Random set of the day: Mobile rocket launcher
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 897 Mobile rocket launcher, released during 1979. It's one of 22 Space sets produced that year. It contains 76 pieces and 2 minifigs.
It's owned by 3,680 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $579.90, or eBay.
149 likes
57 comments on this article
Mobile rocket? more like an intergalactic missile about to be launched to earth because the space people were abandoned by earth
Though it has to be disassembled to eliminate the bracket before you can use the rocket, it has a charm and an humility of its own.
So awesome! Soooo many memories. :O
Classic Space is just the best :)
Behold, the rare and majestic light gray airtank piece in its natural habitat.
A beautiful classic! (which I own and treasure) I have redone a 'modern' version of this to go with 10497. It is 42 studs long, 2 trailers (one for the fuel, one of the rocket launcher). You don't have to dismantle the rocket for take-off. It has 305 pieces with 2 minifigs. Quite pleased with the end result.
@MeisterDad said:
"Though it has to be disassembled to eliminate the bracket before you can use the rocket…"
This is clearly a U.S. Astronaut goading a North Korean into trying to shoot California with their latest rocket.
This was one of my faves. Classic space was the best!
Was fortunate enough to be 9-10 years old when the first wave of classic space sets came out in 1979 and received this as a gift at the time. Still have it and treasure it, along with all the other CS sets I got that year.
so elegant and simple. In 1979, this was revolutionary!
(Checks paperwork) well, this is Classic all right.
@NotProfessorWhymzi said:
"that's the biggest lawn dart i've ever seen. not to mention the only one."
We had neighbors who had a set of Jarts. I think there was a family on the next street over who had some, too. Of course, nobody tried catching them with their abs, so our neighborhood had a few raised eyebrows when work trickled in that these had been banned by the federal government.
I'm pretty sure the rocket is Blacktron tech. Black and white. They went heavy on the white to make you think it's not. And there isn't trans neon green because it hadn't been invented yet.
My very first Lego set ever
Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……"
Ironically the rocket itself is not very mobile
Such a cute little set. There's even a little radar platform on the front vehicle. Pocket money sets are the best!
The first Space Lego I ever bought, after saving up my pocket money to get it from our local toyshop. Magical.
No sign of blue or transparent yellow, but this is the essence of Classic Space.
Loved this as a kid, along with 891 and 894.
That bracket piece is there for a reason: the rocket is not meant to be launched into space, but to te be used as a rocket booster to launch that vehicle across the planet....it's a probably good thing these dudes wear indestructible helmets!
Classic Space still is the best Lego ever.
@ElephantKnight said:
"I'm pretty sure the rocket is Blacktron tech. Black and white. They went heavy on the white to make you think it's not. And there isn't trans neon green because it hadn't been invented yet."
All tech is Blacktron-tech. Eventually.
This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement.
@SDlgo9 said:
"This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement."
Was I the only person who didn't break the rocket in half and launched it with the bracket attached?
This was one of my first Lego sets and I loved it!
Aaaah, nostalgia! And I get it, Lego and times were simpler then. I recently got (almost) all my old Lego back when my brother moved house and I tried to piece together all the sets I had with the torn and incomplete instruction manuals. Almost every set is missing pieces and the remaining ones are broken, discoloured and chewed on (we used to have big, hungry and playful dogs back then), but I recognise almost every brick even after more than forty years...
Loved this set as well .
@jason1976 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement."
Was I the only person who didn't break the rocket in half…?"
No, I didn’t either! ;~)
I always wondered what was meant to be at the top of the rocket, some sort of satellite? The rotating control module added to the play even if the other space man could not sit in the vehicle at the same time and the radar dish was pointing away from the rocket. There were some interesting alternatives on the back of the box for such a limited number of pieces.
Proof that you do not need many pieces or many colours to create something both charming and playable. The smiley faces help an awful lot; LEGOLAND used to be a place where everyone was happy. There’s altogether too much of a focus on depictions of violence now, not least brought about by the scramble for licensed themes with movie tie ins. It doesn’t have to be this way.
