This my entry for the contest, I thought the 2015 line had potential and seeing how detailed and modular the NINJAGO lineup was I decided to revisit the 2015 pirate skull island and shipwrecked defense for a bigger hideout that would be impregnable for imperials to get through. It’s more of a docking station for the brick bounty but it also adds a sense of being ship wrecked still!!! My goal for this was thinking what “if” lego released a second wave of the modular 2015 pirate wave, I figured they would expand on the shipwreck more than anything!! 

That's more an modification and expansion rather than a redesign. Still, I like how you connected the two builds, My favourite element being the cage/gibbet.

Expansion is OK, it could be a new set, that is modularly connectable to some other official sets. My suggestion would be to use some more LBG slopes in the mostly DBG rockwork to go more with the official sets. Also it'd be nice to first include the picture of what your set is supposed to be (your entry) and after that show, how it is connected to other sets. Since the rules want us to build an official set like creation, I also think that there are far too many minifigures included in the photos. And without the entry only image it is hard to tell which are from your entry and which are added by expansion of other sets. Otherwise a solid build I could easily see as an expansion to the official line!

I like the idea of a modular bay. However, to be an official Lego set, Lego would reduce the number of minifigures. For the size of this, there are just too many. Also, for a larger set, Lego tends to add exclusive minifigures. Maybe mix and match the figures to create your own "pirate king" or "pirate queen" to make this a special set to purchase.

4 hours ago, durazno33 said:

I like the idea of a modular bay. However, to be an official Lego set, Lego would reduce the number of minifigures. For the size of this, there are just too many. Also, for a larger set, Lego tends to add exclusive minifigures. Maybe mix and match the figures to create your own "pirate king" or "pirate queen" to make this a special set to purchase.

Oh my bad, don’t mind the minifigures, I was just posing them with the set, I should have taken the figures out before taking the pictures, but for sure it would be close to 5-8 figures total, oops my bad, I completely overlooked the figures.  

This is a unique build.  It really does feel like an official set from the 2015 pirates series -- and that is a double edged sword.

The design language used here is spot on, the colors, techniques, and parts usage all feel right at home with the 2015 pirates.  My issue with this is the same as I have with the official sets: it's just a bit too haphazard with no clear defining purpose.  The waterfall (?) is a great example of this:  it's clever, but doesn't fit with the rest of the set at all.  Where does it come from?  Why is it dark blue instead of matching the water (or, better yet being white/clear like a real waterfall)?  It's too dark and doesn't stand out against the rock work.

The rocks should really be dark gray on the bottom, light gray higher up.  This isn't your fault, the official sets are like this too, but it still bothers me.

The staircase is an awkward mix of colors -- I'd like to see it either be stone-only, or wood-only, and make sure to cover all the studs on your SNOT 1x4 brick (use a 1x4 slope instead of 1x3).  But it's an interesting technique used, and I don't think I've seen it before.  Apart from the color, it's quite clever.

Add a palm tree somewhere to soften things, right now you have only rock and shipwreck, and it's almost all pretty dark colors and jagged edges.  A palm tree and a parrot would add some much needed color and texture.  You have some foliage here and there, which is great, but it's all low down near the water line.

It looks like it would be fragile to pick up and move around - the plant leaves would get broken off and the hinge plates wouldn't hold up.  Either reinforce those, or make the modules smaller.

There's beach all the way to the left, but there's also beach on the original set that this is an expansion for.  That feels a bit "off", especially if this is supposed to extend into deep water for the Brick Bounty to dock at.

I do really like the crane and cage, and overall there's a lot of good stuff going on here.  Again, you captured the 2015 aesthetic quite nicely!

I like this a lot, if I was changing this set the one thing I'd focus on is to un-flatten the skull front. I don't think it would be overly difficult to add a nice little bit of depth to it (not a flaw of yours, the official set badly needs it too)

If you wanted to really dive in to a redesign, I wonder if you could take a page out of the new Eldorado Fortress set's book and build it out in a manner that there is an 'official' long shelf layout and a secondary 'official' closed layout.

Agree with the other commenters that a bit more light and a little less dark bluey grey would improve the overall look of it.

