East Coast vs West Coast!

Pepsi or Coke?

Ronaldo or Messi?

Guitar vs Banjo!

Barracuda or Eldorado?

Oh, and on that note, brown or black docks?

This time there is no hiding! There can only be one!

Choose your team and cast your vote now!

Went for Eldorado and Black Docks... Eldorado, cause it's like brinding back magic of old sets ( even tho i kinda felt like the remaster was designed by a madman forcing me to take a role of the construction worker to finish the whole thing  ) and black for docks, cause that's how i remember them from my childhood days. It's Lego, so toys don't have too be too precise and realistic, and i don't mind wooden elements being black not brown ;) Tho i guess it depends on a set and overall color palette used... 

Really curious to check out the results of this poll when the voting ends 

I went with Barracuda bay.

I must admit, i am a little bit tempted to get Eldorado Fortress, so i can mod it in the way i would like to see it. If it would be available at Smyths Toys for example, with a little discount, i think i couldn't resist.

This poll is NOW in the FB group as well!!

Just now, Yperio_Bricks said:

I must admit, i am a little bit tempted to get Eldorado Fortress, so i can mod it in the way i would like to see it. If it would be available at Smyths Toys for example, with a little discount, i think i couldn't resist.

It's beautiful, I LOVE it!! Honestly Pirates of Barracuda Bay is the ONLY Pirates set I would pick over Eldorado. Which thats because of the ship if I'm honest, the actual Pirate bay vs Eldorado, I'd pick Eldorado. 

Voted for brown docks and Barracuda Bay. While I do love the new Eldorado Fortress, I found the Barracuda Bay more fun to build and interact with. Brown docks have always seemed more appealing to me but I can appreciate the aesthetic of black docks. 

Voted Eldorado because to me the imperials are a way more interesting faction than the Pirates. Wasn't around when sets had black docks, but I don't mind either way

 

How to choose ? It's like Yin and Yang. One does not go without the other. PS: I like both black and brown for docks and jettys.

I vote for the Barracuda, since it can be easily reconfigured as a sailing ship which looks and plays better than a fortress!

Genuinely curious, what color(s) would wooden docks in the 18th century Caribbean have been in real life (thus limiting wood type and wood treatment techniques to what would have been available)?  Modern wooden docks tend to be some shade of brown but I don't know how much this color is due to some sort of staining/painting that keeps/makes the wood that color.  I don't live near an ocean and the few wooden docks I can personally recall were generally old/weathered and thus more of a greyish color.  I assume a well-maintained wooden dock in the past would have been painted or otherwise tarred somewhat regularly for protection (which also raises the questions of what paint colors would have been used for something utilitarian like a dock in the past and what role do more modern aesthetic tastes play in our expecting wooden things to look "naturally" brown as opposed to being painted with a different color)?

Edited November 8, 20231 yr by TheCosmicTravelers

5 hours ago, TheCosmicTravelers said:

Genuinely curious, what color(s) would wooden docks in the 18th century Caribbean have been in real life (thus limiting wood type and wood treatment techniques to what would have been available)?  Modern wooden docks tend to be some shade of brown but I don't know how much this color is due to some sort of staining/painting that keeps/makes the wood that color.  I don't live near an ocean and the few wooden docks I can personally recall were generally old/weathered and thus more of a greyish color.  I assume a well-maintained wooden dock in the past would have been painted or otherwise tarred somewhat regularly for protection (which also raises the questions of what paint colors would have been used for something utilitarian like a dock in the past and what role do more modern aesthetic tastes play in our expecting wooden things to look "naturally" brown as opposed to being painted with a different color)?

I tried to find historic paintings that show wooden docks, but they are really hard to find. Unless someone finds a Royal Navy manual on how to preserve wooden port installations, historic paintings are the best source i guess.

