Bob De Quatre Posted June 24, 2015 Introduction After bringing us Blacktron, Lego decided to give children around the world an opportunity to put those vilains under arrest. The Spy Trak 1 was one of the six released sets for the theme. Space Police theme came right after Futuron (87-90) and Blacktron (87-88), and just before M-tron (90-91) and Blacktron II (91-92). It is the second named space faction after Blacktron. The sets offered both Space Police and Blacktron minifigures, after all we needed some vilains to put in those prison cells that came in every sets (minus one) of the line. All pictures shown here, and some more, can be found on my Flickr album. Set information The model I'm presenting is not from a MISB happy find, but from my childhood collection, so parts have been stored, played and sadly mistreated for years. I used some new parts, but most of them are from the set I bought in 1989. The Spy Trak is a big wheeled vehicle, designed to transport prisonners on land. The set comes with two minifigures: a Space Police officer and a Blacktron thug. As every other sets of the theme, the prison cell can be detached and switched with any other one from the theme's sets. Set Name: Spy Trak 1 Set Number: 6895 Theme: Space Police 1 Year Release: 1989 Number of Pieces: 152 Minifigures: 2 #6895 on Brickset #6895 on Rebrickable #6895 on Peeron Packaging I don't have the original box anymore, but pictures of it can be found on the internet. The boxart is common for sets of this era: the Lego logo in the upper right corner and the Legoland ribbon and the set number in the upper left corner, and a nice picture of the set in action. Picture courtesy of Peeron. Instruction The instruction booklet is simple, with no advertising, but with the picture of a B model, something I miss from the newer sets. There is no step's inventories, forcing us to look closely at the step's pictures, and sometimes going a few steps back to check if we missed something. Build The model is built around a very well thought steering system, using some old fashioned parts. The four turntables and the big hinges are the keys to the core feature of the model. Pushing the technic axle on the side makes the model turn by moving the four wheels. And the technic axle will be moved by a tilting system placed on the central 4x6 black plate. Just add four wheels and a driving cabin and you have a nice vehicle to play with! Minifigures The Spy Trak comes with two minifigures: a Space Police officer and a Blacktron thug. The Space Police 1 livery consist of a classic Futuron white/black uniform with a white helmet and the new trans-red visor. A radio and a robot arm are the only accessories included in the set. Interesting parts The part selection is pretty good, with 4 big hinges, 4 turntable, printed slopes and wall panel, and of course the big wheels and the transparent red canopy that is exclusive to the theme. Play features As explained before, one of the play feature is a great steering sytem that allow children to drive the model very easily by tilting the central part. Pushing down one of the "POLICE" slope will make the Spy Trak turn in the opposite direction as seen on the following pictures. The other play feature is the prison cell. It's just big enough to place a minifig in, with helmet and oxygen tank. The prison cell can be attached on the back of the Spy Trak. Conclusion The Spy Trak is a really nice set. The steering system works perfectly and is really fun and easy to use, even by children. The design is great, but there is still two minor points. It may be hard to attach the prison cell on the model and children might get frustrated. And the lower sides of the driving cabin would looks best if closed, but due to the big wheels and the space needed for them to rotate, the cabin would have to be moved up by a few plates, and the model would loose its sleek looks. Playability: 9/10 - A fun vehicle to drive and some play features Design: 8/10 - A great design for the steering mechanism, and the model looks really good for it's era Price: NA - The set is available on Ebay for a very varying cost, but Bricklink might be the best and cheapest way to get it Overall: 8,5/10 - A great set for every space fan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
___ Posted June 25, 2015 I own this one personally and wanted to say that to me it is one of those smaller sets that really standing out from a line: original concept (tho similar connection between front amd rear vehicle parts was already seen before on Futuron vehicle 1621-1), very nice alligator-like design yet smaller amount of bricks, simply perfect! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Im a brickmaster. Posted June 25, 2015 I wasn't even born when these sets came out, so I've only handled the SP3 sets.. But I have to say, it holds up pretty well, even today! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VintageLegoEra Posted June 26, 2015 Old is gold. Had most of this theme back then. What a nice memories Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spirit Posted June 27, 2015 More than 25 years later, it still looks great. I especially remember I kept building this one over and over when I was a child, until I got the M:Tron Mega Core Magnetizer and began doing so with that one instead. The only complaint I ever had about this set was, indeed, the bottom of the front part, which was easy enough to fix, fortunately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DPrime Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks for the review! Reminds me I've gotta pick this one up eventually... Great set. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Artanis I Posted June 29, 2015 The Space Police (1) sets were well matched in design. The steering on this set made it really cool, but the openness under the cockpit was annoying even back then. If they'd been able to reproduce something like the 6886 or Striker cockpit design it would've been faultless. I have 2 or 3 of these. I miss being able to buy multiples of a set without getting lumped with extra pointless stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
