Random set of the day: Sonar Transmitting Cruiser
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6783 Sonar Transmitting Cruiser, released in 1986. It's one of 17 Space sets produced that year. It contains 363 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$50.
It's owned by 1333 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
Help me come to life! If you like the set I've chosen for you today, please pledge your support for me on LEGO Ideas so I have a chance of becoming an official LEGO set!
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CS is another theme with very little lore, but there's still some story beats to go over:
The CS faction was never given a proper name, however they were a team of interstellar explorers set to study other worlds and establish new colonies for humanity, including on our very own moon. This set shows a Pilot, Scientist , and robot assistant traveling in a communications ship.
This set showcases one of my favorite styles of Classic Space ships. Ones with large amounts of empty space inside to hold other vehicles, crew, or cargo. If CS wins the the 90th anniversary vote I hope its a cargo type ship like this and not the more fighter type like Galaxy Explorer or Benny's Spaceship (or better yet a space station.)
Also I didn't get back to ya on the last article so @SearchlightRG here ya go: https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/772428179407564800
Two days ago, dolly dress up clothes (including underwear). Today, this. Anyone who thinks the "random set of the day" isn't random... I present to you exhibit A.
I always remember this one as the last “classic space” set all alone in the shop at home catalogs in 1988-89. It was so lonely next to Blacktron and Space Police. It’s always been a set near the top of my classic sets wanted list as a result, even if it’s kind of ugly. The lights and sound system was criminally underutilized in my opinion. I guess it made it more special and less gimmicky.
One of the late Classic Space sets with the proto-Futuron color scheme. A modular design with a sleek front pilot module, two boxy lab/living modules each containing a single computer slope (one module has opaque black canopy elements and the other uses transparent blue canopy elements that double as ramps when opened), a propulsion module, and a buggy that clips onto the back. The different modules can be rearranged and recombined in various combinations (with the propulsion module able to attach to back of any of the front 3 modules), allowing the individual lab modules to be left behind as standalone outposts. The trans-blue sided module has clips for hoses and various tools, and there is also a dumpy-looking brick-built robot. Some of the modules are rather bulky (though the Light and Sound battery box is very well integrated atop the opaque module) and the buggy looks kind of awkward attached at the back but most of this set's design implies operation in a vacuum where aerodynamics are not important.
@LegoRobo:
So you're okay with the fact that this is essentially a giant PA system flying through the soundless void of space?
Oh, what a beauty!
@natro220 said:
"The lights and sound system was criminally underutilized in my opinion. I guess it made it more special and less gimmicky."
It's because it was so expensive to add to a set. Hard to find original RRPs but on most of the other 9V sets you basically got half as many bricks for the same price, which is a hard sell to most kids.
That and the massive battery box really limits smaller builds
As a kid, I thought this was so out of place. I remember thinking, “What is LEGO doing with this thing?”
But as an adult, I’m actually curious now what sounds it made. I had the light and sound police van, and it was kind of neat, but as a kid I’m pretty sure I just assumed the spaceship made siren noises.
Plus I knew sound wasn’t transmitted through space. So that bugged me.
@LegoRobo:
Maybe if they hadn't crammed a giant sound system in there, they wouldn't have exceeded the safe max load capacity of standard issue landing gear.
You know these spaceman would be the annoying people blaring their music at stoplights... or whatever they have in space
Compile about seven of these ships end to end, and you have Dark Helmet’s cruiser from Spaceballs.
I remember seeing this in a catalog when I was little... I would have loved to get it as I thought the idea of the lights and sounds was really neat. Alas, that never happened. Still it's neat to look at the instructions now and get an idea of how it works.
@LegoRobo said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @LegoRobo :
So you're okay with the fact that this is essentially a giant PA system flying through the soundless void of space?"
Yes. The omission of proper landing gear is much more important than disregarding the properties of sound.
"
C'mon, if the spacemen are going to die in the vacuum of space because they don't have visors on their helmets, at least let them listen to some Bowie as they suffer what I imagine would be an otherwise horrendously painful death. I never owned a lights and sound set, but I can only assume it would have played Space Oddity, Starman, or Life on Mars.
