Aanchir

Haha, I'm thrilled to see such a whimsical entry come in so close to the deadline! Even with rules in the contest against "crossovers" with other themes/genres (e.g. no sci-fi, modern day, or steampunk entries), you managed to come up with a wildly unconventional idea that's belongs purely and unambiguously to the world of LEGO Pirates, while still evoking a childlike sense of wacky, unrestrained creativity! It's the sort of model I could definitely imagine seeing instructions for on one of the "Cool Creations/You Can Build This" pages from the LEGO Mania Magazines of my childhood. The color changes to the arches and the "lure" for the shark also make the model even more charming than your initial design! And I naturally have to give a shout-out to the dynamic images you've created, particularly the main image of the model "drifting" around the coast and the hilarious image of the shark pursuing Ironhook, both of which feel very in line with the spirit of 90s box art and other promotional images. I do worry a little bit about the stability, given that the shark racing harness is only attached to the washtub "cockpit" from above, and only by two studs on either side. In this respect, it feels a little less like a "main model" than a back-of-the-box alternate model (which were not often held to the same quality/stability standards). Perhaps it would be possible to attach part 6087 (one of the sturdier 90s bracket pieces) to the bottom of the washtub as a sort of "keel" which serves to lock the harness in place from below? But alas, a part that big and blocky on such a small vessel might result in a less "seaworthy" appearance. In any case, we're probably getting too close to the deadline now for extensive revisions, and in any case, you've done such a remarkable job presenting a wildly unique concept in the style of 90s sets that I think a few practical drawbacks can be forgiven. Best of luck in the voting!

Oh, this is coming along very nicely! It's very neat how you've replaced some of the arched windows from the original set with crumbling, cracked stone walls, It really helps the architecture look a little bit more gloomy and foreboding compared to the pristine and stately look of Imperial buildings, while still being formidable enough to endure enemy cannon fire, and solid enough to provide the pirates with plenty of cover while defending their territory! The rope bridge design you've come up with looks very attractive. I do worry somewhat that the planks might come loose easily during play, given that they're only attached from above, and only by single-stud connections — but I suppose that could be a play scenario in and of itself, given how common it is in fiction for bridges like this to come apart as characters are crossing them! The stone staircase is also nice, but it should probably be at least one stud wider (as it is, it seems one of their arms would end up colliding with the wall of the jail cell if they tried climbing up or down the stairs). I love that you've included a hammock (it surprises me how rarely I see hammocks in Pirates sets and MOCs)! I sort of wish there were a second one attached above it like how you'd sometimes see hammocks arranged board a ship, but I understand that you may only have one of these hammock pieces. I also kind of wonder whether it might look better if the hammock posts extended from the floor to the ceiling, so they would be like structural elements of the fort instead of just furniture? Your choice, obviously! The rock that slides away to reveal a hidden entrance is both a classic play feature and an iconic feature of adventure/treasure-hunting stories, and you did a beautiful job integrating this one in a way that it is well concealed, but still opens nice and smoothly! The little hidden treasure niche on the dock also adds some great play value. You did a beautiful job with the raft, too, but I do think that you either add either an attached steering oar like in the original set, or a loose oar piece for the pirate to hold for slightly better control of where he's going! Now, on the negative side: as it is, the colors of the model feel pretty far removed from the original set. Replacing some of the grey stones of the foundation and entrance ramp with mossy green ones would help it to resemble the original set better, and as a bonus, would help the island stand out better from Eldorado Fortress than it does currently. Changing the fort's walls to black with occasional grey stones also helps, but I wish you hadn't done away with the cracked "window/peep hole" in the crane tower's wall as part of that process. It did a lot to make the wall feel less "flat", and also to add some play value so pirate gunners could use it as a loophole to fire at enemies from. from.

Whoa! I can definitely tell why fitting a build this substantial into the 50-piece limit was challenging for you, but I'm extremely impressed with how well you managed it, without compromising its visual appeal or the creativity of its build. As it is, this could fit in flawlessly with bigger and more complex pirate builds in a unified display (none of the distracting difference in detail that you'd get from, say, displaying a 4+ Ninjago set next to an 8+ Ninjago set). Moreover, you still managed to include enough pirate accessories like the bottle, barrel, lantern, spyglass, and musket to ensure that it would be plenty fun as a playset, and not just a display piece. I do kind of wish that the base were less rectangular, but I know that's tricky when you have to fit everything on a single plate (I think the only round plate that'd be big enough to fit this entire model is 80031, and even that would require the ship's quarterdeck to extend past the edge of the base). All in all, this might be my favorite wholly original "mini set" entry yet!

