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Now the custom figures I promised. I have much less redcoats than bluecoats in my collection so to even things up I created some custom redcoat commanders. This is an admiral who is in command of my HMS Progress and can be seen on some pictures of that ship. As you can see I used policeman's torso which doesn't look bad in my opinion. The police bagde may be considered a medal or a decorative motif of some kind. I call this one a commander, but he can be a captain or whatever you want, or an admiral if you give him the admiral's hat. He's my second in command of the HMS Progress and can be spotted aboard her as well. I used fireman's torso for him. Another captain or admiral made using Sam Sinister's torso (from Orient Expedition, as seen in Secret of the Tomb for instance). And now a bonus: Bluecoats' ship's surgeon, made using the medic's torso from Doc Ock's Fusion Lab. I know the light grey pattern was supposed to be jacket's zip, however it may also be considered a decorative ornament. As you can see I've used some parts that represent times after 1800s, however they don't have any specific modern elements and IMO fit here well.

OK, I just wasn't sure no connections = no studholes at all. There could always be studholes that aren't connected (for example to fix the ship to a baseplate - like in the small boats of the classic Pirate line - or whatever). It's here and it doesn't answer my question either :)

It must've been those "pumpkins".

As for the soldiers, Governor Broadside can be already retired (I always imagined him to be old, older than Woodhouse) and there can be another young captain determined to get rid of the pirates once and for all. Or let's just for fun imagine that Broadside got fed up with soldiering or perhaps had enough of Woodhouse giving him orders (whom he never actually liked), deserted from the navy and now is a pirate!

The first link's not working, for me at least... :( I'll post some custom minifigs of mine later when I have some time to take photos, perhaps this will inspire you as well.

If you mean this, I've seen this before and this doesn't answer my question, but thanks for your help.

I know, but are there any studholes on the bottom of the boat anyway?

I have a question about this ship's hull - is there any way to connect the hull sections in other way than this shown in the instructions? I mean, when you want to make the hull longer using some custom centre sections. Connecting the top parts is easy - they have studs, but does the bottom of the hull pieces have any holes for studs or anything? Does anyone have a picture of the bottom side of the hull?

Now, let us imagine that this new line takes place a few years after the original Pirates theme, the characters have changed a bit, Redbeard's beard is now grey, there is a new young pirate captain who fights with him for the leading position on the sea... I think I'll even try to make a few minifigs on my own, showing how I imagine those characters.

I have an idea for a new line, it's a bit inspired by some earlier posts from this thread. Let us have one or few main heroes, with names and some data on them, just like in the Adventurers line. Now, one of them is a captain of a ship on a cruise around the world sometime around the 17th century. During his journey he meets different other ships, visits various ports, islands and so on. Among them he also meets our old friends - pirates (captain Redbeard, Ironhook), Spaniards, Imperial Guards, Indigo Islanders, Soldiers... Some of them are his friends, some are his foes. So it wouldn't be just Pirate line, but it would include Pirate elements. And it would give a chance for many more subthemes, depending on places he would visit - various themes from all over the world. Just look at all the possibilities! If the theme were more fantastical he could also encounter sea monsters, and - being more realistic - whales (my personal hope - I'd love to see a giant whale, like the one whose skeleton we've seen in 6559) And some of the possible sets would be: Our hero's ship - the size of BSB or bigger Other big ships - another pirate vessel, a Spanish galleon... A lot of bigger or smaller islands, villages, buildings from any place in the world you could imagine (Asia, Africa, both Americas, Australia and so on) It would be a new line, however it would revive the pirate line as well. And its diveristy would make everyone find something suitable for them.

I remember a TV commercial of Lego Pirates in which Broadside ended up in shark's jaws, a fact I didn't like - hey, it suggested the kids that Pirates should win and the good guys should die! Anyway, the commercial was great, I'd love to see it again (I had it recorded on a videocasette for some time), any ideas where I can see it? :)

Did I ever mention I had no such thing as "Dark Age"? However, I had a time when I didn't buy almost any new sets, just reused my old parts again and again. And because of that I have only one small Western set - 6709, the Chief and his horse. I also have only one islander minifig from the Pirates line so that makes quite an unusual 2-men team of native Americans that my pirates and other sailors can encounter. However, I must admit that all these Western sets look great, especially those from 1996.

