[OFFICIAL] 10320 Eldorado Fortress - Available NOW

[F1stzz]

54 minutes ago, LegoAUT said:

Let‘s face it, only Lego minifigs are cool.

With how TLG prints are going down in quality these years overall & the fact that Rivendell minifigures, as well as the new Peter Pan ones, actually have worse detail on their torso prints than the figures from 2012 & CMFs respectively — nah, gotta hold our horses here  I can definitely tell you, for example, that Ktownbricks have outstanding Castle minifigs (used to have some for Pirates too), custom printed maps, signs, all kinds of stuff — and I'm sure there are many more of those custom shops providing a great product on par with TLG in that regard. Just gotta look for them  

1 hour ago, LegoAUT said:

I mainly use those sets are part packs since they somehow lack the „magic“ many lego sets have (or used to have). They kind of feel empty (although they are not), if you get what I am saying. 

Yeah, I guess I do: you mean they feel much like a pure display model, like it's not an ACTUAL play set or something to have fun with apart from building it — something more like those wooden or whatnot collection models, but brick built. And I agree if that's the point, cuz I always loved that playability/storytelling aspect of LEGO too. To make it clear, I'd prefer 6276 or 10320 to the HUGE 6000+ pcs Eldorado Fortress MOCs anyday, lol  I respect those gigantic builds & love when people are showcasing 'em, but I'll never go for it myself just because for me it's all in the original set, it does its job perfectly for what it is with less, doesn't eat thousands of dollars + endless volumes of space, gives you some great play possibilities and actually tells you a lil' story in the meantime with the minifigs, accessories, all that — it's just comfy & cool, Idk

1 hour ago, LegoAUT said:

(btw, they also have a two mast ship with cloth sails and 11 cannons for 75€)

That's not even funny at this point, lol, probably not a single LEGO product in its history has ever had such an amount of cannons provided in a single set for 75€ or even higher 😂 I believe a single reddish brown cannonbase on BL costs like a third of the set you've mentioned 

[DonQuixote]

1 hour ago, F1stzz said:

With how TLG prints are going down in quality these years overall & the fact that Rivendell minifigures, as well as the new Peter Pan ones, actually have worse detail on their torso prints than the figures from 2012 & CMFs respectively — nah, gotta hold our horses here  I can definitely tell you, for example, that Ktownbricks have outstanding Castle minifigs (used to have some for Pirates too), custom printed maps, signs, all kinds of stuff — and I'm sure there are many more of those custom shops providing a great product on par with TLG in that regard. Just gotta look for them  

Yeah, I guess I do: you mean they feel much like a pure display model, like it's not an ACTUAL play set or something to have fun with apart from building it — something more like those wooden or whatnot collection models, but brick built. And I agree if that's the point, cuz I always loved that playability/storytelling aspect of LEGO too. To make it clear, I'd prefer 6276 or 10320 to the HUGE 6000+ pcs Eldorado Fortress MOCs anyday, lol  I respect those gigantic builds & love when people are showcasing 'em, but I'll never go for it myself just because for me it's all in the original set, it does its job perfectly for what it is with less, doesn't eat thousands of dollars + endless volumes of space, gives you some great play possibilities and actually tells you a lil' story in the meantime with the minifigs, accessories, all that — it's just comfy & cool, Idk

That's not even funny at this point, lol, probably not a single LEGO product in its history has ever had such an amount of cannons provided in a single set for 75€ or even higher 😂 I believe a single reddish brown cannonbase on BL costs like a third of the set you've mentioned 

The Black Pearl is 76cm or 3 baseplates in lenght,costs 150€, has 2850+ pieces and has a whopping 18 working canons which are identical to Lego canons! And if you do to the rigging with actual string(annoying yes) , it becomes really an impressive beauty! 

[LegoAUT]

1 hour ago, F1stzz said:

I can definitely tell you, for example, that Ktownbricks have outstanding Castle minifigs

I agree! However I was just referring to the form of the figure, not the print/ design. I understand TLG has lost protection of the minifig in several parts of the world but not in the EU, for instance, hence Cobi and others had to come up with their own minifig that looks different (i.e. weird 😂)

[F1stzz]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

The Black Pearl is 76cm or 3 baseplates in lenght,costs 150€, has 2850+ pieces and has a whopping 18 working canons which are identical to Lego canons! And if you do to the rigging with actual string(annoying yes) , it becomes really an impressive beauty! 

