Atlantis
- This article is about the theme, Atlantis. For the game with a similar name, see 3851 Atlantis Treasure.
| Atlantis | |
|---|---|
| Years: |
2010 - Present |
| Related themes: | |
Atlantis is a LEGO System theme released in January 2010[1]. The plot revolves around a team of underwater explorers searching for the sunken city of Atlantis, and its sets consist of models of futuristic submarines, giant sea monsters and ancient underwater sites. The theme includes many new minifigure head moulds as well as a new breathing apparatus, among other new elements, specifically the exclusive keys, which are currently available in five different variations, each with pictures of water creatures: from Crabs and Squids to Sharks, Manta Rays, and Turtles. A sixth key appears in 7985 Temple of Atlantis. There is also a movie that accompanies the Atlantis theme that was played on Nickolodeon and on LEGO.com with the completion of the Atlantis games on the site. It is also played at LEGOLAND Carslbad, at the end of the Sea World exhibit.
In mid-November 2009, a teaser website was put up on LEGO.com. The full site was released on January 5 2010 (US, UK, western Europe), January 7 (Central and Northern Europe), January 18 (Southern and Eastern Europe), and April 1 (Japan).[2] The teaser website had very little-the main feature was a downloadable program known as the atlantis cube. It had a daily fact about sea life, a map of the route to atlantis with "speculation" on the different areas, as well as a link to LEGO.com and a few other features.
On January 15th, Cartoon Network released LEGO Atlantis: The Movie (which featured actual voices, unlike previous mini-movie, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick) which included all of the sets from January (except 8079, because it is limited edition).
Most of the sets include stickers that feature that set's product identification number.
In the 2011 sets, the Divers have yellow-coloured suits, instead of the previous green ones.
Contents
Description
Atlantis features a group of explorers that are searching the sea floor for the eponymous lost city of Atlantis from ancient myths. They are equipped with a wide array of red futuristic underwater vehicles with light green viewports and weaponry. During their quest they encounter giant guardians, as well as the warriors of Atlantis, which include a Sharks, Squids, and Manta Rays with humanoid forms. The sets of this theme include either the vehicles of the explorers, ruin sites or single guardians (or a combination of these).
The theme reprises several elements from earlier underwater LEGO themes, but combines them with a new distinctive look and an unprecedented setting. The concept of underwater treasure hunters came from Aquazone (1995-1998), Divers (1997), and Aqua Raiders (2007), with the latter two being of a more modern design, and the former being of a more futuristic design. Atlantis introduced more futuristic vehicles, as did the earlier Aquazone theme, but the new designs in Atlantis bear little similarity to those of previous LEGO submarines, a look which is reinforced by the red and light green color scheme, which was never seen before in an underwater theme. The new theme also has a more elaborate back story than its predecessors, showcased on a dedicated website. In addition to this, all included minifigures (from the hero faction) portray individual, named characters, a concept that was also put to use in the Power Miners line from 2009. The villains in Atlantis are underwater creatures that have regular minifigure bodies but monstrous heads. Previous underwater themes featured antagonists that were other groups of humans, while some did not feature any villains at all, or rather pitted the main characters against giant sea creatures.
Story
Information on the story of Atlantis was released on the teaser website in addition to the completed website, where users can view the Secret Journal of Dr. Artimus Rhodes, a 1919 scientist, which provides some information about the background of the new theme. The journal also mentions the doctor's granddaughter Samantha, who was also featured as a minifigure in several of the new sets. The last entry in the journal, made by Dr. Samantha Morris-Rhodes, is dated to the year 1991. When Samantha Artisius Rhodes is born, years later she tricks the Deep Sea Salvage Crew into hunting for Atlantis. She uses the map of Atlantis (which is pyramid-shaped) to find all of the keys. After finding four keys, they head to the Shark Castle, only to find that a single key is missing. The Pyramid then opens to reveal the fifth key. After placing the Keys in the right places and turning them, it generates the Portal to Atlantis.
