iragm

Wonderful play features! The map is very clever, I've never seen anything like that before, and the gold in the piano is a nice touch. I also like the different shaped bottles, they contrast each other very well despite being all trans-green. The minifigures do need an update, or perhaps a down-date since the rest of the set would fit very nicely in a late 90's/early 2000's line-up. They look a bit modern, and are lacking in scallywagary, eye-patchary, and beardary. One thing that Lego sets are designed around, which might be missing here, is storytelling. Even in the smallest sets, you've got monkeys that can steal treasure, shovels to bury the treasure, weapons to fight off the monkey, and perhaps imperials to reclaim the treasure. All of this leads to a lot of storytelling, which, unfortunately, is missing here. You've got the map, treasure, and a parrot, but there just isn't much beyond that. I'd love to see an imperial soldier added, a surly bouncer to keep him out of the pub, a ladder going up to the window so the imperial can sneak in anyway, and perhaps the ability to tip the barrels up and out the window towards him as he tries to sneak in. And of course, weapons for everyone. As it is, this is a fun little build, and I'm looking forward to seeing more stuff from you!

I agree with this, additionally, a lot of the builds from the same builder are in the same style, and will compete with each other for votes. Is Pick a Brick / VIP points an option? Because, as a fan of pirates and castle, there's really very little worth getting from Lego at those price points.

Excellent work! I love the detailed interior and that this can be disassembled so easily.

Excellent work! The techniques you've used here are next level. The swords and crown surrounded by the wheel wells is perfection, my favorite bit of this build. You've definitely taken this in a different direction than most other Sabre Island remakes I've seen, and that's a great thing. I love that the tower is actually round; a far more interesting and unusual shape to see brick-built. And you haven't just used rounded bricks to create the shape; the wear and tear done in dark red looks good. As others mentioned, the rock work is phenomenal. The shaping on the dock is also great. I like the dark tan, although dark brown, reddish brown, or black are more popular colors for docks. The stairs are quite nice and not a technique I've seen before. Although, given the rest of the build, I'm surprised that you didn't go for the classic spiral staircase made from 1x4 tile + Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Clip on End (Vertical Grip) + bar. Still, what you have works and is original. There are a couple of spots that stand out -- and please understand that I'm only mentioning these because the rest of the build is so excellent! The sword flagpole is a neat idea, but it seems fragile; if the top of the flag is bumped, I'm worried that it would shear the bottom clip off. This, and the sword as the top railing are the only places you're "trying too hard" with swords, IMHO. The stonework around the door is nice, and it's great how it rhymes with the corbels on the tower, although it does not look very sturdy. Finally, the doors are merely "ok" -- the main door looks great, but it doesn't open (does it?), and the upstairs arch is simplistic and too narrow for a minifigure to walk through. The color scheme of the building itself works, but it starts to feel a bit repetitive (again, the design itself is lovely, and the texturing is amazing). I feel like this might benefit from some yellow or dark orange detailing. But, at the end of the day, what you have here is amazing work with some of the best build techniques in this contest, and an overall execution that's an absolute joy to look at. BTW, your other projects on Flickr are equally impressive, I love the Europa ship and the Imperial Armada Chapel is some top-notch visual storytelling.

The boat looks great now, the only suggestion I have is to make the sails match -- either the tan or the red/white striped are good, just not when used together.

If I might make a suggestion: drop the Skull's Eye Schooner remake name, and simply share this as its own thing. The original is iconic because its colors were flamboyant (despite being largely a black-and-white ship) the fore and aft-castles were high, and the skull and skiff on the back. Your first design shares none of these things (all deliberate design decisions on your part), and to be honest, I liked your corvette for what it is. You don't need the red and green details, and if you add them, someone will complain that you don't have blue lanterns and/or a brick-built skull on the stern over the windows. Skull's Eye is such a perfect design, even 30+ years later, that any attempt to modernize it is going to attract a lot of criticism. I would take your design in its own direction -- because it's honestly awesome just as it is. The hull shaping is great, the tumblehome is unique but looks great (I wish the ladder followed its rounded shape though), and I prefer the white decorations over the gold ones in your redesign. The stern in your original is also better than the one holding the boat. I might pick a slightly darker color for the bottom of the hull, and see how dark red flags look as cannon covers. But apart from that I wouldn't change anything about your original design. Regardless, it's quite clear that you're an excellent designer. I can't wait to see this brick built, with sails and with the flags facing the right direction, regardless of the colors you ultimately go with!

Amazing! Wonderfully detailed despite being small. The cheese slopes and headlight bricks as "worn" parts are excellent, as are the SNOT'ed 1x2 slopes. The dock and stairs really draw your eye into the tower nicely. Although, I'm worried the door is too small for a minifigure to fit inside of -- one or two minifigures would really bring this to life. I love the water, and how the island breaks the grid, it's just wonderful. The pirate flag doesn't really fit without more of a story; for example, is the island unguarded and a pirate is looting it? And, it's facing the opposite direction from the tower's flag. The only issue I can find with the build is that the dark red bricks are "out of scale" with everything else. That is, nearly everything is perfectly shaped, very detailed, and the studs have been perfectly tiled off, and then you've got large square chunks of dark red. If they were spalling mortar, they'd be more uneven -- perhaps a few 1x1 round plates in dark red would look better? But this is absolutely stunning, a wonderful design. I hope you can post a few more pictures from different angles of all the great details.

