Duck

In danger of sounding like a parrot of what I've mentioned in other reviews in the past few minutes, this is one of the sets I purchased today and is among the first City sets I've bought since adulthood. I got this one reduced to £15 in the Lego shop in Liverpool today, which was a nice find! I had considered getting the forest police car set, but the reduction in price swung this one for me as there was a lot for the money - especially for someone trying to build their small city collection for as little money as possible. The police car looks very good, and gives the impression of being very speedy! The sports car certainly gives that impression also. The police tricycle is simple but effective, if slightly illogical for the setting. The traffic lights and speed camera are a a nice little bonus also. For the price I got it for, I cant fault it to be honest!

Picked this set up today along with several others from the City range, which as I just posted in the "Prisoner Transport" review thread are the first City sets I've bought since childhood. I've been impressed with all the sets I've bought and found them good value for money compared to the pirates, castle and licenced sets that I have bought during adulthood. I'm a brickflicker and having decently priced sets has allowed me to build up my police force quickly and comparitivley cheaply! So, onto the set in question - the previous dog van passed me by completely, so this was the first one I spotted. It does the job very well. Small and compact. Abit weird that it opens at the side as opposed to the back, but of course that can be modified I'm sure!

I purchased this set today along with a few others which are the first City sets I've bought for... Probably fifteen years! However I have bought Pirates, Castle and POTC since I returned from my Lego "hibernation" 3 years ago - so the previous version of this set went un-noticed and thus I can give my views on the set coming at it totally as a newcomer! I personally think that its pretty good value for money - coming from the Lego background that I'm from, £14 really doesn't get much in the other themes! The set looks slick and very "complete". Adding the box of police-tools and the road-block barrier are nice touches, and the bike is great! I like the rucksack that comes with the criminal also. The brickflick which I'm planning with the sets I bought today will benefit greatly from everything which was included in the box for a relatively low price! Only negatives I can think of are that the back doors could have been a tad more interesting and I'm not a big fan of stickers for decoration, just simply because I always make a hash of it and am never satisfied that their straight! Oh, and the cup in the cab was a nice little touch also which made me smile, imagining the Policeman sipping his coffee while the prisoner escapes! 5/5 to a newbie! :)

Outstanding! Just got my set, and it looks brilliant. The new weapons give a variety deserving of a blacksmiths (Rather than it just being full of bog-standard weapons). The characters are both great, the blacksmith will come in very useful for both Castle and Pirates MOCs/brickflicks. The building is lovely and will fit in with any historic village or town. Expect this set to feature in a future brickflick of mine!

Just got the Blacksmiths from the Kingdoms range, top notch!

I'm someone who I must admit doesnt pay a huge amount of attention to release dates etc, and just go on the basis of what I see in the shops I very occasionally visit, what pops up on ebay and whats listed on lego.com - however, I'd worry that there appears to be a lack of uptake on Kingdoms from retailers - I've not seen a set in Toys R Us, ASDA or Tesco which are probably the only major places to find Lego sets on the shelves in my area. The Entertainer is the other option, which only features a select few of the range (Prison, Kings Carriage and Mill Raid on last check! None of the impulse sets). My worry on that basis is that if theres not interest from the major retailers, Kingdoms wont be worth continuing as far as TLC is concerned. I'm another one who dislikes the increasing number of licenced themes. As much as I love POTC as a film, give me Classic Pirates any day! Lego is about creation, from both sides of the fence - TLC Designers and TLC customers, and so it shouldnt all be about recreating scenes from films. If Lego drop Kingdoms and replace it with a licenced theme, and dont drop POTC, my wallet will be staying in my pocket (which will make my girlfriend happy atleast... )

Thanks for the feedback Bricks4fun! Unfortunately my internet has been really playing up tonight so I've only just got to read this and we've gone past the deadline! A couple of those issues I cleared up in my edit anyway and a few were largely down to me removing chunks of the story to fit the wordcount (including the transition between ship and fortress! I realise now that this was an error to take out!). Also the have/has one was supposed to be Captian Rodger saying it in a piratey way - but I removed the fact it was him saying it to save space but managed to rescue this one in my picture edit! Again, thanks for the feedback and sorry I wasnt able to act on it - It'll teach me for being last minute

