PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Martin Milner on August 23, 2010, 04:28:59
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(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/016.jpg)
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/013.jpg)
Currently available online and in store from TRU at $19.99, the 5901 Ghost ship is a variation on the pirate 4444 ship that appeared last year. There's slightly less in the 5901 set, and 4444 currently retails a couple of dollars higher.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/021.jpg)
Like 4444 the ship comes with a crew of two, both new klicky designs, and one cannon, but has sufficient hand and foot holds to carry seven: four secured by footholds on the deck, one holding the tiller (so he doesn't need a foothold), one holding onto the bottom handhold on the mast, and one at the crosstrees (near the top of the mast) as a lookout.
There are also three different places to secure the cannon, so it would be possible to carry three in total, though this would cover two of the crew securing points (front lookout and bottom of the mast).
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/025.jpg)
Side by side the 4444 behind has a lighter-color deck with a dark grey hull. The 5901 has a reddish-brown hull, the deck being the same shade dark grey as the 4444, as close as I can tell.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/022.jpg)
The two ghost klickies have the new "phantom" style faces, one with an eyepatch. The long coat prevents the righthand klicky from bending his legs fully, but no big loss as he'd be standing anyway. The coat is split at the back so he can still ride a horse.
The second klicky has a rusty heavy bladed sword/cleaver for his belt, but curiously a standard silver cutlass for his back scabbard. I'm not sure why the didn't go with the 30 29 4900 rusty saber for his second weapon.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/023.jpg)
The ship fittings are the same gold/brass as the original 4444. It would have been a nice touch to produce these in silver, which to me seems more ghostly and spooky, or in a rusty brown to suggest decay and neglect. The tiller matches the decking, and is not the same color as shown on the box.
The sail is ragged and dark grey, but the pirate flag is the same as on 4444. An even more delapidated version would have been an improvement, but probably not worth the cost of a producing a new part.
Like 4444, the deck can be lifted to provide a small storage space behind the mast and at the prow, not big enough for a klicky, but big enough to store pieces like weapons and projectiles. There is a small expanded polystyrene float in the stern, which is presumably enough to save the ship if it capsizes.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/5901%20Ghost%20Ship/017.jpg)
Overall I think this set is marvellous value for $20, and even if you don't like the Ghost pirates the ship parts now permit four combinations of deck/hull for this design. I think this ship is a very good size for travel & play, being more portable than the bigger ships.
I consider the 4444 a cutter, a small but fully seaworthy vessel with fore-and-aft rigging and steered with a tiller, ideal for shallow waters, coastal defense, smuggling and the customs service. In "Flying Colours" Captain Hornblower captures and sails a cutter, and we learn that it carries ten guns (probably five each side) and has a small cabin and hold. As the bigger ships have been scaled down for playability and affordability, so this ship with the possibility of three cannons fits nicely into the line up. Hornblower's cutter was bought back by the Navy as a prize of war, for $4,000. As he had only two companions at the time of capture he earned $2,600 in prize money, a very handsome amount of money in those days.
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Thank you for this review and pictures Martin!!!
Wow great little ship! I have the 4444 and I would look forward to geeting my hands on one of these babies!!! Love the ghost pirates, interesting head-body combination, and the colour of the hull!!
Great deal for just $19.99!!!
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very nice review and thank you for the pictures.
I think this pirate ship is cooler than that in 4444, but the figures in 4444 instead look better, esepcially the captain with sideburn. :wave:
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Great review Martin. THe overcoat is great and I'd really like to get my hands on this at some point :-)
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Very nice review Martin! So its a bit more big than 4444, right?
Baden :wave:
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I really like your reviews Martin: well done!
Though is it an optical illusion or is this one bigger than the 4444?
I like the ship, but I am not crazy on the klickies.
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A great review Martin. I particularly liked the way you put both ships together. I have the 4444 and have now a good sense of the size and colour of the ghost version. I much prefer this too.
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Very nice review Martin! So its a bit more big than 4444, right?
Baden :wave:
I really like your reviews Martin: well done!
Though is it an optical illusion or is this one bigger than the 4444?
I like the ship, but I am not crazy on the klickies.
They are identical in size, and all fittings are interchangeable.
The one nearer the camera looks bigger because it's nearer the camera.
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Nice review, Martin.
