Retrocity

Good point with the alternate builds. I was thinking that the 2009 and 2015 waves included a couple Imperials with the largest Pirate ship. Perhaps one alternate build is an Imperial fort for the pirates to attack. 3rd could be some sort of trading post or civilian building/setting that both groups would be at. My initial thought was they included a civilian and a Serpent knight with the Horse Knight Castle and seemed to place a larger emphasis on a bigger and better selection of minifigures (with more of the budget put toward new prints for the minifigures). I honestly prefer more of the budget going toward new minifigure prints than more pieces in the Creator sets because I can add on to the build with extra parts. Options for new pirate themed minifigure parts are much more limited. Hopefully this bodes well for some new prints. I figure printed legs are pretty rare for pirates, so no budget really needs to be allocated to a new print there (though I’m not opposed to one, just thinking about how it’s been in the past). They made two new castle factions, make the Imperial faction a new color and/or bring back Spanish/Armada helmets. Say with 5 figures: two Imperial or other opposing faction, one Pirate captain, one male pirate, and one female pirate. They could reuse the vending machine torso for one figure, but I’m wondering if they want to keep it exclusive outside BDP sets. If it gets a 6th figure, one additional pirate or a skeleton. They could also make the captain a woman which would give some variety. Of course, they could just rehash existing torsos, or the set could be something unexpected but where’s the fun in speculating that.

Quite exciting to see it sounds like a new creator ship is on the way. It looks like it is 168 less pieces than 31109. The Horse Knight Castle is 67 less pieces than 31220. 6 figures versus 4 (counting the skeleton) for the new versus old castle. I think it would be fair to speculate 5-6 figures for the pirate ship. Considering the minifigure assortment in the Horse Knight Castle and Haunted Mansion creator sets, I am also hopeful we’ll get a nice assortment of new prints. Maybe a new Imperial figure as well.

My card was charged a few days ago, and the order status updated to “In Warehouse” today!

Really tempting to grab a 2nd one for the alternative builds.

I saw a few days ago elsewhere that someone had reached out to Lego, and customer service told them that they should all ship by 11/15. Hopefully that's the case.

Has anyone in the US had their payment method charged / received shipment notification for Thieves of Tortuga? Seems like at least a few of the other sets have started shipping, but haven’t seen any mention of Tortuga in the US. Mine is In Process, I think it may have been In Warehouse last week.

Can you share the vendor? I've gotten a few of the orange BAM pirate torso's and have started a small imperial faction with them. I have an extra of the Creator Pirate Ship and have been thinking of modifying it for them. Still not sure what path I'll take as far as sails, but would love to have that information for when I do.

Hopefully the Brickheadz lead to new TMNT sets in the future. Could line up with sets for the Mutant Mayhem sequel in 2027. Would love a large set based on the sewer lair or Technodrome from the 1987 cartoon or one of the lairs from the 90s movies (The Secret of the Ooze abandoned subway station lair would be really cool).

Preordered mine!

That’s a really good callout. I didn’t think that at first, but I definitely see it now. Both torsos are really nice. The gold Imperial torso could be used with either blue or red coats or as its own separate faction.

Really great looking figures. I may get the set because I really liked the concept in general. Will absolutely get more of the minifigures. Like the viking vibe for the Kraken knights, can easily swap the helmets to make them more of a traditional castle if desired or use them with other viking sets. Shield, torso, and leg printing is great. I voted for Kraken but Griffin gave off the most classic castle look. Really pleased with their torso. To me, it looks like an updated scale mail armor used a lot with the Black Knights but also throughout other castle themes. If the Sea Serpent remake wins that vote, I could see this torso being used (though I’d love to see a Black Knight torso with their emblem on it). I like that they are using a variety of shields types to make factions more unique. Pirate torsos are also really good. Nice to see the Paradisa figures too. My sister had a bunch of these sets growing up, but I currently have them. I would’ve liked to have seen another theme represented, but I’m glad to have such a variety of new figures coming that should be available on PAB eventually and usable on future BDP sets.

I voted for Black Knights, Black Falcons, and Fright Knights. I collected Pirates first and foremost when I was younger and didn’t really start to dive into castle (and other themes) sets until the Royal Knights/Dark Forest/Fright Knights years. Black Knights were always the coolest looking sets in the Shop at Home catalogs.

The castle looks better with the full clear images. The minifigures are fantastic. The Snake Knight torso and legs look really good. I had initially hoped it would be similar to others with the crest on the torso, but I like what they did. It’s hard to tell, but is there a small snake as the belt buckle?

A full image of the set is out there. The horses don’t look that bad. I always try to get extra horses on Bricklink if I see them cheap when buying other parts, so it’s not too big of a deal for me. The castle itself looks smaller/a little less detailed than the prior 3 in 1. I do like the tower build on the right side. Maybe there are some features on the inside (looks like maybe a stable door inside the castle from the picture). Like the prior 3 in 1, I anticipate a lot of good alternate builds using multiple copies. Those will probably affect when/if I eventually get one or more copies (though will probably look for a sale/used copy) versus ordering parts/figures on PAB. The minifigures look great, can’t really get a good look at the torsos other than the civilian. There is a king, knight, archer, and spearman for the Horseknights. I also have to say I’m very excited for the return of the Ghost minifigure in the Haunted House.

