6896 - Celestial Forager

Rating:
Pros: A good-sized ground vehicle that could have many purposes; four magnets; steering wheel
Cons: Ill-fitting name; a bit too bulky and large considering the number of pieces
Contents: 87 pieces including 1 mini-fig
Price: Discontinued
Reviewed: 22-Jul-1998
Reviewed by: G. M.

The planet Casta Pi had been attacked one too many times. The planet's major political centers had all been completely or nearly destroyed. Most life forms had long since left. The only things still alive on the planet were a group of scientists gone half-mad who called themselves the Magnetic Retributors. Just by hearing their name one could assume that they were crazy.
Just about everyone in the universe had forgotten them until they finally made themselves into headlines as they attacked and nearly obliterated the monopoly of Blacktron Technologies with heavy duty tanks they had been developing over the past decade and a half. When apprehended by the Intergalactic Space Police for questioning, all that they would say is "It's all their fault! They destroyed our planet!"

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I was "lucky" enough to snatch this set up just as I joined the Lego Club and TLG was sending out an exclusive order form for really old sets. I now know that I was way too quick to order because I could have gotten a Futuron set and a Space Police set. The two sets combined were about the same price as this one and I think I would have liked them far better than this set.

The Celestial Forager is the second largest of the four M:Tron ground vehicles. Even though it contains a mere 87 pieces, it is actually quite large. Its main feature is a crane-like device on the back that hardly looks "celestial". In fact, the entire vehicle is poorly named. If celestial vehicles are supposed to be aircraft then this thing probably got its name mixed up in TLG's computers with another set. But the name is only a minor drawback, the set itself is actually kind of functional.

The crane is really nice and uses four magnets. (Lotsa electromagnetic lift power here!) The back of the rover is also quite roomy and could easily hold around eight mini-figs. The last things in the back are four 2x2 translucent yellow-green radar dishes and a long green antenna. In the center of the vehicle is a larger satellite dish with a 2x2x1 gray cylinder which steers the vehicle using multiple turntables and two 4x2 hinged plates that snap together.
The cockpit has room for one mini-fig to sit and steer with two Ice Planet chain saw holders and a 1x1 computer tile on each end. One tile looks like a supermarket food scanner thing and the other has four buttons printed on.
The very front is made of a 2x6 nose piece also found in the 6811 Pulsar Charger and a number of Classic Space sets and an Aquazone set.

The mini-fig has red and white M:Tron garb and totes a portable radio around with him/her.
The alternate models are seriously lacking in the creativity department. One shows a bulky trailer with a built-in computer console. Another shows a small aircraft with a huge satellite dish on the back. I can't remember the third model because I stupidly threw out the box a couple of years ago.