Ranking the Pirate Ships 1-15

Comments

• Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454

  November 2016

  @piratemania7

  

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• cheshirecat Member Posts: 5,331

  November 2016

  Wasn't able to listen to the sound, but (somewhat controversially) I would put #6286 Skull's Eye Schooner above #6285 Black Seas Baracuda - not sure why but having built them both I just prefered it (the rotating cannons probably helped). Other than that I agree with your rankings. I was pleasantly surprised when I built brickbeards bounty, much better than I expected and do have a soft spot for both the Caribbean Clipper and the Armada Flagship as well.

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  I have also built both the SES and BSB, while both are amazing, I do give the edge to the BSB. It is the more elegant looking ship imo. 
  
  As for the CC and AF, I would of loved to put them higher, but then I would have had to lower other things. I couldn't in good faith find a way to do that.

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• natro220 Member Posts: 545

  November 2016

  While I only own a few on the list, I would agree with your arrangement.  For me it's hard to put nostalgia aside with BSB, I want to put it at #1...but Imperial Flagship is obviously the best ship Lego has made.

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  I absolutely agree. But having said that, the BSB is a beautiful runner up. Its also somewhat sad that Lego has YET to one up that ship as an actual PIRATE ship. BBB and TBB are both nice little ships, but not in the same league with the BSB.
  

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• davee123 Member Posts: 854

  November 2016

  What do you think is good criteria for what constitutes a ship?
  
  I noticed the #4768 Harry Potter Drumstrang ship was missing, and I didn't really expect the LOTR ship in there (you could probably add the #7048 Troll Warship too if the LOTR one qualifies).  And there's obviously the two 4+ Juniors ships, and the DUPLO ship, but they're not minifig-scale, certainly (same with the "mini" Black Pearl, etc).
  
  Then there are a few other iffy ones like the larger ship from #6277 (which appears to be a small merchant ship), the #3817 Spongebob Flying Dutchman, the #7018 viking longship, and the #7029 Skeleton Attack Ship.  Not sure which ones I'd qualify as "pirate ships", but they might fit.
  
  DaveE
  

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• madforLEGO Member Posts: 10,795

  November 2016

  davee123 said:

  What do you think is good criteria for what constitutes a ship?
  
  I noticed the #4768 Harry Potter Drumstrang ship was missing, and I didn't really expect the LOTR ship in there (you could probably add the #7048 Troll Warship too if the LOTR one qualifies).  And there's obviously the two 4+ Juniors ships, and the DUPLO ship, but they're not minifig-scale, certainly (same with the "mini" Black Pearl, etc).
  
  Then there are a few other iffy ones like the larger ship from #6277 (which appears to be a small merchant ship), the #3817 Spongebob Flying Dutchman, the #7018 viking longship, and the #7029 Skeleton Attack Ship.  Not sure which ones I'd qualify as "pirate ships", but they might fit.
  
  DaveE
  

  Well he said 'Pirate' ships so technically the LoTR one does belong as it is 'Pirate Ship Ambush'.
  
  Though I agree with others that, while Imperial Flagship is the tops, BSB may edge out the SES only in the cabin details, but the SES cabin opens up for more play value and has the 'steerable' rudder, so I think I would choose the SES over BSB for #2.
  I just think that because BSB was out twice that it has been seen a LOT more and the cost of a used one is not so much to make you gasp compared to the SES.
  

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  I will have to take a picture of my current line up when I am home later - a few more visuals may assist in this discussion.
  
  For criteria its much like that thread not long ago about dragons.  I think for the purpose here it is much about the officially released pirate ships.  There are smaller pirate/merchant ships that came with some of the larger Pirate sets; I.E. merchant ship from Imperial Trading Post.  But I don't think it is fair to match it up against say the SES.
  
  Let me ponder on this for a bit and get back with a list.  I am going to have to notate a description after each ship showing why I ranked it there.

  

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• dougts Member Posts: 4,110

  November 2016

  QAR should be #2

  

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  I couldn’t help it, I had to write the list now.  I will point out this is a very biased list and my opinion only.  I will still post a few pics of what I currently have on display later.  Shout out goes to @Pitfall69 for providing me with some of the below ships.

  Black Seas Barracuda – Nostalgic in nature, received this when I was real young and was the first large LEGO I can remember.  I remember building this over 2/3 days with my dad.  Still have it.

  Legends Black Seas Barracuda – Only because it is "legends" I am assigning all "legends" ships with their corresponding original model.

  Imperial Flagship (2010) – This was released when I first came out of my Dark Ages and I remember "getting" this for my birthday.  My wife so graciously drove me to the mall and I picked it up.  Aside from nostalgia, this is the largest ship – and likely will remain such for this theme.  The double decks and the way each segment comes apart is truly unique.

