Random set of the day: Red Planet Protector
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 7313 Red Planet Protector, released during 2001. It's one of 24 Space sets produced that year. It contains 194 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$20/£17.99.
It's owned by 2,199 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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37 comments on this article
Not bad for a set from Lego’s dark age.
Fun fact that I'm sure everyone already knows...
The big radar dish thing is a Scala part, it's a support/stand.
Not a very common part either: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=33089&in=S
Certainly a lot of hinges for such a relatively small set, considering 2001.
Also the instructions show how modular this is, turning the top part into a flyer and multiple modules like the fan engines and a tail section.
And combination/compatibility with 7312 7314 7315
What exactly is Centauri doing on this box art? Litter picking?
@MCLegoboy said:
"Fun fact that I'm sure everyone already knows...
The big radar dish thing is a Scala part, it's a support/stand.
Not a very common part either: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=33089&in=S"
Also fun fact: unlike today’s Marvel mechs, this one had no problems with it’s groin joints.
@MeisterDad said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"Fun fact that I'm sure everyone already knows...
The big radar dish thing is a Scala part, it's a support/stand.
Not a very common part either: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=33089&in=S"
Also fun fact: unlike today’s Marvel mechs, this one had no problems with it’s groin joints."
Another fun fact: The turbines on the PELVIS are made for Life on Mars only, and were never used again outside of the theme
@R1_Drift: They're on the hips, not the pelvis. And it was a nice piece, sort of a shame it didn't see more use.
This was my jam way back when, one of my (if not the) first LEGO mechs!
@MCLegoboy:
I didn’t even know that existed. I didn’t get many of the Martian sets, and don’t have a solid working knowledge of Scala/Belville parts.
This was the first Life on Mars set I saw in person, posing majestically on that shelf in the Lego aisle at my local Wal-Mart back in December 2000. I was an avid player of the "Mechwarrior" series of games and some of my first ambitious MOCs back in the late 1990s had been Lego mechs. But I didn't have click joints back then, so seeing Lego produce some in this theme was revelatory. The Martian minifigure, named Centauri (or Centaurus), was also quite enigmatic. A couple of years later, when I read Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles", I couldn't help but wonder if the look of the Martians in LoM was inspired by the mask-wearing humanoids of Bradbury's book.
It was with some surprise (and even much more glee) that I found this set under the tree and unwrapped it along with the T-3 Trike on December 23rd, a whole two days before Christmas! This was unprecedented in my home, as tradition for years had been waiting to open all presents until Christmas Day. Little did I know my parents approved of this maneuver because they had a special gift planned for me and my sister! But at the time, I was just super excited to build the Red Planet Protector!
I definitely love the modularity of this set. It wasn't just a walking mech suit, it was also could be changed with a few snaps into a flying craft by swapping out the weapons for the turbines holstered on the hip. And of course, I let my imagination fly and recombined the parts into different configurations as well. When I got the RP Recon Mech a few weeks later, I would mix and match the different components together as well.
What a delightful little theme! A last burst of standard Lego system-style novelty before the age of BIONICLE made even awesome themes like this one look positively boring by comparison.
Life on Mars was before my time, but I've always been fascinated by it. Such a diverse selection of alien designs, yet all a part of the same species, was super cool. Also depicting them as friendly was fantastic, something that most Space themes didn't bother with. I've got a couple of small polybags from the line, but the big mecha like this have been on my wishlist forever!
what is it protecting mars from?
I picked this one up for pretty cheap on eBay last year along with a few other excellent Life on Mars mech sets. I had the red one as a kid and it was an absolute favorite. I’ve been hooked on Lego mech sets really ever since!
These sets are all a treat with their unique selection of parts and rare colors. I think they still good on display to this day even.
Metal Gear?!
Take a look at those martians
Spotlighted on Brickset
Oh man
Look at those space men go
It’s the freakiest show
@darthdrauf said:
"what is it protecting mars from?"
Would-be invaders, or rebels. The humans turned out to be good people not out to get them, and the real threat were the rebels of their own kind. However I don't think this conflict was ever shown in the sets (what could have been a 2nd wave?), so the RPP ended up having no real work to do.