Thanks a lot for your feedback! A crab or other small sea/land critter is a great suggestion, and I'm honestly surprised that never occurred to me!. A parrot could also be nice, but I opted to replace it with a seagull for several reasons. For one thing, I was trying as much as possible to avoid features that would feel like repeats of stuff in Eldorado Fortress, which already had a parrot. Additionally, I have a strong personal preference for LEGO animals with printed eyes similar to those of minifigs, which are sadly absent from both the classic and modern LEGO parrot, so I felt a seagull would be a better fit for that "modern" look I was going for. I definitely hope that in the future LEGO will introduce a new parrot mold with printed eyes — and perhaps even with two-color molding for the feet and beak like the bird mold used for Pepper the parakeet from LEGO Friends and Diablo the Raven from LEGO Disney Princess! I'm glad that both you and @iragm appreciate the chairs and palm tree, two details I'm very proud of! The chair legs are part 3131, introduced in this year's LEGO Minecraft sets. As soon as I first saw that piece in pictures of set 21246, I knew it would work great as the legs of a chair or end table, and was very excited to finally use it for that purpose here. As a bonus, it can sit on a studded surface either in line with the grid or at an angle (and even has a hollow stud on the underside if you want options for ways to securely hold it in place). Hopefully we will see more use of it in future sets, including more varied colors! It's bothered me for a while that most "official" LEGO palm trees have such flat canopies — certainly, that can work for heavily stylized palm trees (I know a lot of video games that do this specifically so that the treetops can be used as platforms to walk on or jump to), but I wanted to try and come up with a way to "fluff out" the leaves more realistically without making the build too complex or costly. Ultimately I was able to come up with a 20-piece design (counting the pin/axle used to attach it to the base). The six "finger leaf" pieces are each attached by a 2x1 plate with vertical clip to a 3x3 Technic steering wheel. The sail is attached securely to the boom using Technic pins, similar to how the sail in https://brickset.com/sets/40487-1/Sailboat-Adventure is attached to the mast. That set was actually my inspiration for this sail construction, since I had previously been struggling to come up with a brick-built sail design that would have the same sort of trapezoidal shape as the one from the original set but still retain its distinctive red and white stripes. The front bit of the boat is just a short bowsprit. I'll try and come up with a better design so that will be a little clearer on any future boats of similar size that I build. Wow, thank you so much for the detailed feedback! Sloop Windy is definitely a gorgeous design for a small sailboat, and I certainly wish I could have achieved such a high standard of detail with Will's catboat! I had previously considered using a 3 module bar as the axis of the tiller and rudder for this boat just as Sloop Windy did, but the main reason I opted against it is that if the tiller, rudder, and stern are all attached by clips along the same axis of rotation, then when you turn the tiller, the rudder is unlikely to move in sync with it (especially since the clip on the boat's stern has a larger surface area, and thus more friction, than the clips on the tiller and rudder). Attaching the tiller and rudder perpendicular to their axis of rotation solves this issue. But truth be told, I'm still not perfectly happy with the approach I settled on, especially since it limits the maximum rudder angle. Hopefully I can come up with something a little better in the future. That is indeed the purpose of the black ingot tiles! Originally, I had placed that Medium Nougat sack on trapdoor's front row of studs to serve as a handle, but I soon realized that doing that would make it look like the sack was defying gravity when the trapdoor was raised (and would also present questions of why Will and Mae didn't just move the sack to another part of the dock before lifting up the planks to make their work a little easier). Your comparison to the hiding place in Imperial Outpost is very apt, and I was probably at least a little bit inspired by that set, since it was the main imperial base in my childhood LEGO Pirates collection! I'm not 100% sure how common a long scarf like this would be as pirate wear, but I was thinking of it as a thin and breathable material like silk (similar to a bandana, headscarf, or neckerchief) rather than the thicker materials like wool that would likely be used for a winter scarf. I used it mainly as a way to echo Will's bandana from the classic sets, while also giving him a sturdier leather hat as is expected for a LEGO pirate captain. Similarly, I chose this torso piece because it echoed Will's old red and white color scheme but added an impressive-looking coat. I'd previously thought about using a Ninjago face mask and epaulets instead, but with a blue coat and epaulets he didn't stand out nearly as well from the imperial soldiers and officer… plus, I didn't care for how the face mask covered up his roguish grin. With this scarf piece I could add a similar splash of color while keeping his face exposed, and it also helps give Will's shoulders a strong and distinctive silhouette without the need for epaulets. Fair point! My main worry was that I'd slip up with some anachronistic detail that would be immediately obvious to dedicated LEGO Pirates fans, but I realize it's probably irrational to get too hung up on those worries… especially when so many of the accepted "standards" of pirate media (which LEGO Pirates sets tend to reflect) come from 19th-century literature and 20th-century films rather than by the historical realities of 18th-century piracy!

