“Tapu Island” by Marooned Marin [BrickLink Edition]

BrickLink Designer Program Series 6 has entered its Crowd Support phase so we hope you’ve already pledged yer support.

In other words, voted for ALL the pirate-themed submissions!

But maybe yer don’t have time to support every single one of them, so the Classic Pirates would like to bring one particular submission to your attention.

“Tapu Island” by Marooned Marin, which also happens to be the first place winner of the 2024 Infamous Steve Contest.

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Marooned Marin writes:

Welcome to Tapu Island!

After being rejected on LEGO Ideas, since Islander’s Island overlaps with prohibited Pirates Bay/Ship Island concept (although I’m not sure how in this case) I decided to give Tapu Island a run in the upcoming Bricklink Designer Program – Series 6.

Unlike LEGO Ideas, BDP-program comes with somewhat strict framework regarding the parts and minifigures used. In a nutshell, designers are allowed to use only parts and minifigures which are in production, or will be in the near future.

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BrickLink Designer Program Series 6 Version

With Open Submission for Series 6 commencing weeks after the conclusion of the Infamous Steve Contest, Marin decided to repurpose Tapu Island for a new audience.

But modifications were undertaken to comply with the BrickLink Designer Program’s requirements.

Marooned Marin continues:

In my case this means: no Islander minifigures, no Pirates minifigures, no cloth sails! Besides that I was required to replace some plates and bricks which do exists now but their production, in that particular colour, came to an end. For instance, wedge plate in medium azure I needed to change to regular square plate etc…

Not to go any deeper in that matter, you can read more about parts and BDP-series inside this blog-post on Classic-Pirates.com.

Marooned Marin continues:

Thanks to the modular approach, rearrange the sections in a different way and get two islands instead of one. Other ways of reconfiguration possible!

Discover the sacred altar, jail cell, and treasure, waterfall with the secret entrance to the hidden cave, two wannabe pirates and three cursed skeletons to inspire action-packed stories.

Changes For BrickLink

• The Islander outrigger canoe has been replaced with a the with plastic because cloth  isn’t available in the BrickLink Designer palette.
• Two two characters have been introduced, Lighthouse keeper Steve – the Infamous Steve’s great great grandson, and Willy (Lighthouse keeper Steve’s grandson).
• An additional 50 pages added to the comic detailing the newer version of the island and characters.
• The apparition has been transformed into a black skeleton but remains as the villain of the story.

Video Overview

2D images are never enough! Marin provides us with a full, 360 degree animation of the island.

And if yer unable to watch embedded videos, give it a play on YouTube.

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The Backstory

​​​​​​​​Having read the scary Pirate story, about the local “allegedly cursed” island, a grandpa and his grandson indulge in a harmless pirate role-play on the very same island – now turned into a “Pirate” tourist attraction. All the fun and play came to an end when a violent storm broke out and forced two wannabe pirates to take shelter in a dark and perilous island’s cave. Little did they know that the curse was not merely a kid’s bedtime story, but a real thing!

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Editorial Note

Now, in an ideal world, we would have published a blog post covering the original, contest version of Tapu Island first.

Unfortunately the schedule of the BrickLink Designer Program hasn’t aligned with the capacity of the Classic Pirates Blogging Team.

So we’ve publised the BrickLink version of Tapu Island ahead of the original contest version to ensure it coordinates with the Series 6 Crowd Support phase.

Not to worry!  A blog post covering the contest version is already in the pipeline.

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About the Builder…

Marooned Marin is based in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a town with old world charm and stunning coastal vistas which happen to include a gigantic fortress… or two.

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 imagery larger, follow him on Flickr, or rob browse his BrickSafe.

And if yer like watching things, subscribe to his YouTube Channel where yer will discover animated overviews of his most prestigious builds.

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What Do Yer Think?

Could yer see Tapu Island as part of yer LEGO Pirates collection?

Have Yer Voted?

You have until 18 October, 2024 to vote for as many submissions as yer please. So support all the pirate designs!

Aye, take advantage of this official opportunity to inform The LEGO Group you want more LEGO Pirate sets, in whatever form they be!

Then it’s off to the LEGO Pirates Forum to discuss Tapu Island and the other pirate submissions yer voted for…