BDP9: Azure Islands
Posted by Huw,
Crowd support for BrickLink Designer Program series 9 has begun and we have quite a few more articles to share about projects designed by Brickset members. This one is by enowicki:
I am thrilled to share with you my latest entry into the BrickLink Designer Program, Azure Islands. For this design, I waded into the Pirate theme with a slightly different take on the original Islanders sub-theme from 1994.
The Lore
On a chain of islands lost to history, we find King Kahuka’s lost expedition, led by his brother.
The expedition set sail from Enchanted (Indigo) Island, with the task of charting new sea lanes. Unbeknown to the crew, a storm was forming in their path. The fleet was forced to run aground on the nearest island.
When the storm finally passed, the crew began to look around and discovered the glow of the island’s most prized treasure, Bricktonium! These strange energy crystals were pretty, rare and hid a secret the crew would quickly discover.
The large concentration of Bricktonium created an energy field that prevented the fleet from leaving the island’s immediate area, trapping the crew forever.
After this discovery, the crew decided to make the best of a bad situation and they set out to build an island paradise! Here they would enjoy the pristine waters by surfing and occasionally trapping wandering pirates and Imperials who ventured a little too close to the Azure Islands.
Inspiration
Growing up, my older brother and I would dump out our loose bricks and build as many kids did, sometimes city, sometimes castles and sometimes pirates. We were lucky to have a variety of minifigs to populate the worlds we created.
Then, in 1994, the Islanders sets were released and we laid our eyes on 6278 Enchanted Island in one of the small inserts that LEGO used to put in sets. From that point on we were hooked. The bright colours, new (to us) tropical elements such as the palm leaves, alligators and bright red canoes had us begging our parents for anything they could find. We never did receive Enchanted Island, although we did get to play with it at a friend’s house, but I did get 6256 Islander Catamaran and a few other smaller sets which were all welcome additions and helped inspire us at the time to explore with pirates in a whole new direction.
A newer source of inspiration came from 21343 Viking Village. I have this set on display in my house and just walking by it constantly after having built it with my six-year-old son got me really thinking on layout, structure angles and rock work.
The Build
The entire set consists of 3 islands that are connected with a total of 2 stone walkways. These can be rearranged and reconnected to create your own set of islands or a single connected island.
Each island section has its own secrets. From left to right, the first island consists of a main tower situated on a beach with a unique sculpture being carved into the rock foundation. You can also see King Kahuka’s brother riding the waves on his surfboard (notice his is the largest of the two, as the largest are reserved for royalty)
The middle island is where King Kahuka’s brother has setup shop and rules the Azure Islands. Here, you will find a throne that can be removed from the thatched roof meeting hall. For this build I tried to use a different technique for the roofing utilizing part 6516553 in Reddish Brown for the arched supports and part 6496672 in Dark Tan for the roofing.
The third island is where most of the Bricktonium that has trapped the Islander crew can be found. The first stop is the drummer’s station. Moving further up there is a secret compartment for the largest crystals next to the highest point, the lookout, with a domed roof made primarily from part 2682 in both Lime and Green. For the roof elements I wanted to include the same parts that are used in the trees that are scattered around the islands.
There is also a prison cell with a wall section that can be removed, located behind the largest carving on the island. This is where the crew can hold any pirates or Imperials that wander too close to the islands.
For the foliage, I wanted to create a variety of different trees that were simple to put together and not too part intensive. My hope is that the islands look full of life, so I included a parrot and monkey and put some bananas. If you’re in the water watch out for the shark!
In addition to the island section, there is a catamaran with brick-built hauls inspired by Islander Catamaran.
A foil for the catamaran is a brick-built raft crewed by pirates and inspired by various raft designs for the early Pirate theme.
The Cast
Here is where the story comes together. I have included 3 pirates for the raft but the Azure Islands are inhabited by what remains of the crew. Unfortunately for them, the Bricktonium on the islands keeps them alive forever but also keeps them trapped. Meaning they can play on the islands and in the water along the coast, but they can never leave the general vicinity of the islands.