Fair points all around! I felt like this gun/blaster piece was simple enough to work as a basic building element (similar to the old school "space gun" being used for torches in the classic sets), but I can understand why you disagree. Perhaps I'd have been better off using a less detailed gun/weapon piece like 15071 or 24144 to attach the bowsprit at this same angle, but I opted for the Overwatch gun mold because it was narrower/more compact, which felt fitting for such a small boat. I get your point about the mast and sail also (I wish I had the time and patience to figure out how to import/design a fabric sail for stud.io). For the mast my thinking was just "okay, if this is a smaller boat than the one in Eldorado Fortress, it needs at least a slightly narrower mast". But if I weren't stuck using brick-built sail, I probably would've gone for an even narrower mast using the candle piece and other connectors with a similar diameter. As it is, making the spars narrower would have made the thickness of the sail even more obvious. I would love to improve the rudder too, but I would feel bad about borrowing building techniques from other people's contest entries at this point — even if it's technically allowed, it would sort of like cheating to me. If I ever end up getting the parts to make this in real life (ideally with either a fabric sail piece from an official set or a custom fabric sail), I will definitely think about making changes/improvements in these areas! Wow, thank you! This is very high praise! Truth be told, I was kind of worried about whether other LEGO Pirates fans would like my model, especially since a lot of the discussions I see in this forum show a far higher level of technical and historical knowledge about the Age of Sail than I have. I can't tell you how many Wikipedia and Google searches I did while working on this model (and other LEGO Pirates MOCs I currently have in the works) to try and make sure any changes or additions I made would still feel period-accurate! And I still end up having to pull up Wikipedia to double-check my terminology sometimes when talking about specific parts of a boat/ship or other such details. Thanks so much! It honestly took me a LOT of time to figure out what sort of fixtures/appliances to include for cooked food. The original set not only lacked any obvious chimney, it didn't even have any large, solid walls to attach one to (since all the walls were used for doors or windows)! I knew this would make it difficult to include either a traditional open hearth or a cast-iron wood stove (which were a relatively new and high-tech invention at the time, but rather large and cumbersome as a result) unless I expanded the model a great deal. In the end, I opted for a potager/stew stove, a type of stone or brick cooking fixture that became popular in France and the American colonies in the 18th century, but was relatively low-tech — and more importantly, didn't need to be connected to a chimney! This also seems to be the type of stove that appears in the new Eldorado Fortress, although that one has a larger 2x4 footprint as opposed the 1x3 footprint of the one I built for the tavern. Potager stoves typically burned charcoal instead of wood, which meant they produced far less smoke than a cooking hearth or wood stove. And as a bonus, indoor ones were often built near windows to vent the smoke and other vapors they DID produce — making them a great fit for a historic building like this one with very little wall space, but a surplus of windows! You do have a good point about the fabric canopy. Honestly, I had a hard enough time even finding any definitive information on whether fabric awnings existed in the 18th century. I ultimately gave up pursuing that line of inquiry, figuring that if an awning was good enough for the original LEGO Pirates set designers, it was good enough for me. Even so, perhaps it would have been wiser for me to put the china and silverware cupboards next to the front railing instead of behind the counter, and placed the stove in place of the railing on the far left side of the building… it seems you've definitely given me something to think about for the future! That said, at this point, so close to the contest deadline, I'm not too keen on making substantial changes like that (particularly since it took quite a while for me to render the images I have up above). If anything, I'd rather use that remaining time trying to create an entry for the "mini set" category, since I've felt really inspired by the creativity of some of the entries other people have built for that category! Thanks for the great feedback!

