“Tapu Island” by Marooned Marin

Marooned Marin is both a masterful craftsman and an accomplished wordsmith.

First composing his designs digitally and then later constructing them using physical LEGO parts; followed by transmogrifying them into beautiful comics to deliver the essential backstory of his creations.

So it’s no surprise these well honed skills seized the number position in the Large Building Category of the Infamous Steve Contest.

“Tapu Island“, a modular Indigo Islander stronghold, complete with barbecue, welcomes the arrival of everyone’s favorite merchant, Steve.

Let’s discover the true meaning behind this island…

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Marooned Marin writes:

I was re-reading the classic Robinson Crusoe some months ago and was drawn to the idea of somehow turning that story into a set. When Infamous Steve contest came along, I immediately knew what my large build was going to be.

The modular section approach came from the new Eldorado Fortress. I quite liked that idea in that set, however I found the inner (closed) section was not used fully. The whole set was orientated more on the exterior. On my part I tried to squeeze as much as possible within the island.

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The Physical Build

Since Marin has only provided us with a couple of photos of the real deal, let’s use those as an overview of the build…

Specifications

• Parts: 1867 parts (including minifigures, monkey and shark)
• Dimensions: Width: 34cm / 13.4″ | Length: 40cm / 15.75″ | Height: 17.8cm / 7″
• Weight: 1,300 grams / 45oz
• Difficulty: Moderate build (tested on one +11 years old)
• Type of set: For display & play

Also note that the Tapu Island is intended to use Islanders minifigures; but due to lack of such minifigs in his collection, Marin borrowed comparable substitutes from the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.

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Inspiration

Marin turned to classic literature for inspiration…

Marooned Marin continues:

While designing the island my mind kept returning to the original story of Robinson Crusoe. What if Steve, like Crusoe, got shipwrecked on a cannibal island, but with the twist, the cursed cannibal island from which he cannot escape? Or maybe he can?

We start with the first two chapters of the story, already published inside the King’s Merchant raft, a small vessel loosely tied to this build. I plan to post the remaining chapters daily, one chapter per day.

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The Digital Build

Now let’s explore the version created in BrickLink’s Stud.io which brings the build closer to Marin’s original vision.

Let’s take the outrigger for a spin!

Now let’s take the island for a spin!

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The Infamous Steve Contest

Marooned Marin originally built Tapu Island as an entry for the Large Building Category of the Infamous Steve Contest, held during mid 2024.

The Infamous Steve Contest

The objective was to build a MOC which continued the story of the rarest LEGO Pirate minifigure, known to fans as Steve.

Voters were in awe of Marin’s high presentation standards and their love reflected in the Voting Results enabling him to win First Place…

The 215€ prize enabled him to claim 21350 Jaws and 10328 Bouquet of Roses as his preferred Prize.

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Comic Backstory

Is this insanity or passion for the craft? Marin has always been dedicated to sailing that extra mile to provide depth to his creations.

And this depth is explored in generously long, superbly presented backstories.

Tapu Island‘s backstory builds upon prologue depicted in The Kings Merchant, Marin’s Small Building Category entry, which also won first place in that category.

So this comic explains how Steve reached Tapu Island, the events which transpired post arrival, and why the BrickLink Designer version be different.

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BrickLink Designer Program Version

So yer’ve seen the original build, complete with Indigo Islander inhabitants, but would you consider buying Tapu Island if it were available as an official LEGO set?

“Tapu Island” by Marooned Marin [BrickLink Edition]

During recent times, Marin has submitted a modified version of Tapu Island to the BrickLink Designer Program.

Due to lack of Islander parts in the BrickLink palette there have be some creative substitutions, but the heart of the build remains in tact.

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About the Builder…

Marooned Marin is based in Dubrovnik, Croatia with stunning views of the coast and a gigantic fortress.

If you’d like to connect with Marin, follow him on Instagram and you’ll be treated to beautiful photography of his recent builds, plus a Work In Progress images so you may gaze upon what’s sailing over the horizon. Or if you prefer larger the imagery, follow him on Flickr.

Build! Build!  Build!

And if yer like what you see, perhaps you’re tempted to build these creations for yerself.

Building instructions for many of Marin’s creations are available on ReBrickable, so you can steal learn his building valuable building techniques to incorporate into yer own MOCs.

Blog! Blog! Blog!

Despite English not being his primary language (that’s Croatian), he’s contributed many fine Blog Posts to Classic-Pirates.com.

So if you’ve ever aspired to write about beautiful LEGO Pirate builds, but felt that yer English written skills are not up to scratch, Marin has well and truly demonstrated that is not a limitation to prevent yer from blogging!

Give it a go – yer might surprise yerself!

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What Do Yer Think?

How does this Tapu Island compare to the BrickLink Designer Program version?

And if it got the nod from the BrickLink Designer Team, would you buy one if it were available for pre-order?

Or, do yer wish to impart useful feedback to help Marin shape the design further?

Share yer thoughts in the LEGO Pirates Forum – Marin would love to read from yer!