It looks like a transition phase, when the vehicle is white like in Futuron, not gray, but still with Classic Space minifigs.
Yes, the battery box was large but it was possible to design some decent sets, even smaller ones. Some of them are 6480 and 6750 in the same year and 6430 in 1991. So, it's not an excuse to design a boxy craft like this.
Classic Space, very nice.
Unique:
3040 1x2 slope 45 with orange radio print in white x2
Rare:
3149 2x4 longitudinal hinge plates in white x1
4858 4x4 tapered wedge slope with CS print in white x1
4474 4x6x2 sloped canopy in black x2
There are some other nice parts in the inventory that are getting hard to find due to age as well.
@Your_Future_President :
It's space. It's not like you can hear whether they’re playing dubstep or NPR. The fact that this thing is rigged to put out a laser light show suggests it’s probably not NPR...
@alfred_the_buttler :
Asphyxiating to death, in space, while listening to Space Oddity. Do you think you'd be able to smile in appreciation at the irony, or would you shake your fist bitterly in the general direction of Bowie's grave?
Weird fact about set numbers... All normal-release Space sets from 1980 through 1998 had 68xx or 69xx numbers, except for the minifig packs and Light & Sound sets, which were 67xx. These were the only sets in the 67xx range until Wild West came out.
@PurpleDave said:
" @alfred_the_buttler :
Asphyxiating to death, in space, while listening to Space Oddity. Do you think you'd be able to smile in appreciation at the irony, or would you shake your fist bitterly in the general direction of Bowie's grave?"
You would have a rictus on your face that might be mistaken for a smile as your eyebrows and nose burn away and your skin turns bright yellow. Also, you wouldn’t be able to shake your fist: your hands have been, since 1978, C-shaped. Lastly, as anybody who has seen any of the Star Wars films knows perfectly well, sound propagates just fine through the vacuum of space. :~P
@Zander said:
"Lastly, as anybody who has seen any of the Star Wars films knows perfectly well, sound propagates just fine through the vacuum of space. :~P"
In space, no one can hear you cha cha cha...
;-)
Seriously though, this RSOTD comes exactly at the right moment for me as, for one, I have its slightly smaller sister ship which also has light and sound. And secondly, I had an awesome classic space related experience a couple of days ago.
I finally managed to fulfill my childhood dream of obtaining set 6990 aka "Galax Star Express" aka classic space monorail!
I had been searching for an affordable one on Bricklink and ebay for years, but prices for decent and complete ones (without box but with instructions in fair condition) seem to have only been going up and up. But then I came upon this one auction and actually won it for a great, you can say almost bargain, price. Even better, when the parcel arrived and I checked the contents, the pieces not only were in good condition, as the seller had described, but almost all of them were in mint condition, especially the monorail tracks.
I still can't get the smile off my face just thinking about it. :-)
Huh
@Mechalex said:
"That glorious heyday before big government invaded space with their Police and M-Tron. When a spaceperson could wake up, get into his or her grey buggy and launch a rocket without the proper permits. When you could buggy your one-person triangular shuttle on its integrated trailer to a remote location and do donuts in space without the Babylon breathing down your spacesuit. When your modded cargo ship could blast out EDM at brown noise levels without worrying the neighbours in the next crater."
Ah yes, those were the days.
Bliss. ;-)
Is it really a cruiser? Looks more like a base falling from the sky
" Please hand me over that soundbrick, I can't stand it anymore!", my mom screamed in agony. How much fun it was for my brother and me, the soundbrick sound was a torture for adults ears...oh what a classic!
While it is classic space, the design is getting more similar to Futuron sets which will follow.
Worth checking out the 3D image image at 6783 to see the windows opening to form landing gear for each of the octogen pods, which were so devoid of any furnishings expect a monitor slope that they now remind me of portaloos.
@LegoRobo said:
"Tad concerned at the almost complete disregard for landing gear. Or lack of large thrusters capable of lifting it off the ground, to a lesser extent."
Maybe it's kinda like a Star Wars Star Destroyer in that regard, in that it isn't designed to actually land planetside? It could probably just dock at space stations when it needed maintenance, or to unload cargo, or whatever, negating the need for ground-based landing gear at all?
