Lego 6833 Beacon Tracer

Starting today, I'm adding M-Tron to the list of Space themes you can read about here at Futuron of My Youth.



This is a special theme to me.  M-Tron's 6833 Beacon Tracer was my first Lego Space set, and unlike everything I've reviewed up to now, this set has been with me since I received it from my Dad after he came back from a deployment in '91.  It has always held a treasured place in my collection; and this despite its diminutive size.



Back in 91 Space, and Castle were the two themes I most wanted, but by and large I was given a good selection of town sets for birthdays, Christmas, and rare treats, and it wasn't until I was able to go into the Toys'R'Us, the same one where I saw 6990 spinning merrily around its track, and hand select Beacon Tracer, that I was able to alter the course of my collection.  For better or worse 6833 Beacon Tracer and 6059 Knight's Stronghold would only appear as a blip in my collection.  As a result I logged countless hours playing with these sets specifically.  I most certainly had Beacon Tracer investigate a strange fortress when the castle was new.

Beacon Tracer is a small set, but it's not M-Tron's smallest.  Beacon Tracer was priced above 6811 Pulsar Charger, and it's larger than 1478 Mobile Satellite Uplink (from 1476 Five Set Bonus Pack)
The antenna, which was a new part mold, makes the model feel tall.

Transparent Neon Green was the hot ticket in 1990.  It was the first new transparent color to grace the space theme since Transparent dark blue showed up in 1981 (I had to look that up).

In a sense M-Tron was the herald of change.  Much of what the Lego company had previously established in the space theme was uprooted and the new theme was wildly different in its aesthetics, functions (which we will get into later), and prints from everything that had come before.  Neon green would go on to define much of the 90's color palette for better...and for worse.  But it would seldom look cooler than it did here.

Beacon Tracer has scant play features, The Window comes up, which is pretty standard for all canopied vehicles of the time period, and it has a moving console print.

The Console print was a new M-tron design for 1990 and it replaced the long held standard Space tile from 1985.

M-Tron: 1990, 60 white tiles available across 46 sets through 2004.

Classic Space: 1985, 14 blue in 11 sets, 20 white in 15 sets, 29 old grey in 19 sets, and 7 yellow tiles in 3 sets.

Here's a selection of Beacon Tracer's unique piece, and parts specific to it within M-Tron.

This Space window is the only Trans Neon Green canopy with the M-Tron logo.  Remember that this is a 3-4 dollar set from the time period.  This is Beacon Tracers number one piece of appeal.  When I was a kid I tried to use it on everything.

The red chassis was common in town, and somewhat present in castle, but in M-Tron, and Space at large it's a unique color.  

Here's a Black-tron Yellow Grille slope.  This part first appeared in the highly desireable Black-Tron 6954 Renegade, and later in Black-Tron II 6988 Alpha Centauri Outpost.  Only one appears in M-Tron and aside from a decorative elements pack this was the best source to acquire the print.  It was always a space piece, but never a common print.

This handlebar was the second version of a piece which first appeared in '78, but this version appeared in '83; it lowered the handles a third of a plate compared to the first design,  This part color only appears once in M-Tron, but would later appear in two Spyrius sets.  

Now it's tme for my favorite part of the post.  The alternates.  

I had faint recollection of the box, so I chose not to copy the designers.  Interestingly they chose not to utilize the canopy.  I rather like the bottom model and its moving mandible.  I built all of these back in the day, but I eventually lost my box to the passage of time.  

Here's what I have chosen to create.

There aren't many parts in Beacon Tracer.  The window and chassis are very large and present in the model, so I chose to eliminate both parts for this little buggy.

Look closely at the middle and you can guess my tricky connection between the wheels.

I brought the window and chassis back in for this low rider.

During the late 90's/early 2000's the Lego company made a lot of windows that had to be removed, rather than opened on a hinge.  It may have been a good idea for the youngest builders, but as a process of design evolution, it felt like a step backwards.  All hail the hinge!

Final Score: B-

Pros: Unique print, balloon tires, two hinges, compact design.

Cons: two parts form crux of the model and stymie creativity.

There's a Polish blog called Lego's Soul where I found this image of Beacon Tracer redone in the different themes from 1987-1991.  If you have some time, I recommend running Google translate and having a good read.  There are several posts about the old Lego Space sets.

Until next time.

