Random set of the day: CyberMaster
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8482 CyberMaster, released during 1998. It's one of 27 Technic sets produced that year. It contains 889 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 510 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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42 comments on this article
It's a mystery!
Ah the sister set to 8483 which has already appeared as a random set of the day! I thought I was seeing a copy at first sight.
What does the set look like?
Are there no images of it on the database?
this is the most mysterious set lego has ever released. This came out before most people had the internet and the lego catalog NEVER showed any pictures of the set itself, and this set was never sold in major toy retailers so you couldn't look at the box to figure out what the hell this was.
If the lego store didn't have this in stock (if you were lucky to live next to one) you just had to take a leap of faith and order it by mail and hope this toy was cool.
what an absolutely bizarre marketing strategy
@Minifig290 said:
"What does the set look like?
Are there no images of it on the database?"
Look in the top left corner of the image. It’s the build that’s lit up on a pedestal.
I don’t even know…
I just don’t know.
10/10 boxart
@HandPositions said:
" @Minifig290 said:
"What does the set look like?
Are there no images of it on the database?"
Look in the top left corner of the image. It’s the build that’s lit up on a pedestal."
Wow, please tell me that is not the actual box art, cause if it is that has to be the worst I have ever seen, and people complain about Hidden Sides box art.
What even is this?
What’s the set? A building? An entire city?
CyberMaster is a new Doctor Who villain?
Wasn't this a RSotD earlier? I recall there being another Technic set which did not have the set itself featured all too prominently on the main image.
I was just thinking of this from yesterday’s Technic set, how there was a story to it. Huwbot gave us a definitive answer to that here.
I remember watching the YT video someone posted when the other set was drawn — I rather liked it.
Bizarre how the cyberpunk cityscape is both very LEGO-esque and not LEGO at all
This seems to be a software?
https://lego.brickinstructions.com/en/lego_instructions/set/8483/Cybermaster
I wonder if the box art designer had just learned how to use some sort of 3d modeling software, and got a bit carried away?
Edit: I just looked up the previous rsotd of the other version of this set 8483 and it looks like I commented the exact same thing lol
I shall call it "Blacktron City". Because.
I don't get how so many are totally confused about this. On the Brickset database page under description it explains it all. It's a PC controlled robot.
For further pictures there are links to sets available on Ebay.
Oh dear, Im tempted to buy one of these now lol. And yes, any questions you might have concerning this set can probably be answered by going to EBAY. My questions are answered and now I want one...
@Meppers said:
"this is the most mysterious set lego has ever released. This came out before most people had the internet and the lego catalog NEVER showed any pictures of the set itself, and this set was never sold in major toy retailers so you couldn't look at the box to figure out what the hell this was.
If the lego store didn't have this in stock (if you were lucky to live next to one) you just had to take a leap of faith and order it by mail and hope this toy was cool.
what an absolutely bizarre marketing strategy"
Actually, many catalogues did feature an image of the 'main' model (Crusher vs. Stinger). The database image is merely the cover page of the installation manual (there were no physical building instructions for this set btw). The same type of instruction layout was also used for most Mindstorms sets of the late nineties.
If you were to look at the promotion material from the time, you pretty much knew what content was in the box.
Also, it actually wasn't that rare in retail, at least not in my region back then^^
I could tell even more, but I already did so in September, when the other version of this set was RSotD, so I don't need to^^
@Minifig290 said:
"Wow, please tell me that is not the actual box art, cause if it is that has to be the worst I have ever seen, and people complain about Hidden Sides box art."
It's not. This is just the instruction cover.
Um. Where is the actual Lego?
Go on eBay to find some better photos of the actual set. There appear to be a lot of recolors for the time, and some odd foldable casing/faring. V v intriguing!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274964726059?hash=item40052cc12b:g:gX4AAOSwjxBhUgd9
I miss the days when LEGO themes used to be all about creating immersive creative new worlds just for the heck of it...
No kidding! I just rewatched Blade Runner today!
Hey, it happened once!
Or are there more of these?
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"No kidding! I just rewatched Blade Runner today!"
So, they tried to cool by mimicking a 1982 movie? I prefer 1982 lego.
@Bornin1980something said:
" @RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"No kidding! I just rewatched Blade Runner today!"
So, they tried to cool by mimicking a 1982 movie? I prefer 1982 lego."
