General Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Discussion Thread

[Bart]

I want those bluecoats !

Bart

[Mister Phes]

I want those bluecoats !

Do you know which nation/faction they're supposed to represent?

[Tazmaniac]

Do you know which nation/faction they're supposed to represent?

They're the East India Trade Co, that screen is from the fist level of "at world's end" near the bath house.These are one of a few great blue coat designs in the game, though these are the darkest(almost black).

Edited June 1, 2011 by TazManiac

[Mister Phes]

Ah yes, I see it now. Thanks TazManiac!

[Bart]

Do you know which nation/faction they're supposed to represent?

ehn No,

I just like the design :)

Bart

[Mister Phes]

As TazManiac has pointed out they're the East India Trade Co. guards seen at the beginning of At World's End.

[Blackknight112]

It is very likely that most of the figures in the game never be real lego figures.

[Tazmaniac]

It is very likely that most of the figures in the game never be real lego figures.

True but what a waste of some truely awesome designs, they have the characters for the next two waves already if they continue the theme.

[David Thomsen]

It is very likely that most of the figures in the game never be real lego figures.

It depends how much of the first waves we buy.

[Bart]

It depends how much of the first waves we buy.

not that much its too expansive

Bart

[Gregorovich]

Still no news on the Black Pearl? I thought that by now we'd at least have some information, other than the things we saw at the Toy Fair.

[Zeya]

I have all the POTC sets now except for the QAR and the polybags. (I have a voodoo Jack coming next week; I might leave that one MISB.) This was my first foray into a licensed theme. I have mixed feelings, overall. Most of the set designs seem to cut corners and opt for larger, less detailed parts to lower piece counts. And then there's the "licensed tax" that inflates the prices a bit. But good things about the line are the nice minifigures and new parts like the scabbard, painted tricorner hats, and bottles. I also found a certain bit of fun in recreating some memories from the movies, some of which I had forgotten about.

I found my favorite of the set (again I don't have QAR yet) to be the Cannibal Escape. The minifigures are great in that one, especially the heads. I also like how you get some nice greenery pieces there, one of which is a tan colored frond. Maybe I liked this one the best because it felt the most similar to the more cheery classic pirates sets. I also found that set to be one of the more memorable scenes from the movies.

My second favorite would be Whitecap Bay. This one was a pretty large and engaging build. After seeing the new movie, that scene was also the most memorable in that movie. I was also impressed by how closely the spotlight matched the look of the movie, by putting the trans-orange/yellow brick in front of the light and using the magnifying glass. It really focuses well into a spotlight! The minifigures here are pretty good, although I wish they could have had minifigures other than Quartermaster; Lego could have used that opportunity to give us another figure. Although I guess this set has enough unique figures (to match the typical Lego "formula" of figures) in it as it is.

For the rest, The Mill was an underwhelming build, but the shell-head-guy figure is really cool. London Escape felt a little incomplete and phoned in. The main carriage is okay and the Gibbs figure is welcome, and the redcoat scabbards and hats are great to have. But the Captain's Daughter building is a strange breed of unfinished with the hinge it has going on. Isla De Muerta is acceptable for a small set and the figures are the good thing there. But then we have Fountain of Youth and Captain's Cabin. *sigh* The Fountain of Youth is one of the worst sets I own. I understand that Lego didn't have the final movie design so there isn't much they could have done, but it's still disappointing. I find Captain's Cabin to be almost completely redundant after having all the other sets; although this would be a good birthday gift sort of thing for people who don't buy all the sets.

I do look forward to getting my QAR eventually. I expect that to be on par or a little better than Brickbeard's Bounty. I also hope the rumors of another wave of POTC are true. I'm sure I'll get the Black Pearl, maybe for Christmas when it should be out. I do not think I'll be getting the smaller polybags though, since they look kind of unessential (mini black pearl and Jack on a raft).

One thing I am a little wary about are the flesh colored minifigures. I'm going to go ahead and say that I prefer these to yellow from an aesthetic standpoint, but not from an availability standpoint. I don't plan on going hog wild with buying licensed theme sets. So that leaves me with a minority of fleshies that won't mesh well with my other yellow minifigures! So from this light, I kind of wish Lego had stuck with all yellow minifigures to keep it all consistent. I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

I also have to say that although I like POTC well enough, I secretly hope it doesn't end up getting the Star Wars treatment (10 years of sets and going). I hope this stays as a smaller run, along the lines of Indiana Jones. I have a drive to get essentially every set, but I don't want to end up owning 100 sets in this theme, lol.

Oh yeah, and here's hoping for a speedy return of classic Pirates! That theme is better and more free of creative shackles. The only thing POTC has over it is a wider and more interesting range of minifigures. I don't think classic pirates will be back in anything less than 3 years, but a guy can hope, right?

Thanks for reading my long post. I felt the need to share, seeing as I've dropped so much money on this theme!

Edited June 10, 2011 by Zeya

[The_Chosen_1]

I also have to say that although I like POTC well enough, I secretly hope it doesn't end up getting the Star Wars treatment (10 years of sets and going). I hope this stays as a smaller run, along the lines of Indiana Jones. I have a drive to get essentially every set, but I don't want to end up owning 100 sets in this theme, lol.

Oh, no worries. The POTC line won't continue for nearly as long as Star Wars. For one, the demand just wouldn't be there. And there isn't nearly as much material to draw from for sets.

But speaking of the Black Pearl, I'm eagerly awaiting news on that as well. If there's only one POTC set that I purchase, it would be this one.

[MstrOfPppts]

On the contrary to Zeya I only have QAR and I must say I really like it. Although I have no classic pirates big ships - only a small one, i think this one is the nicest. BSB is nice, but the color range in the past was not that wide and the lack of brown is quite disturbing.