Is that the famously known MOCYourBricks BP design? Insanely good one indeed, if that's the one you're talking about, probably the closest ever in its appearance to the original ship 

1 hour ago, LegoAUT said:

I was just referring to the form of the figure, not the print/ design.

Oh, got you, m8  Yeah, in terms of the form TLG minifigs are impeccable, no debate here 

[jodawill]

I couldn't ever consider anything to be a serious competitor to Lego if they don't sell minifigures. I'm not sure if I would be much of a Lego fan today if they didn't have minifigures. Yeah, we spend most od our time building with the bricks, but it feels pretty meaningless if you can't bring it to life with characters at the end.

Except for occasional Technic sets, I almost exclusively buy minifigure scale sets. The minifigures are at least half the fun and I've never seen any other brick figure that doesn't look awful. (Bluebrixx figures look like little dolls for three year old girls.)

Bluebrixx has some cool designs, but personally, I only appreciate them in the same way I admire people's MOCs. They don't look like fun playsets. They're intricate designs, but pretty boring from a playability standpoint and the lack of minifigures make them a very hard pass for me. But I still respect the skill of the designers.

I've often wondered what I would do if someone started reproducing old Lego sets with the same level of quality as the original. Would I buy a clone of Rocky Reef or Skeleton Crew if the only difference was the absence of the Lego logo? To be honest, I have no idea how I would feel about that. I might buy it just to try it out. I would definitely never mix it with real Lego.

I'm not sure if I'd ever really be on board with a clone brand because it just isn't the real deal. I have too much emotional attachment to the brand itself.

[Mister Phes]

1 hour ago, jodawill said:

I couldn't ever consider anything to be a serious competitor to Lego if they don't sell minifigures.

It is (currently) impossible for competitors to legally sell minifigures (based on LEGO minifigures) without violating intellectual property laws.

So that's why Bluebrixx  doesn't include minifigures.

[LegoAUT]

1 hour ago, Mister Phes said:

It is (currently) impossible for competitors to legally sell minifigures (based on LEGO minifigures) without violating intellectual property laws.

Exactly, although I understand that the figure is no longer protected in some parts of the world, whereas in the EU, for instance, it still is. 

[Sir Dano]

I'd be fine with a lack of minifigures, my issue is with them charging almost $60 cad for shipping.

[Mister Phes]

6 minutes ago, LegoAUT said:

although I understand that the figure is no longer protected in some parts of the world

Which part(s) of the world is this?

Because the LEGO Group has gone to great lengths in recent times to ensure minifigures cannot be legally produce anywhere on Earth.

That includes countries like China who generally have little regard for intellectual property laws, and such manufacturers take heed because the LEGO Group takes action against retailers of their products.

I.e. if the manufacturer has trouble selling their product, then there's no point producing it.

[Jiesdeo]

Ok, so here's my take on the set.

Is it everything I personally wanted for a remake? No. But I'm mature enough to know that you can't get exactly what you want in life. I'm still ecstatic that we're getting a new Pirates set at all and will probably get a couple of this one. Or more if I find it useful as a parts pack.

I agree with some of the criticisms, I would also prefer the dock to be brown and the palm trees to be similar to PoBB, but if the task was to make a faithful remake with the same footprint as the old one, this set achieves that task.

Being a bluecoats guy (I remember as a kid I was disappointed that they switched to redcoats, and didn't buy those sets hoping for a return of the bluecoats that never came), I have invested a lot to build an army based on the 2015 bluecoats and flags, so of course it's disappointing that they didn't use the updated flag for instance. The new torso prints I think I can still have a use for, however. Maybe for officers.

The boat is a bit plain for my taste, I will probably only use the sails for MOC:ed boats.

I couldn't care less about the inclusion of female heads. Lego doesn't have to be perfectly historically accurate.

[eldiano]

On 6/22/2023 at 5:20 PM, CvS said:

'Coming Soon on 7 July 2023...
...VIP Early Access on this set starts on 04/07.' 

So, is that only via LEGO.com or also in the LEGO-stores? 

It’s funny because LEGO.com clearly changed their VIP release date from July 1st to July 4th, someone else on this forum caught it as well before the change. I’m only mad because it’s being released on a Tuesday now haha, but when items are out of stock on LEGO.com check your local store inventory for updated stock.  

