[ENTRY] SIN ISLAND: Keg & Cutlass Inn + Comic book

[Marooned Marin]

NEWLY UPDATED VERSION - 12. August 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ORIGINS

For this contest I decided to collaborate with the most fearsome pirate I happen to know, my 10-year old nephew Lawrence Black. It was he who chose the tavern/house look (you are welcome Jack Sassy), and to his credit has worked relentlessly on the first several designs during the last few weeks.

The original inspiration came from Van Dyke Island by @Cincinnati, as he was smitten by it when he caught the glimpse of it on the Classic-Pirates.com. The problem as he saw it, it was too big for him to have it! So he explained to me he will re-do it his way on a much lower scale.

Yeah right... I thought, so I threw him an offer:

"Make it good, I will help you with details and then we will enter the Contest together. Make it really good, and I will even make instructions for ReBrickable"

To my surprise, he did just that and true to my word I jumped in and added some of my magic to his original design - mainly fixing half a dozen structural issues and adding details. Good thing I introduced him to Studio.io when he was only eight. From there we played around together with ideas, we experimented back and forth with various options until we came to the final design.

He will get this set for his upcoming eleventh birthday, and after the first test-build, I plan to make the instructions available - best estimate late September 2023.

Last but not the least, I took the liberty to write a storyline behind the build and produce a slick comic for your entertainment only.

Enjoy.

 

THE SINISTER ISLAND BACKSTORY

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE 12. August 2023. - what's different?

Following the suggestions of the most kind and helpful creative critiques, here be the list of changes:

-> Removed five minifigures, (including Madam Brothel) as the set looked overcrowded

-> Made a new fireplace with flames and removed the grill

-> Added more weapons around the ground floor, mainly cutlasses and muskets stored in barrels. Added swivel gun on the first floor

-> Changed the colours of the rocks, darkbluishgray on the bottom... lightbluishgray on the top

-> Added technic brick with pin on the rock to allow easier rotation of the plant covering the hidden chest

-> Removed the bed from Captain Redbeard's quarter and added table and his chair instead. Added telescope on his fence

-> Replaced the rock bricks on the top gun-nest with wooden bricks

-> Replaced the string on stairs for a real wooden rail

-> Updated all of the renders

Old -first- version hidden inside the spoiler

Spoiler

 

FIRST VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Marooned Marin
Added ReBrickable link on 07.10.2023.

[Jack Sassy]

A fine MOC yer nephew, Master Black has created. 

 

In all seriousness, I love all the little details included and having just the right amount to make this seem as an actual set (especially the brothel ). An astounding job has been done here, praise to ye both! 

 

(I appreciate the story line that ties in with the Barracuda Bay. )

 

Also, if I recall correctly, torn sleeves was a sign of betrayal among the ranks of Imperial soldiers. So, Sergeant Laquay has some explaining to do. 

56 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

you are welcome Jack Sassy

Oh no, yer welcome!  

[Horation]

A pirate saloon-nice but overcrowded

Theme

The play features are great ; a hidden treasure, animals aplenty and some wonderfully detailed figs (are they custom @Marooned Marin? Because they look like it!) contribute to a brilliant design feeling, and there's a lot of room and activities to be done on the island, albeit the canon does appear hard to shoot with, the inside also looks excellent and adds even further play opportunities while being easily accessed.

While I do appreciate the comic and excellent pictures, this entry does have flaws : Madam brothel, for one, is obviously a no-no, change that backstory a little. Also, the whole thing is as crowded as a MOC, and I understand the desire to ''have the whole gang'', but few soldiers=less playability. I'd say add a boat to reduce crowding and/or remove a pirate or two.

Build

The details on the rockwork are solid, and the variations on the brown colour scheme just work really well. The beds, the harmonica and the attention to detail throughout (like that hanged soldier or that hidden treasure). But I'd like if the rocks were more uniform (or split in two clear colours-ex: DBG on bottom and LBG on top) and if the sand had as much care taken as the main build did...

And that's my review, I like it more as a MOC than an entry, but I like it quite a bit as an entry! Good luck and entertain yourself!

