7311 Red planet cruiser

[The Cobra]

Oh look it’s flashing - This life among the stars (Milla Jovovich - The Alien song)

Set data

7311: Red planet cruiser

Year: 2001

Theme: Space

Subtheme: Life on Mars

Pieces: 73 (including extras)

Price: 7 USD / ?? EUR / ?? UKP

Building time: less than 10 minutes

MISB on review: Yes

More info: Brickset - Peeron

Note: also available as part of 78777 value pack.

Stock photo: Just to show you how the front of the box should look like. The alien seems to have yellow body and legs.

Box front: Ouch! This must have been a bad landing! To the best of my measurements, box appears to be 192x94x44 mms or 7.8"x3.11"x1.11". One thing I found quite unusual is that the model doesn't fit in the front and some parts lie on the sides.

Box rear: A couple of alternate models (yet the one on the left doesn't look so much different from the main model) Flight mode!.

Box side: So the alien name is Altair (and it still has yellow body and legs).

Value pack: Also included 7308 Double hover and 7309 Rover.

Box content: Everything is safe! A small bag, a large bag, instructions sheet and a promo poster. Look, no stickers!

Random instructions page: Here's one of the latest building steps, the mono-foot. Booklet has been folded in 3, and measures 208x128 mms or 8.2"x5.2".

Life on Mars overview: No inventory or Lego sites advertising on the last page (except for the main one); there you can look at the theme (click for larger image)

Promo poster: We all miss these posters, don't we? It's a double sided A4 paper, click for larger images.

Loose pieces: We have three different colors for "Plate 3 x 6 without Corners". The model consists of 6 solid colors and trans neon orange. Altair's body and legs are actually lime green and not yellow! Its arms and printed head are teal.

Minifig: "I come in peace and bring you printed tiles". As odd as the 1x2 display may look, the flamed 2x2 looks even odder to me. Is that supposed to be the engine's end? Or is it just a hole with fire inside?

Not of this Earth: A selections of aliens, robots, droids and whatever you want to call them. Left to right: UFO droid Blue (3012/6800/6816), UFO alien (2543), Insectoid (6837), Mars mission jelly (7695), Altair (from this very set), SW Droid (7654), SW Assassin Droid (8015)

Building: This set is mostly based on hinges. There are two on the front for those sorts of arms and two on the rear for the mono-foot.

Building: Martians are cheap on comfort, so the pilot seat is a "Slope Brick 45 4 x 2 Double Inverted"

Building: The Cruiser is made of two kinds of green and two kinds of gray. And those trans orange 1x1s remind me of car lights we use to warn we're changing direction.

Building: Here are the engines, the control panel and the front arms.

Building: Finally, the mono-foot, with the Rock Raiders "Cross with dome" later used in many Star Wars sets.

Red planet cruiser: A first look at the complete model makes me ask: what are those arms supposed to be or do?

Red planet cruiser: Side pic shows the Cruiser would be short and wide, if not for those engines.

Red planet cruiser: Front view. Human minifigs have legs that connect to pieces. These aliens just "fit in".

Red planet cruiser: Rear view. Three hinges (all of them two-wide) help you posing and balancing the Cruiser.

Red planet cruiser: All hinges flat, then setting up the flight-mode.

Review:

With my lack of enthusiasm for some current themes like Agents or the new Space Police, I keep searching the net for MISB bargains. This one came in for less than 7,20 Euros including S/H, and buying a set that a) I like and b) it's no longer available paying the old RRP, well that's a bargain.

This is not my first LoM set, not even my first alien set, still I think this first variation on a minifig was one of the best. Mars Mission jellies used to look bad, they look even worse compared to their predecessors. Altair can move its arms and head like SW droids do, and can stand up or sit down thanks to not being a single piece!

Unlike some other LoM sets (7310, for instance) this one has a clever color scheme. I found the design original, meaning both funny and odd. I appreciate the set is raised so that helps saving space in display (the Cruiser can be posed with the cockpit one full minifig high from the ground) and the overall shape. But I'm not sure this set can work as a stand alone; no accessories, no other minifigs, nothing resembling a weapon, nothing much to do. I now think the stress of TLC on having at least one good minifig and one bad in every set has some raison d'être.

One of my leitmotiv is "If I didn't like it, I wouldn't have bought it", therefore you know I'm going to rate this set average at least. Still, I think it could have been better and today's price raising somewhat makes me overrate old sets.

Rating:

Color scheme: 5/5. Two green, two grays and a little of orange; the whole thing is simple and good looking. Alien colors are nice too. I'd stay with two-tones on these aliens (some have three).

Minifigs and accessories: 3/5. I've been thinking a lot about this one. As much as I like the minifig, this is no Blacktron for sure, and it comes with NO accessories at all. That would sometimes lead to a bad rating, but I don't think this is the case.

Pieces: 4,5/5. Not so many, and not so different kinds, but I dig them. Sand green is always welcome, hinges are useful and those "Hinge Arm Lockings" remind me of my first space set ever, 6822. Extras include robot arms in the two colors and some 1x1s.

Playability: 2,5/5. Definitely average; it could be much better. What can a kid do with those front arms? What else is there to do than posing the Cruiser?

Design: 3,5/5. I like the colors and the shape, but this is another model that's more worth displaying than playing.

Overall rating: 3,5/5. A little above average, not bad but underachieving; more suitable as a collector's item than as a child's toy.

The final words: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: SpIII sucks. give us classic space back!

[user]

Hey the things on the back of the box that you called alternate models are instructions on how to transform it the flight mode you made looked terrible the foot is supposed to tuck into the back.

[The Cobra]

Oops... I'll be shooting a couple more pics and fix that.

Edit: pic added.

And could a Moderator please add "Review" to the topic title? Thanks.

[user]

Oops... I'll be shooting a couple more pics and fix that.

Edit: pic added.

Okay thanks.

[Nuju Metru]

Man oh man, does this set bring back the memories... I absolutely adored it when I was younger, fun little vehicle, IMO.

-Nuju Metru

[Skipper 24]

I really love the aliens from these old sets. The flight mode on the ship does look a little crummy but I suppose it adds some extra playability.

Wasn't Altair the guy from Assassins Creed?

Great review .

[Wout]

Wasn't Altair the guy from Assassins Creed?

I think both this Alien and the guy from Assasins Creed are named after a star wikilink

Thank you for the nice review.

I find myself becoming much older when there is a old MISB set which came out after my dark ages.

This was one of the better sets I think from Life on Mars.

[The Green Brick Giant]

The theme is very flawed, however at the same time it uses fun sand colors nicely. I'm actually a fan of the series and wish it got another year because the mechs were really awesome. I have all the sets except for $50 tan thing. I got the base for $26 shipped from Target, it's garbage, but once again the aliens and the theme had promise. Plus it's much better than Mars Mission.

[united brick]

I think both this Alien and the guy from Assasins Creed are named after a star wikilink

Thank you for the nice review.

I find myself becoming much older when there is a old MISB set which came out after my dark ages.

This was one of the better sets I think from Life on Mars.

just one thing to say LOL