POTC - Black Pearl!

[MstrOfPppts]

@Aanchir: Sorry mate, I can still not agree with you. And don't go mixing two different things. Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece and therefor you can't say a ten years old kid could have done it. But sadly that is not the case of this set. Anyway for example if we change the kid to 15 years, is that still humiliating? I remember myself putting together more complicated things than this when I was that age, although it was my dark ages. The thing is I really do understand that the set creators have a lot of experience and education. Therefor even more is expected from them. The least thing they could do is the set to look attractive. I understand that caricaturization of an actual thing is required to build in the minifig scale but it can still be done better. The QAR is a great example.

For example actual QAR has far less bones and none of them are actually white. But the creator of this set really has put a lot of effort into it. He made it completely different from the actual ship in color scheme and in some shapes. But look, the ship is still recognizable and on top of that looks good. For my taste it's the best LEGO ship ever! It also has the best figure composition possible that fits the movies and gives you enough people to be able to sail the ship. There could of course be more, but we really don't expect that from LEGO ...

But I do agree on the note of price range and things concerning the piece count. Still my thoughts are, it could have been done better. Your saying that the BBs back isn't detailed. It might not be the best, but 5 colors, bigger windows, golden studs, crossed cutlasses and a flag does make it a lot more impressive then the Black Pearls plain black stern. Take this picture for example and you'll clearly see at least 3 mayor mistakes in the set.

I'm not talking about the windows count, because I'll take that as a part of caricaturization. But still LEGO could have done some new molds since these windows clearly don't fit this set. The only way to make them fit is to use the arcs which disables them of being less then two studs apart! But the mayor problem is the height of the cabin. In the picture it's clearly seen how far from water the cabin starts. Also the supporters for windows could be a really nice touch but with the cabin so low, there is no space for them. Last but not least, the greenish top is a very nice detail on this ship, which completely makes it not so black only. It could easily be done with some green colored feathers as by imperial flag ship. Also it's LEGO's own fault they didn't want to make an extra mold for the back of the new ships and in this case it hurts them a lot. but even using the second black piece under the cabin to make it similar to QAR, plus all the above mentioned changes would not increase the piece count by more then 20, but would significantly change the look of the ship and add to recognition! Because of the low cabin, for me it still looks like an old western engine with sails instead of wheels.

At the end of the day this really is a toy, but I think LEGO should listen to the AFOL community a bit more. After all we're the ones spending a lot more money and some for over 50 years, compared to children, who get a few sets a year and only for about 10 years. For example in a past year when I restarted collecting LEGO I almost doubled my collection and was getting a quite some LEGO as a kid. And even for kids, it's not like anything they'd produce is good for them! Of course opinions have to be said for something to change and this is, I think, the best place to place them.

I am a LEGO Pirate fan and will still buy this ship. After all it has quite some interesting pieces in black, the sails and of course the minifigs! But sadly it will not stand displayed as the other ships are, but will get modded or just brought to pieces used for MOCing.

[Jack Bricker]

I'd say it is insulting to say that a professional designer's model is something a ten-year-old boy could have built. There are a lot of decisions that go into designing a LEGO set, and those decisions are often rooted in the extensive background knowledge and design experience of the set designers. It's essentially like saying a ten-year-old could have written The Lord of the Rings. Whether or not there is some magical ten-year-old who can produce such a celebrated fantasy world, it's still demeaning to the writer to say that their hard work could as easily have been done by a person without the same expertise or background knowledge.

I would like to say that I am making a statement not an insult and as a member here on these forums I am entitled to the privilege of saying my true opinion however blunt it may be. Now looking at this set with all of the "experience" you credit those designers with It really does not show a lot of effort compared to the BSB, SES, IMF, or even QAR. Now for that reason I am very disappointed with Lego for not making a better BB and I want to voice my true opinion so that Lego knows to avoid the same mistakes with other sets. Now if you like this set and you think it is great you go an buy it and enjoy it but, I am not satisfied with it like the majority of Lego pirates fans and I would like to see a much better ship next time.

