Futuron: Box Retrospective part I

I feel it would be a disservice to not bring up the Lego company's old alternate designs.  They were a great part of my childhood, apparently a source of much frustration for other children, and a delight if they were actually figured out...when they were good.

Sadly they aren't offered on the boxes anymore, which is a great oversight, but given how specifically the sets are built today, I can't blame the Lego group, the sets are no longer made with an eye towards variety, but rather towards accuracy; I'm looking at you licensed themes. This has led to some interesting trade offs, which I'm not prepared to talk about...so

On to the boxes.

First up I want to thank msilverm for posting a picture of 6810 Laser Ranger's alternate models.  It's the only one I could find.
Source: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=133323

I really like the background colors used in Futuron.  They blend together to really make the theme colors, (or lack of them), pop in the image.



The first thing that grabbed my attention here is the little robot.  It's very clever with its limited palette of pieces, but there is so much character to it.
The little scooter is also very nice, It's got a bug eyed look that just screams chibi-Futuron
And then there's that long ship on the bottom...I'm not really digging it, it just seems like an alternate model bent on using the 2x8 white plate, and not a particularly good attempt at that.



Second up since I'm using Brickshelf it's 6848 Strategic Pursuer
Airmauro thanks Alsazian and I in turn thank the both of them for these pictures of the box.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=350720

I was a good decision by the Lego group to show Strategic Pursuer tilted as it just doesn't look so good standing straight up.



The back of the box shows the window's rising function...eh, okay.
I'm kind of fond of that cannon, radar thing at the top right, and the space craft isn't bad, but the floating robot boxer is just weird.

 

Third Box: Represent 6884 Aero Module
This one is just from Airmauro
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=320693

The box does a good job of bringing life to the otherwise uninspired construction of Aero Module.  Yes it's got the window, and yes the wing locking system is excellent, but at the end of the build it's still heavily reliant on far to many uninteresting pieces that don't work great in many combinations.



The designers did their best, but hamstrung as it is by a wealth of plates the models appear stretched and empty.  As it turns out the Lego company did use the window on one of the alternates.  It might be the best alternate, but it's a prisoner to the previous construction, and less interesting overall.

 

You know what, Airmauro has a really cool idea on Brickshelf, which I'll get to in a moment.
Here's 6925 Interplanetary Rover
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=322165

Excellent photography and placement gives the set a lively presentation.



The Robot and spacecraft on the left side are pretty cool, but I'm not sold on that top right rover.
Overall I think the models do a good job showing off the part variety, and the cars at the bottom are a nice touch.  I'd most likely build the robot if I were still a kid with loads of free time.

 

Last but first, but wait what?

Anyways, here's 6830 Space Patroller, the outset model I blogged first.
Brought to you by Stevebd
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=469255

It took a bit to find a box to show you and it's a bit damaged.  But what can you do?



Overall I think the designers really nailed the alternates with this one.  There's a robo dog, a satellite tower, and a pretty good pair of unique space craft.  The set looks elegant and simple when built, which only serves to highlight just how well it brings together many disparate elements.

 

If you're interested Airmauro has a museum section among his Brickshelf Folders where you can find many boxes with alternate models posted.  Cool stuff.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=AirMauro

This ends the first retrospective.