[Rogue Redcoat]

I can totally see Lego releasing something like this, only with a few exceptions, first the coming and the pictures would need to be cleaned up (ah hem be kept "PG"), and second, there are too few colors being used in the build, I would want to see some yellow, and dark red or red. Other than that there is one thing that keeps catching my eye, the fire (maybe a rotating spit could do with some varying foods). Other than this maybe add a front to the rooms and allow us to see a nice outside and the inside when we spin the build around. Anyway, Happy building :)

[iragm]

If I am reading this right, a large part of this was designed by a 10 year old?  If so, that is an accomplishment, as most 10 year olds aren't versed in studio nor any of the techniques I'm seeing here.  Pass along my compliments to your nephew, because his building skills rival that of many adults.

The rockwork is good, although it might look more consistent if there were darker gray lower down, and lighter gray highlights higher up.  Similarly, the building itself has some patches of color (nougat, dark orange), which feel out of place.  The texture of the building is wonderful, just the colors are a bit cluttered.  I think that a mix of dark brown and reddish brown would look nice, with a bit more reddish brown higher up and dark brown in shadowed areas.  The only other place the color feels off is on the dock; you've got a mix of dark tan and reddish brown, both supposed to represent wood?  It feels a bit jarring; in most models (and IRL) the wood is all same color.  Finally, I'd like to see a pop or two of bright color higher up on the model.  Something as simple as an additional awning would do wonders.  Please understand, these are nitpicks -- overall, your use of color is excellent.

The proportions of the model are quite nice, too -- it conforms pretty well to the rule of thirds, with the flat base and the tower.  It's actually one of the best-proportioned pirate islands I've seen, so well done.

The play features are good and feel like they'd come from an official set.  No need to change much there, although the leaf over the hidden treasure could be built with a 1x1 technic brick + a 1/2 technic pin instead of the headlight brick, this would allow it to swing open more easily.

The visual storytelling is so good it hurts.  I love the flag made of the torso while the shirtless imperial rows and the original pirate flag floats in the water.  *chef's kiss*  There's a ton of other great storytelling here, like the cat and the gull, or the people exchanging the coin.  Really, too much to list, and you've just knocked it out of the park.

Now, you do have a problem, and that's the theme: in a contest to "create an official set", you've made a brothel.  I look forward to seeing this on rebrickable; I may even build it, but I just can't see it winning the contest, sadly.

Finally, I do love all the details, from the hanging shark, to the beds, the characters each with their own backstory and scenes (LMAO at the BDSM pirate with the whip).  I'd change up some of the details -- swap the grill out for a spit with proper flames, the string railing for a real one (you may have already done that I think), replace the masonry bricks on the roof with log profile bricks (you don't put stone over wood), and you've got a real winner of a MOC here.  Excellent work!

[NOD]

You did this with your 10 year old nephew? Has your nephew seen and read your comic and the tavern/house look? We'd all love to see a video of you telling him your side of the story.  

This is a nice and fun build! The comic is very good and funny! I like balconies. The presentation of the characters is fun and informative. This is a great island relaxation establishment! What does a successful pirate sailor who found doubloons do? Go to the bank and get low interest charges %? No, rum has more %! Of course, you also have to take care of your health. Sporting activities are very important. In this place you can do mattress sports.

[Marooned Marin]

On 8/3/2023 at 7:07 PM, Jack Sassy said:

torn sleeves was a sign of betrayal among the ranks of Imperial soldiers. So, Sergeant Laquay has some explaining to do

Indeed, you are correct and I'm happy you caught on to this little detail.

The trouble with young Sargent is, he deflected Pirates for Bluecoats, however his blurry history made him a perfect scapegoat when some money embezzlement happened right under the Governor Broadside nose.

His luck turned from bad to worse when Pirates got their hands on him. One could say he is pitched between the rock and hard place. Only option is, escape pirates, steal their gold, and clear your name before high Admiralty. But... he was also caught by a terrible tempest and thus his adventure is only beginning.

20 hours ago, NOD said:

Has your nephew seen and read your comic and the tavern/house look?

Yes, well... his initial idea was to put vegetable merchant on the first floor, with crates full of veggies. However, I introduced to him an idea of tavern-girls who entertain sailors and give them beds for a good night sleep... and with that the merchant was fed to the sharks.

Even if he is only 10 years old, he knows all the basics on the topic of intercourse. I think we watched Conan the Barbarian 1982 when he was only 6-7 years old, and if you recall, Arnie has his ways with several women during the movie.

