Review: 71500 Nightmare Shark Submarine
Posted by benbacardi,
The latest wave in the DREAMZzz theme includes a variety of sets in all sizes, from small to large. 71500 Nightmare Shark Submarine is the largest this year, and the second largest of all DREAMZzz sets, with almost 1500 pieces.
A set focused on the antagonists, builders are given a choice of building two large shark-themed vehicles for the cyber villains' evil in-dream shenanigans, and a total of three Dream Catchers with which to thwart their plans.
Summary
71500 Nightmare Shark Submarine, 1,413 pieces.
£129.99 / $149.99 / €139.99 | 9.2p/10.6c/9.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A large, colourful, and impressive main build with lots of fun features, and some truly excellent minifigures!
- Fantastic minifigures
- Impressive and imposing shark builds
- Lots of play features
- None
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The set includes five minifigures and three smaller figures. Mateo and Logan are two of the Dream Chasers, the heroes of the TV show. Mateo has appeared before in many sets, and shares this design with the other sets that feature him released as part of this wave. He may not be unique, but that does not mean it is not a great minifigure—fantastically detailed printing of the jacket, utility belt, and dual-moulded legs, as well as a double-sided expression, printed hair, and a red felt cape.
Logan, however, has not appeared in this form before—usually we see either his blue Beast form or his smaller Lo-Lo shape. Once again, the printing is excellent on all three parts. His head is printed with a blue sweatband around the forehead, and blue markings around his eyes and on his cheeks. A smile on one side is matched by a growl on the other. He's wearing a blue hoodie with a large yellow monster face on it, and his workout gear is very detailed, with a tie at the waistband of his joggers and printed trainers. He also comes with the excellent dual-mould neon yellow cap with ears.
Also included is a Dreamer, somebody who has stumbled into the Dream World in their sleep and is unaware of what is happening around them. They're wearing a visor over their drooling face, and pyjamas with a sleeping cat clutching a pillow decorating the front. More interesting, however, is our first apperance of the dream version of Astrid, another Dream Catcher! She has appeared before in 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven, but not in this incarnation. Every part of the minifigure is fantastic, from the dual-moulded hair and crown, to the ornately detailed white jumpsuit adorned with swirls of gold detailing.
The decoration of her jumpsuit continues onto the rear, although unfortunately she doesn't have a second expression provided, using a generic female face print instead.
Moving on to the antagonists, the set includes the first Dream Smasher minifigure, an evil character in the Dream World whose mission is to syphon creativity out of dreams. As is the standard for DREAMZzz sets, the minifigure is once again excellently detailed. A large helmet covers the plain black head, printed with a skull made of a grid of yellow and white lights. The Cyber Villains' upside down power symbol glows on his black chest, which is printed with gold and white armour, and vibrant blue highlights, which continue down his legs. The effect is completed with a neon yellow felt cape, and looks truly fantastic!
Dream Smasher is accompanied by a mini army of Cyberlings, each with their usual elaborately-designed helmets.
It wouldn't be a battle without weapons, and our heroes are equipped with their usual choices—Mateo's large gun, and Logan's hockey stick. Astrid comes with her golden wheelchair, wielding a large white staff with golden spikes on the end.
Each Cyberling carries their small red daggers, and Dream Smasher is shooting transparent pink lightining from his hands.
Shark Body
The Nightmare Shark is a submarine used by the cyber villains in the dream world. The set provides two options—a shark submarine or a hammerhead shark battleship—but they are both constructed around the same substantial base. This base looks almost like a completed model itself, with only a handful of missing sections or exposed studs that you notice on second glance.
This model is big. Measuring over 50cm long from the tip of its nose to the end of its two large pink tail fins, and almost 25cm wide from the tip of one missile-clad pectoral fin to the other, there's a lot going on! It's primarily black, with a handful of stickers adorning the sides with the code 5H4RK, and a line of coral pink running from its neon yellow eye to its tail. I particularly like the construction of the shark's gills, with more coral just visible beneath some wheel arches, replicating the look of the real animal very well.
The jaw at the front is formidable, with a row of black teeth set into white gums on both the upper and lower jaws. Translucent pink pieces show a glimpse through into the interior of the shark behind the gills, and other stickers provide detailing of the skull emblem and circuitry decals that are the hallmark of the cyber villains.
