Lego Pirate Wave 3 1994 -1995

The Pirate Sets of Wave 3

1994 saw the introduction of another new faction to our beloved Pirates theme, this year saw the inclusion of an island tribe lead by King Kahuka. Sadly for those outside of the US there was to be no new Redcoats released this year, but everyone around the world received the opportunity to collect some beautiful new island minifigs and a crocodile to add to the wildlife of Pirate Lego. Without further procrastination let’s look at the sets.

Sets from 1994

Impulse

Set Name = Shipwreck Pirate 1713 Polly Bag and 1733 Boxed Set

Piece Count = 23

This set was released in both a polly bag and boxed set. I have to say I am a little disappointed with this one; it is simply the Renegade’s Raft from 1991 without the shark, pistol and a second oar, ohh and some nice extra bricks to make the raft better. This set also includes a bandana pirate rather than a tricorn pirate. Why didn’t Lego take this opportunity to create a whole new impulse set? Did they realise that they had loads of the old rafts not selling, why Lego? Tell me.

Set Name = King Kahuka 6236

Piece Count = 45

Now here we see innovation within the world of Lego, this set is very good, we see the king of the tribe (Kahuka) and a rather interesting throne for him to sit on. What I like most about this set is the fact that it comes with two very attractive shields, one on either side of his chair, they make the set feel complete. They best thing about this set is the fact that it fits so well with the Enchanted Island set (reviewed further down the page), not too sure about the staff the king carried though, looks a little weird.

Small

Set Name = Crocodile Cage 6246

Piece Count = 59

This is my favourite Islander set, it just feels so contained and perfect; this set was the first opportunity for many of us Pirate fans to add a crocodile to our collections (and the green bush which was only released in Cannon Cove previously). We also see the minifigs need for warmth for the first time ever with the little fire just to the left of the islander (lots of island sets have fire, I guess it was something to do with the skimpy clothing), the set also comes with a nice (and huge) selection of weapons (a Bow, Quiver, Musket, Cutlass, Staff, Shield and five Spears) so even a couple of these sets would be very welcome in anyone’s collection. The final crowning glory is the fact that the pirate even comes with a tricorn hat despite the fact that he doesn’t have a blue shirt, fantastic.

Set Name = Islander Catamaran

Piece Count = 63

This is an interesting set, with some good and bad parts, here we have a lovely boat (known as a catamaran), the design of the canoe is a beautiful as is the sail, but the printing on the side of the canoe is sadly made with stickers (a first for our pirate sets, sadly not the last). My favourite part of the set has got to be the drum, the island girl ranks a close second, but again we are let down with another King (I have too many in my collection), and this set only comes with a single shield. An ok set but it could have been better, not bad but not great.

Medium

Set Name = Barnacle Bay Value Pack 1729 (US and Canada only)

Piece Count = 89

All you lucky US citizens had the opportunity to purchase this set, for the rest of us we have to make do with pictures only, it was designed as a value pack with three small sets included in it. The three sets where named, Pirates Cannon (the set with the Cannon) Pirates Treasure (the set with the Treasure) and Soldiers Forge (the set with the Soldiers). At first glance the set looks exciting and It is nice to see that the Redcoats have not been completely abandoned, but it’s sad that they only appear in such a small set, the forge looks more like a small fire next to an old wall (not very good) and the cannon set makes no real sense either (it doesn’t even have wheels to move it, useless), the only set that looks ok is the pirate treasure, like a small cave or shack. Overall though the sets look like something you design when your about ten year old, with a few spare parts.

Set Name = King Kahuka’s Throne 6262

Piece Count = 146

Yay, another drum, and yay, more shields, and biggest YAY of all, a new pirate sail, here we have a set that gives you another rowing boat for your pirate hoard, but this boat comes with a sail as well, which is brilliant, variety offers enjoyment. As for the design of the set, sadly we see that most of the structure is made from a BURP but still the figurehead on top is interesting. Extras in the set include a throne that can be carried around by the islanders, but also placed ontop of a small table in the middle of the space, this is so that the King can hold court when he needs to, ohh and another camp fire. I understand why we have the king in this set so I don’t mind his inclusion and I like the way both the pirates have a problem with depth perception (they must struggle to sail the seas) , but I would have liked to change the crocodile to another Islander because the croc appears in every Island set except King Kahuka 6236, and in this set it feel unnecessary .

