Summary

The Flying Jelly Sub set offers quite a but bang-for buck. Not so much in the minifigure department, but above all in the playability department. You get a fun odd-looking Shark Army attack vehicle, as well as a nice little kit of a small fishing boat. Probably the most bang-for-buck of all the sets at this price point.

Build experience

The building of this set is quite a bit of fun, is not that difficult and does not take too long. 20 to 30 minutes should do the trick for most builders, probably even less for some. There are quite a few stickers to apply on rather tricky (curved) surfaces. It is interesting to see the techniques used in building the FJS as well as the cabin of the boat.

Minifigures

Four minifigures are included, and three out of four (Hammer Head, Takuma and Jelly) are unique. That said, only Takuma is exclusive to this set, as different versions of Hammer Head (1 more version) and Jelly (2 more versions) can be found in other sets - and the differences are minor. This rendition of Jay can actually be found in a three other sets (Lightning Jet, Destiny's Bounty and Ninjago City). Overall, the minifigs to me are nothing special.

The builds

The Flying Jelly Sub itself is a rather odd looking vehicle. The cockpit has some nice detail, a necessity considering the massive transparent dome covering it. The weaponry is nice, though nothing special. The air-tanks attached to the back of the vehicle are nice, but unfortunately come off easily. The use of the pistols to attach the orange lights is nice. The vehicle can stand fairly stable, though the positioning of the stubby tentacles (the sand blue ones) is somewhat tricky. Unfortunately that means that one of the more unique aspects - the chain tentacles - simply bunch together at the bottom.

The fishing boat is a nice little build, and similar in style though of a different design to the one included in Ninjago City - and could easily be put in that set as an additional ship in the canal. I am not sure which of them I like more.

Display vs play

This set is more of a play than a display set. The FJS needs a stand to be effectively displayed, and the inclusion of something to attack (Takoma's boat) pushes this towards a play set. The tentacles of the Jelly Sub can rotate, but this makes holding the sub a bit more tricky - it can be held at the 'tail', as long as the stubby tentacles are not splayed out too much. Unfortunately holding the FJS there might cause the air tanks to come off.

If you design a display stand for the FJS, this can also make a nice little display piece.

The verdict

Overall, a very positive verdict for this set. At this price point, I like this set probably the most of the three sets on offer (Flying Jelly Sub, Manta Ray bomber and the Master Falls) - perhaps not so much because of the looks of the FJS (I like the Manta Ray more), but because of the inclusion of the fishing boat.