Buying Pirate LEGO - where to buy, advice, tips and questions

[Trexxen]

Adam: Oh, I've seen the prices of the tiny sets - haha, not touching those! But the ones I listed seem to have pretty good price points; any tips on other sets to pick up? And actually, I don't know what this "something BIG" is; care to explain or tell me what topic it's in? =P

~Trexxen

[Tanotrooper]

My friend, wait until the new pirates arrive unless you find a cheap deal. The prices might then be lower than they are now. ;-)

TT

[Adam]

Adam: Oh, I've seen the prices of the tiny sets - haha, not touching those! But the ones I listed seem to have pretty good price points; any tips on other sets to pick up? And actually, I don't know what this "something BIG" is; care to explain or tell me what topic it's in? =P

~Trexxen

Explained in the "Pirate Smiley Wars" contest threads. After being asked when the second Round would began, Mister Phes said not for a couple of months, because EB had "something BIG in the pipeline". My advice: Sets to get are Skull Island and Enchanted Island of Bricklink. Those are cheap sets there.

[Mister Phes]

Okay, Mr. Phes, here's some stats for you from my watch list:

Final selling prices from recently sold 6285s:

Do you have the auction URLs for these still? I've created a thread called Buy ships for your own MIGHTY fleet!! to track ship auctions.

I'll still add your data but the links help to get the smaller details. Well for 120 days at least...

Mmm... those pictures are seriously tempting me to rebuild my Eldorado. Unfortunately I just don't have display space

You don't need to sleep! Your bed will provide you with plenty of space

[Wes]

The 6277 is a fantastic centerpiece for your collection. It's a good home base for your Imperials, merchants, and such, and can easily be expanded onto.

[Wes]

Do you have the auction URLs for these still?

I no longer have the URLs... I deleted the auctions from my watch list after I posted the data here.

I did find another interesting auction:

Black Seas Barracuda on eBay

Some lucky guy got a BSB for only $50! That's an amazing deal!

[Mister Phes]

There are definitely some amazing deals out there - it's just a matter of diligently searching eBay every day to find them. Now, not everyone has time for that so hopefully these "highlight" threads I've been created are of some benefit to these people.

[Mister Phes]

3. I'm already planning to get at least three Lagoon Lockup sets, two Broadside's Brig sets, and a Sabre Island set - they're the ones that really look nice, are cheap, and have plenty of imperial soldiers (SHAKOS! Yay!).

So, any suggestions? Sets to avoid due to price/quality of set?

As far as quality goes you can't go wrong with Soldier/Imperial Guard sets, in my opinion they're all strong, even though I'm not that keen on the Caribbean Clipper because its aft section looks to barren.

As for the price, well that's up to your dedication in hunting down bargains. If you use eBay you can get any set at a bargain price if you're prepared to do the searching.

We try to make this easy for you by displaying eBay auctions at the bottom of the Pirate forum but a lot of people still don't use them. Just recently a Skull Harbor sold for £4.99/US$10.00. Skull Harbor is quite a large set worth around £30/US$60. So it demonstrates the potential bargains that can slip past you...

[Nikola Bathory]

Well done! You should be very pleased with your Eldorado Fortress - it is 100% complete right?

Well, it's not 100 % complete (for instance the treasure chest and the coins are missing) and the instructions are not in good condition. But I'm verry happy to own this set now! I washed it (it needed cleaning) and on the following day I built it - it took me 2 hours 30 minutes.

here it is:

[Teddy]

Well, it's not 100 % complete (for instance the treasure chest and the coins are missing) and the instructions are not in good condition. But I'm verry happy to own this set now! I washed it (it needed cleaning) and on the following day I built it - it took me 2 hours 30 minutes.

here it is:

Dear Nikola,

it apears to be in a very good condition!

It's such a beautyful set. Mine got old and now suffers from many yellowed white bricks.

But yours seems to be in good condition and all bricks appear to be white.

Did you get the set in that way or did you treat the bricks with some cleaning substance?

