Random set of the day: Forbidden Cove
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 6264 Forbidden Cove, released during 1994. It's one of 13 Pirates sets produced that year. It contains 214 pieces and 4 minifigs, and its retail price was US$29.75.
It's owned by 3,700 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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45 comments on this article
Looks like King Kahuka had a falling out with his tribe... his mask is on a pike! (maybe as a warning to others?)
Also, alligator is like: "Please sir, can I have an oar?"
Classic Pirates set on a blue 16x32 baseplate--my exact idea of delightful (Lagoon Lock-up and Imperial Outpost conditioned me well for this set).
Some might say that there is a conflict in the set between the Pirates and Islanders, but they're all smiling and conveniently all pointing their weapons at the Crocodile. This is a forbidden cove to crocodiles, and LEGO has once again supported violence against animals... Nice. XD
I had the whole collection of Islanders as a kid, this was the first one I got. It was a great theme, wish I kept them all
I still have it. 100%. Fantastic set!
I just did not own enough of the Islander sets.
I still remember seeing the crocodile on the cover of the Lego catalogue, that year, and I tell ya. Mind blown.
@MCLegoboy said:
"Some might say that there is a conflict in the set between the Pirates and Islanders, but they're all smiling and conveniently all pointing their weapons at the Crocodile. This is a forbidden cove to crocodiles, and LEGO has once again supported violence against animals... Nice. XD"
Speaking as a devout vegan, I’d prefer an animal getting attacked over bandits imperializing and ransacking a small cultural group so at least there’s that.
@Murdoch17 said:
"... Alligator is like: "Please sir, can I have an oar?""
One of the best set stagings ever. A red oar in his mouth. Hilarious.
The slots under the statue’s eyes make him look all the sadder.
What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic.
@tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
Yep, nostalgic… but you’re not alone. ;-]
I put those stickers on the canoe real crooked. And they're still crooked. Sigh.
@tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
For what it’s worth, the 90s were before my time but I still vastly prefer those layouts to the modern style
@Murdoch17:
That's not an oar. It's a safety-tipped spear. In red, as a way to warn rookie warriors not to use it in actual combat.
What a lovely set! Very simple parts used to create a great looking statue. Bring back Islanders!
What a lovely set! Very simple parts used to create a great looking statue. Bring back Islanders!
I have the canoe from a second hand lot and an islander through a swap. So, I don't have a single set but at least now I have a piece of history in my collection.
At first glance the set is a bit meh, but when you really look at the details and the design it really is great, like most of the pirate and Islanders sets they really had some nice designs.
I can't help but wonder what in-universe explanation there is for that giant stone head swinging aside to reveal the eponymous cove; clever system of weights and pulleys? Ingenious hydraulics? Giant mysterious hand reaching out from the ether? XD
This set is quite nostalgic to me because someone I knew had it. It was in a big drawer of lego parts mixed in with others but he still had the instructions. I remember marvelling at the beautiful design. It still makes me appreciate the sheer distribution of color and the like.
@Brickalili probably a counterweight under the water. You just don't see it because of the baseplate ;)
The limited color palette of the 90s worked the charm, the colors are simple and they feel welcoming, as if it was drawing you into this beautiful world outside of time and UV discoloring.
@Murdoch17 said:
"Looks like King Kahuka had a falling out with his tribe... his mask is on a pike! (maybe as a warning to others?)
Also, alligator is like: "Please sir, can I have an oar?""
"Please sir, can I have some oar" would've worked as well
@Murdoch17 said:
"Looks like King Kahuka had a falling out with his tribe... his mask is on a pike! (maybe as a warning to others?)"
As a wise man once said: "I see keep-out signs as suggestions more than actual orders."
@tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
This:
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c94uk2&p=40
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c95uk2&p=39
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c96uk&p=7
Nuff said.
@Murdoch17 said:
"Looks like King Kahuka had a falling out with his tribe... his mask is on a pike! (maybe as a warning to others?)
Also, alligator is like: "Please sir, can I have an oar?""
Kahuka went out fishing for crocodiles, you can see his face.
He wears the mask only on ceremonial occasions.
Love the islanders!
@raven_za said:
" @tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
This:
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c94uk2&p=40
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c95uk2&p=39
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c96uk&p=7
Nuff said."
Beautiful. Imagine that was someone's actual job...
"Good Morning, there's a pile of all the new Pirates sets on the table there. Open them up, build them and stage them.... the photographer will drop by this afternoon...."
One of my favorite sets from when I was a toddler. Still assemble it from time to time to let my daughters to play with it!
While simple, it was a blast to play with. The huge moving head, drums, vines...
I received this set for my birthday in 1994. I love the islanders and I own every set. 1994 was the pinnacle year for Lego sets for me. I have 32 sets from that year, more then any other. 1999 has the next most sets in my collection due to Star Wars being released. I miss the 90s except for when juniorization started taking place. Its the best decade for Lego in my opinion. So nostalgic for me.
Expands well with 6262, miss the palm tree foliage but seem to be returning as leaves in the latest botanical flower sets.
Wonderful set, I have so many memories using this as an entry into my pirate world.
