AViewToALego

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!

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

I like to use the Johnny Thunder heads (3626bpa3) because they are usually very very cheap and easy to aquire on bricklink.

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!

I have ironed my sails I don't know how many times, and never had any issue about them being damaged. If you are worried about it, just wet them and then let them dry flat sticked on a surface. That worked out well for me. Don't know how to fix stains, though. I even have some mold on my old Barracuda sails. I just let people assume it's "battle damage" or something, lol. Anyway, nice find. I'm sure you will enjoy these beautiful ladies!!

Yes, yes and yes! The 9V system is very "analog" in that sense, which is quite the charm, but it's not without issues as you said. I'm torn about this, it's hard to decide. My Metroliner (who is not a baby anymore) could function just as well on plastic rails, which are cheaper and easier to aquire, won't get dusty or rusty that makes the train set stutter on the tracks. But personally I like the "unpredictability" of the 9V system. There are pro's and con's you have to weight against each other to find your optimal solution. It's a personal choice and there are no rights and no wrongs, just different taste.

Gnnngggh!! I thought I was clever when I came up with the idea of having 1x1 round blue plates as water, but trans-lightblue looks even better. And now I've finally solved the mystery as to why the red epaulettes have skyrocketed in price.

Ah, yes! Words cannot describe how much I love this ship. Through the years I have aquired 3 of these (I had to brag a little!) because on a dark rainy windy autumn evening, building one of these is THE way to revisit lost years. I like the way you tiled the deck. Presumably these are a mixture of Reddish Brown and Brown tile pieces? It looks great. And you added a compass, which is something it missed from the start. I always felt the ship locked the best with the sails angled a bit to port (like on the box art). Nice to hear you had a good result with the hydrogen perxide, from what I can see it looks perfect, like new. In the end, 6271 is still my favorite, but the Clipper is not far behind. Also, the clipper has an anchor, which the Imperial Flagship is missing.

Yes, I see where you're coming from. The thing is, we're so used to the prefab hull pieces that we're sorta confused when TLG choose another direction. It boils down to nostalgia. For example, everytime I see the blue fore/aft hullpieces on my Armada Flagship, it bring back so many memories of the early innocent years of childhood. So everytime they come up with a revamped 6x4 flag or new sails or different colored epaulettes or what have you, it's an instant win for me.

The yellow shield with the raven-emblem, was an instant love affair for me. I managed to acquire 5 of the knights from my local store, but I will definitely look around for more. Couldn't find any Vikings though, but I managed to find the Pirate. She has a really nice torso and you get two swords and an extra plume.

Not a fan of the brick-built sails and the steering wheel. And only tree minifigures is a bit on the short side. But... there's something about her that pulls me in. It's nice to have a ship that is a bit smaller, like the 6271 (another favorite of mine). And this set is great for fooling around with the pieces to come up with something interesting. It's a good "starter-kit" for MOCs. The alternative builds are great! I don't think we'll get any Pirates sets in a long time from now, so I think we should be grateful for what we've got. Thank you once again, LEGO!

Oh yes! Finally got the her today! And maaan, is that box HUGE! And not only is it huge, it's HEAVY! The sheer size of it really surprised me. This must definitely be the largest Pirates set to date (surpassing the 2010 Imperial Flagship and the Imperial Trading Post). The only thing I'm deeply missing, is the old box design with the openable top-lid and inner trails. The new boxes are too... "impersonal". But aside from that, this is a masterpiece. The box is beautifully designed, but at the same time makes me miss the old design. I still have the box for the original BSB from 1989. Conclusion: Worth every penny. Will propably purchase another one later.

I bought this set as a child in ca. 1997 and only built it once, then dismantle it for pieces. Almost 20 years later, with the Black Knights Castle in possession, nostalgia blowing through my head and a fondness for medieval strongholds, I decided to reconstruct this set with a friend. "Steve" was right (brilliant blog, btw!), this set looks indeed better in the flesh. I can't stop starring at it. It's incredible to have it stand there on my table, finished, for the first time in almost 20 years. Talk about revisiting childhood! Fire Breathing Fortress is more of a Fortress than a castle, no portcullis, no drawbridges, but a "storage place" for a dragon and a keep built on top of that. I don't mind any "juniorization", I don't see any simplisticness as at all, to be honest. Maybe the roof, but the roof looks very nice! A creamy red color, blends in perfectly with the black and grey. And the tree branches were neatly done. One of the best Lego sets ever.

This is really cute. Even the name forced a little smile on my face. Nice to see Steve being promoted to helmsman!

That is just pure awesomeness. Nice eyebrows! I would love to see Mr. Trump comment about that one.

This is truly brilliant stuff. Fantastic sense of detail! I really love the dimension of the trees and the rusty, torn-down look of the wall. Great job!

Thanks! This is my way of dealing with Storage issues.

Thank you for your insightful post. There's some things in there I can't say I agree about, but I can at least understand your mindset. I brought the question up, partly because I couldn't understand how Characters could be the main argument for keeping the brand "futuristic and strange". Now I understand these arguments better. But I also happens to have some Comic Books with small LEGO comic strips. I found them very intriguing and funny and it made me want for more. These are from the mid eighties, but I would love if LEGO would come up with some medieval history setting with memorable characters and stories. If they don't - I WILL! I still believe in medieval characters and settings, and I do believe it's all about how you portray the world and mastering the storytelling.

It depends on your goals! Me, for instance, I love the Bluecoats (Frenchmen) and as such, I regard the Caribbean Clipper to be a complete Masterpiece, I own three of her and I must resist myself not to buy a fourth one. I'm very attracted to official LEGO ships (especially the Imperial ones), not that interested in bases - One of the reasons is storage. It's easier to move ships around, put them on shelf's, etc. So I take both the attracting feature of a ship, staring at it, take it down, polish and dusting it off, but also find it crucial to implement it into the surrounding environment, because my storage space is limited. I don't want to have LEGO on the floor, on the table, everywhere, but I find it nice to have it on top of my bookshelf or, even, inside of it, if it's presented in a neat way. I have three main favorite pirate sets: Caribbean Clipper, Imperial Trading Post and Lagoon Lock-Up but I also consider the Imperial Flagship 6271 of great personal value (I own three) because of it's distinct design and Nostalgia. I also dreamed a lot about the Skull's Eye Schooner when I was younger. It looked huge in the book!

Ah yes, I hate Nexo Knights with a passion. These sets are (mildly spoken) a complete eyesore! But this is also a good wake-up call for everyone. People who had complaints about the 2013-line might re-evaluate their opinion after suffering three long years with Nexo Knights. Some people will probably be more grateful with what is given to them once the next Historical Theme is out. When the 2013-line was introduced, we were all kind of spoiled, we had seen soo many castle themes through the years, we couldn't imagine there would be anything WORSE. Then came Nexo Knights. Talk about game-changer! However, as a Classic Castle-fan, I'm kinda puzzled by one thing though; I have spotted arguments about how NK and Ninjago are about "the characters". And most importantly about "the series", which in turn, seems to be some sort of justification of the entire themes existance. We must love Ninjago and Nexo Knights, because, you know.. there's a TV Show about them and they have CHARACTERS IN THEM! But! Who says there can't be: A) A TV show with a historical setting? B) A historical setting with memorable characters? A) Good Historical stuff that are not fantasy, dragons or castles on wheels? Just some elaborations. Don't take it all too seriously. We're all LEGO-friends, ain't we?

I made a small Port inside my Bookcase. Or, should I say, three of them! Frenchmen and their small Outpost to the left, the Englishmen and their larger Outpost and Fortress to the right. And some of them dirty Pirates in-between! Ahoy!