The Cure All Pill

Lego 6850

Well, the snow finally abated allowing me to trek across the country back to my own stomping grounds.  So now I'm back with a review of Auxiliary Patroller

 Auxiliary Patroller is an almost round saucer shaped ship with swing out wings to give it that quintessential Futuron Play element.  This time the wings carry laser guns that stow inside the canopy.  Make no mistake, this cute puppy is a thinly disguised fighter built for dealing with Black-Tron interlopers. 

The cockpit of  Auxiliary Patroller is the meat and potatoes of this set, it commands its admirer's attention.  I was going to write about how uninspiring the model was, but all my mean-spirited words melted away when I took it out of the dark storage bin where it's been hiding.

The top of the model was carefully sculpted to give a good sense of roundness; no mean feat when every piece used has an angle.  The back almost loses points for plainness, but for the two wing tips that jut past; giving the ship's rear some sharp character. 

The swing wing guns help the model's look when out, but the laser guns are iffy due to being very blocky and stubby; by necessity for a close fit when internalized.  Little wing nubs poke out when closed up and the design is almost completely covered by the cockpit when stowed, save for the forward mounted laser.

The handle on the cockpit nose gets some nice use, it's actually got some grip to it, I'll need to keep that technique in mind with my own builds, as it works well.

The chassis of the model is not as sleek as the top portion might have you expect.  It starts flat face, and looks very square from the side.  From a head on perspective it doesn't look quite right; though the wider footprint in the back works well enough given the topsides squared off hinges. It contains the lions share of black bricks.

All I see is a clown's nose...

There are no extras of any kind for the spaceman to use, all he gets is a computer tile, which is standard issue for much of the Futuron line, and a personal favorite of mine. 

Given that I have the mindset of a 90's child I think this set would have been number 1 on my pocket change shortlist.  It isn't that the pieces are especially good for parts monkey's, nor that the set has some great unique minifigure...as we get, yet another yellow spaceman.  No; The primary draw of Auxiliary Patroller was its price point, coupled with these two corner windows.



You see, through the 90's, the cheapest way to get these windows never went south of forty dollars, and Auxillary Patroller had them in a set for less than seven dollars.  When I learned about this set, I was enthused about it for little more than...its canopy.  Sadly, the set is no longer inexpensive, but at an average price of twenty dollars it is still the cheapest source for these corner windows; short of buying them piecemeal at Bricklink.  Those 80's kids had it good where this part is concerned.

The only set that came remotely close to having these corner parts for a cheap price was Space Police's 6886 Galactic Peacekeeper, which sported similar swing wing mounted laser cannons.
However, the roughly ten dollar set had a flaw compared to Auxiliary Patroller.  It had a sideways Police print on solid black parts; severely hampering other legitimate uses for the piece.  I'm not one for Brasso and damaging prints, and these days, I think most collectors would blanch if someone went around bragging about vandalizing these pieces... but, that is a very annoying print the way it's placed.  Needless to say; Don't let that be an encouragement. 

It turns out that Auxiliary Patroller and Galactic Peacekeeper came out the same year, so their similarities had a lot to do with side by side product development.  Sadly, after 1989, some marketing guru must've sidelined these corner canopies exclusively for the big sets, and thus did I have a chip in my shoulder from an early age.

Fortunately, that is all done and past, because I grew up and moved on...er...well, sort of.

Okay, no, not really.

Overall Auxilliary Patroller continues the austere, elegant, simplicity that characterizes the good looks and play features of the Futuron lineup.  It's a little weird, in large part, because its copycats used different parts that lack the visual punch achieved with this canopy.  Here for example is Saucer Scout to illustrate my point; this one taken from Spyrius. 

Saucer Scout's Octagon window is smaller, but achieves the same shape overall.  It is also far more common, which managed to dilute the part's long term appeal; for me at least.

The only other example of a small saucer that I can think of is in this giant set.  See it, right bottom, with the clear round dome.  It's truly sleek, and achieves a smoothness unheard of in the old days.  By Hollywood standards it nails the look of a tiny saucer UFO.  It's a qualified success. 

So there you have it, three ways to achieve a saucer dome, and while Auxiliary Patroller may not have done it best, the designers managed to give it a distinct appearance that is just as attention grabbing now, as it was then.

Now then, enough prattling; if you are strictly collecting Futuron sets, Auxiliary Patroller does have more to it than Corner canopies for cheap. 

Here are the Futuron Unique Parts available for your building pleasure.

