TheCosmicTravelers

There is a tiller. Smaller vessels usually had these instead of a wheel.

Yes but a large castle is iconic for the Castle theme as a large exploration spaceship is for Space. What is most iconic for the Pirates theme are the ships, not the fortresses. I feel like there should be a few sizes/types of ships available: a small sloop (a la Renegade Runner), a medium (merchant?) ship, a large iconic Pirate ship, and a UCS-scale Imperial frigate. Of course, these will likely be rather expensive (both to manufacture and purchase) and may not sell well either but I imagine that well-made ship sets also appeal as display pieces in a way that many other LEGO sets do not. If the ships are there, only then will fort, port, and/or pirate hideout sets sell.

The problem with Eldorado is that it is essentially in isolation (with the exception of the Creator Pirate ship and few small random one-off sets like 40597). A soldier fort is all well and good but I think sailing ships from several factions will always be more fun and a fort/port set would really work only as part of the world-building for a Pirates theme rather than as a one-off set. In my opinion, one issue with past Pirate revivals has been too much focus on random small land structures rather than on the ships themselves (I understand this is a cost issue) - I feel like kids would find ship chases/battles to be more captivating than multiple small fort and pirate hideout structures.

One must also remember that the Royal Navy uniform was blue (once this was standardized in the 18th century) and the Royal Marines and British Army uniforms were red, thus allowing both to belong to the same faction. This is even visible in some sets of the 2009 wave, with both 6242 and 10210 including Redcoats (presumably Royal Marines) led by a Bluecoat leader. Also consider the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with the Redcoats Murtogg and Mullroy under the Bluecoat Commodore Norrington.

No matter how well-armed one’s ship was, I doubt most pirates would have actually wanted to engage in a battle with Imperial warships (unless it was a treasure ship). In addition to the higher risk of death and destruction, the large crew necessary to operate all of the guns well means any booty would need to be divided among more bodies. Marking one’s ship blatantly as a pirate ship is also just asking for trouble from the authorities. It’s just bad business. Also one must consider that potential targets would also easily notice pirates coming from far away and would thus take evasive/defensive maneuvers earlier, making any pirating more difficult (especially if their ship is faster and more maneuverable than your lumbering warship weighed down by all that cannon, shot, powder, and gun-crew).

One thing that I didn't really notice about the SES until I had built it is that the side windows of the stern cabin are completely open - there are no shutters! I also don't like how the mizzenmast is so far aft - this mast would have little stability in reality. I really appreciate that the remake of the Barracuda from Pirates of Barracuda Bay added a spanker sail to the mainmast - I always felt something was missing from BSB's sail plan.

6266 Cannon Cove is one of my favorite small Imperial sets simply because it looks more like what I think forts at the time actually looked like (well at least part of a fort)! Too often I see Imperial fortress MOCS with high castle walls like it is still the Middle Ages when the ongoing development of artillery actually led to massive redesigns in fortifications. I just wish the set came with another soldier or two (the Imperial Guard sets in general came with too few soldier minifigs compared with the Imperial Soldier sets). I think 6277 (a port with docks) is a more fun and dynamic set than 6276 (a fortress) even though 6276 may have more solid structures. 6277 also has far better alternate models than 6276.