And thank you for your kind comments!

Quote

wonderfully detailed figs (are they custom @Marooned Marin? Because they look like it!)

@Horation The minifigs were assembled in Studio.io using existing torsos, heads and accessories from the parts library. Maybe I used one or two unavailable colours here and there, but I did not use Part-designer to make anything custom in this creation.

 

@Horation @Rogue Redcoat and @iragm

I thank yee all for finding time and sharing your constructive feedback with me and my young nephew.

I'm forcing encouraging him to work in Studio.io at least 2 hours per week, or sometimes only 1 hour. Usually we sit side by side at my place, each with his own notebook, and work. We have been doing this for the past half year, and I get regularly amazed by his potential. I also give him to browse/read Classic-Pirates.com every two months, to get ideas and marvel at other awesome creations.

You can rest assured we went through all entries so far so he can get a feeling what we are up against. Like many of us, he already pointed out obvious winner candidates (mainly those two Islanders MOCs). We are not living under any illusion of this being the winner entry, and the contest is far from being over with enough time for other master-builders to chip in and make everyone run for the cover.

On the other hand, I'm happy that this contest motivated him to build something special, and that we did it together which is reward in its own for me as his uncle. For his part, he is getting this build for his upcoming birthday so in total, we both benefited from this contest immensely.

As for the design, large portion of this creation is really all him. I can take only credit for adding the 'playability' elements: the convenient swinging rock for an easy escape, hidden treasure inside the rock (the rock was already there from his design), hanging shark and... of course the brothel, which questions the legitimacy of this entry. Sorry, but I could not resist it, that's all me (too much of Black Sails series)

I will take in all of your feedback and try to make improvements where I can before the end of the contest - of course if young Master Lawrence Black agrees.

Thank yee all again

[Cincinnati]

Thanks for the quote Marin, your moc is great and your comic is even better

[Jack Sassy]

11 hours ago, Marooned Marin said:

His luck turned from bad to worse when Pirates got their hands on him. One could say he is pitched between the rock and hard place. Only option is, escape pirates, steal their gold, and clear your name before high Admiralty. But... he was also caught by a terrible tempest and thus his adventure is only beginning.

Would love to see this lad in some future aventures.

11 hours ago, Marooned Marin said:

As for the design, large portion of this creation is really all him.

He is a talented young designer. Great LEGO MOC designing future awaits him under yer guidance. 

[Mister Phes]

On 8/4/2023 at 2:08 AM, Marooned Marin said:

A comic always provides extra play value!

On 8/4/2023 at 2:08 AM, Marooned Marin said:

You sure showed them!

[Mazin]

Most impressive! This is so big I can't honestly find reasons to complain or think about ways to upgrade it even more ;) This one offers so many details, that one must take a closer look to actually applaud all the work You've put in here. Like those two swords by the door, brilliant decoration, and that anchor on the side, and a shark... wow. Tho my favorite element might be that rock with all those seagulls and poor soldier... or at least what's left of him. Then i guess bustard surely deserved it, right? 

It's also a very atypical set, since it seems to be a fun place, pirates could find peace in, but kinda dark at the same time. I wonder if they have some sort of magical powers two, as i see so many of them, but very few weapons to defend themselves with. Or maybe that's the point? Maybe they have to come in here armless if they even want to get in? Or maybe that rock with a skeleton is just one of many others, and they are the force of nature that is guarding this place?

Still, with a set this size i could use few more weapons here and there, even if the are stocked somewhere, and there seems to be plenty of space for that purpose. 

Actually, if i'd have to point out the least interesting parts of this offering, i'd point to the interior. With so much life outside i don't think i'd ever use it. Those beds look nice, but do we realy need them in pirate sets? ;) After all, pirates have plenty of tables and benches to lay on ;)

And that part with a prison, this place gives me creeps, and since it's positioned under all those floors that have to be removed, i'm not sute if i'd bother to enter it too often. I'dprefer to enjoy with the outside. 

And looking on those walls, the way they are build, by the captains quaters, i kinda thought that they're openable or removable from the side. And i truly believe this way to reach interiors would be better. I realy wouldn't like to take all of these floors apart, as i love this whole structure and would like it to stay in one piece.