On top of the shark's body, just behind the head, there's a small space with just enough room for a box with a loop on top to nestle inside.
The box itself contains a handful of coral 1x1 heart tiles, and is labelled with a sticker showing a pixelated heart. I haven't seen the episode of the show where this vehicle features, but I presume it is something to do with the nefarious mission of the cyber villains!
The shark's jaws are hinged, and can open very slightly—though not very far. Just inside are two spring-loaded shooters, which at first glance look to be impossible to fire based on their position, and the path being obstructed by the lower jaw's teeth. However, use of a couple of rubber connectors and a clever design mean that they fire out the mouth as you open it, pushed from beneath by the back of the lower jaw!
Inside the main body of the shark is a large control room, complete with dials and wheels. I particularly like the use of the transparent link curved panels that both provide a view into this compartment, and give an impression of the shark's ribs.
Shark Submarine
About half way through the chunky instruction manual, the purple pages give way to either blue, or green, depending on which option you now choose. The first is the shark submarine. The nose of the shark base is rounded off, finished with a point, and a handrail positioned around the flat top of the shark's head. Surprisingly, the yellow eyes are covered with more yellow eyes—those on the common base are still there, just not visible now.
A mirrored pair of engines are built, using the pixelated flame pieces seen in other DREAMZzz sets and other colours that are part of this wave as exhaust fumees.
Opposite the exhaust, a six-stud shooter represents both weapon and engine intake, and can be fired by twisting the round dial on the side.
The blue clips shown above connect the engines either side of the shark's long tail.
Finally, the submarine is completed by building a conning tower. It houses the Cyber Brain itself, complete with what could be a small periscope, and is adorned with antennas and radar dishes for communication and another of the large pink tail fins. The front of the tower uses some clever techniques to incorporate one of the curved transparent pink visors on upside down.
A round hatch leads down to the submarine interior, and there's space for minifigures to stand behind the hatch. On both sides of the tower, stickers provide more decals, with various skull, cross, and power imagery on vibrant coloured tiles.
The front of the tower folds down and the rear hatch flaps up, enabling a minifigure to stand inside.
Finally, two small platforms are built with a pair of stud shooters each, which attach either side of the tower via a pair of clips. A control handle rises between the stud shooters, with space for cyberling to stand on the single stud. The box and instruction booklet artwork indicates these are detachable flying shuttles, though they're rather blocky and don't look very streamlined for movement through either air or water to me!
The conning tower sits snugly into the gap in the shark's body that provides access to the internal control room, attaching via only a couple of studs to allow for easy removal.
Hammerhead Shark Battleship
Perhaps, however, the submarine is not appealing to you—the alternative build is the Hammerhead Shark Battleship. Because I built both in order to provide this review, I had to deconstruct the submarine to build the battleship, which proved surprisingly easy—the main body of the shark does not change.
The most notable difference is in the shark's head. As the name of the battleship suggests, the sleek curved nose of the traditional shark is replaced with a wide hammerhead nose, vibrant yellow eyes staring from either side of the oversized head.
The head is built in two mirrored sections, studs forward, and attached securely to either side of the shark's top jaw. Primarily black, there's a handful of coral highlights that tie in with the rest of the body, and some white detailing on the underside.
Instead of the conning tower on the submarine, a smaller tower is built for this shark's back. It features similar antenna and radar dishes, but the two engine exhausts are repurposed here too. The hatch into the shark's body lies flat this time, and does not open, but is instead directly behind a large Gatling gun made from a six-stud shooter.
The vibrant tiles with the glitchy imagery are arranged around the rear of the tower, and this time the two smaller flying stud shooter platforms look much more aerodynamic, using the curved pink visors from the previous tower.
With the tower on top of the shark, the flat space in front is taken up by another stud shooter Gatling gun. Both can rotate on their platforms, have a single stud intended for the cyberling operator, and can be fired by twisting the black cog wheels that protrude out the back.
Finally, the last remaining tail fin is attached to the top of the tail, and the completed model is very imposing indeed!
The shark's wide head is most notable when looking at the vehicle from head on—it makes for a very strange profile indeed!
The observant among you may be wondering what happened to the Cyber Brain—in this second model, it's not part of the vehicle, but instead its own separate antagonist for the heroes to fight. It's grown both teeth and large pink tentacles, and definitely looks like the stuff of nightmares.
