8059 Seabed Scavenger
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Set Details:
(Atlantis) Released 2010
119 Pieces with 2 Minifigs
Retail Price: $14.99 USD
Price Per Piece: $0.13
Brickset Description:
Explore the sea floor, but watch out for danger!
Leaving no coral-covered rock unturned, the 3-wheeled Seabed Scavenger rolls along the ocean floor in search of clues to the location of Atlantis. Suddenly, a glint of light -- it's the fabled green treasure key, guarded by a fierce Manta Warrior! Even with the deep-sea vehicle's grab claw, spinning saw and flick-firing torpedoes, this is going to be one tough battle! Includes Manta Warrior with trident and deep-sea diver minifigures. Includes Manta Warrior minifigure and 1 diver minifigure Two flick firing torpedos Spinning saw weapon and grab claw Collectable green treasure key! Collect each one Measures 10" (25cm) long
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Background
Atlantis was a great theme for me to start back into Lego with. Almost every piece of the set was on sale or clearance before and after Christmas. Honestly I didn't think I was going to like this theme at first, but it slowly started to grow on me. I wasn't so eager with this set, as to me the huge plastic wheels reminded me of some kind of kid toy.
The box is nice and small and is just big enough to get the tape seal rather than glued up tight. Always a good thing for me as it makes my life easier as I keep all my boxes. All the pieces (other than the really big ones) come included in one small bag.
Minifigs
There is one Minifig in this set, and it is a lime green Atlantis diver that you see in most of these sets. He comes with his flippers and an extra set as well. Be careful as you wont be able to sit the minifig in the vehicle properly unless you take off his fins which makes them easy to lose.
Instruction This is a smaller set, so the instruction manual is also pretty small. Best used for a one person build. It has the usual staple as it's binding. I guess after the Architecture theme, I'm spoiled now.
Parts/Stickers As usual, what would an Atlantis set be without a sticker sheet? This theme seems to incorporate stickers in every set, but on the bright side, they keep them to a minimum and are actually helpful most of the time. There are some uncommon pieces in this set being in the wheels and arms, so it's an overall interesting mix.
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Construction My obligatory before the madness shot.
Here is the base of the vehicle. Nice and solid, thank you as always Lego!
The cockpit on this vehicle is pretty interesting. 2 curved arc pieces make a nice oval shape for the cockpit. Nice a smooth surfaces.
We are adding the canopy to the cockpit, which brings about my only problem with this set. If you place the minifig in there, you have to put it at a weird angle if you don't want to take off the mini's flippers. Other than that, the details are nice. Headlights, some nice spotlights that are movable, and of course some missles to defend itself.
The wheels of this set are somewhat weird. They almost seem like the large plastic pieces you expect to see in a 3-5 year old's toy. But they actually are really nice. The 'shocks' that hold the wheels together is a very unique piece, and works for the set extremely well. It also give it the ability to add 'arms' to the front of the vehicle which you can already see.
Finally we give the scavenger some arms to be able to do some work. A mean buzz-saw half as big as the vehicle
looks dangerous. The mechanical claw looks pretty menacing as well. This is like the suped up underwater Hummer.And we are complete. I gave you a close up of the upper part of the scavenger as this is where the most 'detail' area is.
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Summary
Building: 4 / 5
Appearance: 5 / 5
Pieces: 4 / 5
Value: 4 / 5
Playability: 4 / 5
Overall: 4.2 / 5
Building:
Building this set was pretty fun. It has a very unique build and feel to it. The way they put the cockpit together is very unique. As this vehicles in this set are getting bigger, the more details are provided. Very nice. This is a quick build even though it looks somewhat complicated, but they do keep it interesting.
Appearance:
This set just mean and nasty. I wouldn't want to run against this thing with that huge saw and claw. I don't have any certain baselines for looks other than my overall feel, other than it being sweet looking.
Pieces:
The pieces in this set are decent. You get a few uncommon pieces like the shocks of the vehicle and the wheels. The pieces are rather large, which makes the higher PPP a little more understandable. I can see some people buying this set for some of it's piece, but not on a regular basis. Really only if your going for it's special pieces for some special purpose.
Value:
The PPP is a little high, as I usually like to keep it around $0.10 for my purchases. Of course I wouldn't think of buying a set for full MSRP if I can possibly get a discount on it =) Even without one, I think that this set is pretty cool for what it brings for it's price. It is very unique in it's theme so it got some extra points for that.
Playability:
This set is extremely fun to play with. The only downside is I feel we got a little short-changed in terms of the baddie. Just a minifig for him to take on a huge mean vehicle? That isn't very nice. Because the set is so cool looking, playing with this one by itself is definitely possible, but I would recommend this set in tandem with others as it will easily loose its fun alone.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this set, and think most people would too. This is one a range of ages can enjoy from a little tike to a big tike. The bigger pieces make it kid-friendly for them to play with (as they tend to play a little more rough). While the set is a great looking piece, it would get boring if played with for a longer period of time by itself. As a solo piece, you could make it work, and as such I would recommend purchasing this set after you've already got another piece or two of Atlantis, as it will just make it that much more fun. So I will give this set 2 thumbs up, and give it a recommended buy: even if this is your first Atlantis set, you won't go wrong.