MstrOfPppts

The letter or the red around the neck thingy for me ...

Just a few days off the forums for some life stuff, but worry not, I'm back! (:

I'm not too much into ships and have no idea how thigs work nor am I able to name all the parts. But either way I too think that the sails look like a bit of an overkill for the size of a boat, but nothing wrong for an awesome toy design. In that case I think that another playability upgrade would be to make the brown box a stud longer ant fit the mast on top to gain some small storage area underneath. Not sure how to attach the technic stuff that way though.

What a lovely set design! The play feature is fantastic and everything just screams LEGO set in my eyes. The fireplace although a bit simplistic looks just like a thing from a real set. I do agree that it would benefit from the plum piece though. Also I think everyone would be bothered by the inclusion of the 2x2 crate instead of a real treasure chest, but again something fitting for a real set and for the mechanism. Lime doesn't bother me that much, might be a thing in the next Pirates wave color scheme and it's a nice example of introducing a new piece in new color (can't remember if that new leave exists in lime already?). I'm not that big of a fan of the oversized LEGO ants and spiders so in my eyes it could easily be swapped with a parrot or a monkey. Maybe even a toucan for a more modern look. And to add something more for the kids, I'd add a pirate flag on the top.

Another set update of yours which makes it hard to guess the originals from. Maybe also because I'm not too familiar with these two sets neither were they too appealing to me as a kid. The build is nice and there's a lot going on on the island. Maybe a bit too far for a real set, especially with the parts intensive SNOTed table. I guess the overall looks would benefit from a bit of green grass in the middle, which would also be more realistic for such a rich foliage on the island. I don't want to repeat myself too much and don't want to be pushy, but this was a perfect opportunity to try an irregular water line a bit closer to the coastline and make it just 1 plate high. The shape of the island could be of a less square shape in that case and the new solution for the edges of the water would not be needed. Which in my opinion doesn't make much of a difference with the crack in the water and combining tiles with studs for no reason (other than certain parts not existing). That aside I really like the plated shore combination and even the slopes don't bother me as much being further inside and not raising directly from the water. Also I guess there's a cheat (mistake) in the instructions, as the cannon base would be in collision with the outer 1x2 jumper plate (:

Haha, now with the small category we get some yet unexplored areas in the Pirates sets series. First I thought that the lady of the night was a bit inappropriate for a LEGO set, but then I scrolled down and found that they are not alone - assassination! No matter the motive of the build, I'd love to see such small sets in the Pirates theme. A cheap way of getting some new minifigure prints for the theme. As for the build, I only think that the top of the lantern is a bit too simple for a more modern LEGO set, as it doesn't seem to follow the older classic style.

Well we all know that POTC is well over 10 years old and that this theme would never pass the TLG standards today, but anyway a fun entry. I think that this build would benefit with going with the more modern style and use tan instead of yellow for the sand. The yellow minifigures on yellow plates do look a bit weird, that's why Islanders sets were all using green for the bases, which could also be an option here. Also in a real set there would be some kind of build to fit the fig to the pole instead of just using ropes. I know it's a tight call with the piece limit, but some details might be skipped if the fireplace is the main build. For example using a 6x8 plate instead of 2 4x8s. That would be about it for the set of this size. When it comes to toys, I take it more as funny than cruel, like in the good old cartoons, and this set sure has a plus for the fun factor!

Understood, but the build doesn't seem to be that much integrated into the water, you couldn't take a picture without the plate for this contest ...

Aren't winners allowed to pick a set of their own choice up to the amount? At least that was the case in the SW contest ...

This is another fine remake of the classic Saber Island. There's a lot more changes than in the entry by @BrickCommander9 though the proportions approach is similar. I think there's too much rockwork under and around the fort making the overall look much more different from the original. I'm not too keen on the chibby proportions of the building. I have no idea how I would feel as a kid buying a play set where the minifig can barely stand on a balcony yet alone fit through the 2 stud wide doors. I know that there's been quite some remakes of this set and it's hard to come up with something original but still I think that making the tower rounded was not the best idea. Maybe squeezing a 2 wide tiles between the curved slopes would make the tower look more square with rounded corners and the size would also be more fitting. But overall the techniques and details are very nice and I really like the built insignia above the door.

