I got the Ice Cruiser Zycon IV for Christmas in 1993, as soon as I saw it in the Lego catalogue it went straight to the top of the Christmas wish list. This set certainly didn't disappoint. The sheer size of this spaceship was something to behold, you had to fly this beast with both hands and it was weighty too and built like a battleship. It has 417 parts but its amazing there are not more when you look at it in its completed state. It is certainly an absorbing build but not too difficult or fiddly.

The Vehicle

This mammoth Cruiser is a four-section vehicle, two command modules/ski-speeders, a central rocket-launching module and a large hangar module. The two command modules could fit on each of the larger sections to make two smaller independent craft.

The two command modules/ski-speeders looked great with matching upper and lower contours, the sloped cockpit and canopy bricks made a perfect combination and provided a spacious cockpit for the pilots. The cockpit contained a standard Ice Planet printed computer sloped brick topped off by two vent bricks (electronics cooling/oxygen supply?). The module was fully equipped for land operations as high-speed ski vehicles. The underside had four studs and two skis for carpet running, the skis tending to be a bit fragile but easily re-attached and allowing for some interesting landing damage. Each craft comes with two rocket/jet engines and hooks for the pilot's skis, icesaw and a hand-held torch/ray tool. The craft attach securely to either of the larger sections securely without wobbling in-flight. The action is crisp and there is no danger of damage when pulling the cockpits off from the main sections.

The rocket-launcher module has one major neat feature, the roof holds the small rocket which when opened tilts the rocket into the vertical firing position. When flying the rocket is securely held. The front of the roof is a cool looking printed blue windscreen brick with the Ice Planet logo and was unique to just this set. The roof is easy to open but won't swing open unintentionally even if the craft is flown upside down. On each side of the roof is a tailfin brick with a vent brick at the top. The external stowage of the satellite seemed a bit vulnerable and cheap, but I guess other than making the rocket section even longer there was no alternative. On the outside, the module has two large wings, one sloped inwards and one conventional backwards swept wing, the former holding two large circular radio/radar antenna (always reminded me of a mini-AWACS type radar aircraft) and the other wing had two flat Ice Planet printed bricks and two vent bricks for decoration. The overall effect of the wings looked great. The bottom of this section had no less than six rocket engine pods attached which also doubled as ideal resting points when landed on the carpet/sofa/bed. It can be landed and used as a ground-based launching facility easily enough as its perfectly stable.

The hangar section is a large module with two wings. The main body is a large hangar with some several neon-orange window sections and a roller garage door roof section which opens. The front of the module cleverly has both pin and hole bricks to allow the module to securely attach the centre module (with the aid of two hinging arms to add further support) and allow on of the smaller command module to attach to it. The wings feature radio antenna at the tips (these parts are always fragile), thruster rockets with flexible pipes leading to two rear nozzles and two further sloped printed bricks with the Ice Planet logo, just in case you weren't sure this is an Ice Planet expedition. On the bottom are no less than six more rocket pods, plus two more doubling as handles for the clever hangar door locking mechanism. The two tailfins also feature thruster rockets. The main feature of the hangar is the clever tilting launch mechanism for the smaller craft inside. However, I always found this quite stiff due to the use of the technic plugs and always feared the flimsy garage door elements would break or pop off the runners. Also, getting the craft onto the launching mechanism wasn't always easy. Some kind of computer terminal inside would have been good, I always thought the space was slightly wasted and that a small command post would have been better.

The small craft is a pretty neat design incorporating a magnet on the port side and hooks for skis and controlled by a computer panel and a stalk antenna. The only odd feature is the lack of any kind of engine.

The Minifigures

This set comes with three minifigures. The Ice Planet Chief (Commander Bear) with different torso and printed head with bushy eyebrows and mustache, a standard Ice Planet figure with printed male head with white hair and a standard Ice Planet figure with a printed female head with red hair, earrings and lipstick. This was probably the first specifically female Space figure and a welcome addition, it was a pity she was only offered in two sets. Peeron indicates the head was only used in two Ice Planet sets but I'm sure the head was a re-used pirate female head. Each figure has a pair of skis and plenty of hand-held tools.

Personal Developments

This was among my most favourite sets and in my view represents the pinnacle of the 1990s Space sets. It was big but cool looking design and was almost perfect, the few minor nitpicks I've raised above are not serious enough to detract from the enjoyment of this set. The Ice Planet theme integrated land and space adventures in a way the other sub-themes didn't do as well, in this set both are combined nicely and the rocket can be used with set 6898 Vx162. I think its a pity the Ice Planet sets didn't make more use of magnets. I often wondered if this was the Zycon IV, what the Zycon III etc. looked like, when you break this set down you have everything you need and more to make your own creations to imagine what the rest of the Zycon cruisers might have looked like.

The 6973-Deep Freeze Defender from the 1993 Ice Planet 2002 subtheme is the third of the large classic spaceships I own. With 417 pieces it’s slightly smaller than 6986-Mission Commander from the 1989 Space Police subtheme, and less than half the number of pieces than 70816-Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!

The instruction booklet is 20 pages, 3 of which are cover pages with various pictures of the set, which leaves 17 pages for the 2 cockpit pods, the middle launcher section, and the rear garage and mini flyer. Averaging 25 pieces per page, the build proceeds at a quick pace, and is pretty easy to follow, even without part lists for each step.

