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Subject: 
4x2ReVu: 6497 Twisted Time Train
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.reviews, lugnet.town
Date: 
Mon, 4 Oct 1999 18:02:08 GMT
Viewed: 
1907 times
  
I'll be posting reviews here (instead of for the site I used to write for).
Some of these reviews are older but unpublished, and there will be many NEW
reviews for newer sets (Star Wars, Insectoids, Rock Raiders, etc.).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6497 Twisted Time Train

With a bone-jarring crash the train smashes into the side of the cliff,
shearing off bits of rock and earth that careen and bounce off of the cars to
continue their fall into the mile-deep canyon.  Alas, the impact is not
bone-jarring enough, for with a backward glance Dante can see the gnarled  hand
of Immortus still clutching the base of the car behind, and now a second hand
reaches up to pull the skeletal frame further from beneath the car.
"Drastic actions for drastic measures", Dante thinks as he sees the mountain
pass narrowing to a slender path that cannot possibly sustain the timetrain.
An amber switch is turned and the chronometer is adjusted to a new setting as,
with another look back , Dante sees the slender yet powerful frame of Immortus
crouching to jump to the forward car just as the train shifts direction off of
the narrowing path to soar into the gaping chasm . . .

I'm still not converted to the Time Twisters subtheme but I do find them more
entertaining as a whole than the individual models of the opposing Time
Cruisers.  I bought the 6497 set for its  collection of pieces and it didn't
disappoint me.
The model appears as three separate train-like cars.  The first section is a
mini-locomotive model with a smokestack that bobs up and down as the front
wheel axle is turned.  The construction doesn't come close to an old-fashioned
locomotive but gives just enough of a hint (smokestack, cow catcher, etc.) that
you can tell that is what it is supposed to be. Two separate pilot chairs with
transparent canopies over them (these elements are quite cool) give this engine
an almost Batmobile-like appearance and add to the quirkiness of the model.
The second section of the train is made up of two wooden walls that support a
roof.  An elevated platform sprouts out of the top of the roof with a stand and
megaphone attached to the platform.  This entire platform rotates as the
forward wheels of the car turn.  A second spinning shaft to the side of the
platform sports the dreaded hypno-disks.  A pivoting arm with a wing is mounted
on each side of the car's base so that the wings go up and down as the car is
pushed.  The rear of the car allows standing space for a minifig with
hand-railings, a small table and a barrel.
The third and final car is a black/castle walled section with a staircase that
winds from the side of the car up to a second level balcony.  Another floating
platform above the center of the balcony  bobs up and down as the forward axle
of this car turns.
Minifigs included with the set are two men, a skeleton and a ghost.  It was
interesting to note that the ghost actually comes with a pair of white minifig
legs rather than a simple 1x2 brick and plate (which are all the ghosts usually
get).  A good assortment of minifig accessories includes a brown briefcase, red
wand, two bat shields, a blue wizard hat, a large silver sword, two silver
knives, a black bat and a grey falcon.
All in all, the model is quite silly looking but the simple moving mechanisms
are a great introduction to young minds and will probably encourage them to
make their own mechanical inventions.  For older collectors, I would still
recommend this set for its collection of useful pieces: blue 2x2 round bricks,
two black 3x3 corner/concave sloping bricks, two grey chains, brown technic
wheels, black smoke stack elements, black 4x4x2 cylinder element and the
transparent window pieces which make great space ship canopies.  Granted, it's
a bit pricey to get a few fun elements but it would definitely be worth it at a
discount price.

!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating:  Three out of eight studs.
Thumbs up for:  The Space Police-like combination of blue and black bricks.
Thumbs down on:  Price is just a bit too high for such a goofy main model.
Wallet-Wise:  $35.00 (approx. U.S. retail) for 296 pieces.
Date:  10/13/1998



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