Random set of the day: Imperial Trading Post
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6277 Imperial Trading Post, released during 1992. It's one of 9 Pirates sets produced that year. It contains 608 pieces and 9 minifigs, and its retail price was US$85.
It's owned by 3,043 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $1,903.40, or eBay.
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57 comments on this article
One of my favourite Pirate sets.
Is 31084 Pirate Coaster based off of this? The right half of this set looks very similar in color and style to the boarding area of the coaster.
Before I scrolled down I thought it was a Star Wars set LOL
One of the greatest Pirates sets of all time. So much play value for all of us 80s kids.
It's a pirate life for me!
One of the greats! I remember helping my little brother assemble this. When he outgrew lego I gladly took it off his hands and still have it today...
Remake when?
"Trading" Post, more like a Taxing Post. And the Imperials wonder why they had to put up with Pirates.
Absolutely S tier set. I love the ship from it, I'm so glad they added a remake to Eldorado. I've now acquired two of these and I plan to combine them into a bigger better trading post and set up some docks for larger ships as well. Kids who got big sets when this was around were living the high life!
One of the few "big sets" I had as a kid and the absolute best. Pure nostalgia bomb.
My white whale.
@WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"Before I scrolled down I thought it was a Star Wars set LOL"
An Star Wars Imperial trading post set would be cool ngl.
Needs 1-2 more soldier minifigs but otherwise excellent! This set also has some great alternate builds on the back of the box.
Fitting to have this appear with the minifig for today being a space skull.
Easily one of the best pirates sets ever made. Wish they would’ve made more merchant ships throughout the theme’s run, though.
@Maxbricks14 said:
" @WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"Before I scrolled down I thought it was a Star Wars set LOL"
An Star Wars Imperial trading post set would be cool ngl."
Throw it all into the harbor!
No taxation without representation!!
Here at BS, we love to make fun of the ST. Yet, remember that the PT starts off with that scintillating bit about a trade dispute in a distant part of the galaxy. (yawn)
You'd have to think this is in the top ten of the best sets ever made. At the very least, it's one of the best pirate sets ever produced, there's no question there.
While far from the only set that uses another baseplate alongside the ramp/pit, this is the only one where the flat baseplate doesn't feel like an afterthought. (A different raised baseplate was effectually combined with flat ones in later Pirate sets 6278 and 6281.)
Definitely high on my wish list, I once spotted a seemingly complete one in a weird lot of half assembled sets on Ebay a few years ago, but got quickly outbid...
It's name in swiss catalogues is "Port Fenzance", which is also the name of a town in both the 1990 Pirates storybooks (which implies that Pirates' entire range was developped quite early, as it also featured the Indigo Islanders in an early form) as well as the 1995 audio dramas.
Fenzance is located onthe south-eastern coast of the island Sabatina (whereas Fort Sabre/El Dorado Fortress is located on the northern coast, guardin the town Port Royal). It's ruler is Admiral Woodhouse, leader of the "Redcoats" (better known as Imperial Guards). He arrived on the Treasure Islands archipelago to deal with the local pirate problem, a thing his precursor, Governor Broadside, failed to get under control (because he required them to distract from his own corruption, as he more or less betrayed his king).
Unlike Broadside, he does not seem to have any named adjutant (like Lieutenant DeMartinet) or family (Camilla and Prudence) present on the isles.
The Imperial Guards, who seemingly took Broadside's own Imperial Soldiers into their own ranks on behalf of the king's order, fought against two rivaling pirate factions: The somewhat more honorable Captain Roger/Redbeard and his crew aboard the Dark Shark II (Skull's Eye Schooner) and the evil Captain Ironhook and the crew of the Sea Star (Renegade Runner), who were keen into abducting local townsfolk and members of the Indigo Islanders tribe to use as slaves.
