Random set of the day: Islander Catamaran
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6256 Islander Catamaran, released in 1994. It's one of 13 Pirates sets produced that year. It contains 63 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$12.
It's owned by 3989 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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16 comments on this article
You know, even as a kid, I wondered about the logistics of using the pointy-end of a spear to beat a drum with.
This theme has so much untapped potential. Hey Lego, I would buy this.
Nostalgia Alert!! Still have those parrots! Everything was so simple back then! Pirate's theme must come back urgently! Play value, parts, figures, scenes...
That’s my favourite minifig - King Kahuka!!
Back then, I got the big Enchanted Island set for this theme, which also has those figures, a croc and a sail canoe.
King Kahuka and the tribe figures were amazing for 1994.
I thoroughly enjoy the Pirates and Islanders theme sets. The catamaran is a little bit outgunned by the Black Seas Barracuda, though...
I loved this theme thanks to LEGO Racers! I was too young for the sets though. What exactly was the storyline here? Were the Islanders a neutral/wildcard faction between the pirates and soldiers?
I liked this theme quite a lot, because of it being so colorful (especially that sail, check how cool it looks!) and having a nice atmosphere around it. Never had it as a child, but now I own of few sets of the theme, but not this one, sadly...
are those supposed to be carvings or real parrots on the front, do you think?
I love the artwork. :-)
This theme seemed to be ahead in it's time, I would recommend LEGO to do Native American (from Alaska to Chile) tribes sets but then they would get into some um, clothing problems when they are dealing with tribes from hot places as the only known clothing known were like Speedos).
Wonderful. I'm sure I would have gotten this set, had I grown up in the 90's.
@Balthazar - if memory serves some catalogs had Ironhook (the pirate captain in sets 6261 and 6268) going after their treasure.
Still have this set. I was all about pirates, soldiers and islanders. I was so excited when they introduced crocodiles. Although I always wondered how a people in the Caribbean had access to zebra skin...
@KasonM
I figured they were more based off Hawaii/Polynesia/Oceania rather then the Caribbean.
Catamarans are fun! I still really want to try building a LEGO Elves catamaran…
I liked the Islanders theme a lot growing up, and even dressed up as King Kahuka for Halloween when I was three or four years old. But I think it'd be hard to depict a faction like this as part of the Pirates theme today.
Even if you try to portray non-Western native cultures with more sensitivity than LEGO did back in the 90s, it's hard to accurately present those cultures within the context of the Age of Exploration without addressing the horrific actions against those societies by Western colonial powers, and I think that presenting those sorts of atrocities as a play scenario for children would be in poor taste.
The best chance of seeing more Polynesian-inspired characters like these will probably be in the CMF, in licensed sets based on movies like Moana, or in their own theme, so that they can be the heroes of their own story.