Huh, interesting re-imagining of the original set! I like the use of bush pieces for the thatched palm-leaf roof, even if the tall peaked roof is a considerable departure original set. The colorful triangular tiles and stone details on the large statue also feel very in keeping with the Islander design language with its bold colors and patterns, even in different colors than were available to 90s set and graphic designers! I feel like a lot of people re-imagining the Islanders sets this radically would try and tone down the colors out of some misguided sense of "realism", so I appreciate that you went the opposite direction and really emphasized the islanders' artistic expression. I also appreciate that you were thoughtful about making treasures something other than the more European-inspired golden goblets and coins from the original sets, even if you were limitted by the parts available on Stud.io and ended up defaulting to a European-style crown as a placeholder anyhow. This is one of the big changes I would hope to see if LEGO ever did create a new non-licensed islander faction! The use of Kahuka's skull over the crossed spears is also quite nice, though I agree with some of the other commenters that the circular animal skin doesn't make much sense on the wall there — frankly, I'm not a fan of that specific print in general, since it resembles zebras more than anything, and zebras certainly don't live on islands! One thing that bothers me is that by reimagining the model as an island/peninsula, the name "Forbidden Cove" no longer makes much sense! A cove is usually a type of coastal inlet or a sheltered bay with a narrow opening to the sea, and in the context of the original set this presumably referred to the waterway that leads into the treasure cave/grotto, but could also refer to an circular/oval-shaped bay that the set's coastline sits at the edge of. But in this case you've removed that narrow waterway, and a peninsula like this would generally not be found extending into a sheltered bay. That said, this re-interpretation does still fit with many of the European set names which instead refer to the model more generically as a "treasure cave". The use of fleshies alongside standard yellow minifigures also feels odd to me, but I understand that this is a matter of personal preference, and that you were not necessarily aiming for a strictly "set-like" design. I have much stronger negative feelings about the "red stuff in the little pool". It feels like an unpleasant echo of the sort of savage/barbaric stereotypes of their cinematic and literary precursors which make me less comfortable with the Islanders sets in hindsight — despite how much I loved them as a kid, and how much effort the various LEGO Pirates marketing teams undertook to present the Islanders as a humane and civilized people and rightful masters of their land and treasures. I have similar feelings about the skulls on spears. In that case it's at least a little bit easier to interpret as decorative carvings of skulls to serve as warning totems, rather than the remains of actual human/minifig victims, but I would still probably be more comfortable if they were animal skulls (like the cow skull, which could also allow you to attach horns like on some of the similar warning totems from the original sets) or a stylized skull mold like these ones introduced for the Ninjago theme. In any case, I recognize that a lot of this stuff comes down to your tastes differing from mine, and I'm in no place to say what you should or shouldn't do with your own MOC. Moreover, I can appreciate its outstanding creativity and technical innovations, regardless of these various misgivings. Admittedly, some of these factors might limit its appeal in the contest voting, depending on how many voters feel similarly about that stuff. But regardless of whether it does well or poorly in the polls, it's still a very impressive creative achievement!

Awesome to see something in the 2015 style! You did an amazing job taking the modular approach from those sets and pushing it even further with one big model made up of four sections that can be re-arranged freely. It's especially awesome seeing the sketches and part lists you used to plan your design! I love the furniture and accessories you've put inside the rooms of the armory, especially the writing desk — very nicely detailed, but still in keeping with the 2015 sets' kid-friendly building level. The guard tower also has a cool and unique composition with the stone stairs on either side, differentiating it nicely from the Soldiers' Fort and Soldiers' Outpost. If I could make one suggestion, it's that I think the weapon racks would feel more realistic if the clips were all facing the front rather than facing in three different directions. I also am not sure whether it totally makes sense to have three identical weapon racks. It might be more interesting if you replaced one of these with a chest, crate, or pallet of spare cannonballs, since currently I don't see any obvious places for cannonballs to be stored. Also, while these four modules can already be combined in a number of interesting ways (and even more if you combine them with the Soldiers' Fort and Soldiers' Outpost), I can't help wondering whether it could be possible to include clips or handles in the front or back of any of your modules. If you did that, it could potentially allow for L-shaped, U-shaped, or T-shaped forts, in addition to ones where the modules are all in one long row. Just something to think about! Great work overall! I don't know how popular this will be in the contest, since I figure a lot of voters might be biased towards entries built in either a more high-detail style or a more "retro" 80s/90s inspired style. But I can tell that you put lots of care and attention into every detail. And I have a strong feeling that if this had been a set in 2015, it would have been a pretty popular one (though I'm sure the complaints about getting multiple imperial buildings but no imperial ship would have been just as loud, if not louder)! So regardless, I'm glad you took the time to come up with this delightful taste of "what could have been" and enter it in the contest.

This is a very charming little build! It's extremely impressive how much play value and visual appeal you managed to pack into a model that's smaller even than a lot of modern polybag sets. Cutlass Jane is also a great design, making clever use of parts from outside the Pirates theme to create a look that stands out brilliantly from other LEGO Pirates figures ("classic" and modern alike)!

