All-Terrain Vehicle - a 'restoration' project

[AmperZand]

Before my DA, I was seriously into Classic Space and had almost all the sets from the 1970s and early '80s. It's difficult to say which was my favourite but 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle was particularly memorable. Maybe it was the the new colour scheme with the white instead of the grey of the earlier sets. Or maybe it was the detachable lab which smoothly lowered onto the lunar surface. Whatever it was, I've had a soft spot for 6927 for a very long time.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), my mother gave all my LEGO away when I went into my DA. I've been an AFOL since 1993 and for a few years now I've been thinking of getting another 6927. It wasn't until this summer though that I started to take action. At first, I looked at buying a complete one on the secondary market, but the set was either too expensive or I couldn't trust the seller's description of its condition. So I decided to reconstruct it piecemeal from parts I already had plus new and used pieces I bought on BrickLink and Ebay. I wanted to wind up with a really nice looking set but wasn't hugely concerned with historical accuracy and was willing to substitute updated parts such as the newer, thicker piece holding the front lights.

I learned a few things along the way:

• The same description of a used part's condition varies wildly from seller to seller on BrickLink even those with good feedback. Some pieces were so good I could hardly tell they were used. Others were so bad, such as parts that were cracked, that they utterly defied their description.
  
• Ebay sellers can't be trusted at all. One in particular in Ireland sent me minifigures that bore no resemblance to either their picture or description. It was basically a scam.
  
• Peeron set inventories aren't always right. Kudos if you can find the mistake in 6927's.
  
• The technique of whitening parts using hydrogen peroxide, Vanish Crystal White and sunlight really does work. I had some used parts that had gone creamy and the H2O2 method restored them to the shade of new white parts.
  
• The technique of using Pledege Multi-Surface Wax to remove scratches from clear parts only works if the abrasions are so fine that they render the clear part cloudy. If you can trace the line of a scratch with the naked eye, Pledge won't help.
  
• The glass pieces for the windows were the hardest part to obtain. Two BrickLink sellers in the US independently made exactly the same mistake: they both sent me the wrong size. A seller in the Netherlands sent me the right size but they took 25 days to reach me in the UK. It wasn't the seller's fault. I could see from the postmark that he had sent them right away. They actually were in transit for that long. Congratulations to the Dutch and UK postal systems for being the slowest in the developed world!
  
• You can disguise minor flaws in used parts by hiding them in the build. For example, one piece had a mark on it that I couldn't remove, but it really didn't matter as it was buried under another part and can't be seen unless you deconstruct the set.
  

Here are some pictures of the set that I now have in my display collection. Apologies for the rubbish photography.

Questions or comments?

Edited October 21, 2014 by AmperZand

[Colossus]

Congratulations on rediscovering your set! Also, thanks for the clean up tips. After finding an old box of my Lego in my parents' basement, those tips are gonna come in handy!

[KeepLeft]

I have this set still today and most of my Cassic Space sets are the only sets that I do not re-build into something else.

[DPrime]

Yup, great little set. We should have more of these types of threads... Actually, I could start a couple - I've restored quite a few CS sets recently, including this one. Those wheels, in particular, are prone to cracking!

[AmperZand]

Congratulations on rediscovering your set! Also, thanks for the clean up tips. After finding an old box of my Lego in my parents' basement, those tips are gonna come in handy!

Thanks for the congrats and you're most welcome regarding the clean up tips. Hope they help.

I have this set still today and most of my Cassic Space sets are the only sets that I do not re-build into something else.

I hear you! There's no chance I'll be taking this set apart. It's definitely staying in my display collection. I may replace a part or two that aren't perfect at some point, but I'm pretty happy with how it is now.

Yup, great little set. We should have more of these types of threads...

I totally agree on both counts: it is a great set and we should have more restoration threads.

One tip I forgot to mention in my opening post - but I hope is implied - is that if you buy used parts online from a seller you don't know for a fact will sell you nice parts, you should hedge yourself by buying multiples of the same part from different sellers. It increases the likelihood that you'll get what you require in good condition.

Those wheels, in particular, are prone to cracking!

Really? I didn't have that problem. Do you mean the ABS hubs or the rubber tyres?

Edited October 31, 2014 by AmperZand

[Lady K]

Thank you for sharing this. My small town didn't have anything but basic Lego sets. Growing up without Classic Space I'm now having to collect it all from Bricklink, so I appreciate all tips shared by others doing the same.

Your 'restoration' looks great. This is a nice set and I can't wait to acquire it myself.

Edited November 1, 2014 by adventurer1

[Spirit]

This restoration is amazing !

It's funny because with your photos, it looks vintage and new, like a real photo from the 80s.

[AmperZand]

It's funny because with your photos, it looks vintage and new, like a real photo from the 80s.

Yes, that's right. I hitched a ride on the Tardis (Dr Who's time machine) and took a few shots of my set from 1981 before returning to 2014.

Seriously, some of the parts are new, but mostly they're used. In real life, you can tell that it's a restoration if you pick it up and inspect it closely. But if you weren't looking for flaws and you were just seeing it as part of my display collection, you might think it was new. It wouldn't stand out as being a restoration.

[DPrime]

Really? I didn't have that problem. Do you mean the ABS hubs or the rubber tyres?

The hubs. I had to get a bunch on Bricklink and even some of them had little cracked. I don't know how widespread it is but it looked to me like age/storage/temperature plus a tight fit might be a potential issue...

[Kalais]

Nice story, was interesting to read :) Good job!

I am big fan of all those old legos :)