I was doing a census of my Pirate population and saw that there were two minifigs that were really scarce:

1. The Anchor Tattoo Man

2. Fluffy Shirt / Brown Vest Captain

Which do you think is the rarest of them all?

(Mods - if you could turn this into a poll, I would appreciate it.)

This one is rare.

Well i had to get sum minifig a while back when i recieved some incomplete cheap pirate sets, and without a doubt the hardest one to find / most expensive was;

2. Fluffy Shirt / Brown Vest Captain

I think he only came in one big set, cant remember which tho atm

Using Peeron, if I'm seeing things correctly...

The brown vest guy (973p3b) seems to be in 2 sets, with 1 minifig in each set:

1 in 6277-1 - Imperial Trading Post (1992)

1 in 6286-1 - Skull's Eye Schooner (1993)

The anchor tattoo guy (973p30) seems to be in 4 sets, with 1 minifig in 2 sets and 2 minifigs in 2 sets:

2 in 6289-1 - Red Beard Runner (1996)

2 in 6290-1 - Pirate Battle Ship/Red Beard Runner (2001)

1 in 6281-1 - Pirates Perilous Pitfall (1997)

1 in 6249-1 - Pirates Ambush (1997)

That doesn't definitively answer which is more rare (it would depend on how sales went for each set), though it does seem to point to the brown vest guy being more rare.

Both the brown vest guy (formerly on other threads referred to as "Steve" :-P ) and the anchor tatoo guy are among the hardest ones to find. They do not occur that often, especially since "Steve" with blue legs and brown tricorne only came in 6277 Imperial Trading Post while "Steve" with grey legs and black tricorne only appeared in 6286 Skulls Eye Schooner. Both were bigger and therefore more expensive sets at the time (made approximately between 1993 and 1995 or so).

The anchor guy also had a short production run (1996/1997 first run and a 2001 re-release) and is a little rarer in Europe since 6249 Pirates Ambush and 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall were not available in stores throughout Europe. These were US only sets. The only way most (European) people got it was through acquiring 6289 Red Beard Runner or the 6290 Pirate Battle Ship. In each set 2 of these anchor chest torsos were included (blue legs and red bandana and the other had grey legs and black bandana) while "Steve" always came as a single minifig in each set that was being sold.

The rarest pirate however is in my opinion the green Spanish captain with white hands and silver breast protection that only came in 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall.

I think Steve is the rarest... I have two anchor-tatoo guys and no Steve 8-(

I thought the Imperial Soldier Governor was the rarest! :'-(

(Since he is only in two sets from the first pirate year (1989), and is $14+ USD on bricklink)

He also has the best hat!!!!!

ON!

Edited July 25, 200717 yr by SirNadroj

I'd say they are both rare. I don't have either of them. I have most of the classic pirate sets... obviously none that these guys came with. I believe I have a couple of the blue governor/admiral though.

Rarity! Just stick with what you have people!

You know what seems odd to me, is that in spite of the fact that people may be willing to pay $14 for a rare Governor Broadside, this doesn't seem to have led to price hikes in the sets he appears in. Complete Caribbean Clippers and Eldorado Fortresses, both with the Broadside fig, seem to be quite reasonably priced.

TC

You know what seems odd to me, is that in spite of the fact that people may be willing to pay $14 for a rare Governor Broadside, this doesn't seem to have led to price hikes in the sets he appears in. Complete Caribbean Clippers and Eldorado Fortresses, both with the Broadside fig, seem to be quite reasonably priced.

TC

I agree with that observation.

This has also been on my mind.

That's indeed a bits strange.

Edited July 25, 200717 yr by bonaparte

Hmm. I just bought Eldorado's Fortress AND Caribbean Clipper. I paid $118 for EF and $67 for CC. Is that cheap?

I also just picked up 2 soldier governor torsos for $3.00 each and 3 admiral hats for $3 each. Is that a good price?

Edited July 25, 200717 yr by SirNadroj

Hmm. I just bought Eldorado's Fortress AND Caribbean Clipper. I paid $118 for EF and $67 for CC. Is that cheap?

I also just picked up 2 soldier governor torsos for $3.00 each and 3 admiral hats for $3 each. Is that a good price?

From what i can se on BL it look like a good trade. Eldorado cost 80usd (next is over 100usd) for the cheapest but that is without instruction and box. and CC is cheaper than on BL. so it depend of the shipping cost.

The torso and hats look like a normal price to me.

i have one of the "Steve" minifigs, the one from Imperial trade station. and it is so expencive that i cant afford to use him :-$ what a shame, its a good and nice minifig. i think that is the most rare.

btw rare = strange in norwegian so for pirate minifig i would say the rareste fig is those with this torso and arms. How is he going to be able to draw that knife with a arm with a hook on :-P hihihi

Wait. Who in the world came up with the name 'steve' for the fluffy shirt pirate!? :-D Doesn't sound piratical to me... :'-(

Steve the Pirate! Avast!

>Hmm. I just bought Eldorado's Fortress AND Caribbean Clipper. I paid $118 for EF and $67 for CC. Is that cheap?<

Cheap? No. But reasonable? Considering that both prices are within twenty dollars of the original price you'd pay in a higher end store in 1989, and accounting for inflation, and that they are two of the oldest and greatest Pirate sets, I would say they're more than reasonable.

TC

I'm surprised no one said the pirate wench. She only appeared in the BSB in '89 and in the re-release.

I'm surprised no one said the pirate wench. She only appeared in the BSB in '89 and in the re-release.

Actually she's quite common in comparison as she was in a mini-fig set (6251). I've got 46 of her, yet only 2 anchor tattoo guys

The rarest pirate however is in my opinion the green Spanish captain with white hands and silver breast protection that only came in 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall.

Was there a variant with white hands? I'm looking at the set on Lugnut and I don't see it:

http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6281_1&v=z

AHHHH! Who is steve and why? *sing*

Actually she's quite common in comparison as she was in a mini-fig set (6251). I've got 46 of her, yet only 2 anchor tattoo guys

Was there a variant with white hands? I'm looking at the set on Lugnut and I don't see it:

http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6281_1&v=z

Oh, yes, that is right. She was in another set.

Governor Broadside for sure

One of my favorite figs of all time *sweet*

Sirnadroj-Caribbean Clipper for 67.00 USD,thats cheap nice buy

I got mine for 63.00 though :-P

Same goes for Eldorado Fortress

Piranha

EDIT:opps..... sorry about that

Admiral Woodhouse ;-)

Edited July 25, 200717 yr by Piranha

Governor Broadside for sure

One of my favorite figs of all time *sweet*

TalonCard-Caribbean Clipper for 67.00 USD,thats cheap nice buy

I got mine for 63.00 though :-P

Same goes for Eldorado Fortress

Piranha

I think you misunderstood. Taloncard was quoting me.

Oh well. I'm happy with them. :-P

And Governor Broadside is one of my absolute favorites, too. But if the Soldier's Governor is Broadside, who is this?

Edited July 25, 200717 yr by SirNadroj

Woodhouse :capn:

Yeah, the two are apparently different characters. The US sets never made a distinction between the two, and in fact several sources name this figure as Broadside. I was glad to add another character to the LEGO Pirate cast when I found out otherwise.

TC

SirNadroj: Search "Steve", and go to the "Who is this guy?" thread, and you should find the story on the first page.

Funny thing, "Steve the Pirate" was a character from Dodgeball, wasn't he? :-P