"We were kinda cheated this year" - Discuss.

[Mercenary]

I was exited about the new Pirates theme when it came out. I loved the designs and everything but then saw that it wasn't REALISTIC. I expected a big Navy fort with ROCK walls, a jail, and baracs. This new one was horrible. The placement of the jail sucked! It didn't have baracs, and there was no GREY rock walls! The pieces were kinda bad with this Pirates theme also! I loved the old Pirates theme! Who thinks that this year Lego cheated us!! I really want a POTC theme!

Edited March 15, 2010 by SlyOwl
Essentially a discussion about the pros and cons of the whole range - started off by a controversial statement.

[JeKyll]

Personaly, when comparing the new to the old pirates (and the castle theme is the same), I miss the big baseplates....It seems like it cost too much to do these days.

[Big Cam]

Hmm, well it's been well known for a while now that the Pirates line was a one year run. POTC would be cool, but with the release and endign of the current Pirates line, it just doesn't seem very feasable. I understadn your frustration but they did say it would be back.

[hirikawa]

I wasn't interested in lego sience 90's, co so for me all those news sets looks weird and kinda jerry-built. I don't like colors, i don't like that many of parts were created from nowhere. For example last Pirate ship, when i saw it i was like "is this lego?" But time passes and changes are natural, like lego 90's vs 70-80's :) Be afraid of lego in 2020 :D

[ciano]

Nope. I disagree with everything you said. I loved 2009's Pirates theme. Everything about it.

[Zzz]

It wasn't realistic? But you want POTC? Wasn't it like.. totally unrealistic?

Well, I have the 1989 collection and the 2009 one was inferior and too similiar, so no thoughts about it for me. But the Flagship is just amazing. I think it makes up for a short and mediocre theme. Like the MMV and goldmine made up for a not that good castle theme. Just my thoughts though.

[Mercenary]

You do have a point Zzz. The flag ship does make up for the Pirates line.

[smegged]

I am not sure I understand your complaints with regards to the current pirate line.

The figs were the best pirate figs ever released.

The ships were both very high quality.

The imperial base was a joy to build and is a very nice set.

The smaller sets were all quite nice.

It seems to me that those who dislike the new sets generally have not bought them. The cover art does not do these sets justice. They're very worthwhile sets.

[sok117]

I don't think todays lego audience is as intrested in pirates as it was in the 90's, oh well, I thought the sets were really nice and detailed, though I have modded my BrickBeards Bounty a lot,

[Mercenary]

Well the ships r good but really, with all new pieces and torsos, these sets just don't appeal to me.

[legitimatealex]

I disagree and agree at the same time. I miss the baseplates that most sets used to come with, however I was happy with the quasi plate that came with the Skull Island. You are right, the fort was rather disappointing and did not make any sense (Looked more like a walk down a dock rather than a fort) but I thought that the other sets that came in the line were decent. The raft was definitely an improvement from the old ones. I liked that I could get the captain minifigure in multiple sets rather than just on or two, and even though the Tic Tac Toe came with Chinese plastic for the most part, I still loved all the minifigures it gave me. I was sad that it was only here for a year but I'm sure they'll bring it back soon enough.

[Broken Bricks]

I have to STRONGLY disagree with all the criticism.

I was a LEGO fan throughout all my childhood and I had tons of it like a lot of you. I have recently come out of my dark ages and I was astounded at how much LEGO has improved over the years.

I own: Soldier's Fort, Shipwreck Hideout, and Brickbeard's Bounty and they are AMAZING sets.

The main improvements:

-The increased variety in parts that has happened over the last 10 years of LEGO

-the absolutely gorgeous color schemes. Few if any sets of my childhood had a color palette that looked this good

-The unique minifigs, so rich in personality with their varied facial expressions and detailed torsos (with printing on the back!)

-The functionality of the sets, though not entirely a new concept, remains great! The rotating blade and the turning bridge in SH, the modular aspect of SF, BB's detachable cabin, etc.

I do have one complain: The sets weren't big enough!

If you were to compare any of the new sets to old that would be common weakness. SF is obviously not as big as Eldorado Fortress, and BB is certainly not as big as the BSB or SES. I think LEGO was not willing to invest more into making larger, more fully developed sets and chose to go with small but very well designed ones.

As for POTC. I hated the movies. I thought they were cliche and overtly drawn out. I am not looking forward to to paying more money to buy something based off a movie I didn't enjoy. I might still buy some sets, though, as there will probably be some new parts, minifig torsos, accessories, etc.

[David Thomsen]

I think one of the problems with the fort was that they were experimenting with small-scale modular sets. The Modular Building range is fantastic, could they do something similar with several small buildings in one set?

