General Pirates Musings/Chit Chat Thread

[Captain Pirate Man]

Before I went a head and made a new thread, I figured I would ask in here first. How does everyone feel about just a general chit chat/ get to know you thread for here in the Pirates forum? I feel that it will help everyone get better acquainted with each other, sometimes it's not always easy to respond to people, if you don't know them very well. I just feel it would help foster more discussion. 

For example today, I am working on my Pirates display (I plan on doing a video in the near future). I am watching LOTR while doing the building and what not. I also watched the new Beverly Hills Cop movie last night (I really enjoyed it). 

But none of this discussion is really appropriate for any of the existing threads, unless one already exists and is buried.

[Mister Phes]

4 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

But none of this discussion is really appropriate for any of the existing threads, unless one already exists and is buried.

There is an entire Hello! My name is... Forum and Community Forum for such chat...

But those forums seem far removed from Pirates...

 

4 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

How does everyone feel about just a general chit chat/ get to know you thread for here in the Pirates forum? 

You could attempt such a thread to determine whether it preforms better than the aforementioned forums.  But it would require a pirate focus to justify its existence in the Pirate Forum.

 

4 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

For example today, I am working on my Pirates display (I plan on doing a video in the near future). I am watching LOTR while doing the building and what not. I also watched the new Beverly Hills Cop movie last night (I really enjoyed it). 

That's fine.

But if you posted...

 

4 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

For example today,  I am watching LOTR while doing the building and what not. I also watched the new Beverly Hills Cop movie last night (I really enjoyed it). 

Then there's no relevance to pirates.

 

[Captain Pirate Man]

I wanted to put it in Pirates, because (at least for me), I only go into the Pirates and Historical forums. So I thought it would be nice to get to know the other Pirates fans. 

I see what you are saying about it having a Pirates centric theme to it. So as long as it has that "spin" to it we should be good to go. 👍👍

[Captain Pirate Man]

The purpose of this thread is to give everyone a general space where they can talk about pirate centric activities that they might be doing. Perhaps they are not ready for a full thread, or perhaps you just bought a new Pirate set, or even just thinking about buying a Pirate set. 

It's a pretty wide open topic, as long as it relates to Lego Pirates. 

 

I'll start...

 

Today I spent most of the afternoon/evening in my Lego room getting my Lego Pirates display ready for an upcoming video. I enjoy watching a good program while I mess around with Lego (usually something I have already seen). Whatever I'm building can also play a role. For example Pirates of the Caribbean is my go to for when I'm doing Pirates builds. The Pirates movie with Walter Mathau is really good as well. Although, I don't actually own a physical copy of that film. 

I broke my own rules today though... I watched LOTR instead, lol. 

Edited July 9, 2024 by Captain Pirate Man

[Mister Phes]

22 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

I see what you are saying about it having a Pirates centric theme to it. So as long as it has that "spin" to it we should be good to go. 👍👍

Well, let's see how it goes...

This thread may be useful around Contest Voting time for anyone who has not yet accumulated their minimum 10 Posts required to Vote.

[Captain Pirate Man]

3 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

Well, let's see how it goes...

This thread may be useful around Contest Voting time for anyone who has not yet accumulated their minimum 10 Posts required to Vote.

As long as others use it 

[Jack Sassy]

On 7/9/2024 at 8:08 AM, Captain Pirate Man said:

It's a pretty wide open topic, as long as it relates to Lego Pirates. 

A good idea. 

 

Few days ago I was fortunate enough to watch POTC 2 in the local film theatre, a lovely experience. It also ties in with my inspiration for LEGO Pirates builds. Speaking of which, today I made my first BrickLink order in a longer while. It contains parts needed for my most ambitious project yet, which I have been dragging for the past three years (just realised that three years have already passed since I begun working on it ). Either way, I hope to finish it till the end of this year. Other than all that, lately I have been paying more attention to Islanders themed builds and figures.

