Resurrecting The Pirates Theme - a more indepth discussion

[Berry Syedow]

In light of the recent We want pirates thread, I decided now would be a good time to start discussing our wants and our dislikes in more depth to give those that work with TLC an idea of how they should resurrect their pirates theme.

Then we shall post our best ideas in the We Want Pirates Thread.

Your opinions and insights can vary from set design to box art to torso design or even the dreaded juniorization! A word not uttered in quite some time. (Good job TLC! *y* ;-))

A few of my ideas:

Cast elements in different colors. (Conquistador Helmet, for one...)

New weaponry and armor. (Feel free to share anything specific.)

Personally, I desperately want TLC create this baby:

Embossed Helmet:

New cannon molds?

New mast design? At the very least improve the stability of the new technic mast.

What I don't want:

Cheap plastic flags or sails such as THIS.

Scrap the +4 pirate hull, or at least systemize it...

Suggest away but don't forget to request Pirates in the We want Pirates thread.

[Norrington]

Well, I want the Imperials to have a Large 20 flagship for once, and a nice port with an over looking fort, perhaps a modular town...

[Capn Frank]

In light of the recent "We want pirates" thread, I decided now would be a good time to start up a "Dear LEGO" type of thread where we voice our wants and our dislikes in order to give those that work with TLC an idea of how they should resurrect their pirates theme. (I might update this post to highlight what pirate fanatics want if the thread grows too large.)

...

Is this the "We want Pirates" thread you were refering too?

Careful Berry, that this thread doesn't turn out to be the same as the "We want Pirates" thread.

I like the idea of a new cannon mold.

Maybe about this size:

A smaller cannon would allow more cannons to be placed on small ships with a 12 wide hull *y*

A musket rifle with a bayonett on it too.

*y*

P

[ghoulrealm]

The thoery is they will want to add monsters and skeletons as the antagonist wich is perfectly fine with me.

The big problem with monsters associated with the pirate genre is they have already been used up by the aquaraiders and new castle theme and even spongebob's flying dutchman. If the versus mythical mantality persist we may not see anything soon. :'-(

Now if were going for realism or historic based sets, I would like to see somethings along the lines of search for Eldorado/fountain of youth, Cortez meets the Aztecs, the adventures of Captain Cook, or Columbus encounters the new world.

I know these are not specifically pirate related, but it can be just as interesting and fun. If using historical figures is a touchy subject, I would alter the names and situations to something fictional but with the same feel.

And I would love anything dealing with asian pirates and junks.

[Mister Phes]

Careful Berry, that this thread doesn't turn out to be the same as the "We want Pirates" thread.

Mr Phred has a good point Mr Syedow, this thread needs to take a different angle. If this was a hypothetical or speculative discussion of what The LEGO Group may do with a SYEM Pirate theme if left to their own accord, then perhaps this thread might work.

But the We Want Pirates thread is the "Dear LEGO" thread, so users should be posting their wants and dislikes there. It doesn't really make sense to have a second thread when there is already a thread on the topic being monitored by the LEGO Ambassadors.

[ghoulrealm]

1000 signatures on 1 Petition or 1000 Petitions with the same pirate loving signatures X-D

[Captain Roger]

Er...phred and phes...you have put a link to a brickshelf gallery instead a link of "We Want Pirates thread"...in any case...i disagree with Berry Syedow...i think if TLC re-release new pirate sets...they should have classic cannon and masts, no new designs.

About a possible new pirate them...i think i gave my opinion before in "we want pirates" thread, i am not sure....in any case i'll put here:

-similar design to classic theme

-New Imperial Armada sets, like a base or an improved ship

-Re-release of some old sets of Imperial Soldiers and Guards...and some re-releases of the best pirate sets(SES, for example)

-New pirate sets with new minifigs

-Merchant ships in Pirate Theme sould be really cool....because pirates usually attack them...but sadly, we have only a TOO SMALL merchant ship in ITP, which was controlled by pirates, not by merchants. I'd like a big merchant ship

[Norrington]

Actully, I allways the ship in ITP was a merchant because of the anchors and barrels on the sails, plus, that figure may have been on the SES but he is a merchant to me.

[Berry Syedow]

Is this the "We want Pirates" thread you were refering too?

Careful Berry, that this thread doesn't turn out to be the same as the "We want Pirates" thread.

Mr Phred has a good point Mr Syedow, this thread needs to take a different angle. If this was a hypothetical or speculative discussion of what The LEGO Group may do with a SYSTEM Pirate theme if left to their own accord, then perhaps this thread might work.

But the We Want Pirates thread is the "Dear LEGO" thread, so users should be posting their wants and dislikes there. It doesn't really make sense to have a second thread when there is already a thread on the topic being monitored by the LEGO Ambassadors.

Ah, I had thought that the

[Mister Phes]

Ah, I had thought that the

[Capn Frank]

Er...phred and phes...you have put a link to a brickshelf gallery instead a link of "We Want Pirates thread"...

I don't understand what you mean by this Captain. The link does go to the We want Pirates thread in the Embacy :S (Edit: never mind X-D )

...I'm not so sure about a bayonet. Kids might poke their eyes out!

