Throwback Thursday: 10210 Imperial Flagship
Posted by FlagsNZ,
This Throwback Thursday review merges two goals of mine: a review of an iconic set - 10210 Imperial Flagship - that has never had a "staff review" at Brickset, and looking at this set that closely resembles a ship close to my heart: Lt. James Cook's HMS Endeavour.
New Zealand is currently commemorating the 250th anniversary of the landfall encounter between Europeans and the indigenous Maori already living in Aotearoa.
I have recently had the privilege of sailing in the replica HMB Endeavour during the eighteen-day delivery voyage from Sydney, Australia to New Zealand. The replica HMB Endeavour has been chartered by the NZ Government to take part in the Tuia – Encounters 250 commemoration.
In my opinion, 10210 Imperial Flagship very closely resembles a minifigure scale representation of a ship with celebrity status such as the original HMS Endeavour that was the centrepiece of James Cook's first global circumnavigation between 1768 and 1771.
Read on as I share my experience in a replica 18th-Century ship rolling across the Tasman Sea.
Parts
One of the most striking features of the parts list for Imperial Flagship is the number of parts: it has 1664 pieces.
In an article in the book, Great LEGO Sets Visual History from DK Verlag, it suggests that French LEGO designer Raphael Pierre Roger Pretesacque - the designer of 10210 Imperial Flagship - added two pieces at the end to get the part count to 1664. He wanted to acknowledge the French brewery Kronenbourg, which was founded in 1664.
There several parts unique to this set. In particular the dark brown hull pieces and the cloth sails.
Minifigures
Imperial Flagship comes with nine minifigs.
Included in the set are:
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The Governor's Daughter,
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The Governor,
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one Sailor, and
There are five Royal Marines. Notably, there is one officer and four soldiers:
The marines can trace their origins back to the formation of the English Army's "Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of Foot" at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company on 28 October 1664. This is another reference to the year 1664.
All of the minifigs have prints on their back. The Governor's daughter is the only fig to have an alternative face print.
The Governor's daughter may be annoyed by being tightly laced in a corset.
The epaulettes on the Governor and Captain Blackbeard's uniforms should be warm gold, but they were missing when I bought this set second-hand. I have replaced them with a yellow version.
The minifigs have a variety of weapons, and there is a marine sextant to navigate with.
I have a passion for traditional navigation techniques, and during the voyage in HMB Endeavour, I lead some celestial navigation and astronomical activities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to post a shoutout to my father, Capt. Jim Wardle.
My father won the sextant in the above image when he was a cadet in HMS Conway in 1954. This image is Jim Wardle aboard mv Crusader in the late 1950s using his sextant.
Sixty years separate these two images.
The Build
Imperial Flagship is a Creator Expert set and is built in a way like many modular buildings: the decks can be removed with ease to reveal the construction underneath.
Modular decks
The first part of the build is the hull. This module includes the fo'c'sle, bowsprit and gun-deck.
The waist and quarter deck are removable modules.
The Quarter Deck is where the ship is navigated from and was the domain of the officers.
Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel. Imperial Flagship has a big wooden wheel to control the rudder.
There are two hinged gratings in the Imperial Flagship that enable access to the Gun Deck.
The size of the holes in the traditional gratings is such that "it is smaller than the heel of a man's boot."
Chain Locker and Capstan
Under the fo'c'sle is the chain locker where the anchor chain is stored. The anchor is raised using the capstan.
This is the capstan in HMB Endeavour as the anchor was raised.
Unfortunately, there is an opportunity for rodents to stowaway in the ship.
Rats have travelled in ships for centuries and have posed a severe threat to isolated ecologies.
Galley
Imperial Flagship's galley is located in the stern under the Great Cabin.
Great Cabin
The quarter deck of the aft module can be removed to gain access to the Great Cabin.
There are a chart and chart drawers and a treasure chest full of bullion.
The Great Cabin has an organ and a telescope.
