Subject:
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4x2ReVu: 6919 Planetary Prowler
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.reviews, lugnet.space
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Date:
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Fri, 22 Oct 1999 15:30:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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1655 times
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Blood pounds fast in Xergos' veins. His exploratory trip was cut short by an
encounter with Arachnean warriors in an enormous Tarantel tank. He didn't have
any more time to react than to scramble to his vehicle, voice-off to his
retriever droid and take off.
Now he's bumping over dunes and through sandy marshes that are more easily
traversed by the long-legged Tarantel war machine.
The sound of an explosion behind him and the sudden end of transmission from
his droid notifies him that his robot companion has given its life to allow him
a few more seconds to run. The Arachnean tank falters as two legs disconnect
in the explosion of metal and circuits. The tank falters and slows, but it
does not discontinue pursuit.
It had been quite a while since I had purchased an Insectoids set. I
originally purchased the 6909 Sonic Stinger model and admired the other sets,
but just didn't have the money to purchase a larger set. Much time passed and
recently I noticed that the sets are on discount at a few nearby stores. It
seemed that waiting had paid off and I recently picked up the Prowler. I'm
glad I picked it up at the discount price and find that it is basically what I
expected.
The Planetary Prowler is a fairly long, six-wheel, six legged, (well, actually
the fifth and sixth legs are attached to wheels but they still look like legs)
vehicle that somewhat resembles a grasshopper. The head of the insect looks
like it has two mandibles (pincers) with dark green eyes and two antennae that
fold back. The driver's seat is located just behind the eyes. Behind the
pilot chair is a partially closing compartment that holds a crystal
"processing" unit. This is a pretty cool, though simple, construction that can
be removed from the car (you could maybe put an extra passenger in that spot).
Behind the processor area is a small pit that houses a one-man hover craft
vehicle. Behind that is an aft-facing canopy-covered cockpit, from there the
tail tapers into a stinger like appendage. Beneath the base of the stinger is
a magnet that allows crystals to stick to it. The overall construction of the
car is fairly sturdy. One interesting aspect of the car is the use of spring
loaded (shock absorbers) that hold the rear wheels and allow the rear end to
bounce up and down. Colors used in the vehicle are dark grey, blue and
transparent green the combination of which I quite like for the theme.
Figures that come with the set are an Insectoid humanoid with dark green bubble
helmet and black air tanks, and a dark grey insectoid android with a
transparent helmet. There is one specific hand-held scanner accessory and a
couple of other add-ons to the car that could also be used as weapons.
There are quite a few unique pieces to the set which bolster my estimation of
the car and (in my opinion) make for good rationalization toward picking one
up. Pieces include the transparent dark green 4x4 dome and base units (bug
eyes), the technic-like spring absorber pieces, four small and two medium-size
blue space wheels, the large dark grey strut pieces (large legs), smaller
one-stud-wide strut pieces (small legs), two dark grey 1x2 plate-and-jet-engine
pieces, and the new radar dish and wand element (that I've only seen in the
Insectoid sets so far). There are also some new 2x2 and 1x2 Insectoid
logo/control panel print tiles and sloping bricks. One quick comment here is
that the large dark green canopy for the aft cockpit is preprinted.
Two crystals are available in this set and I've noticed that the "magnetic"
stickers that apply to these don't seem to stick to the pieces as well as
more-common decals (though greasy fingers after eating a bag of potato chips
probably don't help when first applying the stickers).
This set more than met my expectations. I really liked the basic, unique
design (alright, it isn't a space ship, but it is a different idea!) and I like
the amount of bricks that are appearing more and more in dark grey.
!!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
Rating: Five out of eight studs.
Thumbs up for: A unique design and good use of the theme's colors.
Wallet-Wise: $35.00 approximate U.S. retail for 247 pieces (but I'd suggest
grabbing it with some kind of discount or coupon).
Date: 10/12/1999
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