CP5670

I can live with the color coded pieces, but the use of bright colors such as blue and red was a bad idea. They look especially ugly on yellow models. The worst offenders are the blue pins because they're so common. I've tried to stock up on the old black 3L ones for my MOCs. The tans and grays are more neutral colors and don't stand out quite as much.

I wouldn't be interested in such sets. I like accurate replicas but would prefer them brick-built if they don't have any functions, like Model Team. Technic has always had a stylized appearance meant to show off the internal mechanisms, rather than purely going for realistic looks. This was generally true but 8002 was an exception, with probably one of the most complex mechanisms ever seen in Technic (and done without any gears).

I'm a bit on the fence about this set. It seems very good, but not quite at the level of 42009. The new pneumatics are awesome but it doesn't actually include very many of them, especially given that it's likely to cost $250. I would have like to see the whole model designed around pneumatics and more of the functions powered by them, especially the dump bed and outriggers. The steering mechanism is quite impressive though and is probably my favorite part of the model. Lots of other new parts as well like the 60t turntable. From the pictures it looks like it's made of a glossy material (PC?) unlike the current turntable, but similar to the old studded turntable which also turned smoothly. I definitely plan to stock up on the pneumatic parts in any case. Excellent review as well, I love the pictures in the construction site. I agree, the outriggers are lousy. I never liked these mechanisms where the control knob is right next to the actuated function. Not a fan of the new parts used for them either, which seem too specialized.

I would get 10159, as I like the guaranteed quality MISB sets give you. However, as others said it does have a number of small changes from 6597, and is not as authentic as most of the other re-releases. One baseplate is strange and doesn't line up properly with the standard road/runway plates. It's also the only set that ever included this baseplate.

Interesting article. I agree that the statement about the fiber optics is absurd. Today, TLG would just outsource something like that and not manufacture it themselves in the first place. The fiber optics only appeared in 4 sets, That particular set (8456) might not have sold well though. It was $75 (and wasn't really worth it for that price), but I got it for $40 on clearance several years later. One of the very few in-store deep discounts I have ever found.

Love those minifig hands and arms. They would go well with a Blacktron captain or something. Is the hand on the left a new piece? It reminds me of the omni-tools in the Mass Effect games. Actually I'm building a new model based around these parts, an MTron AT-AT style walker with an automatic control sequence for walking. The pneumatics in that ship are rather well hidden, and they would be wasted there. I wanted a model that would show them off much more.

I can see why they replaced the old hinges. Even when they don't break, they tend to lose their grip over time, especially if you attach/detach them repeatedly. They are still occasionally useful, especially in tight spots due to their one-stud height, but otherwise the click hinges and the newer hinges based on the u-clips work better for most purposes. That being said, I don't like how they got rid of the 1x4 hinge plate and tile, and the other panels and windscreens using that system. These parts were never quite as fragile as the regular 1x2 hinges and their replacements often look ugly and don't work well for windscreens, which pop off easily when you open them. There are no smooth, u-clip versions of most of these pieces either.

I keep the missiles out, although the wings in that particular set won't fold in the whole way if the missiles are not fully in. The launchers don't crack, but their springs do lose some force over time if the missiles are kept in for long periods. I have some old launchers from the late 90s that have that issue.

Nice mods, but you can just plug the battery box to a 9V train speed regulator or control center, and get AC power that way. The speed regulator seems to have reasonably high current limits as well.

These are nice, but I don't see anything must-have here. I like the unique concept with 42038 and its color scheme, even though it's light on functionality. It would be interesting to see how its steering (if any) works though. In general, it's good to see that they are using colors other than yellow and red more often.

This might just push me into getting a 42009. I've been on the fence about getting one since it's similar to the 8421 I have, but this model is awesome. My favorite part is the drivetrain with the transversal differentials and suspension. It's pretty hard to do that on a 15-wide vehicle like this. I do prefer the gearbox in the original model over having separate motors for everything though.

They do occasionally change the material as part of a piece revision. I can think of several cases like that over the years. It is usually done to make the piece stronger and less prone to breaking. Some other pieces are the 8t, 16t and 24t gears, which all used to be glossy at various times in the past but are now softer and more malleable, with a matte texture. The newer ones don't look as nice but work better in practice. The old 16t gears are prone to shaving a fine powder off each other when running at high speeds, which is not a problem with the modern ones.

You seem to be getting pretty worked up. Just chill out, this is all about having fun. Who says? Taking this logic to the extreme, only the original sets are truly authentic, and any MOC is by definition not part of the original themes. You have to allow for some level of differences from the original models. I have that set too and they don't look very close to me, especially since they are pointing in the other direction. I'll admit that they usually do correspond to something, but not always. Another exception is 6931, especially the arrows on the wings. Thanks. It's actually the name of a star. I picked it since there is a star/sun in the Blacktron logo and couldn't find anyone else using it.