It's a lot smaller than a Star Destroyer, granted, but it could still operate on the same kind of concept...
It always amazes me how people are so fond of classic space, yet also complain about things not being airtight, there being no visors, landing gear etc. Especially if they mostly complain about that in later space themes and claim Classic Space to be superior.
Classic Space is a very diverse theme. Some of the bigger sets were well-detailed and well-designed for their time, possibly even still holding up today. But then there were sets like the Robot Command Center, the Walking Astro Grappler, the Solar Power Transporter etc. Sets that were some of the funkiest lego made for decades to come. And I haven't even mentioned the impulse-sized sets, which are amongst the weirdest designs lego ever made and make up about half of all the sets of the theme.
The charm of Classic Space was precisely because it wasn't realistic. It could be whatever you wanted it to be. And many times it was goofy. But it always had that childlike sense of creative imagination encapsulated in the designs of each set.
That's why I'm not a fan of Neo-Classic Space. Giving the grey blue and trans-yellow colours to a realistic ship covered in greebling and all the little details expected of a spaceship misses the point IMHO. Those colours were just one aspect of a handful of sets from Classic Space. The aforementioned simplicity and experimentation another.
I hope lego will keep that in mind if the anniversary set has to be about classic space. Keep it quirky, imaginative and wondrous! Maybe they can even use a different colourscheme than the 1979 one!
This design seems to be LEGO's attempt to utilize the then-new airport parts for the cockpit/nose area, which seems a bit silly given the lack of other aerodynamic features for this flying box. At least we got a nice printed piece out of it! And they turned the "jet engines" around in the design so that it appears to be a non-oxygen-using type of thruster, saving them from decades of bashing by the ever-vigilant AFOL community...
While it looks a little strange in the folded-up position, the use of the windscreens as ramps to the interior is my favorite feature of this ship and (I think) a great bit of inspiration on the part of the designer.
I remember buying this at the toy store for about 80 guilders, and I loved it.
Still have the box even, I believe.
@Binnekamp said:
"It always amazes me how people are so fond of classic space, yet also complain about things not being airtight, there being no visors, landing gear etc. Especially if they mostly complain about that in later space themes and claim Classic Space to be superior."
I think it's more like gentle ribbing, in the way you might tease an old friend.
Most classic space ships have advanced anti-grav propulsion and warp tech, so they don't need thrusters.
The materials used in their construction also allowed for them to land with out the use of landing gear (thought many did include landing gear).
Open ships were surrounded by force shields.
The classic space helmets had force shields that covered the wearer's face when activated. There were also micro thin transparent colored shields that were housed inside the helmet that could be deployed (trans red, green, yellow or blue). Using the transparent micro thin visors did make space personnel look like androids though.
The above is all 100% true and official certified lore according to my play habits of years ago.
"In space no one can HEAR you scream" - advert for movie Alien (1979)
@jeloshot
Seriously Sigorny Weaver is a great reference and clearly the trail your on...
Although I find "Blake?" The robot spy nobody had a clue about somewhat curious, like who saw that coming back then realisticly made no less. coupled with other references of obvious true nature...
The real question is who going to be left stranded in escape pod in her skivies after blowing the alien outada ship - guess when find out tomorrow - Galador?
It is all building up to a fun filled Date you would be a fool to miss at beginning of April...
Maybe this is actually a submarine, since sonar=underwater.
It would also solve the problem of not having landing gear.
Have you guys actually looked at he images and/or the actual set itself?
To me, the 2x2 round bricks look like thrusters and the 1x4 offset plates are some sort of rudimentary landing gear (or small thrusters).
And maybe the sound system was used on some kind of planet with an atmosphere and not in the vacuum of space.
Also, ABS astronauts rarely die of asphyxiation ;)
Ghostbusters X Classic Space, the crossover we didn't realize we already had
But what does it sound like? Can someone who knows write down the sounds? I want to know!
@oldfan:
About a month ago, I saw a pickup truck with a giant spoiler mounted over the tailgate...
@Brickbuilder0937:
“Dear lord, we’re under more than 150 atmospheres of pressure!”
