6810 - Laser Ranger

Rating:
Pros: Sleek design; black Futuron astronaut (there were only three sets with a black one); great standalone set or with a fleet of Futuron vehicles
Cons: None noted
Contents: 36 pieces including 1 mini-fig
Price: Discontinued
Reviewed: 27-Jun-1998
Reviewed by: G. M.

Lily Morgan was the youngest cadet of the Futuron Academy to receive her official Scouting License. At age eighteen, she fled from the rapidly deteriorating Earth just before World War VII got underway. That was four years ago, now she was finally happy and about to go on to her first official mission: Escort the President of the Confederation's personal star cruiser to the world of Delta Morrivan. A fairly easy task except that the journey was roughly 1.2 light years away and Blacktron rebellions were beginning to flare up near the hyperspace route that the two ships must cross. This posed no problem for Lily; she had the Academy's new prototype model scout/attack fighter, the 6810 Crescent Moon. It had all of the capabilities to outrun, outmaneuver, and basically outwit the Blacktron ships.
Well, the first mission turned out disasterous. Lily only flew a mere one hundred km/s faster than the President's cruiser but the Space Police still found something wrong with that. Something so wrong that Lily might have to be deported back to Earth.

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Wow, this set is just great! It has tons of great features and a good assortment of bricks to keep one occupied for a long time. It also has done a lot for me: I was looking through my old magazines and instruction booklets when I came across an old fragmentary catalog with a picture of a space scene. I stared at the picture and thought, "I need at least one of those sets!" Unfortunately, I then stumbled across the date of the catalog, 1988. I never thought I would ever retrieve a classic like this one (especially since its nine years old), but I finally received one of those sets from that old fragmentary catalog and it has really gotten my hopes up for finding another.
The Laser Ranger is probably my favorite set to date. It is only a small space ship (a mere 36 pieces) but it is still an awesome set. The main model is mostly white with black and trans red and blue highlights. A black Futuron astronaut is also included. The craft looks like it could have many functions. It could be a backup for a Star Defender 200 or an Aero Module, it could be a small scout ship, or an escort for an important leader.
The set has some definite weapons stationed on the nose and wings. The rear of the ship has a novel use of two white chalices that serve as rocket thrusters. The wings of the ship are made of 2x1x2 bricks and can "flap" up and down via a pair of 2x1x1 hinge bricks. The astronaut sits in the middle of the vehicle and controls the ship using two control sticks. In front of the cockpit is a 2x3x1 sloping white brick with the "Orbiter" emblem used in both Classic Space and Futuron sets. That's all there really is to the set besides the plates used to make up the base.
Although I have never seen the back of the box, I am pretty sure there were some good alternate models because of the large variety of regular plates and bricks and special pieces like two trans red radar dishes. If you have the chance to pick this set up in an auction, go ahead and do so, it's worth it! A great big huge, megolithic, whopping thank you to my friend Joe Wood who helped me acquire this set!