Ever since the release of the LEGO Ideas Pirates of Barracuda Bay in 2020, LEGO Pirates fans around the world have been living and breathing the most notorious lie ever conceived by the human mind, the lie about Captain Redbeard current whereabouts.
Who is the mastermind behind this treachery we do not know, it may be the doing of the Captain himself. Either way it’s irrelevant now as the jig is up. Captain Redbeard is not helplessly stranded in his shipwreck on some unknown island in the Caribbean. NO! Cincinnati spotted him living comfortably in his cozy villa named conveniently The Readbeard’s House, somewhere along the beautiful rocky coastline of west Italy.
If me hears ‘Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest’ once more ye’ll be learning to play with peg-legs! Play us a theme song from Monkey Island! Arrr!
Cincinnati writes:
I want to present my MOC – The Captain Redbeard’s house, located on the Skull Island. It is a remake of the famous LEGO 6279 Skull Island set, where my idea was to grow the three levels on the original set, keeping some elements such as the skull carved in the rock, the pier for accessing the building, the secret passage in the back, the trap door on the upper floor for accessing into the cave, the palm on the left side and the revolving crane on top.
The difference between the final product and the approved 10K idea for the year 1995
And speaking about retaining some of the original elements, for the untrained eye the difference is almost nonexistent, this creation is everything else than a ‘remake’ of the original set as our beloved Governor pompously remarked “It’s a complete re-envisioning of the original idea!” Don’t you agree?
The grand tour around the manor
To improve playability, and since this is a Pirate-themed set where we want nothing but playability and not some dust collecting unplayable LEGO Ideas set, the building consists of three levels in nowadays popular modular fashion. But wait! That’s not all. At the same time the whole building can be symmetrically opened in two vertical parts. How ingenious is that?
Any aspiring MOC designer can build in modular style, nothing breathtaking here, except the attention to details on the rock, the walls, the door, the cabin, the fence, the palm… but leaving all that aside, any amateur could build three levels of extraordinary good looking house
But here we see the difference between the amateur builder and the real professional. How cool is that! Just imagine mental power and foresight needed to build this. Amazing!
Second level of the manor
We shall continue our tour as a main guest (an Imperail guard disguised as a wench) coming for a Redbeard’s birthday tea rum party.
A woman or a man in disguise, it’s hard to remain unimpressed by the level of details of the exterior
Just look at the woodwork, the daring use of various colors, how it all blends in. If this is the exterior one can only guess what wonders are in store for us inside
Behind the wooden door we enter the second level of the Redbeard’s house. This is the main level of which most (if not all) was carved into the rock. We have everything what a good Captain needs: the hall, bedroom, kitchen and even the bathroom.
Here we see the overview of the second (main) level of the manor all carved into the rock
Wait what, a bathroom? A bathroom and the Captain with a hook!?
Not so long ago a rumor about the true nature of Captain Hook demise started a big trouble at the ‘Three Cannon Balls’ tavern. Allegedly, dear old Captain Hook found himself in great need to take a shit perform an act of excretion, and by the coincidence he also owned a luxurious bathroom (yes yes, very un-pirating we know). In any case, the rumor has it when he successfully took a shit removed his bowels, he was so much relived, almost in the state of nirvana thinking about nothing really, that he took the paper with the wrong hand.
A cheap lie or unbelievable truth, it’s no way to go for any man, yet alone Captain. So dear Pirate fans remember, no hooks in toilets!
Is that a tile poster with Captain Redbeard? Where? There, behind the pillar! Can you guess the set it comes from
Not only do the Italians design most beautiful cars, suits, shoes and pretty much everything else, but here we also see Cincinnati’s crafty furniture design. It must have cost Redbeard a fortune to get this made, but on the other hook, he is the person with a golden purse
Third level of the manor
After the extravagant party, and some good night sleep, breakfast is served up on the third level of the manor which can be accessed via outside ladder for sober guests, or by the crane for the drunken pirates. The third level also contains a small penthouse inhabited by the rest of the Redbeard’s crew.