  Skulls Eye Schooner – The "largest" old school ship that I recently had the pleasure of building.  Although larger than the Black Seas Barracuda it does not ring home the same sense of pirate nostalgia for me as the Black Seas Barracuda.  I do love the detailing and it shows how far they came in just a few short years.  The minifigure accompaniment here is also outstanding.

  Red Beard Runner – Just a cool looking ship in my opinion, good for quick maneuvering away from the Islanders and other hostile forces.  The color scheme seems to be OK, other than the red hull.  What I pick up most on with this set is the new torso and heads prints used at the time.  This was sort of the "last hurrah" for classic pirates and I wish it went on and on, but alas….

  Legends Red Beard Runner – See above for additional legends description.

  Armada Flagship – What a cool little ship.  Similar to Red Beard Runner, this was part of that last "run" by the company on this theme.  I think there was a lot of potential here and whenever I think of Armada I think about what the sub-theme could have been if it were more than just a few sets.

  Legends Armada Flagship – See above for additional legends description.

  Renegade Runner – I use this as a small vessel when a quick getaway is needed by the Pirates.  Very simple in terms of parts usage but boy oh boy, to receive this as a youngster would have been pretty awesome.  Also good to smuggle rum with.

  Imperial Flagship (1992) – Do not own this set, so cannot comment too extensively.  Would have been nice to own and put up against the later version to do a side by side comparison; if I had this it would rank far higher due to being the "original".

  Caribbean Clipper – Do not own this set, so cannot comment extensively.  Although much of my commentary as above for the Imperial Flagship (1992) stands here as well.

  Brick Bounty – What can I say?  Fun little ships in the sense that there is a lot more playability with the non-classic stuff – but still pirate none the less.

  Brickbeards Bounty – Same as for the Brick Bounty.  Suited more for today's kids than the AFOL, although I am happy to admit this was THE set, yes the very one that brought me out of my dark ages.  For that reason alone it should be #1.

  Cross Bone Clipper – Never cared for this too much, and do not own, I wouldn’t frown if I did though.  I think this is quite similar to the Renegade Runner but I do not care for the color schematic of this set.

  The Black Pearl (POTC) – Very biased, but do not consider POTC part of the Pirate line up.  I do not consider the flesh toned Pirates as actually being comparably to the original Pirates.

  Queen Anne's Revenge (POTC) – Same as above for The Black Pearl (POTC).

  MetalBeard's Sea Cow (TLM) – I don't even consider this a Pirate Ship but many will, for the sake of argument adding to the list.

  Pirate Ship Ambush (LOTR) – Same really as above for MetalBeard's Sea Cow (TLM).  I think the set looks "cool" but without a ton of modifications I wouldn't host in any Pirate harbor.

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  dougts said:

  QAR should be #2

  As much as I love the QAR, the bare bones hull and the "broom closet" captains quarters makes it inferior to the SES and BSB.
  

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  ^I get QAR being popular.  It is large, has lots of detail and was  a"flagship" for a theme.  But I don't see it as being truly "pirate" - the flesh tone puts me off.

  

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• davee123 Member Posts: 854

  November 2016 edited November 2016

  madforLEGO said:

  Well he said 'Pirate' ships so technically the LoTR one does belong as it is 'Pirate Ship Ambush'.
  

  Hm.  So, maybe ... "Is a minifig-scale ship in the Pirates or Pirates of the Carribbean theme (excluding rowboats and rafts), or is otherwise expressly named or referred to as a pirate ship"?  I guess I'm still not partial to including the LOTR ship, though, since I don't really think they belonged to "pirates" per se, despite the LEGO set name.
  
  But I'd definitely include the one from #6277, though.  It's clearly supposed to be more substantial than a rowboat-- just built sort of in small scale:
  
  
  
  Not that that ship's going to win any major ranking!
  
  DaveE
  

  6277_ship.png 612.1K

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  I thought about including the small ship from ITP, but since it's not an actual set, but part of a larger set I didn't include it. If it were sold sepratley, then I probably would have included it. 
  
  As for the other ships I "omitted" as other have said, I only wanted to include actual "PIRATE" ships. Meaning ships that were either directly associated with Pirates (Pirates and POTC) or ships that were indirectly associated (sea cow and PIRATE ambush).
  
  Honestly I could have done without the Sea Cow or Ambush. But if I didn't include the Sea Cow, people would be asking about it in the video comments section. As for the "Ambush" ship, not only does it say PIRATE right in the title, but it also was very similiar to a ship that appeared in POTC 3. So as far as the general public goes, it might as well of been included. 
  
  Besides including these two allowed me to do 15 ships instead of 13. Doing a top 13 list just seemed weird to me.
  