Since my first ship was 6280 Armada flagship (technically 10210 with its 3 square-rigged masts is the only true 'ship' of all the LEGO Pirates vessels), I hopefully can claim some objectiveness in my assessment of these two ships as I have specific no nostalgia for either. As a side note, I think the US names for both sets are ill-fitting as 6274 (Caribbean Clipper) is in no way a clipper (a long narrow sailing ship built for speed) and 6271 (Imperial Flagship) is a laughable excuse for a flagship (it does make for a fine pirate/pirate-hunting ship). As many have noted, 6274 is wider than 6271 since it uses the 16-stud wide hull pieces found on larger ships. These pieces allow placement of two cannons on both port and starboard sides with space between. I do like being able to arm both sides of the ship although 6274 only includes 2 cannons. The wider bow and stern pieces are also more conducive for storage/cabins as internal space is more limited in the narrower 12-stud wide pieces used by 6271, exacerbated by narrowing at the ends. I also prefer the fully brown coloring of the wider hull pieces versus the brown with topped with dark grey used for the narrower hull pieces (I think dark grey makes for an ugly upper hull/deck color). That being said, while both sets only use a single middle hull piece, the use of more narrow hull pieces for 6271 makes it look faster and more maneuverable next to the comparatively tubby 6274 (there is a reason actual clippers had sharp sleek lines). Another major point of comparison is the sail plan/rigging. 6271 is recognizably a sloop, albeit one with a large square sail immediately in front of the fore-and-aft mainsail instead of above it (as more correctly seen in 6277's merchant vessel). Another quibble I have with 6271’s setup is that the rigging arrangement at the bow precludes the simple addition of a figurehead. While 6274 has a proper figurehead, its sail plan/rigging is incomplete and makes no sense without some modifications. The rear mast, while potentially useful, only serves as a rigging attachment point and a flagpole for the large Imperial Soldiers flag. Without any sails, it is essentially dead-weight, increasing drag and slowing an already slowly built ship further. The placement of the 2nd mast is also problematic as it should technically go down to the bottom of the hull for stability but its location at the very front of a completely open rear cabin makes the lack of a lower portion conspicuous (stacking some round 2x2 bricks and tiles with 2x2 square tiles at either end offers a simple fix although this impedes attempts to build a front wall to enclose the rear cabin). Since the aft mast is too small to replicate the double sails on the foremast and an official blue striped fore-and-aft square sail (like the spanker on 21322’s ship) does not exist, a triangular lateen sail like that on 6280 is the simplest addition using an additional headsail and a yardarm construct similar to 6280 (note: 6280's triangular sail has thinner blue stripes than 6274's and is placed backwards in most set images). The placement of this yardarm is a bit tricky, however, as it should be attached at the mast's middle attachment point but this places the bottom of the sail too low such that it interferes with the ship’s wheel and minifigs on the stern deck. It is thus necessary to elevate the sail further up the yardarm and/or elevate the yardarm itself by a few stud heights. In addition, the single shroud rigging placed aft of 6274’s foremast makes little structural sense as shrouds also function as standing rigging providing support to the mast and thus need corresponding rigging on the opposite side for counter-tension. In addition, the placement of shrouds in the middle of the deck (instead of along the sides as normal) impedes space/movement on the deck. A few more criticisms of 6274 are the downward opening gunport flaps (which would get caught by waves and increase drag/get shorn off) and the proportional shortness of the stern deck. Since the stern deck is wider than it is long, the side walls of the cabin beneath do not have any windows and most attempts to build a front wall to enclose this cabin look proportionally off due to the abruptness of the height increase relative to hull length and width. While 6271 fixes most of the issues with 6274, its stern cabin space is mostly occupied by a mechanism that turns the rudder when the ship’s wheel is turned. A single stern window is present for appearances as it simply opens onto the already open stern deck. Here, I think 6274’s stern with its double windows looks superior. 6274’s color scheme also looks more attractive than 6271’s due to the presence of yellow and blue highlights and the lack of dark grey, though I do love 6271’s tan sails. In addition, 6274 has a lowering anchor, an opening forward hatch, partitioned cannonball storage areas between port and starboard guns, and more weapon clips. I also prefer 6274’s more homogenous crew wearing tricornes (shakos became common military headwear almost a century after the Golden Age of Piracy; also blue was the traditional color of naval uniforms (including the Royal Navy)). In conclusion, I feel 6271 is the better set as I did not feel the need to make any extensive modifications to it as I did for 6274. 6274 has more space, more detailing, a more attractive color scheme, and a better crew than 6271 but suffers greatly from proportion and design issues. While some relatively simple mods can fix 6274 to an extent, I feel like fully addressing its issues would essentially result in a recolored 6285, thus losing the set’s character in the process.

