Divers was a LEGO Town subtheme that was centered around maritime exploration and was introduced in 1997. All its twelve sets were released in that single year. They were still for sale and featured in catalogs in 1998 but the theme was ultimately phased out in the following year.
The theme's sets featured mini submarines, divers and underwater bases as well as surface ships and various forms of sealife. Unlike the futuristic Aquazone theme the Divers sets were more realistic and set in the present. Due to its largely unprecedented setting, many new LEGO elements were introduced with this series.
Details
Larger sets like 6560 Diving Expedition Explorer featured surface ships and an underwaterscape to explore.
The eponymous "divers" of this theme were involved in underwater treasure hunting and the exploration of the sealife, mostly sharks. The design of their equipment is based upon present day technology. The relatively high level of realism shows also in the use of real world diver down flags on the ships. Some of the sets also included a detailed underwater landscape built onto a baseplate which served as varied backdrops for the dives. 6559 Deep Sea Bounty even included a whale skeleton on the seafloor. The sets had a great selection of sea creatures in them. Many of these sea creatures are unique or very rare.
The 2007 theme Aqua Raiders can be considered a partial revival of Divers. While Aqua Raiders focusses more on treasure hunting than exploration, it still retains a certain level of realism instead of being too futuristic like Aquazone.
Vehicles and equipment
6442 Sting Ray Explorer contains one of the larger but nonetheless typical submarines of the series.
Since this theme focussed mainly on maritime exploration, the main features of this theme's sets were seagoing vessels, such as submarines and ships. The divers of this series were in possession of five major ships, which are all relatively unique designs. The biggest ship is included in 6560 Diving Expedition Explorer. It is primarily a transporter for a submersible and is equipped with a large crane for hoisting it. It superstructures comprise a repair hangar for the sub and the bridge above it. A very unique boat is included in 6559 Deep Sea Bounty. It has a catamaran hull and is equipped with a crane for a shark cage. The other three ships, included in 6441 Deep Reef Refuge, 6557 Treasure Hunters and 6558 Shark Cage Cove, had a largely similar overall appearance. They consisted of a six studs wide hull with a small deckhouse at the front and flat storage space at the rear. They were all equipped with rope winches that in some cases ended in cranes.
The sets included a total of seven submersibles, which all had a dome-shaped window on the front. Only two of those subs, included in 6599 Shark Attack and 6557 Treasure Hunters shared the same design, all others were unique designs. Most submersibles had only enough room for the pilot, as the two mentioned before, and the ones from 6559 Deep Sea Bounty and 6560 Diving Expedition Explorer. The last one was also the only smaller sub with robot arms. Only two subs were large enough to contain an additional crew compartment in the back and had also robot arms at the front. These two were included in 6442 Sting Ray Explorer and 6441 Deep Reef Refuge. The submarine contained in 1782 Discovery Station, was the most unusual. It was the only one that was white and was equipped with four robot arms.
The divers also had two bases. An underwater research station, included in 6441 Deep Reef Refuge, and a larger offshore platform.
New pieces
Although this theme made good use of many underwater specific parts that were initially released with Aquazone it introduced many new parts. Such as the one-piece inflatable boat and also several pieces of diving gear like the diving mask, the scuba tank and the harpoon gun, which all reappeared in Aqua Raiders ten years later.
This theme also made some additions to LEGO's sealife with animals like the manta ray, which did not reappear after 1999, and grey sawfish heads which were only available in Divers sets. A black version was available in the set 4789 Alpha Team Aquatic Mech from Alpha Team.
Other exclusive parts are the red and blue diver down flags.
Sets
All sets were introduced in 1997 and were available until 1998.
- 1782 Discovery Station
- 2536 Jet Ski
- 2871 Diver and Shark
- 6441 Deep Reef Refuge
- 6442 Sting Ray Explorer
- 6555 Sea Hunter
- 6556 Scuba Squad
- 6557 Treasure Hunters
- 6558 Shark Cage Cove
- 6559 Deep Sea Bounty
- 6560 Diving Expedition Explorer
- 6599 Shark Attack
Other underwater themes
- Aquazone (1995 - 1998)
- Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea (2002)
- Aqua Raiders (2007 - 2008)
- Atlantis (2010)