LEGO has ticked (almost) all our boxes with 10320 Eldorado Fortress

When 10320 Eldorado Fortress was first rumoured, we listed all the things that would complete the remake – and the LEGO Group has ticked (almost) every box with the finished product.

Rumours of an updated and rebooted 6276 Eldorado Fortress first started doing the rounds in April, and the final set has now materialised in 10320 Eldorado Fortress. The LEGO Icons set revamps the vintage LEGO Pirates model, recreating its raised baseplate from standard elements while packing in plenty of details, Imperial soldiers and pirate motifs.

And in doing so, the 2,509-piece set has managed to cross off nearly our entire wish list for a redesigned Eldorado. Keep reading to find out where 10320 Eldorado Fortress has successfully hoisted the flag of a LEGO Pirates reboot – and where it’s just slightly missed the mark…

[bdproduct search=’icons’ sort=’discount’ numberOfRecord=’4′ brand=” sliderMinValues=’0′ sliderMaxValues=’750′]

A mini ship – Yes

1989’s 6276 Eldorado Fortress poured most of its piece count into its stronghold, reserving only a handful of elements for two rowboats – one for the Imperials, and one for the pirates. We suspected a modern-day set (with a bigger budget) might allow for a proper ship, and the LEGO Group has delivered by borrowing a template from 6277 Imperial Trading Post. The small civilian galleon in that set has received a similar upgrade for 10320 Eldorado Fortress, and now belongs to the bluecoats.

An impression of the raised baseplate – Yes

The original Eldorado achieved its impressive footprint with just 506 pieces thanks to its raised baseplate. Those three-dimensional elements have unfortunately gone the way of the dodo, so we reckoned any updated version would at least need to include some kind of impression of the moulded baseplate. In fact, it’s gone several steps further by completely recreating the entire baseplate (including its patterned ramp) out of individual LEGO elements.

More accessories and details – Yes

As one of the very first LEGO Pirates sets, 6276 Eldorado Fortress includes a respectable number of accessories and details, anchored around pirate imagery and motifs. There are cutlasses, pirate hats, muskets, a treasure chest, a cannon and even a palm tree. Nearly 35 years on, we wanted more: and 10320 Eldorado Fortress has definitely come through in that regard. As well as more palm trees and more cannons (scroll down for more on those), the set adds a parrot, monkey, skeleton, torches, ladders and plenty of weaponry.

A working cannon – Yes

While the LEGO Group did produce working cannons back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, not many made their way over to the US: for reasons largely unknown (but presumably safety-related), the company quickly swapped out its working cannons for non-functional versions stateside. Modern LEGO Pirates sets have brought back the spring-loaded cannon around the world, and we needed to see at least one in 10320 Eldorado Fortress. The finished set actually has three. Good job, TLG.

Bluecoats and redcoats – Nope

Okay, so 6276 Eldorado Fortress only included bluecoat soldiers – their red-jacketed counterparts weren’t introduced until 1992 – but we had some hope that the LEGO Group might make this the ultimate celebration of LEGO Pirates by including both factions. That was based on the presumption that 10320 Eldorado Fortress would only be loosely inspired by the original set (a little like 10497 Galaxy Explorer), rather than a direct remake, so it’s easy to see why the finished set only includes bluecoats. It’s not the biggest miss, is all we’ll say.

10320 Eldorado Fortress launches July 4 for VIP members and July 7 for everyone else, for £189.99 / $214.99 / €214.99.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links.