Old Minifigs vs. New Minifigs

[brickmack]

In terms of figure quality, I like the modern figures better. They have better details, and aren't as prone to cracking as the older ones that I used to have. Also a few of the old ones I had had the printing off center and other print problems. However, the old ones were much more diverse, with groups such as the Islanders and the Bluecoats. It's disappointing I think that LEGO didn't include those groups in the new version of the theme.

[Aanchir]

In terms of figure quality, I like the modern figures better. They have better details, and aren't as prone to cracking as the older ones that I used to have. Also a few of the old ones I had had the printing off center and other print problems. However, the old ones were much more diverse, with groups such as the Islanders and the Bluecoats. It's disappointing I think that LEGO didn't include those groups in the new version of the theme.

To be fair, there were never more than three factions at any one time. Bluecoats were a forerunner to Redcoats, not a coexisting faction as far as sets were concerned. If Pirates had lasted for more years, there might have been more factions introduced, as was the case with Fantasy-Era Castle. I don't know if Islanders or a similar faction would have been introduced, just because such a faction in this day and age might not be considered politically correct (unlike with fantasy races, having human factions defined by race in a modern theme might not be a good idea).

[Captain Grog]

One thing that was always lacking in new and old minifigs was regular sailors. I've always used the classic striped pirate torsos as my sailors because the soldiers weren't the ones sailing the ships! I agree that I don't think the Red coats and Blue coats were ever meant to be enemies. Personally I've always just assumed all the soldiers were British and changed the Blue coats to officers because officers in the Royal Navy wore blue uniforms and the marines wore red.

[Baylego]

Personally, I prefer the new style of minifigures better. They are much more detailed and useful than the ones from 20 years ago.