Skirmish At Nassau

Sometimes things don't go the way you'd like on a series you're watching. A favorite character dies, the heroine falls for "that guy", or for some reason a polar bear shows up. Most people just grumble about it, and tune in next week, but if you're builder Mpyromaxos you build a huge MOC that reimagines how things should have gone. This is his interpretation of the events at Nassau in the series (spoilers?). I especially like the Spongebob and Patrick cameo.

Here's a fun fact: I worked on the last season of Black Sails. I could tell you who dies, if I only watched the series and knew anyone's name. All I know is I spent day after day killing pirates, lots of them.

Coral Sandbar

Usually the first thing you think of when considering the pirate genre is not bright, cheerful colors. But this MOC by W. Navarre may change your mind about that. And while the cleverly built colorful coral is excellent, my favorite aspect is the subtle coloration and almost caustic lighting effect caused by the trans blue water above. Built for round two of "The Tourney" on MOCpages.

Tropical Shores

I was fortunate enough to view this impressive tropical island pirate MOC in an earlier iteration at BrickCon. It's a collaborative build by Takkata1 and ForlornEmpire and it's pretty spectacular. There's little touches and fun back story everywhere you look, but that temple entrance is a total scene stealer. Check out the video for a time lapse of it's construction and to see the moving features in action.

Plastic Men Tell No Tales

This idyllic pirate MOC (by Vitreolum) shows something I really love to see in MOCs online: an entire scene built fully out of LEGO. A White background is nice and all but it's really cool when a builder goes the extra mile to flesh out a scene with more details. I especially love the forced perspective with the tiny island, and the puffy white clouds.

La Saignante

This post is one week early for international talk like a pirate day (no really, look it up, it's a thing), so I'll avoid any cheesy "arrggs" and "avasts" and just present this absolutely wonderful pirate ship by builder Kloou. This lovely craft has three masts, a functional crane, fully decked out interior and fourteen guns. She's a formidable vessel you don't want to see approaching on the high sea.

Tiny Island

This is a fun little diorama from builder Mark of Falworth that demonstrates you don't have to have a huge footprint to make an impact. The variation in the sand, the overall shape of the small island, the diversity of the trees and the staging make this all very appealing and compelling. You just want to know more about what's going on, and see the story play out.

Booty

I've been known to sift through the vacuum bag to retrieve LEGO elements, so I truly understand the notion of this MOC by builder eurotrash48903, LEGO is treasure. Of course it's supposed to represent a treasure chest full of priceless riches, and even though the bricks aren't gold, they're still precious to me. 

X Marks The Spot

When I first saw this it reminded me of the cool map montage's from the Indiana Jones films. I love the way its been composed, lovely little details whilst still having a practical purpose. I have always had a passion for maps and who doesn't love Pirates?. A build by Kai NRG/Geneva for the Mapped Out category of the MOCathalon, Its gonna take some beating. 

ADDITIONAL. So there I was on the train, feeling good for blogging, when Tommy sent me a message saying that I hadn't mentioned that the MOC was an expanded version of the printed tile of the pirates map. Of course I had seen that (I had not seen that!) I just chosen not to mention it (again, I had not seen that!) So double wow! Its the Pirates printed map tile blown up. Sometimes the obvious escapes me!

Enterprize

This jaw-dropping sailing ship by redmondej is hands down the single most magnificent minifig scale frigate I've ever seen. It's absolutely enormous, stunningly beautiful and mind-bogglingly detailed. The rigging alone is so intricate that you'd swear it's fully functional. And it's not just a pretty shell, it has three fully detailed decks inside. I truly hope I get to see this thing in person some day, it's gorgeous. Get yourself a snack, find a comfortable place to sit and click here for many, many more pictures, including details of the interior, vignettes and behind the scenes details.

Arrgg! Raving Rabbids

Me and Rayman go way back. I have fond memories playing on my customized Gameboy Advance (I hacked a front light into it). When Rayman 4 came out he had a new nemesis, Rabbids, who turned out to be so popular they ended up being a franchise on their own. Here we see them in one of their numerous natural habitats, a pirate ship, brilliantly recreated by builder bricks.life.idea. 

Whole Lotta Pizza

This is all kinds of clever. When builder koffiemoc accepts a challenge, he goes all out. These were all build for a revamp contest on lowlug.nl. He decided to build interpretations of LEGO 6350 Pizza To Go, and did so in the styles of City, Friends, Pirates, Wild West, Roman, Castle and my personal favorite, Star Wars. Yes, that sign is in Aurebesh.

Buccaneer Brawl

If I got to pick any "job" in history it would definitely be that of a swashbuckler. I mean think about all the cool things pirates get to do - sword fight, ride on ships, drink rum, visit cool places, watch the sunset over the ocean, etc. I mean, yeah, life expectancy wasn't that great and I don't even want to think of all the diseases a pirate had to deal with. But hey why not have a little fun before you leave this earth, am I right? The great scene below by Brother Steven and his brother Mark is exactly what I'd expect the life of a pirate to be.

Sun-Runner Y7

David Steeves has come up with this intimidating pirate escort fighter/interceptor.  Gotta love the flag, just so there's absolutely no question about who you're dealing with.  A classic pirate ship's mast as a mega blaster is a clever detail, too.  Seeing that there's only the one gun, I assume the ship can be configured depending on which side the pilot's eye patch is on...

Pirate Jigbots

This is the kind of thing that happens when you bring together a small group of insanely talented builders and a spark of inspiration. This is a collaborative build from Brickthing, LegoJunkie, Legonardo Davidy and Si-MOCs based on the original Jigbot by BrickThing. I don't know which sea these pirates sail, but I'm sure it's a perilous and hilarious place to be.

Black Seas Barracuda

The original LEGO Pirates line holds a special place in my heart. It came out as I was starting life as an independent adult and I bought the whole line. It was the restarting of my collection, being nearly brickless because of a thief. And the Black Seas Barracuda was the flagship. This miniature version by Bangooh does it justice. I wouldn't mind having this little ship on my mantle once more.

Attack On Flint's Fort

Treasure Island is an awesome book, it's inspired dozens of movies, TV shows and other entertainment. And now it has inspired builder vitreolum to create one of the most exciting scenes, the attack on Flint's fort. I love the construction of the fort, very rustic and utilitarian, as it should be.

Battle In Buccaneer Bay

Avast there! Builder Mark of Falworth's latest build depicts pretty much a worst case scenario for the Bluecoats, pirates attacking on one side, Redcoats on the other. You just have to wonder what happens when they both board and discover each other. Built to promote the LEGO War contest on Flickr.

Those Darn Pirates

Dear Cardinal Augustus,

Pirates once again attacked the church of St. Lucia today. There were no fatalities this time but docent Marcus received quite a knock on the head. We really need to address the issues stemming from the misunderstanding about the steps of the church. How that cartographer misheard "measure of truth" as "treasure of blue" is mind-boggling, but it's been nothing but trouble since. Whatever you can do would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Docent Jorge, St. Lucia church

PS, send my regards to Mark of Falworth, I'm a big fan of his work.

Sabre Island

This spiffy little island looks like an official set amped up to the next level and packed with excellent little details. I love the use of arranged water spout parts to make lapping waves and the crossed swords decorations.

Cove Island Map

This is a fun little concept, a micro scale building of a relief map. Sir Valient packed a ton of detail into this fairly small space, including numerous ships and structures. But my favorite detail has to be the sea serpent, check out the bottom of the map, he's right there.