[Wellington]

I'd really like to know how the kids (ages 8-14) rate the BP (overall and i.e. compared to the BB).

Best regards,

Wellington

[Aanchir]

@Aanchir: Sorry mate, I can still not agree with you. And don't go mixing two different things. Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece and therefor you can't say a ten years old kid could have done it. But sadly that is not the case of this set. Anyway for example if we change the kid to 15 years, is that still humiliating? I remember myself putting together more complicated things than this when I was that age, although it was my dark ages. The thing is I really do understand that the set creators have a lot of experience and education. Therefor even more is expected from them. The least thing they could do is the set to look attractive. I understand that caricaturization of an actual thing is required to build in the minifig scale but it can still be done better. The QAR is a great example.

In general, I think saying anyone but a LEGO set designer could design a set would be fairly demeaning. I'm not going to belabor it, though. It's just one of my pet peeves when that argument is used, whether it's in reference to something good or something bad. Say the set's hideous, say it sucks, it won't bother me too much. But treating any sort of creative work like it didn't require the effort/experience of the person who designed it tends to strike a nerve with me, because it assumes that by seeing the end product we can automatically judge all the work that went into it.

For example actual QAR has far less bones and none of them are actually white. But the creator of this set really has put a lot of effort into it. He made it completely different from the actual ship in color scheme and in some shapes. But look, the ship is still recognizable and on top of that looks good. For my taste it's the best LEGO ship ever! It also has the best figure composition possible that fits the movies and gives you enough people to be able to sail the ship. There could of course be more, but we really don't expect that from LEGO ...

But I do agree on the note of price range and things concerning the piece count. Still my thoughts are, it could have been done better. Your saying that the BBs back isn't detailed. It might not be the best, but 5 colors, bigger windows, golden studs, crossed cutlasses and a flag does make it a lot more impressive then the Black Pearls plain black stern. Take this picture for example and you'll clearly see at least 3 mayor mistakes in the set.

I'm not talking about the windows count, because I'll take that as a part of caricaturization. But still LEGO could have done some new molds since these windows clearly don't fit this set. The only way to make them fit is to use the arcs which disables them of being less then two studs apart! But the mayor problem is the height of the cabin. In the picture it's clearly seen how far from water the cabin starts. Also the supporters for windows could be a really nice touch but with the cabin so low, there is no space for them. Last but not least, the greenish top is a very nice detail on this ship, which completely makes it not so black only. It could easily be done with some green colored feathers as by imperial flag ship. Also it's LEGO's own fault they didn't want to make an extra mold for the back of the new ships and in this case it hurts them a lot. but even using the second black piece under the cabin to make it similar to QAR, plus all the above mentioned changes would not increase the piece count by more then 20, but would significantly change the look of the ship and add to recognition! Because of the low cabin, for me it still looks like an old western engine with sails instead of wheels.

At the end of the day this really is a toy, but I think LEGO should listen to the AFOL community a bit more. After all we're the ones spending a lot more money and some for over 50 years, compared to children, who get a few sets a year and only for about 10 years. For example in a past year when I restarted collecting LEGO I almost doubled my collection and was getting a quite some LEGO as a kid. And even for kids, it's not like anything they'd produce is good for them! Of course opinions have to be said for something to change and this is, I think, the best place to place them.

I am a LEGO Pirate fan and will still buy this ship. After all it has quite some interesting pieces in black, the sails and of course the minifigs! But sadly it will not stand displayed as the other ships are, but will get modded or just brought to pieces used for MOCing.

I agree on just about all of this. I also agree that there's more detail that could have been put into the back of the Black Pearl. I just feel that compared to other ships in the franchise, it's rather plain, and so I don't feel the LEGO version really needs much improvement. Now, I'd love it if some MOCist would make a revamp of this set once it's out-- and frankly, I look forward to it if you decide to do this yourself!

