Boomchil

Hi. Sorry for the late answer, I didn't see your post. It has about 2500 parts, and its cost was somewhere between 150 and 200€.

F*** yeah! At least! Can't wait to see it, I also hope that other sets will be released, bigger and better than 2009 ones! This has made my day :)

Thank you. I'm not sure about making it a Cuusoo project, it would never hit 10.000 votes :)

Hello everyone! At least it is finished! I'm not really good at MOCing (it's my first MOC ever) so I'm sure there is quite room for improvement, any comments are welcome :)

Here are some pics I took some time ago, would they meet your requirements? I have them in high resolution if you want. Edit : They are in jpeg with white background as an example, I will post them in transparent png if they fit your needs.

Thanks for your comments. I was going to buy the parts to build it but unfortunately some of them don't exist in dark orange color (1x1 plate), I've got to find a way, change colors or wait till Lego does it... :)

[pid][/pid] 245C UPDATE : Hi, at least it's finished! Here are the pics : Hope you like it :) Old post : Hi everyone, and welcome to my very first MOC! In fact, I've never been able to create something good looking using Lego, so I've decided to start from something already existing and create a Maxifig (based on the official 3723 one) of my favorite minifig ever : captain redbeard. However I should have chosen a different one since his head and torso were actually quite hard to render. Still I'm quite happy with the result : As you can see, it's still waiting to be built, this should be done before 2014 hopefully :) The torso is made from SNOT (to the left and to the right) and SOT, this alone took me many many hours, and it still has to be optimized. I hope you like it, feel free to comment :)

[pid][/pid]228B CaptainSpaulding from the french Lego Forum BrickPirate has made this fantastic remake of 6270 - Forbidden Island, one of the very first Classic Pirates sets. Oh, and before you think "this looks really cool!", let me add this : it took him less than 4 hours to make it... That makes you want to cry? Me too. Check out this thread to see more, and participate at the "guess how many rhum bottles there is on this island" :) [bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

Not really, I'm a real noobie and have just been very lucky. This sure isn't a photography technique

Here's my very first attempt at shooting Lego. I've just bought a reflex to learn photography and I'm trying some stuff to get used to it... For this one I've been very lucky : I've put my hand in front of the flash and some light has slipped through my fingers... I'm quite happy with the result :)

This is far too expensive in my opinion, unless they are new and unassembled.

Just one thing, redcoats lovers : if they were SO good, then Lego would never have had to throw Islanders to keep Pirates busy... PLUS, while bluecoats had a mighty fortress, what did they give to redcoats? Oh yeah, A marketplace... :)

Ah ah, very nice guide! Now everyone can see the truth thanks to you :) [bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]

wunztwice has created an island with a very nice rendering of the classic Lego Jolly Roger flag, with a well found title! Check out this very clever MOC on flickr. [bloggedCP][/bloggedCP]

Without a doubt, Captain Roger. But nostalgia apart, I might say Captain Brickbeard (but with Redbeard's bicorne, I hate that childish skull design)...

Well, thinking of it it was wiser to acquire a Sabre Island back then, because today it is way more expansive than Lagoon Lock-Up if you intend to buy it MISB (~100€ for Lagoon Lock-Up, and ~200€ for Sabre Island). I'm quite surprised to read this, as you can easily find a BSB for ~80€, won't it cost you way more Bricklinking it? The sails themselves are quite expensive, add big pirate flags, original strings, hull pieces, cannons, minifigs... Or maybe you already had these rare parts?

Do you love Lego? Pirates? Monkey Island? Beautiful MOCS? Yes? Then go read this fantastic story on MOCpages. It's very funny with lots of references from the very first Monkey Island (the three trials, vegetarian cannibals, "I want to be a Pirate!"...), but don't let it distract you from looking at the pictures, it's a wonderful MOC with really nice technics and light effects! [bloggedCP][/bloggedCP]

Fantastic work! It would be really nice to create several templates like these for mocers to display their work. I'll try to shoot boxes of BSB and EF and give them to you. PS : For hosting Lego pictures, you'd better create a Brickshelf account (it takes only a few seconds) to upload them. That's what I do for my reviews, it's really simple :)

Well, thank you, but I don't think my pictures are that nice. There is still too much noise, I'm only satisfied with the minifigures pictures. They were all taken at work with a small compact Panasonic Lumix TZ7, which is rather good at shooting close models. After that I rework them all in Photoshop, to increase brightness, contrast, add black borders...

