4970 - Chrome Crusher

Rating:
Pros: Neat drilling vehicle; awesome laser element
Cons: Overpriced; not very fleshed out
Contents: 167 pieces including 1 mini-fig
Price: $29.99
Reviewed: 7-Feb-2000
Reviewed by: Josh Opotzner

Far beneath the surface scouring the caverns is the most powerful drilling machine yet created, the Chrome Crusher. From the safety of the cockpit, Axle drives through stone as if it were sand. The machine creates a path of heavy destruction, turning rock to pebble with its powerful drill and blasting boulders with its feared laser.
It enters a rock monster's den and begins blasting away on a low power setting to unearth hidden crystals. All the rock creatures run away in horror as this food stealing, chrome crushing, unstoppable behemoth sucks in crystals and spits out the 16-piece rock monsters.
After the massacre, Axle gets out to meet an only half-existent rock monster. The eyes of the beast glow red in pure anger until our rock raider decides to make use of his laser pistol. In its last second, the monster's eyes turned from fury red to a sad blue.

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It's hard to give this set a bad or good mark. It's undoubtedly a cool model, especially for playability, but it is also overpriced. It contains lots of normal bricks, but they are all used in the same place to construct the back wall of the cockpit. It has so many big pieces, at least 8 of the parts came loose in the box, not in polybags! Most are excusable (the tires make up half and are okay) and bins and buckets have been one piece for a long time. But the one piece chassis is too much as are the long printed pieces.
The set has four 1x2x2 bricks. I hated this at first but now I see there is a structural reason each one isn't two stacked bricks. Besides, they are in turquoise. The set contains only one Rock Raider, a big no-no as the set has a two seat cockpit. Sparks would have fit in with this set great and should have.

The model can be summed up as this: a wheeled vehicle with a cockpit in front, a storage bin in back, and a raised laser. The laser and the batteries inside weigh down the rear portion. If you take it off, the model will tilt forward and the cockpit drags on the floor.
It's hard to make good alternates with this set, but for special pieces it is great. Included are a piece of ore and a crystal, but more than one should have been there.
Rock Raiders is generally a cross between Town Jr. and 1994 space. This makes them perfect upon hitting the clearance bin. It is full of juniorization but uses lots of bricks as well. A definite buy when it goes on sale and even better if your local K-Mart doesn't look at the expiration date on Mania Magazine coupons. :)