[DonQuixote]

11 hours ago, F1stzz said:

Is that the famously known MOCYourBricks BP design? Insanely good one indeed, if that's the one you're talking about, probably the closest ever in its appearance to the original ship 

Yes, it is! And it's way better than the Lego Black Pearl  

6 hours ago, jodawill said:

 

I'm not sure if I'd ever really be on board with a clone brand because it just isn't the real deal. I have too much emotional attachment to the brand itself.

Lego itself is a clone of Kiddiecraft (the original inventor of the 2x4 brick which has the exact same dimensions as the Lego one ) If Kiddiecraft became succesfull, you did not not want to buy Lego as it is fake Kiddiecraft and as a kid you only played with Kiddiecraft. (This could be an alternate history) 

And because of the blind loyalty to Lego of most customers, Lego will keep raising their prices. A lot of people will complain but will still buy it anyway. And Lego knows this. 

I am not loyal to any brand. I buy Lego, Mouldking, Bluebrixx and I mix it all together. There is no color difference. My Black Pearl looks amazing with Lego minifigs and my western scene looks great with Lego CMF cowboys, sherrif, outlaws and some other Lego minifigs that fits in there. 

[F1stzz]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

the Lego Black Pearl

Ah, yeah — don't remind me of that failure, lol. Up to the point of 10320 reveal I have never been so disappointed in a LEGO set ever — actually, I can say 4184 kinda kickstarted my "dark ages"   It was so bad it made Mega Bloks BP look outstanding, LMAO 

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

And because of the blind loyalty to Lego of most customers, Lego will keep raising their prices.

...and downgrading some of their higher priced builds in the meantime, absolutely.

[jodawill]

5 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

It is (currently) impossible for competitors to legally sell minifigures (based on LEGO minifigures) without violating intellectual property laws.

So that's why Bluebrixx  doesn't include minifigures.

Yeah, I know. That's why I don't see anyone else becoming a serious competitor. It's just not going to happen without the minifigures. The best they can hope for is that customers will fill their sets with minifigures they bought from Lego.

[LegoAUT]

5 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

Which part(s) of the world is this?

Isn‘t it in the US, for instance? I know that TLG protects the minifig parts as trademarks in the EU, which is, from a legal perspective, a disputable classification for such a product but the only option since the patent ran out. They were not successful in claiming trademark protection for their pieces, but succeeded with regard to the figures. I believe in China they have no protection (regardless of the lenient way this is enforced there anyway). But producers there cannot sell to EU countries (which is why we don‘t see those knock-off figures in Aliexpress etc.). I always thought that the figs are not protected by IP in the US any longer but may be wrong here. 

36 minutes ago, jodawill said:

The best they can hope for is that customers will fill their sets with minifigures they bought from Lego.

This happens already. 

[Yperio_Bricks]

From a customer point of view it sucks that the minifigure is still protected, unlike most bricks and pieces. Imagine other companies could produce minifigures too. The flow of history themed minifigures would be endless. Endless!

[thewatchman]

16 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

From a customer point of view it sucks that the minifigure is still protected, unlike most bricks and pieces. Imagine other companies could produce minifigures too. The flow of history themed minifigures would be endless. Endless!

That or a company that give a damn about a theme such as pirates.

[DonQuixote]

1 hour ago, F1stzz said:

 

...and downgrading some of their higher priced builds in the meantime, absolutely.

Yes, sadly that is true. Lego quality is not as good as in the eighties. I experienced a lot of color inconsistencies with colors reddish brown, lila, turquoise and dark red. Even today I experience this. Lego claims to be a high premium product with high premium prices but they don't deliver. The quality is just as good/bad (depending on your point of view) as bricks from Mouldking and Bluebrixx. 

Imagine you buy a red Ferrari and you notice that the colors of the doors have a slightly different red then the rest of the car. And Ferrari lovers say to you : that's more realistic. That's what some Lego purists do. They defend Lego no matter what, even if the bricks have color inconsistencies and still raise prices. They are totally brainwashed by the Lego corporation. The thing Lego does well, is paying and threating their workers fairly. 

[Mister Phes]

42 minutes ago, LegoAUT said:

I always thought that the figs are not protected by IP in the US any longer but may be wrong here. 

Yes, they're protected everywhere the LEGO Group can enforce them otherwise there would be more companies producing them...

If they can't enforce a trademark or patent in the manufacturer's country, they're pursue legal action against the retailers.