This, the Recon Mech RP and the Excavation Searcher are all excellent mechs. Of the two of this size however this one is the most modular! And it's very unusual in that it's basically a big head with two guns on the sides like eyes with turbines with smaller guns on the side. A true planetary guardian!
I sometimes put the turbines on the sides with the larger guns on the grey plates. Now it's more mech like and it looks bigger too! The can also move if you hinge the locks out of the way.
And another fun fact, thus and the Recon Mech RP have the exact same piece count
Oh, and the Aero Tube hanger has mech bays for the two mi-sized mechs and a tube station to dock with the Excavator's docking bay.
You can see it all combined here:
https://youtu.be/qUbNzP88r_g
It's also a great review of those sets. The Red Planet Protector's starts at 6:01. At about 39:00 you get them combined.
This thing's transformation was so weird. You switch out its big guns for the turbines on its legs, then rip off one of its feet to stick it on the back as a stubby 'tail', altogether leaving you with this weirdly proportioned fighter jet thing and a bunch of random bits left on the ground. Other mechs from these martians used all their bits when they transformed, this one you have just a load of components left in the sand as the rest of it wobbles its way through the sky.
Still loved it though, the fact that it could switch at all made it a cool set
@darthdrauf said:
"what is it protecting mars from?"
us, I guess!
Whole series is underrated gem.
MechWarrior, please.
I bought this set from eBay a few years back. It's still sitting on my shelf to this day. I replaced Centauri with Riegel to replicate the boss from Lego Racers 2.
@darthdrauf: The Mars Mission aliens. That's my headcanon and I'm sticking to it.
@Monopoly said:
"What exactly is Centauri doing on this box art? Litter picking? "
Absolutely. Because humans were there to explore, and, of course, left their junk to mess up the landscape.
LOM was so badly marketed. In Germany, only this blue and the tan robot 7316 were in the catalog; the red brother 7315 was retail limited. Leaving kids wondering what the red exit in 7317 was for. Yeah internet and homeshopping especially weren't still much of a thing in our analog, copper-wired country.
I hate TLC's marketing department and product management so much...
SPACE! But also, another set featured in Lego Racers 2!
@darthdrauf said:
"what is it protecting mars from?"
I think in Lego lore, Mars was invaded by the green aliens from Mars Mission who eradicated native population of Martians from Life on Mars. So the protector was protecting Mars - and lost, though off-screen from our perspective.
Wait a moment, that's the guy who I stole a Shield Generator from!
My first Life on Mars set (although I got it together with the smaller 7311). I really loved those martians back then (this one's name is Centauri btw), although it really takes some time getting used to the SW Battle Droid bodys on a supposedly organic character...
Also my introduction to sand colored bricks, 2001 was such a confusing yet interesting year regarding Lego...
What always bother me with this set was the mounting of the lower guns, they are attached using frictionless pins, meaning they just hang down somewhat pointlessly when standing idle. Though it can be fixed relatively easily, especially if you have some high-friction technic pins from before 1990 lying around.
This mech was the 'race car' of Reigel, the martian's leader (not Centauri for some reason) in Lego Racers 2 (Cassiopeia, Reigel's daughter was also a random racer in the game).
The shape of this set always reminds me a bit of a Goliath from Starcraft.
@Arnoldos said:
"SPACE! But also, another set featured in Lego Racers 2!
@darthdrauf said:
"what is it protecting mars from?"
I think in Lego lore, Mars was invaded by the green aliens from Mars Mission who eradicated native population of Martians from Life on Mars. So the protector was protecting Mars - and lost, though off-screen from our perspective."
Thank god there's something to protect the red planet from Elon Musk. If only we had something like that here!
The engine part 30535 where the fan is attached is unusual and only exists in 3 sets. Once airborne seems this rotates vertical to give horizontal movement, except there is only about 1% atmosphere on Mars relative to Earth so may not take-off or hover although gravity only 38%?