Most of the sets back then were pretty "conservative" with regards to parts usage. That was probably due to price limits and constraints the designers had to follow, rather than any conscious design choice. Today, you see more sets where the designers put in more effort into adding details and features, and at a higher price. If Blacktron and the other space themes had come out today, they would probably look quite different just because of this. I actually stick pretty close to the old themes with my MOCs, and try to aim for a mix of modern techniques and a more classic look instead of going all out with SNOT and fine details. On the other hand, I usually don't try to make the models look as if they were official sets from that era and designed under the same price limitations. They're more like models that I would have liked to see back then as a kid. For the 6954 arrows, I guess you could explain them that way, but they're not that close to those hover chair things and are facing the wrong direction. It's not as clear as 6941 for example, where they obviously point to the detachable wing piece. The arrow tiles generally look good on a variety of sci-fi models, even just as decoration. It's a pity we don't get them anymore in today's sets. If the Arcturus gets blown up by Space Police, the guy can probably climb out the front, as long as it wasn't a direct hit from the front.

Black is ideal; as I said, I look for the black ones too. But if they had to color code them, I would rather have gotten dark gray ones than blue ones.

No worries, I certainly appreciate suggestions like this. In fact, they are often more helpful than just saying that the model is perfect, which is rarely the case. By old tires, are you referring to the plastic ones in space sets or the hard foam tires in old Technic sets? I just happened to have these 68.8x24 wheels on hand, and designed the rest of the MOC around them. The wheels and windscreens usually determine the look and scale of any Lego vehicle. You do bring up a good point though that the Blacktron sets are generally thin and sleek, and this chunky look is more in line with Blacktron II. The front doesn't come off. I did in fact want to have that, but the Lifelites lights cannot be unplugged that easily. The arrows are just decorations. Some sets like 6954 used them that way, instead of indicating a function. Now that I think about it though, the front one means "enter cab here" and the ones in the back could mean "missiles come out of here." I think of them as guides for the minifigs, rather than the human.

I like this much better than the original too. The exo-suit looks kind of "evil" in general with those big claws, and is a great fit for Blacktron and its colors.

I would like to see them revert to black for the 3L pins. I stocked up on the black ones a while ago, but they have become hard to get in quantity now. The blue ones look really ugly on models that are not blue. I can live with the color coding, but bright, primary colors like blue and red were very bad choices. They should stick with neutral colors like the grays and tans.

Interesting thread. I'm not as active as I used to be here, so anything I say may be outdated, but here are a few thoughts. EB is a great site and is always my first place to go to for discussing anything related to Lego. There was a time when it was quite hard to find active Lego forums out there, and EB has filled that gap perfectly. I don't have any real concerns about how things are run here, but EB is definitely more heavily moderated than several other forums I go or used to go to. From what I've seen, there is a fairly high number of not only locked threads but also vacationed or banned members. When you come across their posts frequently in random threads, it does create a certain impression to an outsider. At the other forums I've seen, including one where I am a moderator, you really have to do something very bad to get a permanent ban, and only a few cases have occurred over the years. I think EB may have also changed in this respect as it has grown over time. In fact, I originally came here instead of some other Lego-related forums because it seemed to have lighter moderation, while still being quite active. As I said, I have no specific incident in mind here, and these are just general things I've observed over time.

The Arctic sets definitely have a classic space vibe to them. If you think about it, the environment they depict is not that far off from space (highly remote regions with harsh environments), so it makes sense. In fact, the old Arctic line in 2000 was actually blue and light gray and used the same kinds of windows and other pieces as space models at the time. It could easily pass for a space theme.

Great model, I like the bubble canopy in the back.

Thanks. Brickshelf is finally back up, in case anyone was having trouble with the links earlier.

That helicopter is great. You can keep pumping the side panels and the momentum will keep the rotors going. That set was part of the original Creator line in 2003, which was all large-scale vehicles like Model Team but with various mechanisms (but different from the functions you would typically see in an equivalent Technic model).

Thanks everyone. This was the first time I used the custom light products, and I would highly recommend them in general. The lights look great in the dark, and are much cheaper and easier to place in tight spots than the official 9V or PF lights. There are a couple of different light vendors out there, but I like Lifelites for their relatively low prices and wide range of products. The lights are designed to fit inside the small holes in headlight bricks, Technic pins, etc. and make you think about a lot of pieces differently when building, since only a few pieces have these holes. By the way, if the pictures aren't showing up, just try refreshing in a few minutes. Brickshelf has been having issues the whole week and is frequently going down for short periods.

(click for more pictures) A Blacktron all-terrain assault vehicle. It has 4-wheel steering with a sliding midsection, similar to 6895, and 8 flashing lights (running off a Lifelites eLite Advanced 2 module), with the trans-red rod near the boxes on top switching between the 25 different flashing patterns. Armaments include four side-mounted cannons and a missile platform with two Blacktron Tiger missiles and four smaller spring-loaded missiles.