AViewToALego

Funny how they took arguably the worst Pirates sets of all time and remade it with a more decent structure. But as we all know, you can only polish a turd to a certain extent. Still, you have to admire their fervent dedication, and as such, I will definitely get it to see if they suceeded in their task. Digital images rarely do the set any justice and I prefer to judge it only by merits of having it standing there on my kitchen table.

After several undecided considerations, I decided to skip the Lion Knights Castle set due to space issues. .....And then I found this thread. Just when I thought I was out....... It's OK, TLG. I still have space on my balcony! I do wonder how this set would look with the original baseplate, as well as curious about the amount of pieces being left over. The issue with the baseplate was always the ramp. In this set, they finally adressed it by putting studs at the slopes. Quite neat if you think about it. And the cobblestones looks nice as well! Niels made some clever use of the baseplate in his designs, most notably in 6086 which is a favorite of mine.

Whoa!! The guys back at Classic Castle must be really happy right now. And rightfully so - What a fantastic set!! We also got not only one, but TWO new Vking Ships! And the castle from last year wasn't too shabby either. Off course the price is... Hmppff! But whatever. If you didn't spend all your money on Ninjago and Nexo Knights, you should be able to get it. Just sell your left kidney or whatever. Looking good, looking good!

I gotta have to admit that I didn't even knew that set existed!

Excellent example! I feel this is one of the sets that made perfect use of the larger BURP pieces without violating the integrity of the set as a whole.

How about selling some (not all, remember the children!) and donate some of it to a Stroke / Heart / Lung foundation? It would be nice to have some sort of event to showcase his LEGO to his honor. Something like that. If you're gonna sell everything - Do not sell them in a lot. Sell them Train by train. You will earn more money that way. And be sure to dust off and take good photos if you sell it. Lego collectors are very itchy in regards to quality. I don't mind some bitemark and scratches, but some are very wary of that. Great collection!!

Isn't this part of the "charm" of being an Adult Fan Of LEGO? As a Castle-fan, you wait for years for a new Castle. You wait, and wait, and wait. And then you get... Nexo Knights. That could make anyone suicidal! In the early 2000's there were no Pirates. It was just gone. I learned to live with it and move on. I MOC'd the living daylights out of my Red Beard Runner and used spare pieces to build ships without prefable hulls. If anything, in times like these, you learn to be creative and resourceful with what you have. Mind you, this was before I encountered Bricklink and Ebay, so I couldn't really discover outside of that restricted horizon. The thing is, TLG has always been like this. They release some cool Western sets. Then they don't release anymore Western sets for another twenty years. You learn to live with it in one way or another. For me, it was my step into the Dark Ages where other hobbies dominated my interest in LEGO. When Pirates came back in 2009, it came as a complete surprise, almost shockingly so. It's like a dead relative suddenly standing in your kitchen. With that said; Let's get back to Trains in 2022. I'm actually pretty happy with the TLG Train sets in the last three years. We've got two full-sized train sets, a Commuter Train and a Freight Train, loaded with detail. We've got that Brown Train, and lately we've got the white Creator Train. I'm gonna be honest with you - I'm glad TLG still remember us Train-enthusiasts. They know that we like trains, so they release trains. And I can always go to bricklink, or even the TLG website and buy more train-releated stuff. I don't have to wait another twelve years for a Pirate Ship, darn it! I do would like another Train-crossing or a new Club Cart. It would be nice in many ways. But we can't have them all. Mostly, I would like to give the new generation of LEGO fans a shot at some of the sets we got when were younglings. What can Train Enthusiasts do? Well, we can MOC and make instructions and share them on Eurobricks for others to MOC. You can send more IDEA sets to TLG for review. Or you can, just like me, sit in front of a MISB train in awe. Two years ago I cleaned my 4558 Metroliner. I tested the old tracks and greatly enjoyed watchig it flawlessly travel along the the tracks. There's a lot of things you can do to keep yourself invested. But you gotta have this one: PPS - Patience, Persistence, Stoicism. Distract your abstinence! That's my 50 cents. Thank you for reading.