Woodhouse's own flagship is the HMS Sea Lion (Imperial Flagship), which is said to be the fastest ship in the Treasure Islands. east of Sabatina lies a group of smaller islands (Pirate Island, Emerald Island, Skeleton Island, Island of Skulls, Black Reef Island) which serve as the pirates' base of operations. Both sides often meet at Bessie's Inn for drinking, gambling and cheating on each other. To the south, in between Sabatina and the Pirate Islands is the Island of Fogs, home to the tribe of Chief Quexil/King Kahuka. The island is defended by mystical fogs (over which Quexil seems to be in command) as well as many crocodiles. Whilst the tribe is good friends with Captain Roger and his two sidekicks Bo'sun Will and First Mate Rummy, they are hostile towards Ironhook and Broadside. Woodhouse and the Islanders seem to be somewhat neutral towards each other, mostly because Woodhouse seems to care little about them.
Didnt this get a pseudo remake in the 2009 pirates theme?
Yeah, it's one of those sets... So big that you cannot afford with your allowance when you're a kid, then too expensive to buy when you're grown up and making your own money.
@WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"Before I scrolled down I thought it was a Star Wars set LOL"
Every RSotD is a Star Wars set until proven otherwise.
Absolutely amazing set! I was lucky to find it for a good price earlier this year
Must have been expensive back then, but I'm in awe at the size of this thing and the amount of play value it has. 8yo me would have been in heaven with such a set.
Good old sets with baseplates.
Glad to see I wasn't the only one who saw "Imperial" before seeing the picture and thought Huwbot was continuing on his Star Wars trend
This one was remade, correct?
@Trigger_ said:
"This one was remade, correct?"
No it is 6276. But they have added the merchant ship from this one
Beautiful set, even if it pales out to modern ones in terms of building experience. I feel that pirate ships suffer less from this.
We are only 3043 declared owners here, makes you wonder how many were produced and still sleep in a closet
@yellowcastle said:
"My white whale."
Me too! I'm trading bitcoins only to be able to pay for this set.
This box art is so… so… Perfect!
Eldorado Fortress, but better.
@jkb said:
"Eldorado Fortress, but better."
lol, no.
This one is actually very underwhelming in real life, trust me... Lots of empty space and squimpy structures. It looks barren, empty and most of all, very very small.
@Eightcoins8 said:
"Didnt this get a pseudo remake in the 2009 pirates theme?"
Do you consider 6242 a remake?
This arrived as a replacement to 6276-1, but didn't seem to have the same presence.
I can smell it, the 80s cardboard, the pieces that got dirty over the years. Think about the the worn out or broken clips on the flag and the loose hinges of the doors.
These were the times.
I clearly remember shelves stocked with this set as new back in 1992 when I visited with my parents Legoland in Billund. Unfortunately, I never got this set because it was too expensive.
@BelgianBricker said:
" @jkb said:
"Eldorado Fortress, but better."
lol, no.
This one is actually very underwhelming in real life, trust me... Lots of empty space and squimpy structures. It looks barren, empty and most of all, very very small."
Mmmh... still want it! Maybe it'll look less barren if placed next to the fortress(es)?
It's big. It looks great. It has great playfeatures and a great little ship.
That said... I think you can do better for your money if you just want a pier or soldier's tower. But as a whole it sure looks impressive and colorful!
One of the best to ever do it.
The nice thing about this set is that it's pretty easy to bulk up the structures with spare bricks you have, even as a kid. A bit of rearrangement is in order, but it can be done to your hearts content and then you're all set to play. Eldorado is a lot harder to work with.
@MCLegoboy said:
""Trading" Post, more like a Taxing Post. And the Imperials wonder why they had to put up with Pirates."
I suspect a lot of the piracy was either government-sanctioned privateers, or started out that way and just ended up deciding it was more profitable to just steal from everyone. I mean, you couldn’t even get started without a fast ship with cannons, which you couldn’t just buy at the corner store.
@StyleCounselor said:
"Here at BS, we love to make fun of the ST. Yet, remember that the PT starts off with that scintillating bit about a trade dispute in a distant part of the galaxy. (yawn)"
So did the United States…
This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids.
@dimc said:
"Absolutely S tier set. I love the ship from it, I'm so glad they added a remake to Eldorado."
I love the ship, too. While I never acquired the set, I have enough pieces to put together about a dozen of the ships. Had to track down my own fabric to make the sails, though. Those are way too expensive, though I did get one for the very first ship I put together.