@Klontjes said:
".....and the remaining ones are broken, discoloured and *chewed on* (we used to have big, hungry and playful dogs back then)"
So recognizable.....and we didn't even have dogs! Maybe I can blame it on our goldfish?
@Ridgeheart said:
"All tech is Blacktron-tech. Eventually."
I'm reminded of the time I had Blacktron conquer 6955 and assimilate it Borg-style. And I didn't even have any Blacktron I sets as a kid, unless 1875 counts. So I had a grand total of two figures from the faction to do that with.
I saved up my pocket money ($5) to purchase this from Target back in the day. But it wasn't fair that the red spacemen had one and the white spacemen didn't. So I saved another $5 to buy another one. The white spacemen were very happy that their base could now be defended! Epic Saturday morning space battles followed. Wonderful childhood memories. I still have them in a glass case in my study, waiting for future grandchildren to resume hostilities!
@Zander said:
" @jason1976 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement."
Was I the only person who didn't break the rocket in half…?"
No, I didn’t either! ;~)
"
I'm with you, too. Bracket was part of the payload.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Zander said:
" @jason1976 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement."
Was I the only person who didn't break the rocket in half…?"
No, I didn’t either! ;~)
"
I'm with you, too. Bracket was part of the payload. "
I rebuild it so the rocket would have no square parts. Variants were a black and white striped rocket and a red and white rocket based on the one from Tintin.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @ElephantKnight said:
"I'm pretty sure the rocket is Blacktron tech. Black and white. They went heavy on the white to make you think it's not. And there isn't trans neon green because it hadn't been invented yet."
All tech is Blacktron-tech. Eventually."
But perhaps not INITIALLY. If @ElephantKnight is going to allow for the fact that trans-neon green didn't exist when this set was released, what of the fact that Blacktron itself was still in the future? Never mind the Blacktron, the classic black Space figure was still in the offing--unless you want to argue that Red here (or, more likely, White, knowing our Blacktron 2 colours so well...) is a proto-Blacktron, perhaps--just perhaps--we have a black-and-white rocket that Blacktron did not invent.
Or do they have time machines I should known about? Does that fall under "all tech becomes Blacktron tech... eventually"? Is all tech a giant Blacktron circle? Did they go back and invent the black tire on white wheel?
@WizardOfOss said:
"....it's a probably good thing these dudes wear indestructible helmets!"
Indestructible, except for the chin straps. ;-)
@Formendacil said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @ElephantKnight said:
"I'm pretty sure the rocket is Blacktron tech. Black and white. They went heavy on the white to make you think it's not. And there isn't trans neon green because it hadn't been invented yet."
All tech is Blacktron-tech. Eventually."
But perhaps not INITIALLY. If @ElephantKnight is going to allow for the fact that trans-neon green didn't exist when this set was released, what of the fact that Blacktron itself was still in the future? Never mind the Blacktron, the classic black Space figure was still in the offing--unless you want to argue that Red here (or, more likely, White, knowing our Blacktron 2 colours so well...) is a proto-Blacktron, perhaps--just perhaps--we have a black-and-white rocket that Blacktron did not invent.
Or do they have time machines I should known about? Does that fall under "all tech becomes Blacktron tech... eventually"? Is all tech a giant Blacktron circle? Did they go back and invent the black tire on white wheel?"
Oh god. I love this. Alright, so - if we're going with the whole colour-coding, we do know that the black-clad spacepeople were the spies, but would they actually announce that they were spying *while on a mission of espionage*? Either one of these Spacepeople could secretly be a spy, about to steal the rocket, the satellite, the vehicle and/or the valuable data. Probably the other guy's lunch and/or airtanks as well. Maybe actually dressing in black wasn't even a thought that they'd consider until much later.