I also voted for 6277 as it is the closest set to a proper port and is one of the few Pirates set that depicts civilians and merchants rather than just Pirates/soldiers/Islander factions

Although the truncated governor's office is my main criticism with the set, there are several other small changes from the original set that I dislike. The openings in the walls are now too small for cannons (even most brick-built ones). Moving the crane tower back from the corner leaves an unsightly gap in the walls as well as making the steps going up from the dock now have an awkward turn at the top. This opening looked much better in the original set as the crane tower itself essentially acted like a gate structure for this alternate entrance. I also don't like how the ship's sail arrangement has been altered from a topsail sloop to a spanker sail that looks both too small and too high. On the other hand, I think the newer set improved on the front cannon emplacement (which was horribly exposed in the original set) and the crane itself looks and works a lot nicer (even if it is a bit oversized for minifigs). I actually like the inclusion of the ship instead of another row boat (though this likely precluded the inclusion of a small Imperial flag) but feel a merchant sailor would have been more appropriate. I wonder if 6277 might not have been a better choice for a remake as a bustling port with docks may have proven more popular than a smallish (at least in comparison with both recent pirate ships) fort.

There are 2 different MOCs on Rebrickable (both free) that address this flaw, if you want some inspiration. The other major flaw I have with this set (besides having too few soldiers) is that awkward gap in the walls in front of the crane tower - one can easily close it with some extra bricks, plates, and tiles to fill in the gap but then the stairs leading up from the dock are pointless (and defensively questionable). Either a small gate needs to be placed here or the crane tower itself needs to be moved forward to act as the 'gate' (as in the original Eldorado Fortress).

I think part of the problem is the type of Pirates set. For many people, a largish pirate ship is attractive and iconic (both for play and display). Putting aside nostalgia for past sets/themes, something static like an Imperial base or a Pirate hideout would likely only be of interest to the general population as a world-building setting for the pirate ship to interact with (e.g., somewhere to raid/rescue prisoners/store your booty) - you still need to have a pirate ship for these sets to reach their full potential (aside from those interested in fortifications). At the moment, the only easily available pirate ship is the Creator 3-in-1. After the pirate ship, the next logical set would to be have a large Imperial/Armada ship (such as a frigate or galleon) as an opponent. In my opinion, it is important that this ship be larger than the pirate ship as it allows the player to sympathetically view the Pirates as the scrappy underdogs. Ship to ship chases/combat are far more iconic in the public eye than having the pirate ship interact with a static base. If LEGO were inclined to go further, a large civilian merchant vessel would also be a nice set, both as a display piece (for those that like models of sailing boats) and as a target for the pirate ship to attack. Detailed sailing ships (both military and civilian) are likely the type of Pirates set that would have the most widespread appeal independent of a pirate ship and Pirates setting. Unfortunately, for these ships to be sufficiently detailed to be good display pieces, they would probably be priced way too high for them to be affordable for the general public; perhaps minifig packs could be sold separately from the actual ship sets to help lower prices and satisfy both those only wanting ships as display pieces and those wanting army-builders?

I take it back; looking at illustrations of galleons (and the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Carribbean), this sail arrangement was in fact used. I guess I am just used to seeing lateen sails on their own.

I love it! One small criticism: I don't think the sail arrangement of the mizzenmast (square sail above a lateen sail) looks particularly nice. Either replace the lower triangular sail with a quadrilateral spanker sail (as on the Barracuda Bay ship's mainmast) or remove the upper square sail and use a larger triangular sail (as on 6286).

@thewatchman For 6286, the gray is a unfortunate side-effect of those hull pieces. The green gunport covers do add a welcome splash of color to the model; I'm not sure what other colors available at the time would have worked here (blue or yellow similarly don't fit the color scheme, black or grey look too drab, red may be a bit too much, perhaps white??). My main issues with the 6286 are that the mizzenmast is set too far aft (masts should continue down below decks for stability but this one is located on the overhanging part of the stern deck) and the side windows of the cabin are completely open.