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| Aquazone Sea Sprint 9 |
So this is my first genuine Lego review ! Why starting with this set ? Because it's the only vintage set I have both mint in box and in loose. And Aquanauts is one of my favorite Lego themes of all time. The original subthemes, Aquanauts and Aquasharks were released in 1995 and 1996. Then came out three new factions : Aquaraiders in 1997 and Hydronauts and Stingrays in 1998. Even if I was still playing Lego at this time (I was 10 in 1997), I prefered other themes like Western and Adventurers. Maybe I was thinking the only real Aquazone factions were the first two released.
Why did I love the Aquazone theme ? I actually still love this theme. I think it's because of the futurist neon style of the sets. I love all Space themes until Exploriens in 1996. It remains the same, something happened in 1997. I didn't love space sets released after 1997. The same for Castle, I finished buying boxes after the Royal Knights theme in 1996. At this time I was more interested in more modern and realistic themes. Maybe I can explain this by the fact that I was turning 10 and my look on the world changed.
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| The construction in front of its box |
Let's go back to Aquazone. It's like a Space theme, but undersea. However, it's not fun to say that if Aquanauts go up to the surface, they will meet City minifigures. I prefer imagining that it takes place on an afloat planet. So, in my opinion, Aquazone is a Space theme !
So, what's in this box ? There's one minifigure, the commander Jock Clouseau, with his red headband. He wears the Aquanauts specific diving suit with the special helmet that allows him to move on in the water. But, unlike his team members, his helmet has a neon blue visor. It makes him more attractive than his friends. But it's normal, he's the leader ! He has two shiny iron knives and his swimming fins.
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| Jock Clouseau |
The Sea sprint 9 is a small submarine (20 pieces) with a short grabber. The four neon pieces are two elements of the grabber, the back propeller (orange) and the submarine top shell (dark blue). The mix of orange neon, dark blue neon, yellow and black defines the Aquazone theme identity. On the top of the submarine there's a round tale with Aquanaut's symbol printed on it.
Is this set worth buying ? Sure ! It's the second smallest set of the Aquanauts subtheme (excluding the two minifigures and accessories only sets), but the first featuring a real submarine. The Crystal crawler (set 6145) and the Crystal explorer sub (set 6175) a bigger and more interesting, but the Sea sprint 9 is interesting too. And in comparison with the Crystal crawler, you will have Jock Clouseau, the best minifigure !
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| The back of the box with alternate build ideas |
When I was a kid, I used to possess the Crystal explorer sub. It was the only Lego set that I didn't dismantle (I don't know why I kept this one intact). It was in my glass bookcase. But one day, for his birthday party, my brother (who was 5 or 6) invited his friends. One of them took my Crysal explorer sub behind my back and destroyed it hidden behind the sofa. Sad ending for a great set. I have to buy it again someday.
I think I will review again a Lego set in the next article.
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