Random set of the day: King Kahuka's Throne
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6262 King Kahuka's Throne, released in 1994. It's one of 13 Pirates sets produced that year. It contains 146 pieces and 5 minifigs, and its retail price was US$21.
It's owned by 2391 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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30 comments on this article
One of my earliest sets! The Islanders theme had some unfortunate implications in hindsight, what with its blending of disparate tribal cultures (not to mention stereotypes) into a generic native faction, but as a kid I loved the palanquin, drum, and especially the brick-built mask sculpture!
Like a lot of early sets, though, that price does sort of sting, and the build is pretty dependent on the large BURP to make up most of the actual "structure".
The Islanders cerinly were an interesting faction in Pirates. I'm glad they've made a bit of a come back through the Collectible Minifigs
I can understand why some people might've found the Islanders a little problematic. I don't particularly agree, but I always liked the Islanders sets for introducing a bit of colour and variety into the Pirates line. Plus, they finally gave us little Lego crocodiles, that was a big thumbs-up.
My first Islanders set. Got it when Target's usual Lego sale went from 20% off to 15% off. Funny how things stick in your mind, like that.
Just curious, was the Islanders sub-theme viewed as problematic back in the day when the sets were released?
The closest thing we’ve had recently apart from the CMF are the tribe in the Cannibal Escape set from POTC.
Probably one of my favorite islander sets, along with the forbidden cove, almost feels like paradisa but for pirates ??
For some reason, this set, out of the entire Islanders sub-theme, jumped out at me. I think it was because I could discern some of the bricks that make up the statue as being in my then-tiny spare parts collection. Indeed, I tried to replicate the set a few times, but without the BURP, I was at a loss. I picked the set up second-hand, no instructions, in a bulk yard sale lot in 2001. It was one of the first sets I looked up the instructions for and recreated. I think it is great. You get some pirates to balance out the Islanders, and you also get that awesome King Kahuka minifigure! Many years before BIONICLE masks came into vogue, King Kahuka was rocking that sweet bit of plastic!
The Islanders line was featured in the Winter edition (first issue!) of the LEGO MANIA magazine here in the USA. For a kids' magazine, there was a decent article about all the inspirations for the sets' minifigures and statues, citing specific Polynesian, Melanesian, and Caribbean origins for the look of the sets. The "yellow as a neutral skin tone" concept really works here in avoiding any overt links to a specific tribe or even stereotype of one. Plus, the Islanders are depicted as the "good guys", and while peaceful, will use their clever traps and natural resources (read: large, hungry crocodiles) to protect their natural and cultural treasures from the dastardly Pirate thieves. Even the "Adventures of the LEGO Maniac" comic in the magazine demonstrated this. So there was no manifested outrage concerning the theme. Although if LEGO had gone a bit too close to the line, they definitely pushed it in 2001 with BIONICLE and the usage of Maori words and names in the sets and locations. Granted, the Internet was more widespread in 2001 than it was in 1994, but this whole "is it appropriation?" question is not something I think about when reflecting on these unique, fun additions to the already-legendary Pirates theme.
I sadly never got any of these sets, but I loved the LEGO Racers levels with them!
I loved them!
In Hungary, the tribal king didn't have a name, so there was a contest for naming him. My idea was Wubendu, and I don't know which one won, but I called him like that.
What was the problem with it? Too stereotypical? This is how kids imagined tribal people.
I had no idea of these stereotypes questions concerning lego sets of this kind. All I know is that as a kid, I had no idea of what a stereotype could be. All I wanted was a group of good and bad guys to make adventures with no matter of skin colors, origins or so, which are IMHO adults matters. I think sometimes we grown people think too much for our children, I mean we think too much about how they will live things. Children are far more pragmatic than we are I think. If a toy is good they will play with it. And I never ever imagined a racial or stereotype issue in one of my lego sets ad a child. This one looks good and for sure gave fun and adventurous features. For children.
