Help The Hydronauts Recover The Missing Jewels With Lego’s “Crystal Detector”
Written: Apr 12 '05
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Pros: Awesome pieces and elements, cool ship, lots of detail.
Cons: Only comes with one figure!!!
The Bottom Line: If you can find this set, don’t hesitate – get it!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Crystal Detector |
When the Hydronaut mini series was added to Aqua Zone it was something that collectors went insane over. There were so many cool pieces, stenciled elements and unique items packaged in them that the price didn’t really matter to most. I was just starting to get back into collecting Lego sets when this one hit the shelves in late 1997 and early 1998; the boys were still a little on the young side for sets like this but that didn’t stop me from buying a ton of them for my collection. Sadly the designers at Lego decided to do away with the entire theme and go for something that was a little more appealing to the masses. Translation: they weren’t selling as well as expected so the idea was redone and modified. Most people didn’t even realize that the series was being killed off until it was too late to stock up on them; once they get the deadly orange sale sticker slapped on them, it’s only a matter of time before they go the way of the dinosaurs.
Aqua Zone Hydronaut Crystal Detector
This is really a set that you have to see in person to appreciate; there are so many cool little things on the vehicle that looking at the pictures of it or reading through the instructions that come with it simply don’t do it justice. Basically it is an underwater rover that scours the bottom of the ocean to find power crystals. This holds true to the Aqua Zone and Hydronaut theme and related books, comics and storylines. Now, I ask you, if you are going to put out a set like this – something that searches for power crystals, wouldn’t you add more than one cluster to the set? That is one of the downsides to this one; you only get one of the ultra cool silver crystal pods. These are pretty delicate and if you handle them too much the finish will start to wear off. If this is a concern of yours then hit it with a few coats of spray on sealer or some clear nail polish. The same goes for the stenciled pieces that come in the set; these are a little sturdier than the silver power crystal piece but if handled roughly, they will scratch and once that happens, there’s really nothing you can do to repair them.
One of the coolest things about this set is that it comes with a small compass that is designed to rest on the top part of the vehicle. It works, sort of, but don’t expect it to lead you out of the jungle because it isn’t all that accurate. There are two functional arms that reach out from the sides of the vehicle, the best thing about these is that they are made from Technic styled pieces so you can snap them in a lot of different directions or have them do a variety of different things. If that weren’t enough, there are little grippers on the ends of them so you can grab things, pick them up or move them around. Another thing that is definitely worth mentioning is the flexible tube that runs from the back of the vehicle to the air pump. This is what, in the storyline, was used to blast away rock to look for the power crystals. If you follow any of the Lego books and comics you’ll know that this was one of the main plots of the Rock Raider series but instead of underwater it was underground.
The underwater vehicle is pretty impressive to look at but after you sit there and check it out it seems a little too thick. It rests on two layers of supports; I am assuming that this was done so that the wheels had room to move and it was strong enough to support the weight of the blocks but hey, I just write the reviews. Two really nice pieces for collectors are the yellow tanks that are on the bottom of the rover. These can be used for oxygen, gas or to blast dirt off rocks – that’s where your imagination comes into play! One of the rarest pieces in the set is the canopy that covers the front of the vehicle. This is a really nice emerald green and has a good bit of stenciling on it; but the downside is that it doesn’t flip up or down. It needs to be snapped off the front of the vehicle to get a figure in or out of it. Inside there are a few small instrument panels but these really can’t be seen from the outside because of the color of the canopy and the design that is on it. If you are someone that is into the rare Lego items this set is a must have for the green specimen container, silver done, power crystal and twin propellers on the back of the rover.
Another downside of the set is that it only comes with one figure. Almost all the figures in the underwater series and themes were highly detailed and this one is no exception. He has a really nice blue scuba suit, tank and mask but the transparent yellow neon rigging that he is wearing is what really makes him look cool. He also has a jet pack attached to the back of the scuba outfit but the orange pod pieces that come with the set are a little distracting so I swapped them out with the same sized pieces only in transparent yellow neon to match his gear. He has the Aqua Zone logo stenciled on his chest as well as on his back, a very nice touch but you don’t get to see much of it when he has all this stuff on him. I really wish they would have added another figure to the set, I’d imagine that it would get pretty boring if you only had one figure to play with or if this was the only set a kid had.
The Bottom Line
This is a really nice set for people who were into the Aqua Zone series. One really cool thing to do with the sets in this series is to build them in a large fish tank. Bear with me … I haven’t completely snapped. The boys had a large fish tank that sprung a leak; they didn’t want to throw it out so they figured they’d put some turtles in it. Not even a month later, the turtles had a lot of interesting underwater things to keep them entertained. They broke open some of the sets and built their own little Aqua Zone for the turtles. This set is pretty hard to find these days because it was taken out of active production in 1999. If this is something that you are interested in your best bet is to check the private seller lists at Lego fan sites as well as auctions like eBay. This retailed for about twenty dollars but if you want one that is mint, still in the box, you might be looking at upwards of thirty dollars or more. Is it worth it? To me it is, then again, I am a Lego junkie!
The Stats
Set Name: Crystal Detector
Family Set: : Aquazone / Hydronauts
Lego Set: 6150
Number of Pieces: 101
Age Recommendation: 8 and older
Ease Of Assembly: Moderate
Time Of Assembly: 10 - 15 minutes
Cost: $ 19.99
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20 bones
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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