[ENTRY] 6279 Skull Island - Remake 2023

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

Hello!

I thought again about set 6279. It was one of the first islands where pirates used to keep their assembled treasures. It got its name from the skull carved into the rock (and painted white for some mysterious reason). They are in a fever over a small boat that has gone astray, even the captain stumbles out of his abode, albeit in a slightly illuminated state. There are two cavern "doors" leading into the rock, and the skull itself can be removed for playability. The set is modular and the roof of the building is removable, and the rest of the residence can be removed in two sections to reach into the cave from above. 3 cannons protect the island. True, these are not big cannons, but they can be effective enough. Some may notice that only yellow flowers cover the island, where there are flowers. There is a very simple reason for this. Yellow is the captain's favourite colour, and he has systematically wiped out all the other colours of flowers, leaving only the yellow ones. In addition to the treasures, a skeleton of a man who was once one of the captain's men is hanging at the front of the cave. But unfortunately he got greedy and encouraged his companions to mutiny. The captain quickly put an end to this mutiny and had this man executed and hanged. Since then, no one has attempted such a thing. You can also go to the top of the cliff where the only woman is currently standing. She's the one spying through the telescope at sea for the enemy. She signals with her pistol in her hand if she sees an intruder.

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[iragm]

This is very impressive.  It's been really cool seeing the improvements in your designs throughout the course of this contest.  This might just be your best yet -- so many great details!  I especially like the candles in the eyes, the brick-built cannons, the piles of gold, and the color scheme of the water, sand and rocks.

This is quite recognizable as the original set (although given that it's a giant skull, it's hard to mistake it for anything else).  I feel like this would benefit from the original's rotating skull and the ability to sail a ship into the cave within.  Oh, and I am not a fan of the greencoats, but I'll grant that they're a personal preference.  And perhaps a play feature like the crane from the original?  Apart from that, I have very little to suggest.  Truly great work!

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

26 minutes ago, iragm said:

This is very impressive.  It's been really cool seeing the improvements in your designs throughout the course of this contest.  This might just be your best yet -- so many great details!  I especially like the candles in the eyes, the brick-built cannons, the piles of gold, and the color scheme of the water, sand and rocks.

This is quite recognizable as the original set (although given that it's a giant skull, it's hard to mistake it for anything else).  I feel like this would benefit from the original's rotating skull and the ability to sail a ship into the cave within.  Oh, and I am not a fan of the greencoats, but I'll grant that they're a personal preference.  And perhaps a play feature like the crane from the original?  Apart from that, I have very little to suggest.  Truly great work!

Thank you very much! 😉🏴‍☠️🍻👍😎

I knew I was missing something. So far it's been about every entry. The crane is missing here, although I have to say it would look silly if it were here. That would have required building one side differently.

But I left out the rotating rock on purpose. With a head that size, even Schwarzenegger wouldn't move it, let alone a drunken pirate 😂.

Yes, you can't sail in here. I originally had this idea in my head, but the first skulls turned out so lame that I started a bigger, nicer version based on a MOC I found online. I copied the nose part and built the rest myself. So it got too big, with a large number of elements, that I didn't want the cave to be big enough to fit a boat.

[Rogue Redcoat]

First, I love the dark red on the back, it almost looks like it has a Ninjago or Asian pirate look. I have a few suggestions, First on the palm tree it looks as if there is a gap towards the bottom (I know I'm just being picky) other than this if the green coats are going to fly that flag there going to need matching colored coats (blue!). The rest of the build looks great. Anyway, Happy building :)

[Horation]

Theme

The whole build is one of your best in that regard ; lots and lots, and lots of rooms with a lot of room inside of 'em, several hidden passageways and spaces inside the rocks, treasure, soldiers (I actually like this style of troops, were there any reasons for it @MyFirstMOC-Hun?, food, etc...)

There are however 3 issues for me ; the lack of a fireplace on the inside or a campfire on the outside (it would fit the skull's fiery eyes well), the lack of a crane to carry the small boat up top (or alternatively, a lookout tower on top of the rock formation), don't worry about it looking silly ; a giant skull on a rock already looks silly enough, and finally, the most critical omission is the lack of any visible frog on that build (correct me if I'm wrong).

Build

The rocks look brilliant (especially the use of plates on the side), the sand is really nice and looks natural (especially the dark tan at bottom, light tan on top technique). The stalactites on the cave and the small foliage look great, but I'd add a few stalagmites/stalactites to the cave behind the skull ; it would be much more menacing! Overall an above average creation from an above average creator!

Edited August 2, 2023 by Horation
extra question

[Mazin]

I'm speechless! Thos one is definitely Your best so far. So many little details that everyone will love. All those teeth in the skull, and the gold one too, those litghts within eyes and even eyebrows. And am i wrong or do these plants on it make it look like if it was actually rotting?

Honestly, every side i look at forces me into even bigger amezement. All of this structure added behind the rock is a visual masterpiece made out of many smaller masterpieces, I mean, You've included so many ideas at once in one set, the roof, the balcony, stairs.

