[OFFICIAL] 10320 Eldorado Fortress - Available NOW

[Mister Phes]

3 minutes ago, Piraten said:

So.. 10 pages..... Before this release everbody screamed for more pirate sets... And now 10 pages off a lot of different opinions...  

It's OK. They can sit this one out and wait for the next LEGO Pirate set to be relased. 

[Arjo]

speaking of buying two... my imagination easily runs wild (and my wallet and flat can't keep pace)... with the spread out configuration of the set, if one was to mirror build a second copy, I can easily picture in my mind's eye how it would form a nice access/check-point/lock to a marina/harbour of some sort. Onto securing the perimeter and the land with thousands extra bricks of course:)

[Mister Phes]

But seriously, fans can be very passionate and emotionally charged about something they love dearly.

[PxChris]

10 minutes ago, Piraten said:

The only thing I hate is... There is no new  pi054 figure... I have seen a new edition back in march 2020.. And there is only 25 made of that minifig... Would have loved one.... 

 

I'm with you on that point.

[iragm]

14 minutes ago, Piraten said:

There is no new  pi054 figure... I have seen a new edition back in march 2020.

What new edition of pi054 was made?  pi054 (I call him "ascot guy") is one of my favorite minifigures ever.

[dimc]

5 minutes ago, iragm said:

What new edition of pi054 was made?  pi054 (I call him "ascot guy") is one of my favorite minifigures ever.

How on earth he became Steve and not a'Scott is beyond me.

[brickbuilder007]

What an amazing set I really like the brick build base with the all the (hidden) rooms and the modularity of it! Might have to add/build own modules, someone thought of the idea to add modules inspired by set 6277?
I did some digital building of the ship, and made some modifications to it to add on some details, and also swapped some colors on certain parts. No idea if it is build correctly since there are no instructions for it yet (or at least I did not find any), had fun with it though !

Looking forward to have the actual set, and also looking forward for certain parts to be on pick a brick  

Spoiler

Top view, on the left is the original. On the right is the version with swapped colors on certain parts

And also changed the stern of the ship. Mainly added in some details and swapped some colors.

I've made it in studio, so if anyone is interested (and if it is allowed) I can share the file.

 

 

[F1stzz]

1 hour ago, TalonCard said:

But we don't even know that there's any kind of attempt to "ignore" the rediscovered amalgamation that is the original lore with this set. We haven't seen the instruction manual.

I do agree on the point that we surely need to wait for manuals & see if there's anything informative about the characters to have a strong ground for future discussions. Overall, judging by my observations so far, the amount of "I wish there were some original characters" & "the build is kinda lazy here and there, PoBB was better" types of comments around the internet is noticeable enough for me to bring up topics about questionable building choices in this set, lack of important details and especially its minifigure selection. I understand that we've waited for 3 years to get something new & big for an underappreciated nowadays Pirates theme, were and are extremely hyped about 10320 release, but there's an apparent reason why all aforementioned comments exist. I don't want TLG to think they can just drop a carbon copy of an iconic set for 215€ without doing a deep research on its history or brainstorming much about how its design could be improved — and then call it done & dusted for another God knows how many years. When every, say, sixth comment I see in Insta or YT says "h-h-how m-m-much??? FOR WHAT?! NoStAlgiA??" — that's a worrying sign indeed. This shouldn't be happening to a theme, the lore of which could possibly even rival Ninjago's popularity if things are done right.

[_R_R_]

33 minutes ago, F1stzz said:

I do agree on the point that we surely need to wait for manuals & see if there's anything informative about the characters to have a strong ground for future discussions. Overall, judging by my observations so far, the amount of "I wish there were some original characters" & "the build is kinda lazy here and there, PoBB was better" types of comments around the internet is noticeable enough for me to bring up topics about questionable building choices in this set, lack of important details and especially its minifigure selection. I understand that we've waited for 3 years to get something new & big for an underappreciated nowadays Pirates theme, were and are extremely hyped about 10320 release, but there's an apparent reason why all aforementioned comments exist. I don't want TLG to think they can just drop a carbon copy of an iconic set for 215€ without doing a deep research on its history or brainstorming much about how its design could be improved — and then call it done & dusted for another God knows how many years. When every, say, sixth comment I see in Insta or YT says "h-h-how m-m-much??? FOR WHAT?! NoStAlgiA??" — that's a worrying sign indeed. This shouldn't be happening to a theme, the lore of which could possibly even rival Ninjago's popularity if things are done right.

