6851 Tri Wheeled Tyrax

[xenologer]

Lucky me, got ahold of one of these from ebay. Oldest set I've purchased since dark ages.

The back of the box has some alternate models. The wierd asymetrical rover with different left/right sides reminds me of the UFO Cyborg Scout....hmmh

The fine selection of parts. I'm glad to have the nice printed control panel, and that windscreen is hard to get lately. Also really like those space wheels, be nicer to see them in that size in MM sets... MM seems to be using the same series of space wheels... but not this nice medium size just yet.(too big or too small so far)

In-Build picture, the front wheel is held on from one side only. I would have preferred a technic axle going through it and both front arms, but technic parts weren't as heavily used back then.

The back of the cockpit is just a single brick stack. Ordinarially I'd call this weak and prone to snapping off in play, but here it feels quite solid. These old bricks go together with a hard snap, not a 'smush' like the modern ones, so they clutch really well and unbraced construction works better.

At the time this set wasn't all that spectacular, and most reviews seem to think it looks funny...

It has an odd tricycle wheel configuration with no apparent steering, but I think it works OK as a fast moon rover scout. On space dust the tough looking wheels would work well, and you could use skid steering...

Guess we can think of it as a futuristic oversized motorcycle

[chris_austin]

Was this set MISB?!

[xenologer]

Was this set MISB?!

Heh,

Indeed it was.

Why?

I don't believe in keeping MISB boxes on my shelf, I always open em up and play with them. I collect LEGO, not Cardboard.

By the same logic, I'm not willing to pay the insane prices that MISB things tend to go for; that I found this one reasonably priced (6$USD) was pure good luck.

[KDog]

I totally agree. I recently ripped open a boxed Blacktron II Alpha Centauri Outpost because I wanted to build the set, not just stare at the box!

I love this little set, btw. It's a cool-looking little scooter, one of the better Space impulse sets.

[Siegfried]

Thanks for the review of a cool little set. I'd buy this myself if I saw one. I like those wheels too.

I collect LEGO, not Cardboard.

I agree... but don't say that in front of Mister Phes!

[chris_austin]

I can understand if you want to open a MISB set. But do you realise that people will pay very good money for a MISB set and gladly give you the same set that is already opened?

Or do you enjoy opening the sets just as much? I can understand that as I love getting brand new sets.

But I love old MISB sets the most

[BerndDasBrot]

nice review!

when I look a little to the left of my screen I can spot 3 6851 sitting on my shelf.

I also hope that you opened the box with "hyperbolic style". I love that.

[CP5670]

This is a nice little no-frills set. I have one too.

As you said, most bricks back then gripped together much more firmly than the Flextronics-produced stuff we get today. There was actually a batch of sets around 1988 though when the bricks had exceptionally weak grip, much worse than even the current ones. My 6990 monorail turned out to be like this unfortunately, despite being perfect otherwise, and I ended up just replacing many of the basic pieces.

I can understand if you want to open a MISB set. But do you realise that people will pay very good money for a MISB set and gladly give you the same set that is already opened?

Or do you enjoy opening the sets just as much? I can understand that as I love getting brand new sets.

But I love old MISB sets the most

I buy MISB for the part quality. I'm picky about that in general and like the perfect brick guarantee that MISB sets give, as well as the catalogs and other stuff they come with. You never really know what you're getting with used sets, except in a few rare cases when it's explicitly advertised as a display model.

Edited August 14, 2008 by CP5670