Verdict
The DREAMZzz sets seem to either fall into a "heroes" or a "villains" category, and this one is firmly in the latter. The enormous shark vehicle, no matter what you choose, is an imposing and impressive set, and the colour scheme of black with vibrant highlights that runs throughout all cyber villain sets works really well.
Despite the set focusing on a vehicle of the "bad guys", we're not short-changed when it comes to the "good guys", however! All the included minifigures are excellent, and to get three that have yet to make an appearance in any other set was a nice surprise. LEGO continues to put considerable effort into the design of the DREAMZzz minifigures, and it really shows.
I was impressed with both of the models, and I can see it being a difficult choice for fans of the show to pick between the two—at least it doesn't take too much effort to rebuild into the other version. The detailing in the shark's body, particularly around the gills and the coral highlight that runs down the length of the shark, are excellent. My only complaint would be that the pectoral fins are a little flimsy and lacklustre compared to the rest of the model, but that really is a minor point.
As you'd expect from a model of this size, there's a lot of play elements included, with a myriad of different stud shooters, and the spring-loaded missiles hidden in the shark's mouth.
On the larger side, it may seem a lot of money for DREAMZzz set, but for fans of the show or children who just enjoy quirky themes and ideas, there's a lot to like. Which would you pick—the submarine, or the hammerhead battleship? Let us know!
71500 Nightmare Shark Submarine is available at LEGO.com for £129.99 / $149.99 / €139.99.
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38 comments on this article
I love it as I do all the Dreams sets but the price seems crazy for what youre getting value and play value wise.
For £20 quid less I'll be able to get the 3in1 Horse Knight Castle when it releases. Modular Galactic Spaceship is nearly half the price.
Very cool if you can justify the price though.
Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?
Hammerhead Shark should've been the main build, since the line already has 71469
I like both models, tho.
@darthnorman said:
"Hammerhead Shark should've been the main build, since the line already has 71469
I like both models, tho."
I can see moc's incoming
I’d consider this if I didn’t already own two Lego shark submarines, somehow.
This was a day -2 purchase for me. A lovely surprise hit but in a dire need of a discount (luckily enough, 30% off was available right from the start and even during preorder at some retailers).
The return of 4793
Nice review!
Given the video game theming of this year's sets, I think the container full of hearts might be meant to represent the sub's "health"! Or conversely, maybe it could be a health upgrade for whichever Dream Chasers can manage to extract it from the sub.
Both models in this set are great, so I'm not sure which one I'll keep the set in in the long term. I'm leaning toward the A-model if only because it has more modular components to mix and match with other sets.
I'm always a bit turned off when in-house LEGO themes inevitably slide towards a gaming/tech theme, but this set is a definite winner among the bunch - not as cool as the Raven but getting close. Worth considering for me if it goes 20-30% off.
I LOVE that sets like this can exist. It's simultaneously weird, fantastical, imaginative, sophisticated and has a great sense of humor. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes LEGO so unique!
Lord Garmadon is so jealous right now.
Anyone else getting 4793 vibes?
This is the closest we're getting to a LEGO military submarine
I'm not quite sure about the "fantastic minifigures" but the set looks great. I like both models.
Pretty cool, but this has nothing on the far superior 6155 and 6190.
This is one Metal Slug-looking vehicle.
I would count that as a plus.
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"This is the closest we're getting to a LEGO military submarine "
I always thought the b-model to 8480 looked somewhat military, but I guess with the deployable seafloor rover it was meant to be for exploration.
This one was a love at first sight for both my son and me.
As many Dreamzzz sets when the builds are close enough, it will end up as a hybrid of the two builds: hammerhead head and turrets (maybe one only if can't fit both), shark conning tower.
Astrid minifig is just gorgeous. I think we may pick some more from PaB. Next we need Lunia minifigs, both as her younger and Mrs Castillo selves
like the skulls, but not for me. Doesn't go well with pirate theme or my ocean stuff. maybe ninjago sets... not this year
Dreamzzz... does not know WHAT it is.
The pectoral fins are pathetic. The figs aren't nearly as cool as 71469, in my opinion. I like that there's more usable interior to the sub that we had with the old ship.
