Why the Pirate Princess and the Governor's Daughter?

Until relatively recently, Lego was rather restricted in how they told the stories of their mini-figs. There were limitations in how the fantasy that developed around each set at the workshop made it into homes across the world and the imagination of children and adults. To portray the mini-figs, Lego would have to include each description through the instructions, only available through purchasing the set. However, that has all changed with the explosion of the internet and information accessibility. Lego has willingly jumped on board with their website, not only advertising and selling their sets around the world but also selling the stories of their mini-figs and bricks. It has given Lego yet another avenue to provide the stories associated with the humble brick to people all over the world, regardless of whether that set had been purchased or not.

Pirates and accessories - what do they fight with?

Pirate themed sets were the first to feature LEGO versions of firearms. In addition to firearms, Pirate sets also included a large number of other accessories like treasure maps, swords, shovels, axes, hats of all varieties, backpacks. Most commonly, imperials and pirates held cutlasses, pistols or muskets whilst islanders tended to have bow and arrows, spears and shields.[i]

For the 284 male and female mini-figs in the Pirate Lego set I analysed, there is a grand total of 669 accessories held or worn by a mini-fig in either the instruction manual or on the set box. However, the number of accessories doesn’t end there. In a number of sets there is a number of accessories sitting next to a mini-fig as they row a boat or eat food. In some cases the accessories that belong to a captured imperial or pirate are propped against the cell. I have excluded these accessories due to the difficultly in accurately attributing the accessory to a mini-fig.

So who are the Pirates?

Arrrrrr Pirates was the fourth Lego theme released, with sets actively produced between 1989 and 1997. However, similar to my own Lego hiatus, the Pirates eventually returned to the toyshop shelves in 2009 with rereleases of old sets combining the Pirates style with newer Lego elements including upgraded mini-fig facial expressions. 2015 saw Pirates relaunched with 6 new sets building on the well-known Pirates style and storyline with new building techniques and prints.[i]