This happened have a few month to LEGO compatible sets designed by AFOLs, produced by Chinese manufacturers and sold on Amazon.

The LEGO Group gave Amazon a warning, who in turn gave the manufacturers a warning, who in turn gave AFOLs notice to revise their designs so they no longer use any of the 50 or so parts that are still under patent.

[DonQuixote]

1 hour ago, jodawill said:

Yeah, I know. That's why I don't see anyone else becoming a serious competitor. It's just not going to happen without the minifigures. The best they can hope for is that customers will fill their sets with minifigures they bought from Lego.

Allready doing that! 

[F1stzz]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

And Ferrari lovers say to you : that's more realistic. That's what some Lego purists do. They defend Lego no matter what, even if the bricks have color inconsistencies and still raise prices. They are totally brainwashed by the Lego corporation.

Bruh, yeah, these people are all around no matter the theme, I think I've already experienced enough to confirm   That's one thing when audience is defending the quality & reputation behind their favourite company's product if it's truly deserving, but stans, who are desperately protecting brand's careless approach and parasitism on previous accomplishments, eventually become the very reason of their beloved company being ran aground.

Edited June 25, 2023 by F1stzz

[Kallego]

Just my two cents but you are on a lego forum discussing in a thread created for the discussion of a particular set. 

I think there are other places to discuss legos general price politics and especially discussing other brands. 

If you prefer buying bluebrixx that's fine but it feels like you want to convince others to do the same,  just like you are advertising the brand. 

You can now call me one of those brainwashed guys. But I don't try to defend anything here just personally don't want to read about this kind of topic in places it doesn't belong in my opinion.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Kallego

[jodawill]

The quality and color consistency has never been up to par ever since Lego started coloring the plastic in house. Hold a yellow brick up to the light and you'll see it shining right through. It's noticeable to me when I look at a tub full of parts from five feet away. I hate it, but there's still nothing I can do about it unless I go the route of exclusively buying vintage parts, which doesn't leave me with a lot of options these days.

I imagine a lot of people would jump ship if Lego didn't have exclusive rights to minifigures. I don't think I would be one of them though because I've never seen another company that puts as much effort into the designs. Like I mentioned earlier, companies like Bluebrixx basically sell MOCs. They look good, but in my opinion, they aren't really polished products.

That's also why I'm not interested in the Bricklink sets. From what I've seen in reviews, they look terrific but they're not up to Lego's design standards. I wish they would give them the Ideas treatment instead. Take the concept and refine it into a finished product, including new prints and so forth. That's what Ideas should be in my opinion, but the products that result from that are either a bunch of licensed crap or random objects. There have been a few good Ideas sets, but I think they're by far the exception.

I think the bottom line is that everything about making Lego products is difficult. It's hard to make quality parts, hard to design good sets, and hard to please such a diverse group of fans across the world who all have different ideas of what the product should look like. As much as I complain about them, I don't envy their position here because they'll never be able to make a decision that makes everyone happy. For instance, if they went back to their old plastic supplier and used higher quality molds, the price would probably go up by a lot and we might see a lot fewer colors, and they may not be able to even meet the demand. Then people would complain about that.

[Mister Phes]

47 minutes ago, Kallego said:

You can now call me one of those brainwashed guys. But I don't try to defend anything here just personally don't want to read about this kind of topic in places it doesn't belong in my opinion.

Might be time to split the topic and move those posts into a topic of their own...

[DonQuixote]

50 minutes ago, Kallego said:

Just my two cents but you are on a lego forum discussing in a thread created for the discussion of a particular set. 

I think there are other places to discuss legos general price politics and especially discussing other brands. 

If you prefer buying bluebrixx that's fine but it feels like you want to convince others to do the same,  just like you are advertising the brand. 

You can now call me one of those brainwashed guys. But I don't try to defend anything here just personally don't want to read about this kind of topic in places it doesn't belong in my opinion.

Sorry. I just had to reply to some comments. And I don't prefer Bluebrixx over Lego. I love them both with a critical open mind. 

OK back on topic : Eldorado Fortress 2023 

Do I like it?

YES, but I do understand why some people don't. The building is blocky and not very impressive. That's just the eighties style. Like I said, I prefer if they did a massive 400€ total remake fortress instead of a faithfull remaster. 

The reason why I will buy it, is because of the nostalgia towards the original (which I still have) and ofcourse... the minifigs.