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Lego Whitecap Bay
Avast mateys! Here be a review of the new set 4194 Lego Whitecap Bay, which be designed after a scene in the upcoming movie Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The long awaited Lego Pirates of the Caribbean theme is finally here!
Obviously there is no real way of knowing right now the events in the scene this is based on, but there seems to be indication that the pirates are attempting to catch a mermaid from the bay, and at some point the lighthouse blows up.
The box is well designed and decorated and filled well with pieces; when I opened it I did not suffer from the dreaded “I bought this huge box and there are only enough Legos to fill up half of the inside” sinking feeling. This is one of the bigger Lego Pirates of the Caribbean sets, and as such there are many elements to look over.
First and primarily are the minifigs, which are incredibly detailed. Lego has outdone itself once again with the beautiful design of these figures, The names are listed on the box: first we have the most famous pirate of the century, the inimitable Jack Sparrow. This set is one where he appears wearing his imposing tricorne hat, and as always he features a double sided head.
The other Lego minifigures included in 4194 Lego Whitecap Bay are a Lego Zombie Pirate, Lego Philip Swift, Lego mermaid Syrena, random nameless Mermaid, and Lego Scrum. The mermaids are brand new molds that beat the stuffings out of the former Lego mermaids.
As for Scrum and Philip Swift, I have no idea who they are what role they play in the new movie, but they are well done figures with good detailing on the torsos and on Scrum's leg piece. The buildings of Lego Whitecap Bay are split into four pieces. Each connects to the others or can be used as a stand-alone set piece.
The first is a small booby-trap design with a barrel sitting up on a few blocks and a pin that, when pulled, dumps the contents out. Also on this section is a smaller barrel filled with coins. Nothing particularly special here, and the coins in this set and the rest of the POTC's are disappointingly a new "pearl" color, which is dull and dreary compared to the shiny chrome coins I can remember from the Lego Pirate sets of my childhood.
The next segment is a small shack, the basic function of which is to serve as a connecting link between the other buildings. In the back, we get a shovel, a pickaxe, and one of the new bottle pieces.
Good stuff. Let's move on.
The third building is a bit more complicated than the other two. First, we are greeted by a large set of double doors, which swing open to reveal a large, comical looking cannon which fires a net when you push the button on the other side of it. Eh. To be honest, I prefer to leave these door closed when displaying the set.
I'm not sure if there is a movie reference being played off of with this cannon, but regardless it feels a bit clunky and un-realistic to me. But hey, whatever. There is room on the roof for several figures to stand as lookouts, or to have swordfights on.
The last piece of 4194 Lego Whitecap Bay is the main lighthouse itself. Let's face it, this is the section that contains the most goodies, and that makes the set worth buying.
The lighthouse is three "Lego stories" tall, and stands as a quite imposing structure. It is mostly gray and brown, boring colors for Lego, but my guess is the colors were limited by the source material. Nevertheless the "light-up" brick is a neat feature that helps to break up the monotony.
From behind, we see that the first floor contains a room with several neat little accessories like a sextant and more of the bottles that Jack seems so fond of.
Next level up is a bare room with two wheels on the wall, not sure if it's supposed to be some sort of control room.
Further up is the actual lighthouse room, with the and the "light-up" brick is on a swivel so you can move it up and down from here. Also, the brick comes on when pushing on the back of it, an goes off when pressure is not applied. At the very top is the roof, nothing really that interesting going on up here.
The neat thing about this whole building is that it is built so that the top of it collapses, probably to reflect some kind of explosion in the movie.
Obviously, the structure is less than sturdy, and it doesn't take much to knock it apart. Some of the second floor walls a loose and connected by only one stud, so care is needed when moving the building around or setting figures onto it. But seeing the building shake apart is pretty neat, and the building finds just the right balance between sturdy and too fragile.
Unlike some of the "play features" found in other sets, this actually works.
All buildings assembled, Lego Whitecap Bay is a pretty large set, especially when the rowboats are set out in front. There is a lot of opportunity for fun scenes with the different characters in the building areas.
It would have been nice to see a bit more color to spruce things up, but I guess TLG only had so much to work with having to design after a movie environment.
All sorts of neat stuff is up for grabs in here, including two of Jack's compasses, two nets, an anchor, weeds for the mermaids to whack people with, a few buckets, pirate swords and pistols, two of the new sword scabbards, and two rowboats, which are in black, a new color for them, I think. A great hoard of piratey loot for Lego fans.
Close to the same size as the POTC main lighthouse, the Burrow was retailed at $59.99 with 6 minifigs and 568 pieces.
All in all, Lego Whitecap Bay is a phenomenal addition to the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean line up with some well designed figures and display worthy buildings. Don't miss your chance to pick up what is sure to be considered a classic in the future.
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