This was the first set I’d ever seen that had a modified minifig head. I think the Monster Fighter werewolf was close behind.

@MrBob said:
"Wreck Raider? Guess someone in this set is named Ralph."

Nah. This guy comes in after the fact.

@MrBob said:
"Wreck Raider? Guess someone in this set is named Ralph."

Must be the shark, as the diver's name is Ace Speedman, if I recall correctly.

@Sandinista said:
""You know I've got that blind date tomorrow night?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epxe3d_K2C4

All I think of when I see that figure"

That's funny!

I have a couple of those. Always thought they were from Ninjago.

'The More You Know.'

I own this set. also the "flick fire missiles" don't work well

@cooljoe said:
"This theme single handedly brought me out of my dark age. I loved aquanauts and this was neat spiritual successor to that theme. "

I also managed to collage together a theme-overarching underwater collection, thanks to a steal bulk lot of Atlantis sets.

This is a fun and well-designed product for its size with a key and a stellar shark guardian figure. The speeder has a nice shape to it, too.

Honestly, this could make for a good starting point as some sort of midi or smaller scale spaceship MOC.

One set I owned as a kid. Pretty decent model, and I see Sharkman every once in a while (albeit with a chewed up head thanks to my younger brother who was a toddler at the time)).

Trying to fire those missiles only causes the black piece to flip down... Ugh.

Also, isn't it weird how the shark warrior has the squid key and not the shark one?

Quick, find an alternate use for the keystones in MOCs! I remember someone already used the green one as the Talisman for 9 (this was an above-Minifigure scale MOC, it would be too big otherwise).

This was one of the first sets I got when I came out of my Dark Age. The price was good for what you got and the vehicle was a nice size.

@Bobsy said:
"Ugh, Atlantis was such a disappointment as a theme. The first (and so far only) theme to use Greco-Roman styles, and then mixing it in with creepy, almost Lovecraftian undersea monsters... and the majority of sets were just submarines. Such a let-down.

The City of Atlantis set wasn't even that great, but at least had a bit of a sense of style. But this, and all the other red subs, felt just like filler."

Those were my initial thoughts. It didn't help that almost all subs were one-person affairs, and the big one (8075) was clearly too slim to have any interior.

But it has grown on me, at least some of it. 7985 The City of Atlantis and 8080 Undersea Explorer are gems. The city is the only one with substantial Greco-Roman stylings. And the 8060 Typhoon Turbo Sub was a nice relatively inexpensive first set.

I don't own them, but 8061 Gateway of the Squid, 8078 Portal to Atlantis and 8077 Explorarion HQ look nice too.

That said, for your lovecraftian fill I'd recommend the Hidden Side sets over anything. That theme was amazing!

@Brickalili said:
"I feel like if you're really just there for exploration and research calling your sub a 'raider' is maybe the wrong move"

The Atlantis crew were originally a deep sea salvage crew. It just so happens that the distressesd submarine they were going to salvage was at the start of Atlantean territory (Sam Rhodes, daughter of a man who wrote a book on the subject of Atlantis, might have helped).

They should make a new underwater theme,last water thing we got was ninjago seabound in 2021.

I LOVED this little set. The Atlantis subs in general had such a neat aesthetic, and I loved how this one was built around an odd-numbered width.

@Bobsy:
I was more disappointed in the fact that they didn’t extend the fluting to the studs on the 2x2 round column brick, since that part of the stud is flattened and won’t actually touch anything, ever, when properly assembled into a model. It just leaves a repeating series of not-fluted spots that break up the clean look of a Greek column.

@Trigger_:
One bracelet to rule them all
One bracelet to find them
One bracelet to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them

@StyleCounselor:
I wasn’t trying to provide an exhaustive list, but yeah, that was an exclusive mold (and annoyingly in a color that’s not easy to turn into a full sharkman). The new set uses the CMF shark hat, which is the only hat to include a full tail. The Vidiyo modified head also has a full tail. I want to make a shark car at some point, and the tails make it hard to seat those minifigs, but those heads/hats look the best.

Also, all the TNM shark heads have computer boxes mounted over the chest. Not sure what that’s about, since I don’t recall it for any of the many other aquatic people in that theme.

@StyleCounselor said:
"Don't forget 4762: Rescue from the Merpeople. I believe that was a shark hat over the head in the Ninjago style."
I looked it up on Bricklink, and yes, it does. Makes sense, since Viktor transformed himself to have a shark head, thus the transformation is easier to replicate when playing.

@Ridgeheart said: "In all seriousness, 80049 is literally still on the frontpage of this site, and the review for 43225 was only a little while ago."
Yes, but those are individual sets, what @GenericLegoFan wants (and I'm right there with him) is a complete theme.

