21322 Barracuda Bay

[Formendacil]

I assume that the readership around here has almost certainly seen [url=https://www.brothers-brick.com/2020/03/24/le ... ates-news/]the Brothers-Brick's coverage of 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay[/url], or similar coverage somewhere, but there's no thread here and I think this warrants one. Granted, this is Classic-Castle, there's a lot of overlap nostalgically for LEGO fans of a certain age between Castle and Pirates.

Full disclosure: I am 100% squarely in the demographic for whom this set is hitting ALL the buttons. Pirates was my first real theme-obsession as a LEGO fan (not my first sets--Castle actually predated my first Pirate sets), though the only ship, pirate or otherwise, that I ever had was the very last: the some crapulent 6250 Crossbone Clipper. Classic Pirate sets are probably the most expensive theme to try collecting on the used market, so I've only picked up a few small ones here and there.

All of which is to say: I fully understand the disappointment that a fan of the original Ideas project might have at seeing such a drastically changed design, but I do not share it. This has gone from "cool, that looks neat and I like the idea of pirates" to "if I can in any way swing it, I *must* get this set."

It is definitely geared to a specific demographic, though: old enough to remember the 90s--and old enough to drop 200 USD at once. I really, really hope it does well--not just because I'm always down for more Pirates (though I thought the 2015 was lacking excitement, even if the sets were generally solid--but, in fairness, that was my darkest of grey ages), but because if it DOES, I think we could see other "nostalgia" projects. Obviously, the Exo-Suit already hit the Classic Space button, but that was in theory more about the design than the theme--arguably, Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP was closer--and his Space Squad. From what my informal survey of shelves at the local Target looked like, those sold well. So if Classic Space did well, and Classic Pirates were to do well... could we see something "Classic Castle"?

Here's hoping.

[Elephant Knight]

I am very pumped for this set. I am so glad the wait for the release is so short. Seeing the original submission, I was like, cool, Pirate set got through, though its a bit brown. I am quite pleased with the direction the set designers went. Making it an essentially 2-1 set is just brilliant, and making it the Black Seas Barracuda is the icing on the cake. And the little islander reference is the cherry on top.

The set itself looks very well designed. The ship itself could easily be the best Lego has ever made (I will wait to get to say for sure) and the shipwrecked island is done very well, and still holds a lot of the original's details and general layout.

Hour 1 purchase for me, for sure.

EKnight

[kongutahu]

The original submission was pretty nice, but this I definitely need.

I was born just a bit too late to have any classic pirates growing up, but my uncle got the Black Seas Barracuda re-release in 2002 and I spent hours playing with that whenever we visited, so this one ship in particular does hold a lot of nostalgic value for me.

Plus I spent a good chunk of 2010 playing LEGO Battles, which featured those islander head statues as part of these golem units the islanders could summon. Those were one of my favourite units to use so I really love that little addition.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/GDk8du][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/1508/266767124 ... 5b0b_n.jpg[/img][/url]

[Purple Wolf]

I'm am just going to say this is truly the most awesome set I've seen in a while. Beautiful build with a great box design. The whole fact that it is a land creation that could also be a full boat that looks absolutely amazing is truly a great feat.

I can't wait for this.

Purple Wolf

P.S. The price per piece is also really great.

[ffilz]

Oh, if only my budget allowed for this. But as much as I love the Pirates theme, I just haven't been building in it so my copies of this set (the old me would have bought at least 2 copies) will just have to stay on the shelf for someone else to buy...

[Bluesecrets]

I would so buy this if I wasn't worried about spending money during this never-ending quarantine that I am under. It's really nice. Maybe once this virus goes away, I can consider it.

[Formendacil]

I really, really hope it does well--not just because I'm always down for more Pirates (though I thought the 2015 was lacking excitement, even if the sets were generally solid--but, in fairness, that was my darkest of grey ages), but because if it DOES, I think we could see other "nostalgia" projects.

Well, no one can say it was driven by Pirates of Barracuda Bay's sales numbers, since it clearly had to have been in development in parallel with it, but it's interesting to me how this week's big announcement, [url=https://www.brothers-brick.com/2020/05/13/le ... tion-news/]10273 Haunted House[/url] is also very much a 1990s nostalgia project--albeit the other end of the decade and in a rather different way.

[Crazylegoman]

So if Classic Space did well, and Classic Pirates were to do well... could we see something "Classic Castle"?

Here's hoping.

As far as Ideas sets, we do have [url=https://ideas.lego.com/projects/15ab26fc-149 ... cac4d0f4cf]the approved Medieval Blacksmith set[/url] coming. It's not exactly Classic Castle, but it definitely falls into the Castle theme.

If you browse through the Castle/medieval themed projects on the [url=https://ideas.lego.com/]Ideas website[/url], you see many more modern MOC style builds than Classic Castle style builds. One of the obstacles that people have to overcome when they design a Classic Castle themed project for Ideas is that it's quite a bit harder to design something in the same style as older Castle sets while still conveying that visual sense of awe to the voters. Sure, people like us are often instantly drawn to a good MOC that is an obvious homage to Classic Castle sets for nostalgia and theme-loyalty reasons, but the common person looking for something to vote on will likely pick creations that use the newest parts and colors. Creating a Classic Castle MOC on Ideas that has wide appeal can be done, but it has to be spot-on in order to have a chance to the 10,000 votes.

Just my 2¢,
David

[LEGO_KNIGHT]

I like this set and plan to buy it for my birthday. There lots of useful parts and the set can be conveniently converted to suit the castle theme setting with a few mods. I have bought its "little brother", set 31109 Creator 3 in 1: Pirate Ship. I have yet to build the set. It will be an awesome build!