[OFFICIAL] 10320 Eldorado Fortress - Available NOW

[eldiano]

2 hours ago, F1stzz said:

With the amount of negative feedback about the printing quality on the figs, I'm getting convinced that in this case it's not just a defect present in a minor percentage of sets, but rather a deliberate shortcut taken by TLG to cheapen out the production at max. Having high quality prints is too much for a premium $220 product within the ICONS line, I guess. 

Thanks for the pics, really appreciate the comparison & I have a request, if you don't mind: if you have some free time & 2015 Bluecoat Soldiers, can you please make a comparison between those & 10320 minifigs and provide some photos? Just to see how striking is the difference if there's any 🤔

We know that, or at least myself from a business stand point, which is why i'm going out of my way in rebuying old school gold plated coins and bars. They have gotten rid of the metallic pieces like gold or silver and took a massive step back for cost cutting measures as if raising prices wasn't enough, hell even the Pirate VIP parts set has pearl gold pieces hidden in there. 

I do feel that 2015 was peak accesories LEGO but not build but we shall see. 

I found a brick link seller that was selling them for cheap, don't really care if it's original or 3d printed but nothing beats the old school coins hehehe IMHO

Would make a pirate like myself do crazy things 

[jodawill]

I do miss the old coins. They just have this magical quality about them. They really do look like treasure. It was really special seeing them for the first time when I got Sea Mates as a little kid. If they ever brought them back, I would buy tens of thousands of them. I would build Scrooge McDuck style vaults for my pirates.

That being said, there are definitely some practical reasons for TLG to prefer the new coin. It doesn't require a unique mold. If their 1x1 round tile mold wears out, they have to replace it anyway for all the other sets they use it for. Unlike the original coins, they actually do connect to studs, so you can build with them. And the chrome coating on the old ones was notorious for wearing off.

I wish I had been able to LUGBulk the original coins, but I did order a lot of the new coins. I have over 600 of them. The major downside to them, though, and the reason I didn't order thousands of them, is that they don't really look good if you just have a cove full of them. Their underside doesn't look like a coin.

I do love the new coin, but it could never replace the original for that reason.

[kuzyabricks]

Just finished mine. Lovely set. Only issue is the stupid governors cabin. The whole planning out of that area with the ladder don’t make sense. The soldiers have to walk through the office to get to the cannons!??? Ridiculous. Trying to mod it right now. Also since I requested a redelivery I have a second set in a box 😂 do I have to send that back??

[jodawill]

7 minutes ago, kuzyabricks said:

Just finished mine. Lovely set. Only issue is the stupid governors cabin. The whole planning out of that area with the ladder don’t make sense. The soldiers have to walk through the office to get to the cannons!??? Ridiculous. Trying to mod it right now. Also since I requested a redelivery I have a second set in a box 😂 do I have to send that back??

Yeah, that governor's office is a bit off. I think they sacrificed a bit too much in order to get the fold out feature. It's nice that you can get a better look at the set in that position, but the architecture doesn't really make a lot of sense because of it. There's a lot of gaps in that configuration. It doesn't feel very cohesive. And in order to get that layout, they had to make the office smaller than the original.

I think this is actually the reason the set looks like a squished too hat in the box photo. It has that angled wall with the door, but nothing is behind it. The original set has another wall beyond that and it has a much greater sense of depth. The whole cannon area behind the office is just ludicrous. I'm glad to have the extra cannon, but not at the expense of chopping off half of that room. It's the pinnacle of the building, the part that your eyes are drawn to first when you look at the building. It's just not right.

I was initially really excited about this set. It mostly is great, but the more I look at it, both online and now in person, the more I'm just disappointed by this wasted opportunity. It will probably be another decade before we see anything like this again, if ever, and they couldn't bother to get all of the details right.

Honestly, it feels like no one involved in the production of this set really understood what made the original great or was familiar with the source material at all. It seems more like someone just glanced at the photos from their archive and said, "Yep, we could do something like that." It wasn't made with the same passion they put into 10305.

It's just all of the small details. Incorrect information in the introduction of the book. The marketing materials calling the governor an admiral. Saying "the gang's all here" without including any of the original characters. The poor print quality. The lack of inclusion of Captain Redbeard. The color inconsistencies in the sails and bricks. Instead of being a love letter, it kind of feels like a big F you to all of the fans who have been waiting 8 years for another pirates wave, especially when you top it off with the fact we apparently won't be able to buy any of the important pieces though PAB.

Is that too harsh?

Having said all of that, I'm still going to be forking over money to buy more parts to extend my fort and so forth. But I'm genuinely disappointed with the sails and minifigures, which are really the most important parts of this set considering any of us could have designed our own Eldorado Fortress from available parts at any time. It's these exclusive parts we've been waiting 8 years for, and frankly, they're a bit disappointing. But maybe TLG doesn't care as long as we keep giving them money.