I would like to say that I am making a statement not an insult and as a member here on these forums I am entitled to the privilege of saying my true opinion however blunt it may be. Now looking at this set with all of the "experience" you credit those designers with It really does not show a lot of effort compared to the BSB, SES, IMF, or even QAR. Now for that reason I am very disappointed with Lego for not making a better BB and I want to voice my true opinion so that Lego knows to avoid the same mistakes with other sets. Now if you like this set and you think it is great you go an buy it and enjoy it but, I am not satisfied with it like the majority of Lego pirates fans and I would like to see a much better ship next time.

You can't see effort. That's the thing that particularly bothers me-- that assumption that the end product clearly shows all the effort behind it. Really, though, effort isn't visible as a measure of how complex a set is. As I said, making a set as simple as possible can be just as difficult as making a perfect likeness.

Frankly, somebody could look at a lot of modern art, including Cubist, abstract, or non-representational works, and say "a four-year-old could have made this". And really, in the same vein as the infinite monkeys reproducing the complete works of Shakespeare, that's probably true-- there could very easily be a four-year-old who on an impulse draws something not unlike the artwork in question. But this sort of thinking ignores the thought processes behind the work, instead just seeing the artist as a means to an end. And I think that's just the wrong perspective to have, especially when you're dealing with people who for whatever reason have chosen some type of art or design job as their profession.

Again, I'm not going to belabor this. I find that sort of comment extremely insulting in any context where you haven't actually seen the effort behind a design. You can call a set ugly, disappointing, or even utter garbage, but I don't think it's acceptable to demean the designers (whom you don't even know) just on an assumption that they aren't doing their best. Because on the off chance that they did their very best, that they put their design effort towards characteristics other than making a realistic or detailed likeness (believe it or not, there is more to set design than just that), you're telling them they wasted all that effort.

[lightningtiger]

That looks different from official pictures we've seen so far. I'm thinking MOC on this one...

Cross checking with that German toy web site, what 'Hinckley' saw I feel is the real deal...the windows and the rear lanterns are the same !

Maybe we need a poll for which people like the most the QAR and/or BP ?

Keep on drinking rum !

[KristofBD]

To be honest, I feel that the original ship as shown in the movies is actually an ugly and generic (black) ship. I guess it was simply impossible for lego to make it a beautiful/attractive ship. My beef is mainly that the parts selection is disappointing (along with the flaw of the figurehead). Parts selection does not seem to be a designer's flaw, but rather a cost-induced motivation. But at least the cabin is good - far better than the QAR.

[lightningtiger]

I totally agree with you 'KristofBD', it is price guided and yes, there is room to swing a Lego cat in the cabin where the QAR's cabin is the size of a WC.

[AndyC]

But the mayor problem is the height of the cabin. In the picture it's clearly seen how far from water the cabin starts. Also the supporters for windows could be a really nice touch but with the cabin so low, there is no space for them.

Compare it to every other LEGO pirate ship. They all sit far too low in the water in reality, building up the Black Pearl to the right height would not only be expensive for very little benefit, but also would look totally out of place sat next to any of the other ships. Not to mention that it would then start to look horribly thin unless you also widen it further, again making it look out of place with existing ships.

I think a lot of people have had rather unrealistic expectations of this ship, expecting some kind of grandiose UCS type set which we've known all along it wasn't going to be. As a LEGO pirate ship, I think it's pretty cool, certainly better than Brickbeard's Bounty for example. And for most kids the Black Pearl was a black pirate ship with black sails, so this will do the job nicely.

Of course, if some MOCist wants to prove me wrong and produce some stupendously brilliant minifig illusion scale Black Pearl in a similar number of parts, well then I'll eat my words.

[Hendawg212]

So in my giddy excitement for a much needed quality pirate ship release, i came across this beauty. I must say, i am stoked! It is simple, but elegant and very swashbuckling. Sure there are always a billion things people like us can do to improve this, but i must admit, for a LEGO release, this is looking to be a very very promising ship.

