Review: 70610 Flying Jelly Sub
Posted by CapnRex101,Garmadon leads an army of aquatic villains in his conquest of NINJAGO City and 70610 Flying Jelly Sub is one of the more outlandish vehicles which take part in the attack. It is designed to resemble a jellyfish so includes a large translucent cockpit dome and six tentacles which are arranged in a circle and look superb.
Most of the 341 pieces are dedicated to the vehicle belonging to the villains but the set also comes with a thoroughly impressive boat and four excellent minifigures. It certainly seems to offer good value at a price of £24.99 or $29.99, a quality which applies to almost the entire range in my opinion!
Minifigures
The LEGO NINJAGO Movie introduces some new attire for the ninja but their respective colours remain and Jay is accordingly dressed in a dark blue robe with bright blue highlights. The new head wrap consists of two pieces, one of which is fitted around the neck while the other rests on top. They fit together perfectly and I like the dark blue band running around the forehead which matches the dark blue torso design.
The contrast between dark and bright colours looks splendid. In addition to the blue lining, the graphic designer has included some orange details such as straps around the knees and a symbol on the back of the torso. Jay's head is decorated with a smile and a frown as well as some freckles which are visible even when the head wrap is being worn. A flail with a spike at the end completes the figure, recalling the Nunchucks of Lightning wielded by Jay in many early NINJAGO sets.
NINJAGO City is thrown into chaos upon the arrival of Garmadon and Takuma is one among the many citizens who gets caught up in the attack. He wears a traditional sand blue robe over a dark blue shirt as well as a pair of sandals printed on the feet. The folds in the fabric look great and I like the dark orange belt but it is disappointing that the same clothing appears in so many sets from the first wave.
Takuma's head, on the other hand, is unique. The bushy eyebrows and facial hair are very distinctive but an alternative neutral expression would have improved the versatility of this minifigure. The top knot hair piece could have concealed a second face so it seems a shame that this was left out, as on most of the civilian minifigures in the range. Nevertheless, this is a great figure and I appreciate the inclusion of named characters for the ninja to protect.
Garmadon's army consists of many different kinds of soldiers, each of whom takes inspiration from a sea creature. Jelly is based on a jellyfish and wears an enormous spherical helmet with tentacles hanging down the sides and some orange decoration on top. It looks brilliant, particularly as the tentacles continue onto the torso, but the helmet tends to wobble slightly which is unfortunate.
Beneath the tentacles is a sand blue uniform which seems to be standard issue for each trooper. Jelly wears a dark bluish grey utility belt and a pair of kneepads which also appear on Hammer Head, another warrior who takes inspiration from the famed shark family. His helmet is therefore designed to resemble a hammerhead shark, although it is not a very close match for the source material and the rectangular eyes look rather odd to me.
Hammer Head wears a pair of pearl dark grey air tanks and a battery icon shows the air remaining on the front of the chest armour. Each minifigure comes equipped with an appropriately fishy weapon as medium blue fish form the handles of a blade and a spear! These are a lot of fun but I wonder whether a new element might have been produced, just so the weapons could be more realistically proportioned.
The Completed Model
The name 'Flying Jelly Sub' suggests that this vehicle is capable of operating underwater or in the air and it looks as though it would be appropriate for either environment, featuring turbines, individually articulated tentacles and a pair of yellow cannisters which might represent ballast tanks. The general shape of the craft is undoubtedly reminiscent of its animal inspiration and I am very pleased with the trans-clear dome on top.
The craft is propelled by six mechanical tentacles, each of which includes two points of articulation so you can create some interesting poses. The entire structure can spin freely to form a giant propellor underwater and three stickers which look suitably military adorn alternating tentacles. The yellow and black stripes on the upper sections of the limbs are also a nice touch, matching the colour scheme of the propulsion units.
Four trans-orange chains hang from the underside of the Jelly Sub and each one is tipped with a poisonous barb. They are not connected to the rotating tentacles, although the chains still move around while the vehicle is in flight and the exposed studs allow you to manually attach minifigures or other items as though they have become trapped among the barbs. Unfortunately, the chains simply rest on the ground when the model is landed but they would look great on display if one was to build a stand for the model.
A trans-clear dome offers the pilot a wide field of view from the cockpit but also resembles the translucent body of a many real jellyfish species. It looks brilliant and I like the sand blue elements which form the hull plating, all of which are fairly rare. Two orange lights are cleverly fitted to the front of the model using revolvers, allowing the Jelly Sub to navigate the dark depths of the ocean safely.
Two different weapons are mounted on either side of the cockpit bubble and they can be rotated on ball joints. The harpoons are fixed in place but the projectiles on the right are flick-fire missiles which seem to be making a gradual return this year. They look perfectly fine and will fire a reasonable distance if properly flicked, although they are not nearly as effective as stud shooters or spring-loaded launchers.
Opening the canopy reveals a seat for the pilot along with a trans-clear mug and some controls. A new printed 1x2 slope has been introduced for The LEGO NINJAGO Movie and this features a radar display as well as a few buttons and dials. I expect the red switch beside the seat launches the flick-fire missiles while the yellow levers dictate the direction of travel.
