Whenever a LEGO building contest is held, it’s only natural  the winning entries receive the most attention, yet it’s important not to overlook the honourable mentions.

This was no exception in the Return of the Classic Pirates Contest, voraciously competitive with many competent entrants. While the winners well-deserved their position, Classic Pirates aspire to bring other great entries to your attention.

“Rock Island Refuge” by CaptainDarkNStormy is one such build, a modernised rendition on yet another classic LEGO Pirates set from the days of yore.  The good captain arrived at the final build by effectively utilising feedback provided by the Creative Critics, so now we shall delve further into its creation…

CaptainDarkNStormy writes:

I think I’ve reached a final product. I’m going a way for work tonight so I won’t have time to make any more changes. Thanks to all you creative critics out there who provided me with insight. Without further ado…

Behold, Captain Redbeard’s newly renovated Rock Island Refuge. 31 years have passed since the famous menace of the Brick Seas took over this rocky isle. Now he and his crew have a place to relax and party in between plundering stints on the Barracuda. A second cannon and weapons cache have been added to defend against the pesky Bluecoats. The dock has been expanded and crane upgraded. Some secrets still remain though. Let’s see what the Island looks like in 2023.

Rock Island Refuge in 2023

So what does it look like in the modern age?

Here’s the overview

We arrive by raft just like in the 1991 set but get serenaded as we approach the docks

What’s that over in the fresh produce department?

An old 4-legged monkey has gone bananas!

Captain Redbeard prides his armoury for those occasions when uninvited guests visit

Redbeard now hosts dinner parties

The crew needs rum to motivate them for their next mission…
they can’t wait to start imbibing with Redbeard!

YARR HARR! Cheers me hearties!

Rum and toucan is a superb combination for dinner…

And here is the toucan rookery to ensure future roasts

A secret hidey hole for treasure chest

The oven dungeon

Play features from the original set have also been incorporated

An unexpected surprise! This version includes furry friends

Time to relax after a hard day drinking rum

The Imperial Armada didn’t quite escape with the treasure…

The Raft

A defining play feature of the official Rock Island Refuge set is the inclusion of a raft; an auxiliary build which could happily exist as a set in its own right.

In fact, it draws parallels to 6257 Castaway’s Raft released a couple of years earlier.

This version boasts a cloth sail and wood texture pontoons

Captain DarkNStormy has spared no detail and also applied a modern makeover to the raft.

The original raft seemed a lot more “flatter”

Although, perhaps it could be argued this upgrade has undermined some key features of the original, for example;

• the mast is far more prominent and positioned dead-centre on deck with a much larger sail
• the oar rudder is absent
• the deck is flat, whereas the original appears to be more precariously fashioned from whatever flotsam was available

Also included is a barrel of fish and a seagull to eat them

Despite these revisions, Captain DarkNStormy’s raft is a welcome inclusion.  He’s corrected some design flaws, because seriously; who wants sail around on a draft with an incomplete deck at risk of their foot getting caught? A potential tripping hazard that results in stumbling overboard – a safety violation has been averted!

Work In Progress…

CaptainDarkNStory intermittently teased members of the Classic Pirates Facebook Group with progress images as the build gradually came together.

The main structure of the build is done…

What will be inside?

A little hidey hole for the gold

A Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without the crew!

Almost done… just need to build that great big whopping crane

And the crane receives a significant upgrade – now they can haul fresh pineapples!

All built – but the refuge looks a little empty… the crew has yet to arrive…

The Original 6273 Rock Island Refuge

6273 Rock Island Refuge was released in 1991 and included 381 pieces at a retail price of US$66, or approximately US$149 in 2023 when adjusted for inflation.

To obtain a brand new copy of this set today, you’ll have to shell out a whopping US$1,500 on markets like eBay…

The original Rock Island Refuge

Known as “Port Jamaica” in some waters, the original set was built upon a more verdant version of the ramped based plate that was introduced with 6278 Elorado Fortress.

Rock Island Refuge supplanted 6270 Forbidden Island as the Pirates dominant stronghold, with it’s more robust structure containing almost 200 more parts.

The raft again

All the staples of its predecessor are present; the jungle hideout comprised of black castle walls, rope bridges, ratlines, palm leave and barred dungeon. Along with mandatory piratical accessories which include; two printed Jolly Roger flags, both large and small, a treasure chest, barrel, flaming torches, cannon and treasure map.  Not mention the returning fauna; shark, monkey and parrot.

Yer can buy it used on eBay too

Being more grandiose than Forbidden Island, further innovation was required.  Aside from the base plate amplifying the fornication’s dominance, Rock Island Refuge offers a crane with rope to hoist cargo from the dock, a grated hold to store that precious cargo, a sizeable raft, and a piece exclusive to the set: a blue striped fabric sail.

Or just the buy minifigures

A crew of five pirate minifigures are stationed at the refuge, including Captain Redbeard and his usual cohorts, albeit colour-swapped slightly, and adorned with flintlock pistols, muskets and cutlasses.  Two blue coat Soldier minifgures make a daring attack on the docks, the commander charges forth with sabre drawn, although the pirates seemingly haven’t noticed.

Return of the Classic Pirates Contest?

The Return of the Classic Pirates Contest was building contest hosted by Eurobricks and Classic-Pirates.com between June and September, 2023.  Entrants were task with the challenge of developing new LEGO Pirate set concepts, or modernizing classic sets in the style of the classic 80s and 90s sets, or post-2020 modern sets like 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay.

The building entries were divided between a Main Building Category and a Mini Set Category, while a third category, the Creative Critic, was tailored towards literacy based participation.

Eldorado Fortresses were on offer as prizes

Fabulous prizes were on offer, including two 10320 Eldorado Fortresses worth 215€ each.

Many fantastic entries were submitted and the Classic Pirates would loved to have awarded more prizes, but for this contest we were limited to a maximum of 5 winners. So unfortunately, great entries like CaptainDarkNStormy’s Rock Island Refuge only receive an honourable mention and our utmost respect for taking the time to participate!

About the Builder…

CaptainDarkNStormy (Chris Boyd) is one of those xennials who collected the first wave of classic LEGO Pirate sets back in 1989. As a teenager during the 90s he succumbed to his Dark Age, which persisted well into his adulthood. Fortunately for the LEGO Pirates fan base, his mother spared all his old sets for when he emerged in AFOL-dom during 2020.

In the 2020′s he’s a frequent contributor to the LEGO Pirates Forum and specializes in revitalizing Classic Pirates sets. Additionally, he contributes his spare time as a moderator for the Classic Pirates Facebook group which the Classic Pirates thank him for very much!

Dive into his Flickr stream and Instagram profile for the latest updates on his new builds, and if you’d like to create them yerself, he’s made some of his designs available on ReBrickable.

What Do Yer Think?

Has CaptainDarkNStormy built a worthy update to Rock Island Refuge?  Or could it be improved upon?  If you were remaking the set, what would you have done differently?

Just image… if this were an officially released LEGO set…

Do you think this entry should have a won a prize in the Return of the Classic Pirates Contest? Maybe even first prize?

Now, let’s analyze these important matters in the LEGO Pirates Forum and Classic Pirates Facebook Group.