Sad that the in-house theme pricing is getting closer to IP tax level. Nevertheless, I love that we're getting another crazy shark boat. Both iterations look interesting and finished. This will be great at the inevitable $90.
@Mister_Jonny said:
"I’d consider this if I didn’t already own two Lego shark submarines, somehow."
Aquasharks, Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea, one of each, or something else?
@gilgalas said:"Astrid minifig is just gorgeous. I think we may pick some more from PaB."
I'm not planning to get this set, but I may well get an Astrid minifig from PaB, as well.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I’d consider this if I didn’t already own two Lego shark submarines, somehow."
Aquasharks, Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea, one of each, or something else?
@gilgalas said:"Astrid minifig is just gorgeous. I think we may pick some more from PaB."
I'm not planning to get this set, but I may well get an Astrid minifig from PaB, as well."
6190 and 70656!
@Mister_Jonny said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I’d consider this if I didn’t already own two Lego shark submarines, somehow."
Aquasharks, Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea, one of each, or something else?
@gilgalas said:"Astrid minifig is just gorgeous. I think we may pick some more from PaB."
I'm not planning to get this set, but I may well get an Astrid minifig from PaB, as well."
6190 and 70656 !
"
I have those as well... and 8058 .
And, an underwater sharky mech that shoots sharks. 70613.
Dissapointing/10
Also why the hammershark is not a main model? It looks WAY better.
@Mister_Jonny said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
"I’d consider this if I didn’t already own two Lego shark submarines, somehow."
Aquasharks, Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea, one of each, or something else?
@gilgalas said:"Astrid minifig is just gorgeous. I think we may pick some more from PaB."
I'm not planning to get this set, but I may well get an Astrid minifig from PaB, as well."
6190 and 70656!"
I have the one and want the other.
I adore the builds and the minifigs. Dreamzzz is such a great theme.
@GirlWoman said:
"Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?"
It's been discussed on other reviews, but the conclusion I've come to is: there is no logic.
Some claim it's for ease of (re)building for younger audiences, but 4+ sets use the soft fabric capes.
Some claim it's for playability, but the rubber capes actively impede the figures in how they interact with seats and other tight spaces (more than a backpack piece!).
Some claim it's for dynamic posing... but it's a static rubber element and none are doing more than resting slightly off the back.
I personally really don't like the rubber capes, they only make sense for shapes that can't be made with fabric.
@Nuclearxpotato said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?"
It's been discussed on other reviews, but the conclusion I've come to is: there is no logic.
Some claim it's for ease of (re)building for younger audiences, but 4+ sets use the soft fabric capes.
Some claim it's for playability, but the rubber capes actively impede the figures in how they interact with seats and other tight spaces (more than a backpack piece!).
Some claim it's for dynamic posing... but it's a static rubber element and none are doing more than resting slightly off the back.
I personally really don't like the rubber capes, they only make sense for shapes that can't be made with fabric."
I think that's it. Rubber capes allow for complex draping effects but require a mold. Aren't these used more in DC/Marvel to produce a more dramatic look suitable for the themes ? The only one I own is from 76205. I seldom purchase super hero/SW sets and in all other sets I have only ever gotten cloth capes.
@gilgalas said:
" @Nuclearxpotato said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?"
It's been discussed on other reviews, but the conclusion I've come to is: there is no logic.
Some claim it's for ease of (re)building for younger audiences, but 4+ sets use the soft fabric capes.
Some claim it's for playability, but the rubber capes actively impede the figures in how they interact with seats and other tight spaces (more than a backpack piece!).
Some claim it's for dynamic posing... but it's a static rubber element and none are doing more than resting slightly off the back.
I personally really don't like the rubber capes, they only make sense for shapes that can't be made with fabric."
I think that's it. Rubber capes allow for complex draping effects but require a mold. Aren't these used more in DC/Marvel to produce a more dramatic look suitable for the themes ? The only one I own is from 76205. I seldom purchase super hero/SW sets and in all other sets I have only ever gotten cloth capes."
I mean, you have to admit that 30653 wouldn't look anywhere near as impressive if Batman was wearing a cloth cape.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @gilgalas said:
" @Nuclearxpotato said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?"
It's been discussed on other reviews, but the conclusion I've come to is: there is no logic.
Some claim it's for ease of (re)building for younger audiences, but 4+ sets use the soft fabric capes.
