Collection Rating 10 out of 10
Pro: one of the best pirate sets ever released in my opinion. A lot of fun in building and playing it. You can get a high number of minifigs, boats and cannons. It is also an iconic set which gained value in time.
Cons: maybe too much plastic in the base part of the set. |
6245 Eldorado Fortress (1989)
This is THE fortress of the Imperial Soldiers and headquarter of Governor Broadside. Build on a rocky island it is guarded by four soldiers under the orders of Lieutenant De Martinet. The fortress on the one hand is naturally protected by the rocks of the island, on the other hand it has two rotating cannons ready to sink all the ships of the enemy and has also fixed points of shots with rifles. It has three towers: in one there is the prison of the fortress in the other there is the guarded entrance, then Governor Broadside’s luxury apartment and finally one rotating cannon. The third tower is over the harbour dock and has a pulley to move the treasures of the imperials from the dock to the secret vault excavated within the rocks.
Pirates and Captain RedBeard never succeeded in conquering this fortress and it is no difficult to imagine why: the imperial soldiers of the fortress were know as the best gunners of the West. Main Characters Governor Broadside: he is the head of the Imperial soldiers and later of the representative of the Imperials in the Western Seas Federation as well ad in the Empire Confederation. Broadside was born in Eland, one of the Western Islands but his family (his father was a member of the foreign affair ministry) soon moved to the island of Faren and therefore Broadside was educated and raised there. After completing his studies he joined the Faren Imperial Army as a lieutenant and, when was promoted captain, leaded an expedition against the pirates where he was able to distinguish himself. His main strength is the negotiation proneness combined with a high sense of politics and a solid knowledge of war strategies. All these qualities leaded him to be promoted as Governor of the Eldorado Fortress: during the years he was able first to defend the imperial territories from the pirates and then to be one of the greatest politician of the Federation (many laws regarding commerce were written by him). He married an Eland woman and has a daughter, Camilla, but, despite his great love for the Eldorado Fortress, his family remained in Eland. Lieutenant De Martinet: he is the lieutenant of Eldorado Fortress but firstly he’s Broadside best friend. They met in Faren where they were both studying: De Martinet came from an aristocratic family but was soon attracted by Broadside’s ideas of adventure and passion for the army and therefore he decided to follow him in all his adventures. He has a very rational mind and he is considered the best strategist in the empire, especially in defensive tactics. Despite his noble origins, he is also very open-minded and, during the Confederation years, he has always been a strong supporter of the integration among the different cultures. Captain Edward Lowe: he was one of the most famous pirates in the period before the birth of the Empire and was also the mentor of Captain RedBeard. During one of the first battles between pirates and imperials he was capture by Governor Broadside and imprisoned in the Eldorado Fortress. As far as I remember he had always been there, even after the end of the word and the birth of the Confederation: RedBeard obtained that his death sentence was commuted in 90 years of prison but he was not able to release him. Lowe’s character did not help him too much: he is a pirate of the “old school” and therefore not keen at all in accepting the peace with the imperials, the fact that the West became a Confederation where the pirates were not able any more to sink vessels and to kill all the crews. Anyway he is also the historical memory of times that are gone forever and sometimes during the years he was called to help the Federation Council in taking decision on particular matters. |
Collection Rating 8 out of 10
Pro: it was the first vessel of the imperials and it is quite nice with its white and blue sails. If you buy also the Black Seas Barracuda you can play a lot of battles with them. Many minifigs and I also enjoyed the detail of the yellow falcon in the front.
Cons: the Black Seas Barracuda is totally another and better vessel... |
6274 Caribbean Clipper (1989)
This was the first vessel of the Imperial Soldiers, strongly committed by Governor Broadside who found itself too often defeated in the open sea by Captain RedBeard and wanted a vessel in order to engage battle also outside the Eldorado Fortress. The Caribbean Clipper, famous for its golden eagle in the front part, is a relatively small but quick vessel: it has two cannons and one big mast with the characteristic white and blue sails. It is designed to be quick in order to attack by surprise as well to easily escape from a battle and therefore it lacks on all the ornaments that can be found, for example, on the Black Seas Barracuda. Even the captain’s cabin is not a real cabin: it has no doors but only a small table with the maps and two windows on the back. There is no hold as well but only two hatches in the front. Despite his size it lasted since the end of the Empire and was used, for example, also during the Blooded Red Sea Battle.
