mania3

I got mine a week ago and I'm begining to regret not having a better camera for posting a review of it. I know a lot of people seemed to be let down by certain aspects of it they noticed in photographs, but as I put it together, I have to say I was absolutely transported back to my childhood and some of the ships from the original Pirate line.

I have to say, this tutorial is really great. I've used a similar technique through Photoshop for some time now, but yours is a bit simpler. Thanks for putting this up!

This set, though unlike them, brought back memories of childhood when I was able to finally get my hands on the flagships of each line. It was a lot of fun to put together, and to me, a great value for my money.

I just went and checked my set. I also got the gray door/red frame.

Again, I have to say that I don't think competition will be a problem here. If a company's business model is under threat by having to compete with people creating similar products, then I think it is inherently flawed. TLC survived a nearly colossal collapse that came due to their own mistakes, and I'd certainly say they are smarter for having endured it and certainly have solidified their core principles. That being said, any competition coming about at this point now is going up against a toy juggernaut that has withstood the test of time and failure. Even as a young child, I can recall noting a severe detriment in the quality of Megablocks to my LEGO sets (I was unfortunate enough to have well-meaning but ill-informed family members trying to buy a gift for me at Christmas. I assure you, it happened only once.) So, maybe I am overly optimistic in thinking that I see this as an issue of the market sorting things out itself. Plus, I trust the clout of the LEGO legal department. I recall reading an interview with the Agents designer who said that introducing the new cyborg arm caused a conflict with the patent. If a legal team is that strict with their own design team, then I'd say they'll be sternly watching any clone companies.

I really hope a Space Police III rumor is solid, I can't wait to see what these will look like. I'd love to see a Futuron 2 at some point as well. I definitely voted for a Blacktron revamp for the baddies.

A good trick for Bricklink when not certain of an item's name or catalog number is to go to the piece inventory of a set that you know has the part in it.

On Saturday I was at Legoland and I saw these in the shop. I had no idea they were so expensive. I can't seem to understand why, either. I am pretty sure this will really hinder sales of this line.

I too own this set, but read the review anyway. I love the new Pirates sets!

That was incredible! And to whoever admired the lifting mechanism at 2:40, that was my favorite as well.

This set was originally released back in 2005. It features 1,339 parts, which is really telling of the earlier comment about how many small elements are in this set.

Man, I can't get enough of these! The new ones are absolutely fantastic!

Really cool use of parts. Thanks for the pictures.

These are absolutely amazing.

Neat! Keep up the good work.

Sorry if it's a bit blurry, was having a hard time getting the camera I had on hand to focus. The back just features buttons and lines resembling the tail of his coat.

They are released at Legoland in Carlsbad and the Imagination Center in Orlando. I bought the ship and the fort on Saturday.

Great review of a set I wanted desperately as a child!

Wow, thanks for the phenomenal review! I generally don't buy Star Wars sets unless they really jump out at me, but this one may just make my must have list. This review really put my estimation of the set over the top, so I've got to start saving for it. Thanks for taking the time to highlight so many aspects of it and the building process.

I was sitting here feeling a bit jealous for not getting this set yet. I've really been looking forward to it, but considering Blackbeard's Bounty and the Soldier's Fort are sitting next to me completed, I can't really complain. Along with the Pirates series, this new Castle set is one of my most anticipated of the new releases though. Thanks for posting the review!

I just bought Blackbeard's Bounty and the Soldier's Fort today at Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. They also had the Giant Castle Chess Set on sale for $159.99.