Pirates: Brickbeard's Bounty

Brickbeard's Bounty is a 2009 set, part of a limited Pirates theme revival a few years ago before Lego switched to Pirates of the Caribbean license sets. The ship has a similar design to the Black Seas Barracuda, but is noticeably smaller among other things (and under 600 pieces). This set does have a better colour scheme than the classic pirate vessels, and it feels very solid. Indeed, I think it has a certain majesty about it. I especially like the captain's chamber on this one.

I have a few minor complaints. There are only three cannons, and one of them is supposed to be positioned on the stern castle. Why not just have four cannons amidships as it should be? Why only two? Another thing is that there are no actual stairs going to the wheel. All it would take is a few blocks leading from the nearby mast. There is no crow's nest either! Finally, I do like the minifigs, but I feel that the ship needs a larger crew. And the sails! I hated putting those plug pieces on the ends of the flexible sticks. The other system with bulbous ends was more convenient.

Put a crow's nest on the damn thing!

Overall a very nice set to have to add variety to your Lego fleet, but not quite as good as the other big ships available (not counting the Pirates of the Caribbean stuff).

Here are some side-by-side shots with the "Bootleg" Barracuda.

Pirates: Bootleg Barracuda

The classic Lego Pirates are probably my favorite overall theme, and I've recently been choosing the sets I want to get over the summer. I came across this set on G-Market randomly. I immediately thought about the Black Seas Barracuda set from 1989, but I couldn't understand why it was only advertised for a mere $35. I noticed that it had skulls on the sails and the information said it was made in China. That did make me curious. I ordered it anyway; for such a low price, I wasn't too worried.

On receipt, I immediately saw the box was different from the webpage photo as it had a clearly Chinese company logo... and that skull and crossbones made me think of One Piece. And oh yes, the name of the ship being the "Black Pearl" was also a hint."Enlighten Brick" does have other stuff beyond pirates. This set is probably the closest to a direct copy, though they have a commuter train set with a different colour scheme that is still clearly the City Passenger Train...

The blocks are of slightly lower quality than the usual Lego stuff, and one piece was even broken; I was able to incorporate it into the set without incident though. My main problem was that the pieces took a bit more pushing to make them fit snugly.

But you know what? I love this set. Sure, it's not quite the real deal, but it gets the job done well. In fact it improves on the original by including an actual crow's nest!

So yeah, I love these sailing ship sets. The sails, the string rigging, the monkey, the parrot, the cannon... These ships have a really "cozy" design and are a feast for the eyes! The captain's room is a little too plain, but I can look past that :P 

Creator: Horizon Express

My thoughts of having a Lego train set were initially modest... and then I learned about this baby!

The Horizon Express is modeled on France's High Speed Train (TGV). The set consists of three cars and six minifigs.

The first car is the engine/power car. It has the controls and seating area for the engineer. The Lego Power Functions can be installed in the back after removing the "placebo" brick motor.

The second car is a passenger seating car with newspapers, a computer, and even a bathroom with the sliding door I love so much.

The third car is a cafe-type car with tables, a coffee machine, and a concession counter run by a steward.

With tracks from the City Train Station 7937 and a straight/curved track set.

This set rocks. It's easily among the best you can buy, and it looks amazing. Well actually, by itself it seems a bit odd. Most of these high-speed trains are a bit longer and have engines on both ends. Yeah... so I got two at once! I will add pics of everything together soon enough.

City: Train Station (7937)

This 2010 City set is one of many different train stations released over the years. This one has a small station building and two large platforms. Overall it has the appearance of an inner city commuter station. That makes sense considering it matches with train set 7938 fairly well.

So, about the set. It certainly looks quite nice. The station building is little too small for my liking, but its overall design is not a problem. I'm a sucker for sliding doors I suppose... The platforms are solid, and the bridge gives the set some power. There are a lot of small things that enhance this set, namely the wall maps, flowers, light poles, and ticket booths. There's even a taxi, but it doesn't have swinging doors.

If you have a small Lego train set, you can't go wrong with this station. Oh yes, there are four straight tracks that come with this set, but I didn't include them in the picture.

Ninjago: Epic Dragon Battle

The third and final Ninjago set that I bought. This set is a very large four-headed dragon, a giant snake, and a small tower/prison.

The dragon here is quite a bit cooler than the single-head dragon seen before. Sure, it has four heads... But the body is large and has awesome wings that can move. The four heads are a little strange, but taken as a whole, this is a really cool creature.

The snake is also cool in its own right, though I wish it was just a little more flexible. It also actually looks a bit scary...

The tower is simple enough, but it does have some nice ooze dripping from the snake heads :P
Yeah, I guess that doesn't mean much. It's just a little too small I suppose, but I can't say I dislike it.

Now I just need Godzilla!

Ninjago: Temple of Light

This set is simple yet appealing to the eyes, honestly. It consists of a temple with swinging side rooms and a large mecha.

The mecha has a few moving parts, so the joints are mildly technical in construction. Fully constructed it looks really cool and imposing. It also has a giant sword, and those are always cool :)
There's not much protection for the pilot though...

The temple itself is a very nice mix of red, white, and gold. I particularly like the two towers in the middle, but the platform between them should be a more solid structure. It seems a bit out of place. It's very nice and cozy when the sides are closed together.