Oh, neat creation! The build definitely feels more "kid-friendly" (like the 90s, 2009, or 2015 Pirates sets) than a lot of the other entries which go for more of an adult-targeted level of detail, but that's far from a bad thing! I think my favorite detail is the angular "cracks" in the rocky archway that allow people under the arch to peek inside, or people inside to peek out. I can definitely imagine a pirate rowing in and whispering an escape plan to a captured crewmate (although your boat currently doesn't seem to have oars or seats, which seems like a bit of an oversight). One potential improvement I'd suggest would be to try and make the coastline at least a little more rounded. Part 18980 can be really good for this purpose. I also think it'd be nice if the "water" had rounded or beveled edges instead of so many sharp right angles, but that's more of a personal preference than something that impacts realism or playability. Additionally, I feel like it'd be nice if the soldiers' storeroom had a regular wooden door like this one instead of a barred door, especially so that from the outside it's easier to differentiate it from the jail cell. It also looks like there could be room to add a desk and chair so the governor could use this for his office, and perhaps a clip on one of the walls as a place to store the jail cell key (this could also add play value, since if a pirate gets captured, they might need an especially sneaky crewmate to break into the governor's office to get the key)! Also, have you thought about adding a ladder or two in the back to give the soldiers a way to get upstairs? Right now the cannonballs are stored on the ground floor while the cannon is on the roof two floors higher, which seems particularly impractical. I apologize if it seems like I'm going on and on about weaknesses/drawbacks of your model. In truth, it's a very aesthetically pleasing model. I love how the Reddish Brown plates/tiles and Medium Nougat masonry bricks add a sense of warmth to the color scheme to balance out all the white and grey parts, and also how the structure includes a balance of natural and man-made stone surfaces. I especially appreciate this considering how many other entries in this contest are sticking more closely to the color schemes of previous LEGO Pirates sets, while you've gone out of your way to make a model that stands out from previous imperial forts and outposts, and explores a new way they could look in the future. That said, I think that with a few changes, you could boost this model's visual appeal and play value even further.

And that's very fair! Even I somewhat lost interest by the theme's final year myself, though that wasn't really because I noticed or appreciated any of the faults of those sets at such a young age (like the downright inexplicable bascule rope bridge in 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall) so much as because I was distracted by new, exciting themes like Time Cruisers, Divers, and Wild West. That said, I suspect my affection for some of those later sets is stronger than it would've been if I were already a teen or adult at that time. In particular, 6248 Volcano Island is still one of my favorite "treasure island" type sets of all time — squeezing a cool skull face, a treasure cave, AND an erupting volcano onto a single 8x16 baseplate is an impressive feat even by modern standards!

Oh, this is lovely! While omitting the stone arch over the cannon somewhat hampers its resemblance to the original set, it's a pretty outstanding little MOC when viewed in isolation, and definitely feels like the sort of thing that could be a polybag set today. Besides being a fun detail, including a little animal like this crab also makes the soldier seem a little less "lonely" and gives the set more play value even without other/larger sets to pair it with. I could imagine a kid picking up this set in the checkout aisle of a store while on vacation and having the crab chase the soldier around with its pinching claws! I also love the little strip of shoreline under the pier that you included as the crab's hiding spot! The main issue I see with this model currently is that you omitted the rammer (1x1x4 antenna piece), which is necessary equipment for operating this sort of 18th century cannon! I assume this was to stay within this contest category's piece count limitations, but even so, it reduces both the authenticity and play value of the set. However, it would probably be better to include a rammer, even if it means removing a piece elsewhere (the two simplest possibilities would be omitting one of the cannonballs or replacing the soldier with an officer so he no longer needs a backpack). I also feel like swapping one of the water plates for a 6x6 round corner plate or 6x6 wedge plate would improve the look somewhat (models built on a rectangular slice of ocean often feel a little odd to me) but this is more of a personal preference rather than a fault of your model. In any case, you did a nice job overall, especially considering the size and piece count limitations at play. Best of luck in the contest!

Lovely work with this nice, small build! It evokes the appearance of the original set very nicely while making the skeleton's hiding place a little more natural-looking than his earlier very rectangular niche, and also feels extremely believable as the sort of model that could be produced as a polybag set today! For some reason, the shorts on the pirate look a bit incongruous to me no matter how I look at them — I think it's because the short pant legs feel at odds with his shirt's long sleeves. All the other minifig part choices seem excellent to me, though, and definitely call to mind the original minifigure from my childhood! The removable rock outcrop with hidden treasure inside is a very clever replacement for the barrel of coins from the original set, adding both play value and a fun sense of surprise. A part of me wishes that the big "finger leaf" piece were in a brighter color (both to balance out the more subdued colors of the rocks and sand, and to echo the bright, nostalgic color schemes of other "throwback" sets like Eldorado Fortress and Barracuda Bay), but at the same time I do think it's neat to have it in a different color from the smaller bits of plant life you've added. The frog is a cute added detail also, though they might look a little more natural sitting on the rocks or plants than on the dry sand. Alternatively, another creature like a crab or oyster might seem more at home on the sand, but there doesn't seem to be space here for a larger creature like that unless you made the model's foundation a little larger. Great work overall! In general the 1996/1997 Pirates sets often seem to get a lot less love from AFOLs than their predecessors, but as somebody who was a KFOL back then, I definitely feel like this is a very touching tribute to one of the smaller and less eye-catching sets from back then!