You can see my full interview with Steve at The Imagination Brickshop in which I go into even more detail about Azure Islands and the actual model using the Studio design program. Please note there was a minor change to one design of the trees from when the video was done and the project was submitted and approved.
I hope you will consider supporting Azure Islands. If you have any comments, please leave them here or on the Bricklink project page.
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20 comments on this article
I like the unusualness of this set, because there are a lot of castle related sets in series nine, so those that aren't stand out and I applaud you for doing so. Looks very Aztec and Inca.
The first thing on my mind when seeing the throne room roof was that it's going to be quite annoying to build
big fan of how that catamaran has been put together, especially the sail
Looks great! Enjoy a throwback to something we don't usually see
@myth said:
"The first thing on my mind when seeing the throne room roof was that it's going to be quite annoying to build"
While that might be true, it still looks amazing and will give a fun challenge. That is if I get the chance to build it. I love pirates and all of its sub-themes so I'd be so excited to see this come to be the next model in BDP series 9!
@CulturedBreads said:
" @myth said:
"The first thing on my mind when seeing the throne room roof was that it's going to be quite annoying to build"
While that might be true, it still looks amazing and will give a fun challenge. That is if I get the chance to build it. I love pirates and all of its sub-themes so I'd be so excited to see this come to be the next model in BDP series 9! "
No argument there, it looks great!
I think those stone walkways could be used in a more useful way if they'd be able to hinge, so you could have different configurations while still physically connecting each island, including creating sort of a bay.
While I love the Islanders throwback, which was a fun way to shift the Pirates theme from a Caribbean to a Pacific setting back in the 1990s, I'm not sure how I feel about them having died of an overexposure of radioactive materials, and becoming zombie skeletons. Then again, I don't know which current parts and prints would be able to stand in for the lack of actual Islanders parts.
Also interesting to see that the Islanders are rocking what looks to be the Colombian flag -- does this mean this takes place on or near either Gorgona Island or Malpelo Island...? :-)
Overall, a fun design!
It is a fun MOC, but at 2200 parts I am guessing this would be about £180. And none of the island builds seem that substantial. In particular, the water sections are rather flat and boring. I don't think it helps having nine skeletons either, when I have plenty of cheap skeletons anyway.
This is not just related to this design but one of the flaws of the BDP is that there is no indication of the likely cost when voting. I've been seeing some nice smaller builds that seem to pack in more for the parts (and hence price) and I think that will be were I put my votes but these will no doubt get overlooked because of the number of larger builds that get votes because they are big.
Nice build and some interesting part use.
Love the homage and it makes a great expansion of the islanders fraction.
But it won't make it
No figs and lego is unlikely to make new shields print for an BDP set
@CCC said:
"It is a fun MOC, but at 2200 parts I am guessing this would be about £180. And none of the island builds seem that substantial. In particular, the water sections are rather flat and boring. I don't think it helps having nine skeletons either, when I have plenty of cheap skeletons anyway.
This is not just related to this design but one of the flaws of the BDP is that there is no indication of the likely cost when voting. I've been seeing some nice smaller builds that seem to pack in more for the parts (and hence price) and I think that will be were I put my votes but these will no doubt get overlooked because of the number of larger builds that get votes because they are big. "
Cost is a bit of a challenge to predict but going based on a similar size BDP model 910046 Merchant Boat that set was 2,180 parts with 4 minifigs and cost $229.99 and £149.99. Azure Islands is currently 2,174 parts and 3 minifigs. I wish they had more torsos that could have been used for the Islanders. However, the skeletons do not count as minifigs so it would be interesting to see how they would determine the price.
@watcher21 said:
"Nice build and some interesting part use.
Love the homage and it makes a great expansion of the islanders fraction.