@blogzilly said:
" @SuicideSkwad said:
"Atlantis, Power Miners, Agents, Space Police III. The golden age of LEGO "

Don’t forget Galaxy Squad, Monster Fighters and Alien Conquest. I loved all this stuff. Their internally produced themes could not be beat.

"

Subjectivity is funny. Because, being born at the very start of the 90's, I can't help but think of the "golden age" as Adventurers, Aquazone et al, Rock Raiders, the last few "peaceful" Space themes like Exploriens, Insectoids, and Life on Mars, the start of Bionicle... And that's not even getting into the side materials like the LEGO magazine's comics and reader submitted MOCs.

I completely missed the era of LEGO you guys are referring to. Even with all the second hand information out there, my own biases generally leave me thinking that both the one-offs and the progenitor themes of the late 90's/early Aughts were more compelling.

@Spritetoggle said:
" @blogzilly said:
" @SuicideSkwad said:
"Atlantis, Power Miners, Agents, Space Police III. The golden age of LEGO "

Don’t forget Galaxy Squad, Monster Fighters and Alien Conquest. I loved all this stuff. Their internally produced themes could not be beat.

"

Subjectivity is funny. Because, being born at the very start of the 90's, I can't help but think of the "golden age" as Adventurers, Aquazone et al, Rock Raiders, the last few "peaceful" Space themes like Exploriens, Insectoids, and Life on Mars, the start of Bionicle... And that's not even getting into the side materials like the LEGO magazine's comics and reader submitted MOCs.

I completely missed the era of LEGO you guys are referring to. Even with all the second hand information out there, my own biases generally leave me thinking that both the one-offs and the progenitor themes of the late 90's/early Aughts were more compelling."

You would have been a young teen when GS and MF were out, yes? When did you start getting into LEGO really heavily? Thing is, most of my LEGOing has been done in 2 to 5 chunks spanning over 50 years, and I missed most of that stuff I mentioned and a few others during various Dark Ages I went through. What was interesting was when I came out of the last one and I got to pick up some of the sets produced in the early 2000s through, hmm…I’d say up to 2014 ish…and compare how building had changed, parts, etc.

I love still picking up older sets when I can. I’m not alone in that regard, obviously.

@blogzilly

I was involved with LEGO initially from whenever I was old enough to start doing so (can't remember specifics, but quite young), until early 2003. From there, I went into something of a "Grey Age" until 2018. I think my bias for the period of sets I mentioned is largely due to the "grew up with it" effect, and seeing something akin to "elegance in simplicity" in those sets when compared to the later themes that evolved from them, e.g. Aquazone to Aqua Raiders, Rock Raiders to Power Miners, etc.

My love for the heavy use of trans-neon colors, and the overall aesthetics of that period are probably tied into that "grew up with it" concept. Both with the LEGO sets themselves, and the 90's in general.

...I miss the neon. I had a clipboard made of something similar to LEGO's trans-neon colors, with how they refract light to the edges, creating the illusion of that they're glowing.

Ahem. Anyways. My full awareness and attention returning to LEGO in 2018 was definitely some sort of culture shock, that's for sure. And I absolutely appreciate how LEGO designs have evolved since my childhood. It's amazing how much things have changed with new techniques and parts. Which is why I fully admit that it's bias driving my opinion here.

@Ridgeheart said:
" @GenericLegoFan said:
"They should make a new underwater theme,last water thing we got was ninjago seabound in 2021."

Every theme is an underwater theme if you're brave enough.

In all seriousness, 80049 is literally still on the frontpage of this site, and the review for 43225 was only a little while ago. And I have it on good authority that that set takes place under the sea~"

I meant full subtheme or entire theme

@Spritetoggle said:
" @blogzilly

I was involved with LEGO initially from whenever I was old enough to start doing so (can't remember specifics, but quite young), until early 2003. From there, I went into something of a "Grey Age" until 2018. I think my bias for the period of sets I mentioned is largely due to the "grew up with it" effect, and seeing something akin to "elegance in simplicity" in those sets when compared to the later themes that evolved from them, e.g. Aquazone to Aqua Raiders, Rock Raiders to Power Miners, etc.

My love for the heavy use of trans-neon colors, and the overall aesthetics of that period are probably tied into that "grew up with it" concept. Both with the LEGO sets themselves, and the 90's in general.

...I miss the neon. I had a clipboard made of something similar to LEGO's trans-neon colors, with how they refract light to the edges, creating the illusion of that they're glowing.

Ahem. Anyways. My full awareness and attention returning to LEGO in 2018 was definitely some sort of culture shock, that's for sure. And I absolutely appreciate how LEGO designs have evolved since my childhood. It's amazing how much things have changed with new techniques and parts. Which is why I fully admit that it's bias driving my opinion here."

I love the translucent neon stuff, too, honestly. Photographs really well in funky lighting.