2 inverted 1x3 slopes in black

 

2 inverted 1x2 slopes in black



1 chassis assembly in black



This wall panel's inclusion is not totally legitimate, since it is shared with Futuron Dacta; in which it is very common.  But aside from that educational toy, it can't otherwise be acquired.  You get 1.



It's not a smorgasbord of cool special pieces, but it's not bad either.

Now I will do my best to bring you an alternate of my own devising.

After skeptically dismantling a dubiously made space craft I started to think the 'good' build possibilities for this set are few in number.  Somehow I settled on a small radar station.

Not to be defeated, I attempted another spacecraft design, and was contented with it.  

So, that concludes my conversation about 6850 Auxilliary Patroller

Final Grade: B
Pros: Canopy parts, attractive design
Cons: Limiting part selection, no minifig tools

Futuron 6885: Crater Crawler

Since this website is devoted to old Lego sets, it's high time I visit the ugly truth that hasn't been discussed yet.  Buying old Lego can be frustrating, sometimes you run into that one set that no one seems to be selling, and prices are skyrocketing, and you find one after the sale date ended on Ebay.  You scream, and keep looking, and then, you finally cave and import that item from overseas, and the condition is okay, but not what you would have paid if you had options for better condition sets. Suddenly the set is plentiful, everyone and their mother is selling the set for half of what you paid, and they're in better condition.  Welcome to being a collector, you have just experienced my summer.

If you are intent on buying every set in a long retired theme, you must: expect to pay more, or shop around for a long time, and prepare for disappointment.  On a side note, if you want a collection of Vintage Legoland sets from the 80's for close to retail value, Town is the way to go.  I've seen sealed boxes of Town Legoland sets go for retail more times than I can count.

Here from Austria is 6885 Crater Crawler a.k.a. Saturn Main Base.

Like the previously reviewed 6810 Laser Ranger, Crater Crawler contains one of the three black spacemen, circa '88 and '89.

By my estimation, Crater Crawler is the most collectible of the Futuron landmasters.  It doesn't suffer from Yellow Spaceman fatigue and tired construction courtesy of the previously reviewed 6925 Interplanetary Rover.

Nor is it a prisoner to electrics cost spillover and part shortage as shall be explored in the yet to be reviewed 6770 Lunar Transporter Patroller.

Speaking of tired construction.  Look at those big wheels in the back.  They're special, the only two in Futuron, and boy howdy are they bold and obvious.  Sure, other space themes have them, but they're still cool, and you've probably guessed by now; my childhood was spent desiring but never attaining those big wheels.

Oh you thought I was serious about the tired construction?  Whoops, ironically, I don't think I've ever seen another truck quite as wacky as Crater Crawler; at least from this era at any rate.  It's got fences around the driver for wheel wells, held on by four white megaphones, and a domed canopy with enormous wheel arches that contains a space scooter and droid.  It appears that the whole rig is driven by joystick.

Heck, even the droid is unique.  I think the toymaker was trying to recreate R2D2 with it, what do you think?

It can walk, but leaning back would require some fine tuning of the design.  The rear reveals use of multi sided SNOT cubes; always a pleasure.

The set's scooter is probably Crater Crawler's weakest element; suffering as it does from a lack of interesting features.  The center joystick (yes another one) sits over a flashing red light and thruster rockets pointing upward seem to indicate a forward tilt for short bursts over crags and craters.

It seems peripheral and can be easily compared to the simple futuron cars for sparse details.

In visual regard Interplanetary Rover's scooter far outshines Crater Crawler's.

The model has two moving functions.  The blue dome lifts up, and is studs forward, but it sits atop a construction of wheel arches that are studs backwards.  It allows for some nice visual design cues, and it's just this side of tricky so as to catch my attention.

The other moving feature is the center twist plate, this allows the Crater Crawler to turn left and right.  Due to the light front and heavy rear the motion feels a bit spastic and overly quick when pushed along.  Perhaps the designers chose a joystick as an inside joke about its odd twisting movement?  

At least in steering weight Crater Crawler feels less sure than Interplanetary Rover.  That isn't to say the design is bad, the steering seems a tad quirky as a side effect of the different wheel sizes and short wheelbase.  I quite like this funky motion...it just doesn't impress one with its surefooted weightiness...it's weightless and go-kart quick...hardly rolling like the truck it appears to be.

My favorite components in this model are the quarter dome window panes.  