While I do like the set I think TLG should've strayed just a little bit further from the original. As it's been mentioned already a more even distribution of pirates and blue coats would've done wonders for people who don't really collect this theme, I know the reasoning for the lack of pirates this is that a lot of people already have PoBB but if you take into account Lego gets tons of newcomers every year then they would've probably been more inclined if this set had more pirate action going on.

As far as the build itself I don't have a lot of complaints aside from the black docks, adding some brown plates on it would've made the set pop a little bit more but it looks impressive when it's assembled horizontally and while there's not merchant on it I love the addition of the smaller ship from the TP set, it could've been a bit bigger sure but I think the price point is good enough for what we're getting, I would feel less inclined to drop 400 euros on a bigger version of fortress just because it would be, well, bigger. I'm one of the few people that appreciates smaller builds and the genius and more simple designs that add to the charm of Lego.

But of course everything I mentioned can be easily fixed, it's Lego after all you all have all the power as long as you have the parts.

Edited June 15, 2023 by _R_R_

[F1stzz]

45 minutes ago, _R_R_ said:

I know the reasoning for the lack of pirates this is that a lot of people already have PoBB but if you take into account Lego gets tons of newcomers every year then they would've probably been more inclined if this set had more pirate action going on.

Btw, I think the "should've also gotten PoBB back in the day! " comments are gotta be some of the most popular ones in the field, lol, so your take might possibly represent the mindset of a considerable number of people, imo

[jodawill]

14 minutes ago, F1stzz said:

Btw, I think the "should've also gotten PoBB back in the day! " comments are gotta be some of the most popular ones in the field, lol, so your take might possibly represent the mindset of a considerable number of people, imo

I'm starting to regret passing up PoBB. I probably would have bought it eventually, but it was sold out for at least six months then retired. I still have some pretty major gripes with that set though, and I wish they'd just do a proper release of a ship. I hate the island concept. It just looks like a big mess and it wastes a lot of the budget of the set. I also really hate the new flags, and I didn't really like any of the minifigures except the guy with the tattoos. The twins would have been fine if they didn't have the big mustaches and the modern bandanas. Redbeard would have been a lot better with brown epaulettes and the original skull. There's just so much about that set I would throw out, it makes me upset to think about paying full price for it. They really should have scrapped the entire island and released the ship only.

I'm actually considering it now because I know I can fix those issues with extra parts and I'd love to have a ship to go with 10320. But it's even more expensive now, so I wish I could be confident they'll make another ship. But they probably won't.

Edited June 15, 2023 by jodawill

[CommanderJonny1]

On 6/14/2023 at 5:04 PM, Classic_Spaceman said:

BTW, what are we doing with our 2015 Bluecoats? Since I only have two, I plan to use mine as officers.

I'm not sure how much I'd PAB the new torsos, but given that I have a fair number of the 2015 ones, I'd like to get a few more of them than are in this set. Was thinking of maybe turning some of the 2015 Bluecoats into light infantry with blue legs, while turning the new ones into Grenadiers or something, what with the red epaulettes and the new print containing a lanyard/cord that could pass for a match case 'chain'. Just something to mix it up a bit

9 hours ago, dimc said:

An entire CMF series of vintage pairings?

New peasant for the castle with hood.
The "white falcon" soldier from the BAM.
Merchant sailor to add to PoBB/EF/C3in1.
Farmer with period-agnostic dress for castle/town.
Female figure like the Kingdoms barmaid that can go in castle/pirates.
Older woman figure with "middle class" dress style.

I'd like to see more knights to go with the newer shield prints that referenced the Yellow Castle or a new member of the Armada. More civilians like a fletcher or tanner, perhaps, or maybe a chandler or apothecary would be nice to see too. I'm not sure if Lego would do a whole CMF series like that (unfortunately); I mean they had a perfectly golden opportunity during their 90th anniversary, right?

Still holding out hope for the Centennial though

9 hours ago, lomis said:

Not sure if anyone is interested... but here is the 6x4 flag from 70412: Soldiers Fort:

Got one of those; I agree that this one looks better than the one in the new set, but I don't think the new one looks bad.