[Mister Phes]

5 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

Few days ago I was fortunate enough to watch POTC 2 in the local film theatre

But what about At World's End?

Or you were happy to be left on a cliffhanger?

 

[kuzyabricks]

This is a little embarrassing but how do I add images to a eurobricks post? I really want to show off my MOC of x2 31109 put together and heavily modified to resemble the imperial flagship. Took a few pictures to post but can't find a way to add images (((

[Yperio_Bricks]

9 minutes ago, kuzyabricks said:

This is a little embarrassing but how do I add images to a eurobricks post? I really want to show off my MOC of x2 31109 put together and heavily modified to resemble the imperial flagship. Took a few pictures to post but can't find a way to add images (((

You have to host your images at an other site, like imgur, flickr, bricksafe or any other website where you can host your images. Then add the link to the image to your eurobricks post and the picture should be shown automatically. (Best is to directly link to the image using the image adress that ends with the file format jpg or png.)

[kuzyabricks]

4 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

You have to host your images at an other site, like imgur, flickr, bricksafe or any other website where you can host your images. Then add the link to the image to your eurobricks post and the picture should be shown automatically. (Best is to directly link to the image using the image adress that ends with the file format jpg or png.)

Thank you so much!

[Captain Pirate Man]

12 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

A good idea. 

 

Few days ago I was fortunate enough to watch POTC 2 in the local film theatre, a lovely experience. It also ties in with my inspiration for LEGO Pirates builds. Speaking of which, today I made my first BrickLink order in a longer while. It contains parts needed for my most ambitious project yet, which I have been dragging for the past three years (just realised that three years have already passed since I begun working on it ). Either way, I hope to finish it till the end of this year. Other than all that, lately I have been paying more attention to Islanders themed builds and figures.

Tell us more about your project. I don't currently have any Pirate projects on the horizon. I thought long and hard about trying to put something together for the Pirate Steve contest. But I'm just not in the position to take on another LEGO project at the moment. At least not one I would be satisfied with.

 

I've literally spent the better part of the last week down in my Lego room getting everything ready to make content. First I did my Lego Pirates display, then Jurassic Park, finally my city. I also am doing a full overview of the entire display (Pirates, Castle, LOTR, HP, JP and a City with trains). We have an 8 year old son, and we let him play in the City, it's pretty much his Lego city at this point, lol. But that means I have to get it presentable to make videos on, so that's actually a TON of work. But it's Lego work, so it's fun. I have to go through it periodically and get it back in shape, then I hurry and make videos, so I can unleash my kid on it again. It's an endless cycle 

Edited July 11, 2024 by Captain Pirate Man

[Yperio_Bricks]

13 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

A good idea. 

 

Few days ago I was fortunate enough to watch POTC 2 in the local film theatre, a lovely experience. It also ties in with my inspiration for LEGO Pirates builds. Speaking of which, today I made my first BrickLink order in a longer while. It contains parts needed for my most ambitious project yet, which I have been dragging for the past three years (just realised that three years have already passed since I begun working on it ). Either way, I hope to finish it till the end of this year. Other than all that, lately I have been paying more attention to Islanders themed builds and figures.

Looking forward to learn more about your project! Any hints you can give us?

I also have started ordering some parts for a Pirates project. I want to build my own version of my favorite Pirates set, Lagoon Lock-Up. In the past I used trans dark blue tiles above black plates for the water but i was never really satisfied with this solution. So i ordered parts for a new sandwich approach with trans light blue tiles, trans light blue plates in the center and black plates (or other colors to create changes in water depth) as a base. That looks much better but needs also more parts.

I imagine a fortress wall with a small guerite/echauguette/watchtower at the left top corner of the wall. In front of the wall on the left a small tavern building. Then a large gate in the center and of course the jail on the right side. No cell door though Grey cobblestone ground with brown jettys to complete the waterside.

 

[Jack Sassy]

8 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

But what about At World's End?