And from there, it's just such a small step to breaking away from the other Spacedudes entirely. Make yourselves known. Update the helmet. Attach some RIDICULOUSLY cool shades. Tear off the Classic Space-logo, and strap into a slick white harness (with matching tie). You're there, baby. You've made it. You are Blacktron, and you're about to steal the universe. Once they see you, it's already too late - for them.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"All tech is Blacktron-tech. Eventually."
I'm reminded of the time I had Blacktron conquer 6955 and assimilate it Borg-style. And I didn't even have any Blacktron I sets as a kid, unless 1875 counts. So I had a grand total of two figures from the faction to do that with."
Converting things into Blacktron using just two Blacktron-dudes is Blacktron as hell, my friend.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Zander said:
" @jason1976 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"This was one of the sets my brother and I had as children, but we broke a number of the specialised pieces so for a lot of its existence it was just the tractor unit, an empty trailer, and the rocket. It wasn't until I discovered Bricklink that I got the necessary replacement parts.
@Jacopyright said:
"Loved this as a kid - but the launching always bothered me. "3…… 2…… 1…… (snapping off top half, snapping off bottom half, assembling next to the launcher) GO! Swooooosh……""
I remember as a child doing the launch stop-motion style, moving each element in the rocket in turn to the other side of the bracket. From that point of view the successor set 6881 was a definite improvement."
Was I the only person who didn't break the rocket in half…?"
No, I didn’t either! ;~)
"
I'm with you, too. Bracket was part of the payload. "
Fourthed? Fifthed? I lost count.
Got this and I think 442, 453, and 454 for my first Christmas with Logo. That brought me up to five sets total I think.
I never had this one as a kid, but I had 1682, which has the brackets being pretty clearly part of the SRBs.
Even as a kid it bothered me that the rocket had to be disassembled and reassembled before launch. In the end I simply launched it with the bracket in place.
While I love this set, 920-2 was much better in that regard. Even though the rockets looked almost identical.
I love this set. It is one of my favourites from my childhood. My childhood copy was produced by Samsonite, and the Samsonite instructions differ from their non-Samsonite counterpart insofar as there are extra images on the instructions that depict alternate builds.
@bamaker said:
"My very first Lego set ever"
That is a very good start! Mine was 358. Also space...
@jason1976:
Honestly, I don’t remember removing the bracket before launching the rocket. I also don’t remember launching the rocket with the bracket attached. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that I don’t remember either my brother or I owning this set.
@jsutton:
…as they cheerfully launch a truck-mounted ICBM…
@WizardOfOss:
Did you have cats? I have a MOC of an old rusty pickup with a wooden bumper and mismatched body panels, and there’s one off-color fender that had previously been bitten by a cat, who left two indentations in the outside surface.
@TheOtherMike:
The reason it’s called “Blacktron I” is because one OG Blacktron minifig is all it takes. The only reason 6831 is the sole original Space Police set that didn’t include a Blacktron minifig is because that dinky scooter wasn’t worth bothering with. And 6703 is simply the most one-sided fight since Iron Mike Tyson’s 3-second KO.
Reading the other comments, I had a whole different take on this set. At the time this came out, I already had lots of bricks, plates, slopes, tiles, and even a few Expert Builder-esque (technic) parts.
What I had very _few_ of was "space" parts. So for me this set was rife with that to the point that I almost bought myself a second one just so I would have two of all of the cones, dishes, transparent 1x1 round bricks, maneuvering engines, etc. From the perspective of space parts, this set was a gold mine.
@PurpleDave said:
" @WizardOfOss:
Did you have cats?"
Nope. I did have a little brother though....so it was either him, or the aforementioned goldfish. No way I would have ever bitten my own Lego, obviously.
@WizardOfOss said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WizardOfOss:
Did you have cats?"
Nope. I did have a little brother though....so it was either him, or the aforementioned goldfish. No way I would have ever bitten my own Lego, obviously."
In fairness, those bubble space-wheels tasted pretty good. I still miss those.
For several reasons.
The only "Lego taste" I remember is from using your tongue on a the contacts of a battery box to check if there's still any life left in the batteries....I can't be the only one who did this, right?