Yeah I'll try to give some advice for those who want to buy new classic sets. The "MISB" term is somewhat biased nowadays. I sometimes use it by mistake to talk about a new set. For me, as long as the parts are still in their original plastic bags, the set is new, as I intend to build it so fatally I'll have to open it :). MISB is for collectors who love to have sealed box. In my opinion Lego are made to be built, not for staying in plastic bags :), but I won't judge them (a popular thread has already been made about this), it's thanks to them that I can find some new classic sets! About 15€, but there was also a MISB Islander Catamaran ordered (for 22€). To be exact, I have all Pirates sets (including the exclusive US ones), so yes, I have a used (but in fantastic condition) one, without box sadly. I bought it for 25€ (!) along with a Sabre Island (probably my best Lego deal ever). It was really (really) dusty, as if it has been built 20 years ago and put on a shelf until today... The baseplates were a little glued to a wood plate, I only had to replace the blue 32x32 one. I took me a while to clean it with an electric toothbrush, but under the dust every part was in fantastic condition, no yellowing or scratches... Dust has kinda protected them for 20 years ;). Near the place I live in there is one MISB (really MISB :)) for sell at 500€. I'll try to make an offer at 350€, as I don't won't to pay more for it. Good question. It seems that for the first waves there were always two gold coins sprues for a chest, but since 1992 small sets (such as Smuggler's Shanty) came with only one gold coins sprue.

Thank you! Actually, the monkey stole the gold . And it's not silver-colored (blame the flash), although I'd love lego to make silver pieces About acquiring all pirates sets MISB, I'd say everything is possible when you got lots of money , but sadly it's not my case. So I look every new pirates set daily on Bricklink, eBay, etc... and when the price is fair I buy it. I'm trying not to spend more than 150€ per month, which is still a lot I agree. Now to go further I'm planning to make an article on the hardest-to-find-new pirates set, and you might be surprised. In fact, some "common" sets that are really cheap used can reach very high prices when new (like Renegade Runner that cost about 30$ used and more than 300$ new for the cheapest one on Bricklink). I've started to buy and search for new sets about one year ago and to me the hardest sealed pirates set to find new ever is the Eldorado's Fortress. If you want a sealed Black Seas Barracuda, Skull Eye Schooner or Imperial Trading Post, you'll find several on eBay or Bricklink (really expensives, but still buyable). But try to find a sealed Eldorado's Fortress, I've only seen one in one year (last month), and I bought it immediately, for the fantastic price of 150€, it was a no-brainer for me (it's almost its price used). Sure the box isn't perfect (but still nice), it was already opened and without instructions, but the bags were still sealed and to me it's the most important thing. I'm pretty sure that I can sell it for 400€ or more on eBay by just adding instructions to it, but I won't do it, it's such a gem! . I'll review it soon ;) absolutelylez : I'll probably scan them for some article soon ;)

Well, first this is not exactly a MISB BSB, since its bags have already been opened, it only never has been built. Also the box is far from being in perfect condition, although it's still nice. Secondly, it is sitting on the floor of a brand new room added to my house, with new and clean tiling :). I'd of course never put dirt on my boxes. -> Hive : only the US one is new, the other one (with riggings "problem" and instruction error) is used but in fantastic "never played with" condition. The only default being one clip broken on a big flag. By the way I'd like to sell it, PM me if any of you is interested. I also have for selling almost every classic Pirates set (since I intend to buy them all new) Here is a photo of the full model : As you can see, apart from the flag's broken clip, it's in perfect condition, with sails like new :). In my opinion, I quite like the "bent effect" of the riggings, don't you?

You've just made me super excited! I wasn't really pleased with POTC sets (I'm not really into licensed minifigs, which were clearly the big highlight of these sets), with an exception for Queen Anne's Revenge, which is fantastic. I would be more than happy to see Pirates return. Apart from the childish skull design, there was still so much to do with the 2009 line... Some new elements hasn't been used to their max potential, like the half-island baseplate. In a perfect world, maybe the bluecoats would return...?

