Retrocity

Here be yer chance to order 910053 The Thieves of Tortuga! Only 30,000 sets will be produced - so DON'T MISS OUT! When the timer reaches 00:00:00:00 orders close. Crowdfunding shall commence June 10th, 2025 at 8AM Pacific time. US$339.99 / £299.99 / €339.99 Heaps more photos and info on Classic-Pirates.com. New imperial faction - green coats with their very own flag! BrickLink Series 5 winners have been announced! The Thieves of Tortuga has been selected for crowdfunding. I will most likely get it depending on final cost. I liked Caribbean Port equally, maybe even slightly more despite it not being as detailed. I liked getting a ship and more of a dock. Tortuga has about 1600 more pieces, more detail but also more expensive. I’m just happy to have a set based on a port town. The Transylvania set is quite the set as well. I’m a little disappointed that the Portal Of Shadows didn’t make it. It was really unique. https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-5/main.page?_refreshrnd=47933

I ordered that torso last week off PAB, and it came in today. I'm still waiting on the standard parts from my order to come in with the head I want for it along with some other hair pieces I may use. I went with orange pants, since I had an extra pair lying around. I think it fits in really well.

3. Ben S 8. Kristel 10. Kritch

I’d love to see Caribbean Port or The Thieves of Tortuga make it. A more merchant centered set would be nice and complement existing Pirate sets. Tortuga is definitely more polished having a lot more pieces, but I really like something about the design of Carribean Port. I think it loosely reminds me of the town they had built on display in the Pirate hotel at Legoland in Florida (although more detailed). I’d like to see it with some of the Cobblestone work on the walkways like Tortuga has. I like the Trading Port too. I could see modding it slightly and making it a base for my Imperial Armada figures.

Maybe I was just super busy with work and outside activities during the last voting round and didn't take much time to dig into some of the submissions, but I feel there are stronger submissions this time around. Of course some themes have a lot of solid submissions, but which ones really stand out as something unique. I'd also echo that it feels like I pull up some submissions to look at and the piece count is way higher than expected. I would honestly love to see a round where the piece count is restricted to encourage smaller builds. I liked the small viking ships from the last round, and it would be cool to see one of the ships from round 5 make it through. I thought the Retro Ant Colony was a lot of fun and also a nice small build. The Old West Mine with the dinosaur skeleton built into the outside of the mine is cool. The Portal of Shadows build was really unique, though a larger set. Love the necromancer and summoning portal just stands out. Transylvania too, is quite the set and I absolutely can see it getting made. I'd be really interested in one of the Pirate port towns as it would go well with the existing Pirate sets.

Fan vote is open! https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/a4ae09b6-0d4c-4307-9da8-3ee9f3d368d6/post/bc71ade6-038c-47fd-bb34-15493ca61cc1 There are five choices for the new Spaceman! Bright Bluish Green, Bright Yellowish Green, Reddish Violet, Warm Gold, and Dark Azure. These are all good in my opinion. I think I'm going for Bright Bluish Green, but Bright Yellowish Green is very good. I think I'd be happy with any, but Warm Gold the least of the five.

Fan vote is open! Castle factions are Krakens, Griffins, Bulls, and Crows. I called it on Krakens being a choice, not the color scheme I initially envisioned but it's unique. I'm going Krakens, but all are good. Bulls and Crows are remakes of the Bull faction and the CMF Tournament Knight (factions are listed as updates on the blog). Kraken I think is the most unique. I missed out on the Tournament knight as it was hard to find that series when it was out, and I only saw them once. Would love to have them potentially available at a better price point. The Griffin looks good with the color scheme, but they say the shape and colors can change from the preliminary image. https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/a4ae09b6-0d4c-4307-9da8-3ee9f3d368d6/post/bc71ade6-038c-47fd-bb34-15493ca61cc1

Can’t wait to see the set. Won’t be getting it right away, but mainly because I just managed to get Rivendell today at a pretty good discount from a local auction place (they buy returns from a lot of major retailers and auction them as is). I’m not even sure what retailer it came from since I thought it was still exclusive (a lot of items come from Amazon, Target, other big box places). You can inspect items before bidding, so I went out there last week to check if it was legit. Just a heavily water damaged box but all bags, instructions and stickers were there! Luckily the instructions and stickers had no water damage. I always get outbid on any LEGO sets, but I’m guessing nobody else inspected it and was willing to chance it not being complete.

