As part of a fairly strong lineup of pirate sets, Treasure island stands out as a real jewel.

Parts

A printed pirate flag, a parrot and crocodile are particularly notable. A cannon and stud-flicking gun are also included. As with all the pirate sets this year, there is a very generous number of spare weapons for equipping your growing pirate army and soldier armies.

Minifigures

A standard soldier with epaulettes and backpack and another pirate make good additions to your armies. The real standout here is the Pirate Queen with an excellent torso print and an two sided smiling/yelling head with eye-patch, which I believe is new for this set.

The build

The build is fairly straight forward and fun. Little details stones at odd angles and the boardwalk make it interesting. The highlight is the skull cave door, and attaching this by chain to the palm tree.

The completed model

The first thing you notice about this model is obviously the skull cave door. The fact that it flips open when you pull on the palm tree is absolutely delightful. You'll just want to flip that up and down every time you see the set. The attention to detail on the whole model is great. The way small wing sections have been used to make the boardwalk gives it a wonderfully wonky and decrepit look. The angles of the board walk, the palm tree and the skull itself contribute to a set that is beautiful to look at as well as fun to play with.

As Part of the Pirate Line

This is common to all of my pirate set 2015 reviews. Lego has made the 4 smaller sets 70409, 10, 11 and 12 as parts of a greater whole. This set pairs with 70909, Shipwreck Defence, attaching via a single claw part, such that the pirate wreck sits on the end of the boardwalk. Sets 70410 and 12 pair up similarly. Out of the two pairings, I think this one has more character.

Taken together, all 4 sets are around the equivalent of a King's Castle set. Slightly cheaper, with two thirds the number of pieces but double the minifigs and more variety. And, I would argue, more playability. Although it's true that with all Lego, more sets = more playability, this is the first instance I'm aware of where the sets are very specifically designed to be combined (outside simple extensions, like the Helm's deep castle wall). As a whole, these 4 sets have a huge amount of enhanced playability when put together, forming little islands around which the many boats and creatures can move, or two long opposing structures facing off against each other. It's a great idea for the pirate line and it comes off very well.

Overall opinion

This set is great to look at and fun to play with, and it's definitely my pick of the small pirate sets this year. As good as this set is by itself, when you add it to the others it's even better. If you're looking at just two of the sets, I would get this one and 70909 over the other pair as it has a bit more fun and flavour.

Box/Instructions

I've mentioned in reviews of other sets in this new Pirates line that I really like the clean, simple yellow border of the box, but what I hadn't paid enough attention to before was the art that sets the scene for the actual set pictured. It's perfectly immersive, and while beautiful itself, does of great job of not detracting from the images of the set. I guess that's why I hadn't noticed it before. It's everything box art should be. The back of the box also highlights a play feature that the instructions fail to show. More on that later.

Parts

I actually enjoy the set on its own merits, but it offers a wide array of useful parts. Many are fairly common but always welcome, and a few are newer or rarer treats. A few highlights for me were: the new split-angled plate, a couple 1x2 plates with the technic hole, a couple 1x3 bow bricks, a couple 2x2 bricks with interior slope, and a couple 4x4 quarter-circle plates. It's also great to get a row boat in dark blue.

Minifigures

Fantastic. I love that the female pirate makes use of the same hair piece as the fortune teller from CMF Series 9. Her torso is similar to that of the barmaid from the 2010-2012 Castle line, but this time it has a belt running from shoulder to waist. The torsos of the male pirate and soldier are clear throwbacks to the originals but with nice little details added. This new line of Pirates has seen a trend of including extra accessories for minifigures, and this set is no exception.

The build

The design of this set, as with others in the Pirates line, features some good SNOT work, so studs aren't super prominent. Light grey cheese wedges are used liberally. The rickety pier looks great, helped by the aforementioned split-angled plate. The alternate palm tree build is nice, though I might fill in the Technic holes.

The completed model

The final product is, simply put, fun. My first LEGO set as a child was Forbidden Island, and I remember how much fun I had not only building it, but playing with it. When I finished building this new Treasure Island, I was transported by a tidal wave of nostalgia back to my childhood, and I found myself actually using the play features of the set to act out the age-old struggle between pirates and soldiers. If TLG calculated this reboot to have such an effect on AFOLs, it worked marvelously on me.

The cannon and new mini cannon have pretty impressive firepower. The tree-and-chain mechanism to reveal the treasure inside the skull cave is simple but fun to use. There is one more interactive play feature that the instructions fail to highlight, but the back of the box alludes to it. Under the 4x4 plate at the start of the pier, there is a secret compartment for a treasure map, which actually uses a grey car door. This set is also intended to link up with Shipwreck Defense, and the connection is beautiful (see a picture of it here).

Overall opinion

The set as a whole is colorful, vibrant, and has everything you'd need for adventure. I'm not sure why this set in particular did for me what so many others have not, but for me it is a return to fun. My love of LEGO evolved from play to art/architecture, as I'm sure it has for many AFOLs. While I don't think this set completely reverses that evolution, it is a great reminder that LEGO are, in fact, toys. They are meant to bring joy through fun, creativity, and productivity. Whatever we use the bricks for, we'd do well to remember our (and their) roots.

What an excellent set.

What is the most striking, is how well Lego have used colour in this set. It is an excellent display piece, with the light green working excellently with the white, brown, sand and little hints of red.

The palm tree mechanism to open the skull is simple but very effective, and the skull is very securely attached to the main body, resulting in a pleasing play experience.

The palm tree, made of technic pieces, is a brilliant idea and I think this breaks up the monotony of previous palm trees, and has a very distinctive irregular wooden shape.

The minifigures are excellent. The lady pirate is a brilliant reincarnation of the 1989 original, with a very reminiscent shirt print and an excellent hair piece.

The crocodile, which can now be stuck onto a baseplate unlike the originals from 1994, is an interesting development. It does clash terribly with the originals, even those of the same darker green, and is almost, dare I say it, too realistic to feel truly Legoey.