This ship has definitely grown on me, and it was very much a part of my childhood. But I can totally understand the disappointment, especially if you first got the 6271 (The masterpiece!) and then this one later on. But there's something about this ship, I don't know what it is, that just wins me over. Thinking about it, it must be the the front sail. It's just so versatile. You can use it for a pirate ship, an independent vessel or anything you like and it would still work very well. Just to get a little philosophical - I think this and Red Beard Runner, despite their flaws, have one thing working for them; Their uniqueness. Brickbeard's Bounty and The Brick Bounty are technically better ships than RBR for instance. But they play it safe - They are merely Black Seas Barracuda clones in a way, but not as good as the original. At least these two ships attempts to be unique. The Armada Flagship could easily be mistaken for a small trading vessel, which is why it only has a single rotating cannon. It's not gonna outgun anything, but it will make those kleptomanic pirates work hard for their loot! Btw, the mast is interesting when you think about it. On one end of the box, there is a small image of the ship where the mast is tilted. It looks a bit weird, but maybe it was intended as a way to twist the sail, not as it being broken. Be careful displaying it though. Since it's white, it gets yellowed very quickly during the summer (I'm talking from personal experience...). I had a lot of fun with this ship when I was a kid.

I always display my ships with the sails on. Every three months or so, I would remove the sails and put the ships in a bathtub and then spray the ships on full power. This works perfectly and removes all the dust. After leaving it to dry for a couple of days, the ships shines as if they were new. Before I started doing this, I would always dismantle every ship I owned and polish them piece by piece, but I decided this was a waste of time. Especially drying every piece by hand. Oh man. It was a tedious process. Regarding the sails: I have washed sails, I have ironed sails, I have repaired sails, I have sails with mold stains on them. I had epic wars in my childhood leaving the sails dirty and frayed. It's up to each and everyone how to treat their sails, but for me personally: I don't really mind. I even clone the sails and print it on paper/canvas and display it. My recent project was painting new sails with acrylic paint. Looks great! Actually if the sails looks really nice, almost pristine quality, this just means the sailors haven't experienced a real adventure yet. Just laying in port. Friggen cowards!

Hey, that's a great compliment! And I agree with you about the older branches of sets, It would be exciting to get a new branch of Western back for instance. But these "3-in-1" sets offers a great optimism for the future. If TLG sticks to the concept of releasing a "theme" every year, it would be really neat and something to look forward every summer. Last year we got a Castle set, this year a Viking set (allegedly), so what will be released next year? Really exciting!!! But, you know when I first discovered Bricklink it was like stepping inside a parallel universe. For a long time I didn't even know Caribbean Clipper EXISTED (Now I own 3, lol) and I completely missed out on the first waves of Pirates. My first Redcoat I got was from 6237. I always assumed the blue Imperial Torso (found at my friends home) was a misprint. Had no clue! That was untill I first encountered an image of the ship on Altavista. We had no internet in our home in the 90's. OK, be right back! I'm gonna stare at my MISB-sets for a while! (therapy!)

I'm positive! Even if TLG called it quits with Pirates for all eternity, I would still be happy and thankful. All these brilliant sets we were gifted with throughout the years. And what a way to finish it, with the Barracuda Bay set! One of the most massive and ambitious sets in the history of LEGO. If Pirates became something of the past, I would still collect MISB sets and enjoy the MOC aspect of designing and planting new projects to occupy myself. Lego will never die!

I love it! it's so brilliant in it's simplicity. One of the things I liked about the early Pirates were the consistency in the color schemes. You could buy a couple of Broadsides Brig's or Sabre Islands and combine them to create something that somewhat resembled Eldorado fortress. And, of course, they were more generous with minifigures back then. Imperial Soldiers rule!!

Genuinely happy TLG haven't completely abandoned the concept of plastic inlays !! Ninjago isn't my jazz, but I just had to pick this comics up when I noticed it in my store. More stuff like this, please!

My pleasure. Btw, 6090 was my first castle. Fire Breathing Fortress was my second one (got it ca. 1996-1997), and I got the 6086 much later in life. Black Knight's Castle and Fire breathing Fortress basically have the same colour scheme so they look really nice together on a table. Now I own 2x FBF (had 3, sold 1) and 2x BKC. It's called OCD lol. Can't just have one!