Very nifty work! I greatly appreciate the amount of thought and attention you put into the interior spaces. The original Rock Island Refuge was already a good starting point for this since it included a cooking hearth (a pretty nifty detail for its time), but you've done a good job furnishing that rooftop area even further with a small dining table and "study" for Redbeard. The bunk beds and armory are also fantastic uses of the "underground" areas of the set! The greenery covering much of the base definitely helps it feel less like a copy of Eldorado Fortress's foundation, along with the changes to the construction of the cliff face. I love that the green parts on the ramp are even studded, giving them an nice mossy texture that contrasts with the smooth grey stones! The raft is also very nicely adapted, with beautiful use of printed tiles on the front and back — although I think the sail and yard could stand to be at least a BIT more substantial, as they were in the original set, since it feels odd for them to be so much smaller while keeping the rest of the raft around the same size. It seems like a bit of a missed opportunity that the above-ground space below the big arch is largely unused except for the trapdoor to the underground area (though of course, I know this was also the case with the original set). Perhaps that area could be used for some containers of provisions (like salt-cured meats/fish or citrus fruit), or for an open air "tap-room" with a cask of water and some rum bottles. Adding some furnishings of that sort there could also help brighten it up a little so that the stark black walls feel less overpowering. You did a lovely job updating the rope bridge, although it might be neat if the planks, at least, were in a contrasting color like in the original set (@F1stzz has made some good suggestions for this). I also kind of feel like it'd be nice if the jail cell's window matched the door color, but I suspect you may have likewise been limited by the parts in your collection here. In any case, if you keep this model together after the contest ends you'll have all the time in the world to make those sorts of small touch-ups! Although the minifigures use many of the same parts from Barracuda Bay, I love some of the small changes you made, such as given the two mustachioed sailors white pants like the original set, giving Lady Anne a bandana like all of her old-school appearances, and swapping First Mate Rummy and Lieutenant de Martinet for female characters in similar clothing. It seems a shame not to include a shark like in the original set, though! All in all, though, you did a great job coming up with a modern redesign of a set as ambitious in size and significance as this one — especially within the constraints of both your current collection and the contest deadline! Best of luck in the contest!

Oh wow — I feel like this may have gotten somewhat overlooked because of all the contest entries coming in, but I really love what you've done here! The stone stairs look very naturalistic while still keeping each large enough for a nimble minifigure to climb. I also like how you've offset some of the supports at the end of the pier so they don't seem unreasonably locked to the grid. The boat could maybe do with some more details like a lantern in the front or back, but I recognize that here its main purpose is showing off how well the pier is proportioned to work with rowboats. I also feel like it might be nice to add just a few 1x1 round bricks to the top of the pier (in line with the columns underneath) to serve as bollards/mooring posts (and as a comfortable spot for a parrot or seagull to perch), and perhaps even some short string pieces as mooring lines! Out of curiosity, is this simply an "end module" with connections only on the back, or does it also have connections on the right side so it can serve as a "corner module"? If the latter, that opens up a lot of fun and interesting layouts you could use this model for!

Oh, this is delightful! You did a wonderful job with the campfire — it can be surprisingly difficult to make a convincing stack of firewood at a scale this small! And the islander statue is a creative idea of how to make that rock column feel a little bit more exciting and less like "filler". I do wonder, though, whether you kept any clips in the back as a place for the soldiers to hang up their weapons, which was the rock column's function in the original set? It seems like there should be room for that without detracting too much from the appearance. I somewhat miss the yucca bush from the original set, since those were a familiar sight to me on trips to the beach from my childhood, so seem appropriate for this type of coastal setting. And yet I realize there's not a lot of space left to include one on this reduced 8x8 circular base. So unless you can figure a way to make the base wider without losing detail elsewhere, I suppose it's probably a reasonable sacrifice (this piece could maybe work, but I realize there's a good chance you don't have one since it's new for this year in Brick Yellow/Tan and has only been in four sets in that color). The nutcracker torsos and legs are a clever replacement for the old-school redcoat torsos, although from a historical standpoint they seem more reminiscent of Russian uniforms than the British, French, Dutch, or Spanish uniforms you might expect to see in an 18th century Caribbean setting. But when I was a kid, I certainly wouldn't have known any different — so in that respect, they're perfectly serviceable!

Yeah, that seems to have done the trick! Thanks so much. You've certainly created a dazzling array of treasures here! If I had one critique, it's that having most of the treasures on the floor results in a fairly flat-looking composition. It might look more interesting and exciting if some of the treasures could be piled up higher. The barrel on the far left is a good start since it lets you attach the parrot, bottle, and one of the coins higher up than the other treasures. Perhaps if you added another slightly taller build (like a brick-built throne, a golden/marble statue, or a tall torchère/candelabra) to the right-hand side, it would create a nice balance that helps to visually frame the two pirates in the center bringing in their latest treasure! A brick-built treasure like that could also help your model feel more unique in terms of construction, instead of just seeming like a parts pack/accessory pack.

