Aquaraiders was an unfortunately short lived theme released in 2007. Although it lasted for only one year, I personally think it worked very well as a slightly futuristic version of the Town subtheme Divers. The vehicle designs were sleek but fairly grounded in reality, there was plenty of treasure and accessories – and best of all, the sets were filled with giant brick built versions of sea creatures. Today, I’ll be viewing one of the smaller sets in the line, which I got for my birthday early in 2007.

Name – Angler Ambush

Set Number – 7771

Year – 2007

Pieces – 130

Minifigures – 2

Price - $9.99 USD / unknown GPB / unknown EUR

The Instructions:

The front cover of the instructions is very bold, with a great action pose that accurately displays all that is included in the kit. Some of the effects like the snorkel bubbles and the glowing angler rod are excellent.

The instructions are clear and well drawn – it’s easy to tell the colors apart. Every page has a nice underwater background, which is gentle enough to not be distracting.

The Pieces and Minifigs:

If you like variety in your lego kits, Angler Ambush is for you! The 130 pieces included feature a wide selection of bricks, plates, slopes, fins, and even a helping handful of Viking horns. You also get some nice accessories – including two full sets of diving gear, a jackhammer, a set of four coins, and even a whip! And for those who hate stickers, you’re in luck: this kit contains only printed pieces.

Interesting pieces include a yellow fin with the Aquaraiders symbol, a printed slope with a menacing face, a trans-green seaweed piece, two blue angled fins, and two glow-in-the-dark dinosaur tails.

The two divers included in this set are the same as the figures in the other Aquaraiders sets, aside from the different heads. The color scheme of black, yellow, and light blue is very effective, and looks very realistic.

Here’s a picture of the Divers with their helmets on. They look pretty slick, don’t you think? I love that the diver’s goggle is made in trans-light blue.

Another nice surprise is that the figures have double sided torsos! This is a very nice addition, and gives the minfigs even more detail.

The Finished Model:

Angler Ambush includes three main models – and I’ll start off with the small diving device. It’s small and simple, but very effective.

As you can see, the diver has to stand while driving vehicle – but I think this is probably more realistic than having sitting room. Also notice that you can store two divers harpoons and a set of swimming fins on it.

Next up is the treasure rock, as I like to call it. It looks great with the different angled slopes and the seaweed. Only, what’s that lever for?

Well, that’s pretty simple too. All the diver has to do is press down on the lever like so…

… And presto! The top of the rock comes off, revealing the concealed gold. This is a cool action feature, as it works well and doesn’t look too silly. It’s certainly better than another shooting gun or something.

Finally, here’s the big baddy of this set – the Angler Fish. This fearsome creature has a striking color scheme, combining normal blue, dark blue and black with red gums and white teeth.

A side view of Angry Angler. The two dinosaur tails used as giant teeth stretch back a long way! Unfortunately, the Angler’s back fin only has regular blue details on one side.

Frontal view, where the Angler shows off his maw of fearsome teeth. The realistic details like the overbite and the light rod really add to the model, and the printed piece works much better than if they had used brick built eyes.

Of course, I doubt a real Angler fish could stretch back his jaw this much. Man, that looks like it hurts!

Good thing that the teeth are really great for chomping up food. Poor Diver…

The Model in Action:

Hey, how did this happen? Looks like one of the Aquaraiders is trying to play Crocodile Hunter with this Angler Fish, while his friend tries to warn him about the potential dangers of this endeavor. I don’t think this is going to end well.

Summary:

Presentation – 10/10

Pieces – 9/10

Minifigs – 9/10 (they are awesome, but look almost exactly the same)

Model – 8/10 (great, but not jaw droppingly amazing)

Playability – 10/10

Price – 9/10

Overall Rating – 9.2/10

Angler Ambush is a superb small kit, and the ideal kit to buy if you want to try out the Aquaraiders theme. It has everything you could desire in a small kit – nice figures, great parts, well designed models, and plenty of playability. There are a few minor flaws, but overall this kit is superb in every area – and a welcome part of my collection. Whether you are a fan of the old Divers theme, like underwater themed kits, or just want a nice cheap purchase, Angler Ambush is a great choice. I highly recommend it!

Other Links:

Brickshelf gallery for this review (when public)

Brickset Entry for set 7771

Peeron inventory for set 7771

Model – 8/10 (great, but not jaw droppingly amazing)

I think the anglerfish would disagree--his jaw certainly dropped!

Good review of a fun little set. I never got any of the Aquaraiders sets, unfortunately, but this makes me wish even more that I had.

nice review of a nice set ^^ but doesn't it belong to other themes ?

by the way, Mariko, I just bought ( and did a review of ) the 7774 set , wich is really good! and it's actually at low price ( 35% less than the original one I think ) on the S@h , well, for switzerland^^ I didn't check for other countries

Doesn't seem to be available in the US. My local TRU actually has a few Aquaraiders sets, but I'm incredibly low on money.

Well, Black Friday this year seems to be the time when TRU is getting rid of the Aquaraiders sets, so the super low prices might be an incentive to pick a few up before they dissapear.

Great review, Grevious!

This was my favourite set of Aquraiders - amazing part selection, a fun build for the angler fish, a couple of minifigs, some rock work and trans-green seaweed. The perfect small-sized set!