  

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• dougts Member Posts: 4,110

  November 2016

  CaptainPirateMan said:

  dougts said:

  QAR should be #2

  As much as I love the QAR, the bare bones hull and the "broom closet" captains quarters makes it inferior to the SES and BSB.
  

  honestly, I don't see a hull that is any more barebones than the other 2, and the QAR more than makes up any deficiencies in those areas with its far superior realism and intricate detailing

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• AllBrick Member Posts: 1,497

  November 2016

  Shout out to #7075.

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016 edited November 2016

  dougts said:

  CaptainPirateMan said:

  dougts said:

  QAR should be #2

  As much as I love the QAR, the bare bones hull and the "broom closet" captains quarters makes it inferior to the SES and BSB.
  

  honestly, I don't see a hull that is any more barebones than the other 2, and the QAR more than makes up any deficiencies in those areas with its far superior realism and intricate detailing

  Well the hull on the BSB is completely covered, except for where the cannons are. It even has the "storage" areas to give the apperance of a lower deck. The SES I have to do from memory, but I do remember it has the swivel cannon functions. But I believe it also gives the apperance of a lower deck. I remember when I built it I was sad that it didn't have an official room underneath the captains quarters, becuause the space is there. Lego just hadnt devolved the modular type design yet. By contrast, every Lego ship since the relaunch in 2009 (except for the flagship) literally just have the inside hull pieces with the masts thrown on top of them. Everything is all right there, no pretending anything is below what you see. That's the difference, Lego DID used to put a lot more effort into the ships. Now they just throw hull pieces together, build a captains quarters, and throw some masts up. A lot more thought went into the BSB and SES than that.
  
  If you really examine the insides of the BSB and SES you will see the differences between old and new Lego ships. The QAR does look just as good, maybe even better from the side or from a distance. Its the inside that is lacking.

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• dougts Member Posts: 4,110

  November 2016

  That's fair. Guess it depends on how you way to weight the value of exterior/display vs interior/extra function and rooms 
  
  the QAR is gorgeous. Stunning.  From an aesthetic standpoint it blows everything else out of the water, including the 2010 imperial flagship. The torches, bones on as decor throughout, and especially the sails. It's a masterpiece work of art 

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  For the record I LOVE the QAR. Do you don't have to sell me on its beauty. But when you start ranking them, you have to nit pick them.

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  I get the beauty of the QAR (I don't own it so can only comment so much) but when it comes to purity this isn't even a part of the main group.  I can see ranking and debating the merits of the BSB and SES next to each other, and even throwing the 2010 IF in there.  But I don't think its fair to include the QAR, it's a category in itself.

  

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  davee123 said:

  madforLEGO said:

  Well he said 'Pirate' ships so technically the LoTR one does belong as it is 'Pirate Ship Ambush'.
  

  Hm.  So, maybe ... "Is a minifig-scale ship in the Pirates or Pirates of the Carribbean theme (excluding rowboats and rafts), or is otherwise expressly named or referred to as a pirate ship"?  I guess I'm still not partial to including the LOTR ship, though, since I don't really think they belonged to "pirates" per se, despite the LEGO set name.
  
  But I'd definitely include the one from #6277, though.  It's clearly supposed to be more substantial than a rowboat-- just built sort of in small scale:
  
  
  
  Not that that ship's going to win any major ranking!
  
  DaveE
  

  I love this ship.  As part of the iconic ITP it does hold a special place.  I don't think there are many, if any, other "merchant vessels" at least of this sort that has been made.  It's a nifty little ship and the merchant himself is quite rare.

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016 edited November 2016

  I agree. I LOVE the ITP set. I had it as a kid, and reaquired within the last year. All three of the raised baseplate PIRATE sets were special.
  
  https://youtu.be/QmUsYCakSg4
  

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  I also have reviews for Eldorado and Rock Island as well. Classic Pirates has been, and always will be MY favorite Lego theme. 

  

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• dougts Member Posts: 4,110

  November 2016

  CaptainPirateMan said:

  For the record I LOVE the QAR. Do you don't have to sell me on its beauty. But when you start ranking them, you have to nit pick them.

  sure.  and if you want to nitpick QAR on its sparse cabin, then you also have to nitpick  BSB/SES for their garish color scheme and blocky, old school exteriors.
  
  Obviously it's all subjective opinion in the end. I put QAR above those two because it looks about 100 times better on a shelf.  you put them about QAR because they do better at other things you rate higher. Potato, tomato

  

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• piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146

  November 2016

  CaptainPirateMan said:

  I also have reviews for Eldorado and Rock Island as well. Classic Pirates has been, and always will be MY favorite Lego theme. 

  Ahhhh a fellow friend.  Welcome. :)

  

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• CaptainPirateMan Member Posts: 353

  November 2016

  Yes for sure. 

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