I know for a fact i will order this one on day 1 release, and then build the reddish brown EXACT copy of it with the fresh, renewed look it got after the curse was broken. Just for fun :)

The best part of this one, is that they got back to basics. No more excessive bones or rediculous stuff please!!

http://lego.wikia.co...184_Black_Pearl

Edited July 22, 2011 by Hendawg212

[prateek]

Really? I think there is already a thread exactly like this, and way older at that, here. Easy mistake, but make sure to check next time. It's even on the front page

But I do agree with your opinion. It looks like a great set, unlike the QAR with the awkward bones.

Edited July 22, 2011 by prateek

[Gryphon Ink]

It's based off Blackbeards real ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, although it may be a bit of exageration.

No, it's not. The Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground on a sandbar and sank, without a single picture of her having been drawn by eyewitnesses in her entire pirating career. Nobody knows what she looked like. All that is known for sure is that she was a 300-ton frigate - she was originally named Concord and carried 20 guns. Blackbeard later added another 20 or so. There is a wreck in South Carolina, discovered in 1996, that is probably the QAR. After 300 years underwater, she's in terrible shape, but reconstructions of her do not feature anything remotely resembling that massive sterncastle. In fact, being built for speed, one of the things common to almost all frigates was a single continuous upper deck, as in this picture:

[Hendawg212]

Oh yep your right, i just have the MOC section saved in favorites. Sorry! Got ahead of myself haha.

[David Thomsen]

Look, I saw the ship at ComicCon:

Hmm, I do like it a little better from this angle (ironic considering everything else is an official picture), but the stern of the ship does look somewhat bland.

Are there any shots with a better comparison with the QAR?

[______]

To be honest when instructions come out I will make it on LDD then mod it to my satisfaction (BTW When do instructions come out for this sort of thing?) , i.e. higher cabin, better bow and the transition from the figurehead to the prow will look better. Then all I need to do is buy the pieces off Pick a Brick and mod it myself in true Lego spirit

I feel that people fail to notice that it will be chiefly children buying this and it is not meant exactly for AFOL's, but that is why it is called Lego, we can mod it to AFOL standards or carry on being grumpy about a set which is obviously aimed at a completely different audience than AFOL's.

I know if this came out when I was a kid I would be the happiest little boy in the world to get this set, it is great as a playset and that is what it is meant for. When you are a kid as long as it has sails and an anchor then you're happy

I will still buy it, but before I do I will mod it on LDD to how I would like to see it.

[Big Cam]

I will merge this with the existing thread, hendawg212 do please search next time before starting a new thread.

[Warhorse47]

New to the forum and Lego Pirates, but I really like the looks of it. Birthday coming up, hmmmm.

[MCNwakeboard]

With the price point TLG was working with on the Black Pearl, I think they did an above average job on the set. I collected all the Pirates II sets except Brickbeards Bounty because I wasn't particularly fond of the design of the ship. Comparing the two, the Black Pearl comes with more pieces and sails. I am also more excited about the detailed figures in the set than the Pirates II figures.

I agree that the cabin is too low, but it should be an easy modification. In fact, I am glad that it is $100 because I will likely purchase 2 in a TRU BOGO sale and use them both to create a more detailed version. It will likely cost me around $160 and if I sell off the extra figures on Ebay, my cost will be reduced a bit more. I'll end up with much more than I would have if TLG had just designed a $150 Black Pearl and I will also have the opportunity to improve on LTG's design. Being that QAR's is a fantastic ship out of the box, I don't feel the need to purchase another, so I'll end up with two great ships which costs about the same,(although the Black Pearl will require some work on my part to get the lower price).

[krusty]

I thought the Black Pearl was the most important ship in the POTC saga, and yet they do such a poor job IMO...

they should make it much bigger and much more realistic and authentic... I'd most definitely buy it if it was really good, no mather how much it would cost... and now I won't buy this "bad" one for sure...

[Sebeus I]

It's based off Blackbeards real ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, although it may be a bit of exageration. I like it. It adds individuality to it.

That would be a LOT of exageration, TLC's Queen Anne's revenge looks like a spanish galleon I think, nothing like a frigate (what I understand Blackbeards real ship was).