Despite wanting to get an updated Black Knight, I feel it would be best for all new factions/color schemes to be used (unless they want to go all prior existing). Let them hopefully use an update to an old faction for a future set. That way, the vote seems a little more balanced versus there being one highly in demand update and a few new options that sound cool but likely won't stand a chance. Thinking on this more, I wonder how many total figures they'll put in the set, and if they'll potentially have the budget for another fun update or two from another theme that will be a surprise (wouldn't a Seatron alien be a ridiculously fun figure to have in there). As for factions that could be interesting, a seafaring faction with a serpent or kraken would be cool. I could see them having a not so traditional animal as an option as far as what you think of with medieval settings like a penguin. They could also make a goat knight though I think they know how that will likely go if it's an option.

I am assuming they will pick all new colors. Teal/Turquoise, lime, magenta, dark gray? Maybe a sand or dark green in place of lime.

The latest IDEAS review has been announced. https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/a4ae09b6-0d4c-4307-9da8-3ee9f3d368d6/post/1d2fa9a9-b6a6-4521-921d-7567869881d9 Two sets approved and one will get further review with a decision during the next approval in the summer. 1. Minifigure Prize Machine 2 figures in the set will be determined by fan vote. - New Castle faction emblem - New Classic Spaceman color 2. Western River Steamboat 3. Disney Pixar’s Luxo Jr. Lamp - further review with decision in the summer I’m pretty pleased with the selections, some interesting selections. I usually go through the list before seeing what was selected and make logical guesses. I thought the bike or toaster might get picked, since they have been making a lot of display piece type objects lately like the Polaroid. The prize machine fits that mold too, but I think it’s a cool concept. It’s gonna get a lot of hype from those fan votes for the minifigures. I think the Steamboat is a great build despite it not being something I’d typically consider. Depending on the price, I might get it.

I posted this in the Historic Theme section as well but this applies here too (Castle vote is for a new faction emblem). With the IDEAS Minifigure Prize Machine getting approved, there will be a fan vote to select a new Classic Spaceman color for one of the figures that will be included.

With the IDEAS Minifigure Prize Machine getting approved, there will be a fan vote to select a new Castle faction emblem for one of the figures that will be included.

I used an app called Code Scan (iPhone) that I also used for the last set. I saw that Jay's Brick Blog had a system that doesn't require an app, but I think you had to make an account. Since I already had the app, it was quicker to use that in store.

I was able to get the updated Ice Planet, Blacktron, and M-Tron along with the Beetlezoid. I really like them all. I like the Blacktron more than I thought I would from the pictures. I had some spare neon green visors and adding them to the M-Tron figures makes them perfect in my opinion. Well worth grabbing some off Bricklink with an order if you don’t have any extra since they are pretty cheap. I think the Ice Planet helmet could’ve been great despite there not being a separate visor. There’s a lot of detail to the helmet, I just think it could have used some more color. The Beetlezoid has a great color scheme.

Thanks for the confirmation! I'm determined to remember where I got it, but for now, I'll think of a good use for it.

I found that I have two of the thin triangular black and white striped sail that came with Enchanted Island. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=sailbb14#T=S&O={"iconly":0} Did this come in any other set at all? Per Bricklink, it doesn't look like it did, and I don't see any similar sail that is a different part number. This is from a childhood set and none of my friends/family had it, so it didn't come from someone else. Almost 100% positive I didn't get a second one from a mixed lot as my childhood (and newer complete sets) are stored separately at this time. They were in separate containers, so I haven't thought anything of it over the past few years. The only thing I could possibly think is that I requested a replacement one from LEGO in a letter I mailed for some parts as one has a ripped hole at the top (I'm also pretty sure that I did not; I'd have to find a computer with a floppy disk drive to find that letter that I wrote in elementary school haha). Any thoughts or did it clone itself after all those years lol.

Series 4 Finalists announced. 1. Merchant Boat 2. Wild West Train 3. Medieval Seaside Market 4. Siege Encampment 5. The Riverside Scholars Nice sets overall though none of the sets I really liked made the cut. I also got a lot more selective in my voting compared to the first/second round (tried to limit how many per theme/style I voted for). I’d consider the train or market depending on the final design and price. I had really liked the western train set that had the town with it as well. https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-4/main.page?_refreshrnd=18047

Not sure about other parts, but it looks like a lot of animals that were on the list from November to be discontinued from PAB (and were still showing up as just out of stock) are now back in stock. Animals like the sheep, some of the baby animals, ect...

Big price drop on the cow? I want to say it was previously something like $9.52 and I'm seeing $6.86 now.

I like the Slopes Curved best followed by Slopes (PoBB) , but I have a soft spot for the Vintage/Classic looks as well.