Over the Ridley Scott directed, Harrison Ford starring Sci-fi classic? Alright, if you really think so.
@Minifig290 said:
" @HandPositions said:
" @Minifig290 said:
"What does the set look like?
Are there no images of it on the database?"
Look in the top left corner of the image. It’s the build that’s lit up on a pedestal."
Wow, please tell me that is not the actual box art, cause if it is that has to be the worst I have ever seen, and people complain about Hidden Sides box art."
The image just shows the cover of the manual. The box was a silver suitcase: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybermaster
https://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/8483_CyberMaster/media/File%3A61BX5JZEBYL._SS500_.jpg
The set didn't come with paper instructions so there was never a decent photo of the model(s) available. The best I can find is in the catalogue, https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c99uk&p=37 .
I probably have the CDROM somewhere. Shame I don't have a drive any longer!
Ah the wet dream of any lego brick. Taking over the world and turn it into one big lego world
Stumbled across the CD for this at my parent's place over Christmas and was tempted to dig into it after having seen everyone's confusion when 8483 come up before. Really regretting not bringing it home with me now!
At least the trailer is on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRIYAOv6qk
@LegoDavid said:
"I miss the days when LEGO themes used to be all about creating immersive creative new worlds just for the heck of it... "
This honestly just summed up in one sentence exactly what I loved most about Lego in the late 90s / early 00s. It wasn't the sets, or the building, or any of the standard things you associate with Lego, cool though those were; it was the sense of these random new and immersive worlds that were, perhaps, completely unnecessary from a marketing standpoint but that gave the sets far more context and life in my imagination than they would have had otherwise. *That* was what I loved most about Lego, as a kid.
We have had set before, like 5 months ago.
https://brickset.com/article/63492/random-set-of-the-day-cybermaster
Posted it before, and I will post it again. This youtube video playlist and the Eurobricks thread are the best way to see what this set actually contains:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE1G877Xt9RAIhjqlWiIi2Z5Nn8RDKfQ
I missed this set on here quite a bit, praise Huwbot!
I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Dark-red bricks in splinters off the corner of the table. I watched Technic beams glitter in the light near the tan tile tray. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the instructions. Time to build.
I had this set. It was amazing back in its day.
The cdrom included gave you a nice story and allowed you to control the buid(s). Unseen and I was amazed when I Got it because it was expensive. The box looks like a metal suitcase but was strong cardboard with plastic handles
So we’re all gonna ignore the “XXXXX” building? That’s somewhere that would necessitate the “18+” set label.
@Meppers said:
"what an absolutely bizarre marketing strategy"
...and in 1998. Is it any mystery why Lego was not doing well financially around this time?
It's bad enough how some modern Technic sets require a phone app. But this is something else. This actually required a fully fledged home computer, with a four figure price tag, in 1998. At the time, my father taught computing, but we still didn't have a suitable computer in the house. No real need for it.
This set is not my style, but the marketing of products like this could have me feeling a bit left out.
@Bornin1980something:
I think 1998 was around the time I bought my first computer, but most of my college friends had them several years earlier. One of them even had a full network running in his mom’s house. A lot of my high school friends had computers in the 80’s. My dad did, too, but I didn’t care for it because it couldn’t play any of the games my friends played. And my brother had one, but he didn’t use it much because we had to give up the family TV for him to use as a monitor.
But I also worked for a boat builder in high school, and not only did he not have one, but I remember him talking about buying a word processor, which was something that fell between a typewriter and a full computer. He said he didn’t need a computer for anything he couldn’t do with a word processor.
It really depends on the individual. Many had gone through several home computers by the time this set came out, but the internet was just starting to spread into homes at that time, often still required a dial-up connection that would tie up your home phone line until you were done.
Computers were a big growth industry, so it’s understandable that they wanted to expand into that market. They did get it right with Mindstorms, at least through the EV3 run. The issue with forcing the shift to smartphones is that not every new phone is compatible with their software, and companies like Apple force obsolescence faster than the theme is set to keep up with. I suspect that sort of thing killed the final year of Dimensions because Nintendo released the Switch right around that time. It was designed so you could disconnect it and use it as a portable handheld, which isn’t really compatible with having a plug-in accessory with a pile of RFID toys, but they also couldn’t count on Nintendo players keeping their Wii U hooked up once they got a new system.
As for this specific product, it’s a computer accessory. You can’t really expect it to be marketed to anyone who doesn’t have a computer.