Ooh, interesting design. I figure that SHOULD be different enough from both the classic minifigure and the mini-doll to survive any legal challenge, especially considering the distinct shape of the legs, arms, and hands.

Even after the "LEGOLAND" era ended, "LEGO System" era sets from the 90s were also generally color coded by theme on the top, bottom, and sides! Space boxes were black, Castle boxes were yellow-orange, Pirates boxes were purple, Paradisa boxes were pink, Aquazone boxes were blue-green, Trains boxes were grey, and Western boxes were brown. With some new themes from the the mid-90s onward, LEGO began to do away with this straightforward approach in favor of backdrops and textures that wrapped around all sides of the box (Time Cruisers and Adventurers boxes are some good examples of this), and by the turn of the century they'd abandoned the old color-coding entirely in favor of more specific wrap-around box art even for new subthemes of Town/Castle/Space (like Space Port, Knights' Kingdom, and Life On Mars). But throughout much of the decade these color-coded box borders were maintained fairly consistently, at least for the classic evergreen themes. In one of the more surprising examples, Ninja boxes shared the Castle theme's yellow-orange sides, even though ads and catalogs rarely drew any connection between it and the more conventional, European-inspired Castle subthemes that preceded it. Also, the Boats theme (which at the time encompassed all minifig-scale sets with floating boat hulls) shared the Town theme's blue borders in the 90s, even though they had previously been placed outside even the overarching "LEGOLAND" category, much like Trains sets.

Unfortunately, no! It just gives me an BrickSafe placeholder image that says "404 Brick Not Found" (even if I refresh or open the topic in a different browser). I'm not sure why it's working for others but not for me, but I'm not sure what else to try if it is an issue on my end. Sorry about that!

Oh, the circular bartizan around the cannon is very lovely indeed! You did a great job giving the island some depth while still keeping the sandy shores and grassy center from the original printed baseplate. The higher flagpole is a great touch as well, ensuring that sailors can tell even at a distance who controls these shores. The jail cell and pier are also very thoughtful additions that help give the fort more detail and play value. And I love that you even included some coral/sea life like in Barracuda Bay (a feature I now almost wish I'd included in my own entry)! The one detail I'm least keen on is your decision to make the stairs the same color as the tower. I feel this makes the model somewhat less recognizable as a new version of that particular set at first glance, since it gives the whole structure a more horizontal composition (kind of like 6263 Imperial Outpost), as opposed to vertical composition of the original set's lookout tower. I wonder whether wooden stairs (matching the dock) might have been a more fitting choice.

Your image links aren't working! if you could fix that I'd love to see what you've come up with!

Thanks so much for your kind comments and support! I dunno if perhaps I made it too subtle, but Captain Will is meant to be an older version of Bo'sun Will, the young LEGO Pirates protagonist who was held captive in the original set! While deciding whether to include Redbeard or a new pirate captain character, I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to address Will's absence from "Pirates of Barracuda Bay" and give a taste of the life he's made for himself over the years. I would have preferred a fabric sail for the catboat as well, but my physical LEGO collection is somewhat limited since I moved in with my wife (most of my previous collection is still back home with my parents where there's more space), so a digital entry was my only option — and it seemed more practical to build a sail within the deadline than to try and create a custom one on Stud.io Part Designer or figure out how to import one from Ldraw. Thanks! I felt like since the British name for the set was "Soldiers' Tavern", the furnishings ought to reflect that a bit more than they did in the original set, which only really had a very small bar counter and a couple goblets. I definitely understand your preference for a brown pier and mast, but I wanted to try and stick close to the approach we've seen with official "throwback" sets like PoBB, Eldorado Fortress, and Forest Hideout, which all kept their color schemes relatively close to those of their classic counterparts. Moreover, since there aren't really any other large black areas in this set, I was worried that changing the dock to a brighter color might throw off the look of the entire model. I do wish I could have included a fabric sail, though! Yeah, this is also my take on the black docks and masts in this MOC and sets like Eldorado Fortress… it's close enough to the look of freshly tarred wood that it doesn't feel strictly unrealistic, just somewhat stylized at most. In a practical sense, it also contrasts nicely with accessories like wooden barrels or crates. I do think that if I were modernizing a set like Skull Island or Treasure Chest, I would probably replace the grey pier with Sand Yellow, as LEGO did with the Barracuda's upper deck in PoBB — particularly since grey is used extensively for stone elsewhere in those sets. Even if an aged/weathered wooden pier might look grey in real life, I feel like using different colors of brick for different materials can be helpful for clarity's sake. I'm glad you like the tiller! I felt like a rudder would be a little more fitting for this sort of catboat than a pair of oars like the original set included, especially since that rear clip on the boat was otherwise unused. But it was surprisingly difficult to come up with a design that would not collide with the back wall of the boat or impede turning! My initial thought was to use a butcher knife/cleaver for the rudder, as the shape and size seemed pretty much ideal, but alas — even that slight inward curve of the back edge would collide with the back surface of the boat and stress the parts. There really isn't much clearance between that surface and the neighboring clip.