This is very impressive. It's been really cool seeing the improvements in your designs throughout the course of this contest. This might just be your best yet -- so many great details! I especially like the candles in the eyes, the brick-built cannons, the piles of gold, and the color scheme of the water, sand and rocks. This is quite recognizable as the original set (although given that it's a giant skull, it's hard to mistake it for anything else). I feel like this would benefit from the original's rotating skull and the ability to sail a ship into the cave within. Oh, and I am not a fan of the greencoats, but I'll grant that they're a personal preference. And perhaps a play feature like the crane from the original? Apart from that, I have very little to suggest. Truly great work!

An excellent build -- full of wonderful details. The water is my favorite bit, I think. I hope the galleon gets finished, I'd love to see it!

This is the right call IMHO -- the sails having a large color design on them are not particularly realistic, but they are absolutely iconic and a necessary part of the set. Same with the lanterns. And I agree that Lego should re-release it in blue given the Bricklink price for it right now. On the front deck, where the treasure chest currently is -- can you fit a SNOT'ed Fence 1 x 4 x 1 Lattice there? I agree with Aanchir that it would improve the look.

What a bummer! This was an excellent MOC!

It does -- it's the best part of this build, simply fantastic! The multiple shades of blue underneath really convey depth well, and it's a joy to look at. As others noted, I'd like to see the rest of the build meet the bar set by the water design. One simple technique I've seen is the use of a layer of dark tan plates under the light tan: this represents wet sand quite well, while adding some visual depth. The use of the palm leaves to create a "rounded" look over the cannon is masterful. I'd like to see a similar level of detail in the wall next to the cannon, which is simplistic and square. Actually, a lot of the man-made structures are quite simple -- make them a bit worn down or broken, and they'd be much more visually interesting. I would use a rope to tie up the sail, and perhaps brick-build it, since it's furled. This is certainly an excellent start, and I do look forward to seeing more!

A bit minimalistic for my taste Please post your pics on Imgur or Flickr and then link them here.

Lots of great details here. I've never seen that old baseplate used like this, but it really works and looks great. The flowers are a bit overcrowded, the same effect could be had with 1/4 as many. The house is an excellent build, and I'd love to see more pics of it.

Yes, as others said, the little boat adds a tremendous amount of play value to the set and really brings it to life. As others said, continue the white stripe on the hull if you can. A jib could be a good addition. And your flag is facing the wrong way :) The tiller is great, quite unusual to see a design like that, but it works perfectly. A small figurehead, something as simple as a skull or a white bird, would add some interest to the boat.

No, I greatly prefer the 1989 figures over the 2015 line and these. These figures are fine, though, and I think it is mostly my nostalgia that makes me prefer the old ones. You can buy counterfeit minifigs for pennies on certain sites. The problem is that the quality is not there, so I and most others will stick to genuine.

Ah, in that case, it's quite hard to offer suggestions for improvement! I'll stand by what I said before about the palm tree -- regular green leaves would really improve the color of it. You've done a great job with dark brown lower down and lighter brown higher up, it gives real depth to the scene. Just echo that in the tree and it'll look a lot better. If you're looking for other things to change, the water is a bit calm; perhaps there could be some waves around the bow of the rowboat, and maybe a few more scattered throughout the scene. And maybe the characters could be better positioned to tell a story, with one of the pirates frantically loading up treasure while the armada soldier desperately attempts to stop them. But nothing really needs to be changed here, it's outstanding work as it is, and the only entry in this contest that even comes close is one of the enchanted island remakes. Even that is a distant second.

I hated the armada when it was out, to the point that I traded my armada figures to a friend for redcoats. I still think I got the better end of that deal, even seeing today's prices for the figures. I have not interest in seeing that theme -- or anything from the 97 pirates -- return. However, a full Spanish galleon would be great. Actually, any decent non-pirate ship would be cool. For example, I'd love to see a full UCS East Indiaman with cloth sails and string rigging. Skull's Eye has held up remarkably well. I built it for the first time a couple years ago and was shocked to find it was a better build than the Black Pearl. It's surprisingly cheap, too, considering how rare it is. If we had to have a remake of a pirate ship, this would be my choice as well. But there are already a dozen large pirate ships out there, so I'd greatly prefer a civilian or imperial ship. Barracuda Bay in ship form is a better build IMHO. A lot of the techniques in 10210 remain unchanged from the 1989 pirates line, and while it's a nice ship, it's lacking a some of the wonderful detailing (such as proper tumblehome) found in Barracuda Bay. The colors are lovely, though, and it's certainly my favorite pirate set from 1996 to 2020.

