Mister Phes

Toucan's work well with the Islander sub theme. Or maybe the LEGO Pirates theme with jungle elements... This trifecta would perhaps work better with a pirate habitat in the middle. The Classic Space habitats seems a little out of place adjacent the other two habitats. Nonetheless, they are all very well done!

Nay. But definitely for my blue coats

That has been known to happen... but it's hard to tell these days. The LEGO Group excels at repurposing pirate-themed parts in pirate-themed sets that aren't classic-style. So the tricon+hair piece could potentially be reused in a future set, but maybe not the type of set LEGO Pirate fans actually want.

Maybe. But it does seem strange that employees of LEGO stores are continuing this joke 2 months later.

Also, I sat on that blog post for 5 days before publishing so those extra details could be harvested from our social network. Not that the exact publishing date really matters given the information leaked April 2.

Published April 7 and has far more details then Bricksup... https://www.classic-pirates.com/news/newupcoming/eldorado-fortress-rumour-2023 But so what if it's not coming from an offical LEGO source?

I do too! And it's not just one guy making claims. Various people have reported (particularly in the Classic Pirates Facebook Group) that an employee at their local LEGO store has mentioned a set being released in July. The employees are unable to provide much information, but what they do share seems to allude to this rumoured Eldorado Fortress remake.

I'm planning ahead for a future blog post titled "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About LEGO Pirates" I've been reading the recent issues of Blocks Magazine which have interviews Niels Milan Pedersen who, along with Jens Nygaard Knudsen, originally created the LEGO Pirates theme. Niels shares some great anecdotes about the theme's conception that haven't been published elsewhere (that I'm aware of). That got me to thinking... what is some trivia even long term LEGO Pirates fans may not be aware of? So I've began compiling a list, which I'll expand upon with images in the blog post, but what should be included? @TalonCard, you're a master LEGO Pirates historian, and you could probably create an ongoing series on this topic, but if you were limited to 10 facts (that aren't commonly known), what would you suggest? Here's what I've got so far: Planning for the LEGO Pirates Theme began as early as 1982 The LEGO Pirates theme was ready to launch in 1985 The Crocodile Came Before the Dragon The Original Pirate Flag Almost Didn't Happen The Blue Coat Soldiers are Officially French There Are 9 Lady Bird Book Titles The Imperial Armada Minifigures Do Have Names

Not everybody believes rumours. You may be happy to believe information leaked on the internet that originated from a complete stranger you cannot even name (and I mean real name), but that's not enough for the next person. Also there's been a recent history of pirate themed sets being rejected/ignored by LEGO Ideas and the Bricklink Designer Program to the point some people don't want to get their hopes up.

Yes, I know. I've read the FluffySky6 Reddit post and replied to Classic Space Man, the person who communicated directly FluffySky6 and shared the information here. I was just being a facetious because you said: "I'm a little confused by people's speculation on whether the set is coming or not. It is. The former Lego employee confirmed it " Former employees don't confirm anything! Nothing is confirmed until the LEGO Group makes an official announcement because the details could change, or the set could be completely cancelled - that's happened to a couple sets recently. And accuracy of past leaks, is not a absolute guarantee that future leaks will be 100% accurate. So yes, people should speculate and be skeptical over the alleged details until an official announcement is made.

Thank ye for sharing! Any fifth rate frigate in particular?

What was his name? What date did he confirm it? And who did he confirm it to? I quite like the set, although many disagree. I've got two of them! Pirates Perilous Pitfall was released 4 years into my Dark Age, so unlike Forbidden Island and Rock Island Refuge, it's not a set I remember from childhood. In fact, I didn't discover it until 2002 when I reemerged from my Dark Age and began learning about all the pirate sets released post 1993. And for whatever reason, it took me a while to get to the 1997 sets, but when I first it, Pirates Perilous Pitfall was a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting a set that large to be released so late in the line - how did this manage to escape me for so long? But that's more than 2 decades ago now, so that particular set evokes quite different feelings of nostalgia.

Reddit post? There's a Reddit post?

Agreed.

That's exactly what it's supposed to be... The pirates found abandoned fort ruins in the jungle so they use whatever flotsam they could salvage to turn it into a hideout. But thank you for articulating your reasoning. As Forbidden Island was the first large pirate hideout/base the designers were still figuring out how all the new pieces created for the Pirates theme could work together.... and they were also inventing the new pieces during the design process. That's quite an ambitious undertaking! But once they had they library of new parts, it's understandable why 6273 Rock Island Refuge and 6279 Skull Island are more intuitively designed - they could focus more on the design itself. Then we get to 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall... Please elaborate why neither is all that great...

Aye, that's common among the classic sets. I also think the base plates makes those sets feel more substantial because they provides a solid foundation and frame the design. Whereas, the more modern sets, particularly the 2015 forts, seem smaller, flimsy and "scattered" with their modular approach. The old palm leaves also contribute to making the classic designs seem brighter and fuller. It's probably more the way they're presented than the building techniques employed.

Please elaborate why that is... In my opinion it looks unfinished. Like the design was 75% complete and then the designer was told time's up! Let's go with what you've got and release it as an "exclusive" to distract from the fact its half-baked. A hefty structure in the middle with some stringy extensions on either side. There's barely enough ship hull to sell the concept and that rope bridge goes nowhere. No stairs... No ladders... just a crows nest... what? The pirates are supposed to climb up the mast like monkeys? There's too much brown - it's like it needs more jungle. Granted it's meant to be a shipwreck on the shore, but similar sets have always incorporated a bit of greenery, whether that be palm leaves or an island base plate. I'll concede it looks somewhat decent with artwork in the background to provide context to its setting, but it doesn't hold up very well on its own.

Aye, let's hope that's not the set getting rereleased. In reality, 6253 Shipwreck Hideout is an inferior remake of 6270 Forbidden Island. No sooner do I check this topic and a 6253 Shipwreck Hideout remake appears on Instagram

Aye, it's very exciting! Your newest MOC? Meaning you have older MOCs somewhere? I visited your Flickr but could only find images of the HMS Aurelian - do you have other MOC images hosted somewhere else?

If we recall back to last year, 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle was officially announced on 19 June, 2022. So June 15 would be following a similar schedule for such an announcement.

Thank you for sharing this supporting material! It gives our blog posts extra depth that you don't find on other LEGO blogs. Be that emperor Marcus Aurelius, the great stoic philosopher?

Digital build? You mean there's Work In Progress renders too?

Finally got around to working on a blog post for this one!

Good to see you go everything sorted out! Now to get a blog post happening... So how many pieces and how long did it take you to build?

So June 15 is when we can expect to see some images leak?