Burdokva Posted October 1, 2009 Posted October 1, 2009 (edited) Hey folks! As one of the first of my posts here on EuroBricks, I'm bringing you a review of one of the largest LEGO spaceships, one of the gems of my childhood colection. Hope you'll enjoy it! Set 6984 was released in 1992 as the flagship of the Space Police II subtheme. It contains 395 pieces and three minifigs. Let's begin with the overall design and building experience. The Mediator is obviously a descendent of the earlier 6986 Mission Commander and has a similar overall shape - sleek and narrow nose section, long mid-section and heavy, winged stern. It's deffinately an elegant and aggressive design. The build is fairly easy and pleasent, although you should keep a close eye on the instructions. The ship is composed of three sections, a cockpit, mid-section and wings/cargo hold. The sections connect via two bricks, with an axle similar to the Technic/Bionicle sets, and a moveable roof panel that secures it. The main attachment is secure, but can become floppy on older sets due to the weight. Cockpit The cockpit section is nice, with a large canopy section that provides nice view for the pilots, and is air tight. The pilot, the Space Pollice Chief minifig, is in the forward cockpit, using a simple but nicely printed computer, targeting a Blacktron ship. The interior of the second cockpit is a bit sparse, but both canopies are fully open and allow easy access to the minifigs. It has a lot of engines and looks pretty fast, but has only two forward laser cannons, that are (oddly!) the only weapons this monster of a ship has! Which is a shame, really! Ship fully detachedd The mid-section is plain and not very interesting, as it has only a small computer like the one in the cockpit. It also lacks front and rear walls, so it's not airtight. It really serves no purpose other than to link the hangar and the cockpit, but it could be used for a ground base or a secondary control room for the navigator, a regular Space Police minifig. The hangar is nice, though! It has a small rover (that can exit through a moveable ramp on the back), it has weapon/tool racks on the walls and the wings have a sturdy and creative folding function to securely attach two holding cells, with a Blacktron prisoner, which you can move around with a hook on the mivi-rover. Both the mid- and hangar sections have moveable roof so you can see inside. The hangar also has a large radar dish and two cameras/tracking systems next to it, that add some nice detail. The wings also have two folding antenas. Hangar section Sadly, you only have one alternative attaching combination (as the mid-section isn't airtight), the cockpit with the hangar. It actually looks very nice and works as a smaller version of the ship (once you land the mid-section as a ground base, for example). The attachment system however is simple and should allow docking with other Space Pollice ships (or even some other compatible subthemes). The holding cells were designed to be completely intercheangable between SP II sets, so if you have the entire theme, you can easily make a collection of captured thieves! The Mediator is fairly sturdy - it won't survive a fall from a couple of metres, but it's strong enough to "swoosh" around. The sets maybe somewhat heavy for children, but it's nicely balanced, with just a slightly heavier rear section. The minifigs are nice, expecially the Space Police Chief (with the red epaulets). The SP II figures were actually some of the first to introduce printed heads into space, and their designs is still nice, yet reallistic. All minifigs are printed, no stickers. I know many people were not very pleased with the color scheme - main light gray, secondary black with red trim/details and dark tran-green glasses (don't worry, all logo pieces are printed!). While it does look somewhat dark and dull, in my opinion, it also gives the theme an uniquely millitary appearance without using any cliche dark green bricks. At the same time it's still varied and colorful enough not to look out of place among other LEGO Space sets. I'd like to point about the lack of weapons. This is a flagship, it should have been more heavily armed - at least when comparing it to other large ships of the era. And it does have weapon hardpoints, for example the small gray "fins" at the back of the cockpit that extend to the sides (look at the middle-section in photos), or inside the wings, without adding too much exterior detail! As a kid this did bother me, and I used to play with this as a bomber or blockade runner.... but... It's sleek, elegant and aggressive - in a nutshell, it's like B1B or Tu-160 nuclear bomber. It looks fast and powerfull, with lots of engines! Admitedly, it does have flaws! Lack of weapons, lackluster mid-section, and (that is debatable!) wierd color scheme! While the review may not make it look so, this set actually has a lot to offer in terms of playability and articulation. Looks excellent among other Space flagships, even the Classic ones. Overall, very nice, and one of the best large spaceship sets! Edited October 1, 2009 by Burdokva Quote
CP5670 Posted October 1, 2009 Posted October 1, 2009 Nice review. Until recently, this was my favorite set among all of the space flagships. As you say, it has some flaws, but the overall Space Shuttle-like shape gives it a great, sleek look. I didn't have the set as a kid, but I based many space MOCs back then around the same shape. I actually like the SP2 color scheme a lot, except for the red. The red looks somewhat out of place, but the other colors go together very well. This ship, like the rest of the theme, does seem quite poorly armed for its size. It's funny because the SP1 ships have very heavy weaponry and no engines at all, while SP2 ones have plenty of engines but hardly any weapons. On a side note, if you like this set, you might be interested in this. Quote
Milan Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Excellent review. This set brings memories! Color scheme is nice for me, so is the size. Shape is a little bit boxy, but I like this set very much! Quote
Legoist Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Nice review. I am one of those who don't get the colour scheme For me, it's the red/green combination that really doesn't work. The red pieces are but a few, however they do have an effect; I bet that if red pieces were replaced with black, grey, dark grey or green, then the look would improve much more than one would expect from a handful of pieces. It's also quite a general thing: using more than 2 or 3 colours in a scheme risk the "soup effect", where the scheme just equals to "colourful". On the other hand, the shape, design and functionality of this spaceship in my personal opinion is 10/10. I don't think the lack of weapons is a big deal: the police corps rather capture than destroy... they have police cars not tanks! Quote
Thee Pirate Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Let's get a poll added to this. I always wanted this set when I was a kid, but it was either this or a ship from the Pirate line. I ended up choosing Pirates If I had gotten the Mediator, I'd probably have a different username today Quote
CP5670 Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 I don't think the lack of weapons is a big deal: the police corps rather capture than destroy... they have police cars not tanks! SP1 and SP3 don't really see things the same way. Quote
WhiteFang Posted October 2, 2009 Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks for sharing this fine review. This is one spaceship that I will love to own, which I was a child, and the size of this aircraft looks very impressive and beautiful. The different compartments and sections are some great playing factors too. Quote
Nightshroud99 Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 Looks like a really great ship and a set that I'd like to get someday. Quote
Burdokva Posted October 17, 2009 Author Posted October 17, 2009 (edited) I'm glad you liked the review. The large spaceships were always my favourite LEGO sets (next from the Pirate ships) so this is one of the sets I like most. Actually, I may soon get its "archenemy" - the BlackTron II flagship, trading it for some old City/Town sets ... I'm still not decided, those were after all gifts and still hold a certain sentimental value. CP5670, that's one monster of a ship and looks really impressive! Definitely more imposing than the regular set, and with an excellent interior! Oh, if I could only get my hands on the SPI Mission Commander, too... Edited October 17, 2009 by Burdokva Quote
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