A pair of large turbines allow the pilot to steer the Flying Jelly Sub and these can be rotated all the way around to face in any direction. Two cylindrical containers are clipped to the back of the model and these are fairly generic so could represent fuel tanks, air tanks or ballast tanks. They are decorated with hazard stripes which look rather nice and the clip attachment method allows you to angle the tanks if you wish.
The set also includes a boat which belongs to Takuma. This model measures over 16cm in length so is surprisingly substantial and a high level of detail is maintained throughout. The hull is fairly plain but the structure on top looks brilliant, particularly towards the rear where a tiny cabin is formed using 1x4 tiles set at an angle. There is no interior but at this scale I think its outward appearance is sufficiently impressive.
This vessel is presumably intended for gathering seafood based on what we know about the economy of NINJAGO City so a few buckets are placed on the deck. I imagine the dark tan bags hanging from the frame above are also used for storing the day's catch or perhaps some nets, although no such accessories are included unless you remove the medium blue fish from the weaponry belonging to Garmadon's troops.
A small lantern is fitted towards the bow of the boat and a golden flag flies at the stern. I like the little exhaust stack on top of the cabin and the curvature of the sides looks great, matching a similar boat found in 70620 NINJAGO City. The decorative railings are also a pleasing inclusion, especially since they have not appeared in reddish brown before and could prove very useful in this wooden colour.
Overall
70610 Flying Jelly Sub is perhaps my favourite of the vehicles which make up Garmadon's army in The LEGO NINJAGO Movie. The craft looks suitably bizarre and includes plenty of fun play features as well as some welcome rare pieces. It is unfortunate that the toxic tentacles cannot hang beneath the vessel while it is on display but I like how they flail around in flight and an appropriate balance between practical and jellyfish-based details has been found.
The boat is excellent too. It seems very realistic and includes a remarkable level of detail given its status as the secondary model in a relatively small set. I particularly appreciate the angled planks of wood towards the rear and the bags hanging above the deck look great. I would certainly recommend this set and at £24.99 or $29.99 it offers good value in relation to other products at the same price point.
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.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
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21 comments on this article
Takuma? Obviously someone at Lego watched the indy 500...
Nice review! Lego really didn't hold back with rare colors or new pieces for this wave. I hope someone will be selling the boat on its own on BL.
So glad I got this set.
This is a silly cool set.
You can get a great deal on this at the Lego shop online right now. The £25 Jelly Sub plus the (very overpriced in the UK) £40 Water Strider for a total of £50. Chuck in the free Ninjago Battle Pod and the free Cavemen and you're onto a winner.
Thanks for another great review and set of pictures, CapnRex!
I think Jay's weapon is supposed to be a kusarigama.
I particularly like the boat and the fisherman, but am not mad keen on the rest. I wish there were some way of splitting sets with other AFOLs so that each got only the parts they wanted without having to pay a premium on the secondary market.
With the Jelly minifig design, I hope that means we'll finally get a Marvel Mysterio down the road.
I hope Lego repurposes that jelly dome helmet for a Mysterio figure. The sub itself looks fun and the boat looks great at this scale. I doubt I'll buy this right away, but if I find it on sale, I will definitely pick it up! Great review!
The only problem with the TLNM sets is the lack of normal, non-screaming faces on the civilians. Otherwise, awesome!
Terrific review as this looks like another terrific set for TLNM.
LOVE this set, what an accurate review! This set seemed to be left over on the shelves at Legoland California, alongside the Manta Ray Bomber, after all the other sets in the initial release had sold, but I didn't understand why. I think it's one of the best sets in the entire wave!
These sets are so much fun that they make me wonder why don't we collect Ninjago instead of SW...
@Zander - why not start a thread in the forum to see if anyone does want to part-buy this and/or other sets? Not something I have considered but I can see the attraction if two people do just want different parts from the same set.
Bought this set myself simply because it filled my 'weirdly awesome' factor for wanting lego sets. Have to say its a great build with a bunch of fun details like the mug in the cockpit for the drivers tea break.
Definitely one of the better sets in the range so far. Heck... have to say its more fun then the Green Dragon Mech, which I also own.
The boat certainly looks like a great addition to any Ninjago City. I think if I do get 70620 and 70607, this'll be next.
This, in my opinion, is the best "bad guy" set in this line. It puts the Manta Ray Bomber and even the Garma Mecha Man completely to shame!
Everything is awesome about this set: the minifigs, the builds, the price. I wish it wasn't a TRU exclusive, tho, since I doubt that TRU will put this on sale.
@CCC
When I said that I had Takuma Sato in mind, a Japanese ex-f1 driver who currently competes for I think andretti autosport in IndyCar. He's well known for attempting overtakes that seem like suicide but sometimes work. He because the first Asian driver to win the indy 500.
The dome is not new, its a printed version of https://brickset.com/parts/4518410/dome-%C3%B821-53
Far better than the Manta Ray Bomber (in my opinion, anyway). Hope to put together my own little Ninjago City with this ship attacking it!
great review!