My only question is if there's enough accesibility into the compound? I know that the skull can be removed and some elements can be raised above, but this cave is stil kinda small, seems hardly reachable from photos' perspective, with a lot goods hidden inside that should be easily picked up. But then, maybe this captain is so greedy he doesn't want anyone to even look into it, and even more so let anyone take anything out ;)    

So, if it would be enginerable, I'd try to make extend Your cave's entrance, behind the skull and maybe those rocks on the back side could form some sort of a gate or coulde be raised as well, as You did with all those secret caches in Your previous sets? Maybe there could be a way to transform the skull itself into giant doors as well, so that pirates could unload all their loot directly trough them?

But those are just my silly suggestions, everything looks fine enough just the way it is.... Within the island at least. Cause minifigs are a different case. And, sorry, but i would change them for more classic characters ;) Most of these guys simply don't look like pirates, they're more like seeing Ninjago! Perhaps You wanted to be more original and create some not yet seen personas for them, but I'd stick to what worked well so many years, i want HATS and OTHER HEADWEAR instead of hair products commercial ;) 

That goes for both sides of the conflict - soldiers look even weirder with that officer pretending to be Ted Danson! ;) 

Oh, and since You've decided to go with new green ( greyish? ) faction instead of classic ones then they should probably get a new flag, right? I mean, i understand that they might be just new force with the Blues, who got to wear those distinctive uniforms, but still, I think soldier's colors should be more consistent on both their clothing and banners, doesn't matter if they are going to be Blues, Reds, Greens, Grays or Orange ;)     

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

48 minutes ago, Mazin said:

I'm speechless! Thos one is definitely Your best so far. So many little details that everyone will love. All those teeth in the skull, and the gold one too, those litghts within eyes and even eyebrows. And am i wrong or do these plants on it make it look like if it was actually rotting?

Honestly, every side i look at forces me into even bigger amezement. All of this structure added behind the rock is a visual masterpiece made out of many smaller masterpieces, I mean, You've included so many ideas at once in one set, the roof, the balcony, stairs.

My only question is if there's enough accesibility into the compound? I know that the skull can be removed and some elements can be raised above, but this cave is stil kinda small, seems hardly reachable from photos' perspective, with a lot goods hidden inside that should be easily picked up. But then, maybe this captain is so greedy he doesn't want anyone to even look into it, and even more so let anyone take anything out ;)    

So, if it would be enginerable, I'd try to make extend Your cave's entrance, behind the skull and maybe those rocks on the back side could form some sort of a gate or coulde be raised as well, as You did with all those secret caches in Your previous sets? Maybe there could be a way to transform the skull itself into giant doors as well, so that pirates could unload all their loot directly trough them?

But those are just my silly suggestions, everything looks fine enough just the way it is.... Within the island at least. Cause minifigs are a different case. And, sorry, but i would change them for more classic characters ;) Most of these guys simply don't look like pirates, they're more like seeing Ninjago! Perhaps You wanted to be more original and create some not yet seen personas for them, but I'd stick to what worked well so many years, i want HATS and OTHER HEADWEAR instead of hair products commercial ;) 

That goes for both sides of the conflict - soldiers look even weirder with that officer pretending to be Ted Danson! ;) 

Oh, and since You've decided to go with new green ( greyish? ) faction instead of classic ones then they should probably get a new flag, right? I mean, i understand that they might be just new force with the Blues, who got to wear those distinctive uniforms, but still, I think soldier's colors should be more consistent on both their clothing and banners, doesn't matter if they are going to be Blues, Reds, Greens, Grays or Orange ;)     

Thank you! 😉🏴‍☠️🍻

Just a quick reply. Soldiers are like this and pirates are like this because this project was made with the Bricklink Designer Program palette, so that I might enter it in the next stage if it comes to that. But I'm not sure if all the elements will match them, but we'll see. So this palette is extremely limited in colour, elements, accessories. That's why the pirates are like that and that's why there's no hats on anybody, because for example there's no pirate hats in it, just plain black. The hats, the caps are not what I would like, that's why I put hair on everybody. You're right about needing a different kind of flag for the soldiers but since that is also totally limited to a plain white one, I didn't want to put that in.

[Mazin]

2 minutes ago, MyFirstMOC-Hun said:

Thank you! 😉🏴‍☠️🍻

Just a quick reply. Soldiers are like this and pirates are like this because this project was made with the Bricklink Designer Program palette, so that I might enter it in the next stage if it comes to that. But I'm not sure if all the elements will match them, but we'll see. So this palette is extremely limited in colour, elements, accessories. That's why the pirates are like that and that's why there's no hats on anybody, because for example there's no pirate hats in it, just plain black. The hats, the caps are not what I would like, that's why I put hair on everybody. You're right about needing a different kind of flag for the soldiers but since that is also totally limited to a plain white one, I didn't want to put that in.