Currently, I'm testing some cleaning substances on my yellowed bricks, but the results have been far from satisfactory.

Kind regards,

Teddy

Edited August 25, 2008 by Teddy

[Nikola Bathory]

Thanks :)

Like I said, I washed it in water (normal temperature) and some soap foam... Some of the bricks were dirty and indeed needed cleaning.

But the problem of white bricks getting yellow over time is something different, I don't know how to help you with that. Fortunately for me, my Eldorado doesn't have this problem.

Some of my 6384: Police Station white bricks are a bit yellow... but that's one of my oldest sets, it's from 1983...

[brickzone]

My Eldorado also suffered from a few yellowed bricks, but not too badly or too widespread. My set also had a couple errors/omissions (e.g. gold coins, which I fortunately got extra in a mixed jumbled lot of pirate Lego) and had some original black cylinders (no groove at the base) which I was also able to replace (not sure if I'll use the old ones, but they are in my collection now).

Good to see all the minifigs are there and in good shape. Is the base also fully intact? I have I think four of those bases now, only one of which has no cracks/chips whatsoever (the one that came with eldorado, in fact one of the broken ones was also in as an extra).

[Nikola Bathory]

Good to see all the minifigs are there and in good shape. Is the base also fully intact?

Actually one on the minifigs (the generic pirate) has a cracked torso and as a result its legs fall off very easily. But that's the only problem, all the rest are in great shape.

The base is intact - it's not broken, no cracks. It's not in perfect condition, but it's intact.

[Fluyt]

I think you would also like 6263 - Imperial outpost.

It has 2 imperial guards (with shako) an admiral woodhouse and a pirate+ you'll have a nice little base.

[Trexxen]

Tanotrooper: *pouty voice* But...but...I can't wait! =P Seriously though; I'll have no problem with money once I get my job (and if I don't get this one I'll keep trying)...so that's not too much of an issue =D

Adam: Ah, thanks! I plan on picking up a Skull Island in the near future; and Enchanted Island come to think of it would be great too - I'm not so much into islanders but that set (and another, see below) would give me all I'd ever need, wouldn't it? =P

Wes: Ah, the Imperial Trading Post - surely the gem of any imperial collection. I'll probably pick one up, but not for a bit - the prices on that are simply crazy! =P I'll probably get an Eldorado Fortress first - mmm shakos...four of them...

Mister Phes: I agree; after looking at most of the sets I've found the most consistent quality in the Imperial Guard sets! I'll probably be picking up a Caribbean Clipper at some point; it doesn't cost TOO much and it'll likely be my first ship. And I'm starting to use that nifty feature - I've got my eye on a Forbidden Cove that'll end tomorrow; if it doesn't go too high I'll grab it for sure!

Fluyt: Yes; that is a set I want, however the prices on bricklink are crazy - it appears someone bought them all and left only the rarer and more valuable than I am willing to pay MISB versions -_-

Thanks all!

~Trexxen

[Capt. Bluebeard]

Just recently a Skull Harbor sold for £4.99/US$10.00.

Which should've been mine!!

Seriously, I'm such an idiot for letting that bargain slip through my fingers. I guess I was too distracted by an MISB Emporer's Ship.

On-topic:

If you want a cheap ship, then maybe you could go for a 6268 Renegade Runner. It's not outstanding, but I'd say it's still a great Pirate set.

You get quite a few pirates with it too (including the almighty Capt. Ironhook! ), as well as a good assortment of weapons!

Bluebeard, out-

[Gen. Knowledge]

Hey Trexxen,

If Imperial Guards/Soldiers is what you like, then you should get sets with them in it and with shakos. Spend your money wisely and get exactly what you want and skip all the distractions. If your goal is to build an army, then hit Bricklink and some eBay auctions for just the minifigs. There are a lot of auctions on eBay selling 5+ minifigs with a cannon or boat and weapons. If you can win these, they are a better deal then Bricklink.

