Review: 6956 Stellar Recon Voyager

[dj2005]

Title of Set: 6956 Stellar Recon Voyager

Theme: Space/M-Tron

Year Released: 1990

Piece Count: 233

Minifigures: 2

Original Price: $36 (USD), Unknown (EUR), Unknown (GBP)

Current Prices: BrickLink Price Guide

Further Information: Brickset, Lugnet, Peeron, Photobucket Album

As the seemingly everlasting conflict between the Space Police and Blacktron factions spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy, causing devastation and despair in its wake, M-Tron decided they needed a more formidable ship that offered a significant amount of protection to their cargo in these contested regions of space. This ship was named the Stellar Recon Voyager and is the largest ship in M-Tron’s fleet, featuring a fair amount of armaments and a reinforced armored hull that allowed M-Tron to transport their cargo through such areas of space with much greater ease.

Author's Notes:

Officially Secret Space Voyager is the largest M-Tron ship but I only count actual sets. Secret Space Voyager is merely an instruction manual that uses pieces from other M-Tron sets, much like "set" 6861 for the Blacktron 2 subtheme. On top of that, I think the final product looks like some sort of abomination, somewhat like Frankenstein but in space. And with magnets...

Also, this will likely be my last review on a vintage/classic set as I don't have the funds to continue buying both new and old sets. I hope you all enjoy the review and that you have many magnet-happy days.

Instructions:

Cover:

Page:

The instruction manual does not differ in style compared to the other manuals found in this subtheme. It contains 16 steps in total, with the second and third pages displaying how the minifigs, buggy, and large container are built. The rest of the pages are focused on building the Stellar Recon Voyager itself.

Minifigures:

The standard M-Tron minifig showcasing the usual garb and equipment.

Accessories:

As with many of the M-Tron sets, the Stellar Recon Voyager does not include much in the way of accessories. These included accessories are the usual megaphone, helmets, air tanks, scanner/laser cutter, socket wrench/flashlight, wrench, and radio (not shown).

The Prints:

A fair amount of printed pieces are bundled in this set, many of which displaying the proud M-Tron logo in all of its glory.

Translucent Pieces:

Here we have a wide variety of translucent pieces that can, and will, certainly come in handy. These include: ten 1 x 1 round plates, four cones, four dishes, four antennae, two boosters, two visors, one canopy extender, and, lastly, one sleek canopy.

Unique Pieces:

The translucent neon green windscreen canopy extender, 3 x 6 M-Tron slope, and red window outward sloping pieces are all unique to this set. An honorable mention goes to the 2 x 2 M-Tron slope that is only found in two other sets: 6923 Particle Ionizer and 5154 Decorated Elements. Unlike the 3 x 6 slope, it has a textured surface.

Wheels & Magnets:

This set includes four common rubber wheels that were found in many sets of this era. However, for magnets, TLG includes eight (yes, you read that right) magnets! That’s more than the Mega Core Magnetizer, which weighs in at only seven magnets. There’s no denying that this is truly a set designed for the M-Tron faction.

Small Storage Container:

As per other M-Tron sets, two small storage containers are included. Each container is given a magnet and some treasure in the form of a single 1x1 translucent neon green round plate.

Large Storage Container:

Front:

Fairly uneventful at this viewpoint. It does share a design plan similar to the one used in the Mega Core Magnetizer with, perhaps, the most noticeable difference being that the middle consists of two blacks pieces rather than two red pieces.

Side Closed:

Shot of the print commonly used with M-Tron’s large containers.

Side Open:

The right and left sides of the container are identical, consisting of a red fence piece and nothing else. The excess accessories are dumped in rather than attached to anything, which I find disappointing. The large containers found in the Mega Core Magnetizer and Particle Ionizer are both more creative in their design and offer a larger amount of features. A small container can fit inside of this large container but the red fence needs to be removed first, and then reattached after the small container is in place. To remove the scanner accessory, the same needs to be done (and it also isn't very easy to shove it in without removing the red fence first).

Top of Large Storage Container:

Here we see the top consisting of the all-important magnet, two red grilles, and two 1x4 red SNOT pieces. This is an improvement over the Mega Core Magnetizer containers which only had a magnet and two black grilles.

Underside of Large Storage Container:

The underside is a simple red 4x6 plate.

The Buggy:

Ain’t it just the cutest thing? Like in the Mega Core Magnetizer, the buggy has its very own magnet which allows it to attach to the front of the ship. I’ll have some comments concerning this placement in the following category. This is also the only buggy within this subtheme to have a steering wheel, likely because it is also the only buggy where the driver is standing rather than sitting. All others use computer panel tiles instead.

