Finding Pirate Lego Treasure - Unearthing 90's Pirates Sets. Pics

[Admiral Blockbeard]

Hello all,

It has been a long time since I have been on these forums, a second dark age brought on by life and growing up. Going about my normal life I agreed to house sit for some family friends. A few weeks in their grandson is storming through the house to find a piano book. in the chaos I notice some Lego in a cupboard. By chance I catch a glimpse of a raised base plate that immediately makes me think of the Imperial Trading Post and Eldorado Fortress. I never had these sets as a kid and remember drooling over them for years in the Lego advertisements. I thought little of it amidst the young terrors invasion into what was a nice quiet week. A few days later it came back into my mind and I thought I might investigate. I noticed some tell tale signs of a good pirate collection... a large imperial flag, a mast from a ship, some rigging, my mind instantly thought there was not only a base for the Imperials but a ship as well! Then I came across the mini-figures box. Imperial guard torsos, and more importantly shakos! My heart jumped a beat and I knew this dark age man was about to regress to his golden-age-boy-self. I instantly needed to know what sets were there and if they were complete!

My first question was answered quickly, locating the instructions! No more guessing, the sets include;

6245 - Harbor Sentry

6257 - Castaway's Raft

6260 - Shipwreck Island

6265 - Sabre Island !!

6270 - Forbidden Island

and...

6276 - Eldorado Fortress

But just then something unexpected was found!

I instantly read the comic and felt my blood running cold in excitement, God I hope those sets are complete...

A long story short, and a long day building later, I found all sets more or less complete. A few flags damaged, a few flags missing, and numerous broken palm leaves. Importantly, all the mini-figures were there, plus extras!

- I was rather bummed to see that the Gov's hat was "toothed" so it doesn't fit very well. (not at all till some minor restoration, the insides had been pushed in too tightly)

Look at these lovely imperials!

You can see the sets and other things like the weapons in my Brickshelf folder here... (when open and cleaned).

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=528100

I had a really great time building these sets and wanted to share the experience with you guys.

Have you ever had an awesome find out of the blue?

If I was to offer to buy them what do you think a fair price would be?

Thanks guys,

the newly promoted,

Cpt. Pegleg Blockbeard

Now...

Admiral Blockbeard.

[Hey Joe]

It sounds like you had a lot of fun. Welcome back.

Joe

[TheLegoDr]

I loved that line of Pirates as a kid. Those were some of my favorite sets too.

I miss the raised baseplates for some of those sets. It just adds some more size/depth to an otherwise small build.

That sounds like a lot of fun rebuilding all of those sets. I should dig mine out and sort all of the pieces for old time's sake.

As for an offer, I would have no idea. I can't imagine they would be terribly cheap. But I'm sure you could "rip" them off if you wanted. I don't mean plunder, I mean lowball it and see what they take. The worst they can say is no and then you negotiate up to your high price.

[Zeya]

Bricklink is down right now. But you can go there and search for each set number, then in that entry look for "price guide" where you can bring up data and see what people have paid for that set in the past 6 months (look at used, not new). That should give you a starting point for price. You could expect to buy for less than that, since it sounds like this stuff has been chewed a little. I'd try for half the 6 month average used BL price. I wouldn't say that's ripping these people off. Your average non-AFOL might be happy to offload old dusty bricks with minimal effort. It's only us crazies who piece stuff together and really "take the time"...

Have fun! I recently uncovered my old pirate Lego. I'm trying to find the time to write up reviews.

Edit: Bricklink came back up now. See for example:

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=6260-1

Then click the link at the bottom right "View Price Guide". The average last 6 month sales for used copies is $15. So maybe you'd offer them $7 for that set. Probably best to calculate each set and offer to buy them all from them. Anyway, there you go.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Zeya

[Admiral Blockbeard]

Hi again,

It sounds like you had a lot of fun. Welcome back.

Thanks good to be back, going to have to check out how classic pirates has evolved since I left. When I was last here they were running the "Pillage the village" contest and the site was rather new. Nice meeting you Joe.

I miss the raised baseplates for some of those sets. It just adds some more size/depth to an otherwise small build.

Most people hate the large raised base plates, I am a fence sitter on them, would prefer some brick built construction, but know that Lego wouldn't go that far for a set so having them adds to the sets size nicely. Personally I always liked the look of the raised base plate in set 6278 - Enchanted Island.

That sounds like a lot of fun rebuilding all of those sets. I should dig mine out and sort all of the pieces for old time's sake.

As for an offer, I would have no idea. I can't imagine they would be terribly cheap. But I'm sure you could "rip" them off if you wanted. I don't mean plunder, I mean lowball it and see what they take. The worst they can say is no and then you negotiate up to your high price.

It was fun and if you have the sets I really do encourage you dig them out, the nostalgia was an amazing experience for me, and has me hunting down old pirate Lego again. As for ripping them off, this kind of the focus to my question, we as collector want a good deal, but where is the balance between a good deal and being unethical towards the owners. I figure they could get about $200 for these sets from a Lego reseller pretty easily.

Then click the link at the bottom right "View Price Guide". The average last 6 month sales for used copies is $15. So maybe you'd offer them $7 for that set. Probably best to calculate each set and offer to buy them all from them. Anyway, there you go.

Ahh, excellent, I had forgot about that feature. Thanks, I will use your method and edit in here what I find. Was there any reason you suggested half?

EDIT: totaling up the sets and halving I got $112.25, so my guess at $200 was nearly spot on.

