Pirates!!!!!!!!!! Actually this one should say Imperials!!!!!!!!!!! First time we’ve had new Imperial Soldier minifigures in a while. This set is a re-make of #6726-1 from 1989. It is #10320-1: Eldorado Fortress. It contains 2,509 pieces and retails for $214.99 in the US. This works out to $0.086 per piece which isn’t too bad. The release date in the US was 4 July 2023 and it’s still available at the time of this post.
The box is in the old school style of boxes similar to #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay and #10305-1: Lion Knight’s Castle. The front has the yellow stripe in the upper left with the set name. and then a full picture of the set. The back has various scenes of the build with a map background.
Here are a few pictures on the sides of the box. One shows all of the minifigures and the monkey. Another shows the set and how it is modular so you can connect the pieces in different ways to change around the fortress.
The set contains 10 sets of numbered parts bags with most numbers having more than one bag. There is an unnumbered bag with some larger plates. You also get the instructions in a paperboard envelope and an envelope with the sails. I had one sail with a slight fold in it, but I was able to undo the fold without any issues. They showed up in good condition otherwise.
There are four instruction booklets in this set. The first booklet contains some information about the set to include history of the Pirates line and the old set and how some of the previous sets inspired this set.
The first bag builds a row boat for the pirates and includes to pirate minifigures. One minifigure is a female and the other is a male. You also build a small ship. This ship is modeled after the ship from #6277-1: Imperial Trading Post that was released in 1992. The ship comes with a female officer figure. The tricorne hat has long hair attached to help show it’s a female.
Bags two and three start the base of the first section of the fortress. Unlike the original version which had a large baseplate to build on, this set connects numerous plates as a base and then you build on top. This does mean you connect a lot of dark grey pieces to get the side of the fortress and its textures, but you also get the sea color and land colors separated versus the single colored base plate. The second bag builds a ramp which was just part of the printed baseplate on the original set. I like how this was done to achieve the angle and to capture the look of cobblestones.
I failed to get a picture after the fourth bag, but bag five wraps up this section of the build. You add a palm tree, an entryway with doors, a stand for a cannon on the upper level, an office for the governor, and you get a large Imperials flag. There’s also another section that is lower with another cannon that can be rotated. Behind the walls is a small stove and clips to hang numerous extra weapons.
The set has a bunch of hidden sections to include a small container with a printed 1x2 tile letter piece and a barrel with coins in it. The coins are 1x1 round printed tiles versus the old gold coins LEGO used to produce (which were much cooler in my opinion).
The sixth bag adds another section. This one is also three stories. The lower level is a cave section with wine barrels above an empty treasure chest. The tapped barrel leaked some with the small 1x1 tile that is partially rounded to be the “drop” on the floor. The next level contains a small space where another barrel is stored (empty), and sack of loot, and a broom. There’s a ladder here that goes up to another cannon. There is also a parrot included in this section.
The front of this section contains two palm trees and a small sandy beach.
This bag came with a soldier. It’s a female soldier with a rifle and back pack of gear.
The seventh bag builds a dock section. The dock has four supports that can then be connected to the rock section which can connect to other parts of the fortress. The top of the dock has a small table with seats. The table has a few bowls, cups, a glass bottle, and a lamp. Built into the dock is also a trap door. There is a Technic built mechanism that lets you slide a piece over and the trap door opens up with gravity. Two minifigures come in this section. One is another female officer. She doesn’t have a weapon, but there are plenty of others to give her in the set. The other is a male soldier. He is similar to the last one only he has a mustache. Lastly, you get a small monkey in this set. I liked the original ones from back in the day with the minifigure hands, but this one works too.
The eighth bag builds another section. This one is most notable for the crane on top. The crane section spins around 360 degrees and can raise and lower the cargo. This section of the build comes with a chest with pistols. The instructions say to put two pistols in, but my set came with three pistols so I included them all. There’s a ladder up to the top level with the crane, but I’m not sure how a minifigure can get to this crane given it’s size.
The mid level of this section has a walkway and storage area with another empty barrel, a bag of loot, and some extra cannon shells (1x1 round bricks). Below this level is a tunnel section with water flowing through.
The ninth bag starts the last section of the fortress. You build the rock section over water with some hidden compartments. There is a trap door over a section with some gold bars (1x2 tiles) and a sack of loot. There is also a pathway with a pirate skeleton. Not sure how he got stuck in there or when. Also there is another trap door which ends up being a trap door in the prison cell to escape.
The last bag adds the top section to the ninth bag. This includes a prison cell with some straw on the floor. There are also a few windows with a cool roofing technique using some rounded parts. There is a ladder on the jail cell to allow soldiers to climb up above the cell.
Here are the minifigures minus the skeleton (which I forgot to take out of the build for the picture). You get three soldiers (two male, one female), two female officers, a male governor minifigure, and two pirates (one male, one female). Along with the skeleton, monkey, and parrot, there are a decent number of characters in this set. For comparison, #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay had eight pirate minifigures and two skeletons. This set has eight minifigures and one skeleton.
Here’s the final set arranged how I decided to arrange it. I like the modular option for this set where you can connect it how you want or split it apart as desired. It also allows you to add on other sections as you want since there are numerous openings to expand. I had a few Pirates and Imperials sets back in the day and it was fun to see these return. The price point is fairly reasonable. I would have preferred $200, but I understand LEGO is adjusting for inflation I recommend this one to adults looking to relive their childhood or to kids interested in playing with LEGO Pirates as there are a lot of great play features. Look for opportunities to pick this one up with double VIP points or interesting GWPs.
Happy building!