Yep! These same aliens and some of the builds associated with them also appeared in the "Captain Indigo" comics from LEGO Bricks & Pieces magazine, where they are identified as "Zarkonians" affiliated with the Zark Empire. There were also a number of stories and activity pages in "De LEGO Krant" magazine from the Netherlands which portrayed Classic Space astronauts encountering extraterrestrials (including some meta-examples where the "aliens" in question are human kids interacting with minifigure-shaped space explorers). And of course, who's to say that the LEGO astronauts of the 70s and 80s didn't already include multiple species among their ranks? After all, even without specialized "alien" face prints or body parts, it's entirely possible that some of those astronauts feature Vulcan-like ears, Klingon-like forehead ridges, or even prehensile antennae under those helmets of theirs! I do think it's notable that even in examples of Classic Space media that involves aliens, it's still presented as a "first contact" type scenario — in keeping with the Classic Space sets' emphasis on "frontier" environments and infrastructure populated by scientists and explorers whose tasks included launching probes and analyzing the surface in utilitarian-looking planetary rovers. By contrast, Jens Nygaard Knudsen and his team consciously designed the Futuron sets to represent already well-established space colonies that were home to a thriving extraterrestrial society. Later subthemes like Blacktron, Space Police, and M:Tron continued to build on that foundation.

Here’s my attempt at updating 6267 Lagoon Lock-Up/Soldiers’ Tavern in the style of Barracuda Bay and Eldorado Fortress! Like those sets, I tried to keep this model close to the original set’s color scheme and "footprint", while adding more textural detail, play features, furnishings, and accessories. Decades ago, this seaside tavern was a popular gathering place for soldiers, merchant sailors, and even pirates — although those who spoke TOO freely about their extralegal exploits would often face a grueling detention in the nearby village lock-up. Now, 22 years later, the tavern has been renovated with breezy outdoor seating for its patrons, a stew stove to prepare hot meals, and high-quality pewter, brass, and ceramic tableware. On a good day, the tavern-keeper leaves with a full coin purse when it comes time to lock up! Meanwhile, the imperial soldiers have converted that meager jail cell into a customs impound for all the valuable contraband they’ve seized from local smugglers: molasses, tea leaves, and even gold bullion. Trade goods as fine as these are of course a tempting target for any number of scoundrels and sea raiders… But later tonight, Captain Will and his young protégé Middy Mae also have their sights on another prize: a map to the fabled pirate refuge, Barracuda Bay. In the meantime, they're counting on the tavern keeper to keep the imperial officer distracted with food, drink, and gossip… and hoping that pesky seagull’s squawking won’t draw the attention of the soldiers keeping watch from the rooftop! While law-abiding sailors are welcome to moor their boats at the dock out front, Will’s learned not to take his chances around these snooping soldiers. His trusty catboat is waiting for his return along a nearby coast if he needs to make a quick getaway! Hope you enjoy this MOC! Nautical builds are not my forte, but since the new Eldorado Fortress set and some of the other creative contest entries here on Eurobricks entries in this contest had me feeling so inspired, I figured I might as well try my hand at updating a classic Pirates set. And honestly, I’m proud that I was able to come up with this in just a couple months, especially since it’s been a few years since the last time I finished a MOC to my satisfaction. In any case, I’m eager to hear what this forum’s more experienced sailors think of it!

Oh, lovely work! You did a good job using a mix of SNOT and studs-on-top building for the rocky cliffs so that neither starts to feel unnatural or repetitive. I love what you did with the sword-shaped overhead view, while still keeping the island and dock looking fairly natural, interesting, and visually balanced from other angles! The little bartizan next to the tower also ensures the island's layout/composition still feels true to the original set, even with all the substantial changes and improvements you made. I do wish the tower had removable floors or a removable back wall to allow for interior detail. Even if it's too small a space to actually fit fully furnished spaces for minifigures with usable floor space, there could still maybe be enough room for easter eggs like a sea chart or rack of muskets/swords against some of the walls. But you created a VERY pretty exterior, so if it truly isn't possible to include any sort of interior detail, I can at least understand why you made that sacrifice. The cave in the back also helps to make up for the lack of interior details in the tower itself. Best of luck in the contest!