Mister Phes

I didn't pay attention to the dPercentageFunded variable because I assumed that would remain constant after 3,000 pre-orders had been made as there would be no reason for it to change. But you are indeed correct, the dPercentageFunded variable did change and the calculations are correct: 0.075 × 40,000 = 3,000 However, the final value increased to 8.1% / 0.08108108108108109.

But how do you know the final pre-order limit was 40,000? They removed the nMaxAvailable variable not long after fans discovered it in the webpage code, and nMaxAvailable was reading 40000 on June 10 after the first increase. However, on June 20 the Progress Bar on The Thieves of Tortuga webpage once again suddenly moved backward, hinting at a further increase of the limit. Or more precisely, the dPercentagePreordered peaked at around 0.8996 on June 19 and then dropped to 0.8515 on June 20, I.e. a sudden 4.4% decrease.

To keep the discussion moving... and help you to arrive at the same answer. Perhaps I should have just written: As fans, we're not privy to the necessary economic data to arrive at the actual answer, so instead we must speculate.

As fans, we're not privy to the necessary economic data to arrive at the actual answer, so instead we must speculate. The LEGO Group is now a large, multi-national company, but have these competitors you've mentioned, reached the same scale in their business operations? Financial management is also a crucial aspect. If we look back to the past, in the late 90s/early 2000s, LEGO was a much smaller company and operating at loss. They were in financial turmoil and didn't that get turned around until later in the decade. So how do you know these other companies are generating a substantial profit from their pirate-themed products?

Excellent! How did you arrive at that figure?

I out of the loop with LEGO Pirate news back in 2015 so I'm not familiar with how well that wave of sets performed. Do you we have an data on that? But from an old fossil AFOL perspective, I wasn't overly thrilled with that wave because: It had too many rehashed design concepts that didn't really innovate. Some of the builds weren't all that great, particularly forts. One small and stocky, the other tall and flimsy. So, another advantage of the BrickLink Designer Program is we can have larger design, with more nuanced builds. That said, these ~4,000 piece BrickLink sets must be putting an enormous strain on the budgets of some fans. So the BrickLink Team might consider spacing them out with some smaller, more affordable sets around ~500 - 1000 pieces in between.

Think of the trees that will save, Jack! Then there will be more wood to build wooden ships... You're probably not mistaken there! The intent of the BrickLink Designer Program is to release sets targeted towards a niche audience, that isn't necessarily large enough to support regular retail releases. So the point of the Crowdfunding model is to attract guaranteed buyers (I.e. pre-orders) before the sets go into production. Whereas a traditional retail release is more of a gamble, because The LEGO Group must produce the sets up front, and then hope enough consumers buy them.

The general population probably doesn't have a clue what the BrickLink Designer Program is. But how would you go about obtaining a larger sample size?

Oh come now! Everyone enjos a good reaving party! Way ahead of you...

Thank ye for such precision! I might clip that video...

The colour of the box was not in question... the question was do fanswant a brick-built compass over a minifig scale set?

I occur! But herein lies the problem... Can the BrickLink Designer Team utilise parts which are no longer in production? From my understanding, they have a very strict palette of parts for each series, and if a part isn't included within the palette, it's pretty much "out of bounds".

Aye, procurement is somewhat more limited. But there are other factors leading to the perception that BrickLink Designer sets are not official sets: They come in a plain white box, rather than a box with especially designed artwork, as fans have become accustomed with official LEGO sets. They don't include printed instructions or related tie-in media. They're fan designs which may not necessarily confirm to usual aesthetic or design techniques of official LEGO sets. The design of earlier BrickLink Designer sets seemed to adhere verbatim to what the original design submitted... However, this seems to be evolving somewhat, as evident in The Thieves of Tortuga in which some innovation was demonstrated. A Jolly Roger flag was added - pretty much a staple of any LEGO Pirate set. An Imperial faction was introduced - adding playability and narrative. The Imperial faction had it's own flag, albeit a sticker. All promising additions to skew consumer perspective towards feeling they're receiving an official product, rather than a mass produced fan build. In part, it's about making consumer feel as they're receiving a set with a degree of exclusivity, that could not achieve by acquiring generic LEGO parts from Pick A Brick, BrickLink, etc.

Assuming yer not being purely fecteous, do yer happen to have a source for where they have put that on record? It seems there's a debate in some waters about whether the BrickLink Designer program are considered official sets, so an official confirmation would be useful to wave in front of those who try to claim otherwise.

Fans have long hoped for a Flying Dutchman set and are somewhat perplexed why one hasn't already been released. But to date, The LEGO Group has only released PotC ships based upon what the pirates were sailing, so the Interceptor or Dauntless would also be welcome additions to the fleet, rather than rehashing the Queen Anne's Revenge or The Silent Mary which have already seen releases.

Yeah, but do we really want a brick-built compass? Or would we prefer a small Pirates of the Caribbean set with minifigs, depicting a scene from one of the movies?

Aren't BrickLink Designer program sets official enough for yer, Jack?

These are fantastic! They'd suit Coconut Cape quite nicely...

I didn't realise you were also intending to share that link in the public forum... When I accessed the URL in my private messages (which appeared to link to an eCommerce store), I was redirected to a completely different website. So please don't post links like that in the public forum.

You can send me a private me message via Eurobricks or Email phes@classic-pirates.com

Gracias!

BrickLink Designer Program Series 8 finalist, "Coconut Cape" by BallisticBricks has been officially announced for Crowdfunding (pre-orders) on June 1st, 2026 at 8 AM Pacific time. Specifications Parts: 2,425 | Minifigures: 8 Length: 34.4 cm / 13.6 in Width: 47.1 cm / 18.6 in Height: 36.6 cm / 14.4 in Your Thoughts and Feedback... Will you be ordering Coconut Cape? What are your thoughts on the build and minifigures? Would you change anything about the design for Crowdfunding? Would you like to see the Imperial Armada return?

Dare I ask exactly where they posted that? It doesn't appear to be on their Instagram this very moment.

Why yes! 89.7% have sold. At the time of my previous it was around 76%.

Thanks for that! Should be fixed now.