My last minute attempt at a story! Hope i'm not too late - if I am... then just enjoy! :) If by some small chance I win, or get a significant number of votes, I shall make this into a brickflick! Also, sorry about the image being very boring and with an awful choice of background... kinda ran out of time editing it! Which side are you on? Captain Barbossa sailed aboard his privateer ship and surveyed these unfamiliar waters. The sound of cannonfire upon the wind caught his attention and he took out his telescope. Looking through it, he saw nothing and so called to his lieutenant “Get me some 1x1 round bricks ye’ scurvey dog!”. The Lieutenant attempted to tip his hat to his captain, but being a plastic, it nearly toppled off his head, having no flexibility. A moment later he returned with the 1x1 bricks and held them out to his Captain who used them to extend his telescope. Barbossa turned his huge telescope towards where the cannonfire was coming from and in the distance he could make out a white fortress upon some form of plastic rock, being attacked by a ship with red and white sails. As they drew closer to the fort, Barbossa could make out yellow skinned pirates and blue-coated soldiers battling. He focussed his attention on one pirate wearing a red and white vest, and watched as the pirate turned, revealing a purely yellow back. “No back printing… these must be ‘classic pirates’… INTO THE LONGBOATS!” Captain Rodger swung his sword at Governor Broadside. His eye caught something. “Stop… stop… STOP GOVERNOR!” said Rodger, pointing towards the approaching boat. “Lets see what these landlubbers be’ wantin’”. “That’s not the blue of our soldiers…” observed the governor. “He has a peg-leg, unheard of for anyone not a pirate in our Lego world” “Good sir!” shouted the Governor, to Barbossa “Are you a redcoat, a bluecoat or a pirate? “Well lets be seeing now…” said Barbossa. “I bein’ an officer wear blue, but soldiers of me’ nation they be wearing red. Oh, and I be a privateer. That be meanin’ I be a pirate fightin’ for the blue-redcoats. That help?” Word Count: 299 words. C&C appreciated! Edit: Broken link to image. Fixed now!

Ahoy! This is my debut in this forum, being a pirate-fan myself, however, as part of my latest Brickflick which you can find towards the bottom of this topic, my redcoats who have formed an unlikely alliance with some pirates and are aboard "The Sardines Revenge", are intercepted by a group of pirates of the Samurai/Ninja nature. So therefore I thought i'd post both here incase anyone was interested. The brickflick includes an attempt at some epic ninja-moves. In the rain. Hope you enjoy! Firstly however... The Wotwentwong! It is but a simple ship, made purely for the purposes of filming, and so detail is somewhat lacking. In the film it is more over-crowded with Ninjas. This is because we all know many-ninja's = epic. The Sail is the fore-sail from the old redcoat ship of which the name currently eludes me, I shall edit later! And is held in place using that most noble and traditional of techniological tactics - wedging it in-place. The ship has two small cannons on board it. As the film shows however, one should stand well back when they fire. So, now that you've seen the ship, watch the action: NEW 05/06/2011 - Episode Seven: Kung Fu Fightin' Brickington and his men are on the hunt for the Bluecoats aboard the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". As the rain starts to fall, another Pirate Captain has other plans. (I have no idea why this is playing in a small box... Click on it to watch it properly please! :) ) For the rest of the series, click here! Thanks for reading! All C&C are of course more than appreciated! Duck

