Well. My other review of the simply beautiful 928(Which I have 2 of now! 
) seemed to be well received by the TTV community. I like to have a look at the old stuff and thought I’d give an opinion of another favourite of mine.
That bad boy right there.
Now the first thing that jumps out to me is how this thing just screams serious business. Look at it! 8 huge wheels, at least by 80’s Lego they were, and a huge rocket strapped to the back.
The set includes 2 brave astronauts.
Both of these guys wear the yellow space suit, which totally doesn’t seem awkward at all, and they both have the ever familiar gold print still in tact. Seems I got lucky with this particular set then. Both figures use the thinner chin straps, which were the ones prone to breaking when pressure is applied to the sides of the helmet. One holds onto a walkie talkie, the dumbest name for anything in the history of tech, and the other holds a giant gun like thing. I like my classic space to be peaceful, so I see it as some kind of futuristic telescope contraption or a mineral detector, although that wouldn’t make much sense here.
The actual vehicle surprisingly detailed for a set from its age. You have steering wheels, which represent valves and nice pipe like detailing. There’s a thruster on the back, which is kinda dumb, and 8 obviously massive wheels which show that this thing means business hauling that rocket everywhere. The whole vehicle in comparison next to my other classic space sets just seems more “heavy” and more serious.
The way the wheels are attached allows for them to go over uneven terrain, like rocks, craters and giant hands from the sky. Clearly the payload must be really important then. The sides also have small ladders to help the crew get up on top.
Here is where the controls for the vehicle and rear crane arm are stationed, quite roomy and also open top. Looks like luxury isn’t exactly a priority here, adding to the more industrial built for purpose feel of the set. Unfortunately that printed grill has seen better days, but I’m not too bothered.
Here is what the cockpit section looks like when fully manned, and we can see that one faces the rear, which means we can assume he is operating the release of the rocket. Speaking of which…
The arm has 2 points of articulation, with hinges on a box like structure which allow the whole thing to hold the rocket in place. For 80’s level of system complexity, it’s quite well done. Today it would be stupid, but that’s not the point.
The two doors open, and the rocket can then simply launch without getting caught in the vehicle.
Here is the rocket, which is quite simple, with some kind of satellite on the end of it.
So that’s pretty much it. The set isn’t super iconic like 928, but it is a perfect example of what classic space was like, timeless, simple and just brilliant in a weird way. If you could find it for a good price, I strongly recommend it. If you aren’t a fan of sci-fi or just old sets, I can’t really say much, but otherwise it’s great.
The search for Matt Damon continues…
