Get Your Hands on Some Pirate Booty With Lego’s Studio Pirate Scene!
Written: Nov 28 '03 (Updated Mar 23 '06)
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Pros: Great small set packed with accessories.
Cons: Not much fun unless you have other sets to add it to.
The Bottom Line: Looking to enhance your Lego Studio series? Want to pick up a skeleton or extra gold coins? This is an inexpensive way to do it all!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Lego Studio Pirate Scene |
The Lego Studio series was introduced to give the smaller series like Dinosaur Island and Pirates a good swift kick in the pants. With the addition of the Movie Creator and specifically themed sets like the Director's Copter and Camera Man, the designers hoped that it would be the first wave of “studio” sets. Sadly, the high price of the sets and lack of interest eventually pushed some sets off the design table and on to the back burners. One set that I really wanted to get was the wrestling one that was eventually streamlined for the Spider-Man mini-series of sets then ultimately scrapped. But even with all the bad came some good; small sets like this one allowed collectors to build up a stock of pieces without having to spend and arm and a leg doing so.
In a lot of ways this set is comparable to the Pirate Treasure Surprise; both are small, inexpensive, allow you to collect a lot of great accessories and could be used with almost any Lego set. While this one has three figures [plus a skeleton] and the Pirate Treasure Surprise only has one, both are great additions to any Lego collector’s cache. This set was originally offered as a free bonus set with specially marked packages of Lego Studio sets then through a promotion with Quaker Oats and ultimately as a stand alone set. I ordered several of these through the Quaker offer [10 packets of oats and $1.00 shipping] but stocked up when I came across them at an online toy store for $1.00 each when purchased in bulk [at least 15 sets]. Needless to say, these are great for stocking stuffers, as a small gift for Lego enthusiasts and as a supplement for larger sets.
Lego Studio Pirate Scene
The three figures that come with this set can easily be adapted for use with other sets and series with a minimal amount of work. The coolest figure is the pirate captain that’s so authentic – he even has a peg leg and eye patch! If that isn’t cool enough he also has a hook for an arm, typical pirate clothing and a swashbuckling hat that can be adjusted or removed completely. The two other figures are part of the film crew and have some pretty nifty accessories like a video camera complete with a pop out film reel, microphone boom mic and megaphone [Star Wars loudhailer]. Each of them are wearing the standard Lego Studio uniform and can be used in a scene or as background workers. My favorite has to be the skeleton, a piece that you can never have too many of. When I wanted to recreate the Army of Darkness scene where Ash battles the skeleton forces, this is the set that popped into my mind as the easiest and cheapest way to accumulate enough figures to complete the scene. The skeleton is pretty basic exposed ribs, toothy smile, bony legs, Calista Flockhart sized waist … you get the picture. He is a little hard to pose but once you get him positioned the way you want him, he really adds a lot to a scene.
The accessories are what really make this set such a great find. The brown plastic treasure chest is something that you can never have too many of. They can be used for tool storage, hiding jewels and gems, as trunks, to catch small animals – pretty much anything goes with this piece. The hinged lid can be removed so you can pack it full of items without having to worry about getting it closed and the pegged bottom allows it to be attached to any standard sized Lego piece. The gold coins are awesome and in this set you get 4 of them [10, 20, 30, 40]; this is one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on gold coins outside of purchasing them from a brick broker or vendor. To keep them bright and shiny, cover them with a coat of clear nail polish. The clear goblet has a lot of uses – anything from a trophy to a potion container. The goblet comes in a variety of colors however the one that comes with this set is clear and scratches easily so gentle handling is needed to preserve it. Also included are a long handled shovel and pick axe – two important tools for digging up that hidden treasure!
Things To Know
This set isn’t sold at the Lego Online Store but can be found online at toy stores that specialize in Lego sets and Lego promotional items. When this was offered as a Quaker Oats promotion it was free with 10 empty packets of oatmeal and $1.00 for shipping. Needless to say, that was a huge opportunity for people to stock up on them even if it meant eating a ton of oatmeal. When the sets started to show up on places like eBay and Yahoo Auctions the prices were inflated to $5.00 - $8.00 per set. If you do your homework and shop around you should be able to pick this up for no more than $3.00 a set including shipping – any more than that and it defeats the purpose of purchasing it in the first place.
The Bottom Line
A great supplement or add on set for the Studio, Pirate, Ninja or Treasure series from Lego. As a whole this is a great small set that allows you to get some nice accessories, a handful of figures, a very cool skeleton and of course the treasure chest and gold coins. This comes packaged in a poly bag format so the outer sleeve might be wrinkled and look tattered but as long as it’s still sealed, the internal pieces should still be in great shape. There aren’t any instructions provided but it’s simple enough for any a Lego novice to put together without any mistakes. The small pieces make this a set for the older kids since the gold coins, goblet and skeleton pieces can easily be considered a choking hazard.
The Stats
Set Name: Lego Studio Pirate Scene
Family Set: Lego Studio
Lego Set: 1411
Number of Pieces: 29
Age Recommendation: 4 and older
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 5 minutes
Cost: $ 1.99
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other Lego Studio related reviews ...
Temple Escape
Stunt Man Catapult
Camera Man
Stunt Go Cart
Director's Copter
Air Boat
Green Goblin Set
Werewolf Ambush
Vampire's Crypt
Pirate Scene
Curse of The Pharaoh
Mini Copter
Pirate Treasure Surprise
Dino Head Attack
Scary Laboratory
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1.00 - 2.00
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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