I don't think you can actually link POTC storyline to history or legend that way.

Either way, the QAR is a nice ship and that's why I bought it.

[Velika314]

After seeing the Black Pearl at Comic-con in comparison with the QAR I have decided to wait on getting it. The set looks okay, but it is clearly designed for kids and not TFOLs and AFOLs like the Imperial Flagship. Plus the set is much smaller than the QAR, which in the movies is not accurate (since they used the same hull). I hope Lego can pull off a ship the size of the Imperial Flagship, with a similar amount of detail, for the PotC line. Maybe they could make a UCS-type Black Pearl for the AFOLs? I would definitely get that if TLG pulled it off.

[Steven]

I'm not talking about the windows count, because I'll take that as a part of caricaturization. But still LEGO could have done some new molds since these windows clearly don't fit this set. The only way to make them fit is to use the arcs which disables them of being less then two studs apart! But the mayor problem is the height of the cabin. In the picture it's clearly seen how far from water the cabin starts. Also the supporters for windows could be a really nice touch but with the cabin so low, there is no space for them. Last but not least, the greenish top is a very nice detail on this ship, which completely makes it not so black only. It could easily be done with some green colored feathers as by imperial flag ship. Also it's LEGO's own fault they didn't want to make an extra mold for the back of the new ships and in this case it hurts them a lot. but even using the second black piece under the cabin to make it similar to QAR, plus all the above mentioned changes would not increase the piece count by more then 20, but would significantly change the look of the ship and add to recognition! Because of the low cabin, for me it still looks like an old western engine with sails instead of wheels.

About the windows I was quite sure they were going use these:

[jonwil]

Are those dark bluish grey handcuffs in that one picture (as opposed to the normal light bluish grey we have been getting in every set to date)? If so, cool.

[Velika314]

Are those dark bluish grey handcuffs in that one picture (as opposed to the normal light bluish grey we have been getting in every set to date)? If so, cool.

Which picture would that be? I don't remember seeing a picture of the BP with handcuffs in it.

[yys4u]

With the price point TLG was working with on the Black Pearl, I think they did an above average job on the set. I collected all the Pirates II sets except Brickbeards Bounty because I wasn't particularly fond of the design of the ship. Comparing the two, the Black Pearl comes with more pieces and sails. I am also more excited about the detailed figures in the set than the Pirates II figures.

I agree that the cabin is too low, but it should be an easy modification. In fact, I am glad that it is $100 because I will likely purchase 2 in a TRU BOGO sale and use them both to create a more detailed version. It will likely cost me around $160 and if I sell off the extra figures on Ebay, my cost will be reduced a bit more. I'll end up with much more than I would have if TLG had just designed a $150 Black Pearl and I will also have the opportunity to improve on LTG's design. Being that QAR's is a fantastic ship out of the box, I don't feel the need to purchase another, so I'll end up with two great ships which costs about the same,(although the Black Pearl will require some work on my part to get the lower price).

You've got a great idea there! Only down fall is you don't get any VIP points from LEGO. (I've started buying all my larger sets from LEGO)

Using BOGO and assuming a bit of an TRU mark up, 160 for 2 ships is a pretty good estimate. Then selling off the figs, probably around 40 bucks? So for 10-20 bucks you get double the ship!

Plus if you want to sell off the extra stern and bow piece, and maybe a couple sails, you could probably make a much better ship for the same price as a regular one, if not cheaper...

I'm definitely considering taking your route...

Only problem is I'm sure after starting the MOC I'll end up ordering a lot more stuff from Bricklink, so the end result will end up being more expensive...

[Dat zombie]

I adore the new minifigs (Bootstrap Bill even has a brown headscarf!), but the ship itself is really nothing to write home about. It's black with a bit of grey, and that's that.

I think I'll just buy the new figs from Bricklink after the release of the set...

i don't aggree with that,i think that it would be a mint addition to eny lego potc fan's collection

ever more so with the queen anns revenge,i know it is not in the last film but still,

oh it would be good if the lego group did a flying dutchman and an emperus.