This is a really cool build. I love the original set, so it's hard to be objective when looking at a remake. The interior details are great -- I love the headless skeleton, treasure under the rocks, crab, seaweed, etc. They really bring this to life. The drawbridge opening from both sides is a neat addition. There are a few parts (such as the back of the doors, or the small plant leaf in pic #3) that look like they are only held in place with a single stud. I would try to address this. For example, on the door, you could add a 1x3 tile as an "iron" brace to hold it together. And on the plant, you could add a "Plant Stem with 3 Leaves on Bar with Top and Bottom Pin Holes" to hold the small foliage onto the large one. Looking at the colors, two things draw my eye in a way that they shouldn't: First, the rockwork uses a mishmash of light and dark gray. I think it would look better if it used dark gray lower down, and lighter gray higher up. Or, make it all dark gray, but with some light gray cheese slopes to make the highlights pop. Second, it looks like a lot of the dark red exposed brickwork is evenly scattered throughout the structure. I'd like to see fewer, larger patches of that -- it should look like spalling, and be more prominent in areas where wind and water would have worn away the facade covering the brickwork. I would also focus on creating a single shot like you might find on an official set box -- pose your minifigures (which look great BTW) doing things around the port. Try to tell visual stories: for example, add a gull fighting with a monkey over a banana, or some pirates taking a treasure chest while a guard sleeps. Stud.io can do high quality renders, so make sure to take the time to wait for those once you get everything positioned. And remember the rule of thirds when positioning everything. You can use GIMP or Paint.net to add sails and other details later on, but this is not strictly needed. Excellent work overall, I look forward to seeing more!

I love this -- instantly recognizable as the original set, but an upgrade in every way. As a contest entry, unfortunately it doesn't have a chance -- this build is simply too detailed to pass for an official set. But as a MOC, it's stunning. So full of details and cool techniques. A lot of the angles really feel "broken", just like a real shipwreck should. Although, it looks like some parts are attached by just a single stud, so I have to ask: how stable is it? Also, for your palm tree--I love that technique, it's one of my favorites. But, it would look better with light green leaves on top, green in the middle, and then the dying leaves lower down. The "torn" sail, the croc under the water, the rockwork, the more I look at this, the more I like it. Really outstanding work!

This is far better than any of the 2015 sets -- once again, you've created something marvelous. The "pirates" as crewmen don't bother me, as I recall 6271 Flagship included a crewman, as did the Imperial Trading Post. (Admittedly, neither are 2015 sets, but who cares...) The main weakness here is that nothing about this feels like the 2015 pirates -- the build has too many details, the admiral's quarters are too well furnished, and it's too cohesive in design overall. Quite hard to complain about that, though -- as a MOC, it's excellent stuff. My only real complains about this design are related to the colors: First, I do feel that there's a bit too much blue in some areas. It might benefit as @Rogue Redcoat noted, from a switch to dark blue. Also, there's a lot going on with white + brown + blue + black + gold + tan all so close together. I wonder if you could reduce the amount of brown on the upper part of the ship, get rid of the tan stripe caused by the deck, and move the gold only to the bow and stern sections. Just a thought. The white and blue color scheme is great, again, there's just a bit too many colors used next to each other. I do wonder if you could put some more play features in the forecastle, it seems like there might be some empty space there. Very clever use of the airplane window as a hawsehole. And I'd love to see more pics of the figurehead. Well done building a full original ship so quickly!

IMHO yes -- it's at least more modern, and so it better fits with the colors in the rest of the build. The newly angled roof is a great improvement, and the brick-built masonry is wonderful, much more intricate and detailed than just using 1x2 masonry bricks. Nice work! The weakest part of this design is now the dark tan/tan base. If this was constructed by people, it's a bit too uneven: something as simple as a couple masonry bricks or a small 1x2 log profile wooden retaining wall would go a long way towards saying "people built this". But if it was carved by wind and water, it's too regular, especially the lower dark tan part where there's a lot of 2x2 slopes. Adds a wonderful play features and makes good use of the lower area! I really dig this update, it's greatly improved over the original. You've done an amazing job incorporating feedback, something few people can do.

Nice build! I like the color scheme overall: a great balance of tan, white, green and red. And great use of darker colors down low, lighter colors higher up. It seems like the sand (light tan) is a bit tall -- if it's meant to be rocks, why not use gray instead? The structure itself is a bit uninteresting and could benefit from having the rule of thirds applied to it -- a higher section with a tower or a lower balcony would be welcome. I like the dock and the gate; they work well and look nice. The roof is perhaps not as sloped as it might be, although this may not matter in the hot carribean climate. The minifigures look nice and work with the set. Good work overall!

Wonderful techniques! How did you do the 45 degree half timbers under the 2x2 swivel base windows?

Same here. Absolutely phenomenal work, this could easily pass for an official set. There's been several other "classic-style" entries in this contest, but this is the first that could pass (completely) for an official set. And it shows. Is that your own photoshop work for the background? I checked against the official sets and it looks similar in style, but somewhat different. The inclusion of the god-awful font in the US version is fantastic. It's crazy that so many great sets came out of the time period when descriptions and catalogue designs actually looked like that. There is nothing I would change about this, it's not possible to do better while keeping to the design language of the 90s pirates. I think I slightly prefer some of the modern ship designs that have been entered in this contest, but this is easily the best non-modern entry. Truly remarkable work!