Collection Rating 10 out of 10
Pro: it is probably the best vessel set ever released. It is a limited collection set and so it will be probably gain a lot of value during the years. There are awesome details such as the kitchen, and the real double deck; every single part of the ships is well designed and the captain’s cabin is stunning.
Cons: it is very expensive and for younger kids not so easy to build. |
10210 Great Imperial Flagship (2009)The Imperial Flagship is the biggest and most powerful vessels of Altaria. It was built to be the flagship of the Imperial Army and the weapon to conquer again all the world and to fulfil the power ambitions of the Stronghold. Therefore it was used to make the expedition to the East and to expand in that way the new Imperials territories and no one of the castle kings could make a strong resistance. It is a real three-masted ship equipped with four powerful cannons and it is almost perfect in every detail. It has unique characteristics because the most recent techniques were used in building it and making it resistant as well as agile and terribly quick. It is the only ship which as two different decks: the lower and the upper. Let’s start with the lower: on the back part there is a kitchen equipped with everything such as a fireplace and a storage for food and a table to cook: of course there is a dedicated cook in the crew. In the central part there is the cannon place in which there are dedicated box for ammunition and the four cannons can easily be moved from one side to the other of the ship. This parted is linked to the others by two separate doors and to the upper deck by two giant metal grids. The front part is instead a prison equipped also with a small bed for the prisoner. If we look at the front deck we can found the open central part in which the soldiers can easily move to execute both the defensive and the offensive strategies. In the front part there is the anchor mechanism but there is still place for the soldiers to take a protected position to fire at the enemies and to coordinate the others in the middle; a big swordfish is the symbol of the ship. In the back part there is the captain’s cabin: the most beautiful and well decorated cabin ever built; six decorated windows and two wooden doors surround a big space with a wardrobe, a table and even and organ! On the top there is the command area with the rudder: all the three masts have ropes that guarantee access to watch points on top. The crew is composed by the Admiral, a lieutenant, four soldiers, a cook, the captain’s daughter and a prisoner. Main Characters Emperor Carl Stronghold: he is a man of noble origins, well educated in Eland and addressed to the military career since he was made lieutenant in the Imperial Trading Posts. His next step would have been to be named Captain of one of the Imperial vessels but the Empire power was fading and he had a totally different view from the one of Broadside and Woodhouse. Everyone could see the fall of the Empire in that years and everyone knew that it was only the beginning. Stronghold believed that only the Imperials could reverse that: he thought that both Broadside and Woodhouse were too old and too weak and that all the Confederation and the alliance with Pirates and Kings was the main cause of the crisis. The Imperials had to demonstrate their military strength, get rid of the other allies and built a brand new empire. The Confederation members were of course totally against these ideas and therefore he was banned and condemned to exile into the South (in the island of Silver River): it took him many years to build the Great Imperial Flagship and to recruit new soldiers but at the end he put into action his plan, invaded the East and proclaimed himself as Emperor. Beatrix Stronghold: she is the daughter of the Admiral and she’s a well educated and sophisticate young woman. She studied in the same schools as Broadside’s daughter but was more keen on embracing the elite social life, marring a noble guy and having a family. She loves playing the piano but also parties and going out to balls and to the nightlife. She also spends much time travelling all around the world on his father’s vessel in order to catch the opportunity to visit new countries and follow her career as imperial ambassador. Lieutenant Winchester: since the beginning of the political conflicts between Stronghold and the Confederation, Winchester was at his side. Although still very young and at the beginning of his military career, he decided to follow his mentor into his exile and helped him to built a new army and a new vessel (travelling all around the island an recruiting new members). He was then nominated Lieutenant of the Imperial Flagship and he’s always been and will always be at the Emperor’s side, ready to give his entire life to the cause. Captain Joe Black: one of the mysterious characters of Altaria; formally he’s a pirate prisoner on the vessel but it is unsure if he is more a guest than a real prisoner. Moreover formally he was a pirate but there are no certain news about his past or about how he came to the Island of Silver River and to the vessel of Stronghold; he was the one who took the Emperor to the East but no one knows how he knew so much about that part of the world. Last but not least it is sure that both Redbeard and Kahuka knew him very well, but nobody knows how and if there is a secret that they share. |