SPACER
SPACER
"Crew Packs" are one of the several set types that you can find in the Pyrates toyline. Crew Packs weren't really "sets" in the traditional manner like others were. These sets featured very minimal pieces to build with, if any at all. The main purpose of these sets were to bolster your Pirate crews and give you more figures to play with and collect.
A majority of these Crew Packs contained three figures of varying factions. Normally, you would recieve two figures of one faction, and one of another. However there were two exceptions, one being a large crew pack that featured nine figures. And a very rare, very small pack that only featured a single figure.
Each set also made sure to include one weapon for each figure included.
Black Sea Battle is the first of the four crew packs to release in Wave 2 of the Pyrates toyline. Not to be confused with Black Sea Battle, the bundle set of the same name.
This set includes three figures, three weapons, and is set #3687.
This set includes two Sea Marauders and one Skeleton Crew member.
It includes Hull Gruffrey, a Sea Marauder wearing a brown coat with black pants. He has a pegleg as well. He shares a headmold with Blackteeth McBaine and Tom Blackforest, however his beard is colored orange instead of black. He wields a brown pistol in this set.
The second Sea Marauder is Nestor O'Loch. A red headed Marauder wearing a tan shirt, black vest, and gray pants. In the set he wields a crossbow.
It also includes the Skeleton known as Saprofight. He has the generic skeleton mold. He's almost completely naked except for his belt and boots. Bro is a certified freak. He wields a skeleton axe in this set.
The Black Sea Battle is a large scale war that occured between the Sea Marauders, Skeleton Crew, and Privateers. The Black Sea Battle is an encompassing name that includes the Battle at Skull Haven, The Battle For Treasure Island, and all of the small skirmishes and fights that occred in the area of Skull Haven and Treasure Island.
One particular skirmish occured to the South East of Treasure Island. A small envoy of Sea Marauders comprised of Hull Gruffrey and Nestor O'Loch were on there way from Pieces of Eight to Hidden Loot. The two marauders had recently survived a much bigger fight that took place at the port of Smuggler's Fort. The two Sea Marauders were fleeing to safety when they were ambushed by a roaming Skeleton Crew patrolman. This skeleton, named Saprofight, was eager to kill. Since Nestor was already injured from the battle at Smuggler's Fort, the two Sea Marauders didn't stay and fight. Instead they fled from the battle after exchanging shots and blows with the lone skeleton.
Coastal Raid is the second crew pack to be released in Wave 2 of the Mainline Pyrates series. The set includes three figures, three weapons. and is set #3688.
This set includes two Skeleton Crew Members and one Privateer.
On the Skeleton side, we first have Morose. A shirtless skeleton wearing maroon colored pants and a blue tricorn hat. He also sports a brown eyepatch. The figure shares a mold with Shoveltooth. In this set he wields a blue skeleton spear.
Morose is accompanied by his close friend Stonestare. Stonestare wears dark green pants and an orange bandana. Interestingly, he also has an orange pistol on his belt. He wields a skeleton sickle.
The last character is a Privateer named Spar Foreman. He shares a head with characters like Oliver Lugsail and Murk Mariner. Although he sports a red bandana that matches his Privateer's jacket. He comes equipped with a brown rifle.
During the brief period of time where the Skeleton Crew and The Lost Souls had an alliance, land raids upon the mainland were quite common.
Captain Dread Eye was certain that the treasure lay somewhere on the mainland, but he had no idea where. It was due to this, that he began to orchestrate raids and invasions of the mainland. These raiding parties were launched from the islands of Doubloon Mystery, which served as a sort of beachhead for the operation.
These attacks, which were later dubbed "The Coastal Raids" were led by one of Dread Eye's Officers named "Morose". Morose and his Skeletons were vicious and uncaring in these assaults. They didn't care what damage they caused, even if it meant killing innocents and pillaging villages.
The Privateers, which were already in heated war with the Skeleton Crew, decided that enough was enough. The Privateers led a counterassault against the Skeletons. These counterassault teams were led by Commodore Theodore Twosails.
The Coastal Raids continued on, but now the Privateers were here to get in their way. The raids would end in a brutal battle where the Privateers and Skeletons clashed in a full scale fight. Commodore Twosails engaged Morose in a fierce sword fight. While his righthand man, Spar Foreman, gunned down enemies from afar.
These battles would end in the destruction of the Skeleton's base on Doubloon Mystery and the end of The Coastal Raids. But not without great cost. The battle with Morose cost Theodore Twosails his right eye, hand, and foot.
