Castle and Pirates

Discussion of general LEGO topics
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Robin Hood
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Post by Robin Hood »

Pirates used to be a very much liked type. But there never were the top, because they didn't have enough story fodder. And when they stopped making em, well they just sorta fell out of interest. Still I have to say that I wanted Skull's Eye Schooner very much, and I still do.

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Section8
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Post by Section8 »

Robin Hood wrote:But there never were the top, because they didn't have enough story fodder.
According to the Ultimate Lego Book in 1999, and I do believe I am remembering this correctly (my book's at home, I'm at school), Pirates was the best selling line they had to date, which brings up the question of why did they stop making minifig scale Pirates if it was the best selling?

I agree that they have been forgotten though. It's a shame. This years Jack Stone line is nothing compared to the old minifig line, but I do concede that there are some good parts to be had in the new sets. I haven't looked up what each set has exactly, but I can tell from the pictures that some parts would work well with minifig Pirates.
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The Blue Knight
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Post by The Blue Knight »

I like the Pirates very much Frank Filz' Uncle Stevie's Crazy Pirate game at BF PDX was fun. He is probably the biggest pirate guy left, he loves it. I also believe it tied in with Lego in many ways. The MFs were great. I sold 42 soldier boys (blue with some red) for $125 on evilBay about 3 years ago. I have a baseplate full of striped shirt pirate "regulars" that I haven't a clue what to do with.

TTK is right. It is a defunct line, and the meager table scraps we get from Hairy Parter and KK2 do at least pump in some new blood, even if the blood is somewhat tainted. Both themes should have wide appeal.

Just why did Lego make this great theme walk the plank (just couldn't resist)?
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Bruce N H
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Post by Bruce N H »

Hey,

I don't know of any community site for Pirates aside from Lugnet.pirates. There are some awesome personal MOC sites. See the Lugnet site for links:
http://news.lugnet.com/pirates/

IMO, the pirate line is limited by the boat hull. Yes, those pirate guys have come up with some awesome variations on these, but when you approach the line it is hard to make anything that looks largely different from the official design. If they had continued the line, especially with awesome sets like the Imperial Trading Post, they could have gotten more out of it, though, IMO.

As a castle guy, I love the pirates as a source. A lot of the figs work well in a castle setting. E.g. I just picked up a few of the Imperial Armada figs and will be using them, and the head rag is a farily standard headgear for my peasants. I've used the rigging piece as a siege ladder and have seen others use it as a windmill vane. Of course the cutlass is another edged weapon (perhaps not historically accurate in a castle era, but I'm not one of those historical accuracy buffs). Also, of course there were ships in medieval settings, and as such the pirate boat hull can find its place in a castle world. And monkeys! You've got to love monkeys! Not for any particular castle usage, just because they're fun. :P
--Added: I've also seen the peg legs used in making MOC Centaurs and Satyrs.

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Post by Jojo »

Hello!


Just in case nobody ever took notice of this (what I would fully understand because, if you know that guy, you wouldn't expect something like this from him: This is Reinhard 'Ben' Beneke's attempt on the Pirates theme:

Image

And I liked (and still like) very much Denis Pouchain's primarily Pirate themed fortress MOCs (At least he used to post them to .lugnet.pirates although they work wonderfully with Castle as well):

Image

I myself never built a real ship-MOC but rather turned my attention on Harbours and coast towns as well when I played with my Pirates back than. The officially released ships were great enough for me and I only improved them a bit.
(Image)


Bye
Jojo

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Post by Draygen »

Only thing I actually liked about these kiddie pirates was the chrome scimitar =). I'm such a sucker for chrome armor/weapons of any kind
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Post by JPinoy »

The only use I would have with the 4+ Pirates are for the weapons, some other parts and thats it. I really wish they'd continue the System scale pirates.

I wanna see some Russian and Prussian troops. Turks and Corsaires ships.
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Post by lemon_squeezer2 »

I have always liked pirates, but as others have said, the line as we knew it is apparently dead.

The Lego company really had something going for them here. However, I think they were reaching the end of their rope when they stopped back in 1996. For one, several pirate ships had already been made. Another would of been redundent. The same goes for coastal towns - you can only do so much while keeping it within "pirate" boundries. The ITP and EF covered what could be done. A tangent couldn't really be done between the two and a town would of become a more "colonial" theme (Then again, that wouldn't of been a half bad idea)

TLC could of maybe fit in one more imperial ship, butfrom the sets I see, you really can't do much else.

It was a great theme though and it is a shame to see it superceded by a "4 +" line.
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Post by Formendacil »

I agree with Lemon that they were getting quite repetitive by the time 1997 and the final sets came out. And from that standpoint, a break of a few years was a good idea.

But it's been 7 years now. I think we are ready to see a new line. It doesn't have to be original. Go with the old idea: pirate ship, navy ship, coastal bases. Make a bunch of new sets in the old style. It did great before, it should do okay now. We've been without long enough.
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Post by LusiferSam »

Pirate is always competing with Castle to be my favorite. Some of the best sets ever were Pirate. The Eldorado Fortress, the Skull's Eye Schooner, the Imperial Trading Post, and the first and final word in pirate ships the Black Seas Barracuda.

'98 was a very sad year for me when I found out that Pirate had been canceled. Sure the '96 and '97 sets were weaker than the '89 or say the '92 or '95 sets but there were still some bright spots. The new mini figures were great. We really hadn't had any new pirates for a long time and what we got was great. Set wise I loved 6296 because of details and 6249 was great for its size. But on the other hand both 6289 and 6281 were cartoonish and would need a lot of work to bring them up to snuff.

Still I really Lego to bring Pirate back and to bring it back right. None of this Jack Stone crap with the over sized accessories.
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