Random set of the day: Cyborg Scout
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6818 Cyborg Scout, released during 1997. It's one of 18 Space sets produced that year. It contains 35 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$3.
It's owned by 2,990 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
69 likes
30 comments on this article
With a heavy duty trike that can somehow handle this terrain with no suspension whatsoever. Sci-Fi tech is wonderful.
Ooh. More UFO. I have a couple of these I think.
Zotaxians for the win!
I used this guy as the Blue Bomber in an 8x8 vignette of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. When I display it, the public only sees him from behind because I wasn’t willing to strip the paint off the Team GB boxer’s headgear.
Loved these guys growing up! And when they visited my western town... good times at grandmas
When the UFO sets were released in 1997, I remember being in awe of how detailed the prints had become.
Although I'm a big fan of the Space line, I consider the mid to late 90s the weakeast era of the theme. Exploriens, Unitron, UFO, RoboForce and Insectoids are really weak. The designs had become too chunky and/or non-sensical, colors were ugly too (I'm not a big fan of the excessive use of transparent neon green, and dark gray was terrible for Space sets).
I got the set 6856 from the Exploriens theme last week to use some of its parts. Wanted to assemble the set first and I was baffled with how ugly the ship was, despite the nice feature of the transparent blue and red dishes. Way inferior to the Classic Space sets like 6929, 6931, 6890, 6891 and etc.
Life on Mars was a major improvement, but too bad it was the last moments of the continuous Space theme...
What sports do cyborgs play that scouts are sent out to recruit them?
This was one of the two U.F.O. sets I didn't get in 1997. But I got the best of the rest, so I'm not too fussed about this little thing. I have so many of the blue android minifigure anyway!
So I mentioned this in a recent poll response, but my late mother sustained my interest in LEGO throughout my "dark ages" by gifting me at least one small set every year, and this was her pick from 1997. I love it.
This dude wasn't as cool as the proper alien figures (with the gorgeous helmets), but it was in my price range, as a teenager, and I still thought the figure was cool.
@MeisterDad:
Cybowling.
@ao_ka said:
"Although I'm a big fan of the Space line, I consider the mid to late 90s the weakeast era of the theme. Exploriens, Unitron, UFO, RoboForce and Insectoids are really weak. The designs had become too chunky and/or non-sensical, colors were ugly too (I'm not a big fan of the excessive use of transparent neon green, and dark gray was terrible for Space sets).
I got the set 6856 from the Exploriens theme last week to use some of its parts. Wanted to assemble the set first and I was baffled with how ugly the ship was, despite the nice feature of the transparent blue and red dishes. Way inferior to the Classic Space sets like 6929, 6931, 6890, 6891 and etc.
Life on Mars was a major improvement, but too bad it was the last moments of the continuous Space theme...
"
If I may quote Luke Skywalker: " Every word of what you just said is wrong."
@560heliport said:
" @ao_ka said:
"Although I'm a big fan of the Space line, I consider the mid to late 90s the weakeast era of the theme. Exploriens, Unitron, UFO, RoboForce and Insectoids are really weak. The designs had become too chunky and/or non-sensical, colors were ugly too (I'm not a big fan of the excessive use of transparent neon green, and dark gray was terrible for Space sets).
I got the set 6856 from the Exploriens theme last week to use some of its parts. Wanted to assemble the set first and I was baffled with how ugly the ship was, despite the nice feature of the transparent blue and red dishes. Way inferior to the Classic Space sets like 6929, 6931, 6890, 6891 and etc.
Life on Mars was a major improvement, but too bad it was the last moments of the continuous Space theme...
"
If I may quote Luke Skywalker: " Every word of what you just said is wrong.""
Especially that bit about trans neon green. There can never be enough trans neon green. Especially when coupled with copious amounts of black, and a smattering of white.
Commander: "Can't be much of a 'Scout'...he doesn't have any badges..."
"Scout": "BADGES....I DON'T NEED NO STICKING BADGES..."
Sorry, couldn't resist...:)
I mean, as a set it's pretty crap. But it not a terrible minifig and for $3 you can't go far wrong, even with only 35 pieces. The worst sin though is that kids get some cool chunky tires for their collection, at mere pocket money prices... but they only get THREE. That's not a great number to have.
Techdroid I!
Probably the most boring UFO set parts wise, No new parts aside the controls tile and the minifig. However the grey half pyramid hidden in the back was nice.
It's as awesome as it is quirky! The two 4x3 wedges with cutout were put to good use, designwise. Spiritual successor to 6851, but for just 6DM (3€).
@MCLegoboy: You don't need any suspension when you can just steamroll everything down!
