LEGO® Set Review: 1785 Crater Critters

1785

[1785 Set Photo] Crater Critters
Space System Banner
Space System / (Multiple)

Ages 7-12 / 143 Pcs
24 page manual. 27 steps (12 for first critter, 15 for second). ©1995
Price Range: Suggested retail $9.99 (6.9 cents/pc), S@H $11 (7.6 cents/pc)

Review Written: 7 August 1995 by David Ellis
Special Features / Compatibility
 Extra Elements
  • Three 1x1 Round Plates
    		• Decals:
    Scale: These figures stand on their own, about 13 bricks high. They're much bigger than minifigs, so they don't scale with the standard town and space vehicles. But that just means a different kind of play.
    Errors: None
    Ratings: Set: Excellent Models: Very-Good Playability: Very-Good
    Conclusion
    Highly recommended!

    Description

    Two alien (robot?) figures, each about 13 bricks high and with multi-jointed arms. One moves on four small plastic balloon tires. Main colors: Gray and black, plus blue for one figure and red for the other.

    Impression

    I bought this set on impulse. An incredible value at a low price. As it turns out, the two critters are a lot of fun to build and move around. There are a lot of interesting and useful pieces. If you need to bulk up on 1x2x1/3 hinges, this set has over 20 of 'em. Also, five small and two medium sized dish pieces, two 2x2x1/3 turntables, four half- and nine quarter-octagon plates, two truncated cones, four inverted corner slants, and eight 3-brick-high slants (4 regular, 4 inverted). And, oh yes, one 2x4x2 brick with studs on the sides. Hardly any regular bricks or plates, but let those be for other sets; there are even more goodies in this set that I haven't enumerated. The real challenge of this set is going to be figuring out how _else_ to use the pieces creatively. I can always nitpick. Both critters have identical pincer assemblies for their right hands. For better variety, I'd have liked to see one critter equipped instead with the cylindrical jointed arm pieces seen in the space shuttle and Aquazone sets. The critter with 3x3x2 cones for feet is immobile; maybe some tiny airplane landing wheels on swivel bases would help. And I'm still looking for an inexpensive set that has lots of those two-piece (2x1x2/3 socket, 2x1x1/3 insert) tilt bearings with 90 degree range. Over all my sets, I have close to four thousand pieces, but only one tilt bearing pair! I didn't buy the Spyrius set #6889 (Recon Robot), so I don't know how it stacks up against the Crater Critters for scale.

    Ratings

    Set Rating:Excellent

    Nice collection of pieces at a super value. Price per piece is lower than any other LEGO set I've seen.

    Model Rating:Very-Good

    Effective use of a variety of pieces. Lots of hinged pieces at shoulders and wrists, plus pincers and even a small crane hook for one critter's hand. Nothing earth-shaking, just good and interesting design.

    Playability Rating:Very-Good

    Heads swivel on 2x2x1/3 turntables. Arms hinge at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Three different kinds of hands. One model moves on wheels. The pincers move nicely but aren't very good for holding. One critter has four long and independently moving grabber fingers on one hand. I like the action on all the arm and hand motions.

    Elements

    This is the first set I've seen with 1x1x1\2x2 inverted corner slants.
    Reviewer Information
    Reviewer Name Age (at review) E-Mail WWW Favorite Theme
    David Ellis 45 dellis@bbs.com --- Town

    I'm new to LEGO as of May of this year. I have fourteen sets, mostly Freestyle and Town, with nearly 4000 pieces.

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