REVIEW - 6263 Imperial Outpost

[squiz]

And back:

Pretty standard pirate box, the background is very similar to many of the other pirate boxes. The back shows a number of mocs that can be made using this set.

The front of the instructions is the same picture as the front of the box.

Random instructions page

Nothing too difficult to be found in here!

Instructions Back:

And the back of the instructions showing a few more mocs, which is always nice for ideas.

The minifigures

This set came with 4 minifigs, here they are from the front:

Two redcoats, the admiral and a pirate. Notice the admiral doesn’t come with a plume which is a shame. He has a plume in the other sets he appears in (Imperial trading post and the Imperial flagship) but still it’s a great minifig with a nicely printed torso and white gloves.

Interesting parts

Nothing too much to write home about here. These are fairly standard piratey parts with the exception of the spear and the blue cups. The cups do seem slightly out of place, perhaps more at home in a camper van! Nice to get a base plate as well, something the newer sets seem to be lacking !

The rowing boat

Nothing new here but you can never have too many boats! One slight let down is that it doesn’t come with a small flag, which most other sets seem to!

The rest of the parts (slightly sorted !)

Apologies about the black tray I sorted them in. Nice mix of pieces and colours. Only one burp which isn’t too bad. Also notice that none of the 4 wall pieces are printed which is disappointing. The printed walls really add something to the sets they appear in.

The finished model

Front

Back

As you can see there is quite a lot going on in this outpost. There is a dock, a tavern a jail and a sand outcrop with palm tree on the first level. The upper level has an office for the admiral and a cannon platform. The upper level provides an observation platform for the outpost. There are also ladders that provide access to all the levels, something missing in a few pirate sets!

With the minifigures.

The admiral watches over his outpost with the pirate safely in jail.

Features:

Hidden treasure

The flap lifts up to reveal some treasure below the floor.

Rolling jail bars.

The whole jail front is on a hinge piece so can swivel out of the way. Note that the hinge should be white but the ebayer I bought it from had replaced it.

Story

With the pirate safely tucked away in jail, the redcoats enjoy a well earned blue cup of rum after a hard day at work. Little do they know the pirate has managed to find a way to get out of the jail.

By the time the redcoats notice its too late. The pirate is getting away with the treasure, whilst the redcoats feel the effects of one to many cups of rum! Above the admiral goes ballistic from his tower. There could be a court marshalling in the morning….

Conclusion

Design: 7/10. Overall a nicely designed set with some good features. Seems quite open to be a fully fledged fort, and there is a lack of battlements which makes the outpost term more suitable! The set is quite high which is good.

Minifigs: 10/10. Cant really ask for more in a set of this size. You get a pirate to lock up and two soliders to guard him. The admiral is a very nice and detailed minifig.

Parts: 7/10. Not really any unique pieces. I imagine most pirate fans could re-create this set from parts they already owned. Quite a few small pieces which are useful for mocing but it’s a shame the walls aren’t printed.

Build: 7/10. Fairly standard build, not many interesting techniques used. Took around half an hour.

Playability 8/10. Quite a few nice moving features and there are lots of small rooms with different functions. A nice number of minifigs and the boat add to the fun! The baseplate also provides lots of options for making other structures. Would benefit from an animal though!

Overall 39/50. A nice set overall but not a must have from the pirate range. I imagine most collectors/fans of classic pirates could build this set from other sets without much trouble ! The minifigs would be a great addition to a collection though so I would recommend picking this set up if you can find it !

Thanks for reading !

[Big Cam]

Great review, I like the ending. I love the old classic pirate sets, thanks for the review.

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Heh, for a moment there I thought someone had posted in the Imperial Trading Post review thread, but this is a new review!

Thanks for the review on this one. This is one Imperial set I have never owned. While I do have the Flagship, Trading Post, and used to have the Cannon Cove when I was a kid.

And is that mountain piece the same color as the other gray pieces? I never knew such a thing existed!

[Commodore Hornbricker]

I have always liked this set because it has lots of great parts if you want to expand Eldorado or the Trading Post (something I have done many times ) in the classic pirates style. Excellent review. Thanks

[funkybrick]

Thanks for the review squiz!

This is a great set! As a redcoat collector, I know what I'm talking about! :D

funkybrick

[squiz]

And is that mountain piece the same color as the other gray pieces? I never knew such a thing existed!

Its darker than the other gray pieces. The rock piece is old dark grey whereas the others are old gray. Those mountain pieces are in quite a few sets, here is the list !

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Its darker than the other gray pieces. The rock piece is old dark grey whereas the others are old gray. Those mountain pieces are in quite a few sets, here is the list !

On the box art it looks darker. But in the one you got off Ebay it looks the same color! Or is that just how the photos came out?

And I know, I have quite a few of them.

[Fluyt]

And is that mountain piece the same color as the other gray pieces? I never knew such a thing existed!

Those light gray rock pieces came in the western sets, the one in this set is supposed to be dark gray (also the admiral woodhouse torso is replaced with a normal imperial guard torso).

I've always liked this set, it's one of the best pirate sets ever made. It's got pretty much everything you need in a set this size.