@ambr said:
"The engine part 30535 where the fan is attached is unusual and only exists in 3 sets. Once airborne seems this rotates vertical to give horizontal movement, expect there is only about 1% atmosphere on Mars relative to Earth so may not take-off although gravity only 38%?"
It's a toy and you shouldn't overthink this. If you still feel compelled to, imagine those rotors spin super-super-super fast. Through alien technology. We humans wouldn't understand it.
Just made me curious if this would work when humans eventually reach Mars, as this is the first time I've seen fan engines in space. I had my doubts, but NASA have managed to fly a drone on Mars, so maybe super fast spinning is the way to go. As for a toy everything is normally powered by magic or with little rockets.
I got this one a couple of weeks ago from BrickLink, for about 20 euros with box.
Saw people around the internet saying that it looks worse in real life, than what the box art would make you think. I'd disagree with that, it has an interesting look, although some moving parts are limited in posability out of the box, being attached with frictionless joints.
The rotor housing that kind of dangle down from the hips help with that, funnily enough. They allow the legs to be posed in more than just one way without the mech toppling over, by acting as a kind of support. Maybe unintended, but hey, it works...
I only have this, 7311 and some small polybags from this theme. Planning on getting at least the other mech-like sets, with the Recon Mech and Excavation Searcher. I think this theme is pretty underrated, I''d love to see more custom builds based on LoM, but at the same time it doesn't feel fleshed out enough to have an 'iconic' style for MOC-ing, unlike earlier space themes.
It's also the last non-City space line to have a peaceful theme, which I appreciate. I always liked the more science/exploration themes more than the 'every set must have a conflict!!!' that showed up more and more after Life on Mars.
This was my first big Life on Mars set! :D
Back in the day, I only got 7303, because 2001 was also the year of Bionicle and my discovery of Star Wars, both significant drains on pocket-money resources in their own rights; but still, I always loved Life on Mars as a theme. The concept, the aliens' designs, the aesthetic in general... I was completely there for it.
I remember finding this one on eBay when I was feeling nostalgic several years later, and naturally made sure to get it. The set itself was kind of neat - though I was forever frustrated by how easily the hose pieces on the back would come detached - but honestly its main appeal to me was just MORE LIFE ON MARS, FINALLY! xD
Another few years later I would find 7316 Excavation Searcher almost complete in a charity shop lot; and, as it was the more impressive of the two, I decided to keep that one and sell this one when I was downsizing my collection during my university years.
Now that I've been able to acquire a couple of other significant Life on Mars sets here on the other side of my 'dark age', I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have kept that around after all - especially since I now have Aero Tube Hangar for it to dock with. But ah well, I'm happy with the ones I do have, in any case ^^
This is actually one of the few LoM sets I had as a kid, and I loved it to bits. I must've built and rebuilt this one hundreds of times. I still have it to this day! I also had 7311 and a few of the polybag/tiny boxed sets. Back in 2016 or so, I managed to collect every single LoM set, including the much-coveted 7317 . Displaying all of the sets together feels like a dream; they look so perfect. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Life On Mars is my favorite theme of all time.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"Life on Mars was before my time, but I've always been fascinated by it. Such a diverse selection of alien designs, yet all a part of the same species, was super cool. Also depicting them as friendly was fantastic, something that most Space themes didn't bother with. I've got a couple of small polybags from the line, but the big mecha like this have been on my wishlist forever! "
Yeah we need more friendly aliens for sure! Not enough friendly aliens in Lego Space now.
I've always felt LoM was underrated. Not really a sufficient replacement for Space, but not a bad theme. Lot of good play functions and interoperability between sets, too. I've often wondered how we got from kindly little LoM Martians to the creatures of the later Mars Mission theme. Perhaps someone fed them after midnight...
There were some great sets in the 'Life on Mars' series, particularly the human craft. The Martian sets were a bit inconsistent in their theme, particularly the smaller ones, but they got better as they got bigger. The irony is that although this set was named for the 'Red Planet' of Mars, it was the other mech in this pair (7314: Recon Mech RP) that was actually red.