NOTE: I purchased the Eldorado Fortress (10320) myself, and this review is not sponsored in any way. I strive to always provide my honest opinion on LEGO® products. If you are curious about how I generate scores in this review, I invite you to read about the True North Bricks rating system.

INTRODUCTION

Almost a year prior to this writing, I was floored by some unsuspected news. With no rumours or leaks to speak of, the LEGO® Group announced a recreation of the iconic Eldorado Fortress (6276) from 1989. I grew up on Pirates and Castles sets, so the news was right up my alley. Eldorado had always been on my wish list, but it was always one of the big, expensive sets I couldn’t have. Fast forward 35 years or so and my chance finally arrived. I bought the new Eldorado Fortress (10320) in October 2023 during the double Insiders points event that also offered the Scary Pirate Island GWP. I waited to build it because I have been slowly working on cleaning my LEGO® room. With the Eiffel Tower nearly dismantled, I figured it was time.

SET SPECIFICS

ELDORADO FORTRESS (10320) QUICK REVIEW

ELDORADO FORTRESS (10320) FULL REVIEW

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Value Score Breakdown:

At $280 CAD, the LEGO® Group is once again attacking AFOL pursestrings through nostalgia. And it works. I totally bought this set because it was one of my dream sets from one of my favourite childhood themes. With that said, would it hurt to sell some remakes of smaller nostalgic sets as well? Perhaps Majisto’s Magical Workshop could have been a retail set instead of a GWP? But I digress… At full price, you are looking at $0.112/brick when you buy the Eldorado Fortress. That is not a bad value by any means. Compared to other adult-oriented Icons sets, it is satisfactory. Icons is a hard theme to compete with because almost every set comes at a good cost/brick. Compared to all LEGO® themes in general, Eldorado’s value is actually very good. Based on both these criteria, I rate the cost/brick at 82%.

The straightforward build provides an average amount of build time.

As for build time, I assembled the Eldorado Fortress in pretty much six hours. Similar to the cost/brick, that is satisfactory for an Icons set, but pretty good compared to LEGO® sets in general. The build is not overly complicated, so experienced AFOLs will move through it relatively quickly. I rate the build time value at 80%. Averaging this with the cost/brick score gives an overall value grade of 81%. All things considered, Eldorado is a pretty average value LEGO® set at full price. You are fairly unlikely to find it on sale, so your best option to boost the bang for your buck is to buy this kit during a double points event like I did. Even better, wait for a good GWP along with double points.

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Build Score Breakdown:

I’ve been looking at this set on my dinner table for a few days. I am hard pressed to find things I don’t like. There is a gap next to the main gate that could have been filled with rock work or something… and the docks are quite narrow. I guess the open battlement next to the Governor’s office is a little odd too. I understand why LEGO® did it. You can spread the Eldorado segments out or maintain the classic look and still have all sections connect. Spread out, the open battlement connects to the canon tower. However, it would have been cooler for it to open up with that awesome hinge design we saw in the Lion Knight’s Castle. Are these major issues? No, but, they are things I would have done differently for a more aesthetically pleasing look.

If I had to pick one aspect that does bother me a little more, I would call out the open back of the Governor’s office. Who wants to work right next to a canon? The jail cell has a removable roof and wall. LEGO® could have done the same with the Governor’s office. I don’t think too many AFOLs would mind the extra bricks. After all, this is a set geared for adults. We don’t need access to play spaces. As long as the space is large enough for me get my fingers in and place a Minifigure, I’m happy.

The brick built base is a huge improvement over a raised baseplate.

Otherwise, I love the Eldorado Fortress. I never had the ’80s version, but I am sure this is better. The raised base plates from my childhood annoy me now more than anything. I don’t really use them in my MOCs and they are a pain to store because they don’t stack nicely with my normal baseplates. I love that the new Eldorado simulated the raised baseplate with actual bricks. The ramp up to the gate looks wonderful. You also have access to sub-terrain areas of the fortress far more than you did with the original. There are details built into the rock base that you can access when you disconnect the various sections of the build.