The colour scheme is White, Bright Blue and Transparent Neon Orange (not sure what colour that would be officially these days). It contrasts nicely with the Black and Blue of the Space Police, and certainly looks the part for an Ice Planet theme. There are no bad guys in this set (or I think this whole theme), more along the lines of the classic exploration theme.

There are 2 detachable front cockpits on skis, with minifig skis and tools attached to the outside. The middle section opens to reveal a missile/rocket on which a mini satellite can be launched. The rocket also has a magnet so it can be retrieved and transported by the mini flyer in the rear garage. The garage features a clever opening mechanism, unlock the back 'garage door', and sliding it back raises the mini flyer into a launch position. The mini flyer also has minifig skis for the pilot and a magnet to retrieve and transport the missile.

This set (and theme) also features some of the first minifigs with face printing (I think Space Police II just beat Ice Planet 2002 to this the previous year). We get a 'Chief' with white moustache and eyebrows, 'Blond Guy', and 'Ice Planet Babe' with red hair and lips!

This spaceship seems a little more complete than 6986, with no real empty space. It's not quite as solid as that ship, mainly due to the multiple detachable sections, but it's still very swooshable, with plenty of playability with the multiple sections and vehicles.

Wow! As an AFOl I recently added this set to my collection used via Bricklink. Wow! A good case can be made that this is easily one of the best Lego Spaceships ever made. The only other sets that can touch it are the venerable LL 928, the classic Blacktron Renegade, and the latest and greatest Benny's spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP or LL 929 if you prefer.

Let's start with the build and construction. It's astonishingly solid. I had to do a double take several times when looking up the date of this set. This is one of the most solidly build utterly swooshable sets Lego has ever come up with. It is stable. Rock solid. (With the exception of the cockpit skis a minor nuisance). Every major structure is solidly connected and reinforced. The Explorians Starship this is NOT. Heck it passes the "shake it" test. This thing is not coming apart until you want it to.

The design itself is striking. It is a somewhat classic 2 cockpit Y shape that Lego has done several times. Most notably in the Classic Space Galaxy Commander and the Mars Mission Hypersonic Operations Aircraft. The DFD is the one they got 100% right. It looks and feels like a complete ship. No or few glaring holes. No skeletal undersides. No vast open spaces. It is a sleek enclosed ship from head to tail. The few gaps are more styling at the rear to break up the trans clear orange a little. You can see how good it looks from the top in the picture. For once the underside looks and feels just as complete.

The colors are amazing. They just pop on the shelf. The trans neon orange adds a splash that I was not expecting. The alternating trans orange and white of the horizontal sliding roll up hanger door is truly striking. The blue and white both give it a classic space look and feel while bringing it forward in an unexpected way.

In spite of how solid and enclosed it is the ship is extremely modular in ways representing the best of Classic Space. The ship separates into 4 sections. The two individual cockpits, the X shaped mid section / rocket launch bay. And the rear square cargo / hanger bay. The cockpits can dock directly to the rear pod. The front and mid sections make a nice ship to themselves, and the rear can be used as a landed base.

The play features are pretty compelling. Aside from the obvious multi ship swooshability, the X shaped mid section opens up to reveal a Ballistic Missile Satellite Launcher. The top striped section of the rear module is a sliding garage type door. When it opens it triggers a mechanism that lifts a little flyer into launch position. Both the rocket and the flyer have magnets, so you can send the flyer out to retrieve the rocket following a launch.

The minifigs are great. 3 classic Ice Planet figs. Including the Ice Planet Chief and Lego's first ever female astronaut. So amazingly this set not only had 3 space figs. It had 3 distinctly different space figs. Well done Lego 1993!

Cons - What few complaints I have are exceedingly minor. Each cockpit has a pair of long white shkis underneath as landing skids. They give the separated cockpits a kind of Star Trek "speedboat" shuttlecraft kind of look. Which is cool. But they are very light, long, hook shaped and only tacked on with their two studs. So they get knocked off a lot. The only parts on the set that do that. the set is surprising clean. It lacks the forests of protruding antennae and "absolutely positively not wink wink laser guns" that so populate so many other sets. (Like the Galaxy Commander and Hypersonic Operations Craft.)

My only other minor complaint is the lack of any real interior. Each pilot has their place. But there is no internal lab or launch control etc. The entire back is taken up by the hanger launch lift.

Overall - A truly grat set. One of the best that Lego ever produced. One that you will fall in love with the moment you get it into your hands. I was not expecting to love this set so much. I saw an affordable one and grabbed it on a whim. But damn! It is gorgeous. It stands up favorably to modern set designs 20 years later.

I recently ordered this set off of Bricklink.com. Its the first Ice Planet set I've ever owned. I have to say that its one of my all time favorite space sets! Along with awesome minifigs and parts, it contains many features to it. Here are pro's, because there is no con's!

• Great minifigures including the Ice Planet cheif Commander Cold!
• Two removable cockpits!
• Storage compartment that contains rocket!
• Garage type room that stores removable rover!
• Ship can be seperated and made into two seperate ships!

this is easily one of my favorite sets from ice planet 2002

pros: well first of all, the design is amazing, and it has TWO cockpits which give good symmetry. It also includes a perfect number of minifigs, and a small ship. It splits up into an amazing number of vechicles, and the color scheme gives you the "icy" feeling it should.

Cons: A little more detail or pieces on the wings would have been nice, but that doesn't really matter.

4.8/5