I don't think a fourth wheel would have added much to the price and made far more playable and could have expanded to an 8 wheeled vehicle when combining with 6829.
@ao_ka said:
"I got the set 6856 from the Exploriens theme last week to use some of its parts. Wanted to assemble the set first and I was baffled with how ugly the ship was, despite the nice feature of the transparent blue and red dishes. Way inferior to the Classic Space sets like 6929, 6931, 6890, 6891 and etc.
"
It's because you were probably not a child when these came out and you first laid eyes on them. 6856 in particular might be nothing special for an adult, but it was my very first Lego set, and it is SOOOO playable. Moving parts, cools pieces, nice functionalities, just wow! Compared to all those super ugly classic space sets you've put, child-me would have gone for any of the ulterior space series.
2151 as one of the first mecha, 6900 with its slick saucer design, 6907 with its creepy crawly look... GREAT years for space stuff.
6975 is the most significant set for me and my profile picture would be the blue robot if I could only get that Gravatar thing to work. Last week I managed to put it on that site, but it still doesn't do anything. I see nowhere to actually add it to Brickset or to activate the image everywhere or something
Rant aside... yeah this was not the best set. But I still like how it looks very purpose built for something. Is it a mobile cannon platform? A heavy camera rig on wheels? A moveable satellite?
There's still that 80s/90s space charm here!
The exposure of the driver makes it clear the UFO Zotaxians don't care about their labor force of modified abducted robots. And yes, that's a thing. Apparently the red droid is actually Andy Droid, the brother of Ann Droid from Exploriens.
I think the blue ones are either one character or the footsoldiers.
My headcanon is that the UFO aliens are not only an extragalactic threat (I think it's canon that they come from a wormhole from another galaxy), but a final, main threat to the entire Lego Space galactic community. Hence why they are the first aliens to appear in the theme. It would lead to the galactic faction community being supported by RoboForce and supported or also attacked by the Insectoids until finally all the factions band together and live in harmony afterwards.
It would be a great end to the theme and even explains the shifting building style. There's also foreshadowing by the 'alien fossils' from Exploriens. In the background you can even see a wormhole sometimes.
And yeah. An alien invasion storyline would be the most 90s thing ever (looking at you, Yuuzhan Vong)
I'm not very keen on UFO or the Insectoids but I understand there are many fans of those themes. They are too colorful for me, they don't fit well with my older generation sets. . Great figures though.
@Phoenixio said:
" @ao_ka said:
"I got the set 6856 from the Exploriens theme last week to use some of its parts. Wanted to assemble the set first and I was baffled with how ugly the ship was, despite the nice feature of the transparent blue and red dishes. Way inferior to the Classic Space sets like 6929, 6931, 6890, 6891 and etc.
"
It's because you were probably not a child when these came out and you first laid eyes on them. 6856 in particular might be nothing special for an adult, but it was my very first Lego set, and it is SOOOO playable. Moving parts, cools pieces, nice functionalities, just wow! Compared to all those super ugly classic space sets you've put, child-me would have gone for any of the ulterior space series.
2151 as one of the first mecha, 6900 with its slick saucer design, 6907 with its creepy crawly look... GREAT years for space stuff."
I'm in the middle here. While I understand the giant pieces from UFO were hard to use, the sets themselves are excellent. So-so small sets, but the Warp Wing Fighter was incredible. I only recently got (and sold) the smaller saucer, but I had the mothership as a kid. The figs are great and first non-human biological entities. Love those helmets and shoulder armor.
Exploriers, Robo, Insectoids all felt meh to me. I had a few small Exploriens and two Robos (in the good parts pack colors of black and trans neon green), but the set design just wasn't great. I do like the giant trans blue "cannons" that the Exploriens came with, those worked well in other sets, but I just couldn't get into the actual craft themselves. They could put together a decent base at least, but most of those themes except UFO feel like they'd best be combined into a great MOC or two.
Aaah there’s that nostalgia fix. This is one of the sets I could probably build off by heart if you gave me the parts, tinkered with it so much as a child
This is pretty awesome for 3 dollars. Nowadays most of these smalls sets cost $10
@Lego_lord:
Too colorful compared to jelly-bean Spacemen flying IKEA starships?
I remember thinking how odd it was that it came with only three wheels, trying to recall if it came with alternate building instructions, I know a few in that series did.
Clearly he's scouting for Cyborgs, because he's a robot himself.
Hey look, a set I reviewed! See: Board Games, Bricks & Hobbies on YouTube!
@Norikins:
Lousy cyborgs, always lording it over lowly robots with their zombie-tempting brains...