But it won't make it
No figs and lego is unlikely to make new shields print for an BDP set"
Yes, LEGO does not do special prints for BDP sets, the 5 shields and 1 2x2 round plate used for the drum top would be stickers
@enowicki said:
" @CCC said:
"It is a fun MOC, but at 2200 parts I am guessing this would be about £180. And none of the island builds seem that substantial. In particular, the water sections are rather flat and boring. I don't think it helps having nine skeletons either, when I have plenty of cheap skeletons anyway.
This is not just related to this design but one of the flaws of the BDP is that there is no indication of the likely cost when voting. I've been seeing some nice smaller builds that seem to pack in more for the parts (and hence price) and I think that will be were I put my votes but these will no doubt get overlooked because of the number of larger builds that get votes because they are big. "
Cost is a bit of a challenge to predict but going based on a similar size BDP model 910046 Merchant Boat that set was 2,180 parts with 4 minifigs and cost $229.99 and £149.99. Azure Islands is currently 2,174 parts and 3 minifigs. I wish they had more torsos that could have been used for the Islanders. However, the skeletons do not count as minifigs so it would be interesting to see how they would determine the price. "
Even though they don't call the skeletons minifigures in official descriptions (same with droids and so on) I somehow doubt that they would be priced like average parts rather than like minifigures.
While not for me, I must say it's pretty cool!
@enowicki said:
" @watcher21 said:
"Nice build and some interesting part use.
Love the homage and it makes a great expansion of the islanders fraction.
But it won't make it
No figs and lego is unlikely to make new shields print for an BDP set"
Yes, LEGO does not do special prints for BDP sets, the 5 shields and 1 2x2 round plate used for the drum top would be sticker"
*puke*
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"I think those stone walkways could be used in a more useful way if they'd be able to hinge, so you could have different configurations while still physically connecting each island, including creating sort of a bay.
While I love the Islanders throwback, which was a fun way to shift the Pirates theme from a Caribbean to a Pacific setting back in the 1990s, I'm not sure how I feel about them having died of an overexposure of radioactive materials, and becoming zombie skeletons. Then again, I don't know which current parts and prints would be able to stand in for the lack of actual Islanders parts.
Also interesting to see that the Islanders are rocking what looks to be the Colombian flag -- does this mean this takes place on or near either Gorgona Island or Malpelo Island...? :-)
Overall, a fun design!"
So interesting note about the radioactive materials, I got the idea to include "Bricktonium" crystals from another of my favorite themes - Rock Raiders, so there is a bit of an easter egg behind the story
@enowicki said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
"I think those stone walkways could be used in a more useful way if they'd be able to hinge, so you could have different configurations while still physically connecting each island, including creating sort of a bay.
While I love the Islanders throwback, which was a fun way to shift the Pirates theme from a Caribbean to a Pacific setting back in the 1990s, I'm not sure how I feel about them having died of an overexposure of radioactive materials, and becoming zombie skeletons. Then again, I don't know which current parts and prints would be able to stand in for the lack of actual Islanders parts.
Also interesting to see that the Islanders are rocking what looks to be the Colombian flag -- does this mean this takes place on or near either Gorgona Island or Malpelo Island...? :-)
Overall, a fun design!"
So interesting note about the radioactive materials, I got the idea to include "Bricktonium" crystals from another of my favorite themes - Rock Raiders, so there is a bit of an easter egg behind the story"
I missed Rock Raiders at the time (Dark Ages), so I didn't get that reference. Still, the implications are severe!
Very interesting and innovative, though some of the pictures initially confused me, like the one that appears to show the shark floating under the bridge as if it were an underwater reef. :o)
Thanks!
I wish the islanders were alive people, not skeletons. Something like the CMF Aztec warriors or native americans
Amazing MOC!
Looks beautiful overall, some great ideas & novel building approaches!
12 minifigs is a solid number (I count skeletons as figs - stuff what LEGO says!).
Best of luck with your submission.
@Samie said:
"I wish the islanders were alive people, not skeletons. Something like the CMF Aztec warriors or native americans"
Unfortunately, there weren't any torso options in the Series 9 palette that worked