Lego 6953

Greetings blog readers, Lego fans, casual droppers-by of happenstance.  We are entering the late phase of this blog's first forays into space.  I'm running short on small sets because I've been holding up some of the best and biggest for last. 

To start off, I thought it would be nice to show you Futuron's small base; 6953 Cosmic Laser Launcher. 

In the olden days it was common for Lego Space themes to have a base, in fact it was almost a requirement.  Only two Golden era themes challenged this requirement; namely M-Tron, and Space Police II.  For M-Tron ditching the base proved successful, in part because of its mobile juggernaut.  Unfortunately, Space Police II lost something by not having a prison facility.

But Futuron was a special case, because Futuron put out two space stations; in the same year.

Add to this yet another space station from Classic Space and you have yourselves a banner year for Space Stations.  There hasn't been a better year, than 1987, for Lego Space Stations.  

Here are the other two.

Polaris 1 Spacelab (Classic Space: White era)

Monorail Transport System (Futuron)

 Futuron was matched in space station numbers by Unitron, but that theme was drastically smaller in every other way, and hideously underdeveloped.  Currently, Classic Space holds the record for most space stations released by one theme; seven counting only those with a baseplate and a structure on it.  Which is to imply that the number of bases could be more.  Clearly; having ten years to work with has its benefits.

But this is in danger of becoming a history lesson, I think it's about time we talked about Cosmic Laser Launcher.

Cosmic Laser Launcher's base is a rocket launch platform in the shape of a 'C'.  It has two mission control windows and an opening and closing hangar mechanism with bigger windows for readying a manned rocket; or as some have called it, the flying toaster oven.  You can load up the rocket from a little truck that has to be the saddest excuse for a space buggy ever made; but it gets the job done; kinda.

Once the rocket is loaded onto the launch pad a knob in the back can be turned to force the giant windows apart and lift the rocket toward the heavens.

The rocket is rather distinctive, lacking a typical cylindrical fuselage in favor of a box.  It sports a pair of trans blue solar panel wings that as of this writing are still unique to this set.  As a part of the model, the rocket serves its purpose, but it is decidedly mediocre by itself, and combined with the transport truck it lacks pizzazz.

The truck matches the tiny rovers from Stardefender 200 and Aero Module up to the halfway marker, before derailing into overly simplified construction that unhappily serves to drag the full model's good looks downward.  Seriously; it's not good.  A hinge to lift the trailer up would have helped it with function, but there's no way to get around its vanilla looks.  As an aside, this rover is the only Futuron set to use the old metal wheel axles.  I'm not entirely sure why that is, but it further distances the design from resembling a Futuron set.  I like the inclusion of the metal axle wheels for variety's sake.

I used to dream of owning this set one day, but once I saw it built I felt a tad disappointed; as it seems skeletal and limited in playtime appeal.  You see, I already have Polaris 1 Spacelab, and if you put these two rocket launch pads side by side there isn't even a contest for which one is better.  Polaris 1 Spacelab is a much denser model, and it's beautiful, and distinctly lovely in that old space style; it's a wonder Lego greenlit Cosmic Laser Launcher for the same year.  It might have been better to release it in 1989, alongside the final run of Futuron sets.

Then again, that would only have served to cast a shadow over Cosmic Laser Launcher's cool launching function.  In 1988 Black-tron's 6987 Message Intercept Station copied Cosmic Laser Launcher's best feature and made it seem even better. 

Cosmic Laser Launcher just couldn't win, it was second best rocket launch site when it released, and it played second fiddle to the too cool for school bad guy base that came out one year later.  Talk about having it rough.  With all this in mind it's a good thing 6953 wasn't Futuron's only base.

It's not all doom and gloom for Cosmic Laser Launcher though, I'm sure you've all noticed by now anyways.  This set has two red Futuron Spacemen.  It's one of only two sets with the red variant.  That is awesome!  Not to be outdone, the Lego company saw fit to bestow this model with a proper handful of desireable parts that can't be found in any other set.   My favorite unique part happens to be this printed window.