But these aren't Lego pieces we're talking about, just bricks made to look like Lego. Right now Lego isn't offering any System scaled pirate sets, so many people would buy those Chinese fakes - they're new, in sealed boxes...

I was never a big fan of Castle, however I choose Forestmen. I loved Robin Hood and those forest people were very appealing to me. I also liked their green outfits - it wasn't exactly a popular colour among minifigs before this line was introduced. The second place would go to Black Knights, but as I say I'm no expert in this subject.

Currently Broadside is winning here and the Clipper is winning in the favourite non-pirate ship poll... It's worth celebrating.

I've got a few small sets like this. The picture on the box is a copy of Lego's box, however the parts often have different colours, especially minifigs sometimes look totally different than their Lego's counterparts. Yes it is definitely a crime to make sets like this and it's very wrong, however in real life the truth is brutal - many people will buy this rip-off instead of Lego because of the price.

One Viking to another: What the...? Noooo!!! Not another poll mixing our line with that Star Wars disaster!!!

The Clipper reached Imperial Flagship's position. Victory is close!

I think I'll build something similar to that one, think I have enough necessary hull pieces for two of them. Who knows...

This is just something that will divide Pirate Lego fans forever. And it's good, otherwise it would be so boring... :)

Yeah! Go Gov! Red Beard was just so popular that seeing him in almost every set started getting boring. But of course he does look great and if you have a few Red Beards it's great fun combining his body parts with other minifigs *capn*

Viking: Uhh, all right, no more drinking today.

What I like about Armada Flagship is that it's white hull would look great as a base for a nice modern sailing boat. Of course it's for those who prefer City or perhaps Paradisa to Pirates. I wouldn't waste my ship like this, it's just a thought and it shows its versatility. This poll lacks the small ship from Imperial Trading Post. It looks great and I consider it Lego's big mistake not having it released as a separate set.

In my case everything started with 3 sets I got at the same time: 6245 Harbor Sentry 6251 Pirate Mini Figures 6257 Castaway's Raft 6245 is a great source of parts - a boat, an officer, a rotating platform and a cannon, but the design is poor - I wouldn't want to be in this guy's place when he fires that cannon from the boat. I don't consider it one of the top 5. And my top five would be (in no particular order): 6285 Black Seas Barracuda The best of the big ships and the first one too, probably if it hadn't been released there would be no SES (much, MUCH worse, but still great of course) and no awesome MOC ships - BSB just started it all. One would think that ships released later should be better, after all their designers would have gained some experience, but it wasn't so. A pioneer and a classic. I rate it 9,5 out of 10. 6276 Eldorado Fortress This one's a classic too, has some faults like the lack of ladders or stairs mentioned in another thread. I give it 8,5/10. After just a little customizing is done it can be perfect and reach 10/10. Oh, and it's one of two sets including great Governor Broadside. 6277 Imperial Trading Post I must admit - it's the only one of these sets in question I don't own. But after studying its pictures and instructions I must say it's amazing. The size and the amount of details are striking. I don't own it so no rating this time. But it is possible that if I had one it would be 10/10. 6263 Imperial Outpost The best of the middle sized sets, what I especially like about it is that it has 3 storeys (this time with ladders), which is great for a set of this size. And it was the cheapest way to get Admiral Woodhouse! 9/10 among middle-sized sets. 6257 Castaway's Raft Yes, one of my first three sets so it does have emotional value. It has everything a small set should have - great design and a lot of playability. I also like the number of minifigs - three pirates, plus a shark! 10/10 among small sets. Note that apart from 6277 I only took sets I own into consideration. For example if I had Rock Island Refuge it would probably be on the list. 6277 is just so great it deserved making an exception.

But I don't want to change anything, the subtitle should remain. :) What I meant is I couldn't have added it before and that's why it was here since the very beginning.