Overall Rating

5/5. This is a great modern pirate ship. I honestly can't recall the source material that well, but this is a review of the Lego set independent of the movie. The ship feels large and is pretty functional although as usual, it gets a little cramped on decks with the sails in the way. There's a lot of playability here, but a row boat and a full contingent of cannons would be welcome. One of my major gripes with all pirate ships is the lack of cannons for both sides. Not sure if it's realistic or not, but it is a toy after all. The minifigs are really great. In particular Davey Jones is done exceptionally well and I can understand why he can often fetch $50 or more by himself now.

Building Experience

4/5. The build is pretty straightforward for what you see on the box. I enjoyed the cabin build in particular. The rest was surprisingly very reminiscent of the classic pirate ships from the 80's and 90's just with slightly different pieces. Nothing to really complain about here, but not perfect or totally engaging by any means.

Parts

Pirate ship parts and sails in black! Beyond that, a lot of nice pieces in general and considering the size of some pieces, not a bad price per piece ratio. The sails do tend to get crinkled up, but overall, I'm very pleased with the parts included.

Playability

As with any large ship, this has some fantastic playability. There aren't any specific play features like masts getting tipped over or anything, but great for imaginative play especially if you've got Queen Anne's Revenge or even something like Black Seas Barracuda.

Value for the Money

A great buy at the time for $100. They tend to go for about $250 now if complete. I say, skip the figs and build your own for maybe half that unless you really want that Davey Jones. Classic pirates seem a bit out of place on this one, so maybe get a Captain Jack and a few others to fill it out. Overall I would definitely recommend picking one up. Great looking ship!

This is a really cool looking Lego model. I love ships I love Lego pirates so this was just for me. I got this back in 2012 just after it retired at Toys R Us for normal retail. Although it is cool looking it is not that accurate compared to the one in the movie. I think this is a really cool and fun set to play with. It is a great set to have on display when not in use.this set has a nice minifigure selection including the highly wanted Davy Jones. It has a nice captains cabin and and the deck on top of the cabin lifts off to let you get inside of it. It includes to firing canons. I would never pay more than $200 counting shipping if I were looking for it currently. I would say if you like Lego, Lego pirates, Or pirates of the Caribbean this is the toy for you.

Lego definitely hit the nail on the head when they designed this set. The black pearl has all the pieces that made it Jack sparrows ship in the pirates of the Caribbean movies. The figs are stunning in detail and Davy Jones is my favorite character out of all the figs I have. The only negative I can say about the set is that the sails are almost like a paper texture and can get creased easily

First of all, after the disappointment that was the Queen Annes Revenge, I was not planning on getting this ship. Mostly because it is the smaller of the two and I figured with less pieces it couldn't have been as fun to build. It was given to me as a gift and I have to say, that I really like this ship . . . a lot. . . not as much as my precious Imperial Flagship . . . but a lot. The picture on the box doesn't really do this ship justice. Once its all put together, the black sails and the mostly black ship make a nice contrast to anything this ship is around unless your in complete darkness, in which case this ship blends right in.

Building Experience:

I really enjoyed building this ship. It's one of those builds that actually looks good while your building it. I'm not sure what I mean by that, but it makes sense to me somehow. It just has a lot of nice details on it. Details that don't get noticed right away cause your eyes only register black when you look at this ship. And OMG guess what? They actually put stairs going to the deck above the captains cabin. It's like a modern day Lego miracle. No longer do we have to expect our poor mini figures to leap like kangaroos just to be able to get up there. And there isn't just one set of stairs, there are two! I know it's almost too much, but believe it . . . it's true. There are few things on this ship that could have used a little more attention though. The rudder is terrible. It's just a black flag piece stuck on to the back of the ship as an afterthought. It also likes to spin sideways and look like some ungodly black fish tail flapping about that has no business being on the back of the ship. The anchor is attached to a chain which is just attached to some random stud in the front of the ship. No spinning pulley system like on the other ships. I'm pretty sure they just threw the anchor piece at the ship and attached it where it landed. And last complaint is that it looks like there are spots for 3 cannons on each side of the ship. That is dirty lie. Those stairs I mentioned earlier take up the space for the cannon on the back "cannon port". So we finally get our stairs, but no extra cannons. Overall fun build though and very nice looking ship once completed. Because it is a smaller ship that has the same amount of sails as the Queen Anne's Revenge, it doesn't look like any space is wasted. Compact looking with lots of little details.

Parts:

Black, lots of black. And if you get tired of black, try on some dark gray. And if you absolutely must there is some dark brown as well. Maybe the most depressing array of parts you could ever get. But on the upside, Squid face Davey Jones is vibrant blue and bright tan. I'm not sure why he is so bright, but he doesn't really fit on this set. Also the ship doesn't have a back base piece. Just a front rounded base and 3 middle sections with an interestingly built cabin rising out the back. Very clever and a nice change from most Lego ships.

Playability:

Being that I'm an adult and don't have a lot of time when I'm not around other people, playing with these is not only embarrassing, it's just can't happen until I make some children. So for now, I swear I build Legos strictly because they are "models" and also to reclaim some sort of lost childhood memories or something. Anyway, if I was theoretically able to find some time to play with this set, the playability would be pretty high. The sides of the cabin open up for easy access and also the roof can be removed. The ship doesn't have a deck so access to the cannons is easy. It's a good play set for kids as well as a good looking "model" for adults.