I mentioned in the value section that the build was not overly complicated. While the build time was good, I’ve seen better from other Icons sets. The lower build time here results from straightforward assembly. But that is not a bad thing by any sense. I was not blown away by any new parts or build techniques. However, I still really appreciated the build techniques. I especially how the set recreates the printed wear and tear seen on the original set. In this new version, all the chipped brick and missing plaster is brick built. That gives it a texture that is both nice to look at and feel. It is a little more real than the printed exposed red bricks of old.

Eldorado includes the merchant ship from the Imperial Trading Post.

The Eldorado set is also two throwbacks in one. Not only do you acquire the 1989 fortress all refreshed, you also get the merchant ship from the Imperial Trading Post (6277) recreated from 1992. While not an overly ornate vessel, I like the inclusion of a ship in this set. Besides, not every ship was huge and stunning way back when. The merchant ship serves as a nice compliment to Eldorado. It does not feel forced or unnecessary like make other side builds in LEGO® sets.

Eldorado also connects to Pirates of Barracuda Bay. When you spread Eldorado out, the large dock section at the end was designed to line up with Barracuda Bay (in ship form, not the island). That gives you a really nice Pirates display if you have a large enough shelf to accommodate all of it. But Eldorado looks amazing even displayed on its own. My issues with the set are pretty small, but remain issues all the same. I rate this build at 96%.

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Minifigure Score Breakdown:

The Eldorado Fortress includes eight Minifigures and one skeleton. Of these characters, only two come with double-sided faces, and none of them feature any leg printing. Otherwise, the minifigs are all adult characters with all the standard parts. Additionally, each one comes with front and back torso printing. While it is true that the original Pirates minifigs had no leg printing either, I still would like some here. Even just a stripe or something simple down the pant legs. With that said the Minifigures are otherwise quite nostalgic and welcome following the lack of “good guys” in Barracuda Bay. On top of that, most of the torso prints are new even if they are reminiscent of the ’80s sets. You also acquire a nice list of accessories to supplement your story-telling. 25 by my count, but I might have missed something.

Eldorado Fortress Minifigure accessories:

I’ve seen worse Minifigure counts in the Icons theme, Eldorado is actually average.

As far as the Minifigure count goes, if we include the skeleton, it is not that bad. In general, Icons sets are notoriously bad for Minifigure collectors in my opinion. Right now, the average Icons set I’ve reviewed includes 428 bricks/minifig. Comparatively, the average LEGO® set in my collection came with about 201 bricks/minifig. Eldorado sits at 279 bricks/minifig. That is passable compared to the average LEGO® set, and outright amazing compared to the Icons theme.

One aspect I miss here is the classic LEGO® Pirates monkey. The primate we get is the same design seen in the 2021 City wildlife rescue sets. It is certainly better than nothing, but I loved the moveable limbs of the original. The moving limbs would also have upgraded this monkey from accessory to minifig status in my books, upping the whole Minifigure score. As it stands, the character designs are nice and nostalgic, but need a bit more detailing. I rate them at 88%. The Minifigure count is average for a set this size in my experience. However, it would have been easy for LEGO® to include more soldiers, sailors for the cargo ship, or pirates. I rate the minifig count at 81%. Averaging these scores gives an overall Minifigure grade of 85%.

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Entertainment Score Breakdown:

Modern Pirates sets have a hard time disappointing me. They are few and far between these days with no active theme to churn out a continued supply. I still have Barracuda Bay built and on display, as well as the Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Ship. I think Eldorado will also have that honour. While I still like Barracuda Bay more, Eldorado nonetheless brings feelings of nostalgia and even inspires me to want to build more Pirates themed MOCs. Eldorado deserves 100% for entertainment.

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The weakest element in this review was the set’s price point. The LEGO® Group loves to use nostalgia to tug on AFOL pursestrings. At $280 CAD, this set is not an impulse buy and it is unlikely to be on sale at any given point in time. Your best option to get a better value is to buy it during a double points event that also includes an awesome GWP. However, even at full price, the value of the set remains fairly average. I would even argue that the cost/brick is good. What do you think of the Eldorado Fortress? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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