REVIEW: 4195 Queen Anne's Revenge

[WesternOutlaw]

Introducing the flagship of the new LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) collection, set 4195 Queen Ann's Revenge.

What a beauty she be, but landlovers will have to wait for the complete review for after building all evening, I be a bit tired.

I'll be finishing the review of the amazing vessel tomorrow morning over a cup of spice-laden coffee.

Stats

Set Number: 4195

Set Name: Queen Anne's Revenge

Theme: Pirates of the Caribbean

Sub-Theme: On stranger Tides

Year Released: 2011 (April)

Price: $119.99 (USD)

Purchased at: Toys R Us (Western US)

Pieces: 1,097

Minifigs: 7

Extras: Blackbeard Card and Poster

PART 1

Some teaser images of the formidable ship to get ye Classic Pirates lovers in the mood:

The shiny box glistens like pieces of eight with the new licensed POTC boxart:

The back of the box displays a rear image of the Queen Anne similar to the exclusive MTV image:

A small sticker sheet and Blackbeard card can be found in the box:

Seven sections in dark brown make up the ship's hull:

Two rigging ladders, masts, and a single Jolly Roger flag are contained in a large unmarked bag:

And on that note, I shall wait until tomorrow morning to complete this review. You won't be disappointed after you see the entire ship!

PART 2

Let's take a look at the wonderful minifigures and accessories contained in Bag #1 of Queen Anne:

Starting with everyone's favorite pirate, Blackbeard, and Angelica:

A few of the Pirates:

And additional characters:

I was extremely impressed with the variety of the minifigures, the diversity of the hats/hair pieces, as well as the numerous colors used for the torsos.

There's a few furnishings for the ship including a table with map and mini-minifigure, as well as a barrel with what is suppose to be a lamp:

Other accessories include a beautiful two-colored cutlass, a small bucket with handle, musket, and two 1x1 compass tiles:

The ship has three cannons. I am disappointed that none have wheels and are affixed to the ship on a 2x2 plate (shown later). The set also contains five standard cutlasses:

PART 3

Bags #2 and #3 are pieces used to build the hull. Not much excitement here, unless you're the type that enjoys building the foundation of a LEGO creation. It is nice to see the ship takes its shape allowing you to realize the size of the main ship.

The ship's rutter assembly, railing, and a trans. yellow skeleton torso sparked my interest:

The front of the ship is rather interesting. While I applaud LEGO designers for attempting to create the skeleton mascot of the ship, the downward position hides the skeleton's face. The goblet and spear are a nice touch:

Continuing the main build, I was surprised to see all the bones used for side railing:

Here's a view of the front section of the ship with anchor:

Adding some lanterns to the front section and placing the cannons, the main hull is just about complete. Notice the placement of the cannons. They are attached to a 2x2 plate (as mentioned previously) and cannot be moved up or down due to the size of the side opening of the ship:

The cabin is built next and provides some interior details including the table created earlier:

Perhaps I'm just a "traditionalist", but I really like seeing the new classic-style windows used in the side walls of the cabin:

An interesting feature of the cabin is the sloped rear window built in two sections; the lower "larger window", and upper "smaller window". The smaller window is pictured. The top skull railing uses 15 skulls:

One of my personal favorite details of the ship is the skeleton rear lantern:

Before I show the ship with sails, here are the extra pieces after building the set:

PART 4

The most fun part of building the Queen Anne was adding the mast and sails. The first sails attach to the rear cabin:

The front sail seems a little awkward at the bottom point/end nearest to the ship. It attaches with a two-inch string that has a lot of "wiggle room" at the bottom. I want to somehow tighten it, but not sure if it is meant to hang loose:

The sails are a beautiful crimson color really bringing out the ship:

The cross sword emblem on the main sails add regal look to the Queen Anne:

Looking down upon the ship from a pigeon perspective:

I love the two-tone color of the sails and how they have darker black areas toward the ends:

The slanted rear window of the cabin. With all the skulls and bones, I want to call the Anne the "Ship of Bones":

Some additional perspectives:

A picture outside provides a brighter perspective:

And the final view of the Queen Anne - I must say that I love it!

LIKES

Why do I like the Queen Anne? From the time I was old enough to remember, I have fond memories of visiting Disneyland California and riding on the Pirates of the Caribbean. What an adventure for a young man full of energy and imagination. I longed for a toy pirate ship later receiving a Playmobil ship that I played with for years. LEGO didn't offer pirates at the time, and being a "house and castle builder" at the time, I don't recall ever attempting to create a LEGO Pirate Ship.

Years later, I missed the LEGO Pirate theme during my Dark Ages save a Caribbean Clipper received as a gift. I saw Mega Bricks/Blocks release poorly made plastic POTC sets, but I how yearned for the real deal with LEGO. Now, we have the opportunity to adventure into the Pirates of the Caribbean with the new line-up with the Queen Anne being the flagship.