Isle of No Return is the third crew pack to be released in wave 2 of Pyrates. The set, like the others, includes three figures and three weapons for play. It is set #3689.
The set includes two Privateers and one Lost Soul. One of only three sets to include one!
The two Privateers we have in this set are Provost Parrel and Jib Hornswaggler. Parrel is a pretty standard Privateer. He shares a headmold with Destreader, Bartholomew Jackson, and Carl Carbunkles. He wears a big tricorn hat and wears the standard redcoat and black pants. He comes equipped with a brown rifle in this set.
Jib Hornswaggler shares a headmold with characters like Cutthroat Craven and Shifty Merchant, along with a few others. He wears the standard Privateer attire. In this set he wields a dagger with a tan hilt.
The final, and most interesting, figure in this set is Howlinger. Howlinger is one of four Lost Souls and shares a mold with Captain Cutlass, Captain Sabrehook, and Captain Quell. He wields a cutlass in this set.
Isle of No Return is a small isle located right off the coast of the mainland. Its located in the southern section of the Pyrates' Map.
The Isle of No Return is the location of Dread Eye's base. Often times, The Phantom would dock in the bay of this small island for rest and planning. Isle of No Return was also the location of Dread Eye's Letter of Marque. The very letter that the Lord of The Pyrates entrusted to him as a clue to his treasure's wereabouts. The Letter was hidden in a small fort on the Isle's tallest hill, hidden by deep jungle.
This island was the location of one of the most devastating and game changing battles in the war for Lord Pyrates' Treasure. It was here that the Tri-Human Alliance, formed of The Sea Marauders, The Privateers, and The Buccaneers all converged upon Isle of No Return and The Phantom. The plan was not only obtain The Letter of Marque, but also to kill Captain Dread Eye and sink his ship.
Unfortunately, this plan would not succeed. As it would turn out that Admiral Scathe and The Buccaneers had hatched a devious plan with The Skeleton Crew. The whole "alliance" between the three human factions was nothing but a farse. The second everyone was in motion, Scathe turned on his allies.
The battle was brutal and a complete loss for the Privateers and The Sea Marauders. The Privateers would lose their flagship during this fight, The Avenger, as Scathe sunk it with the Plutocannon. Admiral Bluebeard and Captain Sabrehook were killed in this fight as well. Their souls captured and transformed into the Lost Souls known as Ghoullugger and Howlinger.
The Sea Marauders were forced to retreat, and The Privateers were left in shambles. Many of their men were now dead and their ship was sunk, leaving them stranded on the Isle of No Return.
Carl Carbunkles was elected as their new leader, but there were many among them that disagreed with this choice. Among them was one Provost Parrel, who believed that he was a better fit for Captain. He left the Privateer remnants, along with his close friend Jib Hornswaggler.
The two of them set off into the jungles of The Isle of No Return. After wandering the island, they were ambushed by the Lost Soul known as Howlinger. The two men had no way to defeat the hostile ghost, which had now allied with Captain Dread Eye. The two were forced to flee.
Parrel and Hornswaggler would end up being rescued by Carbunkles and his group. The two of them would then apologize for their transgressions and rejoin the main force. Although Parrel was far from done with his vying for power....
Interstingly, in the promotional images for this set, Provost Parrel and Jib Hornswaggler are shown to have The Sea Marauders logo instead of The Privateers logo. That's the image I used earlier for their boxart. I wanted to use the official version, but it was way too difficult to find a decent quality image of it. So I used the promo version instead. Just pretend its using the right logos. LoL.
Lost Souls Invasion was the final Crew Pack to be released in Wave 2 of the Mainline Pyrates series. It featured three figures, three weapons, and is set #3640.
This set includes two Lost Souls and one Sea Marauder! As well as three weapons, one for each figure.
Our first figure is the Lost Soul known as Ghoullugger. He shares a mold with Bluebeard down to the T. This is actually the only other figure that shares Bluebeard's headmold. He's made in that beautiful transparent blue, white, and gold color scheme. Him and Howlinger are easily my favorites. In this set he wields a cutlass.
The second Lost Soul is the one known as Vestige. He shares a mold with Nestor O'Loch from The Sea Marauders faction. And just like Nestor, he wields a crossbow.
The last figure is the Sea Marauder known as Pascal Scallywag. He wears a green shirt, black vest, and gray pants. He shares a headmold with characters such as Blackboots Burton, Burt Bounty, Gary Gangrene, and Gaptooth Gorvinsky. He wields a brown pistol.
