My test of the Bluebrixx Queen Anne’s Revenge ended in a shipwreck
11.8.2026
Translation: Megan Cornish
Pictures: Kim Muntinga
It was almost finished. Almost. Then Bluebrixx’s Queen Anne’s Revenge broke. Suddenly, it wasn’t the model I was testing, it was the support team. By the time the replacement pieces arrived, my motivation was long gone.
There was a «crack» – and then it happened.
I lifted the hull of Queen Anne’s Revenge just a few centimetres. I was only trying to put the ship back on my workbench. But suddenly, the structure gave way in two places. Pieces fell off, and several finished sections broke off and scattered across the living room floor.
The pirate ship lay in ruins in front of me.
I’d almost made it. After many hours of work, 12 of the 16 sections were finished. The hull was upright, the gun decks were set up, and famous pirate Blackbeard’s ship was clearly recognisable.
Up until that point, I’d almost written my review in my head: four stars. At least.
Until the shipwreck, everything was going really well
With its 6,751 pieces, this Bluebrixx model isn’t something to complete in a single afternoon. But, despite the impressive number of bricks, the build’s still nice and manageable. The numbered bags keep the steps organised. I only laid out the pieces I needed at any given time.
The build’s complex, but varied. Sometimes I built gun decks and small rooms such as the captain’s cabin, sometimes I added stairs, furniture and details that are barely visible later on. It’s these hidden sections that make up a large part of the appeal for me. They’re what make it fun, matey!
Visually, I really like the colour scheme. The dark blue, the brown and gold tones and the numerous small details give the model a unique character. However, during the build, the brown tones in particular sometimes cause problems. Some are only slightly different, which is hard to see, especially in artificial light. More than once, I was left wondering if I was really holding the right piece. Sometimes I only realised my mistake a few steps later. Argh.
Soon, the brown tones suddenly seemed like the least of my problems.
Then it all came crashing down
It happened at a mundane point. It wasn’t in the middle of a tricky task; I was just lifting the ship a few centimetres at the hull. I wanted to check if I was missing two pieces for the build
when two small components broke off. They were in areas bearing a lot of weight and the only connection between two side walls and the hull. Once they failed, several sections lost their support and broke apart. Within seconds, all my work so far was ruined. I couldn’t continue building. Actually, I’d have to start over.
The two photos below show where the pieces broke off.
Why did it happen? I honestly have no idea. And that’s almost as annoying as the issue itself. Did I hold the ship incorrectly? Was I too careless? Or is there just too much weight on two small brown pieces? It could be anything, from my mistake to bad luck or a design flaw. In any case, the instructions don’t warn you to keep the hull still at this stage or only lift it at specific points.
Later, I looked online for similar cases, but I didn’t find any clear evidence that this exact breakage is a common occurrence with the Queen Anne’s Revenge set. There were isolated discussions about missing pieces and minor problems with the set, but no clear, proven serial defect at this stage of the build.
If I were a reviewer who wanted to throw a product away, the case would be clear: the ship’s worthless, Bluebrixx messed up. One star. But I’m not going to make it that easy for myself. I’ll tell you the story of how I got the replacement pieces, because it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.
A two-month wait for replacements
After breaking, the Queen Anne’s Revenge set just sat there for a while. Okay, not quite. I swept up the shards bricks. Into a box they went. Out of sight, out of mind.
I ordered replacements for the two broken pieces from Bluebrixx. While I was at it, I also reported the two other pieces that were missing – ones I’d taken from bags meant for later stages. I looked up the matching bricks in the instructions, noted down the relevant building steps and took photos. I wanted to show customer support as accurately as possible what happened and which pieces I needed.
I reported the missing and broken pieces using the Bluebrixx customer support contact form. The process was nice and straightforward to start with. I received an initial response the same day, in which the support team summarised my information and requested additional details for the claim: photos of the instructions with the pieces marked, exact piece quantities and bag numbers if an entire bag was affected.
About two weeks later, the actual confirmation arrived. Bluebrixx had forwarded my replacement pieces order to the manufacturer. Delivery was expected to take three to four weeks. Three to four weeks! Unbelievable. But at least something was happening.
About a week later, I received an update via e-mail. The pieces were on their way to Germany and would be sent to me once they arrived at headquarters. Sounded promising. Maybe it’d be faster than I’d feared.
And then? Radio silence
Another week passed, then another, and another. Almost seven weeks after my initial inquiry, I followed up. Customer service responded politely but couldn’t find my account to start with. I sent the order number again. Then came the next disappointment: no tracking information or shipping details were available for my replacement pieces order. Maybe it hadn’t been shipped yet, maybe it was being sent as a standard parcel without tracking. My inquiry would be forwarded to a specialist team.
It ruined the support aspect for me. Until then, I thought it was taking a long time, but at least it was working. Now I didn’t even know where my replacement pieces were – with the manufacturer, on their way to Germany, already shipped or not even made yet. I had no idea.
I followed up again two weeks later. Again, I received a polite reply from customer service. According to their system, the replacement part order had already been shipped and should have arrived by now. If not, Bluebrixx could place a new order. They also offered an apology and a €5 voucher. Arrrrrrrrr. A real pirate would probably have renegotiated such meagre loot.
A few days later, the pieces actually arrived. From initial inquiry to delivery, I’d waited 71 days.
So, the spare pieces service did work, eventually. I received the replacement pieces and didn’t have to pay for them. Nevertheless, the process was slow and unclear. First, I was told three to four weeks. Then they were on their way to Germany. Then no status was available. Then they should have already arrived.
A missing decorative piece would have been annoying. But two broken pieces, which are needed to keep building, made it a lot worse. The replacements may have arrived, but my motivation was still adrift somewhere on the open sea.
Replacement pieces only solve half the problem
I should really keep building now using the replacement pieces: replace the pieces, reassemble the ship and start building phase 13. But it’s not that easy.
Have you ever taken apart a large brick model and then rebuilt it? Now the neat order of the first build is gone. The instructions show which part I need, but unfortunately, it’s somewhere in a box, mixed in with finished modules, half-finished modules, loose bricks and pieces from various sections.
I basically have two options. I could rebuild the Queen Anne’s Revenge largely or completely from scratch, and piece together every single bit from this pile. Or I could try to salvage the ruins of the hull. Then I’d constantly have to check which sections are still right, which have moved and where the new pieces actually belong.
Both options feel less like a repair and more like a second build in worse conditions.
Maybe I’ll finish building Blackbeard’s flagship someday. It deserves that. Until it broke, the Queen Anne’s Revenge was exactly what I’d hoped for: big, detailed, playful and impressive.
Header image: Kim Muntinga
My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.
Background information
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show allThese articles might also interest you
51 comments
later