So, what do I like about the Queen Anne model?

-Colors: dark brown hull, black, and accents of white bones.

-Sails: they are beautiful, and I failed to mention that they come in their own flat box to prevent them from wrinkling. I love the two-tone colors (crimson & black), and the crossed sword emblem.

-Skull Lantern: an ornate design that is one of the best features of the ship.

-Minifigs: while I'm not a sucker for licensed figs, the figs are gorgeous and very diverse. Not at all like the Classic Pirate figs with the same look and colors. Each is unique and use a lot of dark colors. Seven included!

-Shooting Cannons: hell with child safety, I love having shooting cannons.

DISLIKES

-Stickers: always one of my pet peeves, but aside from the window stickers, the others don't add a lot to the overall look of the ship. Meaning: One probably needs to use the window stickers.

-Skull Mascot at the front of the ship: nice attempt but due to the flames, the skellie faces downward too much. I may try to reposition.

-Forward Sail: awkward attachment at bottom rear to ship. Too much pull in the string.

-Slanted Rear Cabin Window Assembly: a bit hard to attach the upper smaller window section.to the larger window section. Mine came apart a few times before I was able to attach.

-Skull Cabin Railing: the forward ends do not attach to anything. I found this awkward.

-Cannons: no wheels or easy detachment to move cannons.

-Rigging: needs some strings to add additional authenticity.

-Flags: only one Jolly Roger flag with two additional masts without flags. I may have to remove two used for the outer cabin design.

-No Rowboat or Treasure: two additional features that would have just added more play value.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Overall, this is a "must buy" for Pirate fans. I would buy this ship again in a heartbeat. While $120 (USD) seems a bit high in price (I would expect a ship like this to sell for around $100), it is definitely a formidable ship when it comes to LEGO Pirate vessels. I may take an additional image or two of this next to the Imperial Flagship for comparison. With the numerous bones and skulls, as mentioned previously, I call this the "Ship of Bones". I'm debating where to place it in my home (fireplace, bookshelf, etc.). Building time for me was about four hours with some short breaks in between and photographs for this review. I hope you have enjoyed this review and I look forward to seeing some of the other POTC set reviews here in the EB Pirate Forum. Enjoy Queen Anne and if you buy, I don't think you'll regret obtaining her. Overall, I give her a 4.5 on a 5 point scale.

[Blackknight112]

The ship looks awsome, I cant wait to see the review finished!

[Gregorovich]

Thanks for the first part of the review. I'm really disappointed that the window is a sticker , I was really hoping it was printed. I look forward to the rest of the review!

[Keybobs]

Thanks for the first part of the review. I'm really disappointed that the window is a sticker , I was really hoping it was printed. I look forward to the rest of the review!

DITTO, I'm pretty disappointed in the entire back interior of the ship from what i've seen in photographs, but i'll leave my final decision on that until I see it up front.

[captain crossbricks]

Finally! I get to see some nice reviews for these sets! Nice review Brickster.... like always. I can see that Lego has stepped up its game.

Though i do not really like the new figures. Flesh toned.

But I'm mostly in it for the ship.

My favorite thing about this set is probably the figure head and the sails.

So far that has to be the best figure head I have seen on any Lego ships.. Besides what we here in Class pirates have made.

Great review for a great set!

Captain Crossbricks

[Dream Team]

Nice, the second part is looking great! Great diversity in minifigs indeed. Can't wait to see the full review.

[metalandi]

a barrel with what is suppose to be a lamp

Actually i'm pretty sure these bottles are supposed to be what they are: bottles. At least that would make sense to me, since they're standing on a barrel.

Thanks for the WIP review, looking forward to the rest!

And btw. i think that table and the barrel is actually a quite good interior, it's still better than nothing at all (which i supposed was the case, when we saw the first pictures some months ago).

[WesternOutlaw]

Actually i'm pretty sure these bottles are supposed to be what they are: bottles.

In the instructions (will have to take a picture), within the "bottles" are what looks like candles leading me to believe the bottles are intended for lighting.

EDIT: Here you go. This is why I called it a lamp:

[Dreamweb]

Finally, a review of my most wanted POTC set! Can't wait for the rest of it.

Expect it to be blogged soon!

[bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

[SirSven7]

Its soo beautiful, I want one

Thanks for doing the reveiw

[Captain Becker]

I'm really disappointed that the window is a sticker

I actually knew that before this review, i just somehow felt at: "Its have to be a sticker, there is no other possibilitys". And look, i was right!

Nice review TheBrickser, waiting the rest of it. And i dont think at that barrel whit those bottles is supposed to be a lamp, its just a table whit some empty rum bottles. But that depens how you like to think at it. Unfortanelly, i have to leave this amazing set away from my shopping list due the money

Captain Becker

[Admiral Croissant]

Thanks for the review so far! The bucket is one of my favourite parts of this set.