There is a new printed tile of Captain Redbeard in the new BAM parts. Looks to be a mid battle picture on a ship with smoke from cannon fire. I think it will be a really cool piece to place on the wall of a room in a pirate fort, pub, or in the captains quarters of a ship.

Photo is out there! It looks good. Just one overall shot, nothing of any interior. Apparently just called The Shire. Haven't been keeping up on this for the past few days, but hearing it's supposed to be closer to $200?

Lucked out and Best Buy by me put them out today. I had been checking the app and was going to just order a couple from them as they sent me a $5 reward. Only got a couple Wolfpack (got the Quartermaster previously though maybe I’ll get another for the Cockatoo). I must say that I really like the cape and hood. I think I like this hood over the one typically used on newer medieval figures, but it looks like it’s not on PAB (seems like mostly licensed sets have used them)? Does it seem like the Boogeyman is getting bought up quickly? I was thinking of getting one, but did not today.

Anyone else in the US seem to have the stores in their area dragging to put out the new series this year? I've always gotten the January release at Target during the last week of December the last couple years. Some of the Walmart have put them out, but not the closest one to me. I managed to get a Quartermaster at the next one over, since it's right by Target. All Wolfpack were long gone. Hopefully, I'll be able to get 2 of them when they eventually put them out.

Amazing to hear. I was just getting into Lego during the tail end of Blacktron II, but never had any as a kid as I was focused on Pirates. I didn't really even know of Blacktron I until several years later when I came across one of the little flyers in an older cousin's bucket of Lego that had Blacktron I and Futuron sets on them. A few years back, I lucked into an almost complete Message Intercept Base split amongst two $10 buckets of mixed Lego at a Half Price Books, and after building it, Blacktron I shot up to one of my favorite overall themes. Such a good color scheme and that set in particular has a lot of great parts and features. I've picked up a few more Blacktron I sets since and would like to expand the base a little. Renegade is one I haven't gotten yet, so I'm excited to see how the remake looks (and four figures instead of two is great).

Besides Scalawag Sloop, another smaller set that I really like from BDP6 is the Cozy Little Cottage.

Perhaps the Quartermaster will be an updated Steve? I’ve always thought of him as a merchant based on Imperial Trading Post, but Quartermaster would make sense for the version in Skull’s Eye Schooner.

The set I preordered arrived yesterday. Even better in person. So many good pieces. I fully expect a series 2 at some point. I passed on grabbing some last week, and now I’m going to be on the hunt for a few extras.

Steve Origins: Meeting Redbeard by Oky

Thanks for the info! I'll have to look up the videos.

I think the set I'm more likely to have interest in from a mindset of one or the other is Medieval Seaside Market. It's a little bit smaller than either Tortuga or Forest Stronghold though. If I opt to get only one, I'll likely stick to Tortuga (since I'll get the Medieval Market Village eventually), but we'll see a finalized Seaside Market up for crowdfunding first. I also like the Wild West Train from that series a lot. This may be slightly veering a little off topic, but what are the overall thoughts on how finalists are chosen? A little relevant since the potential price (due to the total piece count) is a big topic on Tortuga. While there is the fan vote, the selection team is also looking at additional criteria beyond the vote in selecting their 5 finalists (potential future official sets, hype around the set, a well rounded selection by theme/size for each series, ect..). I'd love to see the behind the scenes process. It seems that for say castle theme, they've stuck to larger sets and have yet to select a smaller build despite there being quality submissions. I guess you could say they anticipate a castle set to consistently sell the full allotment whether it costs around $100 or $400 whereas a different theme might have trouble selling 30K copies at the higher price point. The big set probably has more hype going for it as well. We're also seeing a lot of builders with their second or even third submission selected as a finalist. Some of these subsequent builds follow the same theme, which can be nice. There are the perks to having your submission chosen, so designing a set that goes along with one that you previously had selected will probably help it gain support, especially if it's part of a theme that LEGO is not currently making sets for. No discredit to the builders as they are creating some amazing sets and you'd be hard pressed to say they don't deserve to be selected with all the work that goes into the process. I personally don't look at who created a submission when I vote for one, but I do recognize a lot of names from seeing other builds they have previously shared (either with BDP, Ideas, or various media). I just wonder if there will eventually be fatigue with BDP for buyers if some themes are almost exclusively sets on the upper piece/price side or for designers if it feels a small subset continue to make up a bulk of the finalists. I don't think the design side would necessarily hurt from the buyers perspective if that subset continues to pump out quality submissions, just that over time there may be less options to select from. And hey, Series 6 might be the complete opposite with all new designers and more reasonably sized sets.