Flagship
Imperial Flagship flies a flag with five equal horizontal alternating stripes of red and white with crossed cannons and a Coronet crown.
This flag has been seen in only two LEGO sets.
A tattoo of crossed cannons represents military service among sailors.
You can see the sail's reef points printed on the sail.
A sail is reefed to reduce sail area. The reef points on a square sail are the top of the sail, the head, and the sail is lifted up to the yardarm when reefed.
This image shows HMB Endeavour's Main Course sail and Main Mast. You can see the complex rigging and the reef points in the sail.
Armament
Imperial Flagship is armed with four cannons that are located in the lower gun deck.
There are two rammers and two crates with cannon shells.
HMB Endeavour carries two four-pound cannons with another eight cannons in storage.
The cannons were jettisoned after the ship struck Endeavour Reef 11 June 1770. HMB Endeavour's replica cannons have been cast from a mould made using the original cannons which were recovered in 1969.
We fired the cannon one clear morning, midway across the Tasman Sea. I used this opportunity to get some images of a minifig gun-crew in juxtaposition with the real cannon.
You can see the cannon being fired here.
Suit of Sails
The Imperial Flagship is a fully-rigged ship: she has three masts - foremast, mainmast and mizzen mast - all of them square-rigged.
The set comes with seven square sails and one triangular sail.
There would typically have been a fore-and-aft sail on the mizzen mast but the Imperial Flagship does not include this.
HMB Endeavour
This is HMB Endeavour under a full set of sails rounding North Cape of New Zealand.
Compare this with the model 10210 Imperial Flagship and you can see why I have made the connection.
Image courtesy: TaylorMade Productions
Chainplates
The shrouds - the rigging that supports the masts - is connected to the hull with "chainplates."
10210 Imperial Flagship uses Bad Robot Arms as the chainplates.
Here are the chainplates in HMB Endeavour. The yellow platform is called "the channels", and they hold the shrouds away from the hull. The chainplates are under the channels.
Ornamental stern
The ornate scrollwork around the stern of a ship is called gingerbread.
10210 Imperial Flagship captures the essence of these ornamental designs.
Here is the equivalent area in HMB Endeavour and you can see the ornate gingerbread.
All ships have a nationality. Civilian ships have a document which is similar to a passport called a Certificate of Registry.
HMB Endeavour is an Australian ship, so she flies the Australian Red Ensign.
You can see the ship is flying the New Zealand Flag - as a courtesy - from the starboard yardarm as the ship was berthed in an NZ port.
The ship has a big lantern as a stern light, similar to the lanterns seen in Imperial Flagship.
Overall opinion
The model had been on display at Toyworld West Auckland. I purchased the model from Cheryl when she and her husband Dave sold their business two years ago.
I have always liked this model as it has a more authentic feel than other ships in the Pirates theme.
I really appreciated the opportunity to sail in this authentic replica eighteenth-century ship commemorating such an important part of New Zealand's early European history.
It was great to have this wonderful occasion linked this with my hobby: my love of LEGO!
I would like to thank the Professional Crew and Voyage Crew aboard HMB Endeavour for making my journey across the Tasman Sea such an enjoyable experience.
Here is a three-minute clip that captures this leg of the voyage.
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51 comments on this article
Fantastic review, I have this set and it got me back in to lego after years away. It is the crown of my collection and my favourite model
Argh! Gunna plunder thee ship! - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/7933433158/ (HMS Golden Hind in background docked London)
I would love to have this... if only it's aftermarket price weren't so crazy high. Lego needs to make more pirate ships, the last one was the Piggy Pirate Ship from three years ago!
Thanks FlagsNZ!
Nice review, I own this set too, and have had it on display ever since I bought and built it. It really is a lovely Lego set. Still the best sailing ship Lego made, I think. OK, the Queen Anne's Revenge 4195 is also really nice!
Come on you guys, give the guy a like for his extensive review!
