8060 Typhoon Turbo Sub
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Set Details:
(Atlantis) Released 2010
197 Pieces with 2 Minifigs
Retail Price: $24.99 USD
Price Per Piece: $0.13
Brickset Description:
The Typhoon Turbo Sub dives into action!
Deep at the bottom of the ocean, the yellow Atlantis Treasure Key is guarded by a ferocious Shark Warrior. Send the Typhoon Turbo Sub into battle -- when the fight gets tough, its powerful high-speed turbine engines flip around to reveal a key-grabbing claw and hidden torpedo launcher! It's time to discover the lost secrets of Atlantis! Includes 2 minifigures: 1 heroic diver and 1 Shark Warrior Yellow Atlantis treasure key included; collect them all Flip over the rotating sub propellers Sub is armed with torpedo shooter and flick fire missiles Claw grabs and holds the treasure key
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Background
Finally we get our first 'sub' in the Atlantis theme. I don't know how I feel about it yet as some of the parts look big and.. "Fisher Pricey" if that makes any sense? But this set does look like it has a blaster on it, and those are always fun. I was able to snag this set at 50% off after Christmas on clearance. Be sure to check your Targets and Walmarts after the holidays...
Typical box, with pretty nice box art. Has the usual tape as the seal which makes life easier for us who have to break down the boxes and store them without frustration.
Minifigs
I took the pictures for this set during my first wave of doing these so I wasn't taking pictures of the Minis because they were giving me such a headache with how blurry the pictures came out. I apologize for no pictures. This set comes with a lime green suited Atlantis diver and a shark headed bad guy with his usual trident.
Instruction This set comes with one mid size instruction manual, with its staple in the side as it's binding. After the architecture set, I'm spoiled in how I want my manuals now. The steps in the set are easy to follow and you won't get lost or miss any pieces.
Parts/Stickers This theme is of course sticker happy, so I've come to accept this and give over it. They keep them to a minimum so I at least appreciate that. They also make the stickers not so hard to apply, except for 2 of the stickers that will go on the arms, and they do give the sets something extra. There are a few uncommon pieces in this set, but mostly common pieces.
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Construction And so the fun begins with our first sub!
This is the first few steps of the set
Little confused as to the base of this set. Obviously it has some sort of 'sliding' action involved in the set as you can see one piece lays on top of the other rather than actually connect (top to bottom). We shall see how this turns out.Here we add the rear end of the sub. I'm not 100% sure why we need a turbine sideways considering propellers normally push you the opposite direction they are facing. This set is pretty weird.
Now we added some details... a cockpit canopy, lights on the front, an antenna with lights, and more.
We get a cool blaster that actually fires a projectile (be careful little kids!). Very cool. You only get one though, so I hope the pictures illustrate that, as they are kind of hidden since they are the bottom side of the arm, but you can see it on the left side.
Finally we add the propellers to the sub, this finally makes some sense and i guess the back one is used for other directions of movement? It works I suppose, and the set looks nice.
Finally we are done! The set looks pretty sweet, but to me it almost feels like it's missing something. As you see the 'arms' with the turbines/propellers on it shift position forward and backward, which also flips the blaster into a position ready to fire forward, otherwise hiding it. Pretty nifty!
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Summary
Building: 5 / 5
Appearance: 5 / 5
Pieces: 3 / 5
Value: 3 / 5
Playability: 4 / 5
Overall: 4 / 5
Building:
This set was pretty fun to build. You never know what is going on. You think the set will go one way and totally changes direction. They incorporate some interesting features which I always like. Very nice set to build, without it being extremely tough. Everyone can enjoy building this and feel like they accomplished something.
Appearance:
I gave this an overall 5 when it was very borderline to me. The flipping arms on the set gave me a reason to give it the full 5 as I think it's an awesome feature. It looks like a fun sub, although it could have been bigger.
Pieces:
There aren't many special pieces in this set other than the propellers. There isn't entirely too many pieces in this set, but you could use them in making some other sort of vehicle. I'm a big fan of having unusual pieces or something to give the set something extra. You're not going to buy this set just for it's pieces.. not with the 'extra fee' they add on to it.
Value:
The value of this set is left to be desired. For under 200 pieces, you would expect the set to be $20, so it feels like they are just nabbing extra cash because it's a Sub in an Underwater theme. It is however a nice Sub, so I can't bash them too hard. As much as I like the set, It is over priced so you gotta get a discount on it!
Playability:
This set is full of fun. It simply being a sub has tons of value toward play, and the fact that it has a hidden weapon that flips makes for hours and hours of fun. Heck, this set could be used as a 'gun' that you can run around firing as well. I had to knock the set for the baddie being left out in the cold with just a trident. Doesn't seem very fair.
Overall:
For this being the first true Sub in the set, it doesn't disappoint. I am happy with it and the cool features they add in for the relatively few pieces the set has. Shockingly I wouldn't make this my first set in Atlantis, as it might dissuade you from purchasing more. This set should definitely be purchased with another to give it more playability. I do recommend this set for everyone as a pickup, but I would pick up a different set for my first in this theme.