Thanx for responding. I didn't know it was made that way, and then You always had standard pirate theme clothing in Your previous entries, so that's why i was surprised with it being different ;) Still, this is Lego, everything could be replaced by us, grown up kids ;) Obtaining all those hair pieces would be cool anyway, i mean there would always be ways to find few pirate caps for these fellows and hair pieces could could be used for our town sets, cause there's no Lego fan that doesn't enjoy playing with other themes ;)

Anyway, looking to Your next project :) They're getting bigger and bigger, so i wonder what will come next :) 

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

34 minutes ago, Mazin said:

Thanx for responding. I didn't know it was made that way, and then You always had standard pirate theme clothing in Your previous entries, so that's why i was surprised with it being different ;) Still, this is Lego, everything could be replaced by us, grown up kids ;) Obtaining all those hair pieces would be cool anyway, i mean there would always be ways to find few pirate caps for these fellows and hair pieces could could be used for our town sets, cause there's no Lego fan that doesn't enjoy playing with other themes ;)

Anyway, looking to Your next project :) They're getting bigger and bigger, so i wonder what will come next :) 

Yes, I've been ignoring this because I didn't want to limit myself with the elements, but I could see this wouldn't be a bad thing to launch in a Bricklink Designer promram. That's why I decided to do this. But I'm going to make one improvement in it, by replacing the flags with unique ones. That might be allowed by the Designer program.

[Mazin]

2 hours ago, MyFirstMOC-Hun said:

Yes, I've been ignoring this because I didn't want to limit myself with the elements, but I could see this wouldn't be a bad thing to launch in a Bricklink Designer promram. That's why I decided to do this. But I'm going to make one improvement in it, by replacing the flags with unique ones. That might be allowed by the Designer program.

Or You could always use something else in place of that flag, like those classic banners from castle themes, pennants i think they are called, that boat doesn't necesarilly need to be carying a traditional form of flag... https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/parts/flags-and-signs/flags-and-banners/4495_flag-4-x-1-wavy-swallowtail-pennant/ that is if they are available in Your program of course :)  

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

1 hour ago, Mazin said:

Or You could always use something else in place of that flag, like those classic banners from castle themes, pennants i think they are called, that boat doesn't necesarilly need to be carying a traditional form of flag... https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/parts/flags-and-signs/flags-and-banners/4495_flag-4-x-1-wavy-swallowtail-pennant/ that is if they are available in Your program of course :)  

Thanks! 😉 I don't use this kind of flag. I'll have a custom flag with another pattern and render a new picture of it. 👍😉

[MstrOfPppts]

Definitely your best entry so far! I don't know if it's the style of the shore but the overall look is very nice!

As for the remake there's just a bit too much difference in positioning and proportions. But that was the case in most of your entries anyway. Also it's a shame that the boat through the cave feature is missing since it was the main attraction in the original. And I too don't like the greencoats.

A strong entry indeed although maybe a bit on the expensive side (:

[BrickCommander9]

I love this moc! It is instantly recognizable for a classic, but in much higher definition! The detailed skull looks gorgeous, although maybe it could swivel open like the original instead of heing removable?

 

I really love the hidden entrances!

 

My one "complaint" is the red arch over thebdoor. It looks out of place. I don't mind the red, but if it is red, the xolumns below it should also be red in my opinion. A minor nitpick overall on a stunning moc!

[MyFirstMOC-Hun]

12 hours ago, MstrOfPppts said:

Definitely your best entry so far! I don't know if it's the style of the shore but the overall look is very nice!

As for the remake there's just a bit too much difference in positioning and proportions. But that was the case in most of your entries anyway. Also it's a shame that the boat through the cave feature is missing since it was the main attraction in the original. And I too don't like the greencoats.

A strong entry indeed although maybe a bit on the expensive side (:

Thank you! 😉👍🏴‍☠️🍻

Everything is expensive these days unfortunately, but I see what you mean. Unfortunately I don't have the knowledge of parts prices to put these mocs together for the cheapest price accordingly.

I wrote above about the green jacket ones and why they became that. But I understand if you don't like them. It's a forced pitch for me too actually.

The thing is, this boating entrance feature was also left out of the design, and that's why it wasn't included. Also, because the skull was too big and I think it would have been net idiotic if it had rotated.

50 minutes ago, BrickCommander9 said:

I love this moc! It is instantly recognizable for a classic, but in much higher definition! The detailed skull looks gorgeous, although maybe it could swivel open like the original instead of heing removable?

 

I really love the hidden entrances!

 

My one "complaint" is the red arch over thebdoor. It looks out of place. I don't mind the red, but if it is red, the xolumns below it should also be red in my opinion. A minor nitpick overall on a stunning moc!

Thank you! 😉🏴‍☠️👍🍻

The arch was not originally red. But when I made the windows red, to give a little reference to the 3 in 1 pirate ship, or the pub that could be built from it, I changed it to red. That was probably a mistake, but I might fix that later.

[omby54]

Très beau remake !!

J'aime particulièrement la tête de mort et ses orbites !