Great little ship....I see it does not have any rigging though :hmm:
Thanks for posting,
Jimbo
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Like this, but does the sail seem a little small for it, or is it just the camera angle?
Love the klickies, especially the one with the coat - I should think this will be a must have for Junior.
Thanks for the great review Martin. :clap:
Elaine :)
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I rebuilt one of my 4444’s as a “Revenue Cutter” (in the US one of the prececessor agencies to the US Coast Guard was the Revenue Cutter Service) who’s main missions are smuggling and Search and Rescue, and the other as a fishing ketch.
Anyways… The basic concept is fine, but one thing I REALLY HATE about the entire series so far is the sails. I don’t mind the Dhow-style sails (the triangular type), but that they are tattered and ragged makes my insane- Completely nuts. If I get one of these, that first thing I’m doing is throwing the sails away. They’re worthless.
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A very nice review, Martin. I like the shots afloat.
Neither has a bowsprit it seems. Am I right?
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A very nice review, Martin. I like the shots afloat.
Neither has a bowsprit it seems. Am I right?
Yes curious...It seems it was designed to have one, as the 4444, but they never made one, did they?
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Thanks for the review and pics! Love this one. Maybe I'll be myself one, if it ever is available here.
I was wondering about the bowsprit too. The front end looks a bit unfinished now.
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Great review Martin. :)
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wonderful review martin, thank you very much. :wow:
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Nice review, Martin.
Great little ship....I see it does not have any rigging though :hmm:
Thanks for posting,
Jimbo
No rigging, but the 4444 only has three short pieces of rigging, one attached to the sail and two to secure the spar either to the left or the right. You could easily replace the spar ones, but the corner of the sail to which the 4444 rigging is attached is not present on this ragged sail.
Like this, but does the sail seem a little small for it, or is it just the camera angle?
Love the klickies, especially the one with the coat - I should think this will be a must have for Junior.
Thanks for the great review Martin. :clap:
Elaine :)
I agree the sail is a little small for the hull, but I think that's the case for most of the Playmobil ships. I fall back on the phrase "Plamobil represents, it does not recreate".
I rebuilt one of my 4444’s as a “Revenue Cutter” (in the US one of the prececessor agencies to the US Coast Guard was the Revenue Cutter Service) who’s main missions are smuggling and Search and Rescue, and the other as a fishing ketch.
Anyways… The basic concept is fine, but one thing I REALLY HATE about the entire series so far is the sails. I don’t mind the Dhow-style sails (the triangular type), but that they are tattered and ragged makes my insane- Completely nuts. If I get one of these, that first thing I’m doing is throwing the sails away. They’re worthless.
Those sound like great ideas, I'd love to see some pictures of your adaptions.
Agreed the ragged sail on 4444 is a pain.
Playmobil have started using ragged sails in all sorts of inappropriate places. No ship's captain would allow his sails to remain ragged for long after a battle, because a small hole soon rips to become a big split, and without intact sails you can't steer or move the ship and become easy pickings for any enemy. Bar and chainshot were specifically designed to be fired at the rigging, masts and sails, to disable a ship by destroying its motive power, rendering it a floating hulk which can be attacked from safe angle (i.e. where its guns won't bear) or left alone.
The only excue for ragged sails is lack of material to repair them, which should only occur on a raft.
I usually replace ragged-style sails with intact sails from similar material cut to size. Gordon sent me a bunch of suitable material which made the 5000 mile trip from the UK to Oregon for this purpose. You need something fabric but with a degree of stiffness to hold its shape.
I don't mind ragged sails on the ghost ships, as they move by spooky-power and don't need sails at all. ;D
Neither has a bowsprit it seems. Am I right?
Yup, no bowsprit. there's a hole there, but I think that's for putting a string through and towing it along. They may have plans for a bowsprit for a future version, but you'd want to adjust the sails to include a jib or there's no need for a bowsprit.
There are four so far unused attachment points on the outside of the hull, two before and two aft of the mast, and Playmobil may have plans to use these in a future set. They might be used as attachment points for standing rigging.
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Those sound like great ideas, I'd love to see some pictures of your adaptions.
Uh, ya, sure. I’ll get my camera and take some pics (and even send you a pm when they get up ;)).Agreed the ragged sail on 4444 is a pain.
