Review: 76085 Battle of Atlantis
Posted by CapnRex101,
Three Justice League sets will be officially released on the 1st of August, the smallest of which is 76085 Battle of Atlantis. This contains 197 pieces and is priced at £19.99 or $19.99 so seems to offer reasonable value, particularly given the generous inclusion of four figures. Moreover, most of these minifigures are exclusive and Aquaman in particular looks marvellous based on the official set images.
However, the standard of Super Heroes sets is usually very mixed and many of those we have seen based on the DC Extended Universe have been disappointing so I remain cautious about the quality of the three Justice League sets. Hopefully this example will impress...
Minifigures
Justice League will mark the first appearance of Aquaman in a live action film and I am very much looking forward to Jason Momoa's depiction of the Marine Marvel. This minifigure looks brilliant, with an intricately detailed design covering both sides of the torso and the legs. The combination of pearl gold and dark green is very striking, although the area covered with gold seems to exceed that shown in promotional shots for the movie.
However, there is no doubting the accuracy of the brand new hair piece which is a perfect shape and colour, even including some bright streaks at the front. I hope this element will appear elsewhere in future sets as the texturing is very impressive and it could be used for either male or female characters. The head, on the other hand, is very masculine and includes some rough facial hair and two expressions, one featuring a slight smile and the other showing Aquaman's white eyes as he uses his powers.
The minifigure comes with two trans-light blue power blasts and the famed Trident of Neptune which is cast in pearl dark grey. This element has appeared before but is new in this colour and the lightsaber handle fitted to the butt helps to distinguish it from similar accessories which is very pleasing. As ever, the power blasts can be launched by pressing on the tail and they have a range of about a foot so are quite a neat feature in my opinion.
The two Atlantean Guards wear brand new helmets featuring some piscine fins which protect their cheeks and the sides of the head. They look splendid and I like the shaping around the eyes and mouth which leave areas of the face exposed. We have yet to see these characters in any trailers or images but I am sure LEGO will have remained faithful to whatever preliminary material was available.
Removing the helmets reveals two different heads, neither of which are particularly common. The head shown on the left was introduced for Legolas from The Lord of the Rings and features angry and neutral expressions while that on the right belongs to Anakin Skywalker and has only been used twice previously.
Both guards sport golden armour covering almost their entire body. The printing is very detailed, particularly between the armour plates where some subtle fish scale designs are visible, just as on Aquaman. They are armed with white harpoon guns which have not appeared in this colour before and each weapon includes a couple of tan cones and a trans-orange hollow stud, indicating that these weapons fire a laser of some kind in the film.
Parademons are present throughout the Justice League range, appearing in all three sets so you can build an army with relative ease. This yellow Parademon is a little less common than the green variant but is my favourite of the two as the yellow and dark blue colour scheme really shows off the exceptional detail to its fullest potential. The entire minifigure is richly decorated with insectile armour and the tiny speckles create a good sense of texture.
The Parademon's wings are truly spectacular, again featuring a high level of detail. They are made from a pliable plastic and attach to a neck bracket, much like Hawkman's wings in 76028 Darkseid Invasion. My only reservation relates to the bright colour scheme as this may not be an accurate reflection of these drones in the film. Even so, the minifigure looks superb and comes equipped with a standard stud shooter.
The Completed Model
Steppenwolf has come to Earth alongside an army of Parademons in search of three Mother Boxes, one of which is located in Atlantis. This set depicts part of the submerged city which is seemingly ruined as fallen brickwork litters the ground and plant life has grown over the columns. Sand green dominates the structure which looks brilliant and is very suitable for an undersea environment, as is the dark blue base and sand blue accent colour.
The white Mother Box is placed on top of a short column and is simply constructed using four pieces. 1x2 grille bricks provide some texture to the sides and a rather nice printed tile, featuring a unique design, adorns the top. The column includes a couple of sand green masonry bricks, fourteen of which are found throughout the set. These are still fairly rare, having been used in just six previous sets and never before in such a large quantity.
The larger structure includes two small pillars flanking an elaborate archway. This is formed using four 1x2x5 bricks which have only appeared in sand green twice before while the 1x6 arch is brand new in this colour. Two large stickers give the impression of rough surfaces around the archway and a couple of angled slopes introduced with the NEXO Knights theme decorate the top of the building. The trans-light blue windscreen is new and the pearl dark grey 4x4 wedge slope is also very rare, having been seen only in 70626 Dawn of Iron Doom.
The pillars can be toppled as each one is placed on a 2x2 jumper plate, yet another piece which has only been used a few times before! Stickers depict lichen and limpets on the stonework and four glow-in-the-dark 1x1 round plates add some extra detail, perhaps suggesting the presence of some bioluminescent plant life. Furthermore, two spares are usefully included as construction is divided over two bags.
Turning the model around reveals a space to hide the Mother Box behind the trans-light blue windscreen. The windscreen rests in a pair of 1x2 corner panels so does not seem to be fitted very securely, although I have not found that it falls out unless intended. The Mother Box looks rather precarious too but also remains firmly ensconced in its slot until a play feature is activated.
