Pirate Battle Island-25

     Pirate Battle Island

 I’ve been collecting LEGO sets and mini figures for about 25 years now. And my dream is to participate in their creation ( maybe, many fans wish the same). I present my dream project.  Please read the following, support, share  and spread the word.

History  Long ago, more than 25 years ago (which means in the previous century and even in the previous millennium!!!) LEGO pirates began sailing the seas. It has been the most popular series for 10 years, until the LEGO Star Wars began. Even after that the pirates were relaunched in 2004, 2009 and 2014 to mark the series’ jubilees.

My favorites  Lego pirates is my favorite series, that’s why I created my own version of a battle island where a chessboard is a battle field for treasures. Loooong ago there was a ship wreck on the island. There were hips of treasures on board the ship. Almost all the crew members are already skeletons. But when a new boat comes there, they still fight to keep their treasure.

The main idea  The Pirates series once included a chess set. But actually LEGO chessboards themselves have never been a part of a set, besides, 4x4 studs didn’t allow fans to use horses as chess knights. I decided to change these 2 points. My squares are 6x6 studs. That’s why my chessboard can be put on a building plate of 48 by 48 studs. My Island may look too large and complicated because of the big chess board. But I used mostly big LEGO bricks to make it medium difficult to build. Besides people of all ages love to play chess, children, men and women alike, all over the world. It can cost less than $200. The chessboard is removable and there is a large pool with sharks under it (picture- pool). The island is 64 by 64 studs (4 blue plates of 32 by 32 studs).

The set includes 5 piers, 2 brown boats for pirates and 5 red boats for soldiers 40 minifigures (12 of them are skeletons), 2 watch towers (picture – watch tower) and a cliff with a cave full of treasures (picture – central cliff). They can come to the island, but for it to appear on the horizon in the endless sea of LEGO sets, it needs 10000 supporters –about 28 dayly. Please feel free to comment for me to know which aspects you’d like to see in the updates.

 There are additional weapons in the boats (picture – side view). (I think many LEGO fans don’t like it that some sets often have fewer weapons than mini figures. But it is better in the latest ninjago sets).The towers and cliff are connected by classic pirate bridges as in sets 6273 (1990) and 6270 (1989). The bridges become a trap when they turn down, as in many sets. This adds to playability. There is a crane with a cage for a prisoner on the cliff. It rotates and can move up and down.The cage is made of giant shark teeth. The prisoner is chained (the chains are hardly seen, though). The prisoner is an aristocrat in a white suit with gold epaulets and a wig. Sharks, crocodiles and a swordfish swim around waiting for lunch (picture – swordfish). The main entrance to the cave is decorated with totem masks of islanders displaced by pirates, and also with sculls of those who tried to get the treasure before.

 These increase playability and helps your fantasy to create plenty of stories except a game of chess.

 Designing any treasuries, LEGO teams often use Lego skeletons and bones of those who tried to get there, for example in Volcano Island 6248 (1996) and in Treasure Island 70411 (2015). Even the cave entrances there are blocked by skull-doors. I like that idea very much. But in my project the entrance has bars made of 12 spears (picture – Pirate Battle Island). The back entrance is a big gate (picture – back view); you can easily look inside through it and hide treasure there. All the towers have stairs between floors. I always try to be attentive to such details.

Mini figures for the chess: (picture – ready for battle). Pirates:the captain has a peg leg that’s why he moves to one square only in any direction. He is the chess king. Female pirate (2009) – the queen, boatswain – bishop, skeleton in a cocked hat – knight riding a skeleton horse, cannon man – rook (a cannon strikes straight in any direction), 8 skeletons of sea-men with cutlass and guns – pawns.

The rivals  There were different rivals of the pirates during all these years. First the French army (blue coats) with a heraldic lilac on the flag (1989-1994). Then the British army (red coats) with the anti pirate union flag (1994-1997). Then the Spanish Armada (dark red coats) with the Spanish crown on the flag) (1997-1999). And to celebrate LEGO pirate 20th anniversary there appeared an anti pirate army (dark blue coats for officers and red ones for soldiers).

 As for my set, I tried to represent all of them, except pirates 0f 2004 because they were larger and unpopular. 8 red coats –pawns, 2 Armada helmets cannon soldiers – rooks, 2 French soldiers on horseback – knights (I changed the color of the epaulets from red as in 1989, to brown because the House Rules for LEGO ideas don’t allow to use something very old the way it looked long ago). French and British officers – bishops, admiral – king (black coat, white epaulets to mark his high rank- before 2015 white LEGO epaulets were very rare), his daughter or sister – queen. Actually she is a female pirate of 1990 but I gave her Princess’ hairpiece (Castle, 2009). Besides, the admiral (king) is the only mini figure with non printed shoulder belt for his sward, so his hand is free to hold a map of the island.

Interesting details: my set includes pirate chess but it’s not limited by that. You can see a judge with the sentence of the Royale court (it is actually Cesar’s scroll VENY,VIDI,VICI), a hangman with a hook instead of a hand (perhaps he was not cautious with his axe) and a monk with the Bible (picture #3) (the Bible actually is a wizard’s book from my oldest LEGO Castle set). Two more pirates are on tower tops, two more long-legged black skeletons are on the crane and bridge. The skeletons have gun-blades in their hands. A gun-blade is a combination of a musket and an axe and it was very popular among pirates as they had no time to reload. I made the black skeletons’ legs longer to look more as shadows or ghosts.

 Since 1994 pirates and soldiers had native rivals, too. But I use here only the most unusual totem masks of LEGO sets – Kahuka king’s, Achu’s, Kon-tiki warrior’s  and Aztec warrior’s masks.

 I tried to represent a quarter of a century of LEGO pirates in one single project. I hope LEGO fans and your team will like it to become a LEGO ideas project. Even if somebody isn’t a chess fan, it’ll help to add more mini figures.

 P S: I hope, if this LEGO project becomes a set, your LEGO designers will give such shoulder belts to all mini figures of the pirate series.

 With best regards, Staslegomaster

I think this Set would definitely fit into the LEGO Pirates Collection, so keep supporting this project and we'll be able to make it into an official LEGO set!  But don't forget to share "Pirate Battle Island" with your friends too via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!