There already are spears, axes, cutlesses, and screwdrivers :-D

If Lego didn't want to poke kids' eyes out, they probably wouldn't have made them :)

but the technic masts, for instance, don't work very well and are a bit ugly. (From the back at least.)

...

I agree with the ugliness of the technic masts.

The older designs work MUCH better and easier than the technic ones.

P

Edit:

That's because I fixed all of them.

...

Thanx Mr. Phes *y*

[Echo]

You know, in a way, I almost don't want TLC to make new pirate sets. They would probably be PotC style, and be a complete abmination to the LEGO Pirates name.

But, if LEGO was going to do a pirate theme the right way, I would want this.

A small merchent ship. Something for the pirates to capture, and for the good guys to rescue.

NO SUCKY CANNONS THAT SHOOT RUBBERY PROJECTILES.

More Islanders. They were really neat.

A decent sized fort.

[Mister Phes]

I don't understand what you mean by this Captain. The link does go to the We want Pirates thread in the Embacy :S

That's because I fixed all of them.

You know, in a way, I almost don't want TLC to make new pirate sets. They would probably be PotC style, and be a complete abmination to the LEGO Pirates name.

But, if LEGO was going to do a pirate theme the right way, I would want this.

A small merchent ship. Something for the pirates to capture, and for the good guys to rescue.

NO SUCKY CANNONS THAT SHOOT RUBBERY PROJECTILES.

More Islanders. They were really neat.

A decent sized fort.

Now parts of Mr Echo's thread definitely shouldn't be posted in the We Want Pirates thread X-D

[john cleese]

Sorry if I'm being a downer in saying this but I

[Berry Syedow]

There already are spears, axes, cutlesses, and screwdrivers :-D

If Lego didn't want to poke kids' eyes out, they probably wouldn't have made them :)

I was being silly. :) In all seriousness I don't think an accurate depiction of the bayonet would be feasible. :-/

I agree with the ugliness of the technic masts.

The older designs work MUCH better and easier than the technic ones.

It's funny, considering technic usually makes it easier to achieve techniques in system sets. Just goes to show that if something isn't broken, don't break it! X-D I'm not opposed to a redesigned/improved mast, though. Anything that allows more versatility is fine by me. *y*

What say ye, pirate fans? (SNOT fans?)

You know, in a way, I almost don't want TLC to make new pirate sets. They would probably be PotC style, and be a complete abmination to the LEGO Pirates name.

Certainly something is better than nothing? Just look at KKII. It's an abomination! It should never have been approved in its then current state. The kids that liked those jelly bean knights must have had one too Mountain Dews... Still, the theme gave Castle lovers quite a few useful pieces and a rather popular Scorpion Faction.

Even if a System Pirates theme were to start off on the same path as the KKII theme, it would still give us a few useful pieces, and if the popularity of KKII among the kiddies is any indication, we would certainly see more pirate sets in the future.

I apologize if that sounded like a rant. :-P

A small merchent ship. Something for the pirates to capture, and for the good guys to rescue.

NO SUCKY CANNONS THAT SHOOT RUBBERY PROJECTILES.

More Islanders. They were really neat.

A decent sized fort.

Yes, I'd like to see more "neutral" ships. Ships that aren't hunting pirates, but aren't affiliated with them, either. Plus, a merchant ship would be a great opportunity to get lots of gold and food pieces.

I would hope that TLC would re-release the classic operational cannons instead of letting juniorization seep into sets.

I also agree that we need more islanders.

[Mister Phes]

By the way Mr Syedow, now that you've got this thread established don't completely neglect the We Want Pirates thread, as that thread needs posts from as many different users as possible.

Same goes to everyone else, although its understandable if you want to consolidate your ideas in this thread first so you only put your best material forward in the other.

[snefroe]

You know, in a way, I almost don't want TLC to make new pirate sets. They would probably be PotC style, and be a complete abmination to the LEGO Pirates name.

i would have to agree with this i'm afraid. take the space sets. there's a huuuuge fanbase for a new, even fairly expensive and high quality space line but when that was finaly released, it turned out to be a major disappointment in many ways. same here

Lego CAN produce a great pirate theme, but if the idea is to reach small children, then you'll get a pirate line closer to 4+ than to the classic stuff.

[Mister Phes]

Unfortunately I fear Count Sneffy may be right. :'-( Its part of the reason I haven't posted in the other thread yet because I have mixed emotions about how The LEGO Group would proceed about producing a new Pirate theme.

On the one hand they could surprise everyone and somehow update the theme using modern pieces and colours (like Baron Sat did with Puerto Brico) yet retain the charm of the original theme, or, like Count Sneffy suggests they release a theme targetted towards children that feels a little bit outrageous.

[Asuka]

Lego CAN produce a great pirate theme, but if the idea is to reach small children, then you'll get a pirate line closer to 4+ than to the classic stuff.

A new pirate line is some kind of risky business, and to satisfy the expectations of the classic pirate fans

is perhaps not too easy. Everything depends on the design, of course. The new MarsMission is a good

example for how difficult the resurrection of an old theme is. Many classic space fans don

[Mister Phes]

Sorry if I'm being a downer in saying this but I