Tag Archives: Pirates

Avast, me mateys! If ye be lookin’ for LEGO on the high seas, you’ve found the place where X marks the spot. Here be a treasure trove of sailing ships, garrisons full of imperial scalawags, and other such nautical nonsense. Walk that plank and dive into the wonderful world of LEGO Pirates.

Surrender your life to the tyrant of the abyss

Who is the pirates’ greatest enemy? Imperial navy? Or is it really the mysterious ship-devouring monsters of the deeps? William Navarre tackles the latter with his latest creation, pitting a pirate ship against a gargantuan kraken. Of course I do not envy the pirates their futile fight, but seeing a kraken would probably be worth it either way…

This is a really dynamic image, owing this impression to the expressive curves in the monster’s tentacles and the perfect little tilt on the ship. As expected from Navarre, the build is full of intense textures and complicated techniques coupled with unique part usage. What most builders avoid like the plague, the builder uses to his biggest advantage: the water is more than a base or even just a blue background, Navarre has built it to show the forces at work with waves and splashes corresponding to the action in the scene.

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Avast Ye Brick-aneers!

If you’re looking for a scurvy mate to fill your pillaging needs, here be the fellow! He’ll stand guard with his cleverly crafted musket, making sure your enemies walk the plank! The creator of this “maniac gunner pirate” is LEGO 7, and he’s no stranger to great builds. One of the best parts of this particular creation is the unique personality of the character. Not only does he have that wonderful classic pirate look, he also has the best expression on his face. Not to mention, his weapons display a uniquely creative use of parts.

And if you’re looking for a captain to add to your crew, you won’t be disappointed! LEGO 7 has also created a devilish Blackbeard to go with this first mate! He even has the peg-leg and macaw!

Who says pirates never do anything for their community?

This lighthouse on a tiny island by William Navarre is by far not the first time the concept is represented with LEGO bricks and I can guarantee it will not be the last — lonely lighthouses of all styles and sizes are an evergreen theme with a lot of expressive value, so it is no surprise one pops up every now and again. What distinguishes William’s build from others is a mix of simplicity and complexity.

His signature highly detailed style with intense textures is obviously apparent not only within the lighthouse’s walls and the rock below it, but also the sea and the small dock. Still, the overall design of the building remains simple, which diverts attention to more important segments. There seems to be just enough vegetation on the island so we can know it is indeed a natural island, but not too much to make it nicer than a pirate would deserve. Using natural sunlight for photography can be a risky move, but William has managed to pull it off well, additionally facilitated by the digitally added background.

It takes only 6,500 pieces to build a perfect LEGO empire chess set

There are dozens of ways one can decorate their home with LEGO, either mounting Star Wars battleships on the walls, placing LEGO sculptures all over the place or even hanging huge LEGO mosaics in a guest room. Still, there is nothing quite like a brilliant grandmaster chess set built completely with LEGO pieces to be exhibited in your home library. Bonus points are for a themed chess set – just like this 6,500-piece-large masterpiece by Aniomylone.

Click here to take a closer look at the pieces!

Clear the decks, pirates be approachin’

There’s nothing like a good pirate ship to shiver our timbers, and Nicola Poloniato has built a suitably intimidating ship, cloaked in black. The Black Star is approaching at speed with a full compliment of sails, not forgetting the Jolly Roger. I can’t say she looks friendly, just look at those cannon balls blasting from beneath the main deck.

It’s worth taking a closer look at those firing cannons; I love the smoke effect and their explosive movement cleverly built with a mix of transparent round 1×1 plates.

A tale of pirates, hidden treasure, English sailors and Spanish conquistadors

Life on the Caribbean island of San Escobar is anything but peaceful. The conquering Spaniards have a strategic fort while some English sailors have just arrived on HMS Falcon in time for afternoon tea. On the other side of the island, a pirate ship approaches looking for hidden treasure! This huge and impressive diorama by Ciamosław Ciamek has everything required to tell a great story; a pirate ship, English sailors, Spanish soldiers, hidden treasure and a monastery full of moonshine-brewing monks. What could possibly go wrong?