Fortunately, there is a chance to see it next weekend. 

1 hour ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Tell us more about your project.

 

7 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

Looking forward to learn more about your project! Any hints you can give us?

Not a particularly exciting idea, as it is a frigate MOC, specifically a pirate one. Sadly, that is all the information I can give up about it for now. In the past I have made few smaller MOCs, therefore this project is ambitious in terms of its size and category. It will be a two deck vessel with a brick built hull and (hopefully ) proper rigging using strings. At first I started it out with a hull two studs wider than an official prefab one but over the time I widened it by four more studs (hopefully it will not be too wide and too short).

 

Quite often I appreciate the little details in MOCs (accessories, references and silly scenes), which causes me to include as many details as possible. I don't wish to tell too much, as I still need quite some time to finish this vessel. 

2 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

First I did my Lego Pirates display

Sadly I cannot do that. One of the things that trouble me is space. Due to the fact that I live in an apartment, there isn't much space for displays. I have one major display on a spare table, which is a mix of modern and historical, yet it is a disappointment that there is no space for Islanders builds. 

49 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

I want to build my own version of my favorite Pirates set, Lagoon Lock-Up.

That sounds exciting, would love to see the final product. 

49 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

So i ordered parts for a new sandwich approach

Do ye already have some pictures of this technique? It sounds intriguing. 

[Yperio_Bricks]

18 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

Not a particularly exciting idea, as it is a frigate MOC, specifically a pirate one. Sadly, that is all the information I can give up about it for now. In the past I have made few smaller MOCs, therefore this project is ambitious in terms of its size and category. It will be a two deck vessel with a brick built hull and (hopefully ) proper rigging using strings. At first I started it out with a hull two studs wider than an official prefab one but over the time I widened it by four more studs (hopefully it will not be too wide and too short).

A frigate, nice! I agree, the molded hull pieces always seemed to be a little to narrow.

I always wonderd if it is possible to cut them in half and add some bricks in between

9 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

Do ye already have some pictures of this technique? It sounds intriguing. 

I only have pictures of the old technique. Maybe I can create a mock-up later to compare the two.

My main problem with trans light blue tiles was, that you can see the studs of the base layer very prominently shining through, no matter which color you put underneath them. In pictures this effect is reduced by the angle in which the photo was taken but when I stood in front of a build I never really liked it. For this reason I used trans dark blue, which in turn has its own disadvantages.

But with a trans light blue plate under the trans light blue tile, the studs become much better covered and this will be the technique I'll use going forward.

[Jack Sassy]

51 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

I always wonderd if it is possible to cut them in half and add some bricks in between

That be a good idea. I will have to try that someday (perhaps someone else will take an advantage of such technique ).

52 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

Maybe I can create a mock-up later to compare the two.

Would love to see it.

52 minutes ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

My main problem with trans light blue tiles was, that you can see the studs of the base layer very prominently shining through

Aye, I noticed that some years back. Have ye tried using translucent black tiles? Those could create an interesting effect. 

[Captain Pirate Man]

 

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place?

 

For me... It was the Black Seas Barracuda and the Caribbean Clipper specifically. I was 9 years old when those sets were released, and I would dream of them in the Lego booklets that used to come with sets. My first Pirate sets were Lagoon Lock Up and Forbidden Island. I also had pretty much all of the smaller build sets (my parents would buy me a $10 set in the store, but not the bigger ones, lol). When the second wave of Classic Pirate sets were released, that's when I REALLY became a HUGE fan though. Skull Eye Schooner, Imperial Flagship, Imperial Trading Post and Rock Island Refuge were all added to my collection for Christmas that year. 

 

Unfortunately... ALL that remains of my original collection are most of the minifigs. Once I entered my "dark ages" in my mid-teens, I put all my Lego into a large box. I had a younger cousin, so I took the minifigs out of the box, and took them over my grandma's for him to play with. Some time later, without my knowledge, my step mother sold ALL my Lego in a yard sale for pennies on the dollar  So ALL that remained were the minifigs that were at my grandmothers house.