That cage is really a highlight. I am totally stealing the build at some point :D

A facade-in all the meanings of that word

Theme (story)

The shipwreck looks nice, but when mixed with the skull island, it becomes "all over the place" (to quote IRAGM), it feels strange that those two parts are connected, maybe add a bit of water under that skull, and make it look like the ship crashed into it? Alternatively, try to separate the two parts (stylistically), by perhaps using the waterfall for that purpose. The whole thing isn't very deep, and it doesn't really make sense, the ship should either go up or sideways, but it shouldn't do both, how did it get shipwrecked? Maybe add a colourful "tavern" at the back to add depth, or some other living quarters of your choice.

Build

The colours are too dark : replace the water with light blue, it would look much better already, and try to add colour behind the walls (ex: food, supplies, tools, etc...) and make them straighter, since a shipwreck shouldn't be too curvy. Maybe add a ladder at the back of the skull (how else are the pirates getting to it?), alternatively, make the rockwork on the side naturally look like it's climbable. There really isn't much to critique, because there isn't much here. Maybe add some sand plates underneath to create a bigger, sturdier design. I think it actually looks better with less foliage ; it seems dead, as if though being near that skull kills all life (and the hanging cage adds to this effect). But again, you still need some life (in other ways).

Overall, a lot of potential, you just have to exploit it more effectively.

Love a simple build. As some have mentioned - a bit of colour would liven this build up. But as for playability, I think it's great.

I have looked at this entry a few times and iv flipped and flopped a bit but I’ll try get my thoughts on this one now.

pros:

That skeleton cage build 

That skeleton cage build

really is brilliant, and the crane holding it, hell, that whole “module” is great and feels like a true part of the 2015 sets.

cons:

the other modules are just too similar to the originals.

I 100% think you should enter the new designed module as a “purely new” pirates set category because it’s brilliant and truely fits the sets from that time.

The new section fits in really well, the cage and hidden bed especially. I'd probably remove the 1x3 slopes with cheese slopes on top as they don't look quite in keeping, and also rotate the pirate flag between them so the flag can be seen from the front 

OK, I get it, these are two official sets with your own addition built between them...

It's a good thing that you've made this modular and hinged, therefore providing the ability to rearrange the whole structure whenever necessary. This feature also seems like natural continuation of the two original sets. Also, I like the cage with the dead soldier.

However, I would suggest making your part resemble a sunken ship a bit more. The original Shipwreck Defense set had something which looked like a part of a, well, shipwreck. Your part has a similar structure, but on a rock and much higher. I would make it at the same level, indicating another part of the same sunken boat, or alternatively make it go up gradually, on a rock that gets higher the more you move away from the original Shipwreck Defense. That would mean it crashed on an uneven rock. The way this is done now, it's hard to see an actual shipwreck here. The skeleton in the bed suggests that maybe he died in the crash, but that's about it.

About the skull island, instead of placing it more or less in line with the shipwreck, how about turning it by 90 degrees and making it look like the stern of the sunken ship? A bit like what we saw in the Red Beard Runner set:

Now, that would be a combination of the two 2015 sets which the LEGO designers pobably never thought of.

Edited July 4, 20231 yr by Dreamweb

On 6/28/2023 at 5:23 AM, Eggyslav said:

That's more an modification and expansion rather than a redesign. Still, I like how you connected the two builds, My favourite element being the cage/gibbet.

I got blinded by the entry, You are right! I wasn't sure if was more an expansion than a redesign, I just wanted to an extra section

On 6/28/2023 at 6:25 AM, MstrOfPppts said:

Expansion is OK, it could be a new set, that is modularly connectable to some other official sets. My suggestion would be to use some more LBG slopes in the mostly DBG rockwork to go more with the official sets. Also it'd be nice to first include the picture of what your set is supposed to be (your entry) and after that show, how it is connected to other sets. Since the rules want us to build an official set like creation, I also think that there are far too many minifigures included in the photos. And without the entry only image it is hard to tell which are from your entry and which are added by expansion of other sets. Otherwise a solid build I could easily see as an expansion to the official line!

Thanks, I'll look into it! 

On 6/29/2023 at 12:51 PM, iragm said:

This is a unique build.  It really does feel like an official set from the 2015 pirates series -- and that is a double edged sword.