I recently started playing D&D in the past several years after some friends invited us to join their group, so this is cool to see. I actually am playing a green Dragonborn Paladin currently and use a Lego figure as my mini (uses the CMF Green dragon head and BAM green wizard torso/skirt as the main parts; have some upgrades to armor/weapons sitting in my PAB cart currently). Also built a dice tower, but have some parts waiting in my PAB cart to get everything aligned from a color perspective. It definitely sounds like there will be a lot of good parts included that should work for a lot of builds even if not interested in the license. I probably would've been interested in at least some regardless of if I actually played. As someone more recently exposed to D&D, but not having much prior knowledge, I was surprised to see there are LOTS of products being made tying into the theme, some being more upscale as well (liquor and candles were two that I read about recently). Add in all the customized items people buy for their game night (dice, minis, ect...) and the success that Baldur's Gate 3 has been having, I would think that Lego expects these should be very popular.

After seeing the higher resolution pictures, I think the minifigure selection is great. Some great torso prints and those are a lot harder to come by compared to adding in some extra animals/trees. While I really would've liked a few more animals like the cow, I'm sure the price of the set would've went up accordingly. I do think the reduced amount of animals/minifigures makes the outdoor market portion look a little sparse compared to the original leaked photo. I might have to build another small merchant stand to add in along with any additional animals. I'm glad a snagged a few more sheep in the fall on PAB. I too, debated on getting the Mountain Fortress today, but ended up not getting it (the site being down at 11 and then having a dentist appointment and work to catch up on after made me think about it too much). I really liked the look and it was probably my favorite build out of all the BDP sets so far, maybe I'll end up parting it out down the road since most pieces should be easily available.

The buildings look good, some differences from the leaked photo. It feels less busy, maybe because it looks like we lost a tree or two and there's some rearranged items. I'm ok with less animals than the leak, but they really cut them out. I figure the goat won't be that expensive on PAB eventually to get more, but really would've liked another cow or to at least gotten two goats in a set this size. Surely the budget could've given even one horse. Waiting to see the details inside and the torsos. What is on the crook's torso?? Probably just trying to visualize a Wolfpack logo from the blurry photo, but maybe?

I finally was able to build my copy today. I enjoyed most of the building process. There’s a lot of rock work building up the base, but I didn’t find it all that repetitive. It was an enjoyable build on a cold Saturday. I’ve slowly been acquiring some extra pieces for a long standing project to make a modernized Rock Island Refuge (my first pirate set). While I have already started on the base (currently on hold while getting more pieces), I did find some techniques from the Eldorado build helpful for visualizing since the base from the original set is the same one (though my build will likely be slightly bigger). I can see the criticism that a lot of the pieces for the set went to building the old baseplate and better allocation of parts could’ve allowed some additional changes/details to the fort. If you were to ask me my main dislikes before building, just from looking at photos, I think most stemmed from little things like potentially swapping out some white bricks for yellow or making the dock brown. I voted for the docks in the poll before building. Other critiques would be things like more detail though I like to add things to most sets. After building, I would say my main criticism would be the size of the governor’s office. When put together like the original Eldorado, I think simply moving the cannon elsewhere and enclosing the newly open space might do the trick (along with some additional details). When displayed in the more modular form, it would need heavier modification which would make switching between the two displays more difficult. I am happy that an updated ship from Imperial Trading Post was included. I don’t have that set (maybe one day) and I always liked the boat from it. I do wish we had gotten a merchant figure. I would definitely buy more sails if they ever go on PAB to make another small ship in similar style. I do like the modular design with the idea that someone can build additional sections and add on to the fort. I’ve noticed criticism when compared to sets like PoBB. For me, it’s hard to directly compare to sets like PoBB since it was an IDEAS set and based on a fan design rather than completely designed in house. While it can turn into a modern BSB, the island version is a completely original design rather than a modernization/remake of an old Pirate base. That said, both are still official sets from the same theme. I think with likely different in house designers (And PoBB having a fan designer) and different goals leads to different styles. One thing I miss not being reused is the palm trees from PoBB. I’m fine with the ones used, but I enjoy the look of the newer ones a lot. One other thought, where’s the shark? Just feels wrong to not get a shark in a large pirate set. Overall, I was happy with the build and am happy to have the set. I always wanted the original Eldorado Fortress as a kid, but it was out of production before I could really have a chance to get it. I haven't put it next to PoBB yet to see it side by side for additional thoughts. I do have the LKC to eventually build as well, so maybe I’ll have some other thoughts after building that.