A set so good I bought 2 as a kid.

I bought this set, as a kid, because I thought it was cute, but I really wanted the crocodile.

Getting ready for lunch I see...

Something so charming about those little painted minifig faces.

When you get the corona...

Another time the RSotD has presented one of my earliest lego sets! Such nostalgia!

I bought this set second hand only three weeks ago! Wíth box :-)
Qute set with two nice minifigs.

What a wonderful set! I really like the background images of classic Pirates sets. I have this set in MISB condition (along with other 40 Pirates sets) but now it's time to sell all these MISBs to another Pirates collector... :-(

A perfect little army-builder set! 2 "soldier" minifigs, a lot of weapons + other useful parts and the best part it has 2 animals, do not get much better than that :D

I missed out of these afterwaves on Pirates and considering how rare Pirates are these days I am so sad not to be able to relive these lost years of my dark age.

Oh cool! I own this set. Wow, such nostalgia. I miss the Pirates theme (and this sub-theme).

I really liked the Islanders. They might not be culturally appropriate anymore, but damn were they nice figures and such a strong faction to pit against the pirates and the imperials. I had 6236, 6246 and 6256, and I played the hell out of those. Ah, those were the days, of childhood and innocence...

@TheRightP_art said:
"That set name makes no sense

So what is going on?"

The pirate is the crocodiles food

Great little set. So many accessories and playability...

@TheRightP_art said:
"That set name makes no sense.
[...]
So what is going on?"

My assumption was always that the Islanders have captured the pirate and are going to feed him to the crocodile, adventure movie-style.

Still have it

Funnily enough, I feel that Ninjago has recreated a lot more of the iconic traits of the mid-90s Islanders sets I grew up with than any new Pirates sets have since then — and without such an overtly colonialism-driven supporting narrative as similar sets in themes like Pirates, Adventurers, Indiana Jones, or PotC.

For example, sets like 70749-1 and 70752-1 feature tropical plantlife, barbaric-looking cages, lots of bone and horn motifs, elaborate stone ruins and statues, tattooed warriors, dangerous jungle animals, and a "chieftain" with an elaborate headdress and scepter. The following year, 70604-1 featured palm trees, a tropical lagoon setting, a big stone statue with a hidden chamber behind it, and a red and black clifftop outpost, much like 6264-1. It even took inspiration from the Islanders flag and shield pieces for its own flag graphics!

@LegoDavid: I don't think it's fair to say LEGO "refuses to bring back Pirates". They've already brought back Pirates twice, even if those reboots were six years apart. For all we know, they could already be working on new Pirates sets for 2021, continuing that pattern.

As pervasive as the Pirates theme was in the 90s (and as important as it was to many KFOLs during that time, including me!), I think you have to keep in mind that outside of those eight years or so, it has hardly been the sort of staple theme that Town/City, Castle, and Space have been since the debut of the minifigure.

Not only was LEGO Pirates not introduced until a full decade after those other three "classic" themes launched, but classic Pirates only lasted around nine years, with only a few re-releases and a 4 Juniors wave keeping the Jolly Roger flying during the dozen years between that "classic era" and the 2009 reboot. Since then, themes like Bionicle and Ninjago have demonstrated as much staying power or more — even LEGO Friends will be crossing that nine-year threshold if it continues as expected after this year.

What's more, even back in those early days, LEGO seemed to have far more faith in Town as a ubiquitous annual staple than its historic counterparts. Throughout the 80s and 90s, the Town theme invariably seemed to end up getting more new sets than Castle and Pirates combined — even though things like trains and floating boats were NOT included in the Town theme like they have been in its 21st century successors. So it's not too surprising which of those classic themes has maintained the most staying power through to the present day.

Another unusual observation, in the first three years of LEGO Pirates, LEGO opted for EITHER a full new wave of Castle sets or a full new wave of Pirates sets — never both. In that respect, it's possible they were approaching it with a similar level of caution to the late 90s Ninja theme, which took the place of LEGO Castle for the duration of its two-year run (perhaps to avoid the chance of two conceptually similar themes cannibalizing each other's sales, or to ensure designers didn't have to divide their attention between too many projects simultaneously).

I think there's even a case to be made that LEGO didn't just retire the Pirates theme after 1997, but rather replaced both Pirates and Wild West with the Adventurers theme for the remainder of the decade. For starters, excluding promotional releases for companies like Shell, Kelloggs, Kabaya, or Blockbuster, the number of Adventurers sets in 1998 is almost exactly the same as the combined number of Wild West and Pirates sets from the previous two years.

Adventurers and Pirates are hardly without parallels: both themes revolve around competing factions traveling the world and hunting for treasure among remote settings characterized by exotic plants, indigenous ruins, booby traps, spooky cadavers, and dangerous wildlife. And some of the most significant traits separating Adventurers from Pirates — a terrestrial, late modern period setting, rather than a nautical, early modern period setting — are also traits that connect it more closely with Wild West.

Viewing the Pirates theme through this lens suggests that as important as it was to LEGO during that particular decade, they never considered it irreplaceable — even if they were able to keep it relevant for longer than many of the other new System play themes around that time like Aquazone, Wild West, Time Cruisers, Adventurers, Ninja, and Rock Raiders.

I expect LEGO will continue to revisit the Pirates theme from time to time, in the same way they have with secret agent themes, underground themes, underwater themes, dinosaur themes, etc. But other than nostalgic preferences among older fans and set designers, I don't know if its popularity among kids in recent decades has been any stronger than those other recurring categories/genres.

@Aanchir
You are too good. I imagine that Pirates could get a big wave soon because we're getting ever closer to 20 years of the Pirates of the Carribean movie franchise. Nostalgia is a big factor and with new designers coming in that grew up with those movies as well as experiencing the 2009 Pirates sets, it's only an eventuality that more LEGO Pirates will come. Maybe 2025.

This was exactly the last LEGO set I got from my parents before I enter in my "Dark Age"...
And I did come out from it with another Pirate Set, 6241 Loot Island in 2009.
BTW, my first ever LEGO set was a Pirate Set as well, 6270 Forbidden Island, a classic.
Please TLC, bring Pirates back! (and Castle!)

@MCLegoboy said:
"Look out, that croc's got a spear! They're already dangerous on their own, but a spear? I mean, you might as well just give up."

At least it’s not a laser shark!!!