Cloth sails

[jodawill]

My son has been doing chores to earn a pirate ship (5810), and he finally got to open it up yesterday. I also got to open up my 5683 Soldiers' Patrol Boat (I bought it for myself, but I hadn't opened it because I didn't want him to play with it before he earned his own ship).

I was very surprised to find the sails on the 5810 were just plain paper. The Roman ship and the Soldiers' Patrol Boat were also paper, but they at least had some wax on them.  The 5810 was just plain card stock paper. I especially find this odd because all of these ships advertise that you can put them in the water, but the sails wouldn't last 5 minutes in a pool.

It would be great if they would start using cloth or at least plastic sails in the future. I'll have to come up with my own solution for 5810 in the near future because I can guarantee you paper sails won't last long with a three year old.

That said, though… the Soldiers' Patrol Boat is really beautiful. I'm tempted to buy another one now. I really love it. It reminds me of the 1989 Lego Pirates, but more realistic. I love the natural wood colors and the deck has a lot of depth. The little stairs are a nice touch. And it's cool that the cannon is a darker color than other sets. It goes nicely with the sails and the dark hull.

[playmofire]

The sails used to be of a cloth type at one time.

[sbblabotw]

I've always categorized sails under "Cloth" - I guess I should check! I'll change these. To be clear, jodawill, that's these three, correct?

30 80 2122 - Sail, large rectangular, ragged
30 80 3462 - Sail, truncated triangle, ragged
30 80 3472 - Sail, foremost, narrow triangle, ragged (jib)

Interesting that the German name for them includes the word "Stoff", which is "cloth".

[jodawill]

The sails used to be of a cloth type at one time.

Nice. I wonder when they switched then. This pirate ship was released in 2007.

I've always categorized sails under "Cloth" - I guess I should check! I'll change these. To be clear, jodawill, that's these three, correct?

30 80 2122 - Sail, large rectangular, ragged
30 80 3462 - Sail, truncated triangle, ragged
30 80 3472 - Sail, foremost, narrow triangle, ragged (jib)

Interesting that the German name for them includes the word "Stoff", which is "cloth".

Yeah, those are the ones. I just felt them again, and they might have a layer wax on them. It's hard to tell. It just feels like an index card. Definitely not cloth though. I wonder though if it's possible it was initially produced with cloth sails, but they switched to paper during the time this set was being produced?

[GrahamB]

I wonder though if it's possible it was initially produced with cloth sails, but they switched to paper during the time this set was being produced?

Oh yes! Geobra often change parts without changing the part number. They have their own rules about part numbers too, but often ignore them!

[Hadoque]

The quality of the sails used for the pirates´ships (and rafts) also often depends on weither the set is part of the regular assortment, or if it is a cheap(er) exclusive set designed & released for the US market and it´s mega-stores like Target etc.

[Ismene]

   more corner-cutting

5135 also has cardstock sails. They are fairly thick, but they wouldn't withstand water play.

I've been toying with the idea of getting some faux suede custom printed by Spoonflower to make dollhouse rugs. Maybe something similar could be done for canvas sails. Not the cheapest route.

[Pharaoh Ru]

I will be redoing my sails in canvas myself in the near future!