History
In the September issue of the LEGO Club Magazine, a pull-out poster was released, showing a radar screen with a red dot that marks the position of Atlantis. Also, the date 1/1/2010 is mentioned, suggesting a release or further announcements at the beginning of the next year. Below is an English translation of the promo poster.
| Source: http://www.brickhorizon.com/boardz/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1500&start=15 | |
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Translation: | |
Not long after this poster was found, several sets were on display at a Russian Toy Event along with select other 2010 LEGO sets.
In mid-November, several lucky individuals managed to find the sets 8056, 8058, and 8060 in their local Toys-R-Us stores and, subsequently, several of the parts and sets have been appearing on Bricklink.
In the meantime, a teaser site for Atlantis was included on LEGO.com. It did not contain a great deal of detailed information, but featured a minigame in which users can "navigate" the bottom of the ocean and find some of the hidden secrets. There was also the secret journal as mentioned above, as well as a downloadable desktop icon which provides free, high quality desktop images available for download, as well as information concerning some of the theme's key locations.
As of December 1st, all Atlantis sets, including the two impulse sets, were released for the Christmas holidays in the US. These are 8072 Sea Jet and 8073 Manta Warrior.
In the UK January 2010 edition of the LEGO Shop@Home Catalog, a new piece of information on the Atlantis theme was included. The information is written below: "The Deep Sea Salvage Crew were a team of hard-working divers and explorers who searched the ocean depths for shipwrecks and sunken treasure. Then they found their first clue to the location of the long-lost city of Atlantis, a civilisation that disappeared beneath the sea thousands of years ago. Now they have a name and a new mission, as the ATLANTIS Deep Sea Salvage Crew combs the deepest and most dangerous parts of the ocean for the ancient treasure keys that hold the secret to finding Atlantis and unlocking its mysteries!"
Characters
- The Guardian of the Deep diver is Bobby Buoy.
- The Sea Jet diver is Bobby Buoy.
- The Keychain diver is Captain Ace Speedman.
- The Monster Crab Clash diver is Axel Storm.
- The Wreck Raider diver is Captain Ace Speedman.
- The Seabed Scavenger diver is Lance Spears.
- The Typhoon Turbo Sub diver is Axel Storm.
- The Shadow Snapper diver is Lance Spears.
- The Gateway of the Squid divers are Lance Spears and the female one is Professor Sam Rhodes. Sam is short for 'Samantha', which was the granddaughters name mentioned in the Secret Journal of Dr. Artimus Rhodes.
- The Neptune Carrier Divers are: Dr. Jeff Fisher, Captain Ace Speedman and Axel Storm.
- The Deep Sea Striker diver is Lance Spears.
- The Undersea Explorer diver is Bobby Buoy.
- The Atlantis Exploration HQ divers are Captain Ace Speedman and Dr. Jeff Fisher.
- The Portal of Atlantis divers are Captain Ace Speedman (with a new diving suit propeller attatchment), Professor Sam Rhodes, and Axel Storms (with head torches similar to the ones he wear in Neptune Carrier).
Minifigures
- All of the Divers feature gray diving suits with lime-green and silver features. In 2011, the lime-green elements were changed to a bright yellow. The minifigures have front and back printing on their torsos and legs. All of them feature a new breathing apparatus mould complete with air tanks and a full visor in trans-neon green. There is an image of a Trident on the divers' left leg.
- The Shark Warriors feature a new head mould moulded like a shark. It is similar in appearance to 2005 Viktor Krum's shark head from the Harry Potter set 4762. They usually wield a Trident.
- The Manta Ray Warriors also feature a new, rubber head mould and carry a Trident.
- The Squid Warriors feature a new headmould of shaped like a squid and instead of a standard LEGO minifigure legs, they have a set of moulded tentacles the same height as normal legs. They also wield a Trident.
