On January 30, 2016, the Rambling Brick was born. Four years ago, give or take a couple of hours. Please pardon a little indulgence as I take a quick look through some highlights of the last 12 months.
Continue readingRambling Brick Turns Four
pirates30
Piratepalooza Continues: Meet the Islanders
This year, we saw the 30th anniversary of the arrival of LEGO Pirates on the scene. Featuring ships, factions and named characters, Pirates also introduced some interesting elements to the mixture. After five years, perhaps in an attempt to move away from the obligatory Pirates versus Governor conflict, a new group of characters was introduced: Islanders.
With printed grass skits, and wearing horns in their hair, I probably feel a bit uneasy about saying anything about how these characters might reflect any culture living at the times during which the Pirates theme was set. Suffice to say, they provided variation in characterisation. I imagine that Pirates might be seeking to hide out on an island in the South Seas, and seek a degree of cooperations from the indigenous population. I am glad there were no ‘soldier faction’ figures included with the Islanders subtheme.
Nostalgic Anniversaries Converge with LEGO Tower 1.4
Last week saw the arrival of the latest incremental update for LEGO Tower – version 1.4 – the casual game produced by Nimblebit in association with LEGO Games. For regular readers of this blog, it will come as no surprise that I was extremely excited by the content released. As well as some bug fixes, interface tweaks, new roof toppers and new floors to build, this update provided some new parts for players to collect and dress the residents of their towers. Full of nostalgia, these new elements include torsos from the 6000 Ideas Book, as well as Pirate figures (with the theme celebrating 30 years this year), adding to a collection of pirate hats added in V1.3 a couple of weeks ago.
Continue readingPiratepalooza: Celebrating the Innovations Introduced by LEGO Pirates.
Today, September 19, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. To celebrate, I thought we might take a look at some of the innovations that we have seen introduced into LEGO through the original Pirates Theme.
As you may already know, LEGO Pirates turn 30 in 2019. Having made their debut in 1989, the Pirates sets certainly have a place in the hearts of AFOLs of a certain age. With obvious factions, great play features and rapid assembly, I can understand the appeal they might have to any child at the time of release.
While some of the features introduced in Pirates have been well observed by the LEGO Group over the years, others have been less thoroughly pointed out. So I thought we might take a look at some of these today.
Continue readingSet Sail For Forbidden Island 6270
Recently, I have found myself becoming nostalgic for a childhood I never had.
As I have previously mentioned, this year marks the 30th anniversary of LEGO Pirates. Now, thirty years ago, I had just turned 20 and was well established in my personal Dark Ages: So Pirates essentially passed my by. Or vice versa.
Earlier this year I came across a copy of 6270: Forbidden Island – available locally, for a reasonable price. Set sail with me now as I put the set together, and come to see just what made the Pirates sets so amazing back in their day!
Continue readingLEGO Pirates: 30 Years of Buried Treasure
The first LEGO Pirates sets first appeared sometime in the second half of 1989. Maybe July; maybe August. Maybe September. It all depends on where you were standing. Join us as we present some of the Print Advertising Archive, as we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of LEGO Pirates.
In 1989, a new series appeared in the LEGO Catalogs.
Until then, LEGO Minifigures had been living in Castle, Space and Town with their permanent, identical smiles always on show. At this time we saw minifigures move into the Caribbean Sea, with the new Pirates theme. With that first range of pirates minifigures, several things changed: Captain Redbeard has a… red beard and eye patch; a hook for a hand and a wooden leg. He has certainly been up against a few things over the years, and yet still has a small on his face. He is also the first minifigure to have an official name.
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