[Roebuck]

38 minutes ago, kuzyabricks said:

Also since I requested a redelivery I have a second set in a box 😂 do I have to send that back??

You can contact CS and ask what to do, but normally you must return unpaid sets I think..

[F1stzz]

3 hours ago, jodawill said:

Is that too harsh?

Nope, not at all, that's exactly what I've been saying constantly for about a couple of months at this point. The only thing I'm struggling to grasp is why people start actually paying attention to the flaws only AFTER they've already paid a hefty sum for the product, when pictures & reviews have been around all this time for us to study and make all the right conclusions from the get go  

[TheCosmicTravelers]

6 hours ago, jodawill said:

Is that too harsh?

While I agree with most of your criticisms about the set (especially the quality control issues), I do feel you are being a bit harsh with some of your language and are mentally dwelling too much on the flaws.  The original 1989 Imperial Soldier sets were not without major flaws either: I never liked how exposed the lower cannon was on 6276, how the crane was essentially fixed in position, and how low the walls in the governor's office were. And don't even get me started on 6274 (pointless rear mast without sails that would just increase weight and drag, cannon flaps opening downward that would get caught in the waves, really incorrect shroud rigging arrangement (these were always placed starboard/port and need a corresponding one on the other side for counter-tension), incomplete rear cabin, etc.)).  Granted these were older sets while this new one is suppose to be something of a love letter for fans (but not solely for fans) so I can understand your disappointment but brooding on the flaws sometimes prevents you from a more balanced assessment that also considers all that is actually great about this set.

Edited July 19, 2023 by TheCosmicTravelers
grammar

[TalonCard]

On 7/17/2023 at 7:01 AM, Duck said:

I was really impressed with the Imperial Trading Vessel - it used a lot more interesting techniques than I was expecting and I felt some satisfaction from completing it. It's a very nice size also, compared to the original which really was "too small", this one feels like it could serve a genuine purpose at sea. It's a pity LEGO have never been a fan of medium-sized ships, as I feel there could be a market for a £30-40 ship of this size, rather than expecting pirates fans to fork out £100+ for each ship due to going large.

I finally got my set, but the only thing I've had time to finish so far is the ship. And I agree with Duck here, it's pretty fantastic. It was a ton of fun to build, and uses completely different techniques than the original.

If we were still getting Pirate sets from LEGO consistently it would be pretty cool to see a rotation of big ships small forts one year and then small ships big forts the next year. This is a model that can stant on its own. I love the big hull pieces too, but this and the 3-in-1 pirate ship effectively demonstrate that you can have entirely brick built ships sets in different sizes and I'd love to see more.

The Anne Anchor figure looks a lot cooler in person; the black hair and legs combo works pretty well with the new torso. Not what I would have chosen to replace Captain Redbeard, but she's a great variant to have.

[jodawill]

1 hour ago, TheCosmicTravelers said:

While I agree with most of your criticisms about the set (especially the quality control issues), I do feel you are being a bit harsh with some of your language and are mentally dwelling too much on the flaws.  The original 1989 Imperial Soldier sets were not without major flaws either: I never liked how exposed the lower cannon was on 6276, how the crane was essentially fixed in position, and how low the walls in the governor's office were. And don't even get me started on 6274 (pointless rear mast without sails that would just increase weight and drag, cannon flaps opening downward that would get caught in the waves, really incorrect shroud rigging arrangement (these were always placed starboard/port and need a corresponding one on the other side for counter-tension), incomplete rear cabin, etc.)).  Granted these were older sets while this new one is suppose to be something of a love letter for fans (but not solely for fans) so I can understand your disappointment but brooding on the flaws sometimes prevents you from a more balanced assessment that also considers all that is actually great about this set.

Yes, you're right. I should probably avoid writing comments at 2am when I'm grumpy because I can't sleep. 

You're right. The new one has a lot of serious improvements over the original. I agree with you about the cannon in the front. I also love how they rounded it out. I think the original was also meant to give the illusion of it being round, but they it didn't translate very well, probably due to the pieces they had available at the time.

Something else I haven't seen anyone mention is that on the original, the grate over the pit doesn't reach all the way across. I guess there isn't much they could have done, except this baseplate was made specifically for this set, so it would have made sense to design the pit to fit that part. But then it might not have been sturdy enough, so who knows. Since the grate was also introduced in that set, they could have made it larger to fit the baseplate. The new one is improved in this aspect.

I'm surprised I haven't seen some of these things mentioned already in the thread. The office door on the original doesn't cover the gap completely. About 2/3 of a stud width is left exposed. The new one closes lines up perfectly.

I see what you're saying about the low walls in the office, but I think it was the best move because it allows little fingers to get in there for play.