If your goal is to build vignettes or MOCs, go for the sets with Imperial Troops so you will have the white and yellow brick parts for building forts or ports. Likewise if you want to build ships for your men, buy ships like the Imperial Flagship or BSB if you can get them cheap. The BSB can easily be converted to an Imperial ship with the changing of the flags.

Whatever path you take, have fun and wait for the deals. It will let you stretch your dollar further and get more of what you want. BTW, most if not all the soldier sets will yield 1-2+ pirates so you will always have someone to conquer.

Tony

[Trexxen]

Bluebeard: I feel you; I recently missed a few auctions myself that I wanted but didn't quite have the money for ;_;

Anywho, yeah, I really want a Renegade Runner - it may be a Pirate ship, but it's awesome nonetheless - besides, without pirates with some ships, who am I going to pit against the Imperials? ^.~ Thanks, though - RR seems like it might be the first ship I pick up; either that or a Caribbean Clipper I saw with a few imperfections for really cheap (please don't buy it before I do guys XD)

Gen. Knowledge: Indeed; my goals are mainly twofold: build a decent sized army of imperials (hopefully by the end of 09 including the new sets coming out I'll have 50+!), and get enough parts to start making some nice MOCs. At the same time, though, I need some pirates - partially because they too have some unique parts I could use later, and partially because the majority of the good ships belong to the Pirates; and the main reason I want the Pirate sets is the ships! =P

I'm thinking I should stock up on some of the smaller sets first; as I said, a few Lagoon Lockups, Broadside's Brig(s?), and Sabre Islands should hold me over until I can muster the willpower (lol) to save up for Eldorado. After that I'll likely begin expanding my Pirates a bit (by this time I'll already have Renegade Runner as I plan to pick it up SOON; same for Caribbean Clipper), and then I'll go for the big daddy - my favorite Pirate set, Imperial Trading Post =D

Of course, then this creates a couple of problems too - what if I want to keep my pirate sets built? And what about the fact that I only own bley? I think I'll store my pirate parts seperately from my normal sets; that way I don't EVER have to see a boat hull or shako next to bionicle pieces...=P Thanks for the thought-invoking post!

~Trexxen

[Legoking]

I am in desperite need of pirates and need more. Does anyone have any ships or pirate minifigs they could sell to me?

LegoKing

[Mister Phes]

Usually threads requesting Pirate LEGO for sale are unsuccessful.

There is a user named SuvieD who is selling his large collection so you might want to contact him. Here's the thread with pictures of what he's selling.

[MacK]

I wish you good luck in your quest to find some pirate Lego, it would probably be worth while to check EBay or scroll down to the bottom of the page when ever you are on the Pirate forum. And if you are willing to wait a bit you could stock up on Pirate impulses that are coming out next year .

There is a user named SuvieD who is selling his large collection so you might want to contact him. Here's the thread with pictures of what he's selling.

Actually isn't that just the thread for thanking ImperialShadows for his contributions? Well in any case I think this is the one you're referring to Mister Phes.

[ExoBuilder]

Usually threads requesting Pirate LEGO for sale are unsuccessful.

There is a user named SuvieD who is selling his large collection so you might want to contact him. Here's the thread with pictures of what he's selling.

Wrong link

This here is the correct link.

[Captain Zuloo]

Before asking in this forum, you should probably check ebay, bricklink or come 2009 even your local department store! Just that this forum is for discussing pirates - not buying and selling items.

[Zorro]

I am in desperite need of pirates and need more. Does anyone have any ships or pirate minifigs they could sell to me?

LegoKing

WHERE do you live??? Does NY stand for New York? (or New Yersey england,....)

Stein-Welten mostly has some cheap pirate stuff, at least to bricklink standards... its located somewhere in buntaland (germany)

Also check german ebay (ebay.de) even with S&H they are often cheaper to buy !

I might consider selling an imperial flagship of the guards (couse I have 3) for the right price...

[Mister Phes]

Before asking in this forum, you should probably check ebay, bricklink or come 2009 even your local department store! Just that this forum is for discussing pirates - not buying and selling items.

Unless you want to buy from eBay and then this forum can really help!