LEGO One Piece has become a surprisingly great source of sailing ship models, and 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship is another must-have build.
We regret to inform your wallet that LEGO One Piece’s design team is continuing to knock it out of the park when it comes to creating sailing ships that would be right at home in LEGO Pirates.
It only had one entry into this range last year in the form of 75639 The Going Merry, which we praised highly in our review. When we learned that the LEGO Group would be releasing a second One Piece ship set, expectations were accordingly high.
Despite these lofty expectations, 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship has rendered us speechless. Thankfully, it hasn’t rendered us wordless, so we can type out this review. But it's simply an incredible experience: what we feared would be a repetitive build continued to surprise in the best ways, introducing new techniques for the specific shaping with every step.
When all is said and done, 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship is one of the most stunningly shaped LEGO ships ever released. It is rife with details that increase its overall sense of scale but without alienating the included minifigures. It’s sure to sit perfectly with 75639 The Going Merry, but this ship is going to go just as well with standard pirate ships with some modifications to remove the One Piece aesthetic.
Those modifications would need to include removing the dog figurehead, but that feature adds an abundance of character to the ship. It also greatly contrasts the ram’s head of the Going Merry and contributes to the more militaristic appearance of the battleship-class vessel.
Before that, a big difference between this set and 75639 The Going Merry is that Garp’s vessel can be much more easily retrofitted into a generic sailing ship. Its military appearance only boosts its potential to be transformed into a flagship for the Imperial Soldiers and Imperial Armada. 75639 The Going Merry is an incredible build, but far quirkier thanks to the lifestyle and personalities of the Straw Hats.
The LEGO Group has never released a sailing ship model that looks quite like this, integrating a naval ram into the bow. That alone makes this set worth considering this summer, and we haven’t even looked inside yet.
75646 Garp's Marine Battleship makes use of every possible inch of space inside the ship to incorporate interiors from the series. This includes the map room and Garp’s office, each with areas and features for minifigures to interact with. There’s also storage for treasure and the included dossier tiles. You can take a look at these interiors by removing some floor panels on the deck.
You can pose minifigures below and above deck, and the removable floor panels remain accessible, despite the large sails and masts. Those sails use flexible sheets of plastic, again similar to the LEGO Going Merry. This is a fantastic tactic that allows for a built-in bend as if the sails are being blown. It also keeps the cost of the set down since there’s no need to brick-build the sails.
Aside from the excellent main build, 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship also includes a small market scene, depicting a slice of Loguetown. Live-action Loguetown’s location is the coastal town of Sorrento in Italy, which would explain an Easter egg in the foundations of the ship (not to be spoiled here). This small side build doesn’t properly depict Loguetown or its architecture, but it is a nice bonus on top of an already-amazing ship model.
The minifigures in 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship are another highlight. The full selection includes Zoro, Usopp, Miss All Sunday, Nami, Tashigi, Helmeppo, Vice Admiral Garp and Koby. These are a mix of repeated characters with new costumes, entirely repeated minifigures, or genuinely new additions.
Zoro, Usopp and Nami fall under the first category, though the new outfits are appealing and great to have as outfits for use in a wider LEGO collection. Helmeppo, Vice Admiral Garp and Koby are all featured in the (much more expensive) 75640 The Baratie Floating Restaurant, and it’s good to have another opportunity to grab them. Alternatively, those who already own 75640 The Baratie Floating Restaurant can switch the heads on Helmeppo and Koby to make two more generic Marines minifigures.
Miss All Sunday and Tashigi are the only truly new additions, and both are great minifigures. Tashigi has only new prints while Miss All Sunday has a specialised element. Miss All Sunday also has more exciting printing with that stylish coat, recreating one of her more iconic looks from early in the second season.
Considering the build, few stickers, textile sails, and minifigures, 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It is well worth the asking price of £149.99 / $179.99 / €169.99 for all 1,705 pieces and is considerably bigger than 75639 The Going Merry for the increased price.
One Piece and Pirates fans alike should be adding this set to their wishlist if you haven’t already. It further cements LEGO One Piece’s status as a return to the glory days of LEGO Pirates, but in licensed form. 75646 Garp's Marine Battleship will launch on August 1 for £149.99 / $179.99 / €169.99.
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