The design language used here is spot on, the colors, techniques, and parts usage all feel right at home with the 2015 pirates.  My issue with this is the same as I have with the official sets: it's just a bit too haphazard with no clear defining purpose.  The waterfall (?) is a great example of this:  it's clever, but doesn't fit with the rest of the set at all.  Where does it come from?  Why is it dark blue instead of matching the water (or, better yet being white/clear like a real waterfall)?  It's too dark and doesn't stand out against the rock work.

The rocks should really be dark gray on the bottom, light gray higher up.  This isn't your fault, the official sets are like this too, but it still bothers me.

The staircase is an awkward mix of colors -- I'd like to see it either be stone-only, or wood-only, and make sure to cover all the studs on your SNOT 1x4 brick (use a 1x4 slope instead of 1x3).  But it's an interesting technique used, and I don't think I've seen it before.  Apart from the color, it's quite clever.

Add a palm tree somewhere to soften things, right now you have only rock and shipwreck, and it's almost all pretty dark colors and jagged edges.  A palm tree and a parrot would add some much needed color and texture.  You have some foliage here and there, which is great, but it's all low down near the water line.

It looks like it would be fragile to pick up and move around - the plant leaves would get broken off and the hinge plates wouldn't hold up.  Either reinforce those, or make the modules smaller.

There's beach all the way to the left, but there's also beach on the original set that this is an expansion for.  That feels a bit "off", especially if this is supposed to extend into deep water for the Brick Bounty to dock at.

I do really like the crane and cage, and overall there's a lot of good stuff going on here.  Again, you captured the 2015 aesthetic quite nicely!

Thanks, To be honest I chose a darker contrast of blue for the waterfall so it could stand out better than clear or light blue pieces. The 2015 sets left me wanting another wave and since they can connect I wondered what would "fit" in between both sets, I always felt that the original shipwreck defense was small but the skull island could feature a bigger part of a shipwreck stuck in a rock!  I haven't done this set justice but this set is actually four parts, the boardwalk area, the shipwreck area, the hideout and the skull treasure cave, you could legit re arrange them in any order because they are meant to come apart! 

On 6/30/2023 at 11:13 AM, Yoggington said:

I like this a lot, if I was changing this set the one thing I'd focus on is to un-flatten the skull front. I don't think it would be overly difficult to add a nice little bit of depth to it (not a flaw of yours, the official set badly needs it too)

If you wanted to really dive in to a redesign, I wonder if you could take a page out of the new Eldorado Fortress set's book and build it out in a manner that there is an 'official' long shelf layout and a secondary 'official' closed layout.

Agree with the other commenters that a bit more light and a little less dark bluey grey would improve the overall look of it.

That cage is really a highlight. I am totally stealing the build at some point :D

Thanks!!! I am learning alot from the current el dorado build, especially the "base" rock interactions that baffled me, I could definitely expand it more, I was more focused on the "rocky" area than the skull and the actual ship parts for some reason, It would be interesting to add more depth to it, I built it so it could be displayed in a shelf more than anything, hence why it's not rounded out more!!! 

On 7/1/2023 at 9:10 PM, Horation said:

A facade-in all the meanings of that word

Theme (story)

The shipwreck looks nice, but when mixed with the skull island, it becomes "all over the place" (to quote IRAGM), it feels strange that those two parts are connected, maybe add a bit of water under that skull, and make it look like the ship crashed into it? Alternatively, try to separate the two parts (stylistically), by perhaps using the waterfall for that purpose. The whole thing isn't very deep, and it doesn't really make sense, the ship should either go up or sideways, but it shouldn't do both, how did it get shipwrecked? Maybe add a colourful "tavern" at the back to add depth, or some other living quarters of your choice.

Build

The colours are too dark : replace the water with light blue, it would look much better already, and try to add colour behind the walls (ex: food, supplies, tools, etc...) and make them straighter, since a shipwreck shouldn't be too curvy. Maybe add a ladder at the back of the skull (how else are the pirates getting to it?), alternatively, make the rockwork on the side naturally look like it's climbable. There really isn't much to critique, because there isn't much here. Maybe add some sand plates underneath to create a bigger, sturdier design. I think it actually looks better with less foliage ; it seems dead, as if though being near that skull kills all life (and the hanging cage adds to this effect). But again, you still need some life (in other ways).