I think it was an experiment worth trying, to be frank, and I thought the result was quite good. If only they'd added more modular harbour building it could have been amazing - instead they cancelled the line. Poos.

That's the only thing I feel cheated about, that Pirates is my favourite line of all time and instead of having it as a constant range, they keep having poinless one-off licensed themes with no future. Pirates deserved better than that.

Also, I love the new colour scheme. I love the richer shades of sand and wood.

[edit] Incidentally, I'm wondering if the title of this thread shouldn't be changed to something like 'Final impression of the 2009 Pirates range' or something, the current one is too negative IMHO.

Edited March 12, 2010 by David Thomsen

[Mercenary]

I miss the old ships that weren't as expensive. And with this cheap chinese plastic thing, you'd think Lego would put more effort into making their products.

[Big Cam]

I miss the old ships that weren't as expensive. And with this cheap chinese plastic thing, you'd think Lego would put more effort into making their products.

You make big complaints but then psot really short sentences not really backing up your arguement at all. Cost is everythign in business and LEGO knows this, which is likely why they sent some of their line to be made in China, it's much cheaper. To say I'd think they'd try harder is silly because they are in business to make money, not to please you. It sounds mean but it's true, they felt they could get just as good of quality from their China manufacturer, they ended up being wrong, but who knows, it may be enough to pass LEGO's quality control.

Why don't you explain more what you don't like, many people have given lots of insight as to why the 2009 line was awesome, you have only said you didn't liek it and was hoping for POTC. Any more insite?

[General Redwater]

I agree! The lego pirates theme this year stunk! The pieces were not printed right, the fort was open so the pirates could walk in (it did not even resemble a fort), They were expensive, and lego used a very cheap plastic that made the weapons look and feel really bad! I am very dissapointed with lego!

Edited March 12, 2010 by General Redwater

[Broken Bricks]

the fort was open so the pirates could walk in (it did not even resemble a fort),

And so was:

Sabre Island (1990)

Broadside's Brig (1991)

Lagoon Lock Up (1991)

Cannon Cove (1993)

Imperial Cannon (1994)

Imperial Outpost (1995)

Yes! It is not much of a fort, it is more like a harbor. But I believe it was designed to be something in the same vein as the aforementioned sets! Except that the IF is much nicer than any of these.

Truly, it only loses to: El Dorado Fortress, Imperial Trading Post, which are both massive. Once again, as I stated in my post, it comes down to the fact that the new sets were not as big as they should have been. EDF had 130 pieces more that IF, and ITP even more.

But I still think that 3rd best, land-based Imperial set is not bad at all!

[Jack Bricker]

I miss the old ships that weren't as expensive. And with this cheap chinese plastic thing, you'd think Lego would put more effort into making their products.

Well, I remember when the Skull Eyes Schooner went for $126 and that wasn't cheap back in the mid 90s. I do agree with you on the chinese plastic. I have had bricks that didn't fit well together to the point where it ruined the set and I don't believe that Lego should sacrifice overall quality control so that they can make more money. Do we really want to have Lego turn into Mega Bloks. I have had some of those MB sets and they are horrible so I do agree with you 100% there.

[General Redwater]

And so was:

Sabre Island (1990)

Broadside's Brig (1991)

Lagoon Lock Up (1991)

Cannon Cove (1993)

Imperial Cannon (1994)

Imperial Outpost (1995)

Yes! It is not much of a fort, it is more like a harbor. But I believe it was designed to be something in the same vein as the aforementioned sets! Except that the IF is much nicer than any of these.

Truly, it only loses to: El Dorado Fortress, Imperial Trading Post, which are both massive. Once again, as I stated in my post, it comes down to the fact that the new sets were not as big as they should have been. EDF had 130 pieces more that IF, and ITP even more.

But I still think that 3rd best, land-based Imperial set is not bad at all!

But those have more of a fort look. Besides Cannon cove and saber island were more defencible than the new soldiers fort.

[Mercenary]

You make big complaints but then psot really short sentences not really backing up your arguement at all. Cost is everythign in business and LEGO knows this, which is likely why they sent some of their line to be made in China, it's much cheaper. To say I'd think they'd try harder is silly because they are in business to make money, not to please you. It sounds mean but it's true, they felt they could get just as good of quality from their China manufacturer, they ended up being wrong, but who knows, it may be enough to pass LEGO's quality control.

Why don't you explain more what you don't like, many people have given lots of insight as to why the 2009 line was awesome, you have only said you didn't liek it and was hoping for POTC. Any more insite?

OKAY!

1- The fort was more of a port, and why place a jail where someone could walk up to it with a pistol, kill the guards ( why only 4! )

2-Brick beards ship has no below-decks cabin! Rare parts but the ship is only armed with 5 cannons! The sails don't match the ships color scheme at all!