“How many atmospheres can the ship stand?”
“Well, its a spaceship, so I’d say anywhere between zero and one.”
Question?
@Zander said:
" @Binnekamp said:
"It always amazes me how people are so fond of classic space, yet also complain about things not being airtight, there being no visors, landing gear etc. Especially if they mostly complain about that in later space themes and claim Classic Space to be superior."
I think it's more like gentle ribbing, in the way you might tease an old friend."
Yeah all LEGO fanbases do this. BIONICLE fans do it to the McGuffin fetch-quests and lime joints, Ninjago fans do it to the oversized motorcycles and DoTD, Castle fans do it to overly juniorized sets and the vehicles from Fright Knights.
Every LEGO Theme has it's ups and downs, a combination of it being impossible to please everyone and making sure products work as kids toys, and there's nothing wrong with a little tongue-in-cheek teasing toward the awkward decisions LEGO has made.
@Brickodillo:
If you watch JANGBRiCKS's video review of this set, you can hear the two different sounds at 1:40 and 1:50 (they are both siren-type sounds). You can also have the lights flash or be constantly illuminated depending on which direction the light plates are attached.
@Binnekamp:
I agree, Neo-Classic Space has a very different feel compared to actual Classic Space sets. It is difficult to find many good Classic Space MOC designs that are not in the Neo-Classic Space style!
@Brickalili:
The UK name of this set (Scorpio Modular Transporter) seems much more fitting - it is essentially a transporter for cargo/mini-base module sections.
@Lego_lord:
While this is a very boxy looking craft, the large battery box is actually incorporated rather well on top of the front base module - much of the perceived boxiness of the set comes from the design of these modules.
Got one of these and amazingly still have the box. Fantastic set. Used to love playing with it. Great addition to my other Space Lego sets back in the day. Light and sound still working after all these years.
@AustinPowers :
Congrats on your acquisition of 6990. It’s an excellent set that I was lucky enough to purchase brand new from a Toys ‘R’ Us back in the day.
I’m not exactly sure when my dark ages began, but if I look at my set inventory, there is a big gap that begins when I was about 11. I didn’t start collecting again until many years later, but 6990 and a few other 9V Light & Sound sets were intriguing enough to elicit purchases during that dark period.
At some point I bought the monorail expansion pack (6921) so that I could put 6990 around the Christmas tree. Once I did start collecting again, a few of the first sets that I picked up were 6991, 6399 and 6347 to complete the monorail collection. It wasn’t cheap, but ultimately worth every penny.
when i was 9 i loved this set i imagined a spaceship from a movie: alien or creaters or a space odyssey.
https://youtu.be/lI-KghYrJmk
@GSR_MataNui:
DoTD... Dragon of the Day?
@ThatBionicleGuy said:
" @LegoRobo said:
"Tad concerned at the almost complete disregard for landing gear. Or lack of large thrusters capable of lifting it off the ground, to a lesser extent."
Maybe it's kinda like a Star Wars Star Destroyer in that regard, in that it isn't designed to actually land planetside? It could probably just dock at space stations when it needed maintenance, or to unload cargo, or whatever, negating the need for ground-based landing gear at all?
It's a lot smaller than a Star Destroyer, granted, but it could still operate on the same kind of concept..."
Considering it's got loading ramps and a buggy, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to land.
@merf71 said:
" @AustinPowers :
Congrats on your acquisition of 6990. It’s an excellent set that I was lucky enough to purchase brand new from a Toys ‘R’ Us back in the day."
A little OT, but you may like to know that Toys R Us is returning to the US and hopes to have its first stores open in time for the festive season: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/03/15/whp-global-takes-controlling-stake-in-toys-r-us-plans-to-open-stores.html
@PurpleDave said:
" @GSR_MataNui:
DoTD... Dragon of the Day?"
Day of the Departed, a 40-minute special released between seasons 6 and 7. It's considered the worst part of the Ninjago TV show by many. Although the real booby prize goes to Ninjago: Decoded. That was a cheaply-made youtube clip show made in I believe _2 months_ to get casuals into Ninjago because Lego assumed the movie would bring in many new fans and not bomb.