Overall, a lot of potential, you just have to exploit it more effectively.

The hardest part for me was to figure out how to combine the sets, I didn't know if I wanted to expand it from skull or shipwreck side, I ultimately decided to put in between as some of sort of defense, it's like a mini hideout from the armada and their gold! Kind of like the old school pirates of the Caribbean island of tortuga playset I think, many pirates tried to steal their brothers treasure but failed, even the armada tried and failed as well! I wanted to keep it a bit small, I don't have that many spare bricks to make it a decent cliff ha-ha Thanks!! I am definitely keen on taking everyone's ideas though! 

On 7/1/2023 at 10:41 PM, TimGoodwin said:

Love a simple build. As some have mentioned - a bit of colour would liven this build up. But as for playability, I think it's great.

Thank you!! 

On 7/2/2023 at 12:31 PM, thewatchman said:

I have looked at this entry a few times and iv flipped and flopped a bit but I’ll try get my thoughts on this one now.

pros:

That skeleton cage build 

That skeleton cage build

really is brilliant, and the crane holding it, hell, that whole “module” is great and feels like a true part of the 2015 sets.

cons:

the other modules are just too similar to the originals.

I 100% think you should enter the new designed module as a “purely new” pirates set category because it’s brilliant and truely fits the sets from that time.

Thank you, that was my goal!! They are some incredibly detailed MOC's around here that are extremely beautiful and gorgeous, I just wanted to fill in the gaps of what something LEGO would had done had they added another wave to fill a void in my heart! 

On 7/4/2023 at 4:16 AM, Seaber said:

The new section fits in really well, the cage and hidden bed especially. I'd probably remove the 1x3 slopes with cheese slopes on top as they don't look quite in keeping, and also rotate the pirate flag between them so the flag can be seen from the front 

Thanks, I had no idea what to do with the top or that wall for that matter, I do need to change out the flag so it can be seen, I never noticed it wasn't in plain sight haha 

On 7/4/2023 at 5:14 AM, Dreamweb said:

OK, I get it, these are two official sets with your own addition built between them...

It's a good thing that you've made this modular and hinged, therefore providing the ability to rearrange the whole structure whenever necessary. This feature also seems like natural continuation of the two original sets. Also, I like the cage with the dead soldier.

However, I would suggest making your part resemble a sunken ship a bit more. The original Shipwreck Defense set had something which looked like a part of a, well, shipwreck. Your part has a similar structure, but on a rock and much higher. I would make it at the same level, indicating another part of the same sunken boat, or alternatively make it go up gradually, on a rock that gets higher the more you move away from the original Shipwreck Defense. That would mean it crashed on an uneven rock. The way this is done now, it's hard to see an actual shipwreck here. The skeleton in the bed suggests that maybe he died in the crash, but that's about it.

About the skull island, instead of placing it more or less in line with the shipwreck, how about turning it by 90 degrees and making it look like the stern of the sunken ship? A bit like what we saw in the Red Beard Runner set:

Now, that would be a combination of the two 2015 sets which the LEGO designers pobably never thought of.

That's a beautiful idea!!! We have Barracuda shipwrecked already, that's an excellent idea since it would fit nicely with the rocky defense haha, My inspiration was based on some Lara Croft ps1 based tomb raider levels, where you are running through an upside down shipwrecked and run into the Maria Doria all of a sudden, nothing makes sense!! Thanks you so much!! 

First thing first (even though I hate to say it) there are too many minifigs! Other than that the moc looks great! But I still have some suggestions, first the imperials need to be kicked out and a dock needs to be added for a pirate ship or dingy. Second, all the land looks a bit thin (the minifigs need a place to stand right?). Other than these things you aced the 2015 look and now I look forward to some renovations. Anyway, Happy building :) 

On 7/17/2023 at 7:53 PM, Rogue Redcoat said:

First thing first (even though I hate to say it) there are too many minifigs! Other than that the moc looks great! But I still have some suggestions, first the imperials need to be kicked out and a dock needs to be added for a pirate ship or dingy. Second, all the land looks a bit thin (the minifigs need a place to stand right?). Other than these things you aced the 2015 look and now I look forward to some renovations. Anyway, Happy building :) 

Now i’;m thinking about raising the pier because it can be re arranged and like a docking station, there’s hinges and play functions all over this set hehehe 

I’m trying to figure out how to rebuild it like the suggestions I’ve seen here,I have to see if I have left over brown pieces from my monumental order I got them from a while back!

