Blacktron's 6 wheeler

[snefroe]

Not so long ago, Lego decided to add yet another 6 wheeler to her catalogue. No, not a reborn legend in a special series, but a brand new one in a Space's youngest subtheme, Mars Mission. The 6 wheeler is a very old and popular concept in the space theme. It started, if i'm not mistaken, with this one, a personal favorite of mine *wub* *wub* .

Since the release of 6927 we've had several others. i guess Lego really liked the notion of having a big car next to a big spaceship, even though the landbased sets never really reached the same height in popularity as did the spaceships... X-O The "Spectral Starguider", as 6933 seems to be called, was part of Blacktron 2, which is, more or less, Part 2 of the Blacktron theme. They're the thieves of the galaxy, the bad guys that needed to be stopped by Space Police... Hm... not sure what 6933 has to do with that though... |-/

The box is a good old fashioned "open cover box, once you've opened the cover, you get to see the goodies of the sets: transparant cockpit parts and a radar. This was actually a very smart marketing trick to get children/parents into buying the big sets, attracted by these fantastic new parts... X-D

at first the over all look of the truck is kinda surprising. What you don't see all too well on the cover, is that the front section is fairly wide, 10 studs, the second wheel base only has 8 studs, the third just 4. It looks strange, but you get used to it...

the wheels are medium sized, btw, as a kid, I thought they were giant sized, like the ones of the red magnetizer. that was disappointing, but i got over it... X-D

i'd say the truck has pretty much all that a young kid requires to create a nice story with 6933 taking the starring role: it has a great cockpit, a second structure behind it and a platform for... whatever...

usually, space sets never had any technic components, except for larger wheels, as in the 6927. the only thing coming close to the technic world, was the steering technique. Sure, it's more or less primitive, which is good. i prefer space sets to be "space sets" first and foremost, technic stuff should be limited. Notice, btw, that the steering wheel has been replaced by the engine part and, the backside turns all together, not just the pair of wheels. So whilst turning the engine part, your hand will also move from left to right, depending in which direction your turning the part... That's cool for kids, they can push the thing forward, and at the same time steer in any direction they want...

What makes the set unique are these suspension parts:

I don't think i've ever seen them in another set, even though lego did experiment with compact suspension parts on small town sets at the time. It adds a great feeling to it all, as if the truck is a real vehicle, struggling with the weight as any other real heavy truck would. Obviously, only the first two pairs of wheel carry them, the third is after all, part of the steering mechanism...

The truck follows the great tradition of modular building: a small cockpit can be used as a small 1 manned aircraft, but can also be attached to a larger observation center, making it a medium sized space ship.

i love this shot *wub* *wub*

The cockpit was sort of a "landmark" for the theme. several other sets used the same design. It's a shame they didn't use it in other sets later on as well... X-O

cool radar... in any case, it works pretty well for this set...

all in all, i'd say it's a nice set; It's not fantastic, certainly not the best 6 wheeler in the universe, but Lego didn't screw up either. It doesn't have hidden features, nor brilliant details, you get what you see.

brickshelf

bricklink

lugnet

Edited June 19, 2007 by snefroe1

[Asuka]

Thank you very much for that formidable review. *y*

That

[Siegfried]

That set is better than I thought. I just added it to my BrickLink wanted list thanks to you!

(Thanks for the review just the same...)

[iamded]

*wub* I never saw any of the old space sets. Not even the M-Tron and Blacktron ones. I've only seen them in an old catalogue, and the classic space (yellow and red dudes with those straight helmets) sets at my mates house, his dad had them. :-P

Great review, and great pics! Thanks! *y*

Edited June 20, 2007 by iamded

[jof]

The cockpit was sort of a "landmark" for the theme. several other sets used the same design. It's a shame they didn't use it in other sets later on as well... X-O

Hey, I still use this style of cockpit when making spacecraft for the kids, as its so easy for them to get the man in/out of it

Jof

[5150 Lego]

This was a great set! Always wanted one, but never got it. Makesme want to go look on bricklink for one.

[Wobo Ihi]

Aah, the six-wheeler's... X-D

The Blacktron I and II really had neat colour schemes. Thanks for the review and pictures.

[Norro]

I've wanted this for a long time to go with the MCM... space never seems to get my funds though... ;-)

God Bless,

Nathan

BTW The suspension pieces were also used in the aquazone rover...