AB.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Admiral Blockbeard

[naf]

Great looking sets, must have been a lot of fun to build. Before you go and make an offer, maybe a conversation with the owner is in order. I'm not sure what stage of life they're in, but when I was in my dark ages I didn't give two thoughts about my old Lego. If someone came along and offered me hundreds of dollars to take my collection, I probably would have sold it. Now that I'm older, have some stepkids (and another child on the way), and have been bitten by the Lego bug again, I'm very thankful that my parents had the foresight to seal up all of my Lego and stash it away for me instead of getting rid of it. I have a lot of fun building my old sets and reliving childhood memories, and also get a kick showing my stepkids my old toys. I think it would be a nice courtesy from one AFOL to another potential AFOL who might not realize how much they'll want their Lego down the road. Of course, after that if they still want to sell make a reasonable offer.

Most people hate the large raised base plates, I am a fence sitter on them, would prefer some brick built construction, but know that Lego wouldn't go that far for a set so having them adds to the sets size nicely. Personally I always liked the look of the raised base plate in set 6278 - Enchanted Island.

I'm kind of in the middle on the raised baseplates. I would prefer that they were brick built, but that would add a lot of bricks to a set just to build up the base of the main building (like Eldorado), and drive up the cost of the set. I really wish the ramps on them were studded though. They're just a useless waste of space the way they are now. You can't put minifigures on it, or vehicles because they'll fall off or roll down. And you can't build anything on them.

[Zeya]

Ahh, excellent, I had forgot about that feature. Thanks, I will use your method and edit in here what I find. Was there any reason you suggested half?

EDIT: totaling up the sets and halving I got $112.25, so my guess at $200 was nearly spot on.

Half was just an example, really. I just think you should be getting that batch of Lego for less than BL average prices, for a few reasons. First, what you described sounded to me to be unorganized. That means parting together and a time investment on your part. Also it sounds like it's in used condition. Expect worn prints and missing parts that you might feel compelled to replace. Also the fact that you'd be buying in-person means there's no shipping or handling on the seller's part, no BL or ebay fees (3% or 9% roughly). And then the fact that the seller probably isn't a rabid (crazy!) AFOL means the Lego might not be worth to them what it would to a big Lego fan. Maybe the 50% I quoted is too "cheap"; don't want to rip off your friend, right? But something like 70 or 80% of full BL price would definitely be reasonable. But there are some variables I made assumptions on, such as the completeness of the sets and quality of the bricks.

[Admiral Blockbeard]

Great looking sets, must have been a lot of fun to build. Before you go and make an offer, maybe a conversation with the owner is in order. I'm not sure what stage of life they're in, but when I was in my dark ages I didn't give two thoughts about my old Lego. If someone came along and offered me hundreds of dollars to take my collection, I probably would have sold it. Now that I'm older, have some stepkids (and another child on the way), and have been bitten by the Lego bug again, I'm very thankful that my parents had the foresight to seal up all of my Lego and stash it away for me instead of getting rid of it. I have a lot of fun building my old sets and reliving childhood memories, and also get a kick showing my stepkids my old toys. I think it would be a nice courtesy from one AFOL to another potential AFOL who might not realize how much they'll want their Lego down the road. Of course, after that if they still want to sell make a reasonable offer.

Some great points here, the couple are grandparents and they had 4 boys, I know most of them (older than me) in their collection they have a lot of classic space even a forest mans sets and have no interest in lego. I think what I will do is tell them how interested I am in the sets, and highlight the imperial sets I want the most. I only plan on buying the pirate sets not the other themes. I will also tell them to talk to the boys and make sure it is okay to sell them. I just really hope the grandchild (terror) won't stop me saving the sets. The way I found the minifigs was heart breaking, but luckily saveable. I will leave the sets made up and let them think on it. :) Thanks for the suggestions.

I really wish the ramps on them were studded though. They're just a useless waste of space the way they are now. You can't put minifigures on it, or vehicles because they'll fall off or roll down. And you can't build anything on them.

This to me was the largest over sight of the base plate. I know some people use plates on the slope to solve the issue, but it still looks a little "off".

Half was just an example, really. I just think you should be getting that batch of Lego for less than BL average prices, for a few reasons. First, what you described sounded to me to be unorganized. That means parting together and a time investment on your part. Also it sounds like it's in used condition. Expect worn prints and missing parts that you might feel compelled to replace. Also the fact that you'd be buying in-person means there's no shipping or handling on the seller's part, no BL or ebay fees (3% or 9% roughly). And then the fact that the seller probably isn't a rabid (crazy!) AFOL means the Lego might not be worth to them what it would to a big Lego fan. Maybe the 50% I quoted is too "cheap"; don't want to rip off your friend, right? But something like 70 or 80% of full BL price would definitely be reasonable. But there are some variables I made assumptions on, such as the completeness of the sets and quality of the bricks.

There are some important parts missing, like flags, or flags with broken clips, I was thinking $150 was fair.

Yes most of what you describe is exactly what happened nearly all bricks need cleaning. Although I almost feel like I should pay them for letting me put it together.

AB.

[Sebeus I]

Have you ever had an awesome find out of the blue?

If I was to offer to buy them what do you think a fair price would be?

I did, it was pretty embarrassing because I knew more about their lego collection than they did themselves

Nothing was complete though, a few parts from a Caribbean Clipper and Saber Island.

If I had neither of those sets I think I'd pay 100 euro but since I already have most of them (and Eldorado Fortress is on its way )... I'm not very interested in buying sets I already have.

[proraptor]

awesome collection, brings back childhood memmories