Almost everything about the building is an improvement in the new version. I think the only thing about the structure that bothers me on the new one is just that office. It looks like it was chopped in half. But it's not a huge deal because it's something I can fix with generic parts.

I probably am being too harsh about the set. It's 95% excellent. But the what really bums me out here is the quality control. That's what Lego was great at in 1989. I think they've lowered their standards too far. I shouldn't have this many quality issues with a $215 set. (Ironically, it seems the quality is actually better on small, mass produced sets.)

[dimc]

Is there any chance of this getting a discount? I'm guessing no, so best bet is to pick a 2xVIP and good GWP that you want?

[Roebuck]

31 minutes ago, dimc said:

Is there any chance of this getting a discount? I'm guessing no, so best bet is to pick a 2xVIP and good GWP that you want?

We must wait a few months before we know if normal shops get it, my guess is that at least some will

[jodawill]

6 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

We must wait a few months before we know if normal shops get it, my guess is that at least some will

How do you know other shops will have it?

[Roebuck]

44 minutes ago, jodawill said:

How do you know other shops will have it?

51 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

We must wait a few months before we know if normal shops get it, my guess is that at least some will

[GeoBrick]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:39 PM, F1stzz said:

...& I have a request, if you don't mind: if you have some free time & 2015 Bluecoat Soldiers, can you please make a comparison between those & 10320 minifigs and provide some photos? Just to see how striking is the difference if there's any 🤔

Here's a comparison. There's less of the white shirt visible in the 2015 soldier uniforms, but the shade of white used looks to me pretty much the same.

 

[kuzyabricks]

16 hours ago, jodawill said:

Yeah, that governor's office is a bit off. I think they sacrificed a bit too much in order to get the fold out feature. It's nice that you can get a better look at the set in that position, but the architecture doesn't really make a lot of sense because of it. There's a lot of gaps in that configuration. It doesn't feel very cohesive. And in order to get that layout, they had to make the office smaller than the original.

I think this is actually the reason the set looks like a squished too hat in the box photo. It has that angled wall with the door, but nothing is behind it. The original set has another wall beyond that and it has a much greater sense of depth. The whole cannon area behind the office is just ludicrous. I'm glad to have the extra cannon, but not at the expense of chopping off half of that room. It's the pinnacle of the building, the part that your eyes are drawn to first when you look at the building. It's just not right.

I was initially really excited about this set. It mostly is great, but the more I look at it, both online and now in person, the more I'm just disappointed by this wasted opportunity. It will probably be another decade before we see anything like this again, if ever, and they couldn't bother to get all of the details right.

Honestly, it feels like no one involved in the production of this set really understood what made the original great or was familiar with the source material at all. It seems more like someone just glanced at the photos from their archive and said, "Yep, we could do something like that." It wasn't made with the same passion they put into 10305.

It's just all of the small details. Incorrect information in the introduction of the book. The marketing materials calling the governor an admiral. Saying "the gang's all here" without including any of the original characters. The poor print quality. The lack of inclusion of Captain Redbeard. The color inconsistencies in the sails and bricks. Instead of being a love letter, it kind of feels like a big F you to all of the fans who have been waiting 8 years for another pirates wave, especially when you top it off with the fact we apparently won't be able to buy any of the important pieces though PAB.

Is that too harsh?

Having said all of that, I'm still going to be forking over money to buy more parts to extend my fort and so forth. But I'm genuinely disappointed with the sails and minifigures, which are really the most important parts of this set considering any of us could have designed our own Eldorado Fortress from available parts at any time. It's these exclusive parts we've been waiting 8 years for, and frankly, they're a bit disappointing. But maybe TLG doesn't care as long as we keep giving them money.

I never had the original but I actually really like this set. I was beyond excited for its release but was disappointed by at first. My only complaint is the office in all honesty. No clue how to make it better

1 hour ago, GeoBrick said:

Here's a comparison. There's less of the white shirt visible in the 2015 soldier uniforms, but the shade of white used looks to me pretty much the same.

 

I only have one torso from the 2015 line so I made that uniform my lieutenant of the soldiers. Used the governors torso as a general and made captain barbossas torso as the admiral!!!

[DonQuixote]

I was waiting for Majisto GWP to buy Eldorado Fortress. But the longer I wait, the more I am not interested anymore. Bought a green Dragon knight(new) from Bricklink instead and it has excellent armor and leg prints. My Black Pearl is now my pirate ship and my Black seas barracuda (the new one) is transformed into a trade ship. Looks great with all those CMF. Aristocrat girl, musketeers, swashbuckler, Highwayman and Shakespeare . Also made a small Island with a monkey, parrot, couple of palm trees, a crocodile and the stranded Jack Sparrow. This display looks fantastic. Don't need the Eldorado Fortress. It don't live up to my expectatations. I still have the original one. The new one should have been better and 1,5x bigger like the Galaxy Explorer remake. The doors of the original are better looking and the office is bigger. I am gonna save my money for Bricklinks Mountain Fortress next year from Sleepless Night. That looks amazing! And maybe I will build a Eldorado Fortress moc next year or so from rebrickable. Allready bought the instructions. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by DonQuixote

[F1stzz]

15 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Here's a comparison.

