Review: 6879 Blizzard Baron

[WriteMakesRight]

Dramatic Prologue...

-->Rogue Archeologist Jim Brody finds himself in a familiar place: the barren and desolate wastes of Tunisia. What he finds there, however, is anything BUT familiar.<--

"Great scott! A wall of solid ice in the middle of this endless desert! How perplexing!"

"Ah, but this is no ordinary frozen mystery- it appears to be some sort of icy gulag! Whatever is this 'Lego System?'"

-->Ignoring the identity-obliterating ramifications contained within the mysterious box, our hero begins his exciting excavation!<--

-->Reaching the summit of his frigid quarry, Jim readies his trusty pickaxe, when suddenly a booming voice blasts through the chilly air!<--

"WHO DARES SULLY THE WINTER SHRINE OF MR. FREEZE?! This shall be your final folly, foolish adventurer! For now, you will taste the primal fury of winter unleashed! I, whose tremendous power has cut frozen swaths through the very molten core of the Earth itself! Whose might eclipses even the desert sun with icy strokes of-"

*BLAM!*

"AGH! You SHOT me! You %&^$ing SHOT ME! AGH! Do you have ANY IDEA how much this HURTS?!?" -->As our hero's frigid foe flails frantically, weeping wintery, womanly woe, Brody raises his revolver with a victorious retort, in the brilliant baritone of Teddy Roosevelt: 'Bully!'<--

-->Excavation begins anew, as Brody prepares to delicately coax the megalith from it's icy prison!<--

-->One thunderous explosion later, the mystery deepens!<--

-->Utilizing only the most gentle of atomic-powered rocket flame-cannons, Brody prepares to fully uncover his find!<--

-->The ice is carefully carved away, ensuring every inch of the ancient treasure is perfectly preserved!'

-->At last, our hero gazes upon this archeological wonder, a scientific tome of ages, like the Rosetta Stone before it! The most brilliant minds on Earth with recall this day as the turning point in modern Anthropology, the very moment when the history of all life became suddenly, incredibly clear! An it is all thanks to the tireless efforts of Jim Brody, Rogue Archeologist!<--

-->...Who once again, has taken the money and run.<--

And now, your feature review...

Edited June 16, 2009 by WhiteFang
Title update

[prateek]

OMG!!!! THE PICS ARE TOO BIG. I like the prologue though

Edited June 16, 2009 by prateek

[xenologer]

OMG!!!! THE PICS ARE TOO BIG. I like the reveiw though

What Review? All I see is the 'dramatic prologue'.

[prateek]

What Review? All I see is the 'dramatic prologue'.

oops, i meant prologue, i fixed it

[Clone OPatra]

Yes, please please resize the pics. It does no good to not resize them and say sorry as I've seen many others do, just take the five minutes to do it. Any simple program will, and there are plenty of tutorials about it in the tutorial index. It can really kill people's computers to have pics so big.

[Spyder]

Ummm, there's no review. I do like the prolouge though, it's very funny.

[WhiteFang]

WriteMakesRight, please refer to this tutorial on how to resize these large images.

In addition, I have amended the title of topic to reflect accurately. Let me know once you have finished up this review, and I will change it for you.

Thanks.

[WriteMakesRight]

Set Number: 6879

Set Name: Blizzard Baron

Theme: Ice Planet 2002

Number of Pieces: 82

Year of Release: 1993

Original Price: ???

Price Paid: $20.00, shipping included, from BrickLink

When I was but a wee lad of nine, Lego released the Ice Planet 2002 theme. Celestial odysseys in the arctic vein, the brick-built mythology was filled with dynamic ships, intricate scientific equipment (i.e.: large missiles with makeshift satellites stuck to the end) and, of course, translucent orange chainsaws. I was hooked. Or, rather, I would have been, had I received any of these sets.

I'd been a Lego kid since teething on Duplo farm animals, and had amassed quite the sizable sum of parts, stored in two vast, seemingly bottomless buckets. (This was far before I would carefully preserve every set I built, ensuring every brick stayed with it's set-mates for future use.) However, I never did manage to get a Ice Planet 2002 set.

Thanks to BrickLink, that is no longer the case.

So, was it worth it?

Hells-to-the-yeah.

The Box:

Side:

Back:

Side 2:

Side 3:

Yes, the box is a bit beat-up, crushed on one side, with a few rips on the back; but this is a set for building, not eternal-investment-storage.

The front graphic is simple and effective, making full use of the Ice Planet color palate (florescent orange, blue and white). The image of the Blizzard Baron is set against a icy backdrop of a craggy frozen wasteland; a strange grid pattern obscuring the outer cosmos. In the right hand corner, the now-retro 'Ice Planet 2002' logo graces the box with its obsolete promises of a neon-arctic wonderland by the year 2002.

The rear shows off various different models that can be built using the components of this set. (Although TLG reminds the builder that instructions are only 'included for main model.' My favorite alternate build is the crazy outer-space ski rack, showcasing the set's almost ludicrous amount of neon orange ski components.

It's a weird thing opening a vintage set. Knowing that someone had the restraint to keep this awesome toy sealed in it's packaging for sixteen years... and then opening it yourself. It's probably best not to dwell on it- these were made to be enjoyed, after all.

Contents of the Box:

The Parts (Bagged):

Odd that the one wing piece was not sealed in the bag with the other.

Besides the instructions, there's a mini-catalog (featuring Spyrius, among others) and this flyer for the Lego Club, featuring what is possibly the most terrifying child ever photographed.

Flyer:

He seems absolutely deranged with excitement.

Instruction Booklet:

Random Page:

(As the instructions are just one, long, double-sided page, I'll give you a shot of a random step instead.

The Parts:

Special bits include printed instrumentation tiles and a 2x3x1 slope with a printed Ice Planet logo.

