Featured set of the day: Interstellar Starfighter
Posted by Huw,
Today, a UFO set from 1997 has been retrospectively appraised by whaleyland. Due to an error on my part on what has been a stressful day for me, this is a revised repeat of a previous submission.
Lego in the mid- to late 1990s was in a strange transitional period, and the UFO subtheme of Space was certainly no exception. I purchased 6979 Interstellar Starfighter in July 1997 using a combination of birthday money and allowance. It was only the second “expensive” set I had ever purchased with my own money and, like the first one (for the record, 6494 Magic Mountain Time Lab), I had no plans for which set I was going to buy when I walked into Kiddie World that summer afternoon. I certainly did not foresee returning home with this unusual vessel.
The entire UFO line broke the mould in many ways compared to earlier Space subthemes. The rounded quarter dish pieces were instantly recognisable as alien at the deepest level, and they came in different sizes, which was great since it meant that flying saucer-like vessels of various sizes could be built.
And just to prove that point, the large starfighter included a detachable half-saucer snubfighter at its back, which though not revolutionary was a great way to showcase the new parts. But the Intersteller Starfighter also harkened to the Star Wars movies, which had just been re-released earlier that year. The distinctive X-wing design of the back of the ship just screamed X-Wing, and that is certainly one of the features that subconsciously convinced me to choose the set.
(Image from The Plastic Brick)
Despite its great visual features, the set itself proved to be a tad bit of a letdown. The basic design was unique, but the large quarter dishes meant that there was less to build. The bottom of the ship, meanwhile, like so many other starships in the 1990s era, was almost entirely neglected except for some clunky landing gear using repurposed rocket funnels.
More generally, while UFO certainly improved upon the aesthetics of previous Space subthemes, it still fit largely within a quality continuity. The Spyrius (1994) and Exploriens (1996) subthemes had already begun experimenting with dishes and circular vehicles. And Space subthemes in general had relied heavily on trans-neon colors since the days of M-Tron (1990).
While the series took some bold steps with the large plates, the general design, structure, and features of the ship loosely resembled earlier capital ships such as 6982 Explorien Starship (1996) and 6973 Deep Freeze Defender (Ice Planet 2002—1993). It also botched its most marketable feature: its fibre-optic lighting system.
The ship was one of only two Space-themed sets in the 1990s to get the electric treatment, the other being the much more popular and well-known 6991 Monorail Transport Base (1994). Conceptually, the fibre optic system including in the set was state-of-the-art. A battery box was tucked neatly into the cabin of the ship and was connected to a motor that hosted a single red LED light that spun around at an even rate to light eight attached fibre optic cables. These cables had little dimples throughout them to catch the light so it would be visible even in a lighted room.
The colour that actually appeared was orange enough to seem neon-orange, and as the motor ran, the different cables would blink on for a second before moving to the next cable. Again, conceptually this was one of the coolest things I had ever seen, and it definitely was one of the key factors in me choosing this set over any similar-priced sets on the shelves in 1997.
But the set’s greatest strength was also its biggest weakness. The set only included 292 pieces but retailed for $80 (USD). That makes this the equivalent of a $129 retail set today, adjusted for inflation. Ridiculous! The reason the set cost so much was because of the large, printed quarter dish pieces and the electrical parts. And in all fairness to the set, it does look imposing on a shelf in a time before Star Destroyers became commonplace in collections.
But the fiber optics were just not worth what they cost. The rotating mechanism only spun in one direction and at one rate, the LED was not bright enough to see when playing outside or in a well-lit room, and the motor made an obnoxious buzzing noise when spinning the LED.
Combine these problems with the fact that the optical cables were no more than three inches long, so mostly just bulged out of the centre of the set somewhat awkwardly, and they also retained their shape, so they could never really be repurposed for anything else after sitting in the set for a short while. On the more positive side, it really did look awesome and the minifigures were really cool too.
The three minifigures included with this set were quite unique. They took the basic premise of the androids introduced in 1995’s Spyrius subtheme and turned that into an entire race of aliens. But to make the aliens extra creepy, their heads were transparent, and they got helmets with chest and shoulder armour. It was such a game-changer for the Space series at the time. Androids were still popular then, too, so a red UFO-themed android was included in the set. And every good angry alien needs weaponry, so the set included a fairly massive handheld ray-gun, presumably to defeat their enemies.
While none of the minifigures were unique to the set, they provided a good mix and plenty of opportunities for play. In this respect, the only thing the set could have probably benefited from is a small Roboforce spaceship so the starfighter had something to fight.
In retrospect, the Interstellar Starfighter is a legitimately fun set still today. While it certainly has been outdone with regard to size, few Space sets since have even attempted to include lighting or electrical features. It also represents the only serious attempt by Lego to do a flying-saucer series within the Classic Space universe. Insectoids, which was the subtheme’s immediate successor, utterly failed to convey the same feeling, and 2011’s Alien Conquest theme, which included three sets with flying saucers, was focused more on a fictional alien invasion of Lego City than the aliens as a species in their own right.
Thus, I think this single-year theme holds up quite well, all things considered, and its capital ship, the Interstellar Starfighter, although expensive for what you got, lived up to most of its expectations and continues to do so today.
63 likes
12 comments on this article
Didn't we already see this submission before, on March 31st?
It’s funny to me how nostalgic some people are for this sub theme. The huge saucer pieces are pretty useless for any other purpose. The fiber optics were an expensive gimmick. The minifigs are hideous in my opinion. But to each their own.
@Saffroth said:
"Didn't we already see this submission before, on March 31st?"
I'm thinking that too, but I think it was just an abbreviated version in the comments of RSotD.
Regardless, good read!
@Robot99 said:
" @Saffroth said:
"Didn't we already see this submission before, on March 31st?"
I'm thinking that too, but I think it was just an abbreviated version in the comments of RSotD.
Regardless, good read!"
Nope, it was a full FSotD... weird.
@natro220 said:
"It’s funny to me how nostalgic some people are for this sub theme. The huge saucer pieces are pretty useless for any other purpose. The fiber optics were an expensive gimmick. The minifigs are hideous in my opinion. But to each their own."
I agree, my brother and I had this when it was new (as well as most other space sets from about 1989 on) and this was one of my least favorite. It had so little replay value because of the huge printed saucers and the angled wings, and the fiber optics literally never once found it into anything else that we ever built (I still have them though). These and the insectoids were our least favorite space series ever. Didn't stop us from asking for them for christmas still, though.
At first glance, this ship looks like a combination of the Enterprise and (as already mentioned) an X-wing fighter to me. I would like to see this set up close to check it out.
The UFO series one of the last groups of sets I collected before I entered my second Dark Age. I really didn't care for the saucer pieces. Other than a couple Star Wars sets that I couldn't resist in 1999, my collection didn't grow significantly after this. ...not until I started collecting the modular buildings which eventually brought me back in.
Also, to follow up on my comments. Could we blame the middling UFO and insectoids series just as much as Star Wars for the end of the wonderful Lego Space golden age? I think blame should be shared between them and Star Wars, myself.
^ yes I would agree. And they are also partially responsible (along with juniorization of Town sets, and the ending of Pirates) for my Dark Age.
I love the UFO theme. I never understood why so many people were let down by it... I'd personally take any of the late 90's Space themes over Star Wars any day.
The thing that kept me from buying any UFO sets was the color scheme. Red and grey with neon parts with the matching jumbled prints was too much of an eyesore for me. As a spaceship they are as good as any classic spaceships though.
A serviceable capital ship to contrast with 6975 being more of the gunship and 6915 being a fighter