My parents and the grandkids are rebuilding all our old sets.... Just picked this one up this morning! I should have acted like a spoiled kid more, back in the days. Maybe it woud have got me some more sets...
@PhilBuilds said:
" @raven_za said:
" @tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
This:
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c94uk2&p=40
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c95uk2&p=39
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c96uk&p=7
Nuff said."
Beautiful. Imagine that was someone's actual job...
"Good Morning, there's a pile of all the new Pirates sets on the table there. Open them up, build them and stage them.... the photographer will drop by this afternoon...."
"
I always always wanted that job! My dream job as a kid…
Never had this set but 6278 : Enchanted Island was pretty much an enlarged version of this.
While the small palm leaf gets a new color this year with dark green, the large palm leaf has not been produced for 21 years now, quite a gap there.
The best things about these simpler brick built sets is that apart from the figures, you can source a lot of the parts and build your own.
Much like with 6278, there's a nice contrast between the boats.
@tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
they kind of returned for a short time with the city section of the catalouges in the late 2000s and early 10s
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c07uk4&p=25
https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c10uk3&p=35
I love the variety of stone head designs this theme has. I haven't gotten this one yet but it's a hopeful addition at some future point.
As with a lot of you, I also enjoyed the catalog and promotional poster scenes that they used to make. They really showed a fun way of making play scenes. Part of me dreams of doing this in the future, as I lack the parts and time to do it all brick-built.
"Also, alligator is like: "Please sir, can I have an oar?""
""Please sir, can I have some oar" would've worked as well"
My interpretation:
Before we got moulded dog's, the crocodile has been kept by [ ] islanders / [ ] pirates as pet and trained. This one's task is to retrieve lost paddles resp. oars foor the seafaring people.
Haven't you noticed the dutiful smile on the crocodiles face?
I had these sets as a kid. I found an old box in my parents attic that still had all the original boxes in great shape (Couldn't believe these didn't hit the garbage). I was able to go back through my Lego containers and found all the parts to these sets. These were some of my first sets to my collection! So many great memories of these and the earlier pirate sets!
Islanders... the first LEGO bikini. Fond memories for those going through changes during these times. ;)
Are the pirates and the islanders allied, or in conflict? The pirate in the boat seems to support the former explanation given that he is not holding his musket.
@CopperTablet said:
"Are the pirates and the islanders allied, or in conflict? The pirate in the boat seems to support the former explanation given that he is not holding his musket."
In my play, they are. The Imperials would 100% be trying to enslave or kill the Islanders, if history is anything to go by, and the golden age of piracy was only a decade or so. Together, they might stand a chance, but that's about it.
@tomthepirate said:
"What I miss a lot in the new magazines compared to the magazines from the 90s is the staging of sets and minifigures.
Way back then: many sets of one or two relevant themes masterfully arranged. Boxes containing pictures and numbers of individual sets were around the edges.
Today: CGI pictures with statements like "free shipping", XYZ tall/wide", "hard to find", etc.
But perhaps I am being too nostalgic."
I spent hours poring over those photo spreads. Every one of them made me want *all* the sets. Well, I wasn't able to get *all* the sets then or now, but 30 years later, I'm still buying Lego, and my whole focus is on a world-of-Lego effect like those catalogs showed. Mostly I build immersive MOCs for display on group train exhibits at public expos seen by thousands of people, but sometimes I buy a set just because it would have been worthy to have been part of my childhood play collection, and it's fun to imagine what my "scene" would have looked like with it. I wouldn't be surprised if a relatively small portion of the AFOL community inspired by those catalogs have been responsible for recouping Lego's entire investment in distributing them.
Lego is the kind of wonder-product that sells itself if you just show people what can be done with it. The people that made The Lego Movie got this. It was exactly how I imagined my Lego in youth, and how I try to build it now.
I've always wondered if Lego's ever-increasing avoidance of staged product photo dioramas is laziness, cost-cutting, or if the company genuinely believes they have no economic value.
@dimc said:
" @CopperTablet said:
"Are the pirates and the islanders allied, or in conflict? The pirate in the boat seems to support the former explanation given that he is not holding his musket."
In my play, they are. The Imperials would 100% be trying to enslave or kill the Islanders, if history is anything to go by, and the golden age of piracy was only a decade or so. Together, they might stand a chance, but that's about it. "
How you play with Pirates is up to you, but personally I've never understood why everyone (especially kids) always views Pirates as the good guys?
Some pirates were just poor sailors needing an income and some did maintain a bit of a moral compass. But most pirates were brutal thieves, murderers and well, let's just say disrespectful to women. Pirates from certain areas such as the Barbary Coast were also slave takers and traders. Despite this people always label the Navy as the bad guys.
Even when I was a kid I knew pirates weren't nice people and preferred the Navy's cool uniforms. There's also no reason to suggest the Navy would be in conflict with the Islanders. In real life many interactions were quite peaceful, it would be far more likely to be a bunch of rogue pirates who would cause trouble to Pacific Islanders.
I did like how the Lego Pirates theme made Islanders sort of neutral (similar to real life) and let kids decide whose side the Islanders were on (or no ones side).