Last month we revealed the two new BrickHeadz characters from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Captain Jack Sparrow (41593), and a new character, Captain Armando Salazar (41594). TBB has already exclusively reviewed Salazar’s enormous ghost ship 71042 Silent Mary and now we’re taking a look at the movie tie-in BrickHeadz characters.
Like all the BrickHeadz, Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Armando Salazar will retail for $9.99 USD/£9.99/9,99 €. They have 109 and 118 pieces respectively, and will be available March 17 for LEGO VIP-card holders both in LEGO stores and from the LEGO Shop Online.
The boxes
We already saw the front of the boxes when the release of these POTC BrickHeadz was first reported, and the back simply shows how the BrickHeadz characters fit onto their little stands.
The Beauty and the Beast Brickheadz are also shown as part of the wider range available.
One side of box shows the actual movie characters that the BrickHeadz models are based on. Captain Jack Sparrow is the well-known central character, but Captain Armando Salazar is new for this movie and is looking rather gruesome.
Just like the other sets, inside each box are two unnumbered bags of parts, a black 4×6 plate and a folded set of A6 sized instructions—31 pages for Captain Sparrow and 39 pages for Captain Salazar.
The builds
Let’s start with Captain Jack Sparrow. The printed parts include the 2×4 black tile with the BrickHeadz logo and the Series 1 numbering, his moustache, a open-necked shirt with hairless chest visible printed on a 1×2 brick, a belted waist area printed on a 1×3 brick, two BrickHeadz eyes (plus one extra), and a slice of bacon—I mean, Captain Jack Sparrow’s red sash.
You can make an alternative build of ‘bacon on toast’ from this set!
Next we have the printed parts from Captain Armando Salazar. As well as the BrickHeadz printed identification tile, Armando has the front of his Captain’s tunic, two BrickHeadz eyes (plus an extra), two silver buttons (and an extra), and a beautifully cracked white 2×4 tile used for his forehead (incidentally it is upside down in this picture, but don’t worry, I put it on correctly).
As with all BrickHeadz, the waist and torso area are built first. Jack’s coattails are a nice dark blue and the detailing on the printed belt buckle looks the part. Armando is mainly dark bluish grey but the front of his tunic adds some detailing. Interestingly, the two figures are not built in exactly the same order, as Armando gets his arms and cuffs added at the torso stage while Jack has to wait until his hair and makeup are complete.
Not all Brickheadz have the same colour ‘innards’. Jack has blue abdominal contents, an orange thorax, and a pink brain.
Contrast this with the ghostly innards of Armando, who has trans neon yellow abdominal contents, a dark tan torso, and a trans green brain. On the rest of the BrickHeadz the innards are hidden, but poor Armando has a rather large skull defect making his brain clearly visible, which is presumably related to his current state as a ghost.
As the builds progress, the two characters continue to be built a little differently. Jack has a little ‘bracket beard’, which is a clever way to denote his beard with two plaits. He also gets differing face plate colours with a dark red bandanna, tan face, and black beard. Since Armando has a white face, the 4×4 white plate is quickly placed, with the printed tile forehead as the only detailing. You will also note that Armando has a couple of the printed 1×1 round tiles as silver buttons on his uniform.
Both have the indignity of having their little legs and feet attached while placed in the upside down position. Armando gets two black 1×2 plates for his boots, while Jack gets reddish brown and stands a plate taller—well at least until their hair is built.
Hair and makeup are a key feature of the POTC movies, and LEGO has certainly reflected this in these two Brickheadz. Attention is paid to Jack’s dark red bandanna, his beaded dreadlocks, and that voluminous hair. And of course, he has his straggly moustache in position. In our review of the Silent Mary, I mentioned that the minifigure Captain Armando Salazar has the best windswept LEGO hair ever, and this is also built into his BrickHeadz persona. The sweeping curved slopes are well used, although the only thing that troubles me is the single exposed stud on the far top left of his hair—why?
Overall, they are two rather different builds, although their overall appearance is similar. I’ll get the boys to give you a final 360 spin for the full effect…
Conclusion & recommendation
At 9.99 in the various currencies, these are affordable little parts packs for some of us who are perhaps either not as keen on the style or not of the ‘displaying official sets’ type. The two characters have certainly been depicted well in the BrickHeadz distinctive style, and it is clear who they are. I have to admit that I did get a Herman Munster vibe about halfway through building Captain Salazar.
There are lots of SNOT bricks in the BrickHeadz packs, and these are no exceptions. I like the cracked forehead, perhaps for a cracked ceiling or wall in another build, and of course, I love bacon! A final thought: if you are worried about Captain Jack Sparrow looking a little sad when on display, inverting his moustache tile results in an altogether cheerier Jack.
41593 Captain Jack Sparrow and 41594 Captain Armando Salazar will be available on March 17 for LEGO VIP-card holders both in LEGO stores and from the LEGO Shop Online for $9.99 USD/£9.99/9,99 €.
Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Series 1 BrickHeadz:
The LEGO Batman Movie BrickHeadz
Marvel BrickHeadz
Beauty and the Beast BrickHeadz
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick early copies of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