I also like the use of a working capstan. The ship may not be very historically accurate, a capstan is a very nice feature and makes the ship more realistic.

Things like the sword and a tan tricorne are nice as well, and I like the bottles a lot.

I thougt there were only bottles with a ship print on it, but it's great to have a few "normal" ones as well.

It's quite expensive, but there are a few awesome parts in it which I need to have. So I'll definitely buy some of them on Bricklink when they're available.

[Wowplayer]

Thank you TheBrickster!

That was a wonderful review. I agree with most of your Likes and Dislikes. One that I would add is that the ship only comes with three cannons. It should have come with four, and they should have wheels. I'm not a fan of stickers either, and about 99.9% of the time I don't use them. But like you mentioned for this one, the stickers on the windows might be necessary.

I can't wait before I get my hands on this ship. It is a beautiful ship, and quite possibly my favorite Lego ship released to date. I really want to see it next to my other ships: 10040 Black Seas Barracuda, 6290 Red Beard Runner, 6243 Brickbeard Bounty, 6291 Armada Flagship and 10220 Imperial Flagship.

[Ratshot]

Being that I intend to buy all of the pitate ships ever produced I intend to buy this. I'm really looking forward to the bottles, tan hat and the bucket!

The accesories and figs are nice but I'm not a big fan of the ship itself.

Thanks for the review

Edited April 17, 2011 by Ratshot

[prateek]

Great review, but I think this is one of the worst ships Lego has ever made. The cons simply outweigh the pros in my opinion. Either tried too hard, or didn't try enough, but the bones detract too much from the overall look of the ship. Overall a from me.

I really hope the Black Pearl is better.

Edited April 17, 2011 by prateek

[JimBee]

Thanks for the review, Brickster, it certainly helped me decide whether to get this or not.

My evaluation of the set differs from yours, thanks to the pictures you provided. To me, there's few pull factors to this set besides the excellent minifigures. Sure, the sails are nice, but they disguise the flaws of the ship's body. The design is boring overall, with a mismatch of colors (I hate dark brown and dark red together). I probably would've felt differently if they added some decoration to the deck and sides, or even just tiled the deck a bit instead of leaving it with plain studs. Throw in the fact that there's practically no play features, and that's a garuntee that I won't be forking over 120 USD for this.

Sorry for such a Negative Nancy about this, but I had high hopes for this set. I guess if I really want the figures that can't be found in other PotC sets, I'll look out for magnets or buy them from BL.

[Gregorovich]

Thanks for the excellent review, Brickster! There's some great parts and figures, but it's really expensive, and I'm not really too interested in it. The cabin is very small and bare, and it's odd that there's only 3 cannons. I probably won't get it. Thanks again for the review!

[Still Raindrop]

Great review! I have one question--are the hats on Sparrow and the others able to be removed from the hair pieces? Or are they molded together?

[Bart]

I'm actually a bit disappointed I expected more..

I like some parts and pieces, but I don't think I am going to buy this one..

but the review you did is great, you covered all the angles and views.

Bart

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for doing this review 'The Brickster', great looking ship though a row boat and treasure chest might have add a nice touch to it.

Odd to see the cannons not on wheels, I wonder why Lego chose not to include wheels on the cannons.....maybe space was the problem ?

Again it's the figures that make this ship worth buying.....when it's on sale that is !

Keep on sailing on the high seas everyone !

[deskp]

I would like to see full printing(head and torso) back and front of Blackbeard and Angelica (remove beard, hat and hair). Also Blackbeard's head without the beard.

Maybe Blackbeard with a normal tricorne hat aswell

Thanks for you'r review!

[Dr.Cogg]

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want this ship, because on one hand the ships Exterior looks great , but the Interior looks awful for the price you pay ,I would expect it to have things like a deck and a fully enclosed cabin and more cannons having wheels and more rigging, but than you have the Great Minifigs like Captain Jack Sparrow,Angelica,Black Beard,the Zombies and even the Cook, so the question becomes "To Buy or Not To Buy".

[Baylego]

Great review! I like this set, but I have my eye on the other sets. Hopefully the Black Pearl will be more appealing and at a better price point than this set.

[Masked Builder]

That is one good looking ship! Not something I'm putting on my "get" list but still good lookin'!

[Niku]

In the instructions (will have to take a picture), within the "bottles" are what looks like candles leading me to believe the bottles are intended for lighting.

EDIT: Here you go. This is why I called it a lamp:

Really thanks for the review, it is very well done.

I think the bottles are liquor, rom to be more specific according to the movie.

Well i like the ship but im not crazy for it, would prefer to have the BBB or even more the IFS, when get those, surely this will follow.