback!

To answer your question, the horse part has a necklace part that fits around that forward mast. This horse piece came from the CMF series and I believe from a cowboy figure. Cowboy costume guy 71021 in fact.

[Rogue Redcoat]

1 minute ago, Brickshipyard said:

To answer your question, the horse part has a necklace part that fits around that forward mast. This horse piece came from the CMF series and I believe from a cowboy figure. Cowboy costume guy 71021 in fact.

Aye, I spy some nice part usage