The Imperial Soldiers also know as ‘Blue Coats’ are loosely based on the French navy of the 17-18th century. They were the first group to take the fight to the pirates in 1989. They are led by Governor Broadside from The Eldorado Fortress in his smaller ship the Caribbean Clipper with his Lieutenant De Martinet.
A blue flag with white cross identified with crossed cannons, crown and fleurs-de-lis in four corners identifies the Imperial Soldiers as well as their blue coat, white pants, red epaulettes and black hats (Shako’s for the troopers and Tricorne’s for the sailors). The troopers also have a brown backpack and usually carry a musket.
Governor Broadside features gold epaulettes, a blue regal jacket and wears a black Bicorne hat with white trim. His Lieutenant or 2nd in charge De Martinet has a brown beard, tricorne hat the same as the sailors, gold epaulettes and usually a pistol.
The Eldorado Fortress was the main playset for the Imperial Soldiers with over 460 parts and 8 Minifigs. The very early productions of the set came with plain white flags and a sticker sheet to use. The Eldorado Fortress was also know as Fort Sabre in some markets. This is a favorite for MOC’s (My Own Creation) adult Lego builders often expanding the layout into amazing builds. The original set came with Lego’s first shooting cannon ball, a crane for moving treasure from the vault to nearby ship and a jail for captured pirates.
The smaller of the two original ships belonged to the Imperial Soldiers, known as The Caribbean Clipper or Sea Hawk in some markets. It is a 2 mast ship with blue and white flags and a yellow parrot as front figurehead. The ship comes with two cannons but can accommodate four and interestingly the gun ports have a bottom hinging flap.
Imperial Soldier Release’s
6245 Harbor Sentry (Governor Broadside’s Boat)
Released in 1990 and featuring a swivel cannon on a small boat. Comes with the MiniFig of Lt. De Martinet of the Imperial Soldiers.
6259 Broadside’s Brig (Governor Broadside’s Prison)
Released in 1991 and coming with 3x MiniFig’s including Lt. De Martinet as well as a captured pirate. A small prison for captured pirates.
6265 Sabre Island (Governors Bastion)
Released in 2 versions in 1989 and again in 1992, the only difference is the box. Sabre Island is a three story outpost. Following on from other small sets it includes Lt. De Martinet as well as two Imperial Soldiers with a cannon and small boat.
6267 Lagoon Lock-Up (Soldiers Tavern)
Lagoon Lock-Up was a 193 piece Pirates set with 5 minifigs released in 1991. It is an Imperial Soldiers fort and includes a small sailboat, Lt. De Martinet and two soldier minifigs and Captain Redbeard and Bo’sun Will.
6274 Caribbean Clipper (Sea Hawk)
Caribbean Clipper was a 378 piece Pirates set with 4 minifigs released in 1989. It includes a two-masted sailing ship named the Sea Hawk and four minifig including a Governor Broadside minifigure. Unfortunately it is quite smaller than the pirates Black Sea Barracuda.
6276 Eldorado Fortress (Governor’s Fort Sabre)
6276 Eldorado Fortress was a 506 piece Pirates set with 8 minifigs released in 1989. It was the Imperial Guards home Fort and featured a small dock and winch to move the treasure into the keep.
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