So just as I was beginning to convince you that this set wasn't all that special, I went and turned this notion on its head.  This small Rocket base may not be perfect, but it is one of the Futuron theme's three most sought after models; and it earned that place with exclusive parts, innovative construction, and near exclusive red spacemen.  Cosmic Laser Launcher's lauded place on collector's shelves was not assured, as it arrived right in the middle of one of Lego's biggest space station release waves, but it's managed to find its own niche of devoted fans; and I'm one of them.

 Before I move on, I want to add a side-note.  1987 was the first year of Golden Era Space Lego, and the second to last year for Lego Space; although it was all but dead by 1987's year end.  From 1987 through 1993 the Space theme ushered in a new era of complex functionality that was spurred on by these two pieces. Don't be confused by the gear as it is an internal portion of the box and not a true separate part

Only two Space themes from the era ignored these parts, Black-Tron: Future Generation, and Space Police II.  But Ice Planet 2002 brought them back for one final hurrah before they went away forever.
While these were not the only parts that demonstrated the advancement of technical functionality in Lego sets from the period, they were central features of several flagship models.  Lego Space continued on into 1994-95 with Spyrius and Unitron; the last of the space themes that did not concern themselves with aliens, but as stickers arrived and these incredible moving parts were left by the wayside, it was quietly understood that the greatest era of Lego Space had ended.

Well, that was a bit sentimental, not gonna lie, I may have shed a tear writing that, but, there are parts we need to get to.

What does Cosmic Laser Launcher bring to the table?  First up I want to bring up the parts that were common, but only appear in 6953 for Futuron

1, also comes in white, this is the most common color, but it is uncommon.

 

1, also comes in black, this part is rare in any color.

1, also available in transparent red, it was rare in white, but has recently been available in a handful of new sets.

2, This is the only Futuron set with this piece...huh, who'd have thunk it?

2, and this is also only in this Futuron set, for such a common brick, this is rather surprising.

1, also available in white, I'm shocked there aren't more of these.  Very common.

4,  somewhat common

 2, decently easy to find

2, very rare, but not unique

2, the most common color for this part

1, not hard to come by

 

1, also available in white

2, a reasonably common part

1, Fairly common otherwise

2, not especially rare

3, as it turns out it's available in Futuron Dacta, but as we're ignoring that educational toy, this is all we've got.

Next up, I want to visit the 6953 exclusives, and boy are there a bunch, although, one of them is so exclusive, even I don't have the part.

2, unique, also available in the reverse colors

(Edit)---I'm mistaken, somehow I overlooked a set from 1984, it turns out this 1x4 striped brick was previously released in 1053 Community Buildings, so this part is unique to the Cosmic Laser Launcher in Space and in Futuron, but it could be had elsewhere.  I believe this is an early example of the sets that would become known as Dacta; note the teacher checking the kids' creations.

2, available blank, or otherwise patterned, but no other set has this print

2, unique, also available in white

1, unique, if you have this piece, you are blessed, I had to settle for a substitute

 

You will notice that I use this piece.  That's because the original part is incredibly hard to find, I can't even quote you a price, because, I can't find one.  As it turns out this striped version is very common by comparison and would be in the list above, if it was the actual set piece.

Wow, I knew this set had some exclusives, but If there were any doubts about its pedigree, doubt no more, this set brings a ton of parts to Futuron, and even to the world of Lego at large.  This parts list pretty much sums up its claim to fame.  It has 35 special parts for Futuron and is 3.5% unique.  That's amazing.

So, now it's time to build some alternates, here's a sample Alienator/Walking Astro Grappler ripoff.  Don't know what those are???  Look em up.

 Who said Futuron didn't have factionalism?  

Next up, I've built a Hyper-drive Manufacturing Plant

Finally, enjoy a Saucer Centurion style spacecraft, complete with  removable rover.

Like most of the Futuron sets seen so far, Cosmic Laser Launcher eschews any significant quantity of bricks for a heavy supply of plates and sci-fi parts.  It has a better than average selection of bricks, but not near enough to cover for the theme as a whole.

If anything, Brick supply is the Futuron theme's achilles heel.  We've got four sets to go, and only two of them are likely to have any kind of presence for typical bricks; which form the backbone for most Lego constructions.

