This is the second of the One Piece Going Merry Pirate Ship photo reviews by Toy Photographers. The first one is here.
In August 2025, the LEGO Group released a wave of seven sets based on the live-action Netflix version of the very popular long-running One Piece manga series. I happily accepted the opportunity to review the LEGO One Piece Going Merry Pirate Ship (75639) and see what it could bring to the table for toy photographers.
The Going Merry
One Piece is an ongoing series about the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates and their search for the “One Piece” treasure. Every awesome pirate crew needs an equally awesome ship, and The LEGO Going Merry is fantastic, both as a display piece and a photography subject. Consisting of 1376 pieces, the ship is brick-built, unlike many other LEGO ship models which use specialized hull pieces. It is smaller in dimension (13.5 in high x 15.5 in long x 8 in wide) compared to other current LEGO pirate ships, such as Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship and the Creator 3in1 Pirate Ship.
Despite its smaller size, the Going Merry is appropriately detailed and fun to build. And it photographs very well from many angles.
The main sail and two smaller flags have accurate depictions of the Straw Hat Pirates’ iconic jolly roger.
The ship’s sculpted sheep figurehead is easily recognizable and is big enough for Luffy to sit on.
Below Deck
As play features, the ship also includes two storage spaces, a crew’s cabin, and a kitchen below the deck. These areas are packed with detail and accessories. But I found it quite challenging to photograph them creatively with both my mirrorless and phone cameras. I don’t (yet, LOL) own a probe lens, but perhaps that might have opened more opportunities to capture these small spaces.
The Straw Hat Pirates
The Going Merry Pirate Ship set includes five minifigures – the complete Straw Hat Pirates’ initial crew! All are nicely detailed, have dual-sided heads (always a bonus for toy photographers 😊), and capture their live-action TV series counterpart appearances very well. While all of the characters are found in at least one other LEGO set, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji have outfits or other details that are unique to this set. I wish that The LEGO Group had also included Luffy’s straw hat (without attached hair) that hangs on his back so I could use it for other photo ideas. Luckily, that piece can be easily acquired with the smaller Windmill Village Hut set.
Zoro comes with his three katana swords. One cleverly attaches to his neck to appear as if he is holding the hilt in his mouth. He also has two different headgear pieces – green hair or a black wrap.
Nami and Usopp are equipped with their staff and boomerang.
Sanji has a great hairpiece with bangs that partially cover his face.
Wanted!
The 2025 One Piece sets (with the exception of the two BrickHeadz sets) include really fun printed wanted poster tiles. The Going Merry Pirate Ship set gives you a chance to collect four of the eight available posters, which are randomly distributed in the sets. My set included posters of Luffy, Buggy the Clown, Arlong, and Gold Roger (no duplicates, yay!).
Final Thoughts
My only experience with One Piece prior to the release of the LEGO sets was the live-action TV version of the series. The Straw Hat Pirates story is a fun one. I love the energy of the series, learning the backstories of the characters and plotlines, and the overall theme (chase your dreams!). I was drawn immediately to the LEGO Going Merry Pirate Ship set when it was announced.
It’s easy to recommend this set for toy photographers. Whether you use it to recreate One Piece story scenes or replace the sails and create other seafaring adventures, there are plenty of photo opportunities here. Likewise, the minifigs and accessories will be very usable in various scenarios for toy photographers. Hopefully our two photo reviews provide you with insight and inspiration into some of the possibilities for this fantastic little ship.
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