Collection Rating 8.5 out of 10
Pro: very big set and very nice to build and play. The merchant ship is small but very nice and it is a unique piece. Also the storage building is very nice.
Cons: maybe considering the size of the set the buildings (especially the Admiral’s apartments) could have been better built. |
6277 Imperial Trading Post (1992)The Imperial Trading Post is the headquarter of the Imperial Guards and also the biggest trading harbour in the West. It is constructed on a rocky island as the Eldorado Fortress unless it is less a fortress and more a trading post. On one part there is the entrance of the post, well protected by two rotating cannons, which leads to a wide place to trade, with a cave excavated within the rocks (like the Eldorado Fortress) and a dedicate place to store good and of course Admiral Woodhouse’s apartment (which is less luxury than Broadside’s one). All the right part is instead dedicated to the harbour with a guarded tower and a rotating cannon too: in this place the entrance of the vessels is monitored and protected and all the goods could easily be transported in and out. The trading post was the first and most important building of the Imperial Guards and during the years it continued to be developed and became the most important harbour of the Confederation. Main Characters Admiral Woodhouse: Woodhouse was born in the island of Eland and was soon put into the political career. The north part of the Western Island were considered the “Imperial Territory” of the West: among the island the three biggest ones were Eland, Faren and Sapin all in a sort of competition among themselves. Anyway the elite of the Imperial Soldiers were from Faren and therefore, as long as the war with the pirates continued, the Eland people wanted to be directly involved in decision making and therefore created the Imperial Guards. Woodhouse came from the richest and most powerful family of the island and was “trained” to be the Admiral of the Imperial Guards. Despite this internal conflicts Woodhouse was always able to mediate and collaborate with Governor Broadside and at the same time to represent the interest of the Eland people. The basic assumption of Woodhouse’s politic is that to win wars money is essential and trading is the best way for imperials to make money: Woodhouse became famous for his commercial and economy view and, also in the Confederation period, he was a kind of Economy Minister of the Confederation itself. Lieutenant Grey: Grew was called by Woodhouse to substitute Easter and was put in charge of the defence of the trading post. Woodhouse delegated to him all the military matters in order to better concentrate on the commercial strategy. Gray gladly accepted this role and during the years he gave prove to be worth of it: sometimes it is called a “yes man because he lacks a bit of personality and he’s not always able to express his own opinion but he’s indeed a good assistant for the Admiral and moreover has a great experience in defence matters. Cyrus Carousel: Cyrus is the only captain of a ship who does not belong to a faction. His origins are not clear but he started the sea commerce at a very young age. His motto is “the only thing you should know about a man is how much is he going to pay for your goods”. Anyway he is famous all around the Empire for his trading goods, specially wines and jewels from all around the West. He is captain of a relatively small boat and uses the Imperial Trading Post has his base for trading all the collected items. |
Collection Rating 8 out of 10
Pro: very nice vessel. It is the evolution of the Caribbean Clipper with better sails and the compass. I would rather choose this set instead of the Clipper.
Cons: compared to the pirate’s vessels it is smaller and doesn’t have the captain’s cabin. |
6271 Imperial Flagship (1992)The Flagship is the vessel of the Imperial Guards. Woodhouse in designing this ship continued the strategy of Broadside of a fleet of small but quick and easy manageable ships and therefore the flagship is like a copy of the Caribbean Clipper (please refer to the review of that set) with only some enhancements. The most important are an additional sail in the back which adds manoeuvrability to the vessel and a dedicated compass to be used to easily get the direction; all the others are aesthetic enhancements such as the imperial symbols on the sails or a more luxury (although nothing compared to the pirates’ vessels) furniture of the captain’s cabin and the back of the ship. Main Characters Captain Edward England: if Woodhouse in building the vessel followed the same strategy of Broadside, in choosing the captain he did the opposite. On the one hand Bonnet, ex pirate born for battle and with no mercy for enemies, on the other England, fond of strategy and strongly convinced that any battle is won before starting the fight. Edward studied the art of war for many years before joining the army and put the lessons into practice: anyway England and Bonnet were a good mixed combination and with their different battle styles combined they caused many problems to the enemies. |
Collection Rating 6 out of 10
Pro: with this small set you can get three minifigs (one of which is even a pirate)
Cons: it is a very simple set and you should buy it only if you are a collector. |
6247 Bounty Boat (1992)One of the first ideas put into action by Admiral Woodhouse was the new strategy for defending the treasures of the Imperials. Woodhouse was tired about hearing that the pirates had assaulted the imperial vessels or attacked some imperial fortress so decided that the best way to preserve the treasures was to secretly transport them and bury under the sand. The bounty boat was built to this purpose: it is a very small boat which could easily sail unnoticed, it has only a three people crew (a lieutenant, a soldier and a prisoner to row) but has enough space for a treasure chest and is also equipped with a shovel to dig under the sand. Once the treasure was buried, the lieutenant was responsible for reporting the exact position directly to the Admiral. Main Characters n/a |
Collection Rating 6.5 out of 10
Pro: the cove in which the cannon is hidden is nice
Cons: it is smaller compared to similar sets such as the Sabre Island. |
6266 Cannon Cove (1993)Admiral Woodhouse, considering the fact that the Lagoon Lookup had become a tavern, built the cannon cove in order to have a real defence point in the group of islands where the imperial ships stop to refill. The cove is managed by a lieutenant and a soldier (like Sabre Island soldiers who were in the training period) and is equipped with a protected cannon, a small boat to travel into the nearest island and even a small prison hidden within the rocks. It was never really used because the peace treaty between Imperials and Pirates was signed soon after his construction but it remained in the following years as a defence point for all the vessels of the imperial army. Main Characters n/a |
Collection Rating 7.5 out of 10
Pro: I enjoyed this set which is a nice compromise in size and number of details. The idea of the outpost is good and you can get many interesting features such as the small tavern, the apartments of the admiral, the boat.. it is a very enjoyable set.
Cons: maybe it is too similar to the Lagoon Lookup set. |
6263 Imperial Outpost (1995)This outpost was built when the war between pirates and imperials was already ended. Woodhouse and Broadside decide to turn into a protectorate the group of island that was used by the imperial and pirates vessels to anchor and refill. Robert Easter was nominated Protector and the Imperial Outpost was built to be the headquarter of this protectorate. It is a small house built with the typical colours (red and white) of the imperial guards: on the top floor there is the tower with the flag and place for one of the two guards just over Easter’s luxury apartment. On the ground floor there is instead a small prison, a rotating cannon and a restroom/dining room for all. It is equipped of course with a small boat and has also a small dock and a small beach with palms. Main Characters Robert Easter: Robert, like many imperial guards, started his career in the army in Eland and later he was sent to the Imperial Trading Post as the lieutenant of Admiral Woodhouse. He distinguished himself during the last period of the war against the pirates because he was as good in battle as in government finance administration. He lacked a little of diplomacy and political attitude and therefore, one the war was ended, he preferred not to have an active role into the Confederation and was moved as head of the Protectorate. There he is responsible for the security but also for all the trading and the finance of the protectorate: he enjoys the life and the parties held at the imperial outpost are famous all over the Empire. |