114C Ahoy! Now, posting this here may seem somewhat controversial, given that it at first appears to be a "Historical Theme" MOC and a million miles away from "Classic Pirates". This may be true, but my logic is that it is a pirate ship, and also it fights against my more traditional pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge" in my latest film "Brickington Sails Forth! Episode Seven: Kung Fu Fightin'". It is but a simple ship, made purely for the purposes of filming, and so detail is somewhat lacking. In the film it is more over-crowded with Ninjas. This is because we all know many-ninja's = epic. The Sail is the fore-sail from the old redcoat ship of which the name currently eludes me, I shall edit later! And is held in place using that most noble and traditional of techniological tactics - wedging it in-place. The ship has two small cannons on board it. As the film shows however, one should stand well back when they fire. Again, I know this is not Classic Pirates, but I hope its been interesting as something different but related! So, now that you've seen the ship, watch the action: NEW 05/06/2011 - Episode Seven: Kung Fu Fightin' Brickington and his men are on the hunt for the Bluecoats aboard the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". As the rain starts to fall, another Pirate Captain has other plans. (I have no idea why this is playing in a small box... Click on it to watch it properly please! :) ) For the rest of the series, click here! Thanks for reading! All C&C are of course more than appreciated! Duck

So, as the latest episode of my erratically released series is finally finished, I present you with: NEW 05/06/2011: Episode Seven: Kung Fu Fightin'. Captain Brickington and his men are on the hunt for the Bluecoats aboard the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". As the rain starts to fall, another Pirate Captain has other plans. (I have no idea why this is playing in a small box... Click on it to watch it properly please! :) ) Previously: (12/04/11): Episode Six: The Sardines Revenge. Captain Brickington joins forces with the pirates, and meets the crew of the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". Will they be the efficient crew he's looking for to help him in his mission? (Ship MOC) Episode Five - Skulls Nest Brickington and his men arrive in the Pirate Haven of Skulls Nest to seek parlae with the mythical Pirate Captains Council. The whole series... Episode One: Foreign Pirates and a Lesson in Economics. Episode Two: Ship Ahoy! Episode Three: Shipwrecked! Episode Four: The Village of the Bird King. Episode Four MOC Episode Five: Skulls Nest. &feature=relatedEpisode Five MOC Episode Six: The Sardines Revenge. Ship MOC: The Sardines Revenge Enjoy, and all comments and ratings are greatly appreciated.

Update: 05/06/2011 - There are now listed Seven episodes of my erratically released series which follows the life of Captain Brickington and his crew of misfits in the hunt for some foreign pirates("Toyrific" lego clones). Episode five, six and now seven are in my own modest opinion, my best films by far, using a better program and the main characters are now fully developed from the first few episodes. So, even if you havent watched, or dont have the time to watch the first four episodes, do please watch Episode Five, Six and Seven and tell me what you think! (They should make enough sense on their own!) NEW 05/06/2011 - Episode Seven: Kung Fu Fightin' Brickington and his men are on the hunt for the Bluecoats aboard the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". As the rain starts to fall, another Pirate Captain has other plans. (I have no idea why this is playing in a small box... Click on it to watch it properly please! :) )

Thanks Big Cam! Realised I should have done that as soon as I posted it, so compensated by putting it in bold at the top the title now says it all though!