1. Eldorado Fortress (difficult choice because I like both sets)

2. Black

I did some more research (Maybe i just like to browse wikipedia ) on the topic but as i wrote earlier it is very hard to find any suitable picture or historic painting. Also jetties seem to be less common than a wharf/quay. The only picture i found showing black wood is from the ca. 1660 painting 'View of Delft' by Jan Vermeer. And there it is only the side wall of a canal. This type of construction was very common in the Netherlands. The side walls were made of wood with earth behind it. Klick on the pictures for the original version:

The 1864 painting from Wilhelm Alexander Meyerheim shows a idealized? waterfront with a warf made of stone and wood:

A 1699 view of an island near Batavia by Abraham Storck:

The only picture i found showing a more grey wood. Ca. 1670 by Jacob van Ruisdael:

Another typical example of a dutch landscape near a river/canal by Esaias van de Velde from 1615:

I also tried to find paintings from the Americas but that is an even harder task. Even for big and well known cities like Havana or San Juan you will hardly find a painting showing any wooden structure in/near the water. But i want to do more research of this topic... just for fun

I'll add a photo, taken 1864/65 in City Point, Virginia, showing a fine jetty that also does not look too dark:

Have not had a chance to build Eldorado yet but I have to go with Pirates of Barracuda Bay.  Brown Docks for me.  I do need a big Imperial ship though to do battle with the Barracuda.  And I'd like a bit more port buildings of some sort.

I ended up voting for Barracuda Bay over Eldorado even though I adore both sets; in the end it was the minifigures that tipped my hand. Specifically, Barracuda Bay has 'civilian' female minifigures (I know they're both pirates, but they're not in a uniform and thus the torsos can be used for civilian characters) whereas Eldorado's figures - while more numerous - are almost all soldiers.

It's black docks over brown for me, but that's just because my exposure to old exposed timber is pretty universally black timber. (Admittedly, in house beams rather than docks and jetties!)

Eldorado and brown docks for me I just feel that that's the "natural" wood color for them, but I don't have any problem with black ones. 

should i get eldorado fortress or the imperial trading post?

14 hours ago, jstarscomm said:

should i get eldorado fortress or the imperial trading post?

Eldorado will be around for some time, so you could postpone a purchase and concentrate on the Imperial Trading Post for now. But as always it depends on which set you like more and what you want to do with the sets.

Really tough choice. In the end I voted for Eldorado because of the minifigures.

14 hours ago, Evangelos said:

Really tough choice. In the end I voted for Eldorado because of the minifigures.

Welcome to the party

I only wish the pirate lady would have no yellow neckline, as most of the pirate minifigs are not useable for fleshies.

 

Edited November 12, 20231 yr by Yperio_Bricks

On 11/7/2023 at 5:20 PM, Mazin said:

Went for Eldorado and Black Docks.

Same here!

I voted Barracuda Bay, as it was the set that roused me from my dark age back at the start of covid. At first I brought the childhood sets down from the attic, then I started looking up what Lego's current offers look like. No way I could spend 200 entire Euro on a single Lego set .. could I? My eleven-strong modular street will tell you how that went.. plus the theme park, plus the dozens of Bricklink orders..

 

For docks, brown please. Although a nice mix of brown and dark brown with a few black planks sprinkled in is for the best.

10 hours ago, Yoggington said:

I voted Barracuda Bay, as it was the set that roused me from my dark age back at the start of covid. At first I brought the childhood sets down from the attic, then I started looking up what Lego's current offers look like. No way I could spend 200 entire Euro on a single Lego set .. could I? My eleven-strong modular street will tell you how that went.. plus the theme park, plus the dozens of Bricklink orders..

If i had left my dark ages a little earlier i might would have bought the Barracuda Bay. At that time i was overwhelmed by all the themes and sets Lego had to offer and i was more into Star Wars, Modulars and freight trains Even bought the pizza truck twice at my local supermarket When i had settled, the BB was gone

Oh, and i really like the Tattooga minifig! Wish we had a fleshie version of him.

 

Edited November 14, 20231 yr by Yperio_Bricks

Great to see so many people voted! 50!

I’m not sure why I’m unsurprised to see B-Bay set is voted more than Eldorado.