And speaking of single pieces, that jetty area looks a bit neglected. It's visually nice, but maybe there could be ways to bring more playing values into that side? Like a crane perhaps? Or a wheebarrow to carry supplies from the boar? Also that could be were all the weaponry could be stocked. Like few muskets on a gun rack. 

I honestly love those colors, but I'm weird and i love dark, foggy, Londonish enviroment ;) But... since it's supposed to be something that could pass as a REAL set by Lego, i'd try tro add a bit of color into it. Just like they did with Baracura Bay! It used to be more brownish, had more earth tones in the original presentation, but they turned it into someting with a more classic look. Same could be done with this place. Maybe You could use some parts from richly ornamented captured ships as materials this inn could be built with? Or, if You want to keep the inn the way it is, maybe You could ditch few of those pirate figures ( there's already plentty of them ) and replace them with Soldiers, preparing for a sneak attack... or better... Islanders preparing for a sneak attack! But then, they could also use a boat, and since we probably wouldn't like to include two boats in one set, if You could digital alter that pirate craft into something more colorful that could serve the enemy... or keep the boat as it is and provide some sort of assault raft for those attackers. If that raft could be armed with a bit of firepower, a cannon or an organ gun, they might even have an upper hand in the oncoming confrontation ;)       

[Marooned Marin]

UPDATE 12. August 2023. - what's different?

Following the suggestions of the most kind and helpful creative critiques, here be the list of changes:

-> Removed five minifigures, as the set looked overcrowded

-> Made a new fireplace with flames and removed the grill

-> Added more weapons around the ground floor, mainly cutlasses and muskets stored in barrels. Added swivel gun on the first floor

-> Changed the colours of the rocks, darkbluishgray on the bottom... lightbluishgray on the top

-> Added technic brick with pin on the rock to allow easier rotation of the plant covering the hidden chest

-> Removed the bed from Captain Redbeard's quarter and added table and his chair instead. Added telescope on his fence

-> Replaced the rock bricks on the top gun-nest with wooden bricks

-> Replaced the string on stairs for a real wooden rail

-> Updated all of the renders

-------

Now to questions & answers:

@Cincinnati

Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you like it and I'm looking forward to your 'Pirate Shipyard'. From what I've seen it looks mighty good!

@Mister Phes

If you can, please add this design to the list of Building index ENTRIES . Thank yee!

@Mazin

I've followed several of your suggestions, as listed above, and thank you kindly for your extensive review.

Here I'll address some of things I choose not to do.

- The prison can be accessed from behind, as the whole rock wall rests on hinge-bricks. This makes it very convenient for play while the rest of build does not suffer any structural loss. Making entire side 'swingable' would at this point require complete overhaul of the build which would take enormous time and by the end the build would look pretty much the same. As I'm immersed in new-ship project, I can't find time to go into another re-design.

- Majority of this build was done by my nephew, he chose the colours and disliked the idea of adding bright playful LEGO pallet. He said that's for babies, and the pirate nest must look dark. Mind you he is only 10 years old. He even dislikes the BSB solely because of the red/white stripes because, again, it looks too childish and prefers solid colours. If you recall, the original Pirate Bay by Pablo Sanchez was also dark and gloomy, and yet it succeeded getting 10,000 votes. I also remember people disliking the official POBB version and asking Pablo for instructions of the original. So, the choice of dark colours is a voluntary gamble from our side, and it would be up to voters to choose what they like.

- As for the boat, with BlackSeasBarracuda safely anchored just nearby off the island, the purpose of the rowboat is for pirates to be able to reach the jetty in the shallow islands waters. Even in Nassau pirates had to use rowboats to get on&off the shore. I thought of replacing it with the Sloop Windy, but that would be kinda against the rules, right? Perhaps Windy could be sold as GWP with this set.

- Raft! Yes, it was built by my nephew in one earlier version, but we sacked the idea because we didn't want to go over 1000 parts. Even 962 parts is pushing limits of a LEGO pirate set.

[Mazin]

Lovely! Glad i could be helpful :) Looking at captain's office now i'm almost proud ;) But seriously, this must the best interior of a building i've seen so far in our contest! I don't know, maybe that's the camera work, lighting, whatever, but it's just amazing, give's me this extreme vibe, makes me wanna jump into that room or demolish my own current room and build something similar for myself, it's so climatic :) And is it my imagination or is his chair actually rotating?? 