I think it would be great (though it most probbably will never happen) that LEGo turned his whole minifigs to flashies. In that case we'd have enough heads to create great MOCS for POTC and also other themes. I've seen some really great Western and castle MOCS with flesh colored heads, and they looked really good, not to mention more realistic. As the color schemes with brown and all additional colors are following the reality, the flesh heads are more appropriate too.

[Tazmaniac]

LEGO heads are yellow for a good reason, "non race specific" there for they will not go flesh toned.....I hope

Edited June 12, 2011 by TazManiac

[MstrOfPppts]

I know, but the Simpsons are yellow as well, and yellow clearly represents the lighter tone of skin and they also have brown for black people. Even if they went for all flesh, they could just say their sets represent European cities, since TLG is from Europe and there's just not that many black people. Basketball players were all brown ...

Edit: sorry for off topic, just realized that it's not the most appropriate theme to discuss this ...

Edited June 12, 2011 by MstrOfPppts

[Peanuts]

I know, but the Simpsons are yellow as well, and yellow clearly represents the lighter tone of skin and they also have brown for black people. Even if they went for all flesh, they could just say their sets represent European cities, since TLG is from Europe and there's just not that many black people. Basketball players were all brown ...

Basketball players weren't all brown either, only the ones to represent real players, as those to represent real white players were some flesh tone (dark flesh? )as well. The genereic players were also all yellow.

I don't think they would settle from yellow to flesh in non-licensed themes, I think flesh was even introduced to make the difference between lighter and darker skin tones clearer without giving up the neutrality of yellow.

[CommanderR]

Oh, no worries. The POTC line won't continue for nearly as long as Star Wars. For one, the demand just wouldn't be there. And there isn't nearly as much material to draw from for sets.

But from what I know there is going to be a 5th and 6th movie, back to back.

[MstrOfPppts]

Yes, I hope they last at least so long, that we get the sets from the other 2 movies as well! Anyway they still have a lot of material to easily make 4 more vawes, which is about 2 years time.

[The_Chosen_1]

But from what I know there is going to be a 5th and 6th movie, back to back.

That may have been the rumor several months ago, but the series is being put on hold for now (story here). Which means that the line may or may not continue past next year.

[punkkid364]

That may have been the rumor several months ago, but the series is being put on hold for now (story here). Which means that the line may or may not continue past next year.

To say that the series is "on hold" isn't really accurate; they can't do ANYTHING until they have a script, which is in development now, and has been for a few months. I think what JD is getting at is that he wants to take the time to make every single one a good ride, instead of just mass-producing them. From his standpoint, it keeps him from getting burnt out on Captain Jack, PLUS he's got a pretty full schedule for shooting in the next year. At least one more POTC flick is on the way, it just may be a while.

Personally, even if POTC5 is three years away, I think there's enough legs in the franchise at this point to keep the line going until then. There's a WHOLE LOT of cool ships that LEGO can make, and plenty of cool scenes and characters left to build. We haven't yet seen ANY sets from At World's End for cryin' out loud.

[Piranha]

To say that the series is "on hold" isn't really accurate; they can't do ANYTHING until they have a script, which is in development now, and has been for a few months. I think what JD is getting at is that he wants to take the time to make every single one a good ride, instead of just mass-producing them. From his standpoint, it keeps him from getting burnt out on Captain Jack, PLUS he's got a pretty full schedule for shooting in the next year. At least one more POTC flick is on the way, it just may be a while.

Personally, even if POTC5 is three years away, I think there's enough legs in the franchise at this point to keep the line going until then. There's a WHOLE LOT of cool ships that LEGO can make, and plenty of cool scenes and characters left to build. We haven't yet seen ANY sets from At World's End for cryin' out loud.

Yes like the Interceptor . I would have liked all figs to have stayed yellow aswell because it would be more useful for regular Pirates and I could have easily integrated.

[mobricki]

If the lego company makes the HMS Interceptor. I will buy it.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Yay for Flying Dutchman!

[Mr_Malfoy]

That may have been the rumor several months ago, but the series is being put on hold for now (story here). Which means that the line may or may not continue past next year.

I'm not so sure about that: here's the latest from Wikipedia:

Fifth and possible sixth film

The actors playing in the fourth film were told by Disney not to occupy their time in the near future, as the studio intends to shoot a fifth and sixth film back-to-back. On January 14, 2011, it was confirmed that Terry Rossio will write the screenplay for the fifth installment, without his co-writer Ted Elliott. Johnny Depp said that he would be happy to return as Captain Jack Sparrow saying "As long as we can put all the puzzle pieces together, I would most definitely consider it". Jerry Bruckheimer said that the fifth film would be a stand-alone film. According to Terry Rossio, the script for the fifth film is finished, and he has handed the script to Disney executives. Speaking at the fourth film's press launch in Cannes, Depp said he would play the role for as long as it is popular with the public. Disney has a wishlist of directors they would like to direct, as Rob Marshall has not yet accepted or declined to direct. The list includes Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Alfonso Cuaron, Shawn Levy, Chris Weitz, and original Pirates director Gore Verbinski. Gore Verbinski and Tim Burton are Disney's top choices as they have both worked with Disney and Johnny Depp on numerous occasions. Disney wanted Tim Burton for the fourth film as Gore Verbinski would not be returning.

Lets see: They have a list of directors they want, they have a script, and Pirates 4 has made $926,976,000, definitely saying that it's "popular with the public". So another 2 films = more sets (since LEGO has the license.) Sorry, Pirate fans, but it will probably be a few more years before Classic Pirates retuns, if at all.