Wow! This is in my eyes a perfect example of how to add stuff to a remake yet not go too far to make the set too different from the originals. The rockwork under the tower was not in the original set, yet it makes the scene a bit more alive and realistic and keeps the overall look the same. I do think that the scale is a bit off. It looks a bit chibby and I guess making it at least 1.5 times bigger in all directions would significantly improve the proportions. I do like how you skipped the open back play feature and made the tower fully enclosed yet still keep the parts count and the style passable for a LEGO set without overwhelming details. Maybe more like a 18+ remake, but it works. I'd also suggest to skip the water plate to make it even more in the line of a real set. Skip the water completely and just make the shore a bit bigger and edit the background of images blue ... I prefer sets with no water than bad water like the azure / blue plates most commonly found in sets. The pier and the island like shape of the shore gives a good enough idea where the water goes (:

Definitely your best entry so far! I don't know if it's the style of the shore but the overall look is very nice! As for the remake there's just a bit too much difference in positioning and proportions. But that was the case in most of your entries anyway. Also it's a shame that the boat through the cave feature is missing since it was the main attraction in the original. And I too don't like the greencoats. A strong entry indeed although maybe a bit on the expensive side (:

This is a very nice ship. A bit too much on a MOC side but maybe just passable as what a set would look like if LEGO decided to make a big ship with brick built hull. I do prefer the updated color scheme especially if considering it as a remake. Although there was nothing wrong wit the original color scheme which made the ship look more Pirate like. As for a remake I too see too much artists freedom as it makes the ship look a completely different class - I'm no expert on the ships and I know that LEGO originals are simplified versions of the real thing, but the very low quarter deck is the main reason for me that the ship looks completely different from the original.

Smaller sets category is also an option, but it needs to be clear is it a small piece count or recreation of a small set. Since those of @MyFirstMOC-Hun are recreations of very small sets but use well over 10 times the piece count of the original. According to the amount of entries I'd still say go with the 80 prize for 2nd place of the main category and 30 for the winner of the small one. But this way beats my suggestion about scoring the builders instead of builds. I'd say that even your second version is still far too good to be true for a LEGO set. It's not just the water and the border, also the palm tree is too parts intensive and it's always an option to ask yourself - would LEGO really use 15 tiles to imitate wood for the floor above the prison or would they just use 2 bigger plates? I'd say the latter for the piece count and also tiling floors smooth isn't the LEGO way either.

Apologies to @A_Goodman if I'm the reason you decided to pull out of the contest, though I guess it was the right decision. You could still keep the images of your great creation though. It was not my intention to get anyone disqualified and I know that this has hardly ever been a praxis around here. I'm also not pointing fingers at @Mister Phes or any other staff member for how the contest was organized. I was just trying to clarify the vaguely written rules as should anybody before making such an entry. The let the voters decide option is not that good of an idea since I guess that many might not even read what the rules or guidelines were and might just go for the coolness factor of the build. Yes there might be nothing wrong with that, but why not just have the competition with no rules saying build something cool fitting the Pirates theme and that's it. I guess that it's a bit unfair for people who strictly follow the rules and even doublecheck if they got them right to compete against some cool builds who walk the thin line of appropriateness or even go all in in a completely wrong direction. I am glad that the contest has happened, for I like the Pirates theme and it's been a while since the last one around here - I can't even remember it. At first I was eager to enter it too, but sadly my flat renovations got out of hand and there is no time nor space for an entry. Now I'm quite glad I didn't enter it for I have no idea how I would feel in this situation - I had ideas for a full blown MOC remake as well as some TLG styled remakes. I have no idea nor suggestions what would be the best way to make everyone happy at the moment. But I did want to raise my voice here since I think that there's been some situations in the past where some members took advantage of just superficially following the rules of the contest. In general I find any of the contests rule to try and imitate a LEGO like set creation very vague allowing for a lot of freedom in anyone's explanation. This includes making oversized UCS set like creation in a theme that is very unlikely to ever receive such a big set, yet they do exist. Also some semi illegal building techniques allowing for some cool effects are in question here as well as stability, parts colors availability (allowing digital entries) ... in the end of the day, why not design a new part for stud.io, just like TLG would? Yes I did say there's quite some room for improvement of rebuilding the Eldorado or Barracuda, but that was when it was stated that non set styled MOCs were also appropriate entries. When it comes to only LEGO styled sets, I think there is no harm in letting them out, though it would be nothing wrong if someone wanted to show a different approach. Now that the rules have been clarified I'd say there is no need for extra categories. Just use the extra prizes for the 2nd and 3rd place since there's already been so many entries it would be unfortunate to only award one! Also I don't know what exactly the voting format will look like but always when multiple entries per member are allowed, I would suggest that the votes go to the builder and not the entry. Members would still vote for entries regardless of the builder, but in the back the votes sum to the builder. This way one can not take points from himself with multiple good entries, one builder can not get in two different places with different entries and the effort of members participating with more entries is paid off with having more chances since every entry voted for goes into their total score. Just some explanation of my views and some suggestions. Feel free to make whatever is seen fit for the rest of the contest. It seems that not many were bothered by this as much as me and not many are even interested in commenting on this matter. I will try to focus on commenting on the entries now! (:

What a lovely recreation! As mentioned it's really hard to tell them apart from afar and that definitely shows how good the remake is. On one hand I would almost suggest making even more changes to distinguish it a bit more from the original but on the other hand it is just perfect as it is. Thinking as TLG might - it's hard to imagine for people that already have the original to buy the remake when so similar. Overall I love the smoothed out lines with more modern parts, the figurehead is really a big improvement and I think that the only downgrade are the cables imitating the roped ladder. Might be suitable for the creator line but in a Pirates set it takes away some of the more fun playability. Also in my eyes the DBG line could be omitted from the hull since the old hull pieces only had limited different options and is not there for aesthetic reasons. Might make the remake hull color scheme a bit more slick? Also using white legs with black boots upgrades the minifig looks quite a bit in my eyes. But that's about it, very nice entry!

Yes there sure is, since what you are saying is clearly not what we've been told by staff in the ENTRY topic of a great MOC which could obviously not pass as an official set?

OK, now that the rules have been clarified the rules make more sense, but the contest makes less ... It was strange that in the remake category the Eldorado fortress and the Barracuda were omitted, when there's a lot of room for improvement in a full blown MOC version. Therefor a presumption of a LEGO styled remake was in seemingly a lot of people's minds. However there were some more MOCy examples given, but most followed the LEGO sets style. Thanks to @Marooned Marin for finally clarifying the rules. I already expressed my concerns about this topic in this thread but no discussion nor replies emerged. No answer to my fleshies question either, nor any discussion around someone else's question about the omitted sets ... Also this does not help the description of the second category: Anyway I'm really happy that this is the case for this second category! But now for the less reasonable part. How is a LEGO styled set creation able to compete against a full blown MOC in the same category? Well it's impossible in my eyes.

In your last picture it is clearly seen how the official set did use the cheese slopes and the angled wall looks much nicer and smoother than yours. I'd still change that! Else I like the other changes and am kind of grown on the idea of making it an Eldorado extension, although I was not too keen on the high rocks underneath it at first. As suggested to others I'd edit the first post with your final entry and put the previous versions into a spoiler tag - a few images will do, keep it as transparent as possible. Also putting some paper (tan or white) for the backdrop would highly improve the images as the holed wall / wardrobe in the back is quite distracting ...

As already pointed out a stunning MOC, yet sadly far from the contest rules for trying to design an official set. I do wish to see such a competition here - remaking old sets with full blown MOC version, which this entry would be perfect for! And as it is in my nature, I'm not sold on the brick built sail ... the original would fit in perfectly or use the ones from the Silent Marry.

This could easily be included on the back of the box of Enchanted Island as a B model - back then when TLG still used to do that! Really like this entry, the buildings at the back look well designed in constructed like an official set from the 90s. I'm not sold on the 2x4 and 2x3 gray bricks under the bush and the palm tree though. The front line needs some working. But overall I do miss some of the modern touch. Make it more like what TLG would release today if revisiting a theme with an original set and not a remake. I did have some Pirates and islanders sets as a kid though the newer colors, parts and techniques beat the nostalgia by me ...

Awesome! In my eyes a tiny perfection. Although I see where your original idea for the pole attachment came from but the original is not built according to the instructions :) It's very nice to see it next to the original for comparison!

Now this is a really cute set! Instantly recognizable and perfectly modernized with the newer sloped rockwork and fantastically upgraded with the crows nest, which is the whole point of the name. I agree it would maybe look better with a more irregular shape for the island. And in this case I would stop by two plates of tan. Skip the water like in the originals. It saves some parts for an official set and gives the owner decision to either stick it on a blue baseplate or make it part of a larger island without forcing the idea in child's head it is a small island. Also the pole for the flag is mounted a bit silly. Would suggest using a clip to hold it by the side instead of just sticking it in a few leaves. Otherwise a really great job on such a small scale set!

Interestingly the stairs and the statues just float in the air while you remove the whole upper plate! Building digitally allows for such hiccups (; A great and again largely inflated model as it's already expected by you. As for the double water plates they still look silly. It'd be better to more closely follow the coast line with the water and extend it further out only where there is some build to hold it connected to the rest of the build. Regular square bases (even if rounded) look too simple anyway. In my eyes that is - but to each his own ...

Looks more like a 4+ set and totally not my favorite style. My biggest problem are the structure walls which by using a lot of panels are way too plain. Even LEGO would add some supports or slopes sticking out of the walls to break the monotony of the large straight panels. Although I used to be a fan of the raised baseplates I don't use them anymore. But this one in particular has an interesting look and adds some value to the set, compared to all the same slopes people are using inspired by the official Barracuda Bay set. As already mentioned some more details in the interior and some more diverse plants would greatly improve this entry.