8 minutes ago, jodawill said:

I still have some pretty major gripes with that set though, and I wish they'd just do a proper release of a ship. I hate the island concept. It just looks like a big mess and it wastes a lot of the budget of the set. I also really hate the new flags, and I didn't really like any of the minifigures except the guy with the tattoos. The twins would have been fine if they didn't have the big mustaches and the modern bandanas. Redbeard would have been a lot better with brown epaulettes and the original skull. There's just so much about that set I would throw out, it makes me upset to think about paying full price for it. They really should have scrapped the entire island and released the ship only.

While I agree with the sentiment of just releasing the ship, as someone who didn't grow up with the original wave(s) of Pirates, I don't feel like the alt build was necessarily a bad idea. Sure, it could've been simpler (and cheaper) to just get the ship, but given that it was based off an Ideas submission, plus the fact that many (maybe even a majority) of the people who bought the set didn't have the nostalgia for the original BSB, I'd say the decision to add another dimension to the set was an overall good one. Could they have implemented certain facets of the design better? Probably, but I feel as if a lot of the argument boils down to "This doesn't fit my nostalgic view of what this set is supposed to be". I'm not saying you don't have valid complaints about the set, just that it doesn't seem like it deserves as much criticism as was given it.

 

 

I think the above also applies to the new Eldorado Fortress. Again, I don't know much about the original, but I feel as if nostalgia for these classic sets is a double-edged sword: no matter what, there's going to be complaints about something. I like the old sets because of looking at old catalogues as a kid, and letting my imagination run, but I don't really have a connection beyond that. So when something like the anniversary castle comes out, I think it's a great set (for multiple reasons), but I don't have a mindset that's looking for things they should of done a certain way. I enjoy seeing easter eggs/references to older sets, but I don't 'connect' to them, if that makes any sense.

Sorry for the bit of a rant

[Aanchir]

14 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

Speaking of this, do we have any shots of what the backside of the 'giant rock' looks like? Is there something down there, or is it just dead space?

There's quite a bit down there! For example, in this video you can see the wine/rum cellar beneath the left rear corner, the caverns below the front gate, the treasury/storeroom below the rear parapet wall, the escape tunnel/waterfall cave below the jail cell, and the pirate skeleton's niche below the right parapet wall. The treasury/storeroom is also shown in this photo.

There are also other "underground" sections that I haven't seen any clear photos or videos of yet — namely, the areas below the front and left-hand parapet walls, as well as the area below the crane (you can see glimpses of two 1x4 arches forming a narrow tunnel here in some of the official photos, but no obvious indication of what's inside that tunnel). Like the areas we have seen, these sections would only allow room for fairly narrow chambers, but I suspect the designers found uses for them just as they did for the other underground chambers listed above.

In case it's not obvious, the 8x16x8 dock with 2x6 dining table that is visible in all the pics of the set arranged in an "open" layout serves as the fort's central courtyard when arranged in a "closed" layout. Intruders who fall through the trapdoor in this area land in a pool full of kelp/seaweed.

I am not really certain whether there are any secrets beneath the front entrance ramp, but it seems like there'd be space to include SOMETHING there, even if just an "easter egg" of some kind.

Also, on the left side of the courtyard (above ground) there is a stove/grill to prepare meals for the troops, most visible in the 360-degree turnaround video. This isn't quite what you asked about, but I only noticed it today so thought I'd bring it up!

[Pirate_King_1982]

I’m thinking of using this head for Broadside https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260976674460 and this one for Lt de Martinet https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/330681621553. . 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Pirate_King_1982

[danth]

Does this stick have stickers or all prints?

[Aanchir]

28 minutes ago, danth said:

Does this stick have stickers or all prints?

Looks like all printing to me. The only new non-minifig, non-textile graphic I see is the big imperial flag, and that's clearly printed in the high-res pics. So even if there ARE one or two new decorated elements that I haven't spotted, it'd still probably be more cost effective to print them than to make a sticker sheet just for those couple parts.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Aanchir

[jodawill]

1 hour ago, Aanchir said:

In case it's not obvious, the 8x16x8 dock with 2x6 dining table that is visible in all the pics of the set arranged in an "open" layout serves as the fort's central courtyard when arranged in a "closed" layout. Intruders who fall through the trapdoor in this area land in a pool full of kelp/seaweed.

