Guybrick

Lego doesn't sell it anymore at their official online store. So I'm pretty sure, that they will not producing new "Cows". But the shop assistant in the local store told me, that Lego has more then one production line for the most of the released sets. So it might probably also be the same in this case. And I got one from the "wrong" batch. Well, I can't change it for now, so I'll leave it as it is. And when the next ship comes up, we will see where we stand with this problem.

Finally I've got my "Sea Cow" from Lego. And now guess what ... Yes, it has the same hull gap problem as the "Brick Bounty". Since some of you reported that they don't have this problem, I think that I must have got a "Cow" from a later production batch. And obviously this is what we're getting now on from Lego. So all future ships will probably also have this problem until Lego fixes it. Besides that, I found another thing on my nitpicking route: The bottom hull pieces have a strange production flaw. It looks like some kind of a long scratch in the paintwork. But you can't feel something like that, when you stroke with a finger over it. It is only on the left side of both hull pieces. And therefore it looks a bit crappy if you put the pieces together. Also there is a small similar flaw at the front. Well, I will order a replacement for that two parts. But the problem with the hull gap is obviously something that I have to live with (for now ).

I ordered two additional cannons for my 'Brick Bounty' (70413). I was initially a bit disappointed, that it wasn't fully equipped right out of the box. If you think about the reason of playability, then there is no need for it. But in the end it looks way much better and realistic.

Looks really nice! How stable are they? I tried something similar in the past, but I wasn't able to "use it" as intended. I couldn't even lift it without the risk, that it falls apart. And I'm no fan of glue.

It's hardly imaginable that there are sets without the hull gap problem. But maybe there are newer (or older sets) with newer (or older) parts. Could you take some pictures of it? I still hope, that it will be fixed someday. Then I'll order new parts.

Now I got an answer from lego. But as expected, it's not really satisfying. They wrote to me that the fault has not been known yet. And therefore there is no solution for it at the moment. But the information is passed on to their quality control and the fault shall be examined. Well, all we can obviously do is to wait. And everybody should send similar mails to them. The more they get, the more they are under pressure to fix it .

Thank you for that comparison. I quickly checked the design numbers of the white Dolphin Cruiser (41015). It has the newer design# 14740 - the same as the Brick Bounty has. And also the other hull pieces have the same design numbers. So I think we can clearly say, that the problem does appear with the newer design. But the big gap seems to be exclusively to the Brick Bounty at the moment. I really hope that they will fix it.

Yes, at the moment this is the only thing that prevents me from running around in circles too. Since I can't live without sleeping ( ), I wrote now a few lines to lego again (and sent them some of my photos) to notify them of the problem explicitly (in case they still not have noticed it). Maybe we'll get a useful statement back.

I didn't sleep well last night. The 'hull piece'-thing still bothers me a bit. So I did some investigation again: Something I noticed is, that lego changed the hull parts since the Brickbeard's Bounty (6243). While the bottom part of the front hull is still the same, the top part has changed (Design# 64645 to 14740). Just by comparing the pictures provided by the lego store, I think that the new part is slightly bigger (a possible reason why it doesn't fit?). But the picture quality also can deceive me here. The Imperial Flagship (10210), the Queen Anne (4195) and the Black Pearl (4184) have all the same Design# as the BBB has. A strange thing is the Sea Cow (70810) for my conclusions, because it has exactly the same design numbers as the new Bounty. The only difference is the color. So it should have the same gap-problem, but it hasn't (as told here). Argh, the whole thing is is really frustating . Something to mention: The middle parts are also new, but this is obviously because of the connecting elements. And the change did happen some ship generations before the current Bounty.

Concerning the hull pieces, I wished that lego would have taught you of a better one.

Thank you for this information. I was wondering if there is something I can do here (even if it means to buy the glass separately). I've noticed the same odd thing at the 'Palace Cinema'-set (10232).

@VintageLegoEra: That is exactly, what I mentioned before (Posted 07 April 2015 - 07:36 PM). I'm sorry that I've not written it clearly enough. Well, back to what I wanted to tell actually: I finally received my replacement parts. Now there are three good news, one bad and one marginal note. Let's begin with the good news. The first one is - and I think that I don't tell you something new - the lego-service is absolutely gorgeous. They've sent me everything I ordered without asking a question about it (except the one mail for the admiral head). And also no additional costs for me. Perfect! The second good news: I got the correct head of the admiral now. And yes: I also sent them photos of the different heads (that's what I meant with the second mail, when they first misunderstood my request). The third is, that the new hull pieces are without the evil notches. The pieces look really new and directly out of factory. And now the bad news: I think you already know it: The gap between the front hull pieces is there again (same size and even the color-difference is there). So it seems that VintageLegoEra was right and there is no way to get better parts from lego at the moment. I don't think that a photo will help here, because they probably don't have flawless parts. If someone tries it nevertheless, please give us the information about the result. Finally the marginal note: Now I have so many hull pieces that I can build a really huge ship. (but some of them with flaws, obviously ) Oh, that's good to know. So my hunt for the next ship has started.

