Review of the Lego Compatible JMBricklayer 40002 Black Pearl Pirate Ship Building Block set

Hi brick fans, welcome back to bricktoyreviews.blogspot.com!

Today we will be building a very iconic Pirate Ship known as the Black Pearl.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with the movie Pirates of the Caribbean in which the pirate ship and her captain Jack Sparrow have many adventures on the high seas.

Here's the story of the mythical Black Pearl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Pearl

The pirate ship is so popular that there have been many brick brands that have their own version of the Black Pearl.  MegaBlocks had three small sets featuring the Black Pearl as far back as 2007.  

Lego came out with their set 4184 back in 2011 which was subsequently copied by Lepin, Lele, King, and Sheng Yuan.

Other brands that made a Black Pearl pirate ship set include: Reobrix, MouldKing, Jiestar, DK, Gudi, Kazi, and Forange.

Now, JMBricklayer has their new version of the famous Black Pearl and they have sent me a set to review!

JMBricklayer is a popular brand that has been around for a number of years and  specializes in selling Lego-compatible building block sets for ages 14 and up.  Check out all of their sets here.

Details of the set

Brand: JMBricklayer

Set Name and Number: Black Pearl Pirate Ship 40002

Theme: Age of Exploration

Piece Count: 1713 pieces

Age Rating: 14+

Stickers: No

Minifigures included: No

Printed pieces: Yes

Lighting Kit included: Yes

Where to get this set

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/JMBricklayer-Pirate-Building-Lights-40002/dp/B0DMNM5KXM

JMBricklayer Online Store: https://www.jmbricklayer.com/product/black-pearl-40002/?wpam_id=33

Retail price: $79.99 USD but look for special deals and promotions. It can always be found cheaper.

Unboxing the Black Pearl

The artwork on the JMBricklayer box looks fantastic, especially with the turquoise coloured mist in the background.

Here's everything in the box.

There are a total of 28 bags of parts, comprised of two unmarked bags containing parts of the hull, rigging and sails, as well as numbered bags labelled 1 through 5.  

A special feature of this set is the lighting kit that is included with the set.  It features a AA battery pack (3 AA batteries are required but not included), and various lighting elements that attach to a multi-port board with USB plug.

The set includes a paper instruction booklet with clear and easy to follow instructions.

There are 5 steps to building the JMBricklayer version of the Black Pearl which we will look at now.

Building the Black Pearl

Before you start building, one of the first things to do is to test that all of the lighting components are working properly.  The lights should already be attached to the board as well as the USB plug.  Place batteries into the battery box and insert the USB plug.  All the lights should come on when you switch on the battery box. 

Step 1: Build the Ship's Hull

Here's a quick look at the Lego compatible brick pieces that are used in the set.  All very good quality parts with no scratches or scuffs.  A brick separator tool is also included.

Here's the bow construction with the first of many lights to install.

The interior of the pirate ship is nicely detailed with 4 cannons, a crate of ammunition, a treasure chest and a barrel of cutlasses.   In addition to the two bow lights, there are two large red flames that light up in the centre of the ship.

Step 2: Constructing the Rear Deck

Here's the interior of the Captain's quarters.  There's a parrot, and a mysterious blue bulb flanking a large desk and chair.  A printed map is laid out on the table.

A different angle.

So this was really weird. I found a brown fedora hat as one of the accessories, but it looks so out of place in this pirate set.  It should be in an indiana jones style set instead.

I had some brick clutch issue in that the large gray floor plate had a hard time staying in place.  It took a bit of nudging but finally got it into place.

Step two is complete!

Step 3: Building the Captain's Cabin

Attaching the cabin walls.

Attaching the 4 lanterns.  There's an additional printed tile adorning one of the walls.

The aft wall can fold down to reveal the interior.

Except that the brick clutch is lacking and the wall tends to fall off.

I used my own two 2x4 plates to provide some extra support so that the back wall would not fall off.

Here's the top deck installed.

The Black Pearl is ready for masts and sails!

Step 4: Centre and Aft Mast

This step is fairly straightforward and easy.

Step 5: Finishing it Off

Here's the final Mast assembly.

A look at the sails before we attach them.  The printing of the skulls are a bit faded. I think they would look better if the prints were whiter just like what is depicted on the box.

I chose not to add any of the rigging, because A) I hate tying strings and B) it makes it harder to disassemble or clean the set later.

Wow, the Black Pearl looks pretty amazing!  I couldn't resist adding some pirate minifigures to the ship.  You can see that it's a good size and even with several minifigures on it, it doesn't feel overly cramped.

Unbeknownst to Captain Jack Sparrow, the crew is about to mutiny!

Oh look, there's the Flying Dutchman Ghost Ship!  In terms of size, the JMBricklayer Flying Dutchman Ghost ship is a lot smaller in size.  I posted a detailed review for it which you can find here.

However, the lights on the Ghost ship are way brighter than the ones used on the Black Pearl.

Final Thoughts

Here are some Pros and Cons of the set:

Cons

I encountered a number of brick clutch issues, such as the aforementioned rear deck plate not gripping and the aft wall of the captain's cabin falling off.  I also had problems with the bow lights whose bricks were too loose.

It's not easy to appreciate the little details of the captain's cabin, even if you open the back wall.  

Also I pointed out that the ghost prints on the sails were not as bright as the ones pictured on the box.

And the lights used were not was bright as the ones that came with the Flying Dutchman set.

Lastly, it would be nice to include a few minifigures with the set to increase play value.

Pros

I liked the design and size of the ship. It had ample room for me to place some minifigures into it.   The light kit was easy to install, and I liked the fact that no stickers were used, only printed pieces.

Overall,  the JMBricklayer Black Pearl Pirate ship represents good value for the piece count and for the included lighting kit.  It's a perfect set for any fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies 

I recommend this set with a rating of 4.3 out of 5.  Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Thanks for looking bye!