I am not really certain whether there are any secrets beneath the front entrance ramp, but it seems like there'd be space to include SOMETHING there, even if just an "easter egg" of some kind.

Also, on the left side of the courtyard (above ground) there is a stove/grill to prepare meals for the troops, most visible in the 360-degree turnaround video. This isn't quite what you asked about, but I only noticed it today so thought I'd bring it up!

You have a great eye for detail! It definitely makes sense that the dock piece would go in the center. It seems very versatile for other arrangements. Just taking a wild guess, what would you say is under the ramp? Maybe just a chest full of frogs in new colors.   I bet there's a great feature in there they haven't revealed to us yet, just like they did with the extra forestmen section in 10305. I just can't imagine what it is though unless it's just something boring like a store room. Maybe the ramp opens up? I'm looking forward to seeing the designer video.

[brickbuilder007]

3 hours ago, jodawill said:

You have a great eye for detail! It definitely makes sense that the dock piece would go in the center. It seems very versatile for other arrangements. Just taking a wild guess, what would you say is under the ramp? Maybe just a chest full of frogs in new colors.   I bet there's a great feature in there they haven't revealed to us yet, just like they did with the extra forestmen section in 10305. I just can't imagine what it is though unless it's just something boring like a store room. Maybe the ramp opens up? I'm looking forward to seeing the designer video.

You can see some of the ramp construction and area beneath the entrance (behind the gates) in the video (at around 0:16). Looks like expansion of the cave and partial storage area. It sure leaves room for hiding things down there!

[Pirate_King_1982]

Okay, how many people think I would be crazy trying to do an updated Clipper and updated Barracuda that are more ore less as they were back in day in both size, appearance and form to go along with this set just using more upadated techniques and pieces? I’m at the point where I’m actually considering tiling and otherwise upgrading the ship from POBB to be on the same level as the fantastic Redbeard’s House on Skull Island by @Massenzio and Lagoo Lockup Revisted bu @SleeplessNight, both of which I was thinking building quite detailed displays around with clear tiles for the water and such,  and was thinking I would like something a little closer to what the originals were like to display with this on my shelf. I’m even considering designing an upgraded Forbidden Island and/or Rock Island Refuge too. On the flip side I’m also considering designing a huge Eldorado Fortress moc that is as detailed as what the two designers I just mentioned have made theirs sets. Actually that sounds even more insane the the clipper and Barracuda MOCs.

 

Edit: Of course, the other option is to painstakingly restore these two ships via the usual second hand sources like eBay an/or Bricklink.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Pirate_King_1982

[Roebuck]

11 hours ago, TalonCard said:

But we don't even know that there's any kind of attempt to "ignore" the rediscovered amalgamation that is the original lore with this set. We haven't seen the instruction manual. All we know is that there's an "admiral" included. Maybe the website text is incorrect in assuming the figure is an admiral. Maybe the admiral is an older De Martinet. Maybe one of the new soldiers is Camilla, all grown up. Maybe the figure is supposed to be Broadside--the Imperial leader with a fancy hat and coat from 1992 (in the US) and 2009 (in LEGO Battles) were also said to be Broadside in order to continue the story even though in the latter case it resemble him much. If anything the indication is that it's a continuation of the Barracuda Bay storyline 20 years later, which is loosly tied back to the original lore.

Yes, I am sure there is some explanations in the instructions, some people here give Lego designers to little credit, I am sure there is a reason why they included the figs they did just wait and see, reviews should pop up within a few days
 

15 hours ago, zinnn said:

FYI, the female pirate torso is a new print - it's not the same as the PoBB one:

I like the new print, but it is very similar to the other one and it is clearly the same character so would have preferred they reused it and used the budget for a civilian instead instead (of course that means adding a extra fig)

I wonder if a future Saber island GWP will be made to fit this set

[LordsofMedieval]

11 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

It's OK. They can sit this one out and wait for the next LEGO Pirate set to be relased. 

I think a lot of people just... wanted something a little different.

When we look at the last two enormous AFOL nostalgia sets - Pirates of Barracuda Bay and Lion Knights' Castle - they were less updates than reimaginings; a demonstration of what Lego could do with the given themes after 30 years of development as a toy. And an obvious advantage of this was that neither set was burdened by specific expectations - the castle and the ship weren't locked into looking exactly like preceding creations, and they weren't held back by the limitations of outdated parts (like baseplates). 