I like that new kitchen as well... or should we call it a galley since it's kinda a ship that happened to be anchored forever and became one with that rock? ;)

On the technical note, i'd like it very much if pics of Your old version could be available somewhere to see again :) After all, it was a nice set the way it was, and i hope You didn't delete it completely ;)

And You've got one hell of a nephew, i tell ya, i hope he keeps coming up with more new ideas and doesn't "grow out of Lego" :)    

Anyway, can't wait to see Your next entry/entries! 

[Mister Phes]

28 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

@Mister Phes

If you can, please add this design to the list of Building index ENTRIES . Thank yee!

It be done!

[Rogue Redcoat]

53 minutes ago, Marooned Marin said:

Updated all of the renders

Well, the new bluecoat torsos just got added to stud.io, so if ya wanted to change them to the new ones, or perhaps you like the old ones better :)

[Marooned Marin]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:24 PM, Mazin said:

On the technical note, i'd like it very much if pics of Your old version could be available somewhere to see again

I only hid the images in the spoiler at the end of the first post, there all still there for everyone to see.

Thank you Mazin for all of your kind words, I'll give your compliments to my nephew. 

On 8/12/2023 at 7:02 PM, Rogue Redcoat said:

Well, the new bluecoat torsos just got added to stud.io,

I didn't know this and I'll check it out. Thanks!

[_R_R_]

A pub! 

Amazing collaboration with your nephew matey, I've wanted a Pirate inn from TLG for so long and you both did a fine job on this MOC. I would only suggest perhaps making Camilla's  quarters a bit smaller and revamping the second floor to have more tables for more drinking space haha!

I also feel like TLG would break up the brown with more color like they did with PoBB, perhaps some yellow along the railing on the last floor or some other color?

The comic book and lore is awesome I love when builds tell a tale and that was clearly important to both you, something I really appreciate.

[durazno33]

Just a quick color thing? Why are you using dark tan and brown for the lowest level ground and dock? Why not stick with one color? Is it representing wood or sand? If the dark tan is sand, is it wet sand? I guess I don't understand what the colors are implying there.

[Marooned Marin]

On 8/21/2023 at 3:39 AM, durazno33 said:

Why are you using dark tan and brown for the lowest level ground and dock?

Oh that's easy. Because 16x16 plate does not come in any brown, and even though we could use 8x16 plates, the little designer behind the whole thing (my 10year old nephew) chose dark-tan so the main building can have some contrast to the ground.

If it was up to me, I would have made all the ground from the dark-bluish rock, with wooden pier at the side.

On 8/20/2023 at 8:25 PM, _R_R_ said:

Amazing collaboration with your nephew matey, I've wanted a Pirate inn from TLG for so long and you both did a fine job on this MOC.

Thank yee _R_R!

At this point there will be no more re-designing, I have already purchased all the brick for the real build (for his upcoming birthday). As for the colours, I noticed a number of comments and suggestions to make it more live like LEGO, but he as a designer and future Pub owner had veto on the final pallet. 

[hatchpattern]

This is such a great addition to the current range of icon sets!
So many unique details that play into the current themes.
I'm really impressed with your nephews' design abilities.
The comic book aesthetic is especially appealing and adds the final bit of magic.
Keep up the great work!

[Glowboy]

Love the inclusion of the comic! really reminds me of the ones you'd see in lego magazine!

[Marooned Marin]

@hatchpattern

Thank yee Sir! We will!

@Glowboy

The comic is the best way to suck people inside the story and play, and I'm glad you like it!

[MontyMatte]

Very very nice project. I especially like the amount of detail and the possibilities to play with it. An excellent combination of both. BTW: Also a great idea to give the captain hair instead of a hat. I haven't seen it often, but it looks great. Good luck to you two/three :)

[Marooned Marin]

Building instructions are available on the ReBrickable.

For all the Classic-Pirates fans there is, as before, 25% discount code: CP25

And now, couple of images of the finished real build.

[Yperio_Bricks]

The finished build looks great! Love the small island sidebuild with the seagulls and skeleton. Is the tilted window fixed in any way?