If you are somewhat a regular reader, or even an occasional visitor of the Classic-Pirates blog, you’ve probably caught wind of the most notorious pirate designer from Denmark, Niel Milan Pederesen ahem… the infamous Piraten, whom we’ve had a pleasure covering in the past with The Crown project, and The Casswell Point.
Today, we guide you through his magnificent fortress which has been raided by a band of vicious pirates during the Skærbæk Fan Weekend of 2022!
Contrary to your first impression, they are not cowardly running away, they are tactically retreating (with a great haste) to the safety of the open sea
Piraten writes:
Hi Pirates.
Made an update for the Fortress for the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend 2022 and finally… photos in proper quality!!!
Never heard of the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend? According to their website, it began back in 2005 when the LEGO® Group arranged a small shindig with some AFOLs. That event was called the LEGO Fan Weekend and over the years it’s blossomed into a fantastic event, until LEGO suddenly pulled out the plug…
This enraged three AFOLs who then decided to commandeer the organisation, and in 2015 the Skærbæk Fan Weekend was born. To this day, fans from all over the world make their pilgrimage to Skærbæk (Denmark) each year to share their brick passion, Piraten included.
The Fortress at Skærbæk 2022
Unlike Soldiers fortresses we’ve witnessed in the past, this one seems to lack the impregnable enclosure… perhaps this gave pirates the false impression of an easier target to plunder?
The parrot-eye view provides us the basic layout of the Fortress, and among other things, the cannons position and the weakest spot in the line of defence
Skirmish in the courtyard – between the two, our doubloons are on the pirate with a sharp cutlass
“Arrrr, rum or your life, you dirty bluecoat!”
Yar! Nothing better than to slash an unarmed opponent in the back while he runs for his life
Hey there’s Bo’Sun Will Cavendish! But wait, doesn’t he wear red pants and a red striped shirt?
The doors to the tower are guarded by one of those LOTR fans who yells at every given opportunity “You shall not pass!”
Oblivious to the ongoing slaughter in the courtyard, nothing can stop these well trained Imperial gunners to fire at will at the imaginary foe in the distance
What is this?? A redcoat inside the bluecoats’ fort and in possession of an important sealed envelope? Some foul play is obviously at hand
“Yer got worms in your peg leg and we need to amputate while we can. Bite hard, this will sting a little!”
See! There is always a chance to practice honest trade… but 20-or more- doubloons for only one carrot is a plain robbery
To maximise playability, and fuel our vivid imaginations, Piraten ingeniously left crucial parts of the build wide open for our prying eyes
The back of The Fortress reveals how awesome this build truly is. Observe how much playability it offers. Counting more than 8,000 parts, it’s much too gargantuan to be submitted to LEGO Ideas… but this did not stop Piraten from taking action!
The Original Fortress on LEGO Ideas (Again!)
During 2020, Piraten submitted his first version of The Fortress to LEGO Ideas. This version was considerably smaller than with a mere 3,000 pieces to meet LEGO Ideas submission requirements and sporting a less colorful palette.
Piraten continues:
The background for this fortress is my childhood love for the LEGO Pirates Series. After I was one of two to build a huge pirate display at Skærbæk Fan Weekend 2019, I felt it was time to take on my Lego Ideas project again.
I could feel the love for the pirate theme from the LEGO community for real when I met people in Skærbæk. Also online on Facebook I could feel the hunger for more sets/mocs/builds/dioramas from the Caribbean Sea. So I went home and started on the project again.
Please support and let’s do this again.
On the prestigious 10,000 supporter milestone on LEGO Ideas and advanced his Fortress (version 1.0) project to the review phase, at which point he was infuriatingly rejected! This busted the barnacles of many of his loyal fans who howled and begged him to re-submit this awesome build for another round. Some claim a series of violent riots erupted across Europe until he finally agreed.
And agree he did, for The Fortress Version 1 is back! Back on LEGO Ideas for you to support! (a second time) So set a direct course to LEGO Ideas project page and let’s Get The Fortress all the way to 10K… again!
SUPPORT this submission (AGAIN) on LEGO Ideas
About the Builder…
Piraten (Brian Steffensen Vestergaard) is a builder who marvels in pirate themed creations and has achieved 10,000 supporters for TWO different pirate themed LEGO Ideas projects. Are ye impressed? He also appeared on LEGO Masters 2022 (Denmark) where he reached the semifinal! If you are not familiar with his brilliance you can find him on various platforms upon he regularly shares awesome pirate ideas:
If ye be seeking well preserved classic pirate sets, visit the Piraten Shop on BrickLink and claim buy the sets you’ve always desired, but never had… He ships worldwide – but not in a pirate ship!
As a member of the LEGO Ideas rejected 10K Club, he underwent a torture session an interview and answered many interesting questions regarding his creative outlet.
Piraten (on the right) with… well, if you don’t know who Mr. Niel Milan Pedersen is, or why he deserves a giant statue somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean, ye have homework to do laddie!
What Do You Think?
Which one do you like better, the original Fortress or The Fortress Version 2.0? Do you think Governor Broadside would approve either of them? Do you think Piraten should forget all about LEGO Ideas and instead offer his brilliant designs on Rebrickable? Would you buy the instructions if they were available?
Do tell… it’s as easy as clicking the shiny red button below, or following this link to the LEGO Pirates forum!