Thank you for all your comments :) Thanks to Big Cam, I've realised that the end of my article has been cut-off, there was one more secret that really didn't want to be discovered! :)

~Black Seas Barracuda's little secrets~ Hello everyone! Welcome to my first article. As a new Classic-Pirates blogger, I'll try to focus on bringing you some things you may not know about classic pirates sets. And what better set to start with than the best set ever, aka 6285 - Black Seas Barracuda? First, we'll see what are the differences between European and US package, then I'll show you some little secrets that lie behind this legendary set. Now let's go, I hope you'll enjoy :)! ~US/European differences~ US Box European Box At first glance, they look quite identical. However, the US version has some additional text on it : "Pirate system" under the Legoland logo, and "Ages 9-12" next to the Lego logo. Nothing too mind blowing, let's open the lid! US lid European lid We have the same close-ups of the set, organized differently though. But there is one big difference : the US version has got a nice text which explain the Pirate theme context : The reason why only the US version has it is simple : it's for english speaking countries, whereas European version is distributed to many countries with many different languages. It only has a small text in several languages which says "The ship does not float". It may sound trivial now, but remember this was one of the first Lego ship ever. Boxes sides I'll let you guess which box is the US version (tip : in Europe, it is named "Dark Shark" ). Another notable difference between classic US and European boxes is that US versions always have shown parts count (under the name). This time I can't explain it (maybe another translation problem? Today they use "pcs/Stck/pzs/db"). European box has safety instructions. Box content For those wondering how it looks inside. It's the US version. (I didn't shoot the european version, but it has some very small differences in the plastic molds : the red oars are placed differently. I'll update this thread soon with a picture). The white boxes are quite unusual, don't they? Also, my US version has shooting cannons, which came only in very early versions of BSB. Okay, now it's time to move onto interesting stuff. How many of you know that BSB and CC sails came uncut? Here's a proof : Yes, you had to cut them yourself. I didn't mention it, but my US set is technically new (all bags have been opened and mixed, but it was never built), this is why my sails still are new. There was also a clue of it being never built in the "box content" picture, but only a few with very good eyes and Lego knowledge will see it :). If any of you think to have found what I mean, feel free to say it :), otherwise you'll understand when I review it. Okay, you knew all that? Let's dig some more to uncover dark secrets! Did you know that the very first European batch had some issues? It was by chance that I found it and so far I'm the only one to have came by it. I bought my european BSB second hand, but mint in box (this is the box shot for comparisons). At first, when I started to build it, everything looked fine. However, at step 6, a loose page fell from instructions. I first thought that they were damaged, but no, it was a single face printed page, with another step 6 : It took me a few seconds to understand : the original step 6 had an error, can you spot it? Loose page is on the left, original instructions on the right. The first printed instructions came with an error, and TLG had to add a loose correction page. But wait, there is more! When I had to attach the rigging, something felt strange. I had previously owned a BSB and something struck me as odd with this one. The rigging looked way too much bent : I've checked everything to see where I made an error, but everything was fine. I thought there was another instructions error, not corrected this time, but didn't find anything. Then I tried with another rigging from my Rock Island Refuge set : it fitted perfectly. That's right, first BSB batches riggings were different. I've made a small investigation, and found why they looked bent : On the top, two of my BSB riggings, on the bottom, two of my Rock Island Refuge riggings. Yes, they're one stud longer. Looking closer, I found this : The left one is the "normal" one, the middle one is the one which came with my BSB. Can you see the little numbers? I've checked all my other pirates sets with these riggings, they all have the 02 model. TLG first made them one stud too long (28 studs), then they made a "02" 27 studs long version to fit better. Want more? Okay, I have one last little secret : a few days ago, a fantastic official stop-motion video has been posted, showing the first wave of Pirates sets. By looking at it, I've seen something on the Black Seas Barracuda which do not appear on the final model : Obviously, the BSB should have come with a ship's bell. I've always wondered why did they put an arch there, now I know. I think they removed it because at this time it probably was seen as an illegal build, or maybe the round brick fell easily? However I'll add one to my model, as it looks fantastic! Well, I think it's over. I hope you've had a good time reading this, see you in a next article for more classic-piratey things! And if you know something I don't, please comment it so I can add this to my article, you'll get credit :). [bloggedcp][/bloggedcp]