When I got back into Lego as an adult, reacquiring my original collection was my MAIN goal. I think I've done a pretty good job    

[Mister Phes]

10 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place?

We do indeed have a topic dedicated to this subject, but I'll spare everyone the boring history lesson and quote part of what I wrote:

A couple of years few months later I was in K Mart... I'm not sure why I was in the LEGO section because I was more interested in Transformers and Monsters In My Pocket at the time. But somehow I'd stumbled it, and this is what caught my attention...

6235 Buried Treasure

[Mazin]

15 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

. ALL that remains of my original collection are most of the minifigs. Once I entered my "dark ages" in my mid-teens, I put all my Lego into a large box. I had a younger cousin, so I took the minifigs out of the box, and took them over my grandma's for him to play with. Some time later, without my knowledge, my step mother sold ALL my Lego in a yard sale for pennies on the dollar  So ALL that remained were the minifigs that were at my grandmothers house.

When I got back into Lego as an adult, reacquiring my original collection was my MAIN goal. I think I've done a pretty good job    

But You were still lucky that Your cousin didn't break them all all loose them playing in the sandbox ;) AND that eventually You did get those back :)

With my cousins, whenever i "grew" out of say matchbox cars or He-man figures etc, my parents would give them to the poorer part of my family, kinda our version of hillbillies, thinking they would enjoy stuff they couldn't afford, only to discover it upon another visit, that they would typically have it all lost within just days, discarded in an ugly way etc, so that's probably why i managed to save some other toys when i got into my "dark age" - at some point my parents simply stopped giving them away to relatives and they stayed boxed at home.

And i'm happy that You've manged to regain all those lost treasures, in a sort of way :) That's my personal goal as well, tho, getting to the point where i could afford them is one problem, figuring out what those lost toys were is another  :)

[Mazin]

15 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place?

I'm not realy sure, like i still remember my exact introduction/s to Gijoe as if it was yesterday, but with Legos and Pirates there's a bit of blur.

Like i have a weird memory of playing Eldorado at someone's elses home in Paris... in 1987. But it's obvious it's not possible, so i must have messed it with something else, perhaps it was something similar and my brain must have connected it with "Eldorado" some time later ;)

Anyway, just as You said, at that time i was obsessed with catalogues that would be obtainable in every toy shop or that would come with toy sets, spent probably more time with mu eyes stuck in them than playing actual toys. And my guess is i must have gotten some small city vehicle or a little space ship, cause those themes were among my first, and pictures with Pirates dioramas must have popped right into my eyes. So i'm pretty sure that's the way my dream about getting them was born. Also i had a somewhat richer, or a lot more spoiled, cousin who would collect practically every toy, comic book, movie, game on the market, so i might have already played with his Barracuda before i got any of my own.

But my first set was probably 6251, at that time i was more into He-Man New Adventures, but those were more expensive and my parents were hesitant about buying me and military/mutant toys, but i got them into getting me more history/fantasy oriented Pirayes. And here it was - a small lineup of figs only, but it was enough to have a fantastic time and dream about getting more. I already a big blue cargo ship from the City, and placed some space elements as "cannons" and this served as my first pirate "galleon" :) Then i got a Castaway Raft with a shark, then my aunt, who was much more willing to throw expensive presents at me, bought me Forbidden Island and Carribean Clipper. 

But my Holly Grail - Baracuda - came in a weird way that wouldn't probably ever happen these days. My uncle flew from the US for Christmas, and brought me gifts, among them Lego Pirate set, guess which... another Forbidden Island :) One which i already had from my aunt, as i mentioned, so "grown up" present collectively decided that it would be stupid to have two same toys and my uncle wanted to immiately RESELL it to get my something else. As i lived in a small and rather poor town that wasn't much stuff available from the range he was opting for, but there was this market for superuberduperrich called Pewex, where they would have all sort of non-affordable toys and... they did agree to trade my already opened american Forbidden Island for something else! So i had a choice, either one of the Castles + some small set as a bonus to it OR Baracuda and just Baracuda, as my uncle had to pay few extra dollars for it.

