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Class 4 article
Pirates
Pirates
Release years:

1989 - 1997, 2009, 2015

Main theme:

Pirates

Concurrent faction(s):

Imperial Soldiers
Imperial Guards
Islanders
Imperial Armada

The Pirates were one of the first two factions of the Pirates theme. They were the only faction not to change over time, but they expanded with more and more sets added with each change of the good faction. Their symbol was the Jolly Roger, a black flag with a skull and crossbones.

The Pirates boasted four of the largest ship sets, Black Seas Barracuda, Red Beard's Runner, Skull's Eye Schooner and Brickbeard's Bounty. They operated out of the Forbidden Island, Rock Island Refuge, Skull Island, Pirates Perilous Pitfall and Shipwreck Hideout sets.

History[]

Pirates-1990-2

Pirates vs Imperial Soldiers in a catalog from 1990.

The intial release of the Pirates was hugely popular. The sets released in this era were some of the largest in the theme, including 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, 6270 Forbidden Island, and 6273 Rock Island Refuge. The Pirates were initially pitted against the Imperial Soldiers.

In 1992 the blue Imperial Soldiers were phased out and the Pirates' main adversaries were now the red Imperial Guards who resembled Redcoats of the British Army of the colonial era. The Black Seas Barracuda was replaced by the Skull's Eye Schooner, and the Rock Island Refuge was replaced by the Skull Island.

Pirates skull 2009

The new Jolly Roger featured from 2009 onwards.

Around late 1993 to early 1994, there was a minor split in the Pirate faction. Another captain emerged as the leader of the new Renegade Pirates faction. The two sides were not enemies, nor were they friends.

1996 brought a radical change to Hispanic themed Pirates, and much of the Pirate sets were redone to match the new Imperial Armada. The theme only ran for 1 year before it was ended.

2009[]

After more than ten years without any new Pirates releases, the theme was relaunched with visually upgraded minifigs. This time the pirates were pitted against a faction that resembled the Imperial Guards from 1992.

The pirates were given a new ship, Brickbeard's Bounty, as well as a new hideout. Their only other seagoing vessel is a raft.

2015[]

6 years later pirates has returned with new sets and Captain Redbeard with refreshed look. They were pitted against a faction that resembled the Imperial Soldiers from 1989.

Characters[]

3983

Captain Redbeard minifigure on a keychain from 2002.

  • Captain Redbeard: Famous pirate leader, distinguished from all the others by his bright red beard and a patch over his left eye. His right leg was a wooden peg-leg and he had a hook on his left hand. He often carried a pistol and a sword, and was hardly seen without his pet parrot, Popsy. He returns in 2015 with refreshed look.
  • Captain Brickbeard: The captain of pirates after the theme's relaunch in 2009. He largely resembles his predecessor, but consists entirely of newly printed pieces and wears golden epaulettes and a golden hook.
  • Captain Ironhook - Rival of Captain Redbeard. He looks very similar to him.
  • Black Jack Hawkins - Prominent member of Captain Redbeard's crew.
  • Bo'Sun Will: One of the youngest pirates and crush of Camilla, the Governor's niece. He is friend to Capt. Redbeard, and has some skill with a sword and pistol. He wears a red bandana around his head, a red and white striped shirt, and red pants. He has no distinguishing features.
  • First Mate Rummey: First mate of the pirates, Rummey was a cut-throat pirate through and through. He wore a blue jacket over a red and white striped undershirt, gray pants, and a brown tri-corner hat. He also had a patch over his left eye.
  • Jimbo: (according to a LEGO pirate book)He originally was a stowaway, but Captain Redbeard let him join the crew as ships boy
  • Anne: Also known as the Wench.
  • Flashfork: He's a crewmember of Captain Redbeard and sometimes served as second mate. He's a very poor sailor because he always shipwrecked.
  • Spinoza: the monkey.
  • Popsy: the pet parrot of Capt. Redbeard.

Ships and buildings[]

6285006

The Black Seas Barracuda is often considered the best LEGO pirate ship to date.

In total, the pirates had six ships that made use of the new large boat pieces. the first one was 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, which is still one of the most popular LEGO sets ever. It was replaced in 1993 by the 6286 Skull's Eye Schooner, which was, until January 2010, the only ship of the Pirates theme that had three masts and was also the biggest to that date. 1993 also brought a smaller one-masted ship, 6268 Renegade Runner. In 1996 the second two-masted ship was released, the 6289 Red Beard Runner, followed by another small one-masted ship in 1997, 6250 Cross Bone Clipper, which was the smallest of the six bigger ships and would also be the last ship for the next years. The newest ship is 6243 Brickbeard's Bounty from 2009.

6286 Skull's Eye Schooner

With 892 pieces, 6286 Skull's Eye Schooner is the biggest LEGO Pirates set.

The first pirate base was 6270 Forbidden Island, a simple outpost on a flat baseplate. It was replaced in 1991 by 6273 Rock Island Refuge which was considerably bigger and constructed on a raised baseplate. The next one was 6279 Skull Island, released in 1995. Smaller installations include 6296 Shipwreck Island from 1996 and 6249 Pirates Ambushfrom 1997. The biggest fortification of the pirates, considering the number of pieces, was 6281 Pirates Perilous Pitfall from 1997. The latest pirate base is 6253 Shipwreck Hideout from 2009.

There were also numerous smaller islands, boats or rafts.