Fascinating review! One of the big obstacles I’ve struggled with when discussing ship sets (or even reviewing them, in the case of Naida’s ship from the Elves theme) is not knowing a lot of the technical terminology or historical details relevant to sailing vessels, and so often having to look them up as I write. So it’s good to see a review like this which goes into a lot of detail about that stuff that I can really learn from! The comparisons to a real ship similar to those which inspired the set enhance the review even further!
While the Imperial Flagship’s size and detail are impressive, its piece count is surprisingly low for its price point, and from what I’ve read in other reviews, it’s also very fragile in some places (as are traditional wooden model ships, I suppose).
I would love to see LEGO attempt a realistic sailing vessel of similar size today, especially since sets like the Destiny’s Bounty from The LEGO Ninjago Movie illustrate how much more detailed and substantial LEGO can make ships today, even at a lower target age range and price point!
Did the article get deleted? It's in my newsfeed but not showing above these comments.
Same here, I don't see the article at all and I'm confused. :(
Wow. Wow wow wow! Incredible set, idea, review, pictures and story of yours FlagsNZ! From minifigs to complete set this Flagship is amazing. I knew it was iconic and famous but now I exactly understand why! And this idea of bringing it with you while sailing is just awesome, the connection with your father very touching. Sincere thanks for all this, one of the best reviews I personally have ever seen or read. Thank you!
I've been really enjoying some of the "on-location" photography on Brickset recently, but this review takes the cake! Great review of one of my favorite sets, and it sounds like you had a fantastic trip to boot!
Thanks for the belated review. That photo of your father looks more like it was taken in the 80s or 90s. Impressive quality for late 1950s. Hopefully one day we will see a remake of the original 6271 Imperial Flagship, preferably with less pieces making it more affordable.
@Clb204 As recent as three years? The bluecoats have been without a new galleon set since Caribbean Clipper in 1989. Imagine how that feels.
Just something to note, the white crates aren’t listed in the “Parts” tab.
I’m not real big on ships, but I couldn’t resist this beauty. It’s one of my favorite sets I own. It fooled a lot of people who saw it. They were surprised when I told them it was LEGO.
I loved this review. It was nice seeing thus break down & comparison.
Thank you for the nautical review !
Did not know Raphael Pierre Roger Pretesacque was the designer, I have always believed it was Jamie Berard, so I learned something new today :)
It is in my mind the best Lego "pirate" ship ever and a fantastic set! For some reason I have always liked the "soldiers" sets more than the pirates ones. The first years of priates the "soldiers" had some excellent big sets, but then they got the "short stick" for many years until this beauty showed up :D
With the pirates bay coming soon we hopefully see a big "soldiers" set that can give the pirates a fight not too far down the road ;)
Thank you for the ThTh!
I wish I had bought it when I had the opportunity. Looking at eBay and other places, the price is pretty chunky... :(
Mine sits proudly with my Saturn V. My little homage to exploration.
It disappeared for a while because we moved it back a few hours until it was Thursday in most of the world, not just NZ :)
Great review and such a great idea to have this set in the real world. I wonder what the crew of the real ship thought about the Lego version? Where they interested in any way, did they comment about the quality of Lego rendition?
@Thor96: the crew loved the set and there was real interest when I had it on display.
I had the full model in Sydney for the images with HMB Endeavour in the background. It was a particularly windy day and it was difficult having the Imperial Flagship upright and stable with all the sails up.
I only took the quarterdeck module away to sea with one cannon and all the minifigures.
@Huw: I had a plane to catch so I posted the article just before noon NZ time.
My birthday is tomorrow, so pretty much exactly 8 years ago I got this for my birthday just as I was coming out of my dark ages. Took possibly my only ever sicky off work to do a stop motion animation of the build:
https://youtu.be/SVWSMEwW3xg
I didn't notice for several years that I'd put the front sail on wrong. Only realised when someone pointed it out in the comments.
Now that the 'dark age' is definitely over I'd love to own such a ship.
Would be great as some kind of UCS set, as long as it's not as heavily (over)priced as the MF or ISD.
