Aquila D'oro

The 2015 release was definitely a let down for me mainly because it was just a rehash of the 2009 sets but down-scaled slightly, i.e. the ship is a carbon copy minus the giant shark Q_Q . Although the soldiers fort gave value for money minifigure wise it still should have been a bigger layout. Overall I think the Pirate theme needs another faction (like the Islanders from 1993) and I would love a fantasy/mystical injection. I went nuts for the 2007 fantasy era castle theme as it gave 3 totally diff factions (troll,dwarf and undead/dark magic + the humans) so it was a great breakaway from 2 human factions + bandits setup..... then Nexo knights came along *Insert cricket chirp* ... yes about those hits n misses lol. TLG may struggle to bring fantasy into pirates though because POTC already has that element. And as much as I'm hoping for some good POTC sets in 2017 I suspect it'll just be the ship(s) worth getting as with many Disney/Starwars/licensed inspired themes they are quite restrictive in the sets i.e. they are all specific scenes from a film and I find this kills functionality/play ability. As a side note I did build a fantasy pirate MOC, the result was a ship captained by Medusa towed by 4 giant sharks with a crew of mermaids (and one of the collapsed masts has been converted into a trebuchet to fling octopi at their enemies ). Was rather pleased to see the shark towing idea in the Enlighten set lol

I'm about to redesigning my flagship The Aquila D'oro and I'm using the LDD (Lego Digital Designer) program before i start buying any specific parts, however i was wondering if its possible to import the old brown hull sections (the ones used in the late 80's -early 90's ships) as it would be useful to have the bow and stern to build up from (mid sections aren't so necessary) - does any one know where i can download/import these from?

... hmmm ......well i suck i cant get them to show up.... guess you'll just have to click on the links okay second time around i've resized them so their not rediculously huge

hay everyone, im thinking of ways to get around paying the somewhat steep postal charges for buying the 10210 and indeed the national postal service .... being a somewhat collector id rather not have this set crushed etc. Anyway one of the ideas is to hire a currier to pick them up from the warehouse but i need to know the dimensions and weight of each carton, so to those of you who are fortunate to get one so soon *ENVIOUS!!* could you please fill me in? - cheers. oh and could you make the measurements in metric i.e. cm's and kg's lol thanks Also does anyone know the address of the lego warehouse in Sydney??

I feel your pain as there isnt a very strong lego presence here in Australia (at least not vintage pirate sets) i've found ebay UK to be far cheaper with a huge range of pirate sets (about 14-15 pages of items/bids on any given day compared Aust which scrapes in at 3-4 pages) that and postage from the UK is safe/reliable and quite cheap even for larger items. i tried germany once.... very pricey for postage, having said that DHL is apparently improving its worldwide services with a flat rate of some sort - not sure when it comes into effect though (does any one else know about this??) Its also a good idea to cross reference prices/bids with those on the bricklink site, as some items/sets can be dirt cheap on ebay and very pricey on bricklink or vice-versa so far i haven't bid on anything on ebay USA - as the postal costs are generally quite high even for small items - thats not to say i have been tempted on a few occasions

lol i can definately see why you came up with this idea, i never really thought the soldiers fort worked particularly well as a stand alone set, being coupled up with eldorado does work quite nicely - just needs the colour/style tweeks as mentioned so they are more homogenous - it makes a much better alround fort IMO, nice work One thought that had occured to me though was if lego had decided to continue the pirates line through 2010 i think it would be a neat idea to sell extra fort sections to make it more imposing/complete.... as it is we just have to make/design them ourselves

all i have say is this: gigidy mmm pretty pretty box makings of a very nice fleet oh and here's the rest of the dozen

As already stated - definately try eBay UK + forget that guy from portugal, i've checked that add out myself - its been there a while, the postage cost is rediculous...... if your lucky you can find one from 30GBP (usually without a box) many are around for 40-50GBP thing to remember is the box really worth it - my reasons for saying that are as follows 1) they charge/auction for alot more 2) the postage can cost a HELL of alot more 3) Tends to get bashed in transit...... (my big peev at the moment) 4) it doesnt affect the playability of the set now does it? 5) then you have to store it when your not using it 6) IMO - only worth having if your re-selling which i'd say dont bother unless its MISB because there are so many around due to popularity and re-release one other option is to look at getting incomplete sets (i grapped a BSB for so cheap it was criminal) but i have alot of bits from that era so it was an easy fix and now i have another BSB definately use the fact you dont need the minifigs to your advantage in the case of some sets (particularly ones with rare minifigs like the SES for example) the set can drop in price by a fair amount for absent rarities - just make sure the sails look crisp and clean and if there are rare parts mssing check the cost of replacement before you bid/buy P.S. dont rush, there are plenty of BSBs around you're best of waiting for a good deal.... having said that ive been waiting for over a month to get a 6271... getting frustrated!!!!