Sets[]

Initial release[]

Image#SetNumber of piecesMinifiguresPriceRelease
Disland1481Pirates Desert Island211$2.991991
62346234Renegade's Raft371$3.251991
62356235Buried Treasure27Spinoza, Bo'sun Will$3.00 / DM 5.99 (= €3.06)1989
6251 Pirate Mini Figures6251Pirate Mini Figures33Captain RedBeard, Imperial Officer, Imperial Soldier, Pirate (2×)$6.001989
6257 Castaway's Raft6257Castaway's Raft50Darwin the Pirate, Pirate (2×) 1989
6260-1-16260Shipwreck Island69Pirate (2×)$11.991989
6270-16270Forbidden Island176Captain Redbeard,

Bo'Sun Will, First Mate Rummey,

Imperial Soldier
$31.951989
6273 Rock Island Refuge6273Rock Island Refuge3727 1991
62850066285Black Seas Barracuda909Captain Redbeard, First Mate Rummy, Anne, Bo'sun Will, Pirate (4×)$109.991989
1004010040Black Seas Barracuda896Captain Redbeard, First Mate Rummy, Anne, Bo'sun Will, Pirate (4×)$89.992002

1992 release[]

Image#SetNumber of piecesMinifiguresPriceRelease
Plookout1464Pirate Lookout17Pirate$1.991992
Bcove1492Battle Cove251 1992
Plookout1696Pirate Lookout161 1992
Swpirate1713Shipwrecked Pirate221 1994
1729 Barnacle Bay1729Barnacle Bay894 1994
1733 - Shipwrecked Pirate1733Shipwrecked Pirate221 1994
1788-11788Treasure Chest154Male Islander

, King Kahuka , Captain Ironhook

, Gonzo Goldbar
 1995
Pcannon1871Pirates Cannon151 1994
18731873Pirates Treasure451 1994
18891889Pirates Treasure Hold341 1992
19701970Pirates Gun Cart29Darwin the Pirate, Pirate 1993
62376237Pirates Plunder212$3,001993
6254 Rocky Reef6254Rocky Reef1013 1995
6258 Smuggler's Shanty6258Smuggler's Shanty693 1992
6261 Raft Raiders6261Raft Raiders78Captain Ironhook, Pirate, Lolbroek$13.251992
6268 Renegade Runner6268Renegade Runner1714$40.001993
6279 Skull Island6279Skull Island3666 1995
6286-1-16286Skull's Eye Schooner8929 1993

1996 release[]

Image#SetNumber of piecesMinifiguresPriceRelease
Ptsurprise1747Treasure Surprise211 1996
1802-Tidy Treasure1802Tidy Treasure211$1.991996
6232 Box6232Skeleton Crew27Pirate, Skully$2.991996
62486248Volcano Island119Black Jack Hawkins, Skully 1996
6249 Pirates Ambush6249Pirates Ambush1592 Pirates and 1 Conquistador$21.991997
6250 Cross Bone Clipper6250Cross Bone Clipper151Captain Redbeard, Pirate (2) 1997
6281- Pirates Perilous Pitfall6281Pirates Perilous Pitfall395Black Jack Hawkins,

Parma Sean LaFeet, George, Captain Valiant, Conquistador,

Skully
 1997
6290-1.ImageL.thumb26289Red Beard Runner6987 1996
6290-1-26290Red Beard Runner6987$99.99 / €99.992001
62966296Shipwreck Island216Conquistador, Black Jack Hawkins, George, skeleton$29.751996

2009 release[]

Image#SetNumber of piecesMinifiguresPriceRelease
6240-16240Kraken Attackin'782 Pirates$9.99 / €9.992009
6241-0000-xx-23-16241Loot Island142Pirate, Hank the Castaway, Imperial Guard$19.99 / €19.992009
6243-16243Brickbeard's Bounty592Pirate,

Builder, Gunman, Imperial Guards (2), Captain Brickbeard, Admiral's Daughter,

Mermaid
$99.99 / €79.992009 (First sold in late 2008)
Shipwreck26253Shipwreck Hideout310Captain Brickbeard,

Pirate, Lady Pirate, Imperial Soldier (2),

Skeleton
$39.99 / €39.992009
PirateSurvival18397Pirate Survival16Pirate$3.49 / €2.992009


2015 release[]

Image#SetNumber of piecesMinifiguresPriceRelease
Sddefense70409Shipwreck Defense84Bluecoat Soldier, Old Pirate$12.99March 2015
Sooutpust70410Soldiers Outpost164Bluecoat Soldier, Bluecoat Sergeant 1, Pirate$19.99March 2015
70411 boxart70411Treasure Island180Bluecoat Soldier, Pirate Princess Argenta, Pirate$19.99March 2015
Sffort70412Soldiers Fort234Governor Hacienda, Governor's Daughter, Bluecoat Soldier, Pirate Gunner, Pirate$29.99March 2015
70413 The Brick Bounty boxart70413The Brick Bounty745Captain Redbeard, Slinger, Pirate Boy, Pirate Cook Bart, Admiral Nonsuch, Bluecoat Sergeant 2, Bluecoat Soldier$99.99March 2015
40158 Chess Set40158Pirates Chess Set857Ms. Dagger, Cutlass (x2), Deckboy, Pirate (x6), Bluecoat (x10)$59.992015
No image5003082Classic Pirates Set   


Other appearances[]

Other products[]

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