Completed without Minifigures:

Overview:

And here is why I commented on the location of the buggy - simply put, it severely impacts the aesthetics of the set in such a negative way and looks like the designer(s) tacked its placement on at the last minute of the design phase. Now, with that out of the way, let us head onto some of the good bits. Moving down the ship, we see how much of a focal point that 3 x 6 M-Tron slope is, partly due to the two beautiful black corner pieces that make up the cargo bay. The translucent neon green pieces act as excellent accent pieces to the bold black and red color scheme, and help bring some flare into the design. Lastly, as you likely have already noted, each side of the ship can hold one of the small containers.

Top-down View:

This view shows off the printed M-Tron 2 x 2 tiles on each wing, as well as various details that may be hard to see in other views.

Front View with Buggy Attached:

For some reason, the Stellar Recon Voyager reminds me of a bumblebee from this viewpoint. It has an interesting profile thanks to the cargo bay design.

Front View without Buggy Attached:

Ah, it looks much better without the buggy attached. For those that are curious, a small container does fit in this spot but it will kind of hang out as the black plate and white 2 x 1 printed tile are in its way. However, these two pieces can be easily removed.

Side View:

This image shows a couple of canopy positions, with the position at the left being the farthest the canopy can open. Notice the lovely 1 x 4 red fences pieces that help construct the cockpit and, thus, add plenty of areas where the cockpit is open to space. Definitely makes a lot of sense for a spacecraft... in Bizarro world! Nearby, there is a black door on either side of the ship. I have no idea why those were used rather than black bricks since the doors open up into the empty cockpit area. While building this set, I was hoping that the doors would have a lovely equipment room behind them, but my dreams were crushed when I finished the build.

Back Loaded:

The large container fits perfectly into the cargo bay. Since the large containers in the Mega Core Magnetizer set are the same size as this one, they fit as well. The container in the Particle Ionizer set also fits, even without removing its antenna.

Back Emptied:

As can be seen, there is a one-block wide passageway on either side of the crane assembly, which, again, leaves the cockpit area open to space. This could've been filled easily enough so I am not sure why TLG designed it this way. Still, the design of the cargo bay is well-done as I have to admit that the four red angle pieces that form the walls of the cargo bay look great and make the whole area feel grandeur.

Back Loading:

Since the crane consists of a single hinge, it does not actually extend but rather just tilts forward; however, this causes no issues when loading small and large containers. The base of the crane has no ability to rotate due to obvious reasons regarding the design of the cargo bay. I don't know if it is because my set isn't new, but the crane's hinge cannot keep the crane in position when the large container is connected. Instead, it droops down to the floor unless the crane is in its resting place.

Crane Closeup:

The left image displays the crane tucked away in its cubbyhole. In the image to the right, the crane is nearly all the way "extended".

Cockpit closeup:

The cockpit is large enough to comfortably fit the two M-Tron minifigs, and consists of a steering wheel and control panel. That's it. Not even a single seat. For a $36 set that has a low piece count, I definitely think that this area should have some furnishings. Note: my set was missing two 1 x 1 black tiles which go on either side of the 3 x 4 red wedge plate. In their place I used red tiles since I didn't have any black tiles on hand.

Completed with Minifigures:

Ready for Takeoff:

A total of four minifigs fit into the cockpit. Quite impressive and eerily creepy.

Out with the Old, In with the New:

All Work and No Play...:

Reviewer's Score:

Playability: 9.1/10 – I’ve always enjoyed sets that include flying and land-based vehicles as it offers variation. There are also a decent amount of containers to transport around. The ship itself is sturdy and not overly large, thus making it easily swooshable.

Design: 7.7/10 – I appreciate the overall design as it fits in with the M-Tron sets and subtheme, as well as earning its own unique presence in the fleet. I dislike the buggy placement as I feel that the front of the spacecraft is not a place where it should be placed and it seems like TLG ran out of areas to attach it to. The second area that I believe could’ve been designed better is the cockpit as it is a bit void of detail and the fence pieces do not make a whole lot of sense as one would think that keeping the oxygen inside the canopy would be a wise precaution. Same applies to the two gaps leading to the cargo bay.

Price: 6.9/10 – This set only has a few more pieces than Particle Ionizer (233 vs. 203), but it does have eight magnets which are expensive compared to regular blocks. And the three containers add to the value of this set as well. As such, this set isn’t that bad of a deal but I think it could’ve been better.

Total: 23.7/30 – An enjoyable set for the M-Trons that not only serves its function of bolstering the M-Tron fleet, but fills a gap that was previously present in this subtheme. While it does have a few design flaws and was a tad expensive in its day, if you enjoy the M-Tron faction then I suggest picking it up as it can be purchased quite cheaply; although, if you don't already own Particle Ionizer then I highly recommend purchasing that set instead since it is superior in many ways.

