Which is better: Castle or Pirates?

[Mister Phes]

Actually, in the context of the discussion it succeeds as an on topic analogy...

[Norro]

Castle ended when they brought in the bley*... so I'll reluctantly have to allow FK (although I don't own any and don't think of them as castle domain...) But a good case could be made for Lego (or at least its best era) ending the FK year anyway...

*you're welcome to disagree, but it is just different in bley (even if the sets were still decent.)

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

So a colour caused a highly popular theme to end? You wouldn't read about stuff like that!

[blueandwhite]

So a colour caused a highly popular theme to end?  You wouldn't read about stuff like that!

For most long-time Castle (and Space) MOCers, the colour change was cataclysmic. It essentially killed any opportunity to expand our respective collections with new or exciting elements post 2003/2004. Obviously, this change doesn't have the same kind of adverse effect on collectors, or young builders who have yet to amass a real quantity of bricks. For vetrans, the story is very different. The word cross-contaminate has now become part of our vocabulary. I worry about mixing new and old grey, and generally avoid sets with large quantities of new grey (bley). I haven't bought anything Harry Potter related in over two years, owing to the colour change. I simply have no place for bley in my collection.

Look at it this way. How would you react if you built most your MOCs out of yellow and white bricks, only to find out that LEGO would no longer produce those colours? Instead, LEGO decides to replace those bricks with dark yellow and off-white bricks at the suggestion of their marketing department. How would you react? Essentially, LEGO has informed you that your collection is obsolete. To usher in the new era, they introduce a new Pirate theme with powder blue cannons and transparent orange cannonballs. The pirates themselves are given silly names and funny costumes, having almost nothing in common with earlier lines. Would you consider that a continuation of the Pirate line? Heck, do pirate fans consider the Jack Stone/Junior Pirate line to be a true continuation of the pirate theme? I don't think so.

So to make a long story short, yes Castle died with the introduction of bley.

[Mister Phes]

What an excellent post Blueandwhite! And now I shall argue with it because that's what I do!

Heck, do pirate fans consider the Jack Stone/Junior Pirate line to be a true continuation of the pirate theme?  I don't think so.

First of all, I'll start with the 4+ Pirates being a continuation of the original pirate theme. Like I mentioned before 4+/Jackstone is a different system of LEGO construction. Just as Technic and Duplo are different systems of LEGO construction. So can a theme span 2 different systems of construction and be the same theme?"

So asking "do pirate fans consider the Jack Stone/Junior Pirate line to be a true continuation of the pirate theme?" is the same as asking "Do Town fans consider the Duplo Town theme to be part of the SYSTEM Town theme?" As far as I'm aware everyone differienates the Duplo and SYSTEM town themes as two completely different things.

Look at it this way.  How would you react if you built most your MOCs out of yellow and white bricks, only to find out that LEGO would no longer produce those colours?  Instead, LEGO decides to replace those bricks with dark yellow and off-white bricks at the suggestion of their marketing department.  How would you react? 

It depends how good the sets were, but its hard to say without actually seeing them.

Essentially, LEGO has informed you that your collection is obsolete.  To usher in the new era, they introduce a new Pirate theme with powder blue cannons and transparent orange cannonballs.  The pirates themselves are given silly names and funny costumes, having almost nothing in common with earlier lines.  Would you consider that a continuation of the Pirate line?

Errrr... There is already powder blue cannons in the SYSTEM pirate theme...

But I would be disgusted that LEGO would do something like this! This may well be a continuation of the pirate theme but I might not want it to be. I don't decide what is a continuation of the pirate theme, but I do decide whether whether I want to own the sets.

So to make a long story short, yes Castle died with the introduction of bley.

Obviously, not everyone sees it this way. Mr Tindwcel for example didn't vote for Castle because he considered Knights Kingdom II to be part of the Castle theme. I think the point is Knights Kingdom can be seen as a sub-theme of Castle, and therefore is a continuation which unfortunately represents the degeneration of a once brilliant theme.

[Mister Phes]

It appears we're on the verge of going off topic so I've created a poll:

Is Knights Kingdom a continue of the Castle theme? with three options.

• Its the latest sub-theme of Castle
  
• Its not a sub-theme, but is a continuation of the original Castle theme
  
• No, its a completely different theme altogether
  

So lets see what everyone else thinks...

[Mister Phes]

Ok, I've unpinned this topic because it seems to have run its course and its no longer getting new responses...

[WesternOutlaw]

I vote for Wild West that was strangely forgotten in this poll.

[Mister Phes]

It wasn't forgotten in this poll since the poll is intended to be between Pirates and Castle. However, there's nothing stopping you from creating a poll between Pirates, Castle and Western... Maybe you should look into it. It might be interesting to see how the results vary...

[Dreamweb]

But the point I was making there is the current Duplo Castle theme isn't part of the original Castle theme just like 4+ Pirates isn't part of the original Pirates theme.

When I look at the pictures in 2005 catalogue, I must say the Duplo knights resemble original Castle theme more than KK2 ever did :D

[Mister Phes]

Yes, I thought the same too. I thought it looked better than Knights Kingdom!

[Erik]

I voted for pirates of course! :happy:

But I like also the most castle sets (the old one, not the new one).

[EbonHawk]

Pirates!!!

[Lost Viking]

Guys, don't bring back 2 month old topics! >:(

[Mister Phes]

These guys haven't voted before so there's no reason they shouldn't be able to vote. As isn't a time relevant thread (like a thread that accounces upcoming LEGO releases for example) the information within it isn't obsolete so someone new posting in it will bring new information.

Which has given me an idea...

[John475]

.

Edited November 18, 2017 by John475

[Captain Roger]

Pirates of course!

1.Lego pirates was very good from the beggining, Pirates was the first Lego System theme whose minifigs didn't have the simple face with the stupid smile like that icon: :-)

2. Lego Pirates were great since 1989 to 1993, when Indigo Islanders were released, the theme became not as good as the british guys (imperial guards and soldiers), but that were only 2 years. Lego pirates became to be good again with Imperial armada

About Lego Castle:

1. in the beggining, lego castle wasn't good, because all minifigs had the stupid smile, and the buildings were simple(thats normal because lot of toys are simple in the beggining, but pirates were good in the beggining)

2.Lego castle began to be good in 1992 with Black Knights, and was good too with dragon knights and royal knights, but in 1997 Fright Knights were released, and they were terrible(im my opinion, a bad copy of Dragon knights). 1998 Japanese guys were good but they were canceled early

3. Knights Kindom was always worse than the 90's

[Mithrandir]

I voted for Pirates, but it was a really tough call.

Castle has been around forever, and will probably be around forever too. Pirates were only around for a few years, though. So this means that there are FAR more castle sets than pirate sets.

And of course, this also means that the quality of the castle sets has gone up really high, or come crashing down really low, depending on the year. The Forrestmen and Black Monarch sets of yesteryear were some of the highest quality sets I've ever seen, and I miss them dearly. But KK2 (series 1 and partly 2) were pretty disappointing, what with it's "Knights of the Pastel Round Table" theme going on there. I couldn't stand it.

Unlike Castle, Pirates had a far shorter run, but overall, the set quality was better, which is why I voted for Pirates instead.

We had ships, cannons, parrots, sharks!, monkeys, sabres, pistols, chests of gold, etc. Pirates introduced non-smiley minifig faces, too.

I miss pirates. A lot. When I got back into Lego last year, I was SHOCKED to find out they didn't make them anymore. They were absolutely my favourite sets as a kid, and it's just one of those things you take for granted, and assume that it'll always be there (same thing with Space; Star Wars just doesn't cut it as a substitute). Bringing back Pirates would make me happy as a clam. I've always wanted a freaking huge capital ship.

[Norro]

Our 2 to 1 supremacy has slipped... ;-)

God Bless,

Nathan

[Mister Phes]

Some of the laddies are still out at sea yer see :-D When they get back they'll cast their vote and eventually pirates will surpass castle...

[Scnicker]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I have some stuff to say :-P. Most people know me as a castle builder (which in fact is the reality, considering the parts that I've in my collection), but I've got to say that Pirates>Castle. You may ask: "Why is that so?". Here are my reaons:

-Ships and ocean life is big part of the theme and those two are things that Castle lacks in many ways.

-The main location is the Caribbeans. A tropical place with lots of islands and so. Apparently a more attractive place compared to the dusky woods of Europe.

-The uniqueness of real life characters and the fact that it makes us like the evil characters.

-The MOCs built in Pirate theme are always more refreshing and rare compared to castle.

Anyways, for the facts that I've stated above, I love Pirates. Arrr! *wub*

[Jipay]

-The main location is the Caribbeans. A tropical place with lots of islands and so. Apparently a more attractive place compared to the dusky woods of Europe.

While I fully concure with the other arguments, I must say that I'm not happy with one, living in the region you mention :-P I think woods are the coolest place ever. There are a lot of animals like wolves (and at that time bears), you can build cool wooden houses and it also has this mystical atmosphere, espcially when you find a hidden cave X-D

Anyway, a lot better than those "paradisiac" islands, full of spiders and snakes

[Mister Phes]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I have some stuff to say :-P. Most people know me as a castle builder (which in fact is the reality, considering the parts that I've in my collection), but I've got to say that Pirates>Castle.

Sorry to revive this thread? Don't be ridiculous! This is one of those threads where the debate is infinite and can be posted in at any time! Every new user to Eurobricks should have the opportunity to share their opinion on such an important subject matter (and so Pirates can gather more votes :-D )

Besides, your post was well written and highlighted the reasons for your decision. If every new users contributed to this thread like you have then we'd have a superb ongoing thread! Keep up the good work!

[Scnicker]

Thanks Phes. You flatter me :-P.

Jipay- Everyone has different opinions and that makes people more enjoyable to know. I too live in a place with forests (To ignorant people out in the world : We do not ride camels+Turkey is not a desert). I also think that bears and wolves are nice creatues to have, as long as they don't get close to me. And I can easily say that I prefer snakes over wolves for the fact that a wolf is harder to escape from compared to a snake. One of my biggest dreams is to buy a boat and cruise around the Carribbeans, a dream that may never come true :-P.

[Mister Phes]

Thanks Phes. You flatter me :-P.

I think its fair enough to let those who are doing a good job know that they are doing so. Its also an incentive to keep up the good work - just look at your Rank Guage...

Jipay- Everyone has different opinions and that makes people more enjoyable to know. I too live in a place with forests (To ignorant people out in the world : We do not ride camels+Turkey is not a desert).

Ahhh... The good old stereotypes! I live in a country famous for the "outback" but I've never been within 1000Km of such a place. My nearest wilderness area looks like this...

One of my biggest dreams is to buy a boat and cruise around the Carribbeans, a dream that may never come true :-P.

Why do you say this Mr Snicker? Is it because its a dream rather than an ambition?