1789 - Star Hawk II

Rating:
Pros: The main model is kind of a vicious-looking design (don't go by a two-dimensional picture on the box, check out the real model)
Cons: Detaching pod should attach more securely to the ship. I like the Unitron models, but I HATE the busy colors (keep it simple, Lego)
Contents: 288 pieces including 2 mini-figs
Price: $29.99 (Discontinued)
Reviewed: 8-Oct-1996
Reviewed by: Joseph Gonzalez

The sudden explosion to the left of his ship and a fireball rolling down the canyon wall quickly lets the Major know he is now alone in this dog fight. What started as three-to-one odds has too quickly slimmed down to one-on-one, and maneuvering vertically in these narrow canyons is not what the Star Hawk II was built for. But now, with no other comrades to assist, the Major can change his strategy against the Spyrius craft which just disappeared around another corner.
Carefully rounding the corner, then jetting quickly in the short straight section of canyon, the Major catches up just enough with the saucer to drop a starboard hatch and raise the robot arm of the Anti-Magnetic Disruptor. Another switch is flipped and an invisible outward-rippling burst erupts from the SHII, forcing the saucer into the canyon wall. The saucer bounces, quickly recalculates and speeds ahead, but not before another burst is released sending the saucer careening off another wall and slowing the craft considerably.
Any serious fire power has been impossible to use in this canyon, but with the saucer in close range, the major is prepared to try out the new weaponry that Unitron Laboratories has been sweating over for the past six months.
"Now it's payback time!" the major mutters under his breath...

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This set comes hot on the tail (actually the next year) of the 6939 Spyrius Saucer Centurion, borrowing more than a little from that ship's compact wingless-body design but adding a few details of its own, most notably the forked-nose of the craft which reminds one somewhat of the Millennium Falcon of Star Wars fame.
I bought this ship for the specific purpose of having a fair-sized enemy for my Spyrius craft and the ship serves that purpose well, with concealed yet obvious weapons (I could never decide if the protruding antennas on the 6939 were for FM stations or fire power).
The main model itself is a fierce-looking design (it's much neater than it looks on the box) with retractable lasers, a folding tailpiece that allows the ship to stand at an angle for takeoff position, and a two-man cockpit (that's after you remove their oxygen tanks), and the ship's colors are not even bad although adding yellow to the astronauts' blue/grey/black suits seems out of place and ruins the color combination in my opinion.
My complaints are the following: the cockpit is not entirely closed-in, that is to say, just under the sides of the closing hatch there's room where a 1x6 brick could have been put on each side to keep out the cold conditions of space. I don't care for this design flaw and too many space (and even some Aquanaut sets) have it. Also, this central pod is detachable form the rest of the ship which is not bad but it only secures to the ship with a single connecting pin, whereas two pins would have made it more secure.
A prior version of this review strongly criticized the set for its containing too many sloped and tile elements but further investigation and utilization of the pieces in this set for alternate models reveal that there are actually a good number of bricks here for the money. The inclusion of four horizontal thrusters/blasters makes the set that much more worthwhile, and I'm betting one could probably make two smaller separate ships with just the pieces from this set. True, there is only one transparent canopy, but there are still the two 2x4x3 transparent panels that could also be used for windscreens.
I'll eat my share of crow on this review, admit I was wrong, and add another star to my previous opinion. It's a great medium-size set for a sub-theme that was snuffed out before its time.