This set is not like that. This set is attempting to remake a specific product (while not really improving on it - IMO - in significant ways), and is dealing with all the repercussions associated with such an endeavor:

• Why aren't the minifigures identical?
• Why are the palm trees inferior?
• Why is the dock still black? 
• Why aren't newer, better parts (such as the newer version of the bluecoat flag) being used? 

I could carry on.

And don't mistake me - I'm buying the thing. But I think it's important to acknowledge that Lego invited criticism by approaching the set in this manner. They could have satisfied virtually all comers by creating something new that fell into line with older themes - something that was obviously bleeding edge in terms of techniques, and not hamstrung by box-checking; a set that could be an individual creation unto itself. 

But they didn't do that. They made a kind of semi-clone... a weird homage with some fairly obvious shortcomings. And that's going to ruffle feathers. 

You're right - this is probably "it" for Pirates for 5 or even 10 years. People don't really have a choice (which is all according to Lego's plan). But I can't fault someone for taking issue with Neo El Dorado. Because I think, with a $220 USD budget, Lego can do better than this; they can produce something a lot more impressive. And they didn't... because it had to look like... this.

Edited June 16, 2023 by LordsofMedieval

[MAB]

15 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Gonna chime in here as a Lego fan who grew up in the 90s that I agree that the original "named" cast of Lego Pirates is obscure. As a kid, the only named Pirate character I remembered was Captain Redbeard, who was named repeatedly in the Lego Mania Magazines—I had never seen nor heard of the Pirates comic that named and characterized the other minifigures until a couple of years ago as an adult. And it's not uncommon for me to see older fans lamenting modern themes' tendency to name and characterize their core characters, suggesting that many fans of that era similarly didn't know of the other characters in the theme, or at least didn't consider that information important or essential.

It is quite surprising that it is often said that one of the benefits of unlicensed themes is that LEGO does not have to stick to a fixed storyline or designs and has much greater freedom when it comes to what they can include in a set or theme. And then there are all these complaints about them doing an unlicensed set wrong, not following the correct lore, flushing their history down the drain, and so on. If LEGO has to stick closely to stories and characters they published 3 or 4 decades ago, when both society and their core customer base was different, then this is not so different to licensed sets where they get less freedom over characters and designs.

If LEGO cannot make sets that are up to date but based on old themes, then those themes should remain constrained to history. If someone wants sets exactly as they were in the past, then buy vintage sets. Whereas if we want older themes revived today, we have to expect that they will be made to today's standards.

[Mister Phes]

17 minutes ago, LordsofMedieval said:

I think a lot of people just... wanted something a little different. 

I was kidding!

But you're correct, reinvisioning a classic set causes consumer expectations to become exceptionally high, while an entirely new design would be subject to less scrutiny.

 

[MAB]

17 minutes ago, LordsofMedieval said:

This set is not like that. This set is attempting to remake a specific product (while not really improving on it - IMO - in significant ways), and is dealing with all the repercussions associated with such an endeavor:

• Why aren't the minifigures identical?
• Why are the palm trees inferior?
• Why is the dock still black? 
• Why aren't newer, better parts (such as the newer version of the bluecoat flag) being used? 

I could carry on.

It is interesting that they did a similar modernising remake of an old classic - the Forestmen's Hideout. They changed the name to Forest instead of Forestmen's. They took two original classic smileys and made one male and the other female. They adapted an old design but kept a similar vibe. And that set seemed to be quite well accepted. 

[Mister Phes]

4 minutes ago, MAB said:

If LEGO has to stick closely to stories and characters they published 3 or 4 decades ago, when both society and their core customer base was different

But is the core customer base for Eldorado Fortress different?

This set is specifically targeted towards adults, and the consumers who are likely to purchase multiple units are people who were children 3 or 4 decades ago and longtime fans of the LEGO Pirates theme.

Eldorado Fortress is very much a nostalgia driven product, so contemporary society isn't as relevant because the customer experience is rooted in reminiscing the past.

And sure, there are newer and causal fans who will purchase this set, but would this set exist if it wasn't for the longtime fans?