Review 3815: Heroic Heroes of the Deep

[The Penguin]

- Mr. Cobblepot, incoming call from Arkham Asylum. It’s Dr. Burton.

- Tell him, I’m not in!

- Sir……

- Alright-alright put me through…..

- Oswald, the time has come.

- No, I won’t do it! I told you once and I’ll……

- You must face your fears, Oswald.

- Um, I can’t. I can’t….. *sob-sob* Will the nightmares go?

- I promise.

- Then god help us all.

(The pic is an official box art one.)

Set Number:3815

Name: Heroic Heroes of the Deep

Theme: SpongeBob Squarepants

Year of Release: 2011

Pieces: 95

Minifigs: 3

Price: $15 USD

Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron parts inventory

All images can be found in my brickshelf folder.

Sometimes you have to face challenges. Some of them are easy, some are not. If you fall, you can stand up and try again. But there are some that give no second chances. It’s the trials of mental character. Of your own sanity and perception of reality. This is one of the cases. I’ve passed it. Will you dare?

SpongeBob Squarepants is an abomination in its core the quintessence of madness and chaos. Joker’s view on life is a child’s dreams comparing with this. It’s not even frightening like Belville, it insults you. Yes, insult, is the best word. Insults everything that seemed to be firm and monolithic.

Why does a sponge wear pants?! Why does he talk?! Why does he have a yellow color and those bulking round idiotic eyes?! WHY DOES HE HAVE A TRANSVESTITE-LIKE FRIEND?! WHY DOES IT LIVE AT THE BOTTOM IN A PINEAPPLE?! WHY?! WHY!!!!!!!! Sorry, doctor, thanks, I feel better now….. Okay, shall we start?

The Box

It all starts with a box. Do you see anything odd? No? I’ll tell you! It’s yellow, right? No, it’s not! It’s made out of SPONGE! It covers the whole box! That slimy yellow thing is all over the box! And, oh the horror, it has eyes and looks at us from the front!

And look at the teeth! Oh god, it has teeth as well! Those sharp-square razor-like ones. They can’t even fit in the mouth! And what’s that thing to the right? Is it a pimple filled with puss? No, I get it! It’s his cheek! He has already swallowed somebody and now is munching it!

In the middle we see a choking hazard warning. Sure there is a choking hazard! Kids will choke themselves to death when they learn the true nature of that sponge creature!

The side of the box shows the minifigure in its full scale. Nothing unusual here. TLC is doing it in every set these da….. What is that?! WHAT IS THAT?! That’s an EYE! A living EYE! But how?! We just saw its eyes on the front! Oh god, that creature has many eyes! And here’s an arm and a leg! What is this thing?!

I know what you are! A Shoggoth! Stay away you foul beast of ancient times! And we have the author’s signature here! And here’s a Lovecraft one for comparison. See, see?! It’s the same hand! No? What do you mean “no”? You’re possessed, possessed, I tell you!

Don't tell me, I didn't warn you!

The back of the box shows practically the same with some so-called “play features” which in this set mean flick-fire missiles and turning fans. Wow! That’s even worse than I expected!

Instructions booklet

Instructions booklet shows the same art as on the front and came battered once again. No doubt by some vile tentacles of an unspeakable beast!

The built is simple. Very simple to put it correct. Basic. It hurts how simple it is! It makes me think that it was designed for those with mental disturbances, since neither effort, no real respect has been put to it. Never mind, once those creatures brainwash us, we’ll all be like that.

And here we have the last page with all the pieces included. Though I usually use Peeron or Bricklink for that, some may find it interesting to have a look at all the bricks in this set. This boring, useless set!

Interesting parts and pieces

Surprisingly this set has several unique and interesting pieces that can be of some value to LEGO-lovers. I wonder if the creatures are just luring us into their trap? The first one is a cylinder with a printed face on it. I’m not sure if it can be used intensively in other themes, but it sure looks nice. We also get a nice space gun in a rare-for-this-piece-colour. The astromech droid will be great for making steampunk SW droid and the blue ice-cream thing is also welcome for a change.

In the original version of this review I never really payed much attention to that tile, but one of RA mentors pointed out that this actually is not simply a perfocard or an electronic tile of some sort, but a burger recipe! And, indeed, if you look closely, you'll see that it is one, and those cryptic colored stripes are actually parts of it. Or, perhaps it simply wants us to think that way, eh, COP and OKY? Hm-m-m-m-m.....

The Minifigs

The set description states that it has three minifigs. I hardly consider the Plankton one a full-scale minifig, but be it so. We’ll look at him as well.

