REVIEW: 7976 Ocean Speeder

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

I did not really expect myself to re-visit the LEGO Atlantis theme again especially when I keep telling myself to focus more on collecting my core interest. This is more like a filler set which I had bought it on impulse during a recent sales. So, at that point in time, the price was not a deterring factor and I bought a few others along with it, just to satisfy my hunger of buying.

Name: 7976 Ocean Speeder

Theme: LEGO System / Atlantis

Year: 2011

Pieces: 54

Minifigs: 1 minifigure

Price: USD $4.99, GBP 3.99, EURO N.A, SGD $10.90

Resources: Brickset, BrickLink

An original box image of the 7976 Ocean Speeder

Back view of the original box image of the 7976 Ocean Speeder

Exploring the depths of the ocean floor

I am always fond of acquiring small little aquatic diving sets as I find these sets are pretty cute in nature, like the 8072 Sea jet and the 30042 Mini Sub which are part of the smaller releases of the Atlantis theme. So, in this case I wanted to expand my small little fleet of miniature subs and speeders that allow the diver to travel swiftly from one point to another to expedite the exploration phase. So, read on to find out what do I think about this set?

The content of the sealed box

Instruction Manual (Front)

Instruction Manual (Back)

A closer look at the promotional poster on the LEGO Atlantis theme

The LEGO building content

These small pile of bricks is a fine mixture of red and small amount of yellow bricks. The useful lots are the red and white gems, the pearl gold goblet, harpoon gun, sea weed plant and perhaps some grey bricks for storing up your landscaping bins. These are the remaining spare parts after the built.

The dreaded sticker sheet which I did not use

Meet the new Atlantis Deep Sea Diver

Ah, finally I got the new Atlantis diver's design. It certainly took me a long while to get one of this to add it into my divers' collection. As you can see the new diver is relatively similar to the older design which shown below and the team insignia can still be found on the left leg but this time, the right leg holds a altimeter or even an oxygen supply indicator? It made me think that these divers are venturing deeper than before. The diver equips with the same complicated breathing apparatus and a detailed back print of the torso plus a dual expression which shows a frightful look. For your information, this diver is known as 'Lance Spears'. I got no idea at all until I read the Shop@Home description.

Comparison between the old and new Atlantis diving outfit

The treasure which is guarded by sea snake

The pearl golden goblet which holds the rare white gem is hidden right behind the sea weed plant. Not much hiding though and it is obviously guarded by the dangerous sea snake which I tend to think that it can be easily overcome by the diver. To me, this is not much of a built. I felt it is just mere placement of simple parts to illustrate this not-so-hidden treasure in the deep ocean. I will probably and likely to break all of these up and keep it for my building parts instead.

Building process of the Ocean Speeder

The building steps are not very complicated and it can be easily divided into 3 mini-sections, where you are able to identify the robotic arms, the propellers and the main frame. The main frame enable the Ocean Speeder to adjust both propellers downwards to boost the speed when the speeder is diving downwards, while the robotic arms allow the diver to grab the treasure gems tightly and making sure the diver's attention is not compromised, so he can tackle with other impending dangers.

Different views of the Ocean Speeder

Deploying the Ocean Speeder

Sea snake attack!

Which one of us will reach the precious white gem first?

To conclude, there are not much useful thoughts that I could think of to entice LEGO collectors to grab it. I did it on impulse and I bought 2 of it to accompany one another. This is a very simplistic set which is quite similar or slightly bigger than an impulse set. If this set was not on sale, I could not have picked it up for the full retail price for the small amount of bricks. However, this is actually a good starter for those who just want to get the diver since this is the smallest and affordable set to acquire the new diver's design. It also comes with a couple of good accessories like the gems, harpoon weapon and sea weed plant. The rest is not worth mentioning.

Summary review

Playability: 7/10 (Quite fun to play with especially if you have other similar aquatic subs or speeders.)

Design: 6/10 (Ocean Speeder's design is quite decent but the side of the propellers can be quite loose.)

Price: 5/10 (Not quite worth to get it at full price for the amount of limited bricks and non-exclusivity. Buy it during clearance sales.)

Overall: 6/10 (You can consider getting it if you are into collecting divers and aquatic stuff.)

I gave it a "3" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.

Pictures can be found in My Flickr and My Brickshelf (When moderated)

[Clone OPatra]

This is a nice review WhiteFang! There's not a lot to this set, but the speeder itself seems pretty sleek and the minifigure is cool. This speeder especially looks nice compared to the strange one from the first wave, and I rather prefer the yellow collorscheme to the lime green one as well. Overall this set is a pretty good deal. Thanks for highlighting it!

[JackJonespaw]

Really good review, Whitefang! I had the first "version" (the green diver one) and I can see that this set is a vast improvement. I should pick this up. 1x1 light bley with 2 studs?

[WhiteFang]

This is a nice review WhiteFang! There's not a lot to this set, but the speeder itself seems pretty sleek and the minifigure is cool. This speeder especially looks nice compared to the strange one from the first wave, and I rather prefer the yellow collorscheme to the lime green one as well. Overall this set is a pretty good deal. Thanks for highlighting it!

I agreed that this speeder is better than the first one. In fact, I am pretty pleased to get it, mainly for the new diver. I am glad I got a chance to own one for different variations.

Really good review, Whitefang! I had the first "version" (the green diver one) and I can see that this set is a vast improvement. I should pick this up. 1x1 light bley with 2 studs?

Get it if you have the chance to do so with a good affordable price. Otherwise, you could bricklink the 2 brick parts if you are only interested in those.

[just2good]

Excellent review!

I'm pretty sad that I missed on the chance to pick this up last year. It seems like a fun little set, and I like some of the pieces here.

[gedren_y]

I have very little interest in Atlantis as a theme, but some of the pieces are useful in other themes. That being said, I don't use much red in my MOCs because I just don't find it visually appealing (just my taste.) I also don't like the divers' symbol, but that was easy to brasso away from the series 1 diver's leg. I used those pieces for a custom android.

I didn't even bother with this set. The pieces from it I would use for an MOC were too few. Also, the new printing on the leg makes it so you can't get rid of the red circle & trident symbol without distroying the rest of the printing.