And indeed, the ladders are a big plus for this set in its design, a fair amount of sets have/had super-minifigs that can jump from floor to floor, but this has accesable floors for the average joe without super-jumping powers.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

I've owned this set since its release and just recently sat down to put it back together during a snow storm over the winter. What followed would plague me for months, and to this day I still get a little bit annoyed just thinking about it:

I'm missing one of the two small white 1x1 cones on the roof. And it drives me absolutely CRAZY.

[Lorentzen]

Thanks for the nice review :)

I'm missing one of the two small white 1x1 cones on the roof. And it drives me absolutely CRAZY.

Luckily it's easily replaced if you go to bricklink.com

Edited April 30, 2010 by Lorentzen

[General Redwater]

Great Review! The blue cups do look funny! In the front of the fort, is that a lantern hanging on a spear?

Edited April 30, 2010 by General Redwater

[Erdbeereis]

Wow, thanks for the nice review squiz! I quite like this set, as it really has that typical Classic Pirate fort feel to it.

I'll index it later.

[Captain Becker]

Nice rewier, thanks for adding this. I really like the rolling jail, and this is great set for the guy who wants to make hes own small army, if you buy two of these you could make a small fortness

Captain Becker

[Skulls_Eye_Schooner_Sailor]

Those light gray rock pieces came in the western sets, the one in this set is supposed to be dark gray (also the admiral woodhouse torso is replaced with a normal imperial guard torso).

I've always liked this set, it's one of the best pirate sets ever made. It's got pretty much everything you need in a set this size.

And indeed, the ladders are a big plus for this set in its design, a fair amount of sets have/had super-minifigs that can jump from floor to floor, but this has accesable floors for the average joe without super-jumping powers.

Oh yeah, it is, isn't? Yeah, thanks for that explanation. Though I was seeing things there for a while.

Yep, this is a good one. I wonder, is the boat made to be docked in that little enclosed area next to the rock? Because that would be cool. This would definitely be one I need to pick up. It's very cool.

[Uvga]

Thanks very good review.

[supersympa]

Thanks for the review, I got hold of one a couple of months ago.

Not the greatiest set as you say, but a must have in a lego collection in my point of view.

[squiz]

Those light gray rock pieces came in the western sets, the one in this set is supposed to be dark gray (also the admiral woodhouse torso is replaced with a normal imperial guard torso).

I've always liked this set, it's one of the best pirate sets ever made. It's got pretty much everything you need in a set this size.

And indeed, the ladders are a big plus for this set in its design, a fair amount of sets have/had super-minifigs that can jump from floor to floor, but this has accesable floors for the average joe without super-jumping powers.

Gah ! cant believe i missed that. Damn ebayers saying its complete when it isnt ! Should have noticed, could have switched the torsos with one from the trading post for the review.

Thanks for your kind words though everyone ! I enjoyed reviewing it, might look at doing some more reviews. Im assuming its ok to review sets other people have reviewed or is it seen as treading on peoples toes?

[MillerTime]

Gah ! cant believe i missed that. Damn ebayers saying its complete when it isnt ! Should have noticed, could have switched the torsos with one from the trading post for the review.

Thanks for your kind words though everyone ! I enjoyed reviewing it, might look at doing some more reviews. Im assuming its ok to review sets other people have reviewed or is it seen as treading on peoples toes?

I've found about half of auctions claiming to be complete are not. One set I got a few weeks ago claimed to be 99% complete, and was missing 89 pieces (it's a 600 piece set!)

Just make sure to build everything you get off ebay and if it's missing quite a bit, have them send you replacement parts or get a partial refund.

[Dreamweb]

I like this set a lot. A lot of nice parts, nice features. I like the fact that this time they included ladders for the soldiers to climb up to higher floors - a feature often missing. It has many moveable parts and high playability. And it has Admiral Woodhouse which is a very cool minifig (not as cool as Governor Broadside though ).

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'squiz' for a great review - fantastic set - curse my dark times !

It's odd to see everyone smilling, they always seem happy even we the minifigs are mad !

Great outpost, true it could do with more battlements, but hey for what it is a kid's toy, it's alright.

I wonder if I use some of last years pirate parts I could make one of these, me gets to thinking !

I'm a conformist! everyone !

[Captain Blackmoor]

A neat review you've made there. It's been a curious set as I knew a very little about it. An amazing set to have I think.

Very nice job!

Soon.

[-obelix-]

Thanks for this great review of an even greater set! I have to disagree with you tough, personally this has always been a favorite of mine (tough i never owned it), so I think this IS a must have for any pirates fan, like myself...

Other than that, great review!

Edited May 20, 2010 by -obelix-

[andika]

I used to have this one, ahh good old days

[domboy]

Nice review, thanks!

I've been working on completing a copy of this set that I got in a big lot off ebay (one of the sets I figured out based on the parts in the lot, even though instructions for this one weren't included). Seeing the close-up pictures I'm glad I'll have this set... it looks really nice. Can't wait until it's done!

It's really too bad your copy came with the wrong torso for the Admiral... that's not a cheap part, I know because I had to buy one off bricklink myself. I hope you got a refund or the seller sent you the correct part.