Some claim it's for playability, but the rubber capes actively impede the figures in how they interact with seats and other tight spaces (more than a backpack piece!).
Some claim it's for dynamic posing... but it's a static rubber element and none are doing more than resting slightly off the back.
I personally really don't like the rubber capes, they only make sense for shapes that can't be made with fabric."
I think that's it. Rubber capes allow for complex draping effects but require a mold. Aren't these used more in DC/Marvel to produce a more dramatic look suitable for the themes ? The only one I own is from 76205. I seldom purchase super hero/SW sets and in all other sets I have only ever gotten cloth capes."
I mean, you have to admit that 30653 wouldn't look anywhere near as impressive if Batman was wearing a cloth cape."
That cape is probably the exception, the new Mateo rubber cape is also interesting because it is cast in a rubber trans-bright green, which obviously wouldn't be possible otherwise.
Otherwise, the rubber capes don't go beyond the width of the torso and are pretty passive. The one in the HP Dueling Club set is especially weird since that set would benefit more from a fabric cape which would flap around when being flinged.
@Nuclearxpotato said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @gilgalas said:
" @Nuclearxpotato said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"Cloth capes! So they are not discontinued yet! Does anyone know what the logic here is for what they use cloth capes and for what they use plastic capes?"
It's been discussed on other reviews, but the conclusion I've come to is: there is no logic.
Some claim it's for ease of (re)building for younger audiences, but 4+ sets use the soft fabric capes.
Some claim it's for playability, but the rubber capes actively impede the figures in how they interact with seats and other tight spaces (more than a backpack piece!).
Some claim it's for dynamic posing... but it's a static rubber element and none are doing more than resting slightly off the back.
I personally really don't like the rubber capes, they only make sense for shapes that can't be made with fabric."
I think that's it. Rubber capes allow for complex draping effects but require a mold. Aren't these used more in DC/Marvel to produce a more dramatic look suitable for the themes ? The only one I own is from 76205. I seldom purchase super hero/SW sets and in all other sets I have only ever gotten cloth capes."
I mean, you have to admit that 30653 wouldn't look anywhere near as impressive if Batman was wearing a cloth cape."
That cape is probably the exception, the new Mateo rubber cape is also interesting because it is cast in a rubber trans-bright green, which obviously wouldn't be possible otherwise.
Otherwise, the rubber capes don't go beyond the width of the torso and are pretty passive. The one in the HP Dueling Club set is especially weird since that set would benefit more from a fabric cape which would flap around when being flinged."
Another point regarding Dr. Strange's cape is that it's a character in its own right, frequently moving about by itself. A fabric cape just wouldn't have the same effect as the molded one.
Man I wish this was trans neon orange instead of pink.
@MisterBrickster said:
"Man I wish this was trans neon orange instead of pink."
To be honest, I'm very thankful this set has pieces in underrepresented colors. That has been one of the strengths of DreamZzz and Friends: creating unique, surprising, or innovative color schemes that work well and adding a significant number of recolors to the existing pool each year.
@whiteghost said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Man I wish this was trans neon orange instead of pink."
To be honest, I'm very thankful this set has pieces in underrepresented colors. That has been one of the strengths of DreamZzz and Friends: creating unique, surprising, or innovative color schemes that work well and adding a significant number of recolors to the existing pool each year."
Yes, but, but, TNO!
@TheOtherMike said:
" @whiteghost said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"Man I wish this was trans neon orange instead of pink."
To be honest, I'm very thankful this set has pieces in underrepresented colors. That has been one of the strengths of DreamZzz and Friends: creating unique, surprising, or innovative color schemes that work well and adding a significant number of recolors to the existing pool each year."
Yes, but, but, TNO!"
The past is a different country, and that country is transparently neon. I suppose you could argue that highlighter yellow is at least transLUCENT, but that's just because that eyeblight of a colour will always find new and exciting ways to disappoint you.
This set feels like a cross between 79121 and 43114. (Though not quite as poorly executed as either of those.)
I hope that Astrid's dual-modeled hair piece is reused in other sets!
This feels like a classic villain theme with some cool modern touches.
I just noticed there's one more set in this "faction" and a bunch of smaller enemies that appear to be part of it strewn about as part of the "Hero" sets. It would've been cool if they'd made a whole range of proper sets of it, but this is better than nothing I guess.