In a complete abuse of my parental influence over the action of Santa, Santa’s minions, and certain grandparents, Christmas this year ended up with our household receiving no fewer than eight substantial LEGO kits. This was helped along by Toys R Us having a “buy one get one free” sale on selected LEGO sets. I know I am going to end up paying for this somehow, but for right now my daughter and I are having a lot of fun.
Included among the kits were two ships, the Pirates themed Brickbeard’s Bounty (kit 6243) and the Castle themed Troll Warship (kit 7048), which has already lead to the best sea battle match up ever; Orcs versus Pirates!
Avast Ye Scurvey Orcs!
Okay, I know in the LEGO universe, they are trolls, not orcs. But look at the little guys. We all know they are orcs and it is just that big guy in their ship that is a troll.
Both kits are very nice and have good projectile weapons. While I admire the ingenuity of the troll missile launcher, the cannon that come with the new LEGO Pirates kits are simply awesome. I am talking about “put an eye out” if mis-handled sort of firepower. I am glad we have three more LEGO Pirates kits to assemble, so we should have plenty of cannon to go around. (Though I am tempted to buy a couple of this kit just to stage a small Napoleonic battle.)
I’ll post some more pictures when we get them all assembled, and when our new digital camera, which is supposed to take better indoor pictures, gets powered up.
Anyway, I think there is an untapped game play mechanic here in Pirates versus Orcs. Or maybe that will be the next World of Warcraft expansion.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
You need some dice, and make some templates…and then a chart with gun ranges and…. oh….sorry….I got a little ahead of myself..
LikeLike
Oh you must be the FUNNEST Dad!!
LikeLike
That is a beautiful sight.
LikeLike
I have been a big LEGO fan for a long time.
Looking at the pirate ship, it seems that they are recycling some of their old model styles. I swear my cousin had the exact same ship 15 years ago. I even remember a pull action cannon. The only difference is the artwork on the faces and sails.
However, they are still just as fun as they were back then.
LikeLike
@Hudson – I have some clear plastic overlays for plotting off-board artillery somewhere around here I am sure, left over from the days of miniatures.
@Kilanna – My fun aspect is enabled by being married to the best mom ever. Sure, I built the pirate ship, but who had the table and the blue plastic table cloth handy to represent the sea?
@Leumas – Oh yeah, LEGO has a Disney-like approach to some of the lines they own, where they put them in hibernation for a while, then bring them back out when the time is deemed right. But I have a big gap in my LEGO knowledge, since I stopped playing with them around 1978 or so and only started building kits with my daughter a couple years back, so they all seem new to me. Gaff is my staff expert on the subject.
LikeLike
Wow, I remember a very similar Lego pirate ship from my childhood. It was slightly bigger with six guns, and the layout was a tad different but it had that exact same sail which I suspect Lego has been producing for over twenty years now. One of the best Lego kits ever. So awesome.
LikeLike