Strange how the old school themes I never appreciated enough before, now have such an appeal to me.
Pure gold this; the set, the review, and the trip. Great job FlagsNZ!
Beautiful set I will never own if not re-relased :( Lego, please...
By far the most fascinating review I had the chance to read here!
Wonderful set and I wish it was re released so I can get one.
Thank you!
Great idea of a review :)
I suggest similar reviews or Architecture or Experts sets.
Definitely my crown jewel! Alas I bought it at a relatively high price as my wedding gift many years after its release (damn you Dark Ages...). I was procrastinating between this and QAR (both great ships) having similar prices but I opted for the timeless clasic feel of 10210 in the end. Great review and being a navy sailor's son myself, I envy your voyage!
I always wondered back in the day why didn't Lego make it an UCS Pirates set instead of a Creator Expert set.
@Clb204 don't forget 2017's Silent Mary. It's not necessarily a complete ship but it's certainly a beauty
Great review, fascinating read.
Seeing sets like these always makes me realize what is so sorely missing in the current product lineup. What are ten forgettable Superhero or run-of-the-mill Star Wars sets in comparison to a beauty like this set, which still looks good and is so desirable even today?
Ah, what a beautiful review!
And yes, more throwbacks for us elders please!
Thanks flagzNZ!
Cracking review, thanks for sharing the experience.
I'll support the call for more in-situ works if ever possible.
Hard to believe this set is already a decade old...as others have stated probably the best sailing ship ever produced. I think we are due for a new sailing vessel.
My only beef is why Lego proceeds to only provide (at least) half the armament with ship...when I bought this set when it came out I immediately remedied the lack of armament by bricklinking the extra cannons/ammo.
Two things I wish Lego did more of - Amazing ships like this and trains like the brick model railroader does.
This was a great experience, what was your dad opinion on the set?
Glad to see a review on a non-new set. Keep them coming!
@Huw, until 2012 I was in the Navy as an OS(operations specialist), one of our jobs was navigation. We worked with the QM's(quarter masters), and one of the things I learned and very much enjoyed was celestial navigation. We did not do it often, but when we did I was always off in my mind in another era.
Cheers.
One of the biggest sets I regret never getting, and would kill to see a re-release of it.
This is the first Throwback Thursday in a while. Would love to see these become regular again
Great article! I wanted the set when it came out, but could never justify buying it. I hope we'll see a large, realistic tall ship like this again at some point.
Small note about the Lego sextant piece: It can be made even more authentic with one of the Star Wars rangefinder accessories (design 72329) as an index arm. Fits right into the little hole and reaches perfectly down to the scale.
Excellent article and review! Thanks for sharing and taking us along on your journey. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous lol!
Wow! This must be one of the coolest posts I've seen on here. The family history is a lovely touch as well. :)
Amazing review! And I really loved all the extra information, goes on to show your passion for marine vessels!
An absolute beauty of a set, which will probably remain on my Wish List forever. A wonderfully detailed, entertaining and informative review to accompany it as well. Well done sir FlagsNZ!
Aaaarrrrrrr ...... 10210!...... the one that got away!
Thanks FlagsNZ. Really enjoyed the comparisons
Thank you so much the the review and Lego vs reality comparison. Gives me a better insight into history and the 1664 info!
Come on LEGO bring on some beautiful large lovely grand LEGO ships!
*goes off to look at prices on feebay / BL
*hides in a corner to cry a little bit
Luckily this wasn't a review of the 6285 Black Seas Barracuda - some member of the crew would had to demonstrate how 'walking the plank' works... Many thanks for a fantastic article!
What a neat idea for a review!! Wish I hadn't been broke when this was available... one of the sets I regret not getting... :/
Nice article and looks like a nice voyage!
This is one of those sets that got away... just couldn't afford it at the time and they're mad expensive now.
I have this!
That was an incredibly well done article. Hats off!
Great set and great review! Thank you very much!