These quarter dome elements first appeared in '88 in this Crater Crawler and that most venerable of space stations: 6987 Message Intercept-Base, the hideout for Futuron's antagonistic foes...BlackTron!

They would appear shortly after in another Futuron set called 6850 Auxilliary Patroller circa 1989, and in 1990, the 9355 Dacta space theme set provided a sizable selection of the trans dark blue quarter domes; 10 in fact!

Despite looking big Crater Crawler only has 98 pieces, owing its size to the 6x10 plate, tyres, wheel wells, and dome for much of its girth.  That's count em, 7 pieces.  Most of the other parts are specialized in some way.  There are only two traditional bricks in the set, both corner bricks, both under the chassis; besides that, it's got the usual high concentration of plates Futuron is fast proving to be privy too.

Additionally Crater Crawler has fences, megaphones, space walls, space chairs, control sticks.  The set comes with a space wrench and a walkie-talkie for our intrepid explorer.  This set is chock full of fun weird stuff.  The heck, what am I gonna build with this???

It's all part of the fun folks.  

But first, what are the pieces that this set brings to Futuron, and does it hide any great secrets?

First up is this dazzling blue forward facing stud brick.  You get 1 in total.  It's part of the robot.  Is it rare, no, but it is one of only 13 blue pieces in Futuron.  Ignoring of course, the blue Spacemen. 

Next up we have this five stud brick also in blue, which was rare in the 80's, unused in the 90's, and actually enjoyed a renaissance in the late 00's.  There were thirteen released across 8 sets, and three of those showed up in the 80's.  It's still not particularly common, but there have been more of late than in days long past.

Next we have this control stick and base, a grey and blue combination part.  The grey stick is the second most common color, out of 6 colors, of this particular lever piece, and the blue base is third rarest color variant out of nine colors.  Neither is very rare.  Futuron just has one of each, but hey, we've got us a classic grey part.

     

Next I have a bit of a conundrum.  You see, there's this set called 9355-1: DACTA Space Theme Set.  It's pretty much a Dacta Futuron set, and it contains this next piece I'm including, but as a Futuron set it's just,  well, Dacta is a classroom brand, and I don't think I want to go into detail about it; at least for now.  Suffice it to say, if like me you choose to ignore the Dacta collection, then this tunnel corner wall can be considered unique to Crater Crawler.  It's the only time this part was used as a wheel well.  You get two in white.  This is the most common color of the part, and it's pretty big.

 

Our next part is this blue dot, from the droid.  You get one, and it is actually pretty common otherwise.

 

Then we have one of this ordinary 6x10 plate in white.  Great for spreading a model's footprint out in a jiffy.  It's pretty common outside of Futuron.



Here's another blue piece, a spigot.  Two spigots form the droids legs.  They give it that R2D2 look I mentioned earlier. 



Next we have this printed plate in blue, again, just one is included.  It goes on the droid and it is the only printed piece included with a droid in Futuron.  The print is fairly common in Futuron on white tiles.  Blue was available in Classic Space from 1985 and was seen again in Space Police 1 and Town Police.



Finally we come to those two big tyres.  Magnificent aren't they.  They've got gaps in the back as a rubber saving measure, for they are indeed rubber, not plastic.  I only learned that particular detail by looking at one in person.  The part first surfaced in 75'.  It hung around until 03' before disappearing for good.  There is an alternate yellow color, which is especially rare.  For further comparison here is its hub as well, though the hub is plentiful in Futuron.

   

Before we leave off this tyre, here is the original tyre and hub design.  the Tyre was available from 72' thru 76' and actually there were some sets during the period when the molds changed, that could be had either way.  The gear was available from 70' thru 76'  It was also available in the old gear sets, such as the one seen below. 

 

Isn't it weird how our toys have changed?  Even today the Danish toymaker is constantly changing the designs of its molds.  I find mold changes to be exceedingly frustrating, but also deeply intriguing.  What stirs with the hearts of Lego employees when they finally retire a mold, is it sadness, or pragmatism?  We grow up with the parts, and then, just when it had engraved its shape in our minds, the winds of change bring an updated version. 

That's enough of my whimsy, I spent far too much of my childhood examining mold changes with a frown, because even then, I cared about what was done with my toys down to the smallest scrap of plastic.

And now, without further ado, here is my alternate.

Asteroid Detection Station

Final Verdict: B+
Pros: Cool Space Walls/Windows, Giant Wheels, Black Spaceman, Loads of extras
Cons: Poor selection of standard pieces