As someone who absolutely adored the Pirates movies as a child, I really enjoyed this build and felt it was surprisingly challenging in a way I didn’t expect from LEGO. If you’re a long-time fan of the film franchise like me, but with an adult budget to spend, this may be the perfect set to tackle next.

The set comes with 22 numbered bags, a packet for the fabric sails, a few bags containing the mast pieces and rigging, and seven large pieces loose in the box that make the foundation of the hull.

You start the build with the hull pieces, connecting them and reinforcing the base, then building up from there. This actually ends up being the middle “slice” of the hull, which allows you to build on a flat surface as opposed to a stand like some of LEGO’s other ship builds.

This first stage is what takes the longest, or at least feels the longest. Starting with the large hull pieces, you build up, creating the lower deck and all of its details. This includes laying the foundation for the moveable cannons – of which there are 16 total – and the walls that support the build above.

A quick note on the rods and moving parts: when building the sliding pieces that create the canon barrage above, ensure none of your pieces are bent and the white L brackets are slotting correctly into the sides so the overall motion is smooth. A few of my pieces were a little bent out of the bag which made the motion on one side of the ship a little stiff and hard to use while the other side was smooth.

Back to the cannons. Now that the foundations are in place, it's time to build out the armaments on the lower deck. The original Black Pearl from the film has nine gun ports on the lower deck, plus more above, but thankfully the LEGO version cut that number down. This Black Pearl is equipped with 16 moveable cannons total (8 on each side) which you are instructed to build over the course of multiple bags. This was a bit of a slog after I realized how many I had to build. The set does spread out the building process over multiple bags, but I still found it a repetitive process, even if I did get treated to a new minifigure every time I started a new section.

The labor is worth it though because in the end it creates a very cool visual effect as the cannons slide out of the gun ports in unison and I played with them constantly as I continued building.

After you finish the bulk of the hull, the build speeds up significantly. This is due mostly to the fact that you start to get into the details, including one of my favorite parts of the whole build: the curves on the bow of the ship. I’m always delighted when a LEGO set includes curved details; to me it feels novel and unexpected in a brick building system like LEGO, and the bow of the ship exhibits that perfectly. Its curving lines emulate the in-movie version well and I found it to be a really creative solution to accomplish those specific curves and angles.

On to the next stage, which I consider to be the real showstopper of this set: the Captain’s Quarters. After a few quick steps building the upper deck and connecting the second movable element – the steering wheel – you get to dive into decorating the captain’s quarters at the rear of the ship. Designed to mimic the iconic dinner scene with Barbosa and Elizabeth from Curse of the Black Pearl, this area includes delightful little details like a stack of maps, goblets, and of course the iconic (definitely not poisoned) green apple.

This section again establishes that balance between collector’s item and toy. The back and roof of this room are easily detachable with bars and clips, perfect for posing characters in a scene, but able to be reattached securely for displaying the ship as a whole.

The rear wall of the ship itself is an incredible show of LEGO’s engineering. Using clear 1x1 blocks and curved pieces originally designed to be a car fender, you create the illusion of elaborate arched windows. Black filigrees clip in above to mimic the Pearl’s elaborate carved woodwork while three clear, domed lanterns sit above. Overall, it's stunning and I admired it often while I continued on.

A few bags is all it takes to assemble the underside of the ship and the two stand pieces the whole ship rests on. It is a little tricky to make sure everything is aligned in order to join the massive – and at this point pretty heavy – hull with the now assembled keel and stand. I had luck gently laying the hull on top and then moving just the front of the ship around, as it's a little less cumbersome to not have to support its weight at the same time, until it clicked in place. After this step, you’ll have most of the build done!

Next, you’ll finish the details on the top deck and sails. There’s a lot of “fiddly” pieces here which I had a little trouble with and may be something to keep in mind when considering this set if you have different dexterity or hand mobility. The masts themselves aren’t too tricky to assemble, but the sails can take some time, so patience is encouraged at this step! Also note: when you are retrieving your sail pieces from their packet, double check you have the right size. There are 5 or 6 different sizes and shapes – all of which are the same black cloth – so double check you’ve collected the correct item before proceeding, unlike me!

The final step of the build is the last details on the deck, including the two movable anchors that sit on the bow of the ship, the angel masthead, and the removable cover for the front deck which also houses the ships single dinghy. With all those pieces in place, you have a complete Black Pearl!

Overall this set took longer than expected to build, clocking in at around 10 hours, but I love the final product and I appreciate that the process felt appropriately challenging at times and actually took some effort. That’s a defining feature of these sets geared towards older audiences and I would say the Black Pearl definitely warrants its 18+ age range. The look of the ship itself is a faithful representation of the iconic ship from the beloved Pirates franchise and it’s a great addition to any collector’s home.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship, Set #10365, retails for $379.99, and it is composed of 2,862 pieces. It is available exclusively at the LEGO Store.