The best of the "new" Pirates sets, without a doubt!
Posted by
JonB_1982
in Germany
on
16 October 2009
I recently got this set from amazon.de, for the great price of 28.99 € (regularly, in Germany this set is 49.99 €, which is definitely overpriced). I have to admit that I'm a fan of the old Pirates sets from the early 1990s, which are unsurpassed in my opinion. Most of the new pirates sets (especially the dismal Kraken Attacking) are okay, but cannot compete with the old ones. This one, however, is a worthy successor to the old sets.
It is beautifully constructed, with lots of little details and a really nice color scheme - not as nice as the old white-yellow design, but close ;) You get six minifigures with this set, which is good for its size - but (now comes the criticism) I really would have liked another Imperial guard - there are only two contained in the set. Two pirates is okay (though one would have sufficed), but two "normal" footsoldiers is a bit stinted, I think. The admiral/governor figure is nice, though. The pirate captain's boat is a bit minimalistic (no seats), but the dynamite that comes with it is a great addition to the pirates sets that opens new possibilities for combat situations (yeah, I love staging battles, I have to admit).
The buildings are great, overall. The cell is beautifully designed, just like the small bridge. The tower with the crane is also okay (even though the crane takes up a lot of space on the top level, which makes room for guards quite scarce up there). The part between the small bridge and the tower is really beautiful and has a lot of space, but (I guess there are always some "buts") the structure on it is a bit flimsy. Still, the "wanted" sticker looks great and adds nice detail to the overall set. While I liked the old plastic flags better than the new ones, this is still okay.
The only thing that I find really disturbing about this set is the inflexible plam tree. Why couldn't they just take one of the good ol' palms? And, as some have pointed out already, the title of the set is a bit misleading - this is definitely not a "fort". It is beautiful and has great playability, but if anything, it's a dock or a small port - if you really want a soldier's fortress, there is no way past the Eldorado Fortress (6276), which you can get at ebay or bricklink and which is the best Imperial set ever made, period.
Overall, however, I have to rate this set here 5/5, as the flaws are little compared to the tons of pros - and, this is the best 2009 pirates set, hands down.
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