Lego Atlantis Monster Crab Clash #8056

QUICK INFO:
Name: Monster Crab Clash #8056
Line: Lego - Atlantis
Year: January 2010
Price: $6.99

I picked this up while doing a little Christmas shopping a few weeks back while @ Toys R Us. I was surprised to see it on the shelf since it is part of Lego's 2010 line-up, but since I had a coupon I thought why not. Is the new Atlantis theme going to be a worthy addition to the Lego family? Let's take a quick look at one of the first sets released.

The packaging is very nicely laid out. I can definitely see kids getting excited about the whole under water theme and action shots depicted on the packaging. The back of the box does highlight some of the play aspects of the toy. The front pair of claws can be opened and closed and the crab legs are fully articulated.

The front claws are rather large when compared to the rest of the crab's body. The lower section of the claws have what appears to be little gray "teeth". I love the orange used in this set. You don't see much of it however except the little horns on each leg. Continuing the trend with newer Lego sets is the inclusion of a few stickers to apply. This time around you have a small sticker that forms the crabs eyes as well as 3 triangle shaped stickers that give the abdomen some detail.

Where this set really shines in my opinion is with the mini-figure. I usually stick to the City themed sets so I'm not sure if the breathing harness / helmet is a new piece, but I don't recall seeing this piece used in previous sets. All of the Atlantis sets come with their own unique colored disc. I'm not sure what they are or what their purpose is, but it fits firmly in the diver's hands. You also get a standard issue spear gun and flippers.

The diver comes with a double sided head. One side the standard face and on the flip side a frightened face. I chose this face since he's going up against a monster crab. The detail on the mini-figure's body is top notch. From the breathing tubes on his chest to the waist belt to the small round red "patch" on the leg there is no shortage of detail. The arms and flippers are a light olive color. Odd choice in my opinion, but it works.

All in all this is a good little set for the money. The crab has a lot of play value with all the moving parts and the mini-figure is pure gold. If the rest of the Atlantis sets deliver as well as this set I believe this new theme will have plenty of fans for a long time to come.