@AllenSmith said:
"This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids."
It does have some round black bricks at the back which might be small cannons, but yeah, it's in for a rough go. My plan is to use the Armada flagship as a trading vessel if I ever find one, and I do like the Renegade Runner design as well, but there are no sails that match so you'd have to rebuild its rigging around whatever your preferred shape and color is. Armada's "flagship" only has one cannon, which, lol no. So it makes a good trader in that way, maybe add a bit more of a cabin and boom, all good.
@AllenSmith said:
"This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids."
That's Steve.
I don't who or where this came up, but a lot of AFOLs around 2000-2010 referred to him as Steve (possibly a similar thing as how Jedi Bob got his name years after his release). And he's freakingly expensive (he only came in this and 6286, though with different hat and pants).
He also is rumored to have a unique face print. It's technically the same as the one used for the Imperial Guard and Imperial Soldier Officers, though his is Bright Red instead of black and whatever color this dark reddish brown is supposed to be. I am not entirely sure if this is true, since a common Black Knight (who has many variants) and the Western cavalry soldier use one of those two as well and it's really hard to tell when it's a weird dark red or just poor color matching. Only sure thing is, there are 3 different colors of this same printing.
This is an Argh + set! Very epic.
@dimc said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids."
It does have some round black bricks at the back which might be small cannons, but yeah, it's in for a rough go. My plan is to use the Armada flagship as a trading vessel if I ever find one, and I do like the Renegade Runner design as well, but there are no sails that match so you'd have to rebuild its rigging around whatever your preferred shape and color is. Armada's "flagship" only has one cannon, which, lol no. So it makes a good trader in that way, maybe add a bit more of a cabin and boom, all good. "
My brother and I had some ships, but none of the large imperial vessels and we were also lacking the one civilian ship for our pirates setup. We recreated some similar vessels for those missing (also turning one of my two copies of 6296 into pirate ship), but I really wanted -> still want this set.
we also saw the 1x1 cylinders placed sideways as a smaller, weaker cannon and used that for our own creations. This first appeared in 1978 in the 398 USS Constellation and in Pirates on the 1993 6286 Skull's Eye Schooner. I thought it a better use than shooting them around as cannon balls and loosing them.
really epic set for anyone interested at all in the pirates theme in the 90s.
@seppo21 said:
" @dimc said:
"Absolutely S tier set. I love the ship from it, I'm so glad they added a remake to Eldorado."
I love the ship, too. While I never acquired the set, I have enough pieces to put together about a dozen of the ships. Had to track down my own fabric to make the sails, though. Those are way too expensive, though I did get one for the very first ship I put together."
There are a few etsy and other shops with replacement sails, so you can find them if you want a fleet that looks similar. I might have to see if I can build a third.
@BlackFalconBirdman said:
" @dimc said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids."
It does have some round black bricks at the back which might be small cannons, but yeah, it's in for a rough go. My plan is to use the Armada flagship as a trading vessel if I ever find one, and I do like the Renegade Runner design as well, but there are no sails that match so you'd have to rebuild its rigging around whatever your preferred shape and color is. Armada's "flagship" only has one cannon, which, lol no. So it makes a good trader in that way, maybe add a bit more of a cabin and boom, all good. "
My brother and I had some ships, but none of the large imperial vessels and we were also lacking the one civilian ship for our pirates setup. We recreated some similar vessels for those missing (also turning one of my two copies of 6296 into pirate ship), but I really wanted -> still want this set.
we also saw the 1x1 cylinders placed sideways as a smaller, weaker cannon and used that for our own creations. This first appeared in 1978 in the 398 USS Constellation and in Pirates on the 1993 6286 Skull's Eye Schooner. I thought it a better use than shooting them around as cannon balls and loosing them.
really epic set for anyone interested at all in the pirates theme in the 90s."
I only had a tiny pirate raft as a kid, the rest has been adult-acquired. I have a fair number of the ships now, including a bluecoat MOC flagship that rivals Black Seas Barracuda.
Highly recommend grabbing the trading post if you ever find it. It's SO good. I don't have it on display for space reasons right now, but it will be a major point of contention in my future pirates scenes!
