I have been a Lego Pirate fan since the summer of 1990 when I first bought myself the Black Sees Barracuda (Lego 6285) and the Caribbean Clipper (Lego 6274). In the years that followed my collection continued to grow (Thank you designer and creative mastermind Niels Milan Pedersen for making all these great sets bake then!!!).

In the later years I have re-gained my interest in the Pirates theme with the launch of great sets like The Brick Bounty (70413) that I bough for my son, and recently Barracuda Bay (21322) and Pirate Ship (31109).

I consider myself a Lego Pirates Expert, and the Pirate Ship (31109) is absolutely one of my favorites. This is such a great and unique set because everything is brick-built. The construction process and building techniques are really interesting. This gives the overall ship a really detailed and realistic look.

In the Lego Pirates World, the Pirates usually outnumber the imperial soldiers. So to even the odds between the Pirates and the Soldiers, the 31109 now is re-build with blue Lego brick-sails to help defend the Eldorado Fortress.

I like a lot about this set. It's quite big, it's got a captain's quarters and two masts.

Unfortunately, I also recently reassembled the classic Renegade Raider set, which though much smaller, has certain qualities that this one lacks.

For one: three minifigs?! For such a big ship this seems ridicolous. Even more so when compared to the smaller, one-masted Raider's four minifigs.

Then there are the cannons. Two of them. While the ship has four gunports. I guess you need to move them around. The Renegade Raider has just one. But it swivels around so it ends up being more functional.

Speaking of the gunports, they have these flaps, which look great, at first. Then you see that they don't completely cover the ports. And the flaps can't close with the cannons behind them.

Finally there are the sails. Brickbuilt, rather than canvas. Which is great for durability. In fact, I had to re-order the sails for the Raider, because mine got crumpled. But the end result just looks so much better. Also, those bottom sails don't have anything connecting them. I added a flat 1x10 brick myself to keep them together. Why wasn't this in the set?

All in all, this thing is great, as long as you don't compare it to anything else.

I bought this set for my son when it was on sale in July. Even on sale, the set was still a little expensive but Walmart had still the best price. Box arrived slightly damaged in one corner unfortunately. If you are a lego collector who cares about immaculate boxes you may be then disappointed.
Once built, the ship itself looks very nice, with a lot of details. However, the content of the set/playability is on the low side. 4 mini figures and only 2 cannons are provided. It is a boomer when we know these parts are rather fragile and the ship has room for 4 cannons.
Moreover this is not a new release set. I believe it came out in 2020, so 4years later I would expect a significant lower price but is not. The price is about the same as the original price because Lego is now a premium European luxury toy.

Even at age 69, I just can’t leave this one on the shelf for display. It just has too much fun to take down for a while and play with. I love the the mini figs and all the special decorations of the ship. The rigging is clever, and you’ll even notice that I did it as special personal mark to the rigging myself in jib area. Whether you’re 69 going on 70 or 69 going on 9 , I have to recommend this to everyone. The other part of it is that is just so sturdy, pick up and to move around to sit down. I am totally impressed. And half of the rest of it I have to warn you that I am a storyteller, so believe the rest of us at your own risk. I removed the skeleton design and replace it with a design of a popular country because he ships were often used as chameleon attack ships which were chartered by Kings and Queens, one nation and give them to privateers which were legalized pirates to attack and steal the goods from other nations, and bring them back to their own nation. Course they were granted asylum, awards, titles and lands, all the good stuff from their home nation for doing their deeds. They were considered to be heroes from the lands of where they came from so that is why there is a different insignia on my front sail. Usually they would wait and see if a treasure laden ship were being attacked by other vessels from other nations, or just by other pirates, and then once the other Pirates, or nations, had taken on board all of their bounty , they would swoop in attack the weaker pirate ship and steal back all the goods and Rush back to their own country and have a big party, and receive all the rewards so these type of boats, fast and nimble lightly Gunned, but able to maneuver and outman, the ships of they were attacking Were highly successful during the age of pirate sail. Have fun in your build , unfurl your imagination!