A closer look at the monastery shows off its nicely designed red sloping tiled roofs, an impressive dome and the main façade that was inspired by La Estancia Jesuítica Santa Catalina in Argentina.

There are lots more close-up views to enjoy in the builder’s San Escobar album of images.

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag action captured in LEGO

If you sense a strange abundance of high quality Assassin’s Creed creations being blogged by us lately, it is not a coincidence. This tropical scene is Jonas Kramm‘s contribution to a larger Assassin’s Creed collaboration for German Comic Con. There is a lot going on in the scene, with pirates going about their business in between cute little raised huts, a shipwreck and, my personal favourite part, well constructed trees. The different colours of water make for a great effect too.

It looks like the kind of tropical beach where any pirate would love to rest at in between plundering adventures. We have already highlighted two other builders who took part in the collaboration, Max’s American civil war scene and Ben’s French revolution diorama.

The most wanted man on the seven seas

Wooden leg, hook hand and an eyepatch – this pirate figure by LEGO 7 is exactly what one would think of when they hear the word “pirate”. The figure is more than just a perfect depiction of a stereotypical pirate captain, it is a great build combining complex angles in the torso, a simple yet effective face construction and beautifully detailed weapons. The captain’s remaining eye gives an impression of a charismatic character, additionally facilitated by the posture.

Building forts in the clouds has never been so productive

Floating islands are a popular motive in LEGO, most often coupled with steampunk or similar themes. Andrew JN goes just a little bit back in (alternate) time with this colonial themed floating rock. The scene represents a heavily guarded prison fort and a flying ship. While the ship does not look especially like a floating one, it is unique enough that it does not look out of place in the sky. The prison actually looks so nice, it makes me want to commit some heinous acts of piracy in the skies.

Pirate ship leaves the rest in its wake

There’s no shortage of impressive LEGO pirate/sailing ships. This entry into the genre by albert might not have the impressive scale or detailing of some of the large pirate craft we’ve seen but it’s nicely put together all the same. I love the wake effect, built up from layers of different colours of transparent pieces, and the mixture of tiles and studded plates to create texture in the water.

Personally I don’t care for the tiled lettering. I feel it distracts attention from the rest of the model. However, the ship itself and the wake more than make up for that minor quibble.

We are all worms to the true tyrant of the sea

When you think it can’t get any worse, sometimes life likes to surprise you. Such is the case with this band of pirates as Dwalin Forkbeard tells us: The pirates have survived an unfortunate battle with an Imperial ship, only to be attacked by an ancient sea monster. They are doing everything they can to escape, going as far as blowing into the sail, but will that be enough? Judging by the skeleton on the animal’s back, they do not even have to be eaten to meet a tragic end.

While the textures are somewhat simple, the inner construction of the creature has to be impressive to achieve the smooth, rounded shaping. The segment on the back resembling a small island is a common theme with sea monsters, but I have never seen it done in LEGO before, and a conservative amount of seashells and other sea animals spread across the monster really gives it a realistic impression. While the whale (or is it a fish? Is it any of that, even?) is obviously the focal point and the best part of the build, its surroundings help, too — the raft is positioned so that it gives a feeling of action and the water spilling off the diorama looks just so dynamic.

Sky-pirate flying fortress floats into view

Take a medieval castle, mash it up with a pirate ship, and then give the whole thing impulse engines, the ability to fly, and advanced weaponry. That’s W.Navarre‘s recipe for a truly original LEGO creation. This could have turned out a hot mess of a build, but there’s enough colour and texture continuity across the model to pull off the ambitious intent. The test of an unusual creative idea is “Does it make sense without having to be explained?” This model accomplishes exactly that — it’s immediately apparent you’re looking at a flying pirate castle ship. What more explanation do you need?

The rear portion is excellent. I love the integration of the engines and missile bay beneath the hull…