TY for the photo, even tho quality of lighting makes it a bit problematic to try and spot the differences, but I trust your word on it, m8  Also, good point about the difference between the amount of space taken by shirts on both prints — I think if TLG tried to do things the way it was done back in 2015, that "week white" would've drawn less attention as less of the colour itself would've been present on the print. I mean, as we have the pic of both figures standing side by side, imagine that black+golden design of stripes on 2023 version being applied on 2015 minifig — the only white you end up having on 2015 print in this case would basically be belts & those tiny bits of shirt visible under the coat. That would've been a better solution for TLG to keep an option of saving some costs on white colour density (if they're so desperate about it), while not making it so "in our face" like it's done with current figs. Not that anybody actually cared though  

Edited July 20, 2023 by F1stzz

[eldiano]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:38 AM, DonQuixote said:

I was waiting for Majisto GWP to buy Eldorado Fortress. But the longer I wait, the more I am not interested anymore. Bought a green Dragon knight(new) from Bricklink instead and it has excellent armor and leg prints. My Black Pearl is now my pirate ship and my Black seas barracuda (the new one) is transformed into a trade ship. Looks great with all those CMF. Aristocrat girl, musketeers, swashbuckler, Highwayman and Shakespeare . Also made a small Island with a monkey, parrot, couple of palm trees, a crocodile and the stranded Jack Sparrow. This display looks fantastic. Don't need the Eldorado Fortress. It don't live up to my expectatations. I still have the original one. The new one should have been better and 1,5x bigger like the Galaxy Explorer remake. The doors of the original are better looking and the office is bigger. I am gonna save my money for Bricklinks Mountain Fortress next year from Sleepless Night. That looks amazing! And maybe I will build a Eldorado Fortress moc next year or so from rebrickable. Allready bought the instructions. 

Who knows what’s going to happen with the Majisto GWP because we already got the August, September and October GWP line up unless they sneak it as a VIP promo which I can see them doing it to be honest. 

40594 Houses of the World 3
40598 Gringotts vault released in September
40599 Houses of the World 4 
 

TBA majisto unless it’s canceled. 

 

Quick question, i have extra official sails that would benefit from being the same size as the imperial trading ship ones from this set, would you recommend cutting official sails to match their size? I just realized that the imperial trading ship sails are perfect for my creator 3 in 1 ship’s size but I’m having a hard time cutting up official sails from lego and i don’t know why haha

Edited July 21, 2023 by eldiano

[Alexandrina]

57 minutes ago, eldiano said:

TBA majisto unless it’s canceled. 

Was Majisto ever confirmed in the first place? I thought it was just rumour that swelled into "everyone knows Majisto GWP is coming this summer". Lego mightn't have cancelled it because it might never have been planned in the first place

[RichiPuppy]

4 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

Was Majisto ever confirmed in the first place? I thought it was just rumour that swelled into "everyone knows Majisto GWP is coming this summer". Lego mightn't have cancelled it because it might never have been planned in the first place

It was leaked by the same person that leaked the Eldorado Fortress.  The houses of the world were usually released along side other gwp so I would not say we know what is coming the next three months.

[TalonCard]

4 hours ago, eldiano said:

Quick question, i have extra official sails that would benefit from being the same size as the imperial trading ship ones from this set, would you recommend cutting official sails to match their size? I just realized that the imperial trading ship sails are perfect for my creator 3 in 1 ship’s size but I’m having a hard time cutting up official sails from lego and i don’t know why haha

I wouldn't cut any official sails from LEGO; they're already valuable and odds are good that their exact design, shape, material, and color won't ever be made again. Instead I'd look into some of the replicas folks are making, cut those instead or comissiona a custom size, and just sell the original to cover the cost and buy more LEGO.

Edited July 21, 2023 by TalonCard

[Roebuck]

After they stopped doing the monthly shop calendars GWP has been really hard to track, so could come this year or moved to next year

[Pirate_King_1982]

How long after a set goes on sale do sellers start parting out out said sets on Bricklink? People seem to think that the Imperial Soldier torsos aren’t going to end up on PAB because they’re IP locked [whatever that means) and I want to get some from Bricklink for army building purposes.

[GeoBrick]

Imagine what one could do with two inverted convex slopes and a single wedge plate.

Create a winch platform on the 10320 crane

Edited July 22, 2023 by GeoBrick

[RichardGoring]

48 minutes ago, GeoBrick said:

Imagine what one could do with two inverted convex slopes and a single wedge plate.

Create a winch platform on the 10320 crane

Nice!