I have this one
Since a kid, I've always loved the Castle and Pirates line. And since I really disliked the monotony of good vs bad guys battles, I could skip them with castle's various factions. In Pirates though you always had the "imperials" vs Pirates up to the point when this new "neutral" faction arrived and totally made my day back then!
Just as it seems that every other pirate figure in these sets was a Captain, it seems that about half of the Islander figures in all the sets was a King Kahuka...
@Brick't - It only exists as a stereotype (and continues to be) because SJWs allow it to be one.
It was a great theme.
There's a lot of people defending the set . . . against absolutely no-one! As far as I'm aware no 'SJWs' have popped up to decry the theme - and there was an 'Island Warrior' released in the CMF line a few years ago which similarly received no attention (apart from collectors - seems to do well on the secondary market!).
Sadly I never had any sets from the line - there were always other calls on the limited birthday and Christmas present slots (trains and space mainly!), but I remember the amazing dioramas (including this set) in the catalogues well. The Islanders were a great 'third' faction in the Pirates theme.
This is a fantastic sub-theme. I think at the age of say 7 or 8 you are not thinking about the political/social ramifications like you would as an adult today. Society has also changed so perhaps TLG wouldnt produce a subtheme like this - but honestly, who knows.
I love the unique parts this subtheme introduced though - the zebra striped piece, king kahuka's mask, etc.
Nostalgia would be the right word to sum it up! I enjoyed this added group to fight against the Pirates.
10 year old me spent countless hours with the Imperials, Pirates, and Islanders. Combined, they beat out Castle and their assorted factions in my heart.... but barely. I used this set mostly as a parts pack to make the statue on the main Islanders set even bigger.
Ahh, the Islanders! I have fond memories of these, partially because they were a TOTAL surprise to me. I opened a few boxes on Christmas and that was the first time I ever laid eyes on them. That was one of the good things about the pre-Internet era - being TOTALLY surprised by something on the shelves. The most recent time that happened was the First Order AT-ST and........ yeah.
Regarding the theme's content, I am politically liberal and think that being "politically correct" (aka respectful of other people's feelings) is generally a GOOD thing. The hodge-podge nature of the Islanders, borrowing from multiple cultures into some amalgam, wouldn't and shouldn't really fly in 2018 - it's similar to how American Indians are ALWAYS depicted wearing feather headdresses regardless of what nation they are.
THAT SAID, something about the Islanders just sort of WORKS. I think it's partially the yellow plastic "skin" which pushes them squarely into cartoony territory, and also because they were NOT portrayed as bad guys or cannibals (none of the sets come with cooking pots or anything like that). When I played with them, I always made them the GOOD guys, stopping the interloping Pirates and Imperial soldiers from mucking with their stuff.
So yeah. Definitely a little bit dated but not overtly racist like many other depictions of native peoples. Good set, too! Love the Catamaran as well.
@PeteM,
Yeah, I don't think there really ever was any backlash. However I think most people would acknowledge that the fear of being painted as culturally insensitive is why Lego hasn't touched the Pirates/Islanders and Cowboys/Indians in decades. It's unfortunate too. Sure a whole theme where the Islanders or Indians are bad guys probably wouldn't go over too well, but I don't think there would be a problem if there were a few sets that incorperated Islanders or Indians as a neutral faction.
That statue looks like King Kahuka's car in Lego Racer game, the developers probably used this set as inspiration or even copied it brick by brick.
What a great addition to the Pirates theme. Nice to have a third faction in the theme and it added a lot to imagination when we were kids. Very colorful sets, too. Several years ago I bought a bunch of heads and torsos from BL so I can make my own tribe. I only had two small Islander sets, one of them was the one called King Kahuka, set 6236. My brother had the massive set Enchanted Island. I was always jealous that he had that one. Lol.
@chrisaw: I think they might have been viewed as problematic from the perspective of the kinds of cultures who were being pastiched here. I don't think there was a widespread understanding of that perspective among people who didn't share that heritage, though.