Here we see yet again stunning use of colors and tiles. Mind you, this picture is the real physical set not a digital render
The third level contains everything a house pirate needs, a terrace with a view, a T-bone steak on a grill, a cannon for fending off those vegans and other grass lovers, a crane for hauling new supplies of red meat and rum, and a nice bunk bed
Remember how house can be easily split in two vertical halves to maximize playability? Here we see the right section of the second and the third floor
The left section of Redbeard’s house with a dangerous toilet and a drunken pirate wasting away a beautiful day in bed. If only he had a mother to receive some proper scolding
More of the Italian furniture design on the third level (ignore the cannon)
Hidden first level of the manor
At one point of the evening Captain Redbeard somehow got a whim of our poor disguise of an Imperail soldier trying to pass as a wench, and decided it’s time to split before other Imperials come barging in through door and windows. In pursuit we shall explore the hidden level of Redbeard’s house, the cave with the secret entrance and me gold.
The ground level of Redbeard’s house is a large cave with a rock that hides the stolen treasures and a secret exit at the back of the cave. Unlike the original set, the skull remains immovable
Here we see the secret trap door from the first level and the ladder leading down into the cave. Not so much spectacular entrance like the Batman would have in the Wayne manor, but good enough for our Captain in heat
Not only is this whole level hidden from the Imperials prying eyes, but also inside the secret cave there is another super-secret compartment just below the huge rock where gold is hidden. Let’s talk about a paranoia for a moment…
And so our sly old Captain escapes the hand of the law (with the gold) once again through the secret ‘sliding’ exit and sails into the sunset to plunder and fight another day
General information
- Parts: 5800 parts
- Dimensions: Width/Length 32x32cm (12.5×12.5″) | Height 35cm (13.8″) with the flag
Time consumed
- Digital design: approx. a month in BrickLink Studio 2.0
- Real build: 20 hours over the course of 5 days
Who was is Captain Redbeard?
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the most famous pirate captain of them all?
Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow, Long John Silver, Blackbeard, LeChuck, Bartholomew Roberts , One-Eyed Willy, Dread Pirate Roberts Westley, Captain Blood, Edward Kenway, or Guybrush Threepwood – a mighty pirate?
All good guesses, but unfortunately all wrong! So who was Captain Redbeard whose long shadow towers all over these pirate giants?
A partial answer can be found in LEGO naval library. Here is an excerpt from the book Pirates of Barracuda Bay
Captain Redbeard was once captain of the great ship Black Seas Barracuda. An infamous pirate. Redbeard and his crew sailed the seas from Rock Island Regfuge in search of treasures stolen by the mighty Imperials. Feared by his enemies and admired by his friends, Redbeard was a legend among all sea-faring folk. A pirate pioneer, Redbeard paved the way for the pirates who came after him. It was said that Long John Silver stoli his wodden leg idea, Captain Hook copied his missing hand and Blackbeard was inspired by his lustorus beard.
Yet this tells us nothing relevant, but luckily the LEGO Pirates forum member TalonCard provides us with the first Un-Arr-thorized biography of a LEGO Pirate: Captain Redbeard. On a side note, this motion picture received a golden parrot award for the best documentary at annual Tortuga film festival. Congrats TalonCard. So sit back, kick off your shoes (or peg-leg), and take a roller-coaster ride through life of one of the most exciting personas in fictional history of mankind.
About the Builder…
A long time reader and first time contributor, Cincinnati emerged from the Davy Jones locker and took out the LEGO Pirates MOCs subforum by the storm. He is nowhere to be found on popular social networks as he fancies himself ‘vintage’, but that has not stopped him from setting up a YouTube channel only to showcase his prize MOC. (UPDATE: and now Instagram)
For building instructions you can visit his ReBrickable profile here, or check out his other image work on his Brickshelf account.
Regarding the theme of his future project we know nothing as he refused to give up any clue during our regular torture Q&A session down in the dungeon. One piece of information did manage to escape him as he ran for the door, we know his favorite theme is and always will be LEGO Friends ahem, LEGO Pirates.
Before we part our ways you should know that there is new discussion brewing inside the LEGO Pirates forum ‘Is Governor Broadside actually Admiral Woodhouse, a turncoat in disguise?’ Exciting isn’t it? No? You don’t care about Imperial guard or Soldiers; you are here only for Pirates. In that case click on the big red shiny button bellow and give us your two pieces of eight about MOC The Redbeard’s House.