Main Characters Major Stede Bonnet: chosen directly by Governor Broadside, he is the Captain of the Caribbean Clipper. Bonnet doesn’t have an “imperial” background, he didn’t study at university or comes from a noble family like De Martinet… he travelled all around the world with many ships and trained in battle as a… pirate! Yes he was a pirate who, in exchange of a lot of money, became a traitor and passed to the enemy. The choice of Bonnet caused to Broadside many critics from all the imperial soldiers but the Governor perfectly knew that, to beat the enemy, he needed someone who had fought with and knew well the enemy and Bonnet was the right choice. During the years Bonnet and his crew (special imperial soldiers who were well trained in sailing as well as in fighting) obtained many successes over the pirates and were able to strongly defend the Eldorado Fortress. Bonnet invented the so called “Bonnet Battle Style” which was characterized by a quick series of attacks and escapes in order not to give reference points to the enemy: and for that battle strategy the Caribbean Clipper was perfect and that’s why he never wanted to be promoted as a captain of a bigger ship. |
Collection Rating 6 out of 10
Pro: it is nice for younger kids to have a rotating cannon on a small boat.
Cons: quite poor set. Buy it only if you are a collector. |
6245 Harbor Sentry (1989)
This typical imperial boat is enhanced and equipped with a cannon so that it can be used in a battle in a defensive as well as in an attacking way. It’s quite heavy and therefore not so quick but, during the wars against the pirates, Governor Broadside used to place it just near the fortress in order to fire at the pirates’ vessels without giving any reference point to the enemy.
The commander of this boat is a former member of the crew of the Caribbean Clipper, who had competencies in using the cannons as well as in sailing and it was well known for his precision in the shots. Main Characters n/a |
Collection Rating 7 out of 10
Pro: despite its size it is a quite nice set. I liked the tower (well built) and you can get three minifig, a cannon and a small boat in the same set.
Cons: maybe adding a pirate minifig would have been even better. |
6265 Sabre Island (1990)
Sabre Island was the first reinforcement of the Eldorado Fortress requested by Governor Broadside. He needed to prevent sudden attacks by the pirates and so this outpost was built on a small island not far from the fortress. It soon became used also as the first line of defence of the fortress and so the tower constructed to spy the vessels was also equipped with a cannon. There was also a small boat to quickly go back to the fortress to refer the news.
There was a lieutenant in charge of the outpost with two soldiers: usually it was used as a “training” assignment for soldiers to make a significant experience before going back to the fortress with higher roles. Main Characters n/a |
Collection Rating 7 out of 10
Pro: the idea of the Imperial tavern is quite nice. I loved the detail of the red and blue tent and the window of the tavern.
Cons: the prison part of the set is poorly built. |
6267 Lagoon Lookup (1991)
This set was constructed at the end of 1991 when the trading expansion strategy had already been approved. The vessels were sailing all over the Western Seas and they often stopped to get refilled with water and food within a group of islands not too far from Eldorado Fortress.
In that place the Lagoon Lookup was built: it started as a defence point of the imperials (it was equipped with a cannon and a small prison and guarded by a lieutenant and two soldiers) but it soon became a real tavern for imperials and (after the end of the war) also for pirates. It helped also the fact that the lieutenant was very fond of cooking and good wines and he therefore turned soon itself as the official chef of the tavern. Main Characters n/a |
Collection Rating 5.5 out of 10
Pro: in a small set you can get both imperial and pirate minifig and the small prison is quite nice.
Cons: compared to other similar sets such as the Lagoon Lookup and even the Cannon Cove is quite poor. Buy it only if you are a collector. |
6259 Broadside Brig (1991)
This set was one of the latest constructions made by the Imperial Soldiers: it was seen like an expansion of the Eldorado Fortress itself. During the war with the pirates the prison inside the fortress became soon too small to contain all the prisoners, not considering the fact that it was very risky to put too many pirates in the same place although in chains.
Therefore it was decided to build this small segregated prison designated for the less important pirates and under the command of a lieutenant and a soldier. Differently from Sabre Island this was a typical assignment for soldiers who were about to retire. Main Characters n/a |