[Galaxy Explorer]

Incredible review for a less than incredible set! One of my "not favorite" themes, because there are no bad themes in Classic Space. I agree, the buggy looks awful stuck to the front of the ship- reminds me of a bike on a bus. The ship itself is pretty big, but just seems too open and not solid enough. Maybe I was just too spoiled after all the Galaxy Explorers/Commanders, etc.

M-Tron in general represented a big change for me- The colors used were very different from the blue/grey/white of the last several years. The trans green elements all but replaced the beautiful warm yellow. The most frustrating thing was the fact that this theme, and most other space themes afterward only ran one wave! Every year a new faction- Ice Planet, Blacktron II, Spyrius and so on- all one wave- nothing to add on, and M-Tron needed more sets, most notably a base.

Ironically, I own the entire M-Tron collection. I just don't build them that much.

Top notch review!

[dj2005]

Incredible review for a less than incredible set! One of my "not favorite" themes, because there are no bad themes in Classic Space. I agree, the buggy looks awful stuck to the front of the ship- reminds me of a bike on a bus. The ship itself is pretty big, but just seems too open and not solid enough. Maybe I was just too spoiled after all the Galaxy Explorers/Commanders, etc.

M-Tron in general represented a big change for me- The colors used were very different from the blue/grey/white of the last several years. The trans green elements all but replaced the beautiful warm yellow. The most frustrating thing was the fact that this theme, and most other space themes afterward only ran one wave! Every year a new faction- Ice Planet, Blacktron II, Spyrius and so on- all one wave- nothing to add on, and M-Tron needed more sets, most notably a base.

Ironically, I own the entire M-Tron collection. I just don't build them that much.

Top notch review!

Thanks GE.

As you mentioned, the Stellar Recon Voyager is a lot of fluff without much meat. I think TLG had a good design going but the low piece count really hurt the set, even when taking into account the decent amount of large parts that form the wings and cargo bay. There's the cockpit which, as can be seen, is bare as can be. At least the Particle Ionizer has a cockpit with some thought put into it. The cargo bay is cool but it's only a basic crane (Particle Ionizer's crane has a lot more articulation) and a skeleton frame. Even so, I do appreciate that it differs from the other M-Tron ships, and from Blacktron 2's and Space Police 2's ships as well.

It's a decent set, IMO, despite its flaws. Perhaps I state this because I love the M-Tron subtheme. And I agree that a base, and more sets, would've been a nice addition. As it stands, I consider the Mega Core Magnetizer as their (mobile) base since there isn't anything else that is even remotely close.

[DraikNova]

Seems like a remarkably good set to me, even though I dislike of M-Tron. The level of function in it seems more or less the same as modern sets. Considering most modern sets have at most a hinged cockpit and an opening panel, I'm not sure whether this says something about this set or about modern ones.

[Brinstar]

I owned this set as a child and was always quite fond of it. There aren't too many freighters in the space theme and this by far the largest and most impressive. While most space ships seat only one or two, the cockpit is spacious enough to allow four mini-figures as your photo beautifully illustrates. I remember at the time I was taken aback by the number of magnets, it's a shame they don't appear in Lego sets anymore. The large cargo hold is also a particular highlight. While the piece count isn't very high, it always felt like a very substantial model for the price (£24.99 If I remember rightly!)

There are certainly aspects that could be improved: I never cared for the buggy and don't like the way it was attached to the front. I also wish that the rear section wasn't quite so open. Overall though a good set and a nice companion to the Mega Core Magnetizer and Particle Ionizer.

[CP5670]

I like this model overall despite its flaws. It came with a large number of containers, printed parts and minifig widgets, and had a very large cockpit compared to most ships. I made several mods to mine: filled the rear panels with black windows to give it a more solid look, raised the canopy by one plate to allow extra minifigs to fit more easily, and moved the steering wheel and slope on the rover so it's more like a typical vehicle (and also looks a lot better when it's mounted on the ship).

[WhiteFang]

I haven't been seeing you around lately and it is surprising to see you return to share with us a nice space review that is pretty classic as well! Hope to see you around and this review is very insightful.

[dj2005]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Seems like a remarkably good set to me, even though I dislike of M-Tron. The level of function in it seems more or less the same as modern sets. Considering most modern sets have at most a hinged cockpit and an opening panel, I'm not sure whether this says something about this set or about modern ones.

Comparing older space sets with the new stuff - the horror!

I haven't been seeing you around lately and it is surprising to see you return to share with us a nice space review that is pretty classic as well! Hope to see you around and this review is very insightful.

Thank you Whitefang, and, yes, it has been a while since I've last posted (2009?). Lack of time and especially of money brought on a mini-dark age, though I still lurked around now and again.