A trans-clear super jumper allows the Parademon to leap up and knock over the windscreen, thereby releasing the Mother Box and allowing the villain to steal it. The function works reasonably well but is incredibly rudimentary and spoils the appearance of the archway from the rear. The bright blue elements look especially out of place when surrounded by muted colours but even these are not entirely inappropriate for an scene set underwater.
Overall
76085 Battle of Atlantis contains an exceptional selection of minifigures and pieces but the Atlantean scenery is not particularly interesting. I quite like the ruined pillars and the sand green colour scheme looks great but there are few play features included and the main function relies upon a super jumper which is not terribly effective. The model also feels rather small when compared with other Super Heroes sets of a similar price.
Nevertheless, the Aquaman minifigure is excellent and the exclusive guards seem certain to prove popular so I would certainly recommend this set. The price of £19.99 or $19.99 is reasonable based on the piece count, the generous number of minifigures and the plethora of new parts but the ruins are fairly inconsequential and I think there is room to improve upon the play features. Even so, this is a worthy purchase among the Justice League sets.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the set in the comments below.
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25 comments on this article
I love this set. The build is mediocre but the parts included are fantastic! Then there are the figures: 4 is pretty high for a $20 set so the price for the set is incredible especially when you consider the other sets and how the price is very steep. There are 2 new molds (aquaman's hair and golden helmet) so the build wont be anything too good because lego likes to maintain a balance. The set is overall an awesome purchase for me!
My sentiment is... lukewarm towards this set.
I like this set more and more after reading/watching some reviews. The minifig selection is of course the main attraction, but there are also lots of useful pieces in there.
What I dislike, though, is that many sets, specially from the Super Heroes range, relay more upon cool minifigures and rare/useful pieces than actual engineering and design. There is certainly limits to what you can build with a limited number of pieces, yet this set offers a build that is far from good.
If I buy this set, I'm going to build other thing with the bricks, because the scenery is too poor. The minifigs on other hand are excellent.
Great minifigures but a completely worthless and tiny Atlantis scene. I guess the best way to look at it is that its just a battle pack that's 5 dollars more.
This set is splendid and just cries to be bought to MOC a bigger scene.
Those Atlantean guards and the scenery really makes me wish LEGO would bring back the Atlantis theme, I loved that one so much and LEGO has evolved so much just in the 6-7 years since that such a theme could be so much more amazing now.
Hmm, it seems I will need to pick up several of these for parts. Hoping that selling the figs will come close to covering the cost of the fantastic pieces!
It's literally just the same thing from the Black Manta Deep Sea Strike or whatever it is called..
I really like those figs and the colors for the scenery. It looks small but I really like it.
Buying it for my Atlantis series army! I just will give those guys better, more monstrous heads!
Great pieces, colors, and figs. As already said, the build is not so great. I'm still planning to buy it.
One of the few times that a part pack (sand green bricks) includes not only a nice amount of minifigs but also with so much details in their prints. Thanks for the review btw!
The build is of course quite boring on this set, but I will probably buy it because I like the look of the columns, the foliage, the sand green color scheme, and the minifigures - especially the fish people! I generally have no interest in DC Superheoroes, but this one works for a general undersea theme.
I've been trying to figure out from the pictures, but I can't tell for sure; what is the exact color of The Parademon's head, torso, and hands? It looks like Bright Light Orange, which would be fantastic as it completes another monochrome minifigure. Can anyone clear this up for me? Thanks.
I don't like it. It'll be roughly 40 NZD over here. That feels like to much for what you get.
I like it and intend to get it.
Can anyone shed any light on how hard it would be to mod out the fagility of the columns (simply removing the jumper plates?) and the play feature at the top/back of the arch?
As several others have already mentioned above, the Atlantean scenery is a bit underwhelming. I plan on supplementing it with a modded throne archway from 79018 Lonely Mountain. Remove/replace the pearl gold parts and substitute kelp pieces for the flames in the sconces and you're most of the way to turning Erebor into a substantial neptunian structure.
I like the figures and the parts. Those are very nice. However, I do agree that the set itself is a bit saddening.
Like many others, I am disappointed with the overall scale and size of the build, it looks quite incomplete. However, I do understand that the Lego designers were probably restricted in terms of how big they could make the set (given the price point etc.) I don't expect to see lots of these on the shelves- they do make good part packs (particularly for the sand green pieces) and does also offer a nice impulse buy for parents with children. Where the minifigures are concerned, they all look amazing and the level of printing on each should definitely be appreciated from a fans' point of view.
Overall, this set does lack a significant build (in my opinion), but does a good job at replicating the "Atlantis" type feel. For me, this will not be a Day 1 purchase, but I may pick it up later (when on sale or on clearance). Nice review @CapnRex101
I love the colors and the minifigs. I will be getting this set and then looking on ebay for the set without the minifigs. I hold out for sets like this were I like everything and not just some of the parts or some of the minifigs.
The back of the parademon's head looks like a face with small eyes, big squashed nose and giant blue lips.
No need to thank me if you can never un-see the face from now on!
This will be the only Justice League set that I get. The others are too pricey.
Aqua man looks badass and I love the pieces in the set, may get it just for that.
Legolas and Anakin Skywalker would be a pleasant and useful add to the Justice League tho
I think Lego should use those Atlantean Guard heads for new Star Wars Stormtroopers