Nobody here is saying you were a bad person if you enjoyed this theme or thought about native cultures like this as a kid. I loved this theme as well as Bionicle, which had its own issues with appropriation of Pacific cultures. But I think today it wouldn't be outrageous to expect a little more sensitivity to the sorts of cultures depicted here. Not too long ago the movie Moana did a pretty darn good job depicting an amalgamated Pacific culture sort of like this in a way that most people seemed to agree felt more authentic and not so prone to misrepresentation via a European or American colonialist lens.
As far as the more recent Tribal Warrior fig goes, I like the tattoos and the beautifully painted mask, but the topknot with a bone through it and tiny human skull ornament still kind of stink of ethnic stereotypes of "savage" natives. I do think LEGO could make a more respectful representation of Pacific islanders today, although in a theme like Pirates which is dominated by western plunderers it might still be a bit fraught.
Loved this set though! Beautiful sculpture up top. I actually dressed as King Kahuka for Halloween when I was very young.
Islanders is one of just two themes (the other being Ice Planet 2002) that I have all of the sets from. I remember being super excited that there was a finally third faction for Pirates; Space had had a third faction since the Futuron/Blacktron/Space Police split when Classic Space morphed into the late 80s. There's a simplistic charm about all of these older sets; having rebuilt all of my old sets from the 90s, they definitely are of a different breed than modern sets, and I'm not sure that rereleasing them would be a good thing from either a build or a sales perspective. I've always been of the opinion to let the past live in the past; I havn't watched any of those old 90s cartoons because I don't want the lens of time to ruin them for me the way Full House has become unwatchable. Still, the 90s were a great time to be a kid; the music was great, the toys were great, the tv shows were great, and we were the last generation of kids before the internet. Again, this is with the perspective of letting the past stay there.
I do think that it's a healthy conversation that's being discussed here. As I said, it was a very different time, good or bad or a bit of both. Carry on.
Islanders sets are still one of my favorite themes.
Regarding being potentially offensive to some.. I'm not sure if you can see it (depending on your location/ ad-blocking software/ logged in, etc..) but where I'm at there's a sponsored content video about how to craft a paper sombrero using a plate and cup literally *right above* this article.
It doesn't offend me, but it does make me want to have lunch at La Taco Cantina if anyone's up for it.
Mr Jackson, I really liked your comment and words. Did not imagine when I first saw this morning set as "Random of the day" that it would lead to such interesting, various words, opinions and visions, and all this with gentle men and ladies. I have learned a lot today thanks to this set. Thank you Brickset team for bringing us such conversations and opinions, starting from an old 90s pirate set. Good job.
My teenage self really enjoyed this theme. Primarily because there was a semi-naked female mini-fig, whose torso is still used as a bathing suit top to this day. IMO, she beats fanboy-favorite Leia slave-girl any day. My favorite set out of the Pirates theme though, was Eldorado Fortress. This gave me a governor who ruled my LEGO cities with an iron fist, while supported by his soldiers in space helmets.
Ahhhh, good times :)
Odd this set is called "King Kahuka's Throne" while 6236 actually included a throne.
The zebra-striped 2x2 round tile reminds me of how in the Joker's Notorious Lowrider there were similar zebra-striped printed pieces. Ironically, I was upset they were prints instead of stickers as my copy of the set was mispackaged with 3 sticker sheets. I guess I do have 4 extra "Bang" stickers but not as cool IMO.
@Brick Belt - good points, and presumably the reason Lego don’t touch religion despite the wealth of cultural references to draw on.
I too liked that the Islanders were effectively portrayed as neutral, intelligent, and added a different dimension to the Pirates v Imperials conflict - as others have said, it was different times, and the Lego theme designers might embrace this challenge differently these days! :)
Interestingly, in the UK, king Kahuka was referred to as Chief Indigo and they lived on indigo island. However, in North America they lived on the enchanted island. With six sets released in 1994, and one in 1995, the islanders have certainly had an interesting go of it.
Does anyone know why tlg gave different names to certain themes and sets?