Guess this says a bit about prices at that time, and about employes of luxury shops being open to all sorts of strange agreements, no one would allow nowadays :)

Anyway, no question what i wanted more and what i had to pick. Baracuda, here it was. And i built it completely by myself, when it took 2 older cousins to help me with Carribean Clipper :)  

And thus i lost my only chance to play with american version of lego cannons at the same time, but i didn't mind :)

 

 

[Horation]

20 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

 

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place?

Me and my brother liked history, especially napoleonics, and also Lego, and building armies, guess which theme met all of our rigorous standards...

Edited July 13, 2024 by Horation
Punctuation

[PxChris]

The Pirates part of my collection hasn't been my main focus the last couple of months, so unfortunately I haven't been doing a whole lot with it. I am getting ready to set up another display at a local independent LEGO aftermarket store this week though which will get much of the collection back out of boxes and setup as they were meant to be!

Once I get that all together, I will of course share some photos.

On 7/12/2024 at 2:24 PM, Captain Pirate Man said:

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place? 

I was given a couple Pirates sets in 1989 when I was 10 years old - the Eldorado Fortress and the Caribbean Clipper - that's what first ignited the love of the theme. I was the absolute perfect age for the theme and it really resonated with me. Beyond those, I acquired a number of the other smaller Pirates sets in the early 90s, but I never had a massive collection of them. I always liked the Bluecoats best back then, so I wasn't super into the Imperials once they switched the colors. I did get a couple of the smaller Islander sets (absolutely loved the catamaran) around '94 though. I have lots of very fond memories of staring at the catalog pages for hours just dreaming about having a huge Pirates layout. The Black Seas Barracuda was always a major white whale set for me, from all the way back in '89. 
Most of my collection did not survive intact and in good condition into my adult years. When my kid was younger we took all of my old LEGO and mixed it in with his (which I have regretted ever since  ) and so reconstructing my old sets out of that was to be near-impossible, not to mention that many pieces were missing, broken, yellowed, etc. So, fast forward to 2020 when I picked up a partial set of Eldorado and a couple other smaller sets at my local LEGO Convention right before the pandemic started, and that started the collection avalanche. Over the next couple of years I completed the entirety of the 1989-1997 Pirates theme which was a childhood dream come true. I've also expanded beyond just the classic Pirates with quite a few of the other ships and a miscellaneous assortment of other Pirates or Pirates-related sets.

My biggest enjoyment is getting to set up large displays of the sets which I've had the awesome opportunity to do now at a few conventions and as I mentioned will soon be doing at a local store.

[Yperio_Bricks]

On 7/11/2024 at 3:41 PM, Jack Sassy said:

Would love to see it.

Here is it. So on the left you can see the old water technique using black plates and trans dark blue tiles. Right is the new technique using dark grey plates, trans blue plates and trans blue tiles. Only downside of the new technique is that there are basically two trans light blue colors One is blue and the other one is a bit lighter and looks a bit more green. You can even see it in the picture.

Which one looks better?

[SpacePolice89]

On 7/13/2024 at 12:24 AM, Captain Pirate Man said:

Just outta curiosity, what brought everyone to LEGO Pirates in the first place?

For me it started as a young kid when my parents bought me 6232 Renegade's Raft. My neighbor had 6265 Sabre Island and we played a lot with those sets. After that both me and my neighbor got more Pirates sets. I preferred the Imperials and he the pirates so we had very fun battles when we played with our sets.

[Jack Sassy]

On 7/23/2024 at 1:51 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

Which one looks better?

I do like the look of the new technique, it better suits the Caribbean waters too. however, the darker one would do better for oceans and such. Either way, I think you should go with the new one.