Review : LEGO ICONS 10320 Eldorado Fortress

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO ICONS set 10320 Eldorado Fortress, a vintage-looking box of 2509 pieces that will be available as a VIP preview from July 4, 2023 on the official online store and in LEGO Stores at the retail price of €214.99.

Almost everything has already been said about this set unveiled on June 14 and which is a tribute to the set 6276 Eldorado Fortress marketed in 1989, everyone has therefore had plenty of time to form an opinion on the LEGO proposal and I will therefore content myself today with a few very personal reflections. This product is also looking a bit between reissue and reinterpretation of the reference set, it tries to reinvent the original idea but struggles in my opinion to embody a sufficiently modernized proposal of the toy of the 1990s. Some will appreciate the desire to remain in the spirit of the reference product while others will regret, like me, that the designer did not go more frankly towards bringing this tribute up to date. All tastes are in nature.

You noticed it as soon as the official visuals of the product were published, the molded and pad-printed plate used on the 1989 set disappears here in favor of a base to be assembled, the composition of which necessarily inflates the inventory, with the arrival of 2000 more pieces for the 2023 version of this imperial fort. Those who have actually had the reference set in their hands necessarily remember this large rocky element which was undoubtedly the starting point for many personal creations subsequent to the assembly of the set, this little pleasure will not be agenda here.

The rocky outcrop is thus this time made up of many elements including nearly a hundred Slopes 2x2 with double concave cutout which allows to give a little texture. The cobblestones of the access path to the fort which were printed on the base plate of the 1989 set are here composed of Tiles diverse and varied with a rendering that seems very credible to me.

LEGO retains the original colors and does not attempt to modernize the appearance of the small fort perched on its island except for a few details such as the ends of the roof present above the windows of the premises, so we find the white walls and their yellow bricks , the latter being however less present on the current version.

There was undoubtedly a way to make the construction more "up-to-date" by using another set of colors to make it a real evolution of the reference product, but the designers will have judged that it was above all necessary to invoke the nostalgia of the children who have become today adults rather than highlighting the evolution of the LEGO inventory over the years and the many colors available today. As it stands, it is clear that this box is primarily intended for all those who have played with the reference product and who want to get back into the atmosphere of the toy of their childhood.

I also find that the walls lack a little density, it's about as rickety as in the reference set and this fort precisely lacks fortifications. There was undoubtedly room to expand the walls a little to obtain a more opulent rendering of the construction and to reinforce the feeling of having the right to a fort capable of withstanding the attacks of pirates.

It will therefore be up to everyone to judge the relevance of this proposal according to their childhood memories or the simple frustration of never having been able to afford the original set, which has now become overpriced in good condition and complete.

The good news: there are no stickers in this box, everything is stamped. So much the better for the display potential of the product, the flags won't suffer from light and dust over time and this display product should stand the test of time.

The assembly of the fort is divided into four unnumbered booklets which allow several people to assemble the set, each participant taking care of one of the elements of the overall construction. It's a great idea, so share your nostalgia with other adults who have experienced the reference set. It will then be necessary to combine the five sub-assemblies to obtain either the island or the linear coastal fortification that the modularity of the product makes it possible to obtain.

Everything is held on a few clips and the set can easily be taken apart to be moved or repositioned according to the mood of the moment or the space available on your shelves. As you obviously noticed, the set also allows you to build a boat borrowed from the set 6277 Imperial Trading Post marketed in 1992, and here too the designer is content to reproduce the reference galleon almost identically, retaining its main attributes as well as the dominant colors used at the time while using some recent parts such as the wings of the Porsche 911 for the front of the hull. It's vintage, probably a little too much for some but enough for others.

LEGO put pirates at the controls of the 1992 version, here it is a Blue Coat who holds the helm. The main sail is pad printed but the material used seems a little fragile to me for a construction toy intended for display, we brush against the paper sail which is just waiting to tear during a somewhat hazardous handling.

Same observation for the bits of string used on the boat and on the crane of the fort, I'm not really a fan of the use of this low-end consumable on a product sold for more than 200 € but it's very personal. Note that the three sails are delivered protected in a paper bag, they should not be crumpled when unpacking.

As I mentioned above, this fort is modular, it consists of five subsets that can be grouped together with several possible configurations. The possibilities are numerous, LEGO is content to document those which allow the choice of obtaining a closed island whose all sides are sufficiently detailed or a linear coastal version of the fortification with walls in front and access to interior spaces from the back of the diorama.

As a bonus, it will be possible to connect the island of the LEGO Ideas set 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay to the construction even if this possibility is of interest only within the framework of a global installation which would pay homage to the Pirates range at LEGO: the Pirates would never settle directly near an outpost imperial.

Like some of you, I find the black crane provided almost a little too big if we compare it with the size of the walls of the fort, it's the big difference with the very simplistic one of the set 6276 Eldorado Fortress even if this new version seems to me aesthetically much more convincing. This crane is functional, it is adjustable and allows you to load or unload the galleon by descending and ascending the string using the winch.

I won't give you the details of the "hidden" functionalities of the product, it is necessary that all those who will spend more than 200 € in this box and who will open it to take advantage of its contents have the privilege of discovering the few integrated subtleties. Nothing crazy, do not expect complex mechanisms acting for example on the door of the fort, it is only a few trapdoors. Just remember that there is a pirate skeleton installed in the foundations of the fort, it is always one more figurine.

As for the figurines provided, I must also admit that I was a little disappointed, but ultimately not surprised, to find that the soldiers' outfit "bluecoats"suffers from the usual pad printing problem: the official visuals promised us pretty well-contrasted torsos and the reality is a little less convincing with white areas that are very dull and therefore no longer match the soldiers' legs.

It's frankly disappointing, LEGO still doesn't make an effort on this particular point when it comes to printing a light color on a darker base. Having practiced pad printing a few years ago, I know that this color difference can be reduced by doubling the layer of white, but this requires two passes and LEGO probably does not want to make this costly effort which would nevertheless solve the issue.

Note the absence of Captain Redbeard in this box, the character is replaced here by a female pirate. Why not, there have been famous female pirates, but I find it a shame to have simply ignored the famous captain, knowing that not everyone has the LEGO Ideas set 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay on hand. One more figurine would not have changed much for the manufacturer and Redbeard is still a major character of this "Pirates" era at LEGO.

Those who only buy the sets for their box will probably find their account, the product packaging is a direct reference to the 1989 set and LEGO knows how to cause nostalgia without even having opened the thing. On this specific point, the product hits the mark and it is the packaging that will be enough to convince many fans to buy this product without taking into account what is inside.

I am finally very divided about this set: on the one hand it implements many "modern" construction techniques with a generally acceptable level of finish but on the other it retains this somewhat outdated appearance which causes me more frustration than nostalgia. I did not have the reference set in the 1990s, this is probably what explains the fact that I remain a little insensitive to the respect of the colors of the time and I would have liked to have been able to obtain a version in the colors most current of this tribute to a product with which many children have undoubtedly played.

I find the LEGO ICONS set proposal 10305 Lion Knights'Castle more balanced in terms of technical and visual modernization, here I lack a more current aesthetic to really convince me to spend more than 200 € in this box. The fact remains that all those who dreamed of seeing the world of pirates with LEGO sauce come back to the fore are rather well served with this addition to the LEGO Ideas set. 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay which intelligently rebalances the forces present.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 27th June 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. 

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.