Mister Phes

Set Name: The Calamari Cutter Category: 3 Faction: Merchants Description: A small ship like the cutter from the Imperial Trading Post Main Elements / Play Features: Entirely brick-built hull but would have unique sails. Minifigures: Two merchants Accessories: A few barrels containing cargo Here is a MOC by Cherno which illustrates the concept:

Generally speaking he's fantastic!

"Colonial" doesn't necessarily imply invasion or displacement, like others have noted, colonisation could be peaceful, mutual or at least neutral. So "Colonial" in a sub-theme name isn't a problem from my perspective, it just doesn't seem the most appropriate name for the thematic. Essentially we're dealing with those who police the Merchant's harbour, but if they were policing the Settler's harbour then Colonial Guard would be spot on.

A Defining the Haven Guard poll is now available.

Design a NEW LEGO Pirates Sub-Theme DEFINING THE HAVEN GUARD Poll Results "Haven Guard" was the most popular name while Orange was the most preferred uniform (see above poll). We shall now finalise the Haven Guard in this thread. This is a poll to determine the most suitable name and torso colour for the faction with the working title of "Haven Guard". The name "Haven Guard" was selected as the working title because: "Haven" means harbour in Dutch so it adheres nicely with our Dutch Merchants "Haven" is a simple two syllable word which most 5 year olds should be able to say "Haven" also has connotations with being a friendly place. Dictionary.com defines the English definition as "any place of shelter and safety; " If you have a suggestion for a different name, select "other" and post your suggestion in this thread. If you support a suggestion, simply quote the suggestion in a new post. If a suggestion proves popular it may be added to the poll. The colour Orange was selected because: Orange hasn't been used as a torso colour in any previous LEGO Pirate sets It's synonymous with Dutch history and aristocracy. In the Defining the Factions thread numerous colours have been suggested, however, the aim of this poll is not to explore every colour possibility available, but to narrow it down. So the three most popular colour choices (excluding shades) have been added to the poll. We shall determine the the most appropriate shade after the colour has been selected.

It is a sad day indeed, but nothing lasts forever...

The poll will probably only get 20 votes so having too many options won't yield good results.

Yes, we may need a Haven Guard poll containing two questions: Which is the most suitable name? Haven Guard Company Guards The Revenue Colonial Guard [*]What colour should their uniforms be? Orange Green Lime Green Black

Set Name: The Fastlane Fluyt Category: 8 Faction: Merchants. Description: A cargo fluyt filled with goods. Main Elements / Play Features: Being a ship it would be comprised of all the usual ship elements including hull pieces, masts, sails, etc. There would be generous cargo space in the hull and a crane to lower cargo. Minifigures: 6 Merchants and 2 Smugglers (attempting to sabotage the Fluyt) Accessories: The smugglers would have a dinghy and tools such as saws and dynamite to sabotage the ship. The cargo fluyt would have barrels of supplies and possibly live stock like chickens, cows and pigs.

Before we get too concerned about the red and orange torsos being too similar, can anyone take a photo of a red and orange torso side by side? I've incorporated a red torso into the mock-ups and brightened the orange torso as it was taken in dimmer lighting, but there is still a discrepancy. With a different torso design they're going to be sufficiently different from each other.

Some points: Green was used for the Imperial Armada minifigures. I'd suggest using a different torso design and not recycling the 2009 Imperial Guard design. I just used that to create a quick mock-up so I didn't have to spend hours creating something new.

Years ago I created a small Sentry Box MOC - maybe replace the palm tree with your flip-action pyre and we'd have something...

Set Name: Smugglers Top Category: 6 or 7 Faction: The Smugglers Description: A clifftop or mountain-top look out / signal tower used by the Smugglers to alert their ships when the Haven Guard. Main Elements / Play Features: A small tower structure built on craggy rocks (I.e. BURPS). It would need some form of large brick-built telescope and a method of signalling ships. Minifigures: 3 Smugglers and possibly 1 Haven Guard. Accessories: If a clifftop lookout a snooping Haven Guard in a dingy could be included.

Are you writing that after viewing the mock-ups? There's only been two responses so far, but orange is currently the most favoured:

We're not aiming for historical accuracy and rather than make assumptions, I've devised some quick mockups by placing the 2009 Imperial Guard torso design over an orange, green and lime torso: So now we have a vague idea of a possible torso... Which colour seems best suited? Green may be at a handicap because they blue doesn't contrast enough and would be better substituted with another colour.

This is a good point, for the amount of backstory we need, observe this scan from the 1992 LEGO catalog. Yes, I realise there were comics, Lady Bird Books and audio dramas for the initial release of Pirates, but for subsequent years it was merely a few lines in the catalog:

So far you're the only one who has suggested "Company Guards", but if it comes down to it we may need a poll to determine the most suitable name. I agree, choosing another colour is the best way to avoid the red/blue argue. Red and blue coats have been done before so its time to do something different. But why green? There is already green Imperial Armada torsos. A few posts back I was attempting to suggest orange is more synonymous with Dutch heritage and provide examples of how it's been used in other pirate fiction to represent the Dutch.

They look too similar to blue coats though... Do we really want to make the Haven Guard blue coats or would blue coats be best reserved for the future? Maybe for when we get around to creating a French faction. We have the opportunity to do something entirely different. Sid Meier had a concept for Dutch uniforms in his latest Pirates! game...

I was hoping you could tell us that... 6241 Pirates Loot Island from 2009 was the last pirate set to have a raised baseplate.

Soldiers (1989-1993) and Imperial Guards (1992-1996, 2009-2010), although technically the Imperial Armada was a military theme. The Imperial Guards have plenty of longevity to set a precedent, but the point goes back to introducing non military merchant sets as that's what people have suggested and voted for. That's why the West Brick Trading Company won the poll - for the Merchants, not the Haven Guard. You've nailed it right there, everyone assumes the redcoat are British when they could well be any nationality. The point I was making everyone should assume the Haven Guard are Dutch but they could well be any nationality.

That's a good question, are raised baseplates still being produced for modern sets? A baseplate however is not essential.

Indeed, it seems you're swayed a bit far into the internal consistency and logic. The classic LEGO themes have always been inspired by stereotypical cliches. While you are indeed correct, you're missing the whole point about playability. The Smugglers flag is a nothing more than a gimmick like glow in the dark ghosts in the Castle sets... Something to make them more unique than pirates. The point of having the Merchant presence is to introduce civilian sets, so toning them down in favour the of Haven Guard defeats their purpose. We've already got two military factions in LEGO Pirates, so it's the Haven Guard that needs to take the minor role.

Problem with "Royal" in the name is it's implying the forces are imperial. "Haven Guard" was chosen specifically to be different from the Soldiers and Imperial Guards. That's not accurate, the Imperial Guards were obviously based on the British historical uniforms and the Imperial Armada was definitely inspired by the Spanish Inquisition. While the nation isn't specifically named, it's obvious who they represent by looking at them. Yes, the LEGO Group will translate and change the faction names as they deem fit. But in the interest in simplicity we just need to select names they work well in English. The question we should be asking is, could you imagine seeing this name appear in an English LEGO toy catalogue? What kind of relics? Please provide examples...

No. Suggest as many as you like.

What about in the children's context? I should also mention "Haven Guard" was chosen because it sounds like a child friendly name (although no formal study has been conducted to verify this). While historically accurate can you imagine "The Revenue" appearing in a LEGO catalogue?