"Blind bags" are only "blind" for those without sensitivity in their fingers. Back to store smudging! I'm gonna get some of those Jaguar warriors. They look great!

Year of the OX!!!!! Do you believe it? It's must be a good omen! 2021 will be the year when the bull strikes back at the coronavirus! Never ever ever mess with a BULL! Thank you, once again, TLG for appealling to us such great sets at the start of this year - It looks very promising to say the least. Keep the bricks rollin'!!!

You won't be dissapointed! Congratulations!

Let me just say three words: I LOVE IT!

The sad thing about it, according to what I've heard is that the engineer who designed her wanted to make her wider to make up for her height. But you can't say no to a KING. So I heard he was executed and replaced with a "yes-man" engineer who then finished the blueprint. Just think about the poor bugger who were on that ship when the wind tipped her over!

Seems like ya'll have failed to mention the new Build Your Own Monster set (30564). It's a neat little "parts pack", if you will, with lots of green parts like these plants: Perfect for the Forest Builder!!

I always assumed the Dragons Masters to be a bunch of opportunistic traitors who saw an opportunity and embraced the power of magic and dragons, rather than by the numbers and heavy weaponry. In doing so, they went to Majisto and took him under his wing (literally!). It was more or less an opportunistic move so that they could get more influence over the LEGO kingdom the easy route (Magic and dragons). Then it wouldn't matter if they were outnumbered and outgunned. Because should the Black Knights attack their fortress, they knew they had to deal with a friggin' dragon and a lunatic magician in the process! Also, these guys were very smart and used their skills to arrange traps and other nifty stuff. They were essentially hoarders. Hoarding dragons and jewels. And then buying more dragons or whatever. So they didn't even need a new insignia, they just took whatever they had and swapped the colors. Ta-da! A new faction! It's also pretty clever, because since the Black Knights have existed for some time, the "Dragon Insignia Trademark" is synonymous with Power and Dominance, which means small tribes might confuse the two and would shy away from attacking their keep. And then we have the Wolf Pack off course. And believe me, they are a nuisance to everyone!

Lego Headz are atrocious and a waste of time and space. I don't like the inclusion of orange and lime greenish bricks in the LEGO supplementay sets. Some people like the new colors, I don't. I prefer the natural classic colors i.e. 1715. Bite-marks and faded/yellowed torsos and heads add to the "battleworn"'ishness of my Pirate army! Most think they are gross, but I think it's part of the charm in collecting different parts in various quality from different sources and then slowly completing the minifigs. Just clean the pieces and they will be fine. But off course... every now and then I like myself a shiny new Armada breastplate too! Stickers are great because if I don't like them I don't have to apply them and can sell them instead. And my most stubborn one: Fire Breathing Fortress is a masterpiece. PERIOD.

I wish they bring back the Islanders! They need a third faction to maintain keep the balance between the Imperials and the Pirates!

Hello all you brickers out there! This thread is dedicated to sets that later on in your life had a strong emotional impact on you. It could be nostalgia, it could be the sheer joy of opening a new MISB-set for christmas or anything of that nature. In this topic we indulge ourself in the sentimentality with these sets. Let me start! When i grew up in the 90's, every now and then me and my mother went to our local McDonalds. It was the time when they still had those blueish iron chairs and you would usually get polybags in Happy Meals and occationally get LEGO. In 1994 or 1995, I don't remember exactly, I got the 1649-1, the Sea Skimmer. Strange, because when I look it up, it was released in 1989, but no, this was in the 90's! This set makes me emotionally fragile, it's a combination of the fact that it's so darn cute but also the innocence of it. The child-me building this small little set with my fry-greased fingers, completely lost in time and space with my mother. An era that will never return. Sure, I'm completely in love with 6271 or Eldorado Fortress or Imperial Outpost but nothing compares to this cutie. Just look at it. Isn't she a beauty? Now what sets makes you emotional? Share with us!

Please don't give TLG any ideas on how to cancel this gorgeous vessel...