WIth this button, the canon flies 

I think that would be a great idea can't wait to see it :)

Not to tease you, but the rules say you can process classic sets up to 97. This is a 2015 set. So is this now a regular entry?

"

Briefing

1. Design a new Classic-Style set
Imagine you're a designer working for the LEGO Group and you've been tasked with designing a brand new classic-style LEGO Pirate set.

The emphasis is building a creation that could pass as an official LEGO set.  The design could be pure classic 1989-1997 style or modern like Barracuda Bay.

But remember!  Official LEGO sets have a more limited part count than MOCs and the onus is to convince everyone your creation is an official set."

32 minutes ago, MyFirstMOC-Hun said:

Not to tease you, but the rules say you can process classic sets up to 97. This is a 2015 set. So is this now a regular entry?

"

Briefing

1. Design a new Classic-Style set
Imagine you're a designer working for the LEGO Group and you've been tasked with designing a brand new classic-style LEGO Pirate set.

The emphasis is building a creation that could pass as an official LEGO set.  The design could be pure classic 1989-1997 style or modern like Barracuda Bay.

But remember!  Official LEGO sets have a more limited part count than MOCs and the onus is to convince everyone your creation is an official set."

It does mention classic sets from 1989-1997 OR Modern sets. ;)

2 hours ago, eldiano said:

It does mention classic sets from 1989-1997 OR Modern sets. ;)

Ah, I see! I thought modern referred to having a modern look, like the Barracuda. But then if it could be any pirate kit, I didn't say so. Thanks for the reply! 👍😉🏴‍☠️

I have to say i waa a bit confused by the presentation at first, as i thought all of these are Your original builds, had to google a bit to check what's original and what's used. Still, i absolutely love this combo! Nice additions, and the whole thing looks stunning. And i must admit, You had a good idea with those new elements, they have one problem tho - they look fabulous when it's all combined, but they might not be most appealing if they were released separately.

But my first suggestion was to be about that cannon. Cannon on the sea looked a bit stranged, then again, it's for kids, they would surely dream up some piece of land to put that artillery on, and when i googled the original set i saw that's just how they designed it before. Still, for all those picky future reviewers You migt wanna think up about some way to make that cannon be floatable. So a soldier's artillery raft perhaps? I don't recall this being done before, would look great for me. At first i thought about a catamaran, tw boats as a base for the cannon, but two of them would be two many. Putting two different smal vessels for soldiers on that surface would be more attractive.

But then again... since You've posted those original sets only for presentation of Your additions, i'm not sure if i should even suggest making changes to them ;)

Still, if You'd like to continue with those add ons, i'd go with some floating obstacles. I've read that in ancient times it wasn't uncommon to put some spikes on chains, to stop incoming enemt boats. Piracy might not be that ancient, but hay, it's fantasy ;) Also chains could be used to place some barrier with powder barrels that could be blown up. 

Also, since there's so many pirates in here, folks might complain that they are too uniformed, You know. I actually like that idea, pirate that at least try to standarize their look and form some sort of an army, and i actually always did that in when i played with them. Tho, for others too many red of white bandanas in a single presentation might be too many ;) 

But, my most important suggestion perhaps, I'd put that add ons idea away, and focus on offering ALL OF THIS within one set. That would be something no fan of Lego Pirates could pass on, especially that many of us here probably didn't have a chance to but it yet. So, as it seems quite popular among both fans and Lego to compile two or more sets into something old-but-new, I'd do the same way here. This entry would simply work better if You would turn all these sets, Your original creations and previously exisitng ones, into a single jawdropping proposal. Thus, few more changes in those original sets might be required to make it look more original ;)        

Perhaps arrange them on a blue baseplate so the vignettes are not strewn all over?