After The Lost Souls ended their alliance with The Skeleton Crew, they began to go on their own operations of terror and carnage. But arguably, it was much worse. Unlike Captain Dread Eye, who was motivated by finding the treasure, the Lost Souls were motivated out of pure fury and anger.
The Lost Souls rampaged around the seas. Their souls had been trapped after their death and they had been left without purpose. They took out their anger and all those who came near them. The Lost Souls, using the island of Plunderer's Port as a base they began to invade.
They started with the mainland that was nearby. They would storm the coasts and invade and destroy any settlements and colonies that they could find. They were ruthless in their destruction. Unlike Dread Eye's Coastal Raids, which served an ultimate goal, the Lost Souls had only one goal in mind. Destruction.
The Lost Souls invaded one particular colony, the colony of Maddingdale. This small colony was made up of retired Sea Marauders that were either too injured to keep sailing or too old. Or simply wanted to retire. A battle broke out between the Lost Souls and The Sea Marauders. As the marauders desperately tried to defend their colony.
Ultimately, The Sea Marauders would succeed in repeling the invasion. Not only that, but they would capture the Lost Soul known as Ghoullugger.
"Crew Collection" was a Crew Pack that released later on in the original line's run. It released at the tailend of Wave 3, in the toyline's twilight years. As such, this set is very rare and hard to comeby. It features nine figures and nine weapons. It is set #3653.
The crew collection features three figures from three different factions. Three Sea Marauders, three Privateers, and three Buccaneers. Oddly enough, the Skeleton Crew wasn't present in this set at all.
This set is very desirable because each of the nine figures in this set are very special (Well.... Most of them are, anyways....), and lots of them feature rare molds or recolors. Making the set highly desirable for collectors.
For the first group, we have three Sea Marauders. This group is led by Captain Quell. As stated by the back of the box Captain Quell is a "Self doubting mission leader sent to secure a treasure". Captain Quell shares a mold with Captain Cutlass and Captain Sabrehook, the other two Sea Marauders Captains. He wears a white shirt with a seafoam green vest and yellow pants. He has a pegleg and a gray beard. His weapon of choice is a crossbow.
Joining Captain Quell is Hully O'Brien. Stated to be "Once a wealthy landowner, now a traitorous trader". O'Brien wears the same clothes as Captain Quell. Although O'Brien has a hook for a hand. In the set he wields a knife with a black hilt
The final Sea Marauder in this pack is one named Vincent Vanjammer. Vincent is a "Former castaway, now rescued. He hangs onto his marooned identity." Vincent is actually a former member of the Castaways faction. Which is very interesting. Although he has a darker body type than the other two Castaways, who are more blue colored. Vincent wields a tomahawk for a weapon.
The Triumvirate Treason is a subfaction of The Privateers. This is actually the only time a subfaction exists in The Pyrates series. As usually they just split off and make their own groups, but here they're still definitively considered Privateers.
The leader of the Triumvirate Treason gang is the man named Charlie Carruthers. According to the box, Carruthers is the "Leader of the secret "Triumvirate Treason" gang. Searching for the finer things in life." Carruthers, along with all the members of the Triumvirate Treason gang, have the standard Privateer uniform. But this time in blue instead of red. Carruthers actually has a pretty unique headmold, shared only by Admiral Scathe. This time molded with an orange beard and black tricorn hat. He also wields a brown pistol.
The second member of the Triumvirate Treason is a man named Bartholomew Jackson. Jackson is described as the "Devious Triumvirate Treason strategist with a taste for fish guts." Gross. Jackson, as well as the third member of the Triumvirate Treason, are pretty boring compared to the three figures in the Sea Marauders and Buccaneer groups. They have way less interesting molds and designs. Bartholomew Jackson here just has the standard head mold that you can find on characters like Carl Carbunkles, Provost Parrel, and Destreader. Though he has a gray beard instead of blond. He also wields a unique brown crossbow. One that, to my knowledge, doesn't appear in any other set. So he's got that going for him, I guess.
The final member of the Triumvirate Treason gang is Stevedore Springfield. By far THE most boring character in this whole set. There's nothing unique about this man visually compared to anyone else. He's basically just a recolor of other Privateer characters like Silverback Surrez or Scabby Buckbeard. Described by the box as the "Easily angered weapons master for the Triumvirate Treason gang". He doesn't even get a unique weapon. Just a standard dagger with a brown hilt. Some weapons master he is!