Value for Money:

For me the value was relatively high because I got it for free! But if I did have to pay $99.00 for it I suppose it would be a good value, especially for a branded set that is usually overpriced (I'm looking at you star wars). I can't do math so I don't know about the price per piece ratio but it definitely FEELS like a decent deal.

PROS:

1. Small compact good looking ship

2. Stairs! It has stairs!

3. Good Mini Figures

4. Fun to build

CONS:

1. Rudder is terrible, they should have built the back cabin higher to have a

decent rudder

2. Anchor placement is an afterthought

3. Only two actual cannons ports on each side.

Overall in my humble opinion, this is the best of the two Pirates of the Caribbean ships by a long shot. There's no crazy bones or colors on this ship. It's just a nice looking pirate ship that happens to be associated with the Pirates of the Caribbean. It looks better, and it just looks better. End of story.

The Pirates of the Caribbean line of Lego has been a great success in my opinion. It perfectly suits the Lego style and this set upholds that fact. The Black Pearl is probably the most well known and popular ship in any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films (save perhaps for the legendary Flying Dutchman). Lego was bound to reproduce the ship sooner or later, and I was eagerly awaiting it, and I was in no way disappointed. The Minifigures alone almost make this set worth the fairly hefty price tag of £84.99 or $99.99 but the ship itself is also a delight. Anyway, we will start with the box.

Box/Instructions

The box for the Pearl is dark, very dark, the ship is cutting through the choppy waters which are almost as black as the Black Pearl, and the sky is dark and stormy. It all makes for a rather depressing sight. But looking beyond that we see the six Minifigures included in the set being shown off, and with good reason as they are wonderful. The back of the box has very little to talk about as there are relatively few features in the model, although I do not think that will reduce the appeal to young children (I can well imagine this set being one of the Christmas best sellers this year in fact)!

There are two fairly substantial instruction booklets, in which there were no mistakes that I found and I had no missing pieces.

Parts

The parts in this set are very desirable with several black mast pieces as well as seven black sails, great for completing your very own sinister looking pirate ship. There is also a nice flag with a skull and crossed cutlasses. The ship's wheel, the black rigging parts and the black railings which adorn the bow of the ship are also all fantastic and fairly uncommon parts to come across. It is also nice to see a newer version of the classic door piece which allows access top the captain's cabin! I have never had the hull parts in black before so that is a very welcome change from the usual brown.

Minifigures

The figures are the highlights of the set for me. We get the obligatory Jack Sparrow, although this one is exclusive to this set (but they have simply swapped out Jacks hat and hair piece for a bandanna and hair piece, never before seen with the jacketed torso). He has his compass and a sword of course too.

Next is Will Turner which is completely identical to the Minifigure found in set 4183, The Mill and set 4182, Cannibal Escape. He has back printing and a double sided head which is nice, as well as one of the new sheath pieces.

We also get Joshamee Gibbs, only available in one other set prior to this one, and a favourite character of mine. This one however has a sheath, which is nice.

Now we move onto the really good stuff, first we have 'Bootstrap' Bill Turner, one of three brand new figures in this set. He has loads of detail including coral and dirt on his outfit, as well as a nice starfish stuck on his face. I wish there was a bit of printing on his legs though, but you can't have it all! He has a bottle and his trademark knife which are good accessories.

Maccus is a character many had been eager to see in Lego form and I love him. The hammerhead piece which sits on top of his head is unique and highly detailed, as well as his head and torso which both have back printing (I especially like the huge lobster on his back). He even has the eye which has moved from his eye socket to the end of the hammerhead. He also has a sheath with a sword.

Finally we have the absolutely spectacular Davy Jones, his hat is the same mould as Blackbeard's but is a dark blue and has new printing. His head is good, but I do not like the white eyes without pupils. The tentacle part however is fantastic, very detailed although it is not printed. The torso is wonderful with back printing and a lot of coral and seaweed markings, he has his lobster claw too which looks great and can hold things. His legs are dark grey and he has a peg leg which is in the nougat colour first introduced with Prince of Persia sets.

The build

The build is great, about two hours of pure joy, I always love constructing ships and this is just as good as the others. However when you have built lots of ships it becomes quite repetitive as they are all fairly similar and reminiscent of one another. I like the angles of the cabin wall pieces which are achieved nicely though, so there are a few interesting moments in the build. For younger children, this shouldn't be too hard to construct, but they might need a bit of help on occasion with the sails.

The completed model

The model is beautiful when completed. It makes a great display piece although I think it is meant more for play. There are two firing cannons, a removable top deck for accessing the cabin, and adjustable sails. That is really it, alone, the set leaves something to be desired but along with other ships there is potential for a battle. I like the figurehead on the front which represents the actual decoration on the ship in the film very well indeed. The cabin has a desk with a chair and a map, bottle and sextant but looks a bit bare in my opinion.

Summary

Overall I would recommend this set, despite the occasional problems, if you just want Davy Jones, then get him from another source, he is not worth the price all by himself, but if you liked the Queen Anne's Revenge, like I did, then you will love this almost as much, but sadly the playability of this set is not quite so high as the other Pirates of the Caribbean ship.

Overall - 9/10