Set sail on the LEGO® Icons Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship. Savvy?

For over twenty years, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has been providing oceanic adventures, supernatural thrills and high-seas hijinks.

Now, as the new LEGO® Icons Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship sails into view, we’re ready to embark on another fantastic building voyage. If you’re a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean or are looking for a gift for someone, then your compass is sure to point straight to this set.

We’d love you to check it out, but just in case you’re disinclined to acquiesce to our request, we spoke with Senior Master Model Designer Michael Psiaki to find out more.

Now, bring me that horizon

“I saw the original movie in the cinema when I was in high school and was completely mesmerized,” Michael says. “I very quickly tried to build my own LEGO brick version of a pirate ship inspired by the movie!”

Little did he know that many years later, he would be tasked with doing the very same thing… only this time for real!

And what a set he and his team have created. Never did a finer ship sail in all the seven seas.

The legendary ghost galleon has soaring masts, torn black sails and rotating dials that deploy the port or starboard cannons. You can turn the ship’s wheel to steer the rudder or open the deck to reveal the captain’s quarters with furnishings, candlesticks and an apple, should the captain feel the need to recharge.

The details continue with the ship’s bow, decorated with a minifigure to represent the dove-holding angel figurehead from the movies. There’s a detachable rowboat and even two ways to display, either on the stand for the dynamic angle, or display it submerged by unclipping the bottom of the hull.

The details continue with the ship’s bow, decorated with a minifigure to represent the dove-holding angel figurehead from the movies. There’s a detachable rowboat and even two ways to display, either on the stand for the dynamic angle, or display it submerged by unclipping the bottom of the hull.

At 2,861 pieces (LEGO bricks that is, not pieces of eight), it’ll be a mighty display set and a perfect piece of pirate treasure for any home.

However, it wasn’t easy: in fact, while designing the model, Michael faced numerous challenges that a real ship designer would likely have encountered.

“The hardest parts of designing a ship are the streamlined shape of the hull and the details of the masts and rigging of the ship,” he says.

So, how do you solve those challenges?

“Trying to hide the straight edges of LEGO bricks is no small task!” he says. “For the hull, there is a lot of trickery going on to make the ship appear to have the correct shapes, and there are a few angled sections, especially in the stern, that come together to form cohesive ship shapes. Whenever I am making compound geometric combinations like this, I spend a lot of time with trial and error. I build 10 or 15 versions of an idea until I land on the right one.”

‘Ello, poppet!

Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t all about ships and treasure, though; it’s also about the wild cast of characters that call the world home. And the crew of this new set has some of the best (or maybe that should be worst?) on all the seven seas.

There are eight iconic movie minifigures, including Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Gibbs, Cotton, Anamaria, Marty, Elizabeth Swann and Hector Barbossa. Each one is outfitted just like in the movie.

“The lead graphic designer for this project, Crystal, did a great job with the figures!” says Michael. “We got given lots of great references from Disney to work with. We wanted to capture a great cross-section of the cast from the first movie, so we started with Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, and from there we focused on the crew of the ship as we see them in the very final scene of the movie, where the restored ship and crew return to Port Royal to rescue Jack Sparrow. But, of course, we couldn’t resist also including Will and Elizabeth!”

Not all treasure’s silver and gold, mate

Hard to believe it’s been over twenty years since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movies hit the screens and transported people around the world to its thrilling watery world. Michael’s fascination for one particular part of the series has never been stronger.

“I was always enamored by the ships in the series,” says Michael. “The elegant hull, the opulent superstructure, the captain’s cabin, the functionality of the cannon and steering complete with the masts, sails and details of the rigging. Together, they create such a wonderful building experience and such a mesmerizing model that I just can’t stop wanting more of!”

Now, he’s happy to share his treasure with all of us. If you’ve been waiting for the opportune moment to get a new set… this is it.