Oh, and more florescent orange than a radioactive citrus orchard.

The Build:

It's a fairly straightforward build, easy to follow with clear steps. Of note, however, are the quality of the bricks. When I put two pieces together, they literally -snapped- into place. The bricks fit tightly together, with no looseness on any connecting joints, and an refreshing feeling of sturdiness throughout. The difference between this and the simple friction fit of today's sets is astounding. I cannot account for the difference in piece quality, with the possible exception of mold degradation on the part of TLG.

Minifgure:

The set includes 'Ice Planet Blonde Guy' (as Brickset so eloquently identifies him). Wielding the electrifying translucent orange chainsaw (the subject of one of the few Lego memes), he comes armed with the trademark Ice Planet visor, logo parka and orange skis. Are these some sort of magical energy skis, able to traverse the endless tundra with ease? Concentrated fire? The manifestation of the wearer's very soul? All unanswered questions in the rich mythology of Ice Planet 2002.

Our Blonde Ice Planet Guy seems quite unkempt. Is he a scientist, as are, presumably, all of the other inhabitants of Ice Planet? He must be a junior Ice Scientist, with radical theories on... ice. What scientific goal were these spacemen hoping to achieve? 'After years of tireless effort and research, we have come to the conclusion that ice is actually frozen water, structured in a stable crystalline lattice.' Someone's not getting tenure at the Lego Space Academy. Cut your hair, astro-hippie.

Finished Set:

Isometric:

The Blizzard Baron is a sleek little ship and manages to cram a lot of detail into a relatively small package. Black, blue, white and neon orange all manage (somewhat miraculously) not to clash, with the orange seemingly emitting a 'energy aura' over the more conservatively colored base model. The cockpit features a 'control-column' (yeah, I have no clue what it's supposed to be) and a printed control panel. Blondies' translucent orange chainsaw (vital for the excavation of... um... ice) stores neatly on either side of the cockpit, while his skis attach above the engines. The three sets of ski-landing gear are set on hinges, and actually cause the craft to angle downward toward the nose; a nice touch.

Front:

Side:

Rear:

Features:

The (slightly cluttered) rear section actually detaches to form a miniature scientific research station. Here we see the 'scientist' conducting a valuable 'study' of the Ice Planet. Chances are, his breakthrough discoveries will include: 'It's cold.' and 'I hate Ice Planet.'

Final Thoughts:

The only way you would not enjoy this set immensely, is if you hate fun. If you are an opponent of happiness, please, do not purchase the Blizzard Baron. However, if the thought of fantastically unrealistic spaceships on improbable missions through frozen-heck planets ignites your imagination, then by all means, buy this set.

10/10.

Edited June 16, 2009 by WriteMakesRight
Images are too large. Please resize it

[WhiteFang]

I hope you could take heed of my advice, and resize those images which are clearly way above 800 x 600. These images are far too large, and is causing massive problems for users whom are on slow connection. Thanks.

[ILikePi]

None of the links work for me. Nice prologue, though.

[WriteMakesRight]

Sorry everyone- took me a while, but I got everything up and resized.

[WhiteFang]

WriteMakesRight, greatly appericate for your efforts of resizing these images. Can't believe you had opened a vintage LEGO set. I am sure the experience is pretty special, since you opened it up from its tomb.

Nice review! Thanks for sharing.

Btw, I have updated the topic title.

[dj2005]

What scientific goal were these spacemen hoping to achieve? 'After years of tireless effort and research, we have come to the conclusion that ice is actually frozen water, structured in a stable crystalline lattice.'

Considering the conclusions to some modern day studies, this would not be as far fetched as you make it seem.

As for the review, it was very entertaining and had me chuckle a few times. Ice Planet had some nice sets and this is one of those.

[CP5670]

Great description of this set. This was the only Ice Planet set I had as a kid, although I got the rest of the line later on.

And yeah, some of those kids in the Lego club catalogs look pretty insane.

It's a fairly straightforward build, easy to follow with clear steps. Of note, however, are the quality of the bricks. When I put two pieces together, they literally -snapped- into place. The bricks fit tightly together, with no looseness on any connecting joints, and an refreshing feeling of sturdiness throughout. The difference between this and the simple friction fit of today's sets is astounding. I cannot account for the difference in piece quality, with the possible exception of mold degradation on the part of TLG.

Yes, the bricks back then had a much stronger grip than modern pieces. This type of brick actually lasted well into 2006 and has only changed in the last few years. They were still looser than the ones in the late 80s though, which probably gripped together too firmly.

It's also worth checking out the white bricks in this set and comparing them to modern ones. The difference is remarkable, and not in a good way.

Can't believe you had opened a vintage LEGO set. I am sure the experience is pretty special, since you opened it up from its tomb.

I do this all the time. This one isn't all that expensive actually, given its age. The Ice Planet sets came just after that early 90s era, beyond which ebay prices for MISB sets tend to suddenly rise sharply. I got an unopened one for something like $12 a few years ago on ebay.

Edited June 16, 2009 by CP5670

[Spyder]

This review was just as funny as the prologue. I liked the whole attitude you had towards Ice Planet 2002, and yes folks, we are now in 2009, far past the amazing discovery of ice in 2002. I felt that you made the review informative with all the pictures and captions. This is now another set I want, so thanks alot. I have a tight budget here.

[Lord Admiral]

Thanks for the very entertaining review!

I never got this set, but I do have several Ice Planet sets that are in storage somewhere. It's the last of the classic space themes that I liked. It's a shame there weren't more sets, though IIRC, there weren't too many sets for any of the classic space themes.

I like how snug the old bricks fit. I think the new ones are sufficient and acceptable (though there was a time when they were too loose, and I quit buying for a year), but I miss the snap of the old ones.