This is indeed a very good question! I don't own the SeaCow at the moment, but I wanted to buy it in near future. After the problems occurred with this 70413-set, I'm a bit unsure about buying the next ship. I really would appreciate if you (or somebody else) could compare it :-).

Ah, thank you for testing. That's good to know. I already ordered both parts as replacement, mainly because of the annoying notches. But if they don't fit again, I will also try my luck with an unoffical store. Yes, absolutely! Sadly, I'm not particular good in making own minifigs. Maybe I should ask vitreolum whether I can use his Guybrush instead .

Yes, that is the "wrong" head . It's a bit funny, that you like this one, but have the other and for the most of us it's vice versa. I personally think that the "correct" head is more suitable for the admiral. He looks a bit smarter and as if he is enthusiastic for the next action. The other one is rather more harsh and embittered. I think it is the top part. It seems that it doesn't fit correctly on the base part. But it is also possible, that both parts are faulty. I would like to compare it with one of the previous ship-sets. But since I don't own any, I can't. Maybe somebody else can do this.

Well, I don't give up the hope ;-). And it would already suffice, if the replacement will be without the notches at last. Nonetheless, lego needs to be informed about the quality problems. And my request will hopefully do this. I received an answer about the head yesterday (yeah, they answered very fast ). But it seems, the lego service misunderstood my request. They told me to turn the head around, because it is printed two-sided and I would find the missing face on the other side. I thought the different element-IDs are obvious enough. But okay, the two heads actually look very similar and maybe it is not easy for everyone to identify the difference. In addition they are both printed two-sided and are maybe listed in each case with the other face. Well, I answered them a bit more detailed (with pictures and stuff) and wait now for the next e-mail to come in. Anyway, during my research for good pictures, I found both heads listed on bricklink.com (https://www.bricklin...tem.asp?M=pi149 and https://www.bricklin...em.asp?M=pi149a). I don't know why lego shipped the same set with two different heads. If this change was really intended, they should also have changed the packaging or at least the manual. Or have the correct ones gone out and then they have simply taken a similar head as a substitute, so that they could deliver? That would be really paltry.

I just ordered some replacement parts today (also the admiral's head) and wrote a few lines in addition. We will see what happens next.

Very nice! I really like the modular style, because of the playability. So, when is it available as an official set?

Argh! These are no good news for me. I really hoped, that there are only a few faulty sets around and the rest is okay. :-( But now I know, why lego has so explicitly poined out on the package that the ship does not float. What about the earlier ships? Has anyone one of these and can compare it. Maybe it's just something that a new ship owner like me notice, but the fault was always there? I just want to get sure, that I don't scare people with my photos for nothing. ;-)

Maybe it was never intended to redesign the mould and it's just a production flaw. I could imagine, that they throw all pieces from the different factories (or the batches) in one big container before they sort them for the end user package. Or maybe there are some newer pieces mixed with the rest of the last batch - or something like that. This would also explain the slightly different colors. But you're right, we'll probably never get an answer. However, I'll contact the costumer service to get some new pieces and hope that everything is fine then :-).

Okay, I made some photos of the two assembled front hull piece. I use a german picture-host that allows thumbnails. Just click on them to see the big resolution photos ;-). First a view from a bottom angle: The molding of one of the parts (or both) doesn't fit to the other one. The author of the brickset-review wrote, that his other lego ships don't have this problem. Here is a view from a front angle: At the edge of each part you can also see the notches, that i mentioned before. And these notches are also on two of the middle pieces (a bit smaller, but I can see them clear if they are assembled). And at last this photo shows the parts on the inner side: As you can see, there is a small gap between the two parts. And no matter how hard you push them together, it will return to this status. Also you can see the slightly different color. But in normal daylight, you probably don't notice it. So I could live with it, if the other problems weren't there :-(. As I told before, this is my first ship. So I really can't say, if this is kind of normal or a real production flaw. My knowledge about this bases on the mentioned review and my personal "brick-sense".

Thank you for that information. So that means, there are only a few sets which contain every single known production flaw - and I have one of them. Okay, now it's time for the customer service.

Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous! I wish, that I would have so much space for my lego stuff.

Nice Video! But sadly, it features also the incorrect admiral head . By the way: Does somebody else have the "hull piece problem", that is mentioned in the nitpicking-part of the brickset.com-review?

I purchased my set directly via the european lego-online-shop. I think it rather depends on the production batch we bought (first batch with correct head, second head with the other batch, ...). Maybe they shipped the "correct batch" to U.S. and the other one to european stores (or vice versa). Or it's all mixed - so what you get is just pure luck :-(.