REVIEW 7694 Mars Mission M-31 Trike

[Dunjohn]

There's already a review of this set in the Index, but its pictures have vanished, so here's another one!

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INFORMATION:

Set Name: MT-31 Trike

Set Number: 7694

Theme: Mars Mission

Year Released: 2007

Number of Pieces: 95

Minifigs: 2

Price on Release: €10.99

Bricklink

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

The usual purpley-orangey Mars Mission motif here, with that alarmingly-close Planet Earth and its moon in extreme low orbit up in the top corner. By my calculations, the entire Solar System of the Lego universe is about 300 studs wide. The Trike is the only thing the box contains so the pilot is presumably blasting several thousand taxdollars worth of laser fire at nothing for the pure thrill of it. The Mars Mission logo includes a cute update of the standard Lego Space theme, with a rocket shooting around Mars.

The back shows some details of the set laid out in a startlingly tidy, uncluttered boxout style. It brings a tear to the eye of this organisation-obsessed freak. I got it second-hand so it was already open. The whole Mars Mission presentation style gets a thumbs up from me.

And since I already owned this set, I now have two manuals for it. There's nothing majorly cool about it/them, aside from revealing that the trike is somehow plonked at the end of a high ridge. Those Mars Astronauts and their suicidal ledge fetish.... the instructions are basic (occasionally adding one new piece in a step) and black-dark grey differentiation can be an issue, but it's a small set so it's nothing major. There should be a DSS in there but it's already been used, and I seem to have misplaced my original.

The stickers were already applied when I got it. I don't normally apply the stickers so that's a pain, but I'll live. Aside from the minifig, there are no printed elements in the set.

Some of the cooler more interesting less common elements. That white sled thing can slide into the orange tube. It can hold an alien (speared through the chest) or three gems (in those spots). The strange molding beside the rod accomodates the alien's head crest, and it holds him very solidly in place.

Here's the two minifigs. I'm finally getting the hang of close-up photos! Now if I could only sort out the lighting... anyhow, back on topic, those aliens are the single worst Lego thing ever and everybody already knows it and hates them. One point of articulation, incomprehensible face molding, and unreliable feet that are open at the back and slip off easily add up to a pretty lousy concept. They have a glowing pancreas deep inside their abdomens that takes a while to charge and fades quickly. The human isn't exactly spectacular. I've a particular dislike for the opaque golden eyeshield, which robs minifigs across the entire line of their identities and personalities. It may be more realistic, but hello, that's an alien standing beside him.

THE BUILD:

This is the Trike's simple suspension system, built after four or five steps. It gives the front wheels a nice bounce.

Now the bulk of the set is complete, but just the wheels and cockpit to go. The orange tube is open at the rear, so there's a risk that the sled will fall out on bumpy terrain. Don't go too fast or turn too sharply or that alien will fly.

If there's one thing Mars Mission is known for, it's those crappy aliens. However, if you widen the phrase to seven or eight things, one of them might be crazy cockpits. They're not normally airtight - the astronauts are usually pictured fully suited up when piloting them - and like to make use of multiple hinge pieces to futuristify the shape, and this set is no different. The pilot must sit at a 45° angle and lean back. Put it horizontal and the cover won't come down over him right. It means he can only focus maximum firepower on a spot three inches in front of him. Hopefully that's where the alien attackers will tunnel up from.

Here's the finished kit. I've pictured it with its box because when I bought the first one, several years ago, I was impressed by how large it turned out to be. I felt like I got plenty of bang for the buck, and I still do. As you can see, it tilts slightly back when in neutral, which doesn't help the sled-sliding issue.

Along with the poor cockpit design and the open tube, there's a slightly less forgivable design oversight, with the rear wheel being badly off-centre. It's easily fixed by redistributing the half-bushes that hold it in place but why wasn't that done in the first place?

The spares. Loads, but it's hard to get excited about Technic pins. Those two things in the middle are what I meant by bushes, by the way.

IN CONCLUSION:

I have to say, I don't like Mars Mission. The entire line. It does so many thing badly. It has its fans but I don't understand what they see in it. This set has a number of flaws that I've already covered. It's probably my favourite of the MM sets but if I hadn't got such a good deal on these second-hand sets I wouldn't have bothered with them. If you can overlook (or fix) the design issues the finished thing is quite cool; looks nice, extremely swooshable, feels like great value.

Design: 6/10: Nice but flawed rather than being smoothly good or bad. Some obvious areas of improvement.

Parts: 6/10: I've yet to figure out a decent use for that orange tube. The ends look like they should take a 2x2 plate but they don't; I can't think of anything that can cap it. The technic beams along the sides are the only connection options. I've thought about them as engines but it's proven akward so they just sit unused in my boxes. The white sled is forgetable. It has a smooth underside so it doesn't accomodate studs of any kind. The wheels are massive and orange so they're very difficult to reuse. Most of the other parts are solid and useful but lean towards the Technic end of the spectrum. It has everything you need for Mars Mission MOCs but little else.

Build: 9/10: Speedy and efficient with no tricky areas. It gets big fast and the result is quite satisfying.

Playability: 8/10: Very good, I'll grudgingly admit; most of what I dislike about this line involves the design decisions but the end results are usually entertaining. The suspension makes it a lot of fun to bobble along but the guns are incredibly lame.

Price: 10/10 I wouldn't get this as a parts pack but as a toy it's fantastic value.

Total: 75% I'd say it's in the upper echelons of Mars Mission quality but those niggles really drag it down. It could have been done correctly, they just didn't bother to.

Thanks for reading!

Not so brave when the alien can hold a gun, eh?

- Dunjohn

Edited January 29, 2011 by Dunjohn

[XimenaPaulina]

Excellent review Dunjohn! It was really enjoyable reading through your review, especially with your hilarious quips about the "alarmingly-close Planet Earth" and the "several thousand taxdollars worth of laser fire at nothing for the pure thrill of it". I would have to agree that Martian alien gummybear minifig is one of the weirdest I've ever seen. Overall, I'd rate this as an average set.

[prateek]

Excellent review. I too despised Mars Mission, and this set is no exception. I've got to say though, that suspension is pretty ingenious, so I'll give the designers that.

[Plastemaurer]

Very good review, Dunjohn, I really enjoyed reading it.

Then, I must admit, I actually quite like Mars Mission, although it is not my favourite theme. It has some really nice sets, especially on the humans side, i.e. Ultra Drill Walker, Armored Drilling Unit, Recon Dropship, etc, but also terrible ones, mostly everything on the aliens side.

This particular one is on the average level. When I first built it, I was a bit disapointed. It's not really bad, but somehow didn't fulfill my expectations.

...and Brickset keeps saying it glows in the dark when it doesn't...

It does, you have to expose the jelly to a bright light for several minutes first, to "charge" it. After that, there is a small glowing area in its abdominal area. It's rather dim, though.

PM

[Aanchir]

I had mixed feelings about Mars Mission. Some of the sets-- in fact, many of them-- were beautifully designed, and seemed to pull together many of the best parts of previous Space themes. We had the aero-tubes from Life On Mars, a giant modular flagship similar to that seen in Ice Planet 2002, decidedly unearthly-looking alien craft, transforming vehicles, mineral-excavating vehicles...

At the same time, the story gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach. No, I'm not the sort of person who fears that stories of human-versus-nonhuman conflicts will glorify racism or xenophobia. But even ignoring that aspect, the ethics of the series were questionable. No, the aliens this time around aren't from Mars at all. But it's still worthy of note that they were here first, had established a technologically-advanced lifestyle dependent upon the local resources (energy crystals), and had even built hives on what had before been a desolate planet. The humans came and began strip-mining the land, getting into laser fights with the aliens, and even abducting aliens to perform grisly experiments on them (a real role-reversal from the stereotypical "alien invasion" story).

If the questionable ethics of the story had been explored in official material, it would have been not only profound but also educational-- a real chance to teach kids about what is acceptable or unacceptable from an ethical standpoint, and how morality tends to be ambiguous in the real world. And perhaps LEGO intended to do this-- the game LEGO Battles which I recently obtained allows you to play as either the humans or the aliens, and makes it clear that both sides have their virtues and their vices. But in any event, this was not made clear in any of the promotional material I've seen in books and magazines-- perhaps because it would have been too heavy or complex for children to absorb from a toy line.

Your review gives me a closer look at what the sets from this theme were like, and how their snazzy streamlining and lovely color scheme may conceal hidden faults (such as the minifigure's inability to fit easily in the cockpit). However, I still feel that from a set design standpoint these sets were mighty impressive, and I kind of wish I had picked up more than just the one I got (the MT-61 Crystal Reaper, a truly beautiful set).

[Dunjohn]

It does, you have to expose the jelly to a bright light for several minutes first, to "charge" it. After that, there is a small glowing area in its abdominal area. It's rather dim, though.

PM

Thanks for that, I've tried it and you're correct. I'll fix the review!

[def]

Interesting. I was expecting the Life On Mars trike when I saw the title. This seems to borrow some of the design of that one and give it Action! I think I prefer the more exploratory aspects of that series. I think it was a pretty crazy 180 degree shift from Life on Mars to Mars Mission, conceptually.

[dr_spock]

Thanks for review. My 7 years-old love Mars Mission. He has the whole collection. It doesn't do a thing for me. Lego must have done its group studies on the young ones.

The Trike is fun to bounce up and down. Also to roll over the aliens.

[Space Odysseyer]

Very good review. As for the set I think it isn't commendable. This martian trike is better than its predecessor, 7312 from Life on Mars, but too has ugly design.

Edited January 30, 2011 by Space Odysseyer