Set Name = Forbidden Cove 6264

Piece Count = 214

The statue face on the forbidden cove is one of the quaintest and most well thought out designs I have seen from Lego, it’s just so interesting to build and look at. The structure in this set looks nice but sadly offers little else, the roof is brilliant but then the top floor contains nothing and the bottom floor is simply a watery cave (shed/garage) to park the canoe (which only half fits in, terrible). We get another drum and canoe plus an extra palm tree is always nice (as are the vines) but the set contains less minifigs than King Kahuka’s Throne 6262 and the most minimal of weapon selections (a cutlass, musket, pistol, bow and arrow, spear, and two shields).Lego I just want to tell you, that new things (LIKE THE CROC) becomes less exciting when you put them in every set. Please don’t misunderstand me I like the set and the structure looks great next to the Enchanted Island (which has an even worse structure) I just feel the set could have achieved more, get rid of the croc and add a camp fire and a pot, place a barrel here and there rather than the obligatory treasure chest, make things more interesting. 

It should be mentioned that the islander figure with the all white face is exclusive to this set and has been seen by many as the Kings own son (due to having the same body and face as the King but no mask), he is exculsive to this set so he can be seen as something special.

Large

Set Name = Enchanted Island

Piece Count = 428

Here we have the flagship for the Islander theme, the Enchanted Island. This set is somewhat reminiscent of The Imperial Trading post, as they both come on two 32 x 32 stud Baseplates, they both contain two boats, they both have a number of structures rather than one and they are both the main sets of that faction. I am lucky enough to have both here in front of me whilst I write, and I have to say I love them both. The problem I have is that I can see the flaws with this set far easier than I can with its counterpart, for example, the bridge is placement. We have a beautiful printed river but the design of the set is such that the bridge just goes next to it rather than over (that’s just stupid). Another problem I have is with the structure that the bridge is connected to, it seems to be there for no reason, it’s not a hut, or a storehouse or a lookout post, or anything, it’s just a building that’s sole purpose is to have the bridge connected to it. Despite these flaws I still love the set, we see a beautiful fireplace and pot (for the island girl to use obviously) I nice statue (which also doubles as a jail) a cool small canoe and a brilliant pirate jolly boat with two sails (the one at the front is exclusive to this set). The set is interesting and original and just like the trading post is somewhere for a pirate ships to attack and loot (though the islanders armed spears and bows would probably struggle against cannons and muskets), though I feel that the pirates would attack this place for the croc meat and Island girl (that’s where the Wenches come from) rather than the gold.

Overview of the Year

A lot of people dislike the islanders, but for me that has never been the case, they are a nice original faction included within the Pirate theme and they had a great number of uses over my childhood. When I was young I used them as mercenaries, they would sell themselves to the highest bidder (usually my outnumbered imperials), or I used them as innocent civilians for my otherwise non civilian collection, they would trawl the trading post and trade with my imperials. The islander also featured the second (and last) female from the original Pirate theme (1989 -1997), I had two of the figures and they always needed rescuing. Overall the sets are quite nice, but they needed a bigger ship or a fortress to really compete against the other factions (not sure if that could have been created) but they miss the structural logic of the original year (1989), plus they repeat the Croc and King way too much but that is not the worst thing that has ever happened to Lego Pirates.

Captain Rodger (a member of Eurobricks) made such a good point as to why the Islanders are not as well recieved, so I had to quote him.

" The problem, in my opinion was the story that The Lego Company told us was incoherent: they said pirates were interested in steal islanders treasure. Islanders treasure is a coffer full of golden coins like you may notice in some sets (for example: enchanted island). It's an absurd story because an island tribe doesn't use money, so why they have a coffer with gold coins? adding an island tribe to pirate theme wasn't a mistake...the mistake was the official lego story about that. That's the reason i don't like islander sub-theme"

It should also be noted that this year saw the pirate captian Ironhook as the main protagonist which is a nice change (this year contained no Red Beard Captains in any sets). Sadly this year saw no new sets for any other faction (excluding that stupid raft and the US only set) which was a shame, but not as bad as one would think. This is due to the fact that when these sets where released, the pervious few years sets were still mostly available, so variety was an option.

Overview on 1994 = 7.5/10 (not everyone cup of tea, but still very nice)

Sets from 1995

1995 saw only three sets released (four in the US), despite only including three (four) sets this year, I am experiencing trouble explaining the theme, if I was pushed I would say it was a vanilla return to 1992 or 1993, this year focused on the Imperials and Pirates once again, we where sadly to see no new Islanders (except in the US).

Medium

Set Name = Treasure Chest 1788 (US and Canada only)
Piece Count = 159

This set is not one I posses; in fact I was never aware of its existence until I started researching (building my old sets) for this guide. Looking at the picture the set feels a little bit of a mess, but that is mostly due to the chest sticking out of the side of the building. Good news, that little part of the set actually slides inside the structure, once this is done the set looks much nicer. We have a small outpost, with a camp fire, pot and cup, and a very nice old style lantern, the raft looks weird but I appreciate Lego’s attempt at making a different one from the many that have come before. The pirate captain has even attempted to change by stealing a Redcoats shoulder braiding. Their opposition in this set comes from the Islanders (with the return of the canoe and drum) the islanders get some nice items but why give the regular warrior a black spear, silly. Overall an interesting set, but not great.

Set Name = Rocky Reef 6254
Piece Count = 103

Hooray an island made of Lego bricks, I love this set because the pirates actually get to bury their treasure. For once we have somewhere to put the treasure chests, the island is not great but I love the idea behind the set, we also see a skeleton for the first time, I used to take him out of his rock and place him over the sand (this way I could put more chests into the rock making the island even richer). The problem with the set is the tiny supply of yellow bricks received, I was lucky as I had plenty of spare yellow bricks to build up the island some more but for most people the set is just lacking, why is there no spade to dig with, why is the palm tree in on one 2x2 stud yellow brick surrounded by water, it looks terrible.  I like this set because of the changes I made to it, not because of the set itself, shame.

Set Name = Imperial Outpost 6263
Piece Count = 216

I loved this set, back in 1995 I received this set along with the Enchanted Island and the Renegade’s Runner for Christmas (All I ever asked for was Lego so I got a lot of it). As I got older I began to compare it to the Bluecoats version (Lagoon Lock Up 6267) sadly it’s not quite as good. The base of the set is the best part as it contains a dock for the boat a beautiful little kitchen space (with a table, two cups and a small oven), a trapdoor to hide loot (sadly going into water) and a jail. But the set is let down by its flaws with the general layout, the jail door is at the back and cannot be reach without a boat (the jail floor itself is also in the water) and the middle and top floors contain nothing other than a cannon. I love the set but it’s not as well designed, we do receive a good minifig number in the form of another admiral for our Redcoats, two soldiers (a very large number for the Redcoat faction) and a pirate, which is a bonus, it’s a good basic set, but not faultless.

Large

Set Name = Skull Island 6279
Piece Count =378

The flagship of 1995 came in the form of another pirate base, at this point in the theme we have seen a total of three pirate bases, but because the other two were released in 1989 and 1991 respectively we can forgive Lego for the repetition, (we get the old Captain back as well which is great). This set is nice in the way that the structure relies less on being an island and more on being a base in its own right, the skull at the front looks good and I like the way it can be moved to store the boat but I am reminded of the Forbidden Cove 6264, because the idea is exactly the same. The crane and top floor of this set is probably the nicest part (I love the railings), the whole structure of the set looks good because it is well thought out. The set is interesting, but I am not sure which pirate base is my favourite, this set doesn’t have the beautiful classic vibe of the original set, and Redcoats are not quite as good as the Bluecoats (and we don’t get a sail this time), but the structure is more interesting and its nice to have a strong pirate structure for the Imperials to attack rather than the other way round.

Overview of the Year
This year is really just a review of three sets; of those three we only really get some very nice sets. A new pirate base to rival the old, a new smaller base for the Imperials (yay imperials are back) and a rather odd island for the pirates to hide their gold in. The year is ok and reminds me of 1993 again with a few new filler sets to keep the collectors happy, I can't really fault the sets I just wish there was more. Ohh and we have now been two years without a ship, which is a little sad.

Overview on 1995= 6/10 (nice sets but very few)

Overview on Wave 3 = 7.5/10 (Islander's are great, and 1995 offered variety but we needed more sets.)

Click on the Links below to see past and future atricles on LEGO Pirates

The History of LEGO Pirates 

Wave 1

Wave 2 

Wave 4 

Wave 5