Lego Rock Island Refuge - Pirates of the Caribbean (Lego 6273 Pirates: Rock Island Refuge)

Member Name: Jazzy09

Product:	Lego 6273 Pirates: Rock Island Refuge
Date:	20/06/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun for children and adults too

Disadvantages: Blue sail does not come with the rowing boat

Created by: Lego
Release date: 1991
Price: Same as the Barracuda Lego Ship, you cannot buy this from new you have to shop at places like E-Bay and Amazon to buy it second hand and even then its rare.

~Overview~

This was the very first Lego Island set that I owned as a young child and had been bought the Barracuda Lego set a couple of years earlier. This goes well with the pirate ship as you could sail your Lego ship towards the island and then play the typical role of invading the island or even just using it as a pirate base but still great fun when I was growing up (just like pirates of the caribean). The island was specifically designed for Lego pirates to come ashore and use it as their base. The island itself wasn't that big but it was a nice edition to my Lego collection. This was also a massive hit with Lego fans when it was first released and it is sad to see that you cannot but it new these days. The set was unique as it did include for the first time a female pirate which you don't normally get many of these.

~ Building Rock Island Refuge ~

I found this quite easy to build unlike the gigantic pirate ships and rarely needed assistance from my parents. The hardest part of building the island was adding the brown bridges to each Lego tower as it never used to quite fit in place (very tricky! Especially for those little fingers of mine!). Most of the Lego bricks were coloured black and made to look dirty and ragged just like those pirates. The island came with a big grey base with a few green graphics to give it the jungle look and had leaves which came out of the sides of some of the towers so it looked camouflaged (all very exciting!).

~What Lego pieces do you get ~

You get the base to build the Lego onto which when built looks quite impressive especially alongside the Barracuda ship. You get four pirates, two friendly soldiers, a parrot, a shark and a brown monkey. You also get a cannon which goes at the front of the island to protect your base. You get a treasure chest which is required for any type of pirate and you get a small winch that moves items around.

~ Other features on the island ~

*Captains Hideout*

This is a little alcove were you are supposed to place the pirate captain and here the captain will guard the treasure map which the good soldiers are after (that's what I thought anyway!).

*Cannons*

As mentioned previously there is one cannon which lies near the pirates treasure chest and is guarded by one of the pirates with a blue bandana. Every pirate base needs one of these and in my opinion it should have more as one cannon won't stop an army invading!

*Flags*

In this set you will find one large pirate flag which sits at the top of a tower on the pirate island and can be taken down in battle as it sits near a cross bridge and is reachable ( I know its not real but good fun!).

*Treasure Chests*

There is only one in the set and can be shut properly so stop anyone stealing any of it. If you go of the picture of the set it should lie near the shore but if I were you I wouldn't as I would hide it with the captain were it is safe but that's just my opinion.

*Extra Rowing Boat*

Now you do get a rowing boat which isn't for the pirates. It is for the boys in blue who are from Port Royal and are after capturing the treasure which the pirates have stolen and are ready to take on the Captain Redbeard.

*Weaponry*

In the set you will find guns and swords for both sides. You will find that there is enough for one pistol and one sword per mini figure in this set and can lead to some epic battles.

*The Pit & Cell*

You will find a pit which prisoners can be thrown down here and have thrown quite a few pirates down here in my youth. If you don't prefer to throw them down the pit then just lock them up, it is the easy way out but I prefer to throw them down the pit and make them pay.

*Sea Raft & Dock*

You also could use a raft to escape from the island which I always used to escape and fight another day. The port could be used to invade using the friendly ship or docking the pirate ship (the Barracuda).

~ Conclusion ~

This is a lovely addition to your Lego collection especially if you're a fan and collect these classic sets. If you looking for fun for your children this will entertain them for hours and will get them to use their brain to build and also to use their imaginations. For the price this was a bargain and was one of my all time favourite toys.

**Summary**

* Overall number of Lego pieces: 381
* Pirates: 4
* Friendly soldiers: 2
* 1 Shark
* 1 Monkey
* 1 Parrot
* 1 Red boat (no sail which it does show on the picture of the box)
* 1 Cannon

~ My Rating ~
4/5

Summary: This is a nice addtion you any Lego collection and is a nice pirate bay for storing pirates!