Another Little story to tickle your funny bone: Admiral Blanc: "No-one is blaming you.... well actually we are blaming you, we just think you should consider going to an AA meeting every once in a while" Admiral Red-Brick: "Why?" Admiral Blanc: "Yesterday wasn't exactly your best performance" Admiral Red-Brick: "urgh...." *Red-Brick tries to recollect* Admiral Red-Brick: "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer!!"...........*Glug glug glug* and cut to the wide angle....... plus a few others: And thats why the French and the British dont get along ...... because the Brit's turn up drunk and wreck everything!!

Very nice!, I particularly like the design of the castle in general as it is very fitting lego sets from that period. The colour scheme works very well, I am particularly impressed with what youve done using the red plates to simulate the paint peel that lego use on their printed walls (why didnt i think of that!! - very nice touch). To improve it just that little bit more i'd try and make it so there are 3 smaller sections of red rather than 2 large ones for that face of the wall - then it would match the prefab/painted components perfectly You could also apply the same idea (red plates) a little bit further to the right (of the same wall) - just beneith the jail bars for that added detail, see how it looks as it maybe a bit too much red in which case leave as is having said that you could try it in other areas too....... i.e. here great work indeed

okay here it is The Blue Sceptre - new and improved lol the sides do look a lot better IMO - still makes me question whether or not to go for black decking though (i did some more comparisons whilst redecorating the sides) the figure took a bit of time to think up; i had several ideas one of which was to us the top section of a tail fin from a jet for the wings but it did look like someone had just stuck them on the back of the figurehead (kind of like what you'd use for a kids costume) the other issue of that design was the figure head would be at the same angle as the prow - i.e. it would be looking almost stright down - which is a waste of a female face/figurehead in general so i went for the current design using the two flags for wings - quite simple but sometimes the simpler the better, let me know what you think overall - cheers guys

hi everyone, This is the other ship I may have mentioned in another thread (the one thats just about all blue and white), I completed her about a month ago using whatever bits i had left over. Yes it is almost a carbon copy of an SES - i wont bet going for the innovation award with this one. The main point is I still havent named her or given a bow spirit (i ran out of kittens ) so taking all suggestions although something French would suit best being a blue coat ship (although i did look into some Latin names at one point) I also scrapped some old technic demolition derby cars yesterday and have gotten a few extra black plates as a result, using these i have the option to reduce the white/blue-ness by changing the mid and stern decking - let me know which you think is the most appealing, black or white?. thank you all in advance now here are the pics: okay decisions on deck colour.... i mean shade (ive cleared the frenchmen off for a better view) Mid section decking Stern decking Fire away boys!!

I defintely agree with you there, a substituation in favour of black for blue in some areas would be more suitable, my initial thought when building it was to try and go for a CC look, with touches of yellow trim on the bow and stern only and blue for major bulk parts (cabin etc) with the black white down the side but it wasnt feasable at the time - i'll have dig around for bits to see what can be done - may pass on the yellow for now though. Loving the angel masthead idea - not too sure how to make it into small figurehead to suit the ship. Although i have to say it remind me of when i got the "graveyard duel" HP set - the idea of using something similar to tom riddles tomb stone for a pirate ship would look fantastic (though it is a very large figure head... may need smaller wings) as for names i'll try to work in the word "blue" to suit the ship... even if it is a little cliche i've created a shortlist of those names listed in wiki: Sceptre Algeciras (named after a port in spain) Vesuvio (named after a volcano in Naples) and Zélandais (Like the name but the translation is a bit strange, "concerning at once the Portugal and New Zealand" ) So far my top collaborative idea is the name "Sceptre bleu" = Blue Sceptre or "Sceptre bleu roi" = Royal Blue Sceptre with an Angel figure head holding a sceptre (easily made once i figure out how to do the wings) Let me know what you think

the new dark blue row boats are stuck with 2009 sets... and the old brown tended to be only used by pirates, although in this case i would agree they are more fitting than the stark red thing hanging off the back of this ship lol i tend to do mixes between SES and BSB (as both have good qualities and areas that could be improved on) so having the side decks like a BSB seemed a good idea. if you like this ship you should check out the "White Tiger" in another thread - its mainly a BSB converted to the red coats but with a few nice touches added (like more cannons). seems that white decks are the favourite - which is great cos im generaly low on black parts period lol so i'll swap them back - thanks everyone. im trying to think of all the things that are coloured blue and white (to make it relevant to the ship) so i can name it. i did actually think "blue fin tuna" at one point... but that would be terrible although blue thunder may work, french translation of which is "tonnerre bleu" which sounds rather nice the next problem is - how do i represent that in a bow figure lol

just a quick question, does anybody here keep the centre bit that holds the coins? ... i kind of treat them like a pirate medallion (and their great chest stuffers )