Final Grade: A-
Pros: Exclusive Prints and transparent parts, Red Spacemen, Baseplate, Lots of Futuron specific parts are unique, Turntable, slick function
Cons: Popular with collectors (which translates into expensive), Heavy plate quantity, low brick supply, poor vehicle design

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: Box Retrospective II

Hope you're all warm...I went to my parents home for Christmas and New Years and guess what...I've been stuck here for the past three days.  This is the primary reason for no new posts.  But I am not to be outdone by a lack of a camera, and the lack of an old Lego set.   

Today I have another retrospective on Box art and alternate models.  This is supposed to be the easy part of my blog, but some of these box alternates are nigh unto impossible to find with a simple Google search. 

Here goes.
From Brickipedia
http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/1616_Space_Combi-Pack
Astro Dart and Lunar MPV Vehicle
Front and Rear

I apologize for the small size, this was the only image I could find.  I hoped to find the images from the backs of the set boxes, but the packaging was glued to the yellow sheet, and as Paul Mison has observed from a box of 1621 the back of the box is blank.

Small as the images are, I can't comment as to their creativity, but I do want to point out the use of the black 4x6 plate on the trailer middle right.  What is going on there???

Interestingly, it appears the alternates were restricted to parts from each specific set to each specific alternate.  This may be fortunate for us, but i think it would have been more interesting if the big backing had combined builds, and these could have appeared on the backs of each set in question. 

Brickipedia
http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/6828_Twin-Winged_Spoiler
Twin Wing Spoiler front

Moctagon Jones
Twin Wing Spoiler Rear
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moctagon/5392020006/in/set-72157625734508167
For all its faults Twin Wing Spoiler has a lot of colorful pieces and printed tiles.  Unsurprisingly the back alternate models are vivid.  I think the pair of robots are quirky, and would fit alongside the droid from 1621 Lunar MPV Vehicle. Other than that nothing here inspires, but as a showcase for the parts, this is a nice display.

Phil8248
---From eBay listing, no link provided as it will cease to exist soon.
Orion II Hyperspace

This one was interesting to me, because there is a special offer on the cover; which I found in one eBay listing, and nowhere else.  So, as you can see, here is a special offer for a free Lego Space watch; that's cool.  My Mother always required us to have analog watches as kids, but I could see myself being very excited about a watch like that as a kid. 

Recently Paul Mison, Blogger at Welcome to the Futuron, offered his help in tracking down the back image for 6893 Galactic Starship, aka, SpaceProbe Transporter, aka, Orion II Hyperspace

Tada!  As a model Orion II Hyperspace is a great design with excellent features, and it has some great parts in the mix, but the balance of plates to bricks, and the types of bricks put some odd restraints on construction options.  The bottom left model seems most successful at being interesting, but top right seems clunky, and bottom right sort of reminds me of 6835 Spyrius Saucer Scout.  In general Futuron sets have been a mixed bag of parts; and having worked with the parts in this set extensively, I can safely add that this set isn't going to change my opinion.

Thank you for your help Mr. Mison.  I'm Grateful for your contribution.

I tried to find more information about the Lego Space Watch as well, but alas, it's also proving difficult to find anything about it.

AirMauro
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=350939
Hovercraft Front

AirMauro
Hovercraft rear

I have to say, some of these alternates look very cool.  I especially like the wraparound window in the large image.  There's a ground based Laser cannon, a robot, and a typical spacecraft that could have succeeded as a set itself by my estimation.  Overall the robot seems underdeveloped, and the laser turret is a bit too thin, but give it a few more pieces from the collection and Hovercraft looks like a strong base from which to get started on some cool projects. 

AirMauro and Dark
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=351654
Crater Crawler Front

AirMauro and Dark
Crater Crawler Rear

Crater Crawler's alternates wouldn't be complete without a little space station.  That is one of the coolest things about Crater Crawler, it is only a few parts away from having everything necessary for a compelling Space Lab.  Beyond that the alternates include two rovers, which are overall successful, a scooter which is serviceable, two droids, a computer terminal, and a spacecraft.  The Spacecraft struggles with a selection of parts that aren't favorable to such a construction, note the lack of wings, and the forced misuse of the central hinge as it creates asymmetry where it fails to make sense.  Overall this set of alternates gives a good sense of what the Crater Crawler is made of, and also serves to highlight its limitations as a set.

That's all I have for today folks, I trust you will all strive to stay warm in these unseasonably cold temperatures; and so for now, I bid you adieu.