Random set of the day: Rebel Hunter
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6897 Rebel Hunter, released in 1992. It's one of 7 Space sets produced that year. It contains 140 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$21.
It's owned by 3348 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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30 comments on this article
Interesting. Is there some sort of Star Wars reference with this?
@TheWackyWookiee said:
"Interesting. Is there some sort of Star Wars reference with this?"
I'm drawing a blank on any Imperial craft that would have been made even as a toy pre 1992 that even resembles this.
"Rebel Hunter" Well, that's certainly not a name that inspires confidence in the government of Space Police II!
Hmm. Damn rebels.
This was the first Space Police set I ever saw or played with. In the mid-90s, the person with the largest Lego collection that I knew was actually my cousin, who was several years older than me and lived in Houston. Occasionally, my family would visit my uncle's home in Houston. On one such trip, my cousin showed me this Lego set, which was far larger than any Lego space ship I owned at the time (which was just about none).
I loved the color scheme and the transforming capability of the ship in order to grab the prison cell for the Blacktron "rebel". I was jealous of my cousin for having the Rebel Hunter, and he was kind of a douche about it because he was growing out of Lego, and just wanted to keep the set to himself to deny my enjoyment of it. For the rest of my childhood, he was the only person that really made fun of me for my Lego enthusiasm (going so far as to gift me a Jack Stone set for Christmas in 2001 when I was thirteen because he reasoned, "You like Lego, so this set says 'Lego' on it, and there you go!" But I digress).
Anyway, I was able to get the Space Police commander later in that little single-man scout ship set, and by the turn of the century, I had assembled a complete Solar Snooper from garage sale finds. In my opinion, that set is even better than Rebel Hunter, so my cousin can go soak his head for clinging to it.
Although, now I do wonder what eventually happened to it...
“Rebels.” absolutely no dissenters allowed. Crush the resistance. No free speech permitted. No free thinking. All must be as one. All hail the space police. Resistance is futile.
All we’ve ever known is a lie. Blacktron people are probably actually the good guys for all we know.
I loved this set! I somehow managed to find it in a store even though it was from 1992 and my first dark age didn’t end until late 1995. (There were a ton of Toys R Us stores in the Boston area at the time that had a lot of old inventory.)
This ship looks really good, just like a small space cruiser should. The part usage, when you take a closer look, is really wacky, even for 90's Lego (monorail supports for engine mounts???). And the way the center part bends away to release the cell is very clever, but the whole ship is basically split in two by some very fragile hinge plates. Again, very cool-looking, but the usual "Lego physics" at play...
@Saffroth said:
""Rebel Hunter" Well, that's certainly not a name that inspires confidence in the government of Space Police II!"
If it helps, its UK name is "Prisoner Patrol".
I think this 9s a great little set to be honest. The extending or shrinking middle section to grab the cell might not be the most secure but its still a nifty trick, and I like look of the engines on those extended frames, as though they could turn to give this ship vertical take offs
Significant evolution of Lego Space Program. From the 80s to the 90s. But the 80s Space Sets are still number ONE for me. Still, a beautiful set.
Iv always liked the look of this set...
Who here is or has talken apart there lego sets and making sure all parts are there and building them back up... i am since lock down giving me something to do XD
@TheLegoFan said:
"Iv always liked the look of this set...
Who here is or has talken apart there lego sets and making sure all parts are there and building them back up... i am since lock down giving me something to do XD"
My wife and I just moved into a new house last fall, so I've got all my sets from childhood through now in the basement. I'm slowly re-assembling them and will likely be done by the time my 2 year-old toddler turns 5 and is ready to play with them.
I was in highschool when I found this set sitting on a shelf in a K-Mart at my local mall that was getting ready to close to be rebuilt into a Wal-Mart Supercenter. It was around 2003 and I couldn't believe it, as I remembered this seat from the pamphlets "back in the day". I didn't have a job yet and my brother and I begged our mom to buy it (She did! Way to go, Mom, haha.). I can only imagine that it was stuck between a shelf, or wedged into the back somewhere and was rediscovered and just stuck back on the shelf. One of the craziest retail finds I've ever come across.
I used to ogle this in catalogs a lot as a kid, bought it a few years ago as late wish fulfillment.
This one has a pretty fun function, in that you extend the space ship, to grab the cell with 2 hinges
Pretty interesting design
Rebel Hunter?
Rather a galactic regime dog chasing innocent and peaceful Blacktron people...
@thelegofan well I have not gone that far, but let’s just say my sets have never had so little dust and you need to do partial disassembly for that and leave it there
I love the Classic Space sets, but the unusual structural design of this set is not working for me.
I've only got one Space Police II set, and it is actually the smallest that was available here, 6813 Galactic Chief. Really like the colour scheme though. Might try to find this set or even the large "Galactic Mediator" at some point via ebay or BL.
Space Police 2 was great, I still like the designs a lot more then the rounder Space Police 3 ships, but that theme had better alien figures of course.
I believe this set was the last one I got before entering the "dark ages" (which weren't at all dark considering, but anyhow). The hinges in the middle make it a bit flimsy but when it holds the cell it is absolutely sturdy. The minifigs however is a totall different story... never seen a worst print on a minifig ever. The commander was so misprinted/offset that you had to wear those old 3D glasses (the ones with the red and the blue "lenses")to see the print in one piece... I guess LEGO was tumbling down to its worst fiscal/quality years these days
I was given all my older brother’s Lego when they were discovered in a closet when my parents were downsizing their house. There were actually two complete sets of this. He actually had almost all of the Space Police II sets. Basically doubled the amount of my space sets.
One of my absolute favorite sets growing up.
@Brickalili said:
" @Saffroth said:
""Rebel Hunter" Well, that's certainly not a name that inspires confidence in the government of Space Police II!"
If it helps, its UK name is "Prisoner Patrol"."
If anything, that makes even less sense.
"Prisoner, we are going on patrol, so you are coming with us!"
Or does the Space Police modus operandi include jailing caught Blacktron inside those cells and leaving them in place for the next patrol to pickup? Arguably, that's even worse.
I'm a Space fan, but I'm sorry, I gotta call this one what it is: "Hey, what are we going to do with all these spare Monorail track support stands?"
Got one of these in a LEGO lot, Really neat set actually. Love that you can 'accordion' the ship when you do not have the cell holding the prisoner.
I LOVE this set! This was one of my first space sets, the others being 6812: Grid Trekkor and 6981: Aerial Intruder. These were built and rebuilt so many times I could do it entirely from memory. I really wish I still had them... ;(
@SirZed said:
" @Brickalili said:
" @Saffroth said:
""Rebel Hunter" Well, that's certainly not a name that inspires confidence in the government of Space Police II!"
If it helps, its UK name is "Prisoner Patrol"."
If anything, that makes even less sense.
"Prisoner, we are going on patrol, so you are coming with us!"
Or does the Space Police modus operandi include jailing caught Blacktron inside those cells and leaving them in place for the next patrol to pickup? Arguably, that's even worse.
"
I reckon its like earth police having patrol cars, mostly used for driving round but with accommodations built in for perps if they catch one
I got this set off eBay last year. I had only ever seen the single image of the ship as shown above and was totally surprised by the way it opens and collapses when grabbing the prisoner pod. It was a fun discovery.