do you know what those stains remind me of... that white stuff that forms on chocolate after a while in the fridge anyway i hope this info helps: 1) i've had similar marks like that on lego parts/ship hulls i dont think they are permenant as they look - i would recommend getting an old toothbrush and scrubbing it with a little bit of water from my experience they have come up like new - i did a whole SES brick by brick also note... the the hull section is "old brown" rather than the new fangled colour nonsense lego produces these days 2) as for sails i tried a combo of products; firstly i soaked them in highly concentrated Omo front loader washing detergent, i've also used stain removers like "preen" or "sard - oxy action" but i think the omo/washing detergent works the best. Note: when i mean concentrated i mean get a shallow plate/dish put in about a table spoon or 2 of deterergent and a small amount of warm water (just enough to dissolve the detergent and cover the sails) have the sails soak in that for an hour or so, also give them a gentle rub and turn them over evey little while. They will need to be quite thoroughly rinsed to get rid of the detergent. Be warned though you may get some frayed edges (leave them! dont cut them because they can be set back in place) 3) not sure about best detergents for the bricks sadly - i'd just go with the tooth brush as its not chemically abrasive. i dont recomend trying anything thats too abrasive in general, i had some faded white bricks and the only real way to fix it was to take off the top layer; i used very fine sand paper/polish which worked but i couldnt to get the shiney lego finish back = had to get new bits lesson learned i dont think there are any issues with ironing sails, though i would use a clean white cloth on top of the sail to seperate it from direct contact with the iron itself (however this may just be my iron which seems to leave marks on things)

Its a little bit quirky/black comedy.... but I like it, Enjoy! Great White Shark: "Looks like Captain Brick Beard's still in a bad mood" Krakin: "Really how can you tell?" Great White Shark: "Another Keel haulin', Fancy some free grub??" Krakin: "Nah I'm good for the time being" Great White Shark: "What's the matter - have you gone all vegetarian on me?" Krakin: "Nope, still got this guy from yesterdays keel hauling"

When i first saw that shark in the BBB set i did think it looked a bit cheesy, right up until i figured out you could fit a whole soldier (hat and all!!) inside its mouth! - now i think its absolutely awesome yeah i really liked the idea of an underwater seen i saw in another thread using transparent plates (and other really nice pieces for that matter) - annoyingly all my spare lego parts are from the late 80's to mid 90's and there are somethings you just cant build. come to think of it my colour choices are rather primitive i.e. primary colours, light grey, white and black - the only secondary colour i have is green and that only appears on trees/plants and the occasional plate lol i have a long way (large pay cheque to spend) before i can start getting any detail/realism into MOC's - Hurray for the dark ages!!

WOW these ships are truely drool worthy awe inspiring to say the very least. im just as impressed with the huge boxes and bags of colour coded bricks you have floating around the room very much a proffesional set up - great work!

just going through my copy of instructions (it is an original 6285 set though so there maybe some differences) using the peeron site this is where the first two appear (as youve seen) http://peeron.com/scans/6285-1/15/ they're located at the back near the row of windows and then another 4 show up here to make up the base of the mast (note they are placed beneith the mast itself as well as 4 grey clips plus a grey 2 x 4 plate and 1 x 4 plate http://peeron.com/scans/6285-1/21/ this should fix your problem (note: they will show up on page 19 of your manual) lol you beat me to it

I've been going through this thread over and over as the prices for TTT sets are getting quite cheap even on ebay - hence im still considering buying a couple. However i noticed alot of the focus is mainly on the red soldiers torsos/arms etc. I was wondering how badly the admiral and pirate figures have been affected - could anyone show me some comparison shots (or just let me know if they are crap).... so i dont go and buy them with the blind hope that "maybe some of the other figs will be alright" - any feed back would be appreciated. Cheers Aquila D'oro

The orders already been made - the ships are on back order.... however they will be travelling express Also TLG do say in their shipping and handling page that items are to arrive to the customers highest expectations or you can ask for a replacement/refund etc the problem with ordering from overseas, is that the each countries postal service can just blame one another all year long without getting you a result. or in my case take whats left of the item and throw it on a camp fire

If lego released more smaller vessels like that i'd buy them in a heart beat, the Renegade Runner and Cross Bone Clipper can eat their own hearts out! fantastic colours and design with loads of lovely details - Very impressive

I KNOW!! still trying to get one!! great set i agree - would prefer it to have another imperial minifigure as i dont think 3 men is enough to sail that size ship. however it has improved on the CC which didnt have any pirates which limits the stand alone playability of the set

thanks for the tip d00dz - that could be a bit of a bollocking, come to think of it i didnt see any notice that it would be in DNK everything was listed as AUD from start to finish ..... my total invoice was nearly $3500. *eep!* fortunately the credit card i used is useless at everything except they dont charge for currency conversions and overseas withdrawal/usage (perfect for ebay!!). Although i wont count my chickens just yet, i'll double check when the payment goes through not that i'll be able to do a single thing about it by then