@PurpleDave said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
""Trading" Post, more like a Taxing Post. And the Imperials wonder why they had to put up with Pirates."
I suspect a lot of the piracy was either government-sanctioned privateers, or started out that way and just ended up deciding it was more profitable to just steal from everyone. I mean, you couldn’t even get started without a fast ship with cannons, which you couldn’t just buy at the corner store.
@StyleCounselor said:
"Here at BS, we love to make fun of the ST. Yet, remember that the PT starts off with that scintillating bit about a trade dispute in a distant part of the galaxy. (yawn)"
So did the United States…"
Hey! That was my point.... and counterpoint, I suppose.
@Robot99 said:
"Is 31084 Pirate Coaster based off of this? The right half of this set looks very similar in color and style to the boarding area of the coaster."
I think it's a mix of multiple sets , as the entrance really looks like 6267 Lagoon Lock-Up, with the red/blue awning.
As a kid, I had 2-4 sets that were the most "drool-worthy" (as in, I spent time looking at the catalogues drooling over them): all sets from JUST before my time: as in, they were in the catalogues from my earliest sets, but I didn't really get spending money and start saving up till later. Today, I have all of these sets... except this one.
And this might have been the one I wanted the most: Pirates was my first "favourite type" of LEGO, and the admiral here my most-desired fig. The very first story I ever wrote outside of a school assignment was "Imperial Trading Post is Made," a story so bad I rewrote it a few years later to make it only "so boring it's bad." None of the characters had names, there wasn't any real plot, and the closest thing to drama was the soldiers getting too rain-sick to continue the building. The "Steve" minifig was identified as the admiral's son.
Bad as it may have been, it was a testament to my love of this set. And now that I have most of my other truly, deeply, "drooled over" sets, this remains the One That Got Away. Maybe someday...
@BlackFalconBirdman said:
"we also saw the 1x1 cylinders placed sideways as a smaller, weaker cannon and used that for our own creations."
Having recently been to the Perry Memorial in Put-in-Bay, I learned about a short type of cannon called a carronade. Perry’s two larger ships were only armed with those, which meant they didn’t have the range to tackle the British ships until his flagship was shot to toothpicks. And the only vessels with long cannons that had the same range basically just had one swivel-mounted on the deck of a very small vessel. So yeah, different ships would get equipped with different armaments based on what sounded good at the time, and that might not always seem like the wisest choice when you’re defending your lives with them. Small artillery fires small munitions, both of which take up a lot less room and weigh a lot less. But they aren’t that impressive when you pick one up and yell, “This is my boom stick!” Okay, that’s not entirely true. If you can pick up even a tiny cannon with one hand, that’s still pretty impressive, but all that means is the other guy’s going to try to blow you off the deck before they risk boarding.
The first one of these I got was in a box for $60; it was missing a sailing vessel though. The second one I traded for some NIB Star Wars sets and it is complete. I don’t regret either deal.
@Atuin said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"This was the only Pirate set—ever—that had a civilian vessel for the pirates to pillage. I always imagined this poor ship as the most harried sloop on the seas. As the sole civilian against a horde of pirates, and unarmed at that, this poor captain must have been constantly beset by raids."
That's Steve.
I don't who or where this came up, but a lot of AFOLs around 2000-2010 referred to him as Steve (possibly a similar thing as how Jedi Bob got his name years after his release). And he's freakingly expensive (he only came in this and 6286, though with different hat and pants)."
He deserves a name; stardom even. The poor guy must be the most miserable merchant marine in the world. I bet he's walked the plank so many times he can swim like a porpoise.
@BlackFalconBirdman
To my sorrow, I never had this set with its coveted merchant vessel. But I did have the Renegade Runner and the Imperial Flagship. And even though I never had this ship, it was a frequent plot device in my Lego pirate stories. The pirates who were shipwrecked on Forbidden Island all pined for sinking it and were green with envy for the pirates who did have a ship and made a regular habit of going after it (offscreen, alas!). The soldiers were constantly exasperated by its failure to appear on schedule, all the treasure that got stolen from it, etc.