Playmobil have started using ragged sails in all sorts of inappropriate places. No ship's captain would allow his sails to remain ragged for long after a battle, because a small hole soon rips to become a big split, and without intact sails you can't steer or move the ship and become easy pickings for any enemy. Bar and chainshot were specifically designed to be fired at the rigging, masts and sails, to disable a ship by destroying its motive power, rendering it a floating hulk which can be attacked from safe angle (i.e. where its guns won't bear) or left alone.
(!)VERY GOOD! Yes, chain shot was actually for rigging and sail, bar shot seems to have been experimental anti-mast round, but apparently was replaced by chain shot entirely somewhere between the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and French Revolutionary War (1789-1799).
But at any rate, any rent no matter how slight would at very least have been stitched shut as soon as the shooting (or more often wailing winds) stopped for exactly that reason. There’s even this book I have in my collection, “Arts Of The Sailor; Knotting, Splicing, and Ropework” by Hervey Garrett SMITH that gave a very simple how-to on repairing sails (so simple in fact, that a “land-lubber” could follow it). So it just perplexes me that they’d opt to create sails like that…The only excue for ragged sails is lack of material to repair them, which should only occur on a raft.
Too true.I usually replace ragged-style sails with intact sails from similar material cut to size. Gordon sent me a bunch of suitable material which made the 5000 mile trip from the UK to Oregon for this purpose. You need something fabric but with a degree of stiffness to hold its shape.
I’ve actually taken to making some of my sails myself, though since I’m doing so anyways I might as well make the sails I want…I don't mind ragged sails on the ghost ships, as they move by spooky-power and don't need sails at all. ;D
Oh… that, I had not considered…
Nah. I want real sails.
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I don't mind ragged sails on the ghost ships, as they move by spooky-power and don't need sails at all. ;D
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Thanks for the review, Martin! Nice pictures too. This looks like a good set, but I already have 4 4444s, so I'll probably pass on it.
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So it just perplexes me that they’d opt to create sails like that…
It is a toy. It looks cool. It is supposed to be a ghost ship. It is meant to be for kids.
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Wow I hope this set reaches Europe in the future! I would love to own that coat
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I have the 4444 version of this and was unexpectedly suprised at its size. The pics on the box made it appear to be more of a longboat than a ship. I too noticed it had potential to be more than one type of vessel. The four unused attatchment points on the sides of the ship may be oar pivot points as in some of the smaller rowboats/longboats. I too thought there might be an additional bowsprit to attach a jib sail, then rig it with a gaff behind, making it more of a dinghy.
I originally thought that having such a small craft with three attachment point for cannons was unfathomable, but after some research I realized this could pass as a 17th/18th century GUNSHIP, which actually carried three cannons, one facing forward at the bow, and two each on sliding rails facing port and starboard.
In either case, sails are easily replaceable with your own. Playmobil provides the basis, you provide the creativity and imagination to make it into something even better :)
I like this ship, and I really like the klickies. I wish I could just buy all the different ghost pirates seperately though without having to buy the entire sets to get the individual figures.
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Wow I hope this set reaches Europe in the future! I would love to own that coat
It's the same coat of the new Father Christmas ... I guess it's come to stay (for "Napoleonic" customizing need recognized by geobra B. ;D )
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It's a nice colour as a variation for the 4444. I hope I'll get one, even though I'm not a fan of ghost pirates either, and my own ships will never be spooky-powered! :P I like this dinghy :captain:
Nice review, and wonderful pictures as always, Martin! :wave:
Gus
:blackhair:
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Hi
Thanks for the well put together review :wow:. I am sure we will be putting a small fleet of these dead pirates to go with the larger ship & sea creatures . We will gladly use them for hunting down some of our merchant ships :evilplan: It will interesting to see if you can use say 5 of these sets and mix in all the klicky parts to come up with a diverse looking clan ?
Thanks again for the info, I might have overlooked it at TRU when I was there. I saw all the other ones you mentioned but this might have not been in our local store. $20 is a decent price but 4444 seemed to have more stuff like the rope w/flag and originally it was $20 also.
I guess if you collect long enough you will be like the old may saying how he remembers when petrol was .25¢/gallon (i need Richards smiley with the white beard and waving a cane, it is not one of Sylvia's new and improved selection so he is importing it from somewhere ? )
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"