3-Loot island. 19.99 in USD and only 142 parts! A nice base plate, a croc, and a ship are the only pros.

4-cheap chinese plastic-I will only say it SUCKS. I will not say the bad stuff I could about it.

5-Imperial flagship-PURE EXCELENCE! NO CONS!

These are my reasons for the Pirates line being bad.

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Hmm, well it's been well known for a while now that the Pirates line was a one year run. POTC would be cool, but with the release and ending of the current Pirates line, it just doesn't seem very feasible. I understand your frustration but they did say it would be back.

Where did you hear this? Is this true?!

Anyway, I think the only reason we were cheated this year was that they canceled the line! Why would they do this! Pirates were always one of the most popular and high-selling Themes! I had tons of those sets as a kid, and as a result, countless sharks!

Plus, the color scheme and pieces, and creative design is great. By the way, does anyone know if that new light brown is a new color or is meant to replace the old brown? It doesn't seem the same as the old brown of ship hulls, boats, barrels, monkeys, chests, crates, the later "tree pieces", etc...

Anyway, even if the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie sucks, who cares! The sets would be awesome! Imagine a Lego-designed Dauntilus (I think that was the ship's name). It would be awesome! Might they have to design even wider hull sections?!

Edited March 14, 2010 by Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor

[Mercenary]

Well, I remember when the Skull Eyes Schooner went for $126 and that wasn't cheap back in the mid 90s. I do agree with you on the chinese plastic. I have had bricks that didn't fit well together to the point where it ruined the set and I don't believe that Lego should sacrifice overall quality control so that they can make more money. Do we really want to have Lego turn into Mega Bloks. I have had some of those MB sets and they are horrible so I do agree with you 100% there.

I agree. Classic Lego Pirates was awesome! Do you guys think Lego knew how bad these sets would be for us. Mainly I got them for the British soldiers. Lets hope Lego Pirates gets better ( I'd be amazed if it did. ) so it isn't like this.

-Little boy gets home with BrickBeard's bounty set-

-Opens it and builds it easily-

-"Hey he says"-

-"This is too small given what I payed"-

- Crys -

-"What a rip-off!"-

See what I'm sayin? Lets hope it doesn't become one of easy build, small result themes, ( Like Ben Ten. ) I really hope the Imperial flagship isn't the only good Pirates set. Lego better not be like Mega Blocks. ( Chances are 20 out of 100 ) Mainly cause of cheap Chinese plastic.

Lets hope Lego Pirates gets better. Whos with me!

[General Redwater]

I agree. Classic Lego Pirates was awesome! Do you guys think Lego knew how bad these sets would be for us. Mainly I got them for the British soldiers. Lets hope Lego Pirates gets better ( I'd be amazed if it did. ) so it isn't like this.

-Little boy gets home with BrickBeard's bounty set-

-Opens it and builds it easily-

-"Hey he says"-

-"This is too small given what I payed"-

- Crys -

-"What a rip-off!"-

See what I'm sayin? Lets hope it doesn't become one of easy build, small result themes, ( Like Ben Ten. ) I really hope the Imperial flagship isn't the only good Pirates set. Lego better not be like Mega Blocks. ( Chances are 20 out of 100 ) Mainly cause of cheap Chinese plastic.

Lets hope Lego Pirates gets better. Whos with me!

I just hope they get better, but the rest of the sets are good( castel, star wars, ect.) And they are discontinuing them so how can they get better?

Edit- Even though the quality was a little bad, I am not "with you". What do you mean by that anyway?

Edited March 15, 2010 by General Redwater

[Shadows]

What a ridiculously negative topic. Everyone expressed their desire for a return of Pirates, and when they get it, it isn't good enough, it isn't long enough, it's this and that. Seriously, I went into my dark ages as the original line started and these sets are fairly standard Pirate fare, a little silly, clearly not based on anything real, but a wealth of good parts.

If you don't like them, build something better, but acting like little kids about it will not get you a return of Pirates or anything but scorn from me. You don't really want that, trust me.

Stop being whining little babies or you'll end up where all bad babies go, the annual EB Cookout.

[David Thomsen]

What a ridiculously negative topic.

I agree. It's a bit over the top. I had no idea the Fort was supposed to be designed to withstand an actual seige.

Here is a list of positives:

I love the colour scheme.

I love the new torsos and faces.

I love the new accessories.

I love that I got an opportunity to revisit my favourite childhood theme, and that I could actually afford all the sets this time.

I love the similarity between the new sets and the old sets.

I love the Imperial Flagship.

Although I wish it could have gone on for the next seven years, I'm extremely grateful that we got these sets at all.

:pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: :pir-wub: