meschepers

I believe the mermaid on Brickbeard's Bounty is intended to be a decoration on the front of the ship, not a real mermaid. And, as far as the kraken goes it was widely believed by many sailors that there were enormous beasts that lived in the sea. Since they had seen giant octopi and squid they thought these were some kind of terrible beasts. The belief that kraken were real was part of sea lore. Now we know them as giant squid, but to the sailors back then they were ship eating monsters and were feared above all else. I don't really think that LEGO is taking a fantasy approach to the pirates as I feel that would hurt the sales of the castle line. I think the pirates line will be historical, though not really accurate.

Awesome, I'm a winner. Thanks to all the people who make these contests possible! PM sent (maybe twice, sorry if it is sent twice).

My brother and I played this game when it first came about about three or four years ago I believe it was. I have a pretty large pirate fleet someplace and he has a pretty good sized British fleet. Like most games of this kind we made our own rules and simply fought rather than collected treasure.

I liked the whole "Ice Planet 2002" line. A whole theme set in the snow and a wintry wonderland? I think at least one set from that theme belongs on the list.

I really like the airplane one. It looks great. I may have to get that when I see it in my local store.

Wow. That is possibly the greatest castle I have ever see I think. Great work! I especially like addition of the bombards and the trebuchet.

Actually, the "new" map is the Indiana Jones map from the Last Crusade set(s). I would love to see cutlasses done in the color of the swords in the Castle theme, just a little metallic. I think they would look spiffy.

For equal numbers you can get a few of each impulse set plus a few Cannon Battles. That will give you equal numbers and if you have the money you might pick up Soldier's Fort too... that would give you two more soldiers than pirates, but it is close to an even number, plus you get the awesome Admiral. I'm not sure what the USD-CAD conversion is here is what it would cost: 2x Soldier impulse: 6.98 USD 2x Pirate impulse: 6.98 USD 2x Cannon Battle: 11.98 USD 1x Soldier's Fort: 49.99 USD TOTAL: 75.93 USD If you can get some more money together those sets would definitely be within your price range, maybe even an extra pirate impulse or two to even things out for the pirates.

The only '09 pirates sets that I have bought are multiples of Cannon Battle and Soldier's Arsenal (both are great sets, well worth the money froma an army building/collector standpoint). I plan on getting one Soldier's Fort. I am a huge fan of the new soldiers so I am buying as many as I can afford. If you are more into the pirate side of things I would recommend buying the Pirate Survival, Kraken Attackin' and Treasure Island. But I cannot vouch for those sets as I have not bought any of them.

I'm going to mirror what everyone is saying about Castle. It keeps getting better and better and I am excited to see what else comes out in 2009. However, I used to be a LEGO Star Wars fan but the Clone Wars sets later in the year killed it for me. I didn't like the minifigs (I understand that it isn't TLC's fault as they are told what to produce by the licensee) and the sets were highly overpriced. It looks like they will be continuing with that style into 2009 and if that is the case I won't be getting any more Star Wars sets, don't get me wrong, I liked the set design but I feel the minifigs wouldn't fit in with my existing ones (though I could easily switch out the heads and headgear/hair) and the sets themselves were far too expensive, more so than Star Wars sets of the past. Though I didn't buy any of the Agents, City, Mars Mission, or Bionicle lines (with the exception of the big six wheeled truck for my brother when it was on clearance at S@H) I can see where the lines were popular. In my local store it was hard to find any sets of either theme on the shelves which speaks good thing to me. On the other end of that spectrum was the fact that in the same store they simply could not sell Bionicle, it was constantly on clearance and even then no one was buying it. The city sets were popular but so much as agents and Mars Mission as I could count on finding City sets on the shelves but which ones were there were always different. Overall I like the direction TLC is going. I am excited to see 2009 come with Space Police, Pirates, Castle and City, the so-called "Big 4" themes. 2008 overall was a positive year. Some lines are going away but new versions of classics are coming back. This is great news for AFOLs everywhere.

Actually, the site says it is the Admiral's daughter, not the Governor's daughter... there is a significant difference in that, especially since Disney could potentially sue over the similarities. Either way you look at it, this new line is great.

In my experience BrickArms and BrickForge are great places to get accessories. I have bought several times from each of these sellers and they are great. The quality is very good and the prices are fair. www.brickarms.com www.brickforge.com If you are looking for items that are produced by LEGO and are official LEGO pieces try BrickLink www.bricklink.com

But they don't have the one set that I am really wanting: 6242 Soldiers Fort. I am hoping that my brother can pick it up for me when he is Chicago in a few weeks. I have already submitted reviews for the sets I have but they haven't shown up yet. I hope within a few days they get the fort up there. To me that is the highlight of this wave and I can't wait to see what comes out in the second wave this summer... I hope there is a soldiers ship that is less than $100. PIRATES ON!

That looks great. Glad I could be of some help in the creation of your vessel. The sails look great.

You mean the chrome lightsabers? Those were in all the original sets which had Jedi and were used up until just a few years ago. I have quite a few of them, more than I have of the new grey ones, actually. Maybe someone who knows more than I about this topic can fill in the rest for you, like when they were were used and the last set they appeared in.

I am very glad I could be of help to you. I am looking forward to seeing your creation.

At most electronics and hobby shops you can find a kind of paper called "transfer paper." It is primarily used far taking designs from a computer and putting them onto a t-shirt. I think this would be the ideal option for you. Be sure to read the instructions on the package as it can be kind of tricky if you have never used it before.

I bought this for a friend awhile back. As the instructions make it you cannot fit a fig into the sets. With some modding it would be possible but there just isn't enough space inside for a fig as the roof isn't tall enough.

Sure, sounds good. Count me in.

Cool. I will be going near my local TRU (which is over an hour away) next week so I may have to pick a few things up!

I plan to get: 3x Cannon Battle (already ordered) 2x Soldier's Arsenal (will be picking up next week) 1x Soldier's Fort (my brother is getting for me while in Chicago) 1x Pirate Building Set (I'll pick one up when they are released) This will give me a sizable Imperial force with 6 regular soldiers (shako), one officer (tricorne), and the admiral/governor (bircorne). As well as four pirates and the pirate captain. If there are any new ships released later in the year that are less pricey I may have to get those as well. I cannot stress how much I like the new Imperials, especially the new admiral/governor. I also really like the torso from the Pirate Building Set. I think it could easily be used as a battle worn lieutenant or a captured officer from another faction. I'm looking forward to the things to come in 2009.

I like a mix of both. I like the docks and ports so the ships can have something to pillage and/or resupply. I like the ships because that is what makes a pirate line. There would be no pirates without ships. They'd be just plain old thieves. But for this poll I have to say that I like ships better. When I get the Soldier's Fort I am going to take the two weapon racks from two Soldier's Arsenal impulse sets and make a small armory to fill one of the empty structures. I'll have to wait to get a ship when maybe a cheaper one comes out since I am on a tight budget.

Are we talking about in a fight or in overall set design? Either way I think I have to give the edge to the BSB. That was such an amazing set. There are more crew members, more cannons, and an overall better design, especially the cabin... I love the cabin design on the BSB.

I think I will pick up a few of the Soldier's Arsenal. It looks like it would plug right in to the Soldier's Fort in one of the empty buildings so there would be a small armory available to the soldiers. Excellent!

I was thinking about getting this set because I absolutely love the minifig. I think the torso looks like he could be a battle-worn lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, just slap a tricorne on him and he'd be set. I may pick this us just as a brick pack and for the figure alone. thanks for the review!