2011
TLC's internal magazine "The Brick" revealed that the theme will be continuing with new sets and a new storyline in 2011. The new storyline starting in January 2011 will be called the Quest For the Golden King. A preview for the plot apears when you finish chapter 5 of The Atlantis Adventure.
- "Congratulations! You have discovered the Long Lost City Of Atlantis, but our journey is far from over. Inside this majestic temple, a new adventure awaits Captain Ace Speedman and the rest of the Atlantis crew. beware that dark gaurdians lurk inside. These villans stand between you and finding the ultimate treasure- THE GOLDEN KING!
- Stay tuned for the continuation of the Atlantis Adventure. THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN KING. Coming January 2011."
There's also an image of the Golden King on the Atlantis homepage.
List of Minifigures
- Atlantis Crew
- Atlantis Warriors
- Shark Warrior
- Manta Warrior
- Squid Warrior
- Portal Emperor
- Barracuda Warrior
- Crab Warrior
- Hammerhead Warrior
- Golden Atlantis Warrior
- List of Giant Enemy Creatures/Guardians
- Angler Fish
- Guardian of the Deep
- Giant Squid
- Monster Crab
- Shadow Snapper
- Mouse Snake
- Giant Scorpion
- Sting Ray Guardian
- Other
- Diver Skeleton
- The Golden King (Actually only another name for the Golden Atlantis Warrior)
- Crossovers
See Also
List of Sets
2010
- 8056 Monster Crab Clash
- 8057 Wreck Raider
- 8058 Guardian of the Deep
- 8059 Seabed Scavenger
- 8060 Typhoon Turbo Sub
- 8061 Gateway of the Squid
- 8072 Sea Jet (impulse)
- 8073 Manta Warrior (impulse)
- 8075 Neptune Carrier
- 8076 Deep Sea Striker
- 8077 Atlantis Exploration HQ
- 8078 Portal of Atlantis
- 8079 Shadow Snapper
- 8080 Undersea Explorer
- 7976 Ocean Speeder (Not availabe in Corea)
- 7977 Seabed Strider (Not availabe in Corea)
- 7978 Angler Attack (Not availabe in Corea)
- 7984 Drill Submarine (Not availabe in US, Can and Corea)
- 7985 Temple of Atlantis (Not availabe in US, Can and Corea)
2011
- 7976 Ocean Speeder [3]
- 7977 Seabed Strider [3]
- 7978 Angler Attack [3]
- 7984 Drill Submarine [3]
- 7985 Temple of Atlantis [3]
Other products (2010)
- 30040 Octopus
- 30041 Piranha
- 30042 Mini Sub
- 20013 Neptune Mini Sub
- 66365 Atlantis Superpack
- 852774 Shark Warrior Key Chain
- 852775 Manta Warrior Key Chain
- 852776 Diver Key Chain
- 852777 Magnet Set
- 852778 Water Gun
- 852779 Harpoon Blaster
- 852780 Sword
- 852781 Shield
- 852782 Trident
- 852906 Atlantis 3D Goggles
Books
Notes
- All 2010 sets (excluding 8073 Manta Warrior and 8072 Sea Jet) from the new theme include exclusive "treasure keys".
- A half an hour movie was seen on Cartoon Network on January 15, 2010. (see here)
- A game of the LEGO Games theme will be released featuring the underwater world of Atlantis as a game: 3851 Atlantis Treasure.
- In 2010, the visors, flippers, and secondary colour of the divers' equipment was light green, but in 2011, it will change to yellow.
Gallery
The complete 2010 collection.
Sources and References
- ↑ Official world-wide release date. Some sets could be found at Toys-R-Us stores in the US beginning in December 2009, and by late December 2009 the sets could be found in the UK.
- ↑ Dates according to the teaser websites for the respective countries.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 2011 Atlantis sets - Eurobricks Forums
4. Brickjournal Issue 10 (Pictures of Prototypes)