@WizardOfOss said:
"The only "Lego taste" I remember is from using your tongue on a the contacts of a battery box to check if there's still any life left in the batteries....I can't be the only one who did this, right?"
Licked the contacts in the LEGO battery box to see if the non-LEGO batteries that you just removed to expose the contacts still had life left in them? Yeah, I’m calling that you were very alone in doing that.
Or do you mean you licked the outside of the battery box to save the few seconds it takes to pop the lid off and smack the batteries out, like civilized kids? Still think you were pretty lonely on that one, too.
@Feroz said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"....it's a probably good thing these dudes wear indestructible helmets!"
Indestructible, except for the chin straps. ;-)"
I never had any of those break on me, and my Classic Spacemen saw a fair amount of play.
@PurpleDave , the latter. Those old two-pin connectors they used with the old 4,5V (and 12V) systems almost seem made for this.
The sensible way to test it would obviously been to just connect something to it and see if it works, but hey, UNLIMITED POWERRRRR just tastes good ;-)
One can never go wrong with a Classic Space set as a choice for the random set of the day. I managed to dig my set out from my Classic Space tote of sets from the first two years of the line. The 44-45 year-old the box and instructions are in good condition - only $6.99 for 60 pieces from Boscov's.
The price per piece ratio has not wavered too terribly much since then.
The reason why Classic Space didn't have aliens. Had to wait until the 90s before they had advanced enough in tech or forgot what happened in the 70s with this ballistics missile.
@A__Khan said:
"so elegant and simple. In 1979, this was revolutionary!"
Couldn’t agree more…
… this was my first Lego space set and in 1979 I’d never seen anything so cool made from Lego
@WizardOfOss said:
"UNLIMITED POWERRRRR just tastes good ;-)"
Sure. just ask Palpatine.
Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen...
Ah yes, the V2
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Feroz said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"....it's a probably good thing these dudes wear indestructible helmets!"
Indestructible, except for the chin straps. ;-)"
I never had any of those break on me, and my Classic Spacemen saw a fair amount of play."
Same here.
Plus I have bought lots of Classic Space sets over the years used on ebay und Bricklink. None of those had any minifigs with broken chinstraps either.
I would go so far as to call this entire chin strap breakage story a myth or urban legend.
Sure you CAN break them if you are totally careless or trying to do so, but the same goes for any fiddly bit of old LEGO, especially once the plastic gets brittle.
What tended to break easily on my childhood LEGO was streetsigns (the foot breaking off from the pole) as well as any Technic pieces with those rounded toothed ends. Very useful but also brittle as heck. Had to purchase lots of replacement parts over the years for those.
White (Jenny): "Ok...left 30 degree, and elevate 20..."
Red ('Renny'...I guess:)): "Is this REALLY necessary?"
White: "You want to get the Sports Channel, don't you?"
Red: "...Ok; left 30, 'up' 20...":D
@AustinPowers said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Feroz said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"....it's a probably good thing these dudes wear indestructible helmets!"
Indestructible, except for the chin straps. ;-)"
I never had any of those break on me, and my Classic Spacemen saw a fair amount of play."
Same here.
Plus I have bought lots of Classic Space sets over the years used on ebay und Bricklink. None of those had any minifigs with broken chinstraps either.
I would go so far as to call this entire chin strap breakage story a myth or urban legend.
Sure you CAN break them if you are totally careless or trying to do so, but the same goes for any fiddly bit of old LEGO, especially once the plastic gets brittle.
What tended to break easily on my childhood LEGO was streetsigns (the foot breaking off from the pole) as well as any Technic pieces with those rounded toothed ends. Very useful but also brittle as heck. Had to purchase lots of replacement parts over the years for those. "
I think it really comes down to how rough one played with them. I have gotten used lots where the chinstrap isn't just broken, it's completely torn off! Logos on the torso and the faces completely gone, or barely visible. And then there were the sharpies....