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Set Review: 60092 Deep Sea Submarine
 Wednesday, August 5th, 2015 at 3:22am by Jason, BZPower ReporterIt's time for another BZPower set review, and today BZPower Reporter Xccj dives deep to investigate 60092 Deep Sea Submarine. Is this set the treasure to take back to the surface, or should it be left to wallow in the sand? Read on or check out the video review to find out!
Presentation
The front shows off the new submarine exploring an outcropping of undersea rocks. It's cool that we're seeing another underwater theme again, and this set doesn't disappoint at providing a large sub for us. It is $39.99 USD for only 274 pieces, which is a pretty poor value, but it could be worse. The back of the box shows off some of the various scenes that could be played out with this set, including the submarine fleeing from the shark. It also advertises that there are three bags for easy building, likely targeting a younger audience, although most LEGO sets are like that nowadays anyway. Building
The build is fairly standard. There are a few interesting SNOT (studs not on top) techniques utilized, like on the ballast tubes and the side sloping on the tail. It's not an extraordinary build, but it won't disappoint a younger audience. Set DesignNow that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
There are a lot of black, gray, and yellow pieces here. There aren't a ton of exclusives, but there are a few worth mentioning. I believe the white technic connector with a fin is the first time that mold has been in this color. Some of the more uncommon or interesting pieces include the white cow skull horns, grey BURP (big ugly rock piece), gray round containers, yellow arch and curved slopes, yellow crab, red leaf, 11L black tubing, and the 2x4x2 SNOT brick (which, coincidentally, was used a lot in the original AquaZone theme.)
You get three figs here; two divers and a submarine pilot. The divers are mostly the same, but with different heads, which shows that one is male and the other female. They have nice torso (front and back) and leg printing, as well as red flippers, a diving mask, and an airtank. The airtank is slightly modified from the older varieties, since there are friction bits inside it to hold onto a rod, which the previous versions lacked. I think the red flippers are also slightly new designs, because it seems they fit on tighter than they used to. The male diver gets a crowbar to help him in his search for underwater treasure, while the female comes armed with a camera to document their search. You also get a submarine pilot fig, who comes with a red printed vest with the deep sea explorer's logo on his back. Unfortunately, these figs aren't exactly exclusive, because they appear in plenty of the other sets for this theme, but it's nice to help build up your crew of deep sea explorers. You also get a shark, which uses the newer design and comes with eye printing.
The underwater "land" scape piece features a whale skeleton resting on a rocky outcropping, complete with plenty of seaweed. It's not super exciting, but it's moderately sized for the sub to explore, and it's large enough for a set of this size. It's much better than some of the puny landscape pieces we've seen before, although it fails compared to the sunken ship that's featured in the most expensive set of the theme. Unfortunately, the back of the rock is completely exposed, which is unfortunate.
The bulk of this set is clearly the submarine. There's plenty of room for the pilot on the inside, and some stickers are placed on the panels to give the cockpit some nice details. However, while the sub is fairly bulky, much of the interior isn't used for anything, which feels like wasted space. There are some containers built into the sides, but they don't fill up much of the void. The sub had two arms for use underwater. The arms have a ball joint connection to the body of the sub, and click joints at the elbows. One has a three fingered claw, which could be used to pick things up, like the treasure chest. The other has an array of tools on it, including what seems to be a light, a camera, a gear, and a clip. It looks incredible odd and not very useful, so I'm not a big fan of it. Some other interesting bits on this sub include the various lights scattered about it, including some over the cockpit. There are also two oxygen tanks on the top, which are denoted by stickers. There are a few stickers scattered across the sub, and some are a bit tricky to apply. The bottom of the sub is mostly filled out by the ballast tubes, which will let the sub sink or rise in the water. The design with the tubing and round container pieces works pretty well, yet is still fairly simple. There are also rotating turbines on the back.
This is just another iteration of a LEGO submarine, and it's interesting to compare it to previous subs, like the AquaZone Crystal Explorer Sub. The Deep Sea Submarine is not quite as sleek, but it feels more realistic, while the other was more sci-fi. It's not made for speed of swooshability, but the various features seem to be made for precise movements underwater that are ideal for exploration, which is what this model is all about! There's a reason that it's the biggest submarine in the Deep Sea Explorers theme this year. Playability
There are a few play features built into the landscape piece. If you lift up the red seaweed, it reveals a crystal. Next, the whale's skeleton can be lifted up to reveal a treasure chest. The whale must've swallowed the treasure chest at some point, so then when it died it left the chest behind. The Deep Sea Submarine has a few moveable sections, including the turbines and arms, complete with three finger. It doesn't have a super great range of motion, but it's enough for the submarine to pick up a treasure chest or grab at the shark. The cockpit window also opens for easy access to the pilot. Final Thoughts
There's plenty of playability with a moderately sized underwater rocky outcropping, two divers, a hefty and realistic looking sub, and a shark. The sub has a good bulky design that looks seaworthy. Not a lot of great parts, but it's not too expensive for somebody wanting to get in on the underwater exploration theme.
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