This set caught my eye as something unique amongst the designer line of sets. I thought that the submarine looked kind of nice. Still, because the secondary models on the box looked quirky, I didn't have high expectations for this product. But, boy, did it ever deliver?

To my surprise, the finished submarine looks great and feels very lifelike (with the possible exception of the front flood door and the rudder). The sonar buoy dropping function is very clever and works amazingly well. To reload the buoys in the submarine, a large hatch opens up in the rear of the sub. A very nice touch is the little ROV that attaches and detaches from the back of the submarine. Completing the sub leaves a lot of parts unused that then are employed in the building of three additional submersibles (pictured on the front cover). All three of them have one or two manual functions each and are interesting in and of themselves. The elongated mini-sub can be parked inside the large submarine, which is also fun to play with. It also features two deployable stabilizers. The end product of the build is a small fleet of five underwater vehicles (counting in the mini-ROV carried by the large submarine) that look great, are fun to play with, and can be used in an underwater scene when combined with some of the divers sets (http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Town/subtheme-Divers).

The box is the usual showcase of models - nothing more nothing less. The set comes with a leaflet giving some basic facts about the machinery used in underwater exploration. The instructions give twenty or so building ideas, but contain step-by-step instructions only for a couple models - most notably the submarine, the underwater habitat, and six or so ROVs. Curiously enough, only the submarine and the habitat have part counts for each step. The rest of the models don't have counts. Supposedly, the idea here is for the builder to get used progressively to the idea of less than precise instructions leading to the eventual ability to recreate the models from the "ideas" pictures alone. I must say, building a model without part counts at each step requires a whole lot more concentration since it is easy to miss a brick leading to retracing of multiple steps.

The build in this set is quick and straight-forward for the most part, yet it's satisfying. The set features a lot of fancy bricks that are rare in the LEGO sets. Perhaps this goes hand in hand with the "designer" designation of the set. It probably would have been better though if the designers had used more standard parts instead. I must say though that this set definitely is designed to spur creativity and encourages experimentation with the designs, which is very nice.

All in all, I find this set very fun and satisfying. The submarine looks great and as built solid. I like the functions that it has and the fact that one can build all the submersibles from the cover at the same time. The final product meshes up very well with the divers theme too. If you are into underwater exploration, I definitely would give this set a try. For me personally, this set is a keeper.

This set is worth buying just for the pieces. If I had to choose all of the sets in our collection for the kids to play with, I think this one would be it. It has a huge book of different models, and they are all complex in function. I got this set on sale at the lego education web site and regret not buying more than one so the kids can have an extra supply for imagination play. The only 'negative' for the set is that it has such great pieces that they get used in imagination play and then none of the built models can be created. If you see it on sale, buy more than one!

I like very much the sets from Lego Designer line of products..and this one is one of my favourites! Great playability, many pieces, cool design. The main construction, the submarine, is cool and comes with a hangar where you can place another underwater ship, a little exploration bot and a ingenious system to leave barrels from the lower side of the body. The other constructions are very nice and with many mobile parts..
..i enjoyed very much everything in this set!:)

this is an amasing set, it has lots of playable fetures. my favorite is the sub with the hands, but the larger submarine is a close contender. the barrel dropping thing is amazing and never fails to work. its good that the little sub fits in the large one. the little tank track robot is quite cool. there is nothing rong with the set, it just doent rank a five on my scale. but still an awsome set!

The four models on the front of the box look pretty good. Some of the other instructions look kinda lame, but there are 11 different models in there, so there should be something for everyone. Also this set is a nice boost to your collection of yellow pieces.