Spongebob makes a nice minifigure. At least very unusual to have him with a comparatively proper facial expression. At least he’s trying to be serious here! He’s wearing a cape that is obviously too large for him which makes the figure fall flat to the ground all the time for my delight!

He has short legs in sand blue color, which I thought to be unique to this set (however it also appeared in SW Slave I ship for Bobba Fett, as I was imformed by COP), but still it's nice to get it in a cheaper set. He also has a new printing on his top. What’s that with the yellow triangle on top? My fabulous friend Dmitry from my Ewok review told me what pink ones meant, but yellow? Is it some kind of a symbol? A magical artifact? Well, by the looks of SpongeBob it is: +1 to Defense, -10 to Intellect.

Patrick Star has always been my least favorite character in the show and here he’s no exception. He’s ugly and dumb-looking. Wearing a mask and such tights he looks like as a some form of a transvestite on a parade. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate gay people, do I, Dmitry? It’s just he looks really bad, with that sick yellow-green colour on his legs and a face of those guys who are kept in Block C in Arkham for sexual harassment. Once you get there, Patrick, don’t forget to say my “Good day” to Mad Hatter!

Now to the best part. My favorite minifigure in the set. The one-eyed monster! GET AWAY FROM ME, DMITRY!

He’s wearing a nice armor, has a propeller for legs and generally looks funny and amusing, which makes it the brightest thing in the deep darkness of this set’s madness. His small metallic hands also look sort of cute, so generally it’s a very nice minifigure.

I’m no expert in the show but I can guess that Plankton by his looks is just another super-genius with ideas of Bottom domination. GET OFF ME!

The Boatmobile

I’m not sure that it’s actually the official name of it, but I guess it’ll do. It has an odd blue-yellow-red-black colour scheme which makes me think that those colours were just randomly chosen. I mean designers may think that kids will find it fun, but, seriously, how much time do they still need to get that such things don’t really work! Like clowns!

The boat is rather small and I can’t really say much about it. At the front it has a nice printed lifebuoy, black for some reason. At its side it has some jellyfish flick-fires which look rather ugly and out of place. The back has a propeller and a black stirring wing. That thing is dull, basic and not interesting at all.

If we look at the front we'll see that ugliness of disproportion of this set. The nose is too long, the wind- (why would they need a windscreen underwater?! ) screen is too small and in that matter pretty useless. Actually on the contrary, it can only enhance the incoming waterflow and blow SpongeBob out of the water back where he can get into his own propeller to be smashed to pieces! To tiniest yellow slimy bits! To tiniest parts so that even cartoonish survival skills won't let him regenerate! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

The side pics show the general view and the line-sight of the set. I've always been under the impression that underwater vehicles were sleek and do not have sharp edges. But, no! SpongeBob doesn't share the puny logic of those who walk the Earth. In the contrary, this set is as blocky as it can get. I wonder is it's the heating system? I mean it's supposed to be cold underwater, right? And by driving fast the edged become hotter and that is actually how the heating system works? No pills, thank you, Dr. Burton. It's too late.....

And look at those small and ugly wheels! How can they when move without getting stuck in the sand? Do they have like tires factories deep there? Care manufacturers? I guess 2008-2009 financial crisis did make US car business desperate.....

The back propeller is an odd engine to have. Not only is it dangerous, but also somewhat odd. What's the source of fuel for it? Oil, gas, hydroenergy? Nuclear power? I guess, it's uranium at work here, since such horrible mutations couldn't have been created by Nature.

What also bugs me about this set is the lack of seats in the Boatmodile. Yes, well, SpongeBob is Squarepants, so he doesn't really have that much of a trouble sitting there on his flat bottom! (Ha! Bottom! ) But I feel sorry, somewhat for Patrick. Isn't that painful to be sitting on four studs with all the banging and such on the road. Not that he's not accustomed to that, it seems!

Complete set

The complete set is basically the Boatmobile and the figs. This set is neither good for play or good for display. Demolish it, throw it away or integrate the parts into a finer MOC. Just watch out for SpongeBob! If he really is the Shoggoth he can change shape and will eventually try to look like other figs or parts! Evil creature!

Spare Parts

I'd rather say: "Spare-Me-Parts"! Oh, Penguin, how much funnier can your jokes become?! Oh, hillarious!

Ahem, so this set offers boring, dull, useless generic extra pieces which are generally on one tune with the mood of the whole set. They could've at least added another printed Plankton's head! Oh, I guess, I ask too much here.....

Play features

The set offers minimal amount of play features, so let us look through them briefly:

The turning fan one is one of my most favorite one, since it can have so many delightful scenarios! Take that SpongeBob! Take that from all superheroes that you’re mocking by your sheer existence!

The flick-fire jellyfish one is just plain stupid! Not only is it not fun to have only two missiles on board, but it also is not efficient. I mean how far and fast can a jellyfish fly?! And hey, there’s still paint on my finger from my SW customs!

This one is not a play feature at all, but I couldn’t really miss it. Since Patrick is so addicted to black holes and SpongeBob obviously came from one, they can have a nice game of hide-and-seek!

Ratings

Design: 3/5 The set is ugly, blocky, has bad colours. Only the Plankton suit saves it.

Build:3/5 Dull, easy, boring and insults the intelligence of modern kids who would wish to have such a set.

Minifigs: 3/5 We get some unique figs in the set which is good. But those have real value only to hardcore SpongeBob fans.

Playability: 2/5 –I refuse to say that turning fans and flick-fires are play features!

Parts: 4/5 – The sat has some nice parts, so if you need those greatly, do get it. Otherwisem stay away

Price:4/5 – The price is surprisingly good for a licensed set, so it may seem appealing. Remember it wants you to think so!

Overall: 3/5 – It is a dull, lacking set. With no effort and respect for the target group. Don’t get it, it’s not worth your dignity.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[prateek]

This set is good for parts, but that's about it. I'm surprised that the boat is so badly designed. If it wasn't for the price, I'd say this was a decent set, but I'm sure there are a lot of others for the same price that are better.

[Geertos13]

Good Review Penguin!

Great pictures too! Although, I must say that I felt like you were already prejudiced about the set. I won't deny that this set is a huge disapointement But I do think there are some ok points, but then again, you're the reviewer and it's all up to you. I do agree on the boat's poor design and the not so well looking minifigures. But even then, what's the point of the box? I do understand that it's also there to put a tint of humour to the review, but come on, it's just a box

But, I must admitt that even if I don't agree on all points, your final rating is defenatly accurate to this set and once again you've done an excelent job on this wonderful creation!

[Nightshroud99]

Patrick Star has always been my least favorite character in the show and here he’s no exception. He’s ugly and dumb-looking. Wearing a mask and such tights he looks like as a some form of a transvestite on a parade.

I laughed.. hard.

Funny review; the reason I personally bought this was because the the stupid minifigures myself. Also the colors are pretty useful, but the set is lame.

[sharky]

In the original version of this review I never really payed much attention to that tile, but one of RA mentors pointed out that this actually is not simply a perfocard or an electronic tile of some sort, but a burger recipe! And, indeed, if you look closely, you'll see that it is one, and those cryptic colored stripes are actually parts of it. Or, perhaps it simply wants us to think that way, eh, COP and OKY? Hm-m-m-m-m.....

That is not just any regular recipe. It's the secret recipe for Krabby Patties. A recipe the evil Plankton is always trying to steal in the show in order to compete with the Krusty Krab restaurant since his own restaurant the "Chum Bucket" is lousy and gets no business. That's a major story arc that re-occurs throughout various episodes.

[Ardelon]

Maybe the yellow triangle is his "skin", and the blue is only supposed to be a mask+hood that covers the eyes and crown but not the forehead?

[the fallen brick]

I doesn't like the colors of the boatmobile, I need trans-clear pieces .

The minifigures wanna to be cool.

BYE!

[Fallenangel]

Fantastic review, Penguin. I must say I quite enjoyed the blatant irateness that oozed forth in every sentence - who would have guessed that Spongebob was a Shoggoth and Patrick a transvestite?

I do agree that this set does seem to be one of the more disapointing Spongebob sets - as you said, the 'boatmobile' is pitiful. I'm looking at 6205, which sported less large and <insert that tiresome argument> pieces, less goofy colors, and no flick-fire missiles for $5 less (with a nice clone pilot minifigure to boot), and this simply doesn't match up.

[fyrmedhatt]

Very entertaining review!

I really do not care for Spongebob, and I can't say I've ever watched any episodes, so I doubt I'll ever get any of the sets. This set does have one major selling point though, and that is the parts: supposedly, the blue pieces used here are in the new azure blue color, used in the Alien Defense Unit soldiers of the Alien Conquest theme. So a large amount of the parts of this set are actually unique for the time being, which is pretty awesome in my eyes.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'The Penguin', I'm sorry folks but this set is a MEH too me, bad designing and why not the old duo instead....that alone would lift the set up totally !

Lets hope the next year's releases are better.