6271 - Imperial Flagship

Rating:
Pros: A good sized battleship with plenty of weapons and a nice design
Cons: The rigging is a little messed up; the rudder takes up too much space and hinders the placement of a living quarters
Contents: 306 pieces including 4 mini-figs
Price: Discontinued
Reviewed: 23-Jul-1998
Reviewed by: G. M.

It had been a depressing year for the Royal Navy of Britain. The king had nearly been killed by an insane officer, pirates had been burning coastal towns left and right, and the best war ship of the navy had been sunk in a battle with the pirate clan during a surprise attack on the docks of the naval academy. That attack alone resulted in sixty-three deaths, and the loss of �6,500 in gold.
Not wanting to lose even more, Colonel Walter McBride had devised a crane-like instrument to resurface sunken battleships for restoration because building new ones proved too costly for the navy.
When the all-powerful battleship Shylon was surfaced, the Colonel discovered to his horror that some of the dead men still aboard had skulls and crossbones tatooed on their chests. His own men were working against him!

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My first big Pirate set was the Imperial Flagship which I received in 1993, but all that it could do was patrol because I didn't get any pirate Pirate sets until 1996. Still, it was a very nice ship to have patrolling.
It is a three-sectioned ship of the narrower type and is done in brown and dark grey. This is a heck of a lot nicer than the ugly red sections of the Red Beard Runner that I can't stand. The overall ship has only one mast with two sails that each bear the Imperial Guard crossed-cannons-and-crown emblem. Another mast up front serves as a ram. Add an Aquazone knife or harpoon and you've got yourself a pretty nice weapon.
The central deck contains two cannons that roll from port to port using brown wheels. The back of the ship contains an upper and lower deck. The upper part houses the working steering wheel that turns the rudder using four 1x1x1 cone pieces. Also included is a "working" compass that is more for looks than for purpose.
A yellow and white window is placed in the lower deck but there is no room for any beds or chairs because of the rudder, but if you sacrifice the ship's working steering wheel capabilities, a small barracks-type room could fit inside the lower deck.
The very back has a funky little 4x3x1 brick with curvy edges used in very few other sets. It supports a large Imperial flag that has some rigging attached to it. The rest of the rigging goes up through the two sails and down to the bow and then finally through the ram where it ties to a 2x1 plate with a handle. The rigging is very complicated to put up and often comes undone, but it is useful because it supports an additional triangular sail up front.

The set comes with four mini-figs. One is the captain with red hair and a moustache, two others have identical torso print (one has a tri-cornered hat and a black beard, the other wears a smiley face and a tall cylindrical hat and a backpack). The fourth fig is an attacking Pirate too stupid to realize that he is alone and up against three fully-armed soldiers and a battleship (or, he could be a slave or a spy, anything you wanted).
The alternate models show a raft, another large ship, and a small fort.
Any Pirate or Castle fan would probably like this set but I wouldn't recommend it to everybody.