Ahoy shipmates! Sorry if theres another thread for this, but if not, here goes! (Warning: Possible spoilers) Well, after pre-ordering POTC: The Video Game for XBOX 360 off Gameplay, it arrived today - a day earlier than the UK release date, which was cool (although it disrupted my day-off which i had planned to use to almost finish Brickington Sails Forth: Episode Seven - I still finished some of it, but its not as close to completion as i'd planned!). Previous to this, i'd only played the Lego Star Wars (Complete Saga) on my XBOX and had given Indie and Batman a miss, so i can only compare this to Starwars, but i must say that it is fantastic from what i've played so far! The attention to pirate detail is brilliant and my little face has been smiling non-stop while playing it as a result! The game remains as faithful to the films as is possible in a version made out of lego and with no dialog - so the usual lego-comedy variation of events to tell the story ensues! One of my personal favorites during a cut-scene so far being when Elisibeth has been rescued from the Island and the Black Pearl is giving chase - Barbosa using a massivley extendable (and bendable) telescope to see whats going on when Elisibeth gives Will the medalion below decks. The bits of the story that are in-between the scenes you play out with the characters are told at lightening speed by the use of a Lego-style cardboard-puppet show, where cardboard cut-outs of the characters and ships chase each other around, being moved by a lego-figure below, presumably. Very comical! There are the usual studs to find throughout the levels, reaching a certain amount per level earns you the title of "True Pirate", something we all aspire to! There are also red bricks to unlock multipliers and special abilities, and Ships-In-A-Bottle to find through Story and Freeplay modes. The only thing that i'm not so keen on so far is "The Port", the equivilent of Lego Starwars "Cantina". This wooden jetty with the Black Pearl in the background is quite a boring place to hang out, with just the four "Noticeboards" to walk up to and select the level you wish to play, with the odd character you've unlocked walking about also. There are two gates at either end of the "Port" which are closed. I only hope that these unlock at some point to reveal something more interesting, otherwise admiring the stern of the Black Pearl is all we can really do! I've only played the first three levels so far, which for anyone who's interested are: Level One: Port Royal - After a cutscene of Norringtons promotion followed by Jack rescuing Elisibeth, Starting off in the blacksmiths with Will and the Smith, theres abit of contructing piles of bricks to be done and getting the donkey to work the machinery before Jack appears down the chimney, burning his bottom and promptly plonking it in a bucket of water to relieve the pain - que the Will vs Jack swordfight. Following the attack on Port Royal by the Black Pearl, Will must rescue Jack from the jail and then escape through the port to the Dauntless (which looks especially beautiful! Fingers crossed for a minifig version of it!). The trip through Port Royal is brilliant, full of redcoats patrolling (who can only be described as cute, even when their shooting at you!). The large lego barrels are used as a replacement for the upside down boat, for walking underwater, a theme used throughout the game if you need to retrive something from under water. Level one is a great start to the game! Level Two (Curse of the Black Pearl): Tortuga - Totuga is again, fantastically recreated! Lots of roudyness, drunk pirates, lots of ladies of negotiable affection hanging around, and everything one would expect (Including three pirates doing "The Konga" - a personal favorite of mine!) In Tortuga, Mr Gibbs, Anamaria (the female pirate), Marty (the dwarf) and Cotton + accompanying Parrot must be found. A must see for all pirate-lovers! Level Three: The Black Pearl Attacks - As the Black Pearl draws level with the escaping ship, the battle takes place. Shots must be fired using the cannons at the prison-cell windows to free jack, from different levels of the ship. This level seemed particually random in some of the puzzles which followed, which generally involved smashing everything and then putting the bricks together in somewhere totally unobvious to progress. Eventually I worked it out and went on to the next part which involved retrieving the medallion from the sinking ship with the use of Will, Elisibeth and Jack. Again abit random in the way to get it, but fun. Following this, the final part of the level involves chasing the monkey around the two ships, using different characters special abilities to reach him. Speaking of special abilities, Jacks is his compass, which can be used to find any required lego items which are in the area - a nice touch! So, with the exception of "The Port" i'd say this is a brilliantly polished game from what i've seen so far, as expected! I'd recommend it to anyone. I'll update when i've played some more! Duck.

Glad that you like her! :) One thing I've realised that I didn't really work on was the rudder. Do people think it looks okay without a moveable one or should I add one?

Thanks for the advert Becker! . The next episode should be on the way in the next couple of weeks! I'm currently enjoying the challenge of attempting to make some epic ninja-stunts! All will be revealed soon! Indeed! They are made out of black felt which i picked up in A4 size from Hobbycraft for 25p a sheet! I feel they fit the ship well, and are a cheap yet effective way of making custom sails for ships which arent designed to be 100% accurate of real ships . Glad you like the films! Thanks! Indeed, the only bits i actually had to order in specially were the bricks for the cannons, as i liked mateo's design so much - the rest was all from the boxes of lego stored under my bed which greatly irriate my girlfriend - i'll win her over one day!

I know this is dwarfed into insignificance by the review of the Queen Annes Revenge, but one hundred and fourty views and not one comment on a ship MOC? Unheard of!

Glad you enjoyed it Cinco! The next one should be out within the next couple of weeks, then the Asian Pirates plan will be revealed! *Is currently enjoying the challenge of stop-motioning epic ninja-stunts*

A belated congratulations Admiral! A much deserved promotion!

In my ongoing brickflick series, Captain Brickington joins forces with the pirates, and meets the crew of the disfunctional pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". Will they be the efficient crew he's looking for to help him in his mission? Also, see the Ship MOC! All feedback much appreciated!

113D Ahoy! The latest installment of Brickington Sails Forth involves Captain Brickington taking command of a pirate ship with the infamous name "The Sardines Revenge". So, as promised, here is the ship for viewing! The ship, prior to the brickflick storyline, was commanded by Captain Blankhat, pictured here with the ships cook. The rigging is my first attempt at custom rigging, and i'm quite pleased with how it turned out. A view of the ship from a few different angles from the introduction picture: Atop the foremast we have the lookout, One Legged Billy! (The name doesnt make sense? Watch the brickflick! :) ) Testing out the cannons we have One Hand Jack and One Eyed Pete (Again, watch the Brickflick!). I used a slightly modified version of Mateo1130's custom cannon, so credit to him for the original design, which i made slightly more slimlined so it only occupied four studs of space on the smaller hulled ships deck. The Sardines Revenge is designed as a close-quarters pirate ship, and so does not have any heavier, longer-range cannons on the lower decks - this makes the ship faster due to lack of weight, but also means that the lower decks are entirely for living and cargo purposes, creating alot more space! First Mate Hatty is currently the helmsman (The crew of The Sardines Revenge, being the typical pirates that they are, arent too imaginative with their nicknames!). Access to the Captains Cabin, due to the small size of the ship, is through the lower decks, which are accessed via a hatch at the front of the ship. (Appologies for the flash, it was the only way to make this hatch clear!). The Captains Cabin windows slope outwards at the back to create a little extra room for the Captain in what would otherwise be a rather crampt space. And finally, to demonstrate how the cannons are designed to fit the ship much better than the standard sized cannons, here is a scene of the ships crew firing them. Note how there is just enough space to reload after the recoil, something which would not be possible with six standard sized cannons on the smaller hull. Now that you've seen those pics, please do me the honour of watching the Blickflick, if you have the time! Let me know what you think of both the ship and the brickflick! Thanks for reading! P.S. Should you want them, these images are available in larger sizes on my Flickr :)

NEW (12/04/11): Episode Six: The Sardines Revenge. Captain Brickington joins forces with the pirates, and meets the crew of the pirate ship "The Sardines Revenge". Will they be the efficient crew he's looking for to help him in his mission? (Ship MOC)

Thanks for the positive comments! Indeed, the scene I inpart atleast inspired by PotC3, however, as the film shows, my own take on it is very different! Other reaons also include the fact it allowed for me to do some extra sily voixes by having pirates from the Bluecoats, Armada and Samuri nations there! :P. Another reason was abit of forplanning for a future episode - as what other rather cool characters usually acompany the Samuris in such things? All will be revealed soon!

Thanks for the comments folks! Glad the scene decieved you into thinking it was better during the film Cap'n Becker! I was amazed the other day when i found out that during the Hornblower series, the 74 gun ship they filmed on was only a quarter of one! As you say, good use of space goes a long way when making films! Thanks Cherno, unfortunately the green plate was the only plate i had available, otherwise i'd have made it grey or so at the bottom! I like this MOC, but after i've filmed a couple of scenes that will be needed in Skulls Nest for upcoming episodes, i'm affraid it will be dismantled to be recycled as other film sets! However, that means more films and more MOC's to come, huzzar! Thanks again for the comments, much appreciated!

Glad you liked it! I'm assuming you mean the Captain in the middle with the white mustache? The body is actually from one of the bandits from the old western sets, I was surprised at how good it looked on a pirate also!