The Buccaneers are the last group to be featured in the Crew Collection pack. This small team is led by a subcaptain of the Buccaneers group named Captain Brine.
Captain Brine, the first member of the Buccaneers team, is actually one of the most interesting characters in the pack. He's a turncoat skeleton. According to the lore he's a "Skeleton Crew defector who is afraid of being on the losing team." His unique appearance as a Skeleton that joined the Buccaneers makes him one of, if not the most sought after figure in the Pyrates toyline. In this set he wields a very unique black and bronze crossbow too!
The second figure is William Blackeye. A burly, muscular pirate with an eyepatch and white beard. His lore states that he's a "crazy unstable crewman on a mission for Admiral Scathe". He wields a standard dagger for battle.
The last Buccaneer in the set is Gary Billows. Described as a "curious & furious warrior who fires cannons like a symphony of destruction." Unfortunately, this wild cannoneer only gets a black and bronze pistol to wield in this set. He and the other Buccaneers wear navy blue jackets with tan pants.
After the Conquest of the Mysterious Lighthouse, all eyes had been turned towards the mainland as their next suspect for the location of The Treasure of The Lord of The Pyrates. The lighthouse had pointed them in that direction, and all factions began to make haste to explore these uncharted lands.
The Sea Marauders and The Buccaneers each designated a captain and a crew to lead an expedition into the island in search of where the treasure might be. For The Sea Marauders, this group was led by Captain Quell and his first mate Hully O'Brien. Quell was a veteran of the seas, and had even known The Lord of The Pyrate before his demise.
While the Buccaneers sent their newest captain. A turncoat Skeleton by the name of Brine. Accompanied by two top fighters from The Buccaneers forces, William Blackeye and Gary Billows. As well as other members of their crew.
While Captains Quell and Brine each searched for the best place to make landfall on the island, a third faction was making their move towards the area.
The Triumvirate Treason, led by Charlie Carruthers, had recently mutinied against The Privateers at their lighthouse. Tensions had been high between the groups following the devastating loss at The Isle of No Return. The pot finally boiled over after The Buccaneers attempted to raid the lighthouse.
The three treason memebrs, Charlie Carruthers, Bartholomew Jackson, and Stevedore Springfield made their own move towards the mainland. They were eager to get ahead of The Privateers in their hunt for The Lost Fortune.
All three groups would end up converging upon the area of the Mainland known as Lost Fortune, where the final battle for The Treasure of The Lord of The Pyrates would begin.
An early prototype of The Crew Collection showed a slight difference to one of the characters. That being Bartholomew Jackson.
In this early promotional image of Crew Collection, we can see that Jackson actually has a completely different head mold. We see here that he shares the Admiral Bluebeard/Ghoullugger headmold. Which is FAR more unique than the boring head we ended up getting in the release set.
Not getting this original version of the character is really quite sad. It would've helped make the Triumvirate Treason characters a little more unique. Since right now Bartholomew Jackson and Stevedore Springfield are kinda not all that special feeling.
Interestingly, you can see that even on this prototype version, the boxart shows Bartholomew Jackson with the head we ended up getting in the release version. So unfortunately, this probably means that this early version of the character was either scrapped very early on in development or was never meant to be permanant.
Either way, its a crying shame that we didn't get this more unique take on the character.
This set here is quite possibly one of the rarest and most unknown things that Pyrates has to offer. This object is so rare that I didn't even know of its existence until I started making this website and compiling product images.
This item is an unnamed set. I call it "Collectible Figurine", because it bares resemblance to similar sets Mega Bloks did for the Dragons line. Which was called as such.
The "set" is #99902. An incredibly high set number.
All that is included in this set is a single skeleton with an axe. Also, according to some fans, it also includes a 2x4 brick as well. Considering the piece count is listed as 3, and Mega Bloks counts figures as a single piece, I think they're probably right. I am uncertain if the Skeleton included is a specific one or not. Hell, it might be a completely new one for all we know.
Many people think that this set is unreleased, however I've heard from a few sources that they were in fact released. But are incredibly hard to come by. Apparently they show up for sale on aucion sites every now and then.
As far as I can tell, this is the only one that we can actually prove existing. No other collectible figurine tubes have popped up to my knowledge, but its possible they're out there. What draws my eye is